it's running the tune that comes with the procharger kit, has a new fuel pump to make up for the increased fuel need. It was dynoed to make sure everything is safe and making good power and everything was safe and on pretty rich. The owner of the dyno said that they could fine tune it to lean it out a bit but for the winter its safer richer and to leave it and maybe lean it out a bit in the spring.
Sounds crazy (though probably not with a car you can actually get at the plugs on) but I know a number of guys who change their plugs/gaps with temperature changes depending on the weather in your area.
For that matter, go to a premium plug. Now that you're running a higher compression, it's not the stock environment that could get away with the original-spec plugs. Odds are you'll need more/better spark, or a smaller gap. And all the fancy on-board diagnostics in the world aren't going to tell you how well the spark is actually being generated by the plug. Well, except for a VERY cool mini-video-camera setup I saw in use by TRG last year. Live video, super-slow-mo, of the spark in the combustion chamber. Un-fucking-believable. But it sure let them dial in the perfect ignition/combustion setup.
I'm sure most of the people in this thread know I have a Miata. As I sit and idly dream up ways to spend money in this car, I've identified a couple concerns, some more pressing than others. 1) I really want a rollbar for this thing, for two reasons. One being safety. I realize rollovers are rare but I don't like the idea of not having one. The other is that I can't really track my car without it, as most places won't let convertibles on without some kind of rollbar. My question is, are these useless, or even hazardous without four point harnesses? I was thinking of getting a one piece bucket, but I get back spasms/pinched nerves as it is, and my headrest speakers are the shit, and I'm not so quick to give them up. 2) I am going to want more power in the future. But I also want this thing to start every single day and not make me late for work. It's a good thing that I'm not looking to make crazy power, but something around 200whp will be nice. I drove a 5-6psi Miata with a turbo, no intercooler making about 160whp and it was awesome. However a Roots Eaton blower seems like an even better choice from a reliability standpoint, will make the same power, is less complex and has a nice linear power delivery. I know modern turbos are good, but there's still that split second of lag, versus the "extra 2 cylinders" feeling you get from a blower. Any thoughts? I know Guy Fawkes had an S/C S2K, but nettdata, being a Porsche guy, will probably side with turbos. Personally, the new Kraftwerks/Rotrex kits look interesting.
Safety is a very complex study when it comes to cars and safety gear. The most important thing to understand is that it is a SYSTEM, and that all pieces must work well together. Now, when you say rollbar, are you referring to a simple bar, or a proper cage, or something in between? Personally, I see absolutely no problem with a rollbar in a car, as long as you remember the context within which it is being used. On the track, you're wearing a helmet, etc., and the purpose of a rollbar is to impede the car from collapsing in or onto itself, or the ground squishing you like a bug as you go upside down. In other words, if you roll, or get hit, the rollbar stops that sheet metal that is the roof or (in the case of a cage) the door from smashing into the driver's space and squishing your fleshy bits. By the same token, the helmet you're wearing protects your head from bashing the fuck out of itself against the rollbar's bars and support members while you're being tossed around. On the street, if you have a rollbar that even has tons of padding, if you get into an accident, your head will have all sorts of shit to hit that it normally wouldn't. The purpose of safety harnesses is to stop you from being thrown into the dash, roof, door, etc., in the event that you experience sudden (relative) accelleration of some sort. People are incredibly amazed at how much belts stretch and deform in a crash. They do that because they're supposed to. They provide the gradual dissipation of energy in a crash that keeps your internals from turning to jello (80+ G's), and it's not uncommon to see them stretch by 6-12 inches. Think of them as reverse crumple zones. If you wear a 4+ point harness without a roll bar, you can potentially be fucked for a few reasons; the lack of a submarine belt (which are found in 5-6 point harnesses) can cause you to slide out beneath the straps in the event of a head-on, and fuck you up royally, or they can hold you in firmly in place while the (non-rollbar'd) roof crashes in on you and crushes/compresses your head/neck/spine. (3-way belts allow you to bend sideways out of the way, so you're lying across the front seat, or cause you to bend forward at the waist, stopping the submarine effect). The other thing about this stuff is that if it's not installed absolutely correctly, it can be more dangerous than if you didn't have it. Belt angles and mount points have specific requirements, same for seat mounts, etc. For that matter, proper shoulder-belt-capable seats are required if you want to run shoulder belts... they won't work with your stock seat. You need the ones with the holes in the back that the belts feed through. If you're looking to do DE's, and not full-on race, you should be able to get away with a roll-hoop and 3-point belts, and your stock seat. They can be simple bolt-in jobs that you can put in for a track day and remove when you're done. Really, what you need depends on the rules/regs of the association you're running with. Talk to them, and they'll know what you need, and who can do it for you. My advice is to find a local race shop and get them to advise you on what you need, and have them install it. Most reasons for upgrading belts/seats is so that you're held in a better position behind the wheel. When you do go to a 4-6 point belt, again, you have to take into consideration that your safety "wiggle room" in the event of a rollover/crash is gone, and you require more of a cage-like protection. Also, the more firmly you're attached to the car, through your legs, ass, back, etc, the more you can feel what it's doing and react. You feel a car oversteering through your ass/back more than anything, and if you're not strapped into a solid race bucket, it's way harder to feel and deal with. Seats are like skates, in that fit is everything. Different seats fit differently, so find a race shop that has a bunch of floor models, and go sit in them. You should NOT have to jam yourself into the seat, but it should be firm, and have no pressure spots. Also, think about the future when you may be wearing a 3-4 layer fire/driving suit, and get it a little bigger than you think you need. You can also get one that's quite a bit bigger, so that it's comfortable in daily driving, but you can create a custom seat insert for yourself. You can take a garbage bag, fill it with spray-foam insulation, put it in the seat, and then sit on it until the foam hardens. You now have a custom formed insert that should be absolutely comfortable and a perfect fit. [/ramblings]
I was thinking of something like this http://www.cscracing.com/miata.html but with padding. A lot of people run stuff like this on their street Miatas and I've seen some nasty crashes where the bar stays intact. On first impression, something like this seems way better than having nothing. But people also run stupid shit because it looks cool/they want to say they have a part on their car. I've heard that you shouldn't run a cage on a street car, and I can see that it would be dangerous, with the lateral bars running into the dash, door bars etc. Something like the 5 point bar doesn't seem to bad. I now that most sanctioning bodies want 4 points going into the chassis, and the hoops don't usually pass tech. The worst are those style bars that are twin hoops and don't bolt to the chassis, they're notorious for "mouse-trapping" during accidents...think about it, it's not pleasant.
That bar looks similar to what our convertible Porsches run at track days. It looks fine, as long as it's mounted properly.
Re: Miata mods. I went the SC route on my S2K because at the time it was the most reliable package and I was in a turbo funk since I had been dropping waaaaaaay too much money on turbo systems for my Syclone and GN. However I'm a huge fan of turbocharging everything. I've been doing research on repowering my (new) Mazda 323 GTX and have found lots of information on the 1.6L Mazda BPT motors as well as the 1.8L BPD which are being used in hopping up older Miatas as well. The BPT can put out some very decent #'s and are fairly cheap to acquire since they were used in the Mercury Capri back in the day. I've seen hp #s in the 215-270 range with a mild build running 10-12lbs of boost. Currently I'm leaning towards the 1.8L BPD since there are versions of this motor doing duty in streetable cars putting out 350ish HP which is insane for a car that will weigh in at around 2300lbs when I'm done. Plus I found an already built BPD semi-locally that is absolutely insane. When I had my first GTX I remember a bunch of companies operating out of the Toronto area that sold complete engines and wiring packages. As for the roll bar and harness question I'm a firm believer in being as safe as possible when I race. Unless you're going to go with a bolt in roll bar I would look at a couple of options from installing some additional structural supports to firm up the entire car while you're doing the bar. The harness is more of a question of comfort unless you're racing in situations where you're traveling at fast speeds. I put 6pt harnesses in any vehicle I could potentially take to the track but I don't have them in my Saab or GN since I don't compete with them.
Tinting my windows today. They offer Suntek and Solargard brands. Anyone have any preference or advice on either? Before and afters to come.
I find myself in the position of needing a light duty truck. I have a F-350 SD diesel for all my towing and heavy lifting so this won't be used for that. I'm looking for a v6, standard trans, and probably a regular cab. After all my research and fucking around I'm down to two vehicles. 1. Toyota Tacoma SR5 (very likely the TRD package) 2. Nissan Frontier Nismo package. The vehicle will be a 2006-07 because of what I'm using it for. I'll probably keep it for a year or two max (unless I fall in love with the truck but I have a Wrangler Rubicon for all my everyday 4x4 needs). I'll be re-selling it myself rather than trading it in and the mileage will be kept pretty low. Obviously the Tacoma is a sweet and durable truck and I haven't found much negative about them anywhere which is why the price is a few grand higher than the Nissan. I know that Nissan has improved their Frontier platform in recent years and the Nismo package truck looks really sweet. Thoughts, experiences, etc and greatly appreciated.
I have 2001 Jeep Wrangler. Earlier this year, I spent about $600 at Pep Boys getting the Clutch Master Cylinder replaced. (I think or else it was the slave). Basically what had happened was what started as a "creaking" sound when depressing the clutch, turned into the inability to change gears. I had lived with the "creaking" sound from the clutch for about 6 or 7 months, until the thing gave up on me and then I had it fixed. It took Pep Boys awhile to get it fixed, originally using an aftermarket part, and then having to go out and get the MOPAR part when that didn't work. Well, it has been about 3 months since the repair, and the clutch is starting to creak again. Pressure on the clutch feels ok, and I have no problems changing gears right now, but I didn't when I first noticed the issue originally. Anyway for me to know if I have a real problem? Should I expect an absolute, clean, soundless clutch after having this type of repair? Thanks
If it took them that long and that much trouble to fix/find a fix I would be curious if they did the repair correctly. I'm biased because I don't trust the national chain repair places AT ALL. The best and brightest auto techs don't generally take jobs at Pep Boys, Jiffy Lube, etc. My first thought is that they didn't lube the clutch cylinder assembly properly. Unfortunately skipping the lubing step is a very frequent occurrence since parts are taken right out of the box and bolted up into place. Also you might want to spray the clutch springs with a little WD40 to make sure it isn't those. Luckily you've got easy access to these things since it's a Jeep.
Just got back. 35% SolarGuard all around, its the legal limit in TX where I will be stationed the longest. Looks good to me, what do ya'll think?
My brother has an older model (1998) Tacoma, and it's been a good little truck. It does seem a bit dinky on the inside compared to my Ford and the Chevrolets I've seen, but I've come to expect that from small japanese trucks. Although I've never owned one, there's something about Toyota guys and their trucks. My barber sold my brother that Toyota a few years ago, and he's been trying to buy it back ever since. I know a guy who traded his 1990 Toyota for a new Z71 and then traded that back in on a Tundra the following year. My cousin has a 1985 Toyota (his first truck) and a 2007 4X4 Tacoma. He's sworn he'll never have anything else. Another friend of mine bought a 2000 Nissan Frontier Crew Cab brand new in 2000. Since he's owned it, I've probably been in it for half of its 200k miles. That truck has been to hell and back about 6 times. Seriously, I've never seen a vehicle put through so much abuse. It still runs like a new one. Bottom line is that it comes down to personal preference. Neither has more this or that than the other. They're both high quality, dependable, and long lasting trucks.
Hey guys, I drive an 04 Hyundai Santa Fe. Lately (when it has been coldest) I've been parking outside and when I try to leave for work in the morning the key wont turn. I know what you're thinking, but I've made sure it's in park, turned the wheel, jiggled the key, put on the breaks, everything. Is it simply just frozen? If so, what can I do to prevent it from happening again? Thanks in advance.
Hey real quick ya'll. For those who have had tint's put on, or know much about them, It's been humid and wet here for the past few days and the adhesive hasn't dried because of that. Is there anything bad about this? Does it cause any problems?
I would refrain from rolling the windows up and down until the adhesive has cured. They usually tell you this when you pick up the car but since weather conditions vary you may need to wait a little longer before you use the windows. If you want to cure the adhesive a little faster and don't mind burning some fuel you can leave the car running with the heater on full blast. That should help the process along.
Because it's $200 less a month in insurance, I'm now looking into a much more realistic Golf TDI Other than the leaking rear wiper in the GTI model, anything I need to worry about in Golf mk6? Any weird oddities in diesel I might be missing? I've done some reading on tdi forums and golfmk6.com but their enthusiast level makes me a bit concerned there might be some really basic details I'm missing that they took for granted.
I was always under the impression that running the heater while the engine's in use used no/negligible extra fuel. Are you talking about idling?