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

  1. #131
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    Quote Originally Posted by descent View Post
    I had a 98 with a SR swap and bolt-ons for 3 years that I loved dearly. Unfortunately that car was cursed. I had 4-5 different occasions of people either pulling out in front of me, running into the back of me, or backing into it in a parking lot. I ended up letting it go for cheap.



    Excluding Ford and GM I just don't see the tuning potential in much anymore unless you have deep pockets; everybody has upped their game and there's just not as much left on the table.
    Man, I love S14's, but that's one that's always escaped me! Years ago, another friend of mine had a '95 with a Redtop SR20 in it and that thing was criminally fun to drive making ~275whp or so. Some cars are just cursed, though, I believe in that.

    I'm not sure I could disagree more emphatically with that second part, though - All the new Mercedes, Audi, BMW stuff with turbos have massive intake/exhaust/tune potential. VW's and Mini Cooper S's too.
    Rewriting the PCM to enjoy those changes voids the warranty, though, so a lot of folks aren't willing to cross that line.

    The new 'Supra' is included in that thanks to it being 99% BMW, The GT-R is a GT-R of course, but the Nissan Q50/Q60 with the new VR30DDTT direct injected TT V6 is showing a lot of promise with tuning as well. That's begging the question as to why the hell Nissan haven't stuffed that engine in a 370Z with a 6MT behind it, because I'd seriously think about buying a 370Z 6MT new if it had a potent TT V6 under the hood.
    Similarly, the Newer Honda K-motor stuff is fantastic if you can deal with FWD and the Civic Type R is showing promise as well.

    The only issue I have with the newer stuff has to do with what I'm comfortable spending on a car I'm messing with and potentially blowing up - which is why I like the older, cheaper stuff.

  2. #132
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    Quote Originally Posted by Doc_Glock View Post
    Kids MINI started making clunking noises when one side of suspension rises. I thought it was the sway bar end links. Replacing them was easy peasy, but didn't solve the issue. Now I think it is the sway bar to frame bushings which you would think easy to replace, but they actually require removing a front suspension subframe and lower control arms to get to the bolts for the yoke. So, you may as well replace the front control arm bushings while going after the bar to frame bushings.

    At this point, things are getting mechanically a bit beyond what I want to do in the garage without air tools. I think I could do it but it would be an adventure and probably take me 8-12 hours. Getting the bushings on the control arms sounds like a PITA requiring a press as well.

    Should I go for it or pay a pro?
    I'd call a few local shops that work on German/Mini stuff and ask them about diagnosing the clunk and what it'd cost to fix, and they might have a real strong idea of what it is and have a good ballpark estimate right away. It'd be a real bummer to do all that flatback work and getting it all back together only to have the same issue persist.

    Removing that front subframe means getting an alignment as soon as possible afterward, too. That lends a little more sense to having a shop handle it, as they can get it aligned after conducting the rest of the service.

    That all said, it's amazing what modern electric impact guns can do and I don't think I've ever spent better money on tools than my the 3/8 and 1/2in Snap-on electric impact guns, and my Milwaukee 1/4in electric ratchet.

    Quote Originally Posted by RevolverRob View Post
    In today’s world I don’t replace bushings if avoidable. Given how cheap control arms are in general, it’s easier and faster than trying to press out old ones.
    Swaybar bushings aren't typically a press-out-press-in sort of thing, but you are right about that when it comes to many control arms, especially those with captive ball joints that can't be replaced.

    Quote Originally Posted by OlongJohnson View Post
    Regarding all the talk about what cars are interesting, I said it earlier in the thread, but I think the E36/E46 will stick around awhile as a chassis. It's in the place where almost all of them are more expensive to keep as a nice daily driver than to just buy a newer BMW, so the cars are cheap to buy. The engines are expensive to modify and a PITA to work on, and if something goes seriously wrong with a motor, it totals the car. On the other hand, the chassis keep on going. They're RWD, well-developed, exceptionally easy to drive around turns, and you can fit pretty much any engine that can be installed north-south and not need the oil pump to be in the same place as the steering rack: SBF, LS, xUZ, JZ, K, etc. Even a turbo BP would have potential in a very lightweight "less is more" build, and the fact that they have space for an inline six means a V-8 with forward-mounted turbos is possible. So find one with a rough interior, part out what you don't need, and start painting your canvas.

    As mentioned above, people who want a nice street car with late-model amenities and niceness plus tons of power are looking elsewhere, but I view them as a better option at this point for a RWD track toy than just about anything else.
    I'm with you totally, except I still can't see the sense in putting a BP in anything other than back in a Miata. There are simply too many other inexpensive engines that are vastly superior for a swap candidate. The E36/E46 will be enduring track day cars for a long time to come, that much is certain.

    Quote Originally Posted by theJanitor View Post
    My neighbor just showed up with a new Audi A4, when I asked where his E46 M3 was, he said, "It was just too expensive to use as a daily driver. It just costs so much to fix"
    Boy howdy that guy is in for a surprise when his A4 leaves warranty coverage. The E46 M3 is a fantastic car, but like any other older M cars, it requires maintenance and parts replacement that demands either an enthusiast wrench turner or a forgiving checkbook.
    Last edited by JRB; 12-31-2019 at 01:05 AM.

  3. #133
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    My issue with newer stuff is all the driver aids that keep joe blow from wrecking his high horsepower car but which making driving fastish a thing that requires much less skill than it used to. Person takes it to a track day or autocross, I can hear the nannies saving his or her bacon but they think it’s amazing skill when they turn in an ok not great lap time.

    It takes skill to build something and set it up to work properly and then get the most of it. Anyone can buy a new car and call themselves a “hot rodder.”

  4. #134
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid Butterfly View Post
    My issue with newer stuff is all the driver aids that keep joe blow from wrecking his high horsepower car but which making driving fastish a thing that requires much less skill than it used to. Person takes it to a track day or autocross, I can hear the nannies saving his or her bacon but they think it’s amazing skill when they turn in an ok not great lap time.

    It takes skill to build something and set it up to work properly and then get the most of it. Anyone can buy a new car and call themselves a “hot rodder.”


    I really hope that reaction image works, because it's exactly right for your post, RB.

  5. #135
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    Quote Originally Posted by theJanitor View Post
    My neighbor just showed up with a new Audi A4, when I asked where his E46 M3 was, he said, "It was just too expensive to use as a daily driver. It just costs so much to fix"
    My reply to your neighbor.
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  6. #136
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    Quote Originally Posted by JRB View Post
    The only issue I have with the newer stuff has to do with what I'm comfortable spending on a car I'm messing with and potentially blowing up - which is why I like the older, cheaper stuff.
    I think this is what I should have said instead. VW and Mini aren't too bad but the rest of the German stuff just isn't cheap to buy and modify; doubly so for Godzilla.

    Quote Originally Posted by JRB View Post
    The Nissan Q50/Q60 with the new VR30DDTT direct injected TT V6 is showing a lot of promise with tuning as well. That's begging the question as to why the hell Nissan haven't stuffed that engine in a 370Z with a 6MT behind it, because I'd seriously think about buying a 370Z 6MT new if it had a potent TT V6 under the hood.
    A modern-day factory TT Z? Yes please.

  7. #137
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by theJanitor View Post
    My neighbor just showed up with a new Audi A4, when I asked where his E46 M3 was, he said, "It was just too expensive to use as a daily driver. It just costs so much to fix"
    I maintained my non-M e46 ZHP for 8 years and 100k miles.

    With the normal stuff (brakes, oil, filters, diff, MT etc.) you got the bonus of the accursed BMW cooling system in which water pump (2), expansion tank (1) and thermostat (1) were considered consumables with 60k intervals. Add in Other Fun Things That Break On E46s (e.g. Window Regulators (3)) and throw in valve adjustment you have to do every 15 to 30K on the M motor, I can totally see that for keeping a 2000s bimmer fettled, the juice would not be worth the squeeze.
    Last edited by RJ; 12-31-2019 at 09:41 AM.

  8. #138
    I would say that 90+ percent of luxury branded autos here are leased. I'm fairly certain that he leased his too.

    I'm on my third lease cycle for my wife, as I just never want to worry about owning it (especially the inescapable turbo car). But I want her and my son to be in safe, modern cars, with all the tech designed to make her travels safer and pleasant. NA cars are becoming hard to find, unless you buy the upper-end models. My two vehicles are 13 and 35 years old, respectively

  9. #139
    Site Supporter OlongJohnson's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JRB View Post
    The only issue I have with the newer stuff has to do with what I'm comfortable spending on a car I'm messing with and potentially blowing up - which is why I like the older, cheaper stuff.
    There was a time when I would drive Miatas and Integras back to back with all the latest from Germany. I had a lot more fun in the cheaper stuff, it turned out.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rapid Butterfly View Post
    My issue with newer stuff is all the driver aids that keep joe blow from wrecking his high horsepower car but which making driving fastish a thing that requires much less skill than it used to. Person takes it to a track day or autocross, I can hear the nannies saving his or her bacon but they think it’s amazing skill when they turn in an ok not great lap time.

    It takes skill to build something and set it up to work properly and then get the most of it. Anyone can buy a new car and call themselves a “hot rodder.”
    I also think it's a vicious cycle in spec sheet inflation. Driver aids make it possible for un- or minimally-trained drivers to drive massively powerful cars with significantly reduced risk of crashing. What's really happening is the electronics are turning the 400-700 hp car into a 300-400 hp car when they run into the limits. So we have 300-400 hp cars with spec sheets that say ever bigger numbers because the manufacturers can do it. They also get bigger and heavier and heavier and bigger every time they're redesigned, so you need more power and bigger wheels and tires and brakes to make them sort of work as well as the older ones.

    I think setting it up to work properly and then getting the most of it has always been the 1 percent club, even when cars have been popular.
    Last edited by OlongJohnson; 12-31-2019 at 01:07 PM.
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    Not another dime.

  10. #140
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
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    I don’t even care about driver’s aids improving people’s ability to drive. That’s good news to me, it’s the kind of thing that keeps Joey Muscles from slamming into my car on the track with his bajillion horsepower.

    For me, I’ve always been on a budget. And being on a budget means working to go fast on the cheap and not breaking stuff everytime you’re on the track. I broke plenty of cars trying to go faster. And somewhere, I realized two things.

    1) I’d rather go quick all day than fast for an hour.

    2) I’d rather make old cars quick than new cars fast.

    I think #2 is informed by #1, because it’s hard to break an under-stressed engine and gearbox. A way to reduce the stress on something is lighter weight and less traction, because you need less horsepower to get to speed and run out of traction. A 25-2800 pound car with a 3-400 horse motor will carry you fast enough to run out of tire and for many, ability, long before anything else.

    Plus, I guess...I like a challenge. On the one hand, building a 750 horse GT-R that you can drive everyday is fun. On the other, is it really that difficult?

    Hustling a 350-horse front wheel drive pig like a Civic Type R or MS3 is more challenging, because it wants to do one thing and you can’t just brute force that pig around to make it do another. Honestly, I’m more proud of my half-dozen D-Stock trophies earned at regional events than the two podium finishes I had in Camaro-Mustang Challenge. A race prepped Mustang is...kinda easy to drive, in many respects. Hustling a 3200 pound front driver with more horsepower than traction around an autocross course was infinitely more difficult.

    Building a 1963 Sunbeam Alpine to be as fast (or faster) than a MX-5 Cup Car - easy or hard? In a straight line, easy. On Laguna Seca? Hard. That’s why I set the MX5 cup car as my benchmark.

    Then there is something satisfying, to me, about making something simple in design and execution be better than the sum of its parts. It took me awhile to get Colin Chapman’s saying about, “It’s easy to make a bridge stand, it’s difficult to make it just stand.” But that’s what he was getting at, you can assemble all the pieces together, but that doesn’t make it work.

    Plus, to someone like me who atomizes things in life and embraces the beautiful complexity of Life, there is something refreshing in the mottos of:

    “Simplify and add lightness”

    And

    “Only a poor craftsman blames his tools.”

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