I need aero and paint. Badly. Anyone has any suggestions, leave me a comment.
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New stuff!
NISMO GT LSD (2-way)
EXEDY Stage 1 clutch
(Fake) C-west front bumper. (To replace the one I killed)
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A while back, Dressup-Car magazine, from Japan, sent a camera crew to GMR. On that night, my car was photographed. The magazine is now out, and my car is featured!
Here's a translation:
"Will not be defeated by rain! Will not be defeated by fog!
We were impressed at the strength of the driver's will and his dedication! (when he continued to run in the horrible weather. I was one of very few who did)
But he should be careful, or he may catch a wall! (Translations on this varied, from saying he may get plastered on a well to saying he may get hooked. Catching a wall seemed like a good compromise.)"
The text on the picture, by the way, says Silvia. (Shi-ru-bi-a)
I'm getting a replacement for my bumper. It's only temporary, but I'll have it for a while. It's a copy of the C-West bumper. Only cost me 75 bucks, plus the cost of a few rattle cans to paint it.
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Should have mentioned this a while ago. My car's been through a lot in the past month or so.
It all started with a cruise down a canyon, about a month ago. I rounded a corner at 60 or so, and was faced with an impassable rock slide. The result of that was a bent core support, a smashed front bumper, and a pair of blown airbags.
A week or so after, my muffler broke off. Last I saw, it was in my trunk, and my car sounded insane. (essentially a 3" straight pipe, after all...)
The next week, I started hearing a clicking noise, almost a knocking. We checked the oil, and there was none in the car. Refilled it, and no luck. We took the motor to the shop, had it checked out, and it was toast.
So my car is currently down at Cartune, having a new motor put in. Nothing fancy, unfortunately, just a new(er) KA. It's a nice motor, at least. Came from a Kouki S14, less than 100k on it, and 175PSI all across. So, essentially, a new motor.
At the same time, I'm having my beat up old brakes replaced with a set of 300ZX turbo calipers, with Brembo rotors. Additionally, a few adjustable suspension pieces are going on the car, more to allow me to align the car so as to stop ruining tires than anything.
I've also picked up a few other items recently. One was a Schroth Profi III-FE ASM harness, replacing the crummy 2" Sparco I had in the car. The Schroth cost me $269, but it's well worth the price. This thing is top of the line. The only thing it lacks is an anti-sub belt, which I have no use for, due to my seat's design, but one can easily be added, as the camlock has a connection point for one.
I also picked up a Sparco 345 steering wheel with a Momo hub. (Couldn't get a Sparco one)
Also now in my inventory, although I won't really have it until christmas, is a Bell SR-Pro helmet.
I've made a large change in my driving philosophy. Rather than the Touge and drift orientation I'd been going for previously, I've decided that real motorsports are the place to be. So, once my car's back, I'll be attending regular autocross and track road racing events.
With this in mind, I've got a few near-future plans.
First of all, my smashed bumper needs replacement. I'm currently looking into bodykits, hoping to find something that will actually be functional. At the same time, it'll be time for new paint. I'm considering just getting a coat of Championship White or something similar.
Next will be a second set of wheels and tires, so I can go the track, run all day, and still have rubber to go home on.
After that will come a rollcage, or at least a bar. I'm thinking I don't need any more than a four-point, as the speeds will be relatively low, and as a full cage can actually be dangerous (and inconvenient) in street driving.
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Well, I've been running the touge a lot recently. I've been getting faster on GMR (if you don't know what it is, don't ask), 6:21 up and 6:23 down.
I hit the wall last night, though, I was running my fastest downhill ever and oversteered into the wall. (We have low cobblestone walls instead of guardrails) fortunately, I hit at a quite shallow angle, and managed to lose a lot of speed before hitting, so all I came out of it with was some curb rash on my front left rim. Even with that, I still only was 20 seconds behind my best run, so I'm thinking I probably would have come close to 6 minutes if I hadn't screwed up!
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Went out the other night, was doing some high speed canyon touring with a group, ended up spinning into the dirt on a notorious corner. In fact, one of the group I was driving with spun exactly the same way as I did!
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Tranny problems Continue. I guess my SR will be coming sooner than expected. Also got a K&N panel filter, not a big deal, but my power has increased slightly, and my sound has improved, and most importantly, my idle and startup problems have disappeared!
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New clutch installed. Turns out the tranny swap was botched, so I'm going to have to find a shop to fix it.
I took the car up to the hills last night, and met up with a couple friends and their cars, an S13 Silvia, S13 240 coupe, 180SX, and Sil-80. After getting some good runs in, we came to the base parking lot, threw out some cones, and added some tire marks to the huge number already covering the pavement. As teh sun started to rise, a pair of bats decided to come out, and seemed very interested in our cars. (Maybe the tire screeching had something to do with it?) Needless to say, we weren't very happy about the idea of bats in our cars, and subsequently had a hilarious time as the bats tried to fly through our midst. Hence, the new name, NO BATS!!!
When all was complete, we got together for a nice group photo. Here it is:
Second Clutch killed itself.
Transmission was finished last thursday. On monday, my clutch burned itself up. A new one is in now. I think I'm going to look for a new mechanic...
In other news, I went to DriftDay Competition on sunday. It was pretty cool. Jspec had a booth, and I picked up a Navan wing off of a Zenki K's Aero, so that'll go on in a few days. I've always thought my car would look better with a small wing anyway.
[---NEWS: 06/21/04---]
The transmission swap is now in progress! The car is currently at KBP automotive in Valencia, having the auto yanked out. The swap should be done, with the car back in my hands, on the 24th (Thursday).
[---END NEWS---]
[BREAKING NEWS!!! (As of 06/20/04)]
The wheels and tires are installed! Check them out!
And the seat and harness are also installed!
And I also picked up another little item, to be installed ASAP....
RS*R EXMAG Exhaust! The power of a GT exhaust, with a nice, deep tone, a stock look, and as quiet as a stock E46 M3! Nice big piping, too. Check out that boot, it's a size 10! Gives you a bit of an idea how big the piping really is, I'm guessing about 3".
One last detail, the trans swap has been delayed a bit. I need to get a clutch and related paraphenalia, so the swap may have to wait until the begining of next month. (I need my car for the Drifting.com meet on the 26th, then Anime Expo 4th of July weekend.)
[END NEWS UPDATE!!!]
1995 Nissan 240SX. Pearl White Metallic
Modifications include: TEIN HE Coilovers. Cusco CF Strut Tower Bar
Car is a base model, but has an SE interior:
Items currently equipped:
TEIN HE Coilovers
CUSCO CF tower bar
Sparco Speed racing bucket seat
Sparco Clubman 5pt harness
5Zigen FN01R-C 17" Hyperblack (17x7 front, 17x8 rear)
Falken GRB tires. (17x7 all around, stretched rear)
LEVOC Gas pedal
Ready for install:
RS*R EXMAG Catback Exhaust
Razo 300g Shift Knob
LEVOC brake / clutch pedal
The car is currently auto (yeah, I know...) But I have all the transmission swap parts and just have to take the car and parts to the shop and get the swap done.
Near Future mods:
300ZX front brake upgrade, with S/S lines, all around Brembo rotors and Axxis pads (Z in the front, OEM in the back)and racing brake fluid.
A'Pex Filter / CAI
Sparco Steering Wheel/ hub.
SPEC Stage 1 clutch.
Long term (Possible) mod plans:
KA-Turbo upgrade
Impul bodykit
Contured GT wing
CF Hood
Test pipe (manufacturer undecided)
