I did it again!
- Thread starter 6speed
- Start date
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
kinda sorry to hear mike...was looking forward to your exp and what i might do in the future....maybe the spark will happen after the fmII install?
The Hydra solved any driveability problems I had, and the rear gear change mellowed it out perfectly.
kinda sorry to hear mike...was looking forward to your exp and what i might do in the future....maybe the spark will happen after the fmII install?
That's the problem Mahk. I keep expecting that each change will produce a change emotionally, but I still feel the same about it as the day I bought it. Fun, enjoyable, but if it was wrecked tomorrow I wouldn't feel any regret, I wouldn't miss it. I'd just collect the money and go looking for something else.
I have always enjoyed lower powered cars anyway, so I really have trouble believing that adding even more power on top of an already quick car is going to make me like it any more. I find that what I'm missing the most is the responsiveness and simplicity of N/A. As one friend says: "What you want is a car that doesn't exist. A modern sub 2,700lb ~200whp rotary"
With the money I've spent modding the MSM, I could be most of the way through a Renesis powered Exocet. Maybe it's time I just get whatever commuter car works and start really pursuing that?
I'm probably going to test drive a BRZ, an NC2, and a C6 vette (used) within the next few weeks. They all roughly fit the paper specs of what I'd want. I don't think any of them will have what my heart is looking for though, so it's mostly just to rule them out.
I may still keep the MSM. The ugly question has just reared it's head again and I've gotta figure out the answer.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
i hear you mike...cars are so personal and what i like the next guy could care less. interesting about the "simplicity"...i was thinking the other day about maybe in the the next few yrs getting a nice clean miata with a RHT, something robin will enjoy with me, the noise of the msm isn't for her...i/d then use the msm as a track car only...i've been invited to do some track days at loudon a few times now and i'd really like to get into that, some day...good luck with whatever you decide!
Well, it's in progress.
Have a buyer for the R-S3s, the FM O2 mod, and the Hydra. Hydra will be coming out next weekend. Contemplating reverting back to the stock radiator and fans as well, as I'm not getting a buyer for those, and I know I could sell the Crossflow and fan pack. Largely not going to see any money back from the rear gear, clutch, or flywheel, but meh. I don't regret any of it. I was trying to make the car into something I loved, and it's not working. Largely my only objective now is to see how much I can recover of what I spent to put toward another car.
Almost certainly is going to be a cheap cash bought 1st or 2nd gen RX-7. Gets me back into a rotary and I can sock away my current car payment for a while to build up cash until I find something else I want. All indications are pointing toward buying an FD. It's probably the closest to what really speaks to me.
In the hunt, I will be test driving:
- FD
- C5 Corvette
- New BRZ
- early 2000s Boxster S
- S2000
Any other lightweight (under 3,000lbs, preferrably more) RWD, well handling car is viable if anyone has any suggestions I might be overlooking. Target price range is around $15,000 used, $25,000 new. I fully expect that any piston engine'd car isn't going to be a good fit, and the test drives of those are largely just to confirm my suspicion. Reliability and gas mileage are pretty much a non-issue now. I just want to love what I drive, and I want that smile on my face every time I do. I want to be able to wind out the engine without cringing, to play music with my right foot on demand. I don't think a non-rotary is going to do that.
Have a buyer for the R-S3s, the FM O2 mod, and the Hydra. Hydra will be coming out next weekend. Contemplating reverting back to the stock radiator and fans as well, as I'm not getting a buyer for those, and I know I could sell the Crossflow and fan pack. Largely not going to see any money back from the rear gear, clutch, or flywheel, but meh. I don't regret any of it. I was trying to make the car into something I loved, and it's not working. Largely my only objective now is to see how much I can recover of what I spent to put toward another car.
Almost certainly is going to be a cheap cash bought 1st or 2nd gen RX-7. Gets me back into a rotary and I can sock away my current car payment for a while to build up cash until I find something else I want. All indications are pointing toward buying an FD. It's probably the closest to what really speaks to me.
In the hunt, I will be test driving:
- FD
- C5 Corvette
- New BRZ
- early 2000s Boxster S
- S2000
Any other lightweight (under 3,000lbs, preferrably more) RWD, well handling car is viable if anyone has any suggestions I might be overlooking. Target price range is around $15,000 used, $25,000 new. I fully expect that any piston engine'd car isn't going to be a good fit, and the test drives of those are largely just to confirm my suspicion. Reliability and gas mileage are pretty much a non-issue now. I just want to love what I drive, and I want that smile on my face every time I do. I want to be able to wind out the engine without cringing, to play music with my right foot on demand. I don't think a non-rotary is going to do that.
Lots of test drives this week, but this coming weekend I will be test driving an FD that I'm pretty sure will take the cake. 2 FDs in range are viable, but the one this weekend is the color I want, the price I want, meticulously maintained and upgraded sensibly by a guy that also has a 2nd FD, although that one is LS1 swapped. Selling both FDs due to adding a 3rd kid to the family.
It's pretty perfect. I may not be able to wait till my MSM sells to buy it.
It's pretty perfect. I may not be able to wait till my MSM sells to buy it.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
decisions, decisions!
Just got home after test driving that FD. Pulls REALLY hard, and everything is well set up but.... no. It just isn't going to work for me. Call me stupid, crazy, whatever, but that turbo killed everything I love about the rotary engine. Under 3k it's predictably gutless, spool up happens over 1,500 or so, and the power just keeps building. But there is no in between. If you aren't in boost, it's gutless, if you are in boost, it's really fast. And I don't mean "RX-8 gutless", I mean "my wife's Mazda2 gutless". Seriously it feels like off boost it's got less than 80wtq, and it was very unresponsive to part throttle adjustments.
I'm going to drive another one later in the week with the stock twins at a lower overall power level, and see how that is.
I'm going to drive another one later in the week with the stock twins at a lower overall power level, and see how that is.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
mike, did you remove your ac compressor? if not, did you ever run the AC? if so, do you remember you water temps? i was running 216 yesterday and it was about 90 ambient...i thought that was high, and most people will tell you with the ac running/both fans, you'd get extra cooling? my understanding is both fans will come on ac or not if it gets hot enough...thoughts?
AC is still in, I have had it full blast for several days now, high 90s ambient. Water temps while cruising sit at ~190F, when at low speed only up to 205. With the Hydra to control fan trigger points, the Crossflow, and the SPAL fans, this is understandably different than yours. The "extra cooling" is due to the stock ECU not triggering the AC fan for water cooling unless the temps get really high (or maybe not even then?), so turning on the AC kicks on the AC fan, and with both of them you will generally run cooler. However, the AC condenser actively shedding heat from your AC system will reduce the effectiveness of your radiator, so if that reduction puts it too low for the temps and your cooling system health, then you are better off turning the heat to full blast and pointing the vents out the window.
Well, one more test drive done, Boxster S.
This one was a 2003 (258hp 3.2L flat 6, 2900lbs), and my only real dislike was the clutch, which was INSANELY heavy. Poking around, it appears that this is common with the Boxsters just prior to release bearing failure. Another symptom was the really high clutch engagement point. The clutch should be smooth and reasonable, so I figure that one is about to explode. That particular car is out (my wife would have killed me on the color anyway). The transmission itself wasn't anything to write home about, but adequate. I found that I liked the engine more than I expected. It's smooth, revs out easily, has a nice idle note, quiet during cruise, and growling up toward a wail when on the loud pedal. Suspension was very good, handling as expected and reviewed.
The engine is off the negative list, but the maintenance and repair costs remains. Fortunately, I live around the corner from one of the major Porsche race shops on the east coast, i think the biggest in the northeast. They do a lot of GT3 Cup engine builds, full tube frame cars, etc... So they could probably handle any issues that would come up (albeit, for a rather high cost)
It remains on my list.
This one was a 2003 (258hp 3.2L flat 6, 2900lbs), and my only real dislike was the clutch, which was INSANELY heavy. Poking around, it appears that this is common with the Boxsters just prior to release bearing failure. Another symptom was the really high clutch engagement point. The clutch should be smooth and reasonable, so I figure that one is about to explode. That particular car is out (my wife would have killed me on the color anyway). The transmission itself wasn't anything to write home about, but adequate. I found that I liked the engine more than I expected. It's smooth, revs out easily, has a nice idle note, quiet during cruise, and growling up toward a wail when on the loud pedal. Suspension was very good, handling as expected and reviewed.
The engine is off the negative list, but the maintenance and repair costs remains. Fortunately, I live around the corner from one of the major Porsche race shops on the east coast, i think the biggest in the northeast. They do a lot of GT3 Cup engine builds, full tube frame cars, etc... So they could probably handle any issues that would come up (albeit, for a rather high cost)
It remains on my list.
Perro del Sol
Member
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- 2003 MSP, Spicy Orange, 2004 Mazda 6 Hatch, 2004 Mazda 6 Wagon
Mike, look for a C5 Vette, that is your best bet IMHO.
Yup, that's on my list too. Haven't found a manual transmission on within reasonable driving distance yet. I had found 3, but they were all sold on the same day, which was the day before I found them. Might take me a few weeks till I can drive down to MD and be awash in them.
No, I had a shop pull the diff, do the gear exchange, and reinstall. Cost me ~$550 in labor total for that. I expect to lose all of that, but I'm ok with it. If there was someone that would pay me cash and at least help with the labor I'd consider swapping diffs, but that's the only option I'd consider. It's just not worth trying to pull the drivetrain. I got an offer for my clutch and flywheel even, but same deal. No replacement parts and zero desire to pull the transmission to get to them even if so, and paying someone else to do it just makes the money disappear with the only change being time wasted.
I've got buyers committed on most of the parts I hadn't installed, some I did that I could remove. $5,600 in pending transactions so far, though I don't have much left. When it's all done, I will probably get back close to 75% of what I put into it, and that's pretty good considering the average mod depreciation. Starting with the best stuff helps though, and the used stuff hasn't been on all that long anyway. I don't regret any of the money I will not see again. Pretty much the only opinion on how much I can get back is just how it will impact how much I can put down on whatever car I end up with. I tried to make it into a car I loved, and it didn't work. No regrets.
I've got buyers committed on most of the parts I hadn't installed, some I did that I could remove. $5,600 in pending transactions so far, though I don't have much left. When it's all done, I will probably get back close to 75% of what I put into it, and that's pretty good considering the average mod depreciation. Starting with the best stuff helps though, and the used stuff hasn't been on all that long anyway. I don't regret any of the money I will not see again. Pretty much the only opinion on how much I can get back is just how it will impact how much I can put down on whatever car I end up with. I tried to make it into a car I loved, and it didn't work. No regrets.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
For reference, here is the work load required for pulling a diff: Pull the under body bracing, the driveshaft, the PPF, both rear calipers, lower control arm bolts at the hubs, axles, and then the diff.
It's largely going to be at best difficult without a lift, not to mention doing it to 2 cars at the same time.
I had an unexpected call this morning. I test drove an S2000, AP2 at a dealership last night, a large Acura dealer not a rinky dink lot, and had one of the worst dealership experiences I have ever had. Granted, part of it was the set up where I got an email and a phone call indicating that I could test drive a 2009 RX-8 and an S2000 without a problem and the dealer advertises that they specialize in sports cars and sports sedans. However, when I got there, I practically had to argue the salesman into a test drive of the S2000, and he danced around doing everything he could to refuse me a test drive in the series 2 RX-8, and basically pushed me out the door.
The general manager called me this morning genuinely hurt by what happened. I was expecting a call from a businessman that pushes volume, not what I got, which was a call from a fellow enthusiast that knows far too much about the enthusiast community to be faking it. So he is getting me back in, said I will skip the salesman and deal directly with him, and he will just hand me whatever keys I want to test drive what I want. Furthermore, we went down my list of cars and he is getting an R3 RX-8 in on Tuesday, just got in 2 BRZs, might be able to get in a C5 by Tuesday, and suggested adding a 370Z, 370Z Nismo, and 135i, to the list, all of which he has and will give me the keys to test.
He is also interested in my MSM, though he agreed that he probably can't give me as much as I want for it (he said $11k is probably doable). But, with the 7% tax on the difference for a trade in, it just might be viable, as it's only a $2k cut in my down payment amount.
We will see. I think I may pull the Hydra, injectors, and try to pull the radiator later tonight, in case I go down there Saturday and he wants to test mine for an offer he will be able to test what I'd be selling.
It's largely going to be at best difficult without a lift, not to mention doing it to 2 cars at the same time.
I had an unexpected call this morning. I test drove an S2000, AP2 at a dealership last night, a large Acura dealer not a rinky dink lot, and had one of the worst dealership experiences I have ever had. Granted, part of it was the set up where I got an email and a phone call indicating that I could test drive a 2009 RX-8 and an S2000 without a problem and the dealer advertises that they specialize in sports cars and sports sedans. However, when I got there, I practically had to argue the salesman into a test drive of the S2000, and he danced around doing everything he could to refuse me a test drive in the series 2 RX-8, and basically pushed me out the door.
The general manager called me this morning genuinely hurt by what happened. I was expecting a call from a businessman that pushes volume, not what I got, which was a call from a fellow enthusiast that knows far too much about the enthusiast community to be faking it. So he is getting me back in, said I will skip the salesman and deal directly with him, and he will just hand me whatever keys I want to test drive what I want. Furthermore, we went down my list of cars and he is getting an R3 RX-8 in on Tuesday, just got in 2 BRZs, might be able to get in a C5 by Tuesday, and suggested adding a 370Z, 370Z Nismo, and 135i, to the list, all of which he has and will give me the keys to test.
He is also interested in my MSM, though he agreed that he probably can't give me as much as I want for it (he said $11k is probably doable). But, with the 7% tax on the difference for a trade in, it just might be viable, as it's only a $2k cut in my down payment amount.
We will see. I think I may pull the Hydra, injectors, and try to pull the radiator later tonight, in case I go down there Saturday and he wants to test mine for an offer he will be able to test what I'd be selling.
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- 92 & 16 Meyatas
ya, prob not a real possibility without the garage and two lifts...good luck as the search continues!! you have me on brain overload!! haha!
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- 2016 GT ST 47A
Bummer man but wish you luck in your search for a replacement. I'm with Mark...brain is a bit frazzled. lol
Kudos to the GM for giving you a call back and being genuine in trying to help you out. Sounds advantageous as you can now test cars, as long as they have them, on the list without the hassle of driving all over.
Kudos to the GM for giving you a call back and being genuine in trying to help you out. Sounds advantageous as you can now test cars, as long as they have them, on the list without the hassle of driving all over.
