lagwagon

sorry I'm not sure what that means. So I lost some handleing w/o the bumper on the gravel. But the thing really rips through the corners with the lowered stance but I can still hit big dumps and not bottom out my car. It's seems to be a good rally set up. I test every change I make the same day so I have a good idea how it effects the performance on tarmac , gravel , dirt roads , and off road.

Yes you are correct on every observation. My goal is to make it run flat at any height. It really handles nice on the gravel with the back a little lower. That's how they run those Pre Runner Trucks. But I seem to lose traction on pavement in 2 wheels drive with that stance. Current stance 8 1/2 inches of clearence up front, 8" in the back For auto cross I want to run it lower over all and flat maybe a little lower in the front.I have front adjustable struts all the way down in pic 2 and all the way up in pic 1. I know I need to find level ground next time.Also pic 1 70 series tire pic 2 are 60's I removed the rear 31 lb bumper and now it's level and , funtionally lowered

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Picture #1 in origianl post "before" is with the rear adjustable struts all the way down. since my car weighs about 400 lbs less than stock it in effect makes my car ride higher.So that is why I did this mod. Buy gutting my car I have went from approx. 27 lbs per HP to 20 lbs per HP. In power to weight ratio that pretty good.I think I know you can use lowering springs but If the back end is too stiff it doesn't really help the suspentions performace when traction is low. If the back end is a lot stiffer than the front on a gravel road the back end just dances around and doesn't hold a good line. It is actually quite a funtional mod.I lowered my center of gravity and maintain travel in the rear suspention. Another bonus is. Since I now have access to the top of the strut you can adjust the strut on the car.

there is some info at autoxclub.org/ and goto - Guide, Catagory & Class , Solo II Rules. Here is a pic of the suby sliding by a cone. http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=07KK0007010018&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

gut your car. this will lift it relative to how much you remove. that is why I had to go to such extremes to lower it.I got some adjustable struts of an 86 GL. you can get about an inch and a quarter lift that way. for ?... how good are your barter skills. 20 or so bucks a strut is a good deal. I did an auto cross last week. and I think lowering my car will increase traction which is where my car needed help.http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=07KK0007010018&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1 I love to recreationally rally so I wanted to keep as much travel as possible. The suby won't domiante anything but, it is very well rounded. Note: gutting your car will completely change which scca class it runs in. stock or modified. If you want to race a certain class you need to get a rule book. I run unlimited because I don't care about winning I just like to drive fast.

I'm lookin to lower my center of gravity with out spendin any money and, this is what I came up with. I inverted the top mount of the rear strut. to do this you need to cut a hole in the top of your wheel well. For those of you who continued to read you also need to trim the big bushing on top so it will seats into the smaller cup of the top mount. reassemble strut. You can cut one loop off the spring to add to this lowering effect. if you trim any more, your spring could unseat when your suspention drops out . I think this mod droped my car about 2 to 2 1/2 inches. Cool thing about this lowering mod is... you still have good travel in the strut and, it doesn't feel too stiff like some lowerd vehicles. Note: My car is completely gutted in the rear. so this mod would really lower a car with a stock interior. pics = before, after, top mount, big hole in wheel well

Since it's a tower I was thinking I would offer the guy a deal as a parts car and, maybe try to register it mean while.

Sorry full time 4WD, It's low miles, really clean and straight.

So the GL turbo full time FWD that I drool over everyday as I drive to work I finally found out is abandoned. I talked to the guy who owens the lot and he said his last renter bailed and just left the car and the still owes money for rent. So the cars has no owner, no key, no title, and needs a new motor. I can deal with the new motor part. Is it a nightmare to try and register such a car. is it worth more than 300 bucks? Could this be a deal or a headacke ?

I got some smaller tires and it does help with the tight turns. I had 185/70/R13 on there but, yesterday I bought some 185/60/R13. They turn real nice. I no longer have power steering but it feels like I do again with these tires. The tires also lowered my gearing a little which is good for the auto cross. Lower profile for less tire roll and I don't have to run such a high psi. I haven't had a chance to weigh them yet but I bet I lost a pound per wheel. Rotational weight is the best place to lose weight. Now I'm working on the suspention to see if I can find the sweet spot. Lower but not too ridgid. I'm working on this mod now that lowers the back end about 2 inches but still has the same travel. I am documenting this mod. Last night I learned you don't have to remove the rear tire to remove the rear strut. Saves me some time when doing R&D.

Oh man, I love the sound of the boxer engine. I even turn off the stereo to listen to it purr. I especially like the sound of the turbo boxer with the right exhaust.

It's hard to find a spot where your wheels are pointed straight and your off the gas to make the 4WD disengage.Plus on mine it can take a second to click in and out, and every second counts. Also I ran the whole coures in second gear. I gased it and spun the tires a couple times around the spin cone. to give me a tighter turning radius, and I do that when I'm on dirt but it seem like a good way to break something on the tarmac. But if all I broke was an axle I think I wouldn't mind the risk. I was thinking it might strip some gears in the rear diff. and I would have to replace that. I was running 9 psi less in the rear tires to induce some oversteer. I'm going to try them all at the same psi to see if that will help. And maybe use a narrower tire than 185.

I did the local auto cross today in the loyale. I was actually very happy with the power it delivered, But I was spinning the tires a lot. So I tried 4wd for the fun runs. On dry pavement this is. I took 2 seconds off my time even though I had trouble with the turn cones ( 180 degree turns ) Is there any way to put more slip into ther system to make it do sharp turns better in 4WD ? Or what do you think I should do to make the front end hook up better in 2 wheel drive ?

I really like the styling of the 300zx.The only one in the 6K and under auto trader was slightly wrecked and was still $6000.I'll keep looking around. At the local auto cross I road in a very fast Miata. I don't know much about rotory motors but they seem to work well.I never had a convetable either . The styling is so so but, I'm definately function over fashion . Plus lots of AM parts. I checked out the online Auto trader. they have some good deals but ,I'm not sure about buying a car before I could drive it. I definately want to buy a car that has never been wrecked. The Talon,Eclips I know was made with Mitsubishi but,I just don't like America cars. Not that they are bad vehicles well, except for every one I have owned. I will proablely only buy a japanese or european car from now on. I would say I'm a handleing over horsepower kind of driver. I have always driven 4 cylinder cars nothing over 1.9L. None of them sport models. It's fun to drive crapy cars to thier limit but,I think I have developed my skills enough to move on to something more powerful. What about porsches ? Flat 4, rear engine, under $10K? are they a car you can work on? It seems like it might have a lot in common with Subarus. because of the AWD I bet I end up with a ...... Thanks for the input everyone.

I'm looking to spend between 6 to 10 grand on a used sports car. Right now I have a Loyale wagon so it will not be very hard to find something sportier. I have always loved the subys. I'm on my third one. My first choice is a RS 2.5 but that is at the top end of my budget maybe a little over. I have also been eyeing the Toyota MR2. They seem pretty sporty and are a lot cheeper than the RS. If anyone has driven both of these cars has some advice I would much appreciate it. Or maybe you could recomend something else. Thanks!

Off the wall idea here. I used oven cleaner with great results when cleaning the carbon build up on my valves. Do you think it would help as an oil additive to keep carbon from building up ? Or maybe spray some in there a day before you change your old oil. Or just play it safe and use Sea Foam.

If it's the thingy I'm thinking of it has a slot on one side. That's the cone shaped centering nut just after the washer that say's out on one side that is before the castle nut and coter pin. If you take a flat head screw driver and lightly tap it into the slot it expands that nut and, it will pop out like a spring. I know it sounds weird to hammwer something in to make it come out but it works easily not much force at all. Good luck

goo gone works well on adhesives. if your not worried about what's underneath. acetone will work well also. it's good to use on glass.

Yes, I have seen them. They use them in sand rails. I will dig through my old mags and see if I can find the ad. the mag was sand sport. mostly VW stuff but they are liking the water cooled suby motors now a days. I remember they had this V-8 twin turbo in a rail that cranked out 800 HP.

Is this what you are looking for ? it's for sale.

I saw this ford focus that was tricked out and, the instrument panel was a flat monitor. It looked super cool.

I have had great luck with Sea Foam penitraiting oil ( makes WD-40 look like water).Even parts that where so rusted on you could not even see the treads anymore. I have never not gotten a nut off ( I know ,double negative). Napa has the stuff. this situation maybe beyond oils but ya never know till ya try. After you let the oil sit on there for a while ( over night/a week ) and keep reappling . Do the same thing. Have someone stand( bounce a little )on the breaker bar extention and tap on the back of the socket with a mallet. Poor boys impact hammer. I put the wheel on the do this step. patientence helps a lot. If it doesn't go reply oil and try again. This technique has liberated many rusted on nut for me. I think you will be surprised by the Sea Foam. It's even a carb cleaner. Good Luck! I think the torch is okay to use also. All those parts are exposed to a lot of heat from the breaking system.

I see this red GL full time 4wd turbo sitting idle near where I work. I know It needs a new motor.I left a note to see if they want to sell it. It is an automatic tranny. If I got it I would want to switch it to manual. My question is... How does the full time 4wd work? Would I lose the full time 4wd if I switch trannys ? It seems weird that it's a turbo GL not a GL-10