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The '"Official" Car-modding Thread!
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Auslander
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25. June 2007 @ 05:00 |
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fart cans are those huge mufflers that make a honda civic sounds like the voice of an angry god. they are a sin against all that is good. :-)
red will get you in trouble, lol. if you do red, drive like grandma. if you go candy, do it right: lots and lots of clear coats. other than that, sounds good.
if you add a turbo, you have to remember to do it right: naturally aspirated engine blocks need a complete rebuild to run more than about 5 pounds of boost. that means new pistons, rings, headwork, etc etc. also, you'll need to start using premium gas.
if you go with a turbo giving more than 25% of your current power setup full-time, you need to do some tranny work. clutch and flywheel are definite requirements, but if you run power, expect to blow that tranny. either a swap from a car that runs a beefier version of your engine, or some stronger gears (RA, PPG, something like that) to handle the power. and when you do that, don't forget you'll probably need new axles, too. and a stronger rear-end will only improve things.
air ride has a lot of pros and a lot of cons. *if* you definitely decide on it, go with the most top-end system you can afford. do not cheap out on this one.
brands matter on the brakes. if you're going with drilled and slotted rotors, then get a good brand. don't just drill/slot your current ones--this will get you killed. go at least with 4-pot brakes all the way around, with some real good ceramic pads. like i said, brand matters. brembo is worth it.
as for the body, like i said, i like the paint idea. that would be real clean. if your car is front wheel drive (and i'm pretty sure it is), please leave off the rear wing/spoiler. this is just killing your gas mileage, making life rougher on your suspension, and declaring your...ricerhood :-P tinted windows are always hot, *good* (not cheapie) wheels to match your good rubber, etc etc. stay away from carbon fiber. i know it's hot right now, but it's not your friend. a little research will tell you why.
if you replace your bumpers or add side skirts, or do a full on body kit, just remember that the true point is to make the car more aerodynamic. go with something smooth that will flow air up over and around your car. i highly recommend a urethane front bumper/lip with air shocks and such a low car.
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25. June 2007 @ 16:59 |
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what would be a good size rim right now i have 16in coustom rims
i heard that only if ur car can put it out you can go with bigger
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25. June 2007 @ 19:10 |
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I had air ride on my car (my pic is when it was still installed), but took it off, didn't like the ride and it was messing up the rear suspension. I agree with Aus, stay away from carbon fiber. My hood looked great when I got my car, now it is all hazy and looks like crap (hot Vegas sun didn't help).
V9 PS2, flip top, SMD, DVDLoader
Pioneer 107, ritek g05
DVD Shrink, DVD Decrypter, Nero This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 25. June 2007 @ 19:10
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Auslander
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25. June 2007 @ 20:36 |
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rim size is a big variable there, amigo. if you go with an overall change in tire height, you'll need to have your speedometer recalibrated. if you keep the stock height, then the taller the rim you get, the shorter your tire sidewall becomes (and you need low-profile tires). now, low profile tires are great on the track and in the racing scene, but for the stiff sidewalls and such, you trade in a lot of ride comfort. plus, if you go the drag strip, you can't really air your tires down as much (for more traction and acceleration). also, bigger wheels are heavier, which puts more stress on a (stock) drivetrain and will suck more fuel.
with me, i like stock/simple wheels. on your car, 16 is pretty good. 17 inch wheels would have lots of tire options and give you a bit more road worthiness. just remember there's always pros and cons. however, i really wouldn't ever go larger than 17 inch'ers on a little import like that. you're just setting yourself up for expensive...mistakes.
more power makes running bigger wheels more feasible, yes, but remember: you're not rockin' much power right now. toyota's run forever, but the celica doesn't have the strong drivetrain components out of the box to slap easily-installed performance parts on and call it a day. you need to get down to the nitty-gritty to do it right.
sly: thanks for the input. yeah, carbon was neat at first, but nowadays, *everyone* is using it. it's purpose is to save weight, but they just slap it over the sheet metal and proclaim rice. plus, it's not really that safe in an impact. it doesn't crumple like metal, it creates frickin' schrapnel.
while i'm thinking about it, if you want to lose weight (and improve mileage and performance) without stripping your car too much, dragondog, try an aluminum hood and deck lid.
weight distribution is important, too. your car is front wheel drive, so think this one out: if you're mainly drag racing, it's good to keep that weight on the front end, but everything from the front axle back could be lightened up. however, if the car is going to be on the road a lot, or seeing days at any track besides a straight line, you want some even weight distribution. move the battery to the trunk, along with anything else you can move out of the engine bay. that, with a good suspension, will help you take the corners.
also, front wheel drive cars tend to understeer. when you do your suspension, concentrate on your alignment and a nice big rear swaybar, to help the rear end swing out a bit.
please, dragondog, drive it easy on the street and keep the racing on the track. let's keep it safe for everyone and keep us from losing another good forum member.
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26. June 2007 @ 02:48 |
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thanks aus..always keepin safe......the pic that sly has up the front bumper thats what i was looking into for the celica but diff side skirts.
im not sure what size rimes or tires where on it (STOCK) before i got it but when i got it it had 16in rims with 204 sidwall tires couple days later had a blowout so now i got alot bigger side wall tires (ALL 4)...all i could get concidering where i had the blowout...i dont feel the power it had with the 204s,......
:(
so i should move the batt to the trunk and look into an alumi hood?
i got two sub 12 in an oversized box loud as he..........got no trnk space any more, would love to get rid or the waight but love the sound...rockford fosgate subs amp and cap.
and could air intake is that where the filter runs from between the fans and engin to the intake or just from anywere in front of the car?......and is there any special modding for a performance chip or do you recomend reprograming the ecu and forget bout the chip
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 26. June 2007 @ 03:15
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Auslander
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26. June 2007 @ 06:10 |
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wait, so you kept your stock wheels and got oversized tires? not only is your speedo telling you you're going slower than you actually are, but you mileage will drop and your drivetrain is going to have some excessive wear. best thing you can do is find a wheel and tire combo you like that has the same overall height as your original setup, or some good tires in the original size for the wheels you have now. and sell those oversize things.
if you're going to be spending more time having fun on the road, taking lots of turns and not as many straight lines, then yeah, move some weight to the trunk. battery there is good.
and aluminum hood and deck lid will both shave off a good bit of weight.
heheh, i bet those subs are loud, but that isn't accurate sound. in your celica, you wouldn't need anything more than a single 10-inch, probably in a bazooka tube, for accurate sound.
if you put on a cold air intake, you want to run it either to the opening in your fender for fresh air, or down to near the front bumper for fresh air. be sure to use a heat sheat, or you'll just be sucking in the hot air from the engine and do no good.
however, until you've done all the other work and are ready to pull the engine and start building it, you really don't need anything more than a K&N filter popped in the stock airbox.
have you decided if you're going to go turbo or stay naturally aspirated? if you're going turbo, buy your exhaust last, as you won't be able to re-use it from a naturally aspirated setup.
and if you go turbo, best thing to do is just buy a separate engine block and start building that so you can keep the celica as a daily driver. then, you can just do an engine swap and pop in your engine management in a day.
i don't know of any chips for your car, but only get one (and a reflash for your ECU) if you're not going turbo. if you go turbo, it's just a waste of money, as you'll have to buy an engine management system anyway.
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27. June 2007 @ 01:34 |
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no no sry for the confusion there were no stock tires on the car when i git it the guy be4 me had already swaped out rim along with tires, rim brand is platnum....never herd of it till i got the car....the tires he had on them were low pro. tires and thoes are what blew out on me.....when the lows were on it i felt as if the spedo was off...never had it checked.....but after the blow out i had normal size tires put on the 16in platnum rim and then had a cop radar check my speed and it was accurate to all diff speeds tested....so i think the guy didnt have it calibrated when he switch but now it feels im going the right speed....
and as for turbo i would like the power i would get from it but there so much work and money to put in it.....not that i mind the work i love working on cars just i think im a little old fasion because learned my skillz from and ordenary mechanic...my dad.....and im 22 and trying to do some quick learning on what im behind on.....i do like the thought of getting another block and rebuilding on that and when finneshed do a swap...just finding another block for a good price and a place to work on it is a bit of a problem............
oh yea and whats a deck lid? is that a trunk lid?
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Auslander
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27. June 2007 @ 05:30 |
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well, shorter tires would basically change the car's final drive ratio, so yeah, you'd be accelerating more quickly and lose top end. it's better to be back at stock size, though, than down to something smaller.
turbo is a good option, it's just that you want to build an engine for it, or you're severely limited in your potential. you could pop a turbo kit on, but you can't crank it up very high on natural aspiration internals. swap is the way to go, just takes some time.
"deck lid" is the proper name for the trunk lid, lol. the deck is the flat area behind your rear window, the trunk is the big storage spot. :-P
there's a old saying that's real important to remember when building cars. here you go:
"Cheap.
Quick.
Reliable.
Pick 2."
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28. June 2007 @ 14:11 |
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oh yea iv heard that b4 but what im looking for is quick and reliable with some hook ups from the down-low you know lol......
so whats the best way of getting another motor for it? from the junk yard? and would it be better to get the same kind of motor or one that is better but small enough to fit under the hood....cuz so far what i have is a 2.2 gt non gts are 1.8 not to sure how many 2.2 motors in good shape i can find...maybe i should find a supra motor...pretty sure it will fit with the car being the same and all except motors...what do u sudgest
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Auslander
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28. June 2007 @ 14:34 |
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depends on the strength of the block. with subarus, you can turbo the old 1.8 liter engines to 300 horsepower at the crank and it will run a good long time. with the toyota block, i don't know.
the mods depend on your means. best thing to do would be to order a complete drivetrain, already modded and ready to be dropped in. but i don't know if you could swing that. if you're unsure what you will do in the long run, you might as well grab a 2.2 from a junkyard and experiment with the block. grab a few trannies, too, if you can--if you start building power, you'll go through them until you get one with some strong gears.
*edit*
the sky is the limit, really. if you want to keep a daily driver with a nice boost of power, keep the 2.2. if you want a high-revving, loud car that can put out nearly the same level of power as the 2.2 and will probably be cheaper to find parts for and work on, get the 1.8. if you have cash and want a track car or something that sucks a lot of fuel, get a supra engine.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 28. June 2007 @ 14:37
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1. July 2007 @ 12:50 |
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talking to some other guy he says that if i start supein this car up to expect to rebuild after a couple of yeras or after 100k milis he said that no engin can be fixed up and for a daily job car and yet still run 9 to 10 sec on the track without have to rebuild all the time witch will then hurt me on getting to work all the time not sure if hes just trying to give me bad confindence or if hes right but from what iv seen my self my friend had a 69 mustang and worked with me (we {worked} just down the street from the track) and he would take the mustang to race and run a 10 easy and as far i knew there were a few tune up done to it but never had to rebuild
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Auslander
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1. July 2007 @ 15:21 |
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depends on the kind of car; the bigger the displacement, the easier on the engine it is to build power. that mustang was probably 6+ liters. your engine is just over a third of that.
don't even expect your car to run below 12. you're talking pretty much a full-time track car below that, and one that's damn to expensive to keep insured and on the road daily unless you have cash falling out of your hind end.
without a turbo and only N/A work, you're looking at 14s at best, i'd say. with a turbo and still able to drive daily, somewhere in the 12s. the more power you build, the less time an engine will last.
standard practice is to consider a car reliable for 100k miles, anyway. beyond that, it's just luck til you have to rebuild it. that's just a rule for any car, though. many cars out there will run for 250 k before they need an engine rebuild...just not cars running power.
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1. July 2007 @ 23:10 |
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is this type of wing not worth it i mean i dont want something that will hurt me but i do want i little bit of a style on the back, and the tail lights are what im getting, and the body kit of that front shot, would that work for areo dynamics
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. July 2007 @ 23:11
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1. July 2007 @ 23:35 |
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heres a pic of my car.....that i will never owne...i love the blower its like mad max
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 1. July 2007 @ 23:37
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Auslander
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2. July 2007 @ 05:22 |
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'70 challenger? nice. :-)
you can buy stuff for *just* looks, yeah, but that will only get you profiled by police and get ricers to annoy you. the wing on that car won't really do you any good below about 120 mph, and how often will you be seeing those kind of speeds on a daily driver?
i think a nice, subtle and low spoiler would be nice on your car. but then again, i'm all about subtle. :-P
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18. July 2007 @ 21:54 |
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lol i guess this guy who had this bad ass (LOOKING) truck thought he could challenge me just cuz my car is a gt, he thought his bad ass 6.1 was going to beat my little 2.2 his dumba$$ was wrong he may have a bigger engin but that ameture had a heavy truck compared to my lightweight....i would let him cautch up every time just b4 i switch gears then i was gone then id let him get nose to nose then again i was gone, i hit 120 from stop light to stop light bout half a mile. usuly i wouldt street race like that but he had it comming...cant go thinking around that just because his truck is a 6.1 he can beat the little guys...but all in all car did good had a slow start but great finnish...still working on getting money for parts and working on getting my ford running again so i have a backup car...and learning to rev at a stop and hitting it without pealing out too much or without losing torque need it just right.
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Auslander
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19. July 2007 @ 09:06 |
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if you're going to do a lot of drag, but sure to upgrade that clutch! you need something that will let you slip it for a good start, but still last a while. organic clutches can hold as much as 450 horsepower and would be a good place to start.
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Auslander
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21. July 2007 @ 19:36 |
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saw an ultra-rare 1970 AAR 'cuda at a show today...though i'd share. ^.^
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23. July 2007 @ 13:33 |
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nice.......ok i just found out about the celica gt-4.....comes stock like an lancer evo.......turbo all wheel drive.....if i manage to find one at a junk yard with engin i could use engin from there....but what i wann know is if i swap drive trains to have the all wheel drive, would the engin swap and drive train swap void my vin# could i get in trouble with it....i would if i could just fix up a gt-4 but getting one in good condition with a low budget i dont think is possible....but i do have a chance of finding i tashed one at a junkyard out here...this girl got a pretty good gt-4 for only 400$ lucky girl, but way out in fl..
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Auslander
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23. July 2007 @ 18:01 |
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your vin will not be voided, your car just won't be numbers-matching anymore. numbers-matching is only important if you're a car collector or looking to recoop your money when you sell the car. the vin number on your driver's side of the dash will still be the valid vin number of the car.
finding totalled cars with parts that will bolt right in is fairly common in the car world: subaru STI drivetrains into RSs, a 454 into a much smaller chevelle, etc etc. the hardest part will be the wiring. in my opinion, the easiest thing to do will be to take the ECU and wiring harness from the car you pull the drive train off of. while you're at it, take the interior, too. the factory gauge pod from the turbo car would be very nice.
and if you get one trashed at a junkyard, be prepared to do a full rebuild; it depends on how the car is looking. if it's a head-on collision, i'd expect bad driving on the part of the previous owner and the car had been raced. but if the interior is stock looking, the parts don't appeared modded or tampered with, and the car was, say, rear-ended or side-swiped, i'd say the car was probably well-maintained and maybe even babied.
nevertheless, it wouldn't hurt to pull the block apart and give it a good bit of restoration, and you definitely need to open up the tranny and differentials and give them a look over.
i think i've said it before, but just in case i haven't: a drivetrain swap is not necessarily the best thing to do. in other cases, where you were just building up what you have, i'd say do the brakes and suspension first, learning the car before you added power.
however, odds are the suspension you'd be getting wouldn't work with the new setup, and you'd need new brake stuff, too.
so, my advice is: if you are able to do a complete drivetrain swap (and the brakes and suspension don't require upgrades), really baby that car for a while. maybe take a driver's course in it. but keep the racing on the track, for sure. you don't want to ruin something you've put so much work into while showing off in the street.
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23. July 2007 @ 23:06 |
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Originally posted by Auslander:
i'm sorry, justin, but seeing the '08 STI as a 5-door mazda ripoff makes me want to puke. 2007 is the last real impreza to me, til they change the body style again. >.<
i'll do as much of the work as i can myself; rsb, intake, exhaust, most of the suspension work. when charger/swap time comes around, i'll have a shop do it, as i don't really have the means myself.
I hate the look of the 08's. Id take 02-07 if anything. If you're going STi gearbox, why not just go turbo? You can find JDM IHI Spec C VF39's for cheap now days.
fugg it
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23. July 2007 @ 23:22 |
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My nitro tc3, ahah the only suby i can drive ATM.
Hello negative camber
fugg it
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23. July 2007 @ 23:27 |
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auslander, get a STi Spec C ej25 shortblock, which has forged internals, STi 6sp gearbox,full STi interior, Brembo 4pot calipers of the STi and you would have the most ballin RS. Haha, i think that's breaking the bank as well.
fugg it
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Auslander
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24. July 2007 @ 09:57 |
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no point in doing a swap on an '05, as it is. there's still a warranty on it until 2008. when swap time comes around, it will be a full drivetrain swap from whatever the lastest impreza model is. subarus are like legos, so it should all go together pretty well.
i won't go turbo as it is for two reasons: the first is that the stock internals can't handle any decent boost, the second being that 87 octane fuel is expensive enough. running 93 or higher would completely drain me, and as a broke college student, i can't have that.
at this point, i've decided that i definitely need to keep my daily driver very fuel efficient. suspension mods, better brakes and tires, etc etc are all great, but my weekend car will remain my weekend car. not enough fuel to go around, otherwise. :-P
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25. July 2007 @ 02:38 |
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my sis has an 01 mercury and her a/c is acting up it will blow from defrost and feet only it wont blow to face she said it stoped working after she got an oil change if that makes a diff but what could be wrong?
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