The MW Automotive Thread

[areaseven]

It's not a car. It's not a plane. But it is fast.

Acabion GTBO

[yellowlightman]

when  yota can pull and haul what I need it to, Ill gladly get one, thier just to weak for what I use a truck for. Ive destroyed many a 1/2 ton that could suposidly pull 8,000+lbs, not to mention the broke springs Ive incured. Yotas are great for 4wheeling exspecialy the ones from the 80's with the nice axles and suspension. Not a good work truck though. I think the american trucks have that market cornered becides Izuzu's heavy duties (they developed the Duramax in the GM diesels,,,,,,,which suck imo)

377640[/snapback]

You're totally right. I'm curious as to why Toyota and Nissan haven't stepped up with a heavy towing diesel. When they do that, the big three are in trouble.

[Seven]

Hey guys, how long has it been since I posted on here? Anyway, did anyone go to the Redline Time Attack at California Speedway this past weekend? I was there, shot over a thousand pics!

Some of the better ones (about 10% of the total) are up on my public photobucket. Feel free to check them out.

http://photobucket.com/albums/f82/WRBWRXMAX/

Redline time attack > california speedway.

The RRR FD won its class, Unlimited RWD. Second place was the pink fd with the crazy widebody. Unlimited AWD, and overall win, was the XS R32 GT-R, driven by Tarzan Yamada. The white and orange WORKS Evo won Modified AWD.

377602[/snapback]

It's almost unfair to put Tarzan in any time attack challenge where amateurs are also involved. The guy is a Super GT driver! Same thing goes for Keichi Tsuchiya or Manabu Orido. It's like putting kids in the same ring as Iron Mike when he was in his prime.

[Commander McBride]

I tend to agree, partially.

However, Tarzan was in Unlimited, where almost all the drivers were professionals, at least to some degree. Most amateurs were in Street or Modified.

However, I'll be running the December event, and possibly with an Unlimited class Mitsubishi Starion! I'll just have to go out there and kick Yamada's ass.

[myk]

Hey it's the Commander! How've you been? I haven't seen you post lately-I hope all is well with you and your machine...

[Commander McBride]

Things haven't been too bad. Car's been out of comission for almost a month, though, tires are so dead I can't drive it more than a few miles, and no money for new ones. Being out of work doesn't help, either.

At least tires are "wear items", though, and nothing serious is wrong. (knock on wood)

[pfunk]

when  yota can pull and haul what I need it to, Ill gladly get one, thier just to weak for what I use a truck for. Ive destroyed many a 1/2 ton that could suposidly pull 8,000+lbs, not to mention the broke springs Ive incured. Yotas are great for 4wheeling exspecialy the ones from the 80's with the nice axles and suspension. Not a good work truck though. I think the american trucks have that market cornered becides Izuzu's heavy duties (they developed the Duramax in the GM diesels,,,,,,,which suck imo)

377640[/snapback]

You're totally right. I'm curious as to why Toyota and Nissan haven't stepped up with a heavy towing diesel. When they do that, the big three are in trouble.

377980[/snapback]

well, the big 3 do have very good things going for them and thats the experience of big diesel manufacturers (dodge=Cummins, GM=Isuzu, Ford=International) all have experience with large towing capacity and reliability. To my knowlege thiers only one japaniese big deisel producer, and thats isuzu which is part owned by the general. My recomendation for japanise manufacturers is to get into bed with catapillar and ZF for transmissions/rear ends or american axle (they produce all heavy duty axles currently) I think it would be a great venture for Cat and say Toyota since they are the closest to steping up to the plate

[emajnthis]

I've experienced the same thing with Toyota trucks. their great to kick around and do daily runs with, but are total crap when it comes to towing. I am impressed recently though with the Nissan Titan, that thing was built from scratch even with a scratch built motor, and everyone i talked to that owns one stands by them. It makes sense though when you look at how Nissan has restructured in the last decade (after almost having to shut down their US branch) and sticking to what they know best - performance.

Toyota seems to have gone the way of Honda and have just gotten lazy in recent years because they know they can sell automobiles with their brand name and not a real quality product. I'll admit Toyota's will still last forever, that's more of a deal of QC and manufacturing, but their vehicles are very stale and boring, and not to mention perform awfully. I'm hoping in this coming decade wih the release of two sports cars and an entire revamp of their line up (The Vitz, Supra, LS-A, redesigned Tundra, etc.), that they're quality will be back up to par like it was in the 90's.

[Seven]

I tend to agree, partially.

However, Tarzan was in Unlimited, where almost all the drivers were professionals, at least to some degree. Most amateurs were in Street or Modified.

However, I'll be running the December event, and possibly with an Unlimited class Mitsubishi Starion! I'll just have to go out there and kick Yamada's ass.

377988[/snapback]

That's the spirit!

Wow, a Starion? I've always had a soft spot for those cars. Can you post any details on this Starion? I always love to see restored Starions.

[Rocket Punch]

George of the Jungle

WATCH OUT FOR THAT TRRRREEEEEE!!!

[Seven]

George of the Jungle

WATCH OUT FOR THAT TRRRREEEEEE!!!

378362[/snapback]

OUCH! I can't believe he made it that far up the tree too.

[Rocket Punch]

OUCH! I can't believe he made it that far up the tree too.

378397[/snapback]

That's some fancy drivin' right thurr.

[areaseven]

Holy crap! A 400hp Tiburon?!? KingNor's gonna love this...

[yellowlightman]

Holy crap! A 400hp Tiburon?!? KingNor's gonna love this...

378459[/snapback]

They have 600hp Tiburon's in Korea, but they tend to bring about a few questions like WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MODIFYING A TIBURON!? and WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

[ComicKaze]

Holy crap! A 400hp Tiburon?!? KingNor's gonna love this...

378459[/snapback]

They have 600hp Tiburon's in Korea, but they tend to bring about a few questions like WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MODIFYING A TIBURON!? and WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

378487[/snapback]

In Korea, do as Koreans do. National pride I suppose.

[emajnthis]

Also in Korea Hyundai actually has a different standard of quality to their cars. Like a lot of their cars come AWD as opposed to FWD and a few models come turbo AWD.

I drove a third gen tiburon when they first came out and it was the most uncomfortable car inside. My elbows rubbed up against the doors and no matter what i did to the seat my legs always felt so awkward. It's actually pretty zippy, so people turbo or more especially supercharging them is not uncommon, but at the same time the interior is made of horribly cheap plastic and the GT model can only be bought with a sunroof.

[Seven]

Its not so surprising IMO when you see any car with 400 hp given today's technology with forced induction and ECUs. Anyone can pretty much build anything up to those levels when talking about most 4 cylinders given they use the right parts and tune it correctly.

[pfunk]

Its not so surprising IMO when you see any car with 400 hp given today's technology with forced induction and ECUs.  Anyone can pretty much build anything up to those levels when talking about most 4 cylinders given they use the right parts and tune it correctly.

378594[/snapback]

theyve been doing it for years without ECU's, turbos have been around since the early 1900's getting higher HP numbers from small displacement engines, Superchargers or roots type blowers have been around a long time too, but mostly on diesels. Keep in mind, the only thing an ecu does is manage the fuel curve, timing, and boost (if it exhists) though various inputs. The big gains in small displacement and high horsepower are from developments in metal forming/machining technology of alloys allowing for higher preasures within the engine without letting the preasure blow by or break something, so think of it as a stronger base to build from ussually only for racing, but with lowwer costs associated to material and processes allow the same technology to the production engines (example the northstar racing engine runs down the same assembly line as the production models)

[Lightning]

bsu's got a Tib, he'll be sorta interested in it.

[emajnthis]

Turbo charging was actually a fortunate accident (like most modern technology) and if i remember correctly were first properly introduced on boats, and then applied to airplane motors. Even back in 1930's companies like Auto Union (now Audi) and Mercedes were pulling 600+hp for their Silver Arrow races. Using twin supercharged V12's and Turbocharged midmount inline Sixes.

Edited March 9, 2006 by emajnthis

[Beltane70]

They have 600hp Tiburon's in Korea, but they tend to bring about a few questions like WHY THE HELL ARE YOU MODIFYING A TIBURON!? and WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?

I ask this question to a friend of mine who supercharged his '03 Tiburon GT all the time. The thing that I think is the worst part about it is that lazy bastard has an automatic Tiburon. Maybe it's just me, but I think any car that's supposed to be a "sports" car should be manual.

[yellowlightman]

I ask this question to a friend of mine who supercharged his '03 Tiburon GT all the time. The thing that I think is the worst part about it is that lazy bastard has an automatic Tiburon. Maybe it's just me, but I think any car that's supposed to be a "sports" car should be manual.

378707[/snapback]

Manual and NOT FWD is generally a good place to start for a sports car.

[areaseven]

Three years ago, I was considering a Tiburon as my next car. However, when I checked out NewTiburon.com, I read numerous complaints on the overall quality, namely these problems:

1. Clutch on the 6MT gets fried even under normal driving conditions.

2. Car pulls to the right while driving on a straight line.

3. "Orange Peel" paint job.

4. Weak subwoofer.

For problems 1 and 3, owners supposedly were denied warranty coverage by Hyundai. Problem 2 was apparently unsolved, even after numerous suspension adjustments. Problem 4 was apparently caused by reverse wiring.

I don't know if KingNor had any problems with his Tiburon (other than someone "flattening" his hood). One of my friends owns a black '03 V6, and the driver's side window stopped working after two years.

But like yellowlightman said, the best sports cars are RWD with manual transmissions.

[areaseven]

Everything you needed to know about the 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse

[Rocket Punch]

Never cared much for Mistsubishi cars and was turned off even more when they admitted covering up defects for 25 years.

I will say, however, that the EVO MR is one hell of a car.

[Stamen0083]

And the Mitsubishi Concept X sure is a stunning looking machine.

[pfunk]

every Mitsu story Ive ran across was bad, even the Chryster ones with the Mitsu engines

[emajnthis]

Looking at Mitsubishi's history, their only successful cars (that didn't blow up in one form or another) were the FTO (which never made it to America) and the EVO's (which we only got in the last few years) and even that is stretching it because the EVO 7 was a heavy piece of crap, that just loved to shoot rods through the block. Honestly i'm a little bit skeptical of Mitsu building an all aluminum chain driven turbo motor since this would be their first attempt at all aluminum and chain driven Inline 4. It took them how long to just get the 4G63 to not blow up? 20+ years? That's just a bit ridiculous to me.

[areaseven]

[yellowlightman]

Hopefully that's true, because if it is it's a sign Toyota's returning to it's roots of kicking ass and taking names.

[reddsun1]

"...if what we're discovering about the future Toyota 2-seater is true, then the Supra is poised to displace the Nissan 350-Z as Japan's most popular sports car."

Hmm, it seems to bear a vague similarity to the 350-Z itself--that, and the Infiniti G35. Looks a little like they were blended in Photoshop or something and, voila! The new Toyota Supra! Oh well, at least they're trying...

[reddsun1]

Touted as "the greatest street machine ever" in Popular HotRodding magazine, this custom 'Cuda touts loads of technological and craftmanship ingenuities.

"When the vast majority of enthusiasts and industry experts unanimously agree that the G-Force 'Cuda is the best musclecar ever built, it must pack some serious talent. Indeed, the car's technical highlights transcend all the implicit barriers foisted upon streetcars. An all-aluminum 572ci Hemi spits out 870 hp on pump gas. A custom tube-frame chassis anchors the all-aluminum C5 Corvette suspension into place. Out back is a six-speed C5 transaxle. Up front are 15-inch Red Devil titanium brakes with six-piston calipers. The front fenders, hood, and front and rear spoilers are custom molded out of carbon fiber. Curb weight is an anorexic 2,800 pounds--less than a new Chevy Cobalt. Typically, specs play a big part in how impressive a car is perceived to be, but in this case they're merely a list of nice parts. Let us explain. Yes, the specs are very impressive, but they tell nothing about their spatial orientation within the confines of the chassis, how they symbiotically interact to achieve a state of harmony and mechanical nirvana. The 535-pound elephant motor, for instance, is set way back in the chassis behind the front-axle centerline, yielding a front mid-engine layout. The rear-mounted gearbox is positioned so far forward that the front of the trans case is within an arm's-length of the driver seat. The benefit isn't only stellar weight distribution, but a polar moment of inertia a Ferrari engineer would sell his soul for."

I'm still undecided on the ultra-low "slammed" look myself. May be a bit too much for the overall look of the car. But I've always liked E-body Mopars. Still an impressive achievement in car building, by any standards....

[myk]

Ok, they can do the same to my '69 Charger next...

[Phyrox]

No sir. With that ultra slammed body it looks like a joke. And I do so like the E-bodies usually.

And that supra looks like a knock-off. Combine equal parts rx-8 and 350z, add a toyota badge and voila.

edit - myk: what color and engine is your charger? I only saw one in my years in SD. White. No callouts, so I assumed 383 or similar...saw it around Golden Triange area a few times between '96 - '02

Edited March 12, 2006 by Phyrox

[Seven]

You guys shouldn't get so far ahead with your comments on the concept Supra drawing that Best Car did. Its not like Toyota created that image, Best Car is a Japanese mag that regularly makes images like this based on rumors and little else. The real time to start commenting on Toyota's success or failure would be when Toyota puts a concept out at a Auto Show or they release photos themselves. The article even has a little text next to it that credits Best Car with the illustration.

Edited March 12, 2006 by Seven