awdfun
20+ Year Contributor
- 68
- 4
- Mar 2, 2003
-
Flagstaff,
Arizona
I've been wanting to do this for a while, but just haven't found time. I've got some time to kill (and a good drink) this evening, so I'll start this thread in hopes that it motivates others, excites others, or just gives you guys a good read about racing DSM's.
This is all about my 1995 Talon TSi AWD - from the day I purchased it to (eventually) my most recent trip to the track.
It was in Jan. of 2007 I settled the insurance claim for the '97 GSX that I totaled on a freeway on-ramp. I was just turning into the corner, and before I knew it the car was spinning in salt and dirt left on the road from a recent snow, and into a big cement sign post I went. Long story short, I realized in the next few days that you will never get out of a car what you put into it.
But it was too late. I'd felt boost. Turned up the boost. Made grown men giggle like little girls...
It took me about 6 weeks, but I found a 1995 Talon in Vegas that was still mostly stock, and ran pretty well. I purchased the car, and started the 4 hour drive home. It made it...with very low coolant, a shredded alternator belt, and low on oil. Crap...wrong car to buy.
I fixed all that stuff and finally got around to using most of the remaining insurance payment to buy a few aftermarket things. First things first I installed all the parts I kept from my GSX: Intake and full exhuast, DSMlink, 16g turbo, 1g throttle body, RM sway bars, boost controller and boost gauge. Finally got a FMIC and found some JIC FLT-A2's that had been Muellerized. It was starting to come together, I was quite excited!
I finally get the car together, and start driving it to work out the quirks. I get the alignment, fill it up with gas, and just enjoy pulling it out of the garage every morning. I finally get some time to do some tuning...and work my way up to 19 psi. Car felt awesome! So naturally, I crank in the boost controller and go to 20 psi.
First pull goes clean - all through 3rd gear, tune looks good, so I hit the cruise control smiling my ass off driving to work. And all of a sudden...THWAP...and I have no power. I coast to a stop, pop the hood and see part of a timing belt sticking out of the upper timing cover. I was mad...wrong car to buy!
I get it home and eventually tear it apart to find all 16 valve are bent and every one of the pistons have that signature crescent moon dug into the top.
So what did I do? Realized this is an opportunity to build my dream Street Modified car for Autocross, a competitive Time Trials car for track days, and a car that I can still drive to work and drive on the other road trips I've done in my GSX...Mexico, southern California, northern Colorado...this had to be a STREETABLE yet competitive car. That right there is the boost sickness. I could have given up. Did I? No...
To be continued...
This is all about my 1995 Talon TSi AWD - from the day I purchased it to (eventually) my most recent trip to the track.
It was in Jan. of 2007 I settled the insurance claim for the '97 GSX that I totaled on a freeway on-ramp. I was just turning into the corner, and before I knew it the car was spinning in salt and dirt left on the road from a recent snow, and into a big cement sign post I went. Long story short, I realized in the next few days that you will never get out of a car what you put into it.
But it was too late. I'd felt boost. Turned up the boost. Made grown men giggle like little girls...
It took me about 6 weeks, but I found a 1995 Talon in Vegas that was still mostly stock, and ran pretty well. I purchased the car, and started the 4 hour drive home. It made it...with very low coolant, a shredded alternator belt, and low on oil. Crap...wrong car to buy.
I fixed all that stuff and finally got around to using most of the remaining insurance payment to buy a few aftermarket things. First things first I installed all the parts I kept from my GSX: Intake and full exhuast, DSMlink, 16g turbo, 1g throttle body, RM sway bars, boost controller and boost gauge. Finally got a FMIC and found some JIC FLT-A2's that had been Muellerized. It was starting to come together, I was quite excited!
I finally get the car together, and start driving it to work out the quirks. I get the alignment, fill it up with gas, and just enjoy pulling it out of the garage every morning. I finally get some time to do some tuning...and work my way up to 19 psi. Car felt awesome! So naturally, I crank in the boost controller and go to 20 psi.
First pull goes clean - all through 3rd gear, tune looks good, so I hit the cruise control smiling my ass off driving to work. And all of a sudden...THWAP...and I have no power. I coast to a stop, pop the hood and see part of a timing belt sticking out of the upper timing cover. I was mad...wrong car to buy!
I get it home and eventually tear it apart to find all 16 valve are bent and every one of the pistons have that signature crescent moon dug into the top.
So what did I do? Realized this is an opportunity to build my dream Street Modified car for Autocross, a competitive Time Trials car for track days, and a car that I can still drive to work and drive on the other road trips I've done in my GSX...Mexico, southern California, northern Colorado...this had to be a STREETABLE yet competitive car. That right there is the boost sickness. I could have given up. Did I? No...
To be continued...