The Semi-Unofficial Pistol-Forum Car geek, gearhead, hot rodder, and vehicle thread

[OlongJohnson]

I realized that KMiata making adaptors to put BMW trannies behind Miata motors in Miatas means it's stupidly easy to put a Miata motor in an E36, and then you have a lot more room to work around it to build turbo manifolds and stuff. The sump is in the right place for the BMW crossmember, so the only mechanical adaptation required would be two motor mounts, which the BMW makes really easy. (Plumbing and wiring don't really count). No custom oil pans, oil pump swaps, crossmember mods, etc. Plenty of room for V-mount heat exchangers in that long nose. Easy 300+ whp with massive weight loss, or go a little bigger and get 400. It's not what you can do with a K series, but it takes the whole concept out of the realm of PITA science project and puts it in the realm of KISS.

Solves the biggest problems of a turbo Miata, which are:

1. It's too small inside for big, northern Europeans (USP 45 FS-sized) like me

2. The chassis can't really make good use of all that power

a. You can't put enough rubber on it
b. You can't put enough brake on it
c. The rear suspension can't put the power to the ground
d. The steering doesn't come close to E36 steering

"Would that really be better than a turbo Miata?"

Yes, yes it would.

Guess I should add no-sunroof E36 328/M3 coupe searching back into my internet time wasting.

[ranger]

I agree with you. I looked at 911s and Caymans. I drove a new 911S, a Cayman, Cayman S and a Cayman GT4. I loved the handling, but the performance did not seem to be that higher, and the cost was significantly more. The dealer had a used 911 GT3 with very low miles that I lusted after, but they were asking $156k, and that is way beyond what I’m budgeting. Maybe in a few years.

I agree that car manufacturers are not aiming at gear-heads as their target market. Something simple, light and well-powered would be great. If BMW had made a driver’s version of the i8 design with an M3 engine inside and a manual transmission, the world would have lined up. Instead it is a virtue signaling car that hits no target markets. Detroit is on the horsepower wars (Camaro ZL1, Mustang Cobra, Hellcat, Corvette) and that seems good, but they are overweight 4000+ pound porkers. 2700-3000 pounds would be just fine for a sports car.

But the average car buyer seems to view a car as an appliance, like a dishwasher. Put in dishes and soap, get clean dishes. Nothing more. Basic sedans are boring, uninvolving, and drive poorly. In some cases the blind spots and driver feedback is so bad that they make it too easy to be a bad driver. Neglect to see that you have a line of cars trapped behind you on the highway, blind spots so large you are afraid to change lanes, so you don’t. All buyers are interested in are the telematics: nav, music, CarPlay, traffic, rear seat tv/video, etc...

If I ever buy a minivan please shoot me. Now.

I think the "sedan" of today is a loaded, 4 door, big truck. That is what my 2015 RAM 1500 Hemi is for my wife and I.

[OlongJohnson]

I think the "sedan" of today is a loaded, 4 door, big truck. That is what my 2015 RAM 1500 Hemi is for my wife and I.

Panthers are awesome.

[JRB]

@awp_101
Dude thank you so much for posting those pictures! That was an exciting treat! Ferrari 333SP's in person must have been wild to see!
Loving the 4G Preludes and SN95 Mustangs, too!

I realized that KMiata making adaptors to put BMW trannies behind Miata motors in Miatas means it's stupidly easy to put a Miata motor in an E36, and then you have a lot more room to work around it to build turbo manifolds and stuff. The sump is in the right place for the BMW crossmember, so the only mechanical adaptation required would be two motor mounts, which the BMW makes really easy. (Plumbing and wiring don't really count). No custom oil pans, oil pump swaps, crossmember mods, etc. Plenty of room for V-mount heat exchangers in that long nose. Easy 300+ whp with massive weight loss, or go a little bigger and get 400. It's not what you can do with a K series, but it takes the whole concept out of the realm of PITA science project and puts it in the realm of KISS.

Solves the biggest problems of a turbo Miata, which are:

1. It's too small inside for big, northern Europeans (USP 45 FS-sized) like me

2. The chassis can't really make good use of all that power

a. You can't put enough rubber on it
b. You can't put enough brake on it
c. The rear suspension can't put the power to the ground
d. The steering doesn't come close to E36 steering

"Would that really be better than a turbo Miata?"

Yes, yes it would.

Guess I should add no-sunroof E36 328/M3 coupe searching back into my internet time wasting.

K-miata is close to done with a full K24 swap kit for the E30. The E36 is next!
Apologies for the phone screenshot, I'm on a wifi hotspot with a VPN right now and that's the best I can do.

But man, after driving anything with a hot K24 I can't imagine dealing with a BP1.8 unless it was already in the Miata.

I've been passing a bit of time out here by imagining a widebody AW11 MR2 with a turbo K24, Quaife sequential trans, and Hoosier 275's on 15x9 6UL's under each fender. With big enough brakes and some aero work, I *might* not kill myself in a car like that. Lol

[0ddl0t]

Helped change the spark plugs on a buddy's new-to-him 2015 Tacoma and discovered that the factory installed Denso plugs on one bank and NGK plugs on the other. Apparently Toyota has been doing this for years, but it seems quite odd to me. Still, it made it easy to disprove the previous owner's claims of religiously following Toyota's maintenance schedule (which includes plugs every 30k).
Interestingly, all three NGK plugs at 55k showed a lot more erosion than the Denso plugs.

[RevolverRob]

If you guys think the Beck is nice...don't spend too much time looking at the 550 Spyders from 502 Motorworks.

It goes something like this the founder of 502 Motorworks owned an original 550 Spyder, but of course more or less didn't drive the thing, because you know...5-10 million dollar car. So, he decided to laser scan the entire car and build himself one of the most accurate replicas ever built. Then, he realized, okay that's cool and it's so authentic, maybe I can get it FIA Certified for vintage racing. So he did. And then people started calling him and asking, "How much for me to get one?"

And now you can have the 550 Spyder Replica that 550 Spyder owners drive. A Beck is like a Matchbox toy compared to a 502. If you've got the eye, it's very easy to spot the differences and distinctions in a Beck vs. a 502 vs. a 550. The 502 is the closest thing to a real 550 I've ever seen. The Beck has the wrong proportions and like most replicas it makes compromises in shape and execution to meet a price point.

I keep thinking of taking the wife on a mini-vacay and doing a Kentucky Bourbon Tour and visiting the 502 Factory.

[OlongJohnson]

Just need him to do that to a 904.

[RevolverRob]

Just need him to do that to a 904.

I know it’s heretical as a Porsche fan, but the 904 just never did anything for me. It’s not a car with the same kind of story as other cars of its era. Between that and the fact that it looks like a Ferrari from the same era - eh.

Now if they want to build street legal 917 clones...fuck yea. Or a Bergspyder.

[RevolverRob]

If someone wants to blow their wad on an engine swap for an old school Datsun...this could be the hotness - http://www.speedhunters.com/2020/01/...ell-this-rb28/ Of course...it'll be 30-40k and you could build a lot of car for that money.

But an old school 240Z with this engine + wide body kit = Fucking Awesome.

Way cooler than an LSx swapped Z. But probably not as fast or as reliable and certainly not as cheap.

[OlongJohnson]

The only chassis I’d bother with that in is an R34. Modern aluminum V6 will be better in every way anywhere it fits.