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[pauleyman]

pauleyman submitted a new DSM Profile :

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[pauleyman]

pauleyman updated 1 of 7


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[pauleyman]

The car needs some opinions now. Those of you who don't daily drive your cars I would like some input. There is nearly zero chance this car will ever see the track so I'm not setting it up for that. It's a street car through and through. Even so I like to have quality parts and seek to improve things continually. My mod profile speaks for itself but now I am considering other items.

Coilovers? Are they that much better than the koni yellow and eibach prokit I have? Ride quality also?

Tires. As this is no longer a daily driver I'm considering something very soft. Like dot legal competition soft. Any comments? The car behaved so well on Michelin pilot super sports not sure I could benefit if the car isn't a track car. I may even keep two sets and put the oem wheels on for shows etc.

Serious mods. Up until now I've not cut on the car anywhere. I know my front mount will require it so I'm going to bite the bullet unless somebody can comment otherwise. It's an ets street core so it should just be a little bumper trimming and that's it.

Of course plans can always change but for now this will remain a 16g street car.

What do you non track guys do with your non daily drivers? Cruise and smile? Or beat up on lambos when the opportunity presents?

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Beat up on ANYTHING that I can get to BITE...….
I have options, though, since I have a DD DSM and 2 brute monsters. I DO drive my Holset cars to work, so I drive them all, but mostly, the hot rods stay in town or the nearest town for a few "cruises" and some "turbo noises" then I grab a bite to eat and take them back home. If the town is active with cars, I park my ride at the parts store and just watch the others go buy, trying to "choose" my next suspect. I trolled an old Camaro the other night in the "stockish" 90 GSX while I was tuning her to run on E. I guess an AWD launch at the stoplight scared him off though. Just what this old dude does. If there are a lot of muscle cars, I might sneak home and grab my old Camaro just to blend in. I am sure there are A LOT of stories from others Paul.
I am really just out to see how good other cars run, not necessarily mine, since I already know that!
Marty

 

[jed344]

Driving some super soft tires on the street can be tough. Hoosier QTPs are sketchy on the corners . Sometimes ya just gotta roll around on the hoosiers though.

 

[EC17PSE]

Confused, you said its a street car through and through and then said below its NOT a street car! Can you confirm what its build actually is please?

 

[DogWhistle]

The car needs some opinions now. Those of you who don't daily drive your cars I would like some input. There is nearly zero chance this car will ever see the track so I'm not setting it up for that. It's a street car through and through. Even so I like to have quality parts and seek to improve things continually. My mod profile speaks for itself but now I am considering other items.

Coilovers? Are they that much better than the koni yellow and eibach prokit I have? Ride quality also?

We've had both the coilover setups and currently have the Koni adjustable yellows on Swift springs, with rebuild perch pads on our DD. You can dial up the Konis, but you can't beat a good coilover for cornering control.

Sure, you feel the road more with the coilovers, but it is the smart play if you plan to adjust the ride height of the car. Seems like you may want to talk to Flatout Suspension about your needs and desires and let them come up with a solution for you.

 

[pauleyman]

Driving some super soft tires on the street can be tough. Hoosier QTPs are sketchy on the corners . Sometimes ya just gotta roll around on the hoosiers though.

I meant more like toyo 888 or something along those lines.

Confused, you said its a street car through and through and then said below its NOT a street car! Can you confirm what its build actually is please?

I should have said no longer a daily driver. It will never see snow again and probably not even rain unless I get caught out in it.

 

[jed344]

I see. I have not used r888’s. Buddy will be trying some r888r’s on his fwd for the street snd hoosiers at the track. Otherwise I have been happy with my Han look ventus v12 evo 2. They are a light tire too.

 

[EC17PSE]

Weird i never got notified on your reply!

Coilovers are nicer to have full control over adjustments and swappable parts over time to best suit your needs. I say get coilovers for sure.

As for tires if your not fussed on wear rates so much then look into AD08R but not the RS. I use vredestein sessantas on the road wheels and they grip well while keeping the nice things like wet grip and works well in the cold. I had AD08R and they was decent in the wet but its more of a dry tire. You lot got some nice tires over there so tires wont be hard to find nice ones to your liking.

 

[pauleyman]

I've had soft tires. Super fun but not practical on a daily driver. Since this won't see more than a few thousand a year if that I don't see why I wouldn't run them. Anything that gets 30k will likely dry rot on me before I get there.
Car needs new wheels too. I've decided these evo8 wheels have to go. I want the proper offset and these aren't it. Close though.

 

[DSMxTSi]

Paul, what did you end up doing with this car? I am in the same boat as far as I won't be driving it in snow or rain anymore, just a fun occasional street car. I'm at the point of turbo and shortblock decisions with the primary focus of keeping the power level safe for trans reliability due to parts not available for solid rebuilds supporting over 500hp. While I'd love a 2.3 stroker with 20G or FP Green I don't know if the drivetrain shock would be worth it nowadays. I'll end up with one of those two turbos but will likely keep my block 2.0L. What clutch are you using? Is there a good option as far as lessening the shock to the drivetrain? I'm still stuck in the old days of Centerforce and ACT 2100 and 2600 as basically the only options.

 

[pauleyman]

I still have the car. I should have fixed it quickly but because I didn't I've kept the miles off at least and it will become what I want. The trans is apart and I've been lazy about reassembly. I spent a buncha money making some upgrades and got caught up in "while I'm in there". No biggie though. I'm at the age in life where I can take my time as I see fit.

 

[DreamChaser7]

Paul, what did you end up doing with this car? I am in the same boat as far as I won't be driving it in snow or rain anymore, just a fun occasional street car. I'm at the point of turbo and shortblock decisions with the primary focus of keeping the power level safe for trans reliability due to parts not available for solid rebuilds supporting over 500hp. While I'd love a 2.3 stroker with 20G or FP Green I don't know if the drivetrain shock would be worth it nowadays. I'll end up with one of those two turbos but will likely keep my block 2.0L. What clutch are you using? Is there a good option as far as lessening the shock to the drivetrain? I'm still stuck in the old days of Centerforce and ACT 2100 and 2600 as basically the only options.

I'm so frustrated by this. As much as I wanted to be able to go stage 3 or 4 on this it is apparent my only option is PPG Dogbox with the NLA parts BS. I didn't wait this long to finally build a car with a drivetrain that can't handle itself. I really hope someone starts to manufacture options in the near future before I have to make this decision. (I have spoken with a few old mechanics that theorize with the weird post covid world this may be possible but to me is nothing more than conjecture at this point.) Would really like the smooth shifting of synchros but if we have to go dogbox we go..

 

[pauleyman]

I'm so frustrated by this. As much as I wanted to be able to go stage 3 or 4 on this it is apparent my only option is PPG Dogbox with the NLA parts BS. I didn't wait this long to finally build a car with a drivetrain that can't handle itself. I really hope someone starts to manufacture options in the near future before I have to make this decision. (I have spoken with a few old mechanics that theorize with the weird post covid world this may be possible but to me is nothing more than conjecture at this point.) Would really like the smooth shifting of synchros but if we have to go dogbox we go..

I don't think it's as bad as people say. Cars went very fast long ago before dog boxes existed. Depends on how it's driven and how often etc. None of them last forever. There are some nice parts available now for synchro trans that weren't available 20 years ago.

 

[DreamChaser7]

I don't think it's as bad as people say. Cars went very fast long ago before dog boxes existed. Depends on how it's driven and how often etc. None of them last forever. There are some nice parts available now for synchro trans that weren't available 20 years ago.

That sentiment makes me feel a little better. I just see so many people saying don't plan on 500 hp without grenading your tranny now unless its a dogbox. I plan to upgrade everything in the drivetrain as much as possible pretty much and she won't be driven that much and I don't plan on abusing it. But when I do take it out for an evening or weekend drive would like to be able to embarrass the local idiot who pulls up in their obnoxiously load POS Honda if I so choose without leaving parts on the road

 

[pauleyman]

Keep in mind you don't have to launch the car unless you're at a dragstrip. A spirited takeoff without worrying about wheelslip is very effective. Wheel hop kills stuff too. Hondas I don't even launch. Just step into it when the light turns green. I rarely do that either as I don't care. Sometimes they know what the car is and ask me to show off, blah blah blah.
Anyways back to the parts we have good 4 spider diffs, good axles, transfer cases etc and a billet bearing plate to avoid movement in the shafts. I wish there were objective data to backup the claims of these parts fixing some issues but we will have to do with the subjective statements of those that have been there and done that. From what I had heard over the years those guys that were running fast back in the day didn't get many passes out of a gearbox but those guys were always chasing the number. 10s, 9s...etc. I know buschur had blown up a bunch but he was deep in the 11s at that time and I'm sure the car had to be launched like crazy to get those times. In those days it was 20g, vpc and gcc. I watched him grenade one way back in 1996 and he swore the car would never be seen again as an AWD car. Of course we know he built a different one and sold the original car but he did go RWD.
I'm also an outlier, I have come to the conclusion that if my trans comes out for any reason it gets disassembled for inspection just because I can. As funds allow I will build a 2nd unit and just swap between the two. I think I have enough parts here to build another and I have the original one owner trans from this car also. I'm still just a 2 gear center diff also. That will change eventually.

 

[DreamChaser7]

I'm still learning, ie not sure about the 4spider stuff yet and what it means, so I appreciate the feedback. I should be a pro with how long I've been into these cars and owned this one alone (22 years I've had this one) but oh well better late than never. I should've been learning all these years instead of being depressed I couldn't put the money in so I was ready to go . That would be awesome to be at the point where I have two trannies to swap between. Finally going to pull mine with the motor soon, (never done it before), so just trying to figure out where to send it and what my best options are. Thanks for the input Paul.