Is anyone else disappointed in their car? (Long story)

[Nliiitend1]

I also bought a cheap, carb'd motorcycle (2000 SV650). It is a whole new challenge, fast, and easy to work on/mod. I'm hoping it will satisfy the modding urge. I have two friends that ride SV's and both have turbo'd Miatas that they autocross, and they both prefer modding and riding the SV's to modding and driving the cars. Food for thought.

...and my brother actually just picked up an '01 SV as well. Great bikes! (thumb)

 

[bacarl]

Haha, sweet Nliiitend! That's your bike right, not your brother's '01? Looks like a newer one with the fat radiator and flyscreen.

 

[AutoEuphoria]

Update:

I took some people's advice and took a few parts off the car (MAP clamp, MBC, and motor mount). Have to say the car actually put a smile on my face again. I could actually put my foot to the floor without it popping, stuttering, knocking, etc. Less power, but everything felt smoother. I can see why a tune would help so greatly with more power. Should have been obvious from the beginning (woops). Forgot how much vibration the motor mounts adds to normal driving, too. I mean, it worked great and stiffened things up just like it was supposed to, but after going back to the stock mount I am amazed at how much less vibration there is.

Thanks again for all the comments.

 

[8.5MS3]

good to hear, are you gonna keep it stock or start from scratch?

 

[08SPEED3Veteran]

i have several mods such as down pipe, TBE, CAI, BPV, TIP, FMIC, Motor and trans mounts, and the AP. I have other appearance stuff like wheels and tires, shifter bushings and stuff like that. I dont mind the stiffer bumpy ride because i dont drive over alot of roads like that here in PA. hell now that im going back to college i will be walkin my ass to class and only driving when i have to. with the MM my car does shake like a virgin orgasm alot of times and it does rattle like 50 year old aircraft carrier but other than that the only problem i have is that my car is very sluggish in higher gears and my boost is a tad higher than it should be but im told a good tune can even me out and fix the problems. I think a pro tune is the fix for a lot of problems we see on here. just an opinion.

 

[AutoEuphoria]

good to hear, are you gonna keep it stock or start from scratch?

So far I have the following still on the car:
- catless DP
- catless MP (thinking about replacing this with the stock unit)
- CPE CAI
- RKM BPV
- Hotchkis rear sway bar
- RPMC turbo inlet
- SU boost tubes

At this point I don't plan to do more power things...possibly an intercooler, but that would be after everything else

 

[pcpower]

sorry to threadjack, but since u are discussing negative things about the car, has anyone else noticed that the exhaust seems to be irregularly hot??? sure all exhaust from any car is going to be warm and polluting the air... But yesterday after maybe a 20 minute drive I was getting something from my trunk, with the car turned on and parked, and noticed the heat from the exhaust was ridiculous. literally I could have cooked marshmallows with it if not for the pollutant part. what do u think?

 

[Nliiitend1]

Haha, sweet Nliiitend! That's your bike right, not your brother's '01? Looks like a newer one with the fat radiator and flyscreen.

Yeah, mines an '06. Same basic bike but with slightly different frame geometry, fuel injection, and of course a less "curvy," more angular design.

Are you registered at SVRider.com?

 

[Sport6]

Update:

I took some people's advice and took a few parts off the car (MAP clamp, MBC, and motor mount). Have to say the car actually put a smile on my face again. I could actually put my foot to the floor without it popping, stuttering, knocking, etc. Less power, but everything felt smoother. I can see why a tune would help so greatly with more power. Should have been obvious from the beginning (woops). Forgot how much vibration the motor mounts adds to normal driving, too. I mean, it worked great and stiffened things up just like it was supposed to, but after going back to the stock mount I am amazed at how much less vibration there is.

Thanks again for all the comments.

I am doing this same thing, I am taking out the motor mount for the stock one just for the comfort. Though I did do the DIY fill your motor mount with epoxy to see if that works a bit better (than the stock) and offers the comfort as well.

 

[TheDoc]

sorry to threadjack, but since u are discussing negative things about the car, has anyone else noticed that the exhaust seems to be irregularly hot??? sure all exhaust from any car is going to be warm and polluting the air... But yesterday after maybe a 20 minute drive I was getting something from my trunk, with the car turned on and parked, and noticed the heat from the exhaust was ridiculous. literally I could have cooked marshmallows with it if not for the pollutant part. what do u think?

I think you drive a car that produces 1600-1800 degree exhaust gas...

 

[8.5MS3]

So far I have the following still on the car:
- catless DP
- catless MP (thinking about replacing this with the stock unit)
- CPE CAI
- RKM BPV
- Hotchkis rear sway bar
- RPMC turbo inlet
- SU boost tubes

At this point I don't plan to do more power things...possibly an intercooler, but that would be after everything else

with a good tune you could be at or near 300whp which will be plenty fast

 

[Darth Vader]

This is my weapon of choice to go really fast. No f-in carbs for me.

Mod-friendly is relative on these cars. Mod lightly and enjoy. Mod heavily and find your frustration increasing (not unique to this vehicle by any means). These cars are new to being modded and so, products will go through a development. There was a time when there were no hop up parts for Fords and we had to make our own out of other factory bits, hence, Clevor engines and such. Now, there's practically nothing you can't buy for a Windsor-engine Ford. It just takes time and volume (potential profit). This is still a small run car and that limits corporate enthusiasm for R&Ding expensive hop up parts, especially when the fart-can crowd will buy anything at any price for their beeeeelions of Civics and Integras.

 

[CWPspeed3]

Auto, glad you are happy with your car again, I know I started out fast and just wanted to do a bunch of mods, hit a snag and slowed down a bunch and just enjoying the car as it is now. I did some of the suspension upgrades and have more fun driving. which is tough in MI i know..

sorry to threadjack, but since u are discussing negative things about the car, has anyone else noticed that the exhaust seems to be irregularly hot??? sure all exhaust from any car is going to be warm and polluting the air... But yesterday after maybe a 20 minute drive I was getting something from my trunk, with the car turned on and parked, and noticed the heat from the exhaust was ridiculous. literally I could have cooked marshmallows with it if not for the pollutant part. what do u think?

These cars run very hot all around. the engine even after running for 20min will stay hot for hours, I still have the scar on my hand from the exhaust I didnt think would have been hot for only being on 5min (when new). Lesson learned with a visible reminder...

 

[cymx5]

Why not, oh I dunno, leave it stock or near-stock? Seems like a lot of us are satisfied.

I love this comment. It is precisely why I chose not to sell my car and get a Sedan or other daily driver. My pre-purchase research put the stock MS3 at an amazing value for the performance, fuel economy (cost to own beats many comparable vehicles that deliver this power), and storage capacity. I load my car down for a few big trips a year, and absolutely love that from the factory it can power down the highway without any hesitation.

IMO, rather than spending $3k in upgrades on the MS3, spend $3k and buy a Miata! (drive)

 

[Nuffflavor]

Wood trim?

Well, I did not touch it, but It looked like HIGH polished wood. Real? Not sure, did not ask... cause then I would have to hear a SALE's pitch! ;-)

 

[Wastegate13]

I learned my lesson about overly modding a car with my DSM. I went through so many parts combinations and setbacks with that car that I had absolutely no interest in going crazy with this car. I was actually pleased with the fact that there weren't a lot of parts available for the car when I first bought it. The majority of my mods are suspension and cosmetic. My car looks great, handles great, and it starts everytime I go to drive it. What more could you ask for?

 

[Saskatchewan17]

sorry to threadjack, but since u are discussing negative things about the car, has anyone else noticed that the exhaust seems to be irregularly hot??? sure all exhaust from any car is going to be warm and polluting the air... But yesterday after maybe a 20 minute drive I was getting something from my trunk, with the car turned on and parked, and noticed the heat from the exhaust was ridiculous. literally I could have cooked marshmallows with it if not for the pollutant part. what do u think?

You know that combustion involves gas explosions?

 

[pcpower]

Auto, glad you are happy with your car again, I know I started out fast and just wanted to do a bunch of mods, hit a snag and slowed down a bunch and just enjoying the car as it is now. I did some of the suspension upgrades and have more fun driving. which is tough in MI i know..



These cars run very hot all around. the engine even after running for 20min will stay hot for hours, I still have the scar on my hand from the exhaust I didnt think would have been hot for only being on 5min (when new). Lesson learned with a visible reminder...

youch,,

why do the cars run so hot.?.?

 

[AutoEuphoria]

Because fire is hot? Steel holds onto heat, so if you put a bunch of steel right next to a bunch of explosions it won't take long for that to build up (and store) a lot of heat. Combine that with the fact that there isn't a whole lot of airflow in that area of the engine bay and there is no place in the hood for the heat to escape and you can see why a lot of heat can get built up pretty quickly, and can stay around for quite a while.

 

[Huligan]

Science!