My New Toy

[weston 0]

As I'm sure many of you have come to realize over the past few years, I'm a bit of a car guy. I love everything automotive. As I'm also sure many of you knew, I used to drive an '04 mustang GT. Key words there are 'used to'. That is, a few days ago, I picked up this bad boy:

 

1998 Trans Am WS-6, 90k miles, flowmaster exhaust, t-tops, 6-speed, etc. Excellent condition given the year and miles, though the clutch feels a bit 'off'. Not sure if it's just me getting used to it or something is wrong, but so far it shifts fine and sounds great. New exhaust and wheels soon hopefully (after my bank account recovers a bit), followed by headers and an LS6 intake. First and foremost though, an extensive detail job. Stupid black. Anyway, on with the pics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excuse the shitty pictures, i'm clearly no photographer. Last one is off my cell.

 

This thing is a beast. It's a mustang-eater for sure. I'm in love, at the price of $200 a month for the next 3 years :P

 

 

Anyway, I know there was a thread like this awhile ago, but I'm too lazy to search. What does everybody else here drive?

[Mehman 0]

Yay, I'm not alone!

 

Well, this is my ride:

 

 

A 1999 528i, with a few optional extras such as xenon headlights, rain sensor, leather(oh god it gets hot in the summer!), and some other bits and pieces. It's not really awsomely fast, but it's faster than 75% of the things on the road here, but still, I'd prefer 100 horses more. Mods planned? None! I think it's brilliant as it is right now. It's comfy, it's quiet. It's comfy. I drove a lowered, stiff e39 with some 18 inch wheels on it and it was just dissapointing. It wasn't back breaking, but enough to make want to keep my standard wheels. It's a wonderful thing to drive though, once you get it stiff and lowered it's like on rails. Anyho. Well, there are some mods planned, in the interior. First off, better seats, electric and supportive. After that I am out of ideas, but self dimming mirrors, double glazing(makes it even more quiet) and maybe 16:9 navigation.

 

If you put chrome wheels on that transam I will hate you. Also, 320 bhp and it's a 5.7L? Does it have 2 valves per cylinder by any chance? Also, supercharge it. There MUST be a readily available supercharger kit around.

[killakanz 0]

$200 per month? That's all it's costing you?

 

What's the insurance on that for a guy of your age? Through the roof I'd imagine. Do you yanks have road tax? How much fuel does it drink up?

 

Anyways, I'm still between cars right now. I'm fairly sure my next car will be one of these:

 

Small, nippy, cheap to insure and tax, good MPG would suit me down to the ground. Have already test driven a few and love them.

[Comrade Raptorkov 0]

Heres my car

 

I decided to do a barrel roll, but it didn't work as good as I hoped. Still landed on my wheels though.

[weston 0]

$200 per month? That's all it's costing you?

 

What's the insurance on that for a guy of your age? Through the roof I'd imagine. Do you yanks have road tax? How much fuel does it drink up?

 

Anyways, I'm still between cars right now. I'm fairly sure my next car will be one of these:

 

Small, nippy, cheap to insure and tax, good MPG would suit me down to the ground. Have already test driven a few and love them.

 

Yeah, the car was only $7.8k, and I put alittle over a grand down. My final loan amount was like $6142 or something. Insurance isn't even that bad, quite honestly. I'm 19, and only have 2 speeding tickets, which isn't enough to bump my rates, plus the car is 12 years old, which is the main reducer. Fuel wise, it takes 91 octane (which isn't exactly cheap) and I can get around 18 in the city and 25 on the highway driving conservatively with a 1-4-5-6 shift pattern.

 

If you put chrome wheels on that transam I will hate you. Also, 320 bhp and it's a 5.7L? Does it have 2 valves per cylinder by any chance? Also, supercharge it. There MUST be a readily available supercharger kit around.

 

The stock wheels are actually chrome, but I think I understand what you're saying. I fucking hate those ghetto cruisers that put beat to shit cadillacs on ugly as hell, 24" wheels and call it gangster. But yes, 320 hp with the 5.7l LS1. The motor is actually a detuned Corvette motor, so it's extremely easy and rather inexpensive to mod. An LS6 intake manifold, a new cam, long tube headers and the right exhaust will see you pretty close to 400hp. Supercharger wise, the stock internals will take up to 9-ish PSI before needing modification or an intercooler, so that plus the H/C/I/E would see that motor at 500-ish horsepower. Thats about 5g in work to see that power, but considering what it costs to add 200hp to some other cars, five thousand is a drop in the bucket.

 

Also, Mehman, I love the bimmer =D

 

Killa, As much as i like to hate your little euro hatches, I actually really like that one :P

 

Rap, you're an idiot. You're the reason why auto insurance is so damned expensive. I've had fast cars all my life, and have yet to be in even a minor accident. You can't even handle a Lumina? Regardless, glad you're ok.

[killakanz 0]

Insurance isn't even that bad, quite honestly. I'm 19, and only have 2 speeding tickets, which isn't enough to bump my rates, plus the car is 12 years old, which is the main reducer.

 

It is in this country. A 19 year old with 2 speeding tickets in a V8 car? Insurance will be more than the car cost. It's the reason you don't see many teenagers with V8s here.

It's just not fair. And even if you were fortunate enough to afford to run it legally at that age, the Police would be stopping you around every corner for "random doc checks" because they know the average kid would never afford it.

[Comrade Raptorkov 0]

I didnt do it on purpose, I surved to avoid a deer and the car rolled

[Mehman 0]

The stock wheels are actually chrome, but I think I understand what you're saying. I fucking hate those ghetto cruisers that put beat to shit cadillacs on ugly as hell, 24" wheels and call it gangster. But yes, 320 hp with the 5.7l LS1. The motor is actually a detuned Corvette motor, so it's extremely easy and rather inexpensive to mod. An LS6 intake manifold, a new cam, long tube headers and the right exhaust will see you pretty close to 400hp. Supercharger wise, the stock internals will take up to 9-ish PSI before needing modification or an intercooler, so that plus the H/C/I/E would see that motor at 500-ish horsepower. Thats about 5g in work to see that power, but considering what it costs to add 200hp to some other cars, five thousand is a drop in the bucket.

 

Just avoid shiny 22s or spinners. Shiny chrome wheels are just awful.

400 with just that? Did anybody dyno it before and after?

Also, it's exhaust manifold, not headers :P

In any case, supercharge it! I just love the sound of superchargers! And I think it'll fit a chevy 5.7 much better than a turbo, at least in my mind I believe it's a slow reving muscle car so a supercharger would fit it better.

Question, how well it does it handle corners?

[killakanz 0]

Question, how well it does it handle corners?

 

Well, it's American, therefor it doesn't :P

[weston 0]

Question, how well it does it handle corners?

 

Well, it's American, therefor it doesn't :P

 

This is true, though the WS-6 package adds a stiffer suspension and lower ride, so it CAN handle corners better than say a mustang (nix Cobra, because those have IRS), but compared to something like a Lotus or Miata, its definitely a straight-line car.

 

 

And Mehman, as far as I know:

 

These are headers (aka longtubes):

 

 

 

This is a manifold:

 

 

I was always told the difference between an exhaust manifold and exhaust headers was that with headers, all the tubes come together at the very end, while with a manifold they come into the pipe gradually, as shown above. I'm not sure what the performance differences are, I just know LS1's with flowmasters and longtubes sound nasty.

 

In terms of the Superchager, thats pretty much my only option. There is absolutely ZERO room in that engine bay, which would be a huge pain to move everything around. It'd be worlds easier to just get a bigger hood and throw the super on top. Plus I'd rather have that instant power without the turbo lag.

Edited May 27, 2010 by weston

[Mehman 0]

I was always told the difference between an exhaust manifold and exhaust headers was that with headers, all the tubes come together at the very end, while with a manifold they come into the pipe gradually, as shown above. I'm not sure what the performance differences are, I just know LS1's with flowmasters and longtubes sound nasty.

 

In terms of the Superchager, thats pretty much my only option. There is absolutely ZERO room in that engine bay, which would be a huge pain to move everything around. It'd be worlds easier to just get a bigger hood and throw the super on top. Plus I'd rather have that instant power without the turbo lag.

 

Get a 2006 Stage 3 Roush Mustang one day. Oh I want one. If only. I was drooling over a Saleen Mustang this one time and at the same time the owner came round to get on his way and god it sounded awsome.

 

Manifold=header. It's just a yank way of saying it. The cast iron manifolds are awful for preformance. The biggest difference between the cast one and the preformance one is that the preformance one has an even diameter all around and all the pipes are of equal length to the collector. Observe attachment(sexy bmw's V10 lump). The gas flows out evenly and faster.

 

Yeah, I suppose the supercharger is the most sensible option, I imagine the engine isn't that lively? Turbos have come a long way with variable geometry which almost eliminates turbo lag. It's quite impressive, I've only had a chance to test it on diesel engines, but even there the results are amazing. My mates 2.5 tdi audi uses an old school turbo and that engine is a piece of shit. His sister's Alfa Romeo uses a 2.4 jtd engne, with a variable geometry turbo and god that thing flies. I mean, it's incredibly good for a diesel. Almost no lag at all, I mean the tiniest gap. Still though, the supercharger works at all revs, but it does sap some of the power, taking with it a bit of the potential. But they sound awsome! Turbos on the other hand, don't sap preformance. But... you know the story. Every way has it's pluses and minuses.

[weston 0]

It's actually pretty lively, you can definitely feel the 345ftlbs of torque, plus with the six speed first gear is extremely short. I can hit 60mph about 2/3rds the way through 2nd.

[Korona 0]

Sweet car man but 2 tickets in a couple of years? That's kind of bad! If you were a new (sub 2 years) driver and you got those you'd probably loose your licence in the UK.

So yeah enjoy it but keep safe!

[Rattuskid 0]

And another topic why the UK is a police state. Still better than German I'd imagine.

 

I just drive a shitty focus.

[weston 0]

You lose your license if you get three in one year. I got one 6 months after my 16th birthday, and one last summer in my parents minivan (>.>). Despite the cars I have, I'm actually a pretty conservative driver. Its just the times I do decide to get on it, a cop is around. Luckily all (except for two, obviously) are fans of what I'm driving, and we end up shootin the shit about cars for awhile :P

[killakanz 0]

Sweet car man but 2 tickets in a couple of years? That's kind of bad! If you were a new (sub 2 years) driver and you got those you'd probably loose your licence in the UK.

So yeah enjoy it but keep safe!

 

There's no 'probably' about that. Get 6 points in your first two years (3 points per speeding conviction) and say bye bye to your license. I was half way there...

 

I tend to keep my crazy driving to the race tracks. Karting days are very cheap, but if I wanna drive a car Castle Coombe track days are relatively cheap compared to getting your license back. Thruxton do them too.

[Mehman 0]

When did britain turn this shitty?

 

Anyway, more about the greasy stuff. This is what I was doing last weekend:

 

 

 

Diesel. BAH.

 

This is what a fuel filter looks like on the inside:

 

 

 

There are an awful lot of filters made out of paper on cars.

 

[IconOfEvi 0]

I still only have my feet :(

[Korona 0]

I think the US varies a great deal on how strict they are with speeders. I know you can loose your licence for one infraction. The strict laws for the UK cover new drivers (your points capacity is halved for the first two years). These guys cause the most accidents so the law is pretty strict to try and galvanise their minds a bit. Dunno how well it works. I passed my test and then didn't get a car for about 2 years so I wasn't really affected :lol:

 

I just got the Haynes manual for my 206 to find out how to replace the side wings (I dented it) only to find that it was welded on and needs a body shop. Arg! I think I will try and fix it by hand. Dunno how well it will work but it's better than leaving it. It's not like I can make it much worse tbh.

[Rattuskid 0]

My bud has a welder. America: land of do-it-yourselfers.

[Mehman 0]

My bud has a welder. America: land of do-it-yourselfers.

 

I like that. I mean, I'm trying to find people who fix their own beemers here and it's almost unheard of. It's either: leave it alone, or pay to get it done. 3/4 of the repairs are dead easy, just time consuming. I like doing it myself, gives me a sense of achievement because I've fixed something. Unless I break something.

[weston 0]

My bud has a welder. America: land of do-it-yourselfers.

 

 

Amen to that. A buddy of mine has an old Nissan (Datsun) 260z that we're (as in: me, him, my dad, and another buddy of mine) in the process of doing a Camaro/Trans Am LS1 engine swap in. Should be pretty gnar when done.

[IconOfEvi 0]

My bud has a welder. America: land of do-it-yourselfers.

 

I would like to weld, I'm never any good at it though :(. Well the super hot ones anyways that use the rod to contact with the welder...I get it stuck mostly. I can do plumbing/pipe welding though.

 

Also, from a friend of mine who was a welder for his career, he told me after welding all day, even with that helmet, his eyes would feel like shit and burned. He figured a solution where after doing his work, chop a potato, put two slices over the eyes, and then cover your eye area with a wet cloth and take a nap - it would not only make it feel fresh when he woke up, but the potatoes would be black from drawing out toxins.

 

The moar you know

Edited June 1, 2010 by IconOfEvi

[Korona 0]

"Toxins" lol sounds very "new age" :P

 

I'll take some photos when I'm done, I think a glue based method should be okay.

[Mehman 0]

glue based methods? Nah. In any case, body work is quite difficult and needs a ton of patience and expirence. A bit too much and it's a whole world of trouble. If I were you, I'd try and get a whole wing from a scrappy or something.