What have you done to your car today?

[Eric.]

...and now the master cylinder and DOT4 fluid is in. The pedal feels awesome. Not quite enough braking power to get wheel lock, but I think that's down to the pads now. Too much grip for cheap brake pads to overcome I suppose. The steering wheel comes at you pretty hard when you step on the middle pedal.

 

[Dennisch]

I removed my mounting gasket of my carburator, and it was really ripped to shreds, I mean really. I will take some pictures tomorrow.

And the cost of a new one? 84 freaking euros. I asked the VW salesman if he could open his mouth a bit further.

Ridiculous prices.

 

[CyborgGT]

Oil change, and I picked up an 11.5 x 7.5 x 4.5" padded aluminum case from Harbor Freight. I'm putting together a little 'convienience tool box' for my trunk with commonly used tools. As much as my friends and I work on odd things, or go to the junkyard for the quick part, it'll come in plenty handy.

 

[Dennisch]

Well, there is my problem! Paid €71,- instead of €84,-.
Put it all back together, car still runs like crap.
1 of my brand new sparkplugs was not firing. Put another one in and now it drives as it should. Finally.

 

[Zenith]

Intake gasket disintegrated. Luckily this happened as I was pulling into my driveway and I had time to remove the intake. Not much rust in the engine and the intake and heads appear to be in good condition. I'll clean everything off and get a new gasket sometime this week.

 

[12thgear]

Well, it wasn't my car, but it was my driveway. Replaced a failing 02 sensor in the exhaust of a 300ZX TT. We managed to do it without completely dropping the exhaust system, but it was a challenge getting the socket around the sensor.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

67 Fastback Mustang. I dont plan to do much else to the car this year with the cold weather coming and lack of money. But this is what I accomplished over the weekend.

-Welded in 8 custom seat brackets for driver and passenger seats. The seats set up nice and high. Ergonomically engineered for Heather.
-Welded in temporary crossbar for the 5 point seatbelt harness mockup.
-Installed front and rear carpet.
-Installed driver and passenger racing seats.
-Installed 5 point racing seat belt harness for driver seat. Still need a 5 point harness for passenger seat.
-Extended the plug wire for the neutral safety switch by 6 inches to add more clearance. 4 total wires, a plug, and 8 crimp adaptors.
-Removed passenger valve cover to check for light rocker noise. I think a push rod might be plugged or a lifter is plugged. I will resolve this next year when I install a new 4 barrel carb and intake. Then I can check all the lifters and push rods to make sure they are getting proper oil.
-Worked on the wiring for the Alternator. Its still not working yet so I need to take the alternator down to make sure it works.

 

[Ibonibo]

Yesterday, umount Spcaers, pass the Luxemburgish Tüv, mounted spacers back.

Today mounted aluminium Induction Tube and a Short shifter (both coming from B&B)

 

[Keef]

...and now the master cylinder and DOT4 fluid is in. The pedal feels awesome. Not quite enough braking power to get wheel lock, but I think that's down to the pads now. Too much grip for cheap brake pads to overcome I suppose. The steering wheel comes at you pretty hard when you step on the middle pedal.

New master? that's interesting on a car that isn't very old...

If your brakes won't eventually lock up with a smooth but hard application, then pads, pads, pads. Even the crappiest pad should lock up if you stab the pedal with the front wheels unloaded, but if you load them smoothly it becomes difficult.

For autocross puposes I would stay away from a pad that requires heat to work effectively, obviously. Something like Hawk's HP+ would probably work well, but you might want to ask Speed Junkie how those pads work at different temperatures because I've never used them. I do know the HPS works at street temps, but the HP+ is also a much stronger and more durable compound.

You might also want to invest in a master cylinder brace. Those things work magic with the booster's natural flex. That's basically the last step in a rock-solid pedal.

 

[Perfect Balance]

Something like Hawk's HP+ would probably work well, but you might want to ask Speed Junkie how those pads work at different temperatures because I've never used them. I do know the HPS works at street temps, but the HP+ is also a much stronger and more durable compound.

HP+ pads are pretty good, usually only require one or two brake applications to get them to start working. They WILL squeak with daily driving though, unless you get them up to full operating temp every single day, and they make an ASSLOAD of dust. I have to hand wash my wheels at least once a week, and it's because they get so dirty that pressure washing won't get it off, and not because I like having shiny wheels.

 

[JacoJa]

I took my Sera to the panel & paint shop the other week, so the body is now dent and rust free. It'll be painted next week, so I finalized my colour selection today. 👍

 

[niky]

A... Sera?

A freaking... Sera?


Paint it lime green. Then swap in a V8 along with a Commodore rear axle.

-


Haha, but seriously... repainting is fun. I've got to do that with my own car sometime soon. I'm really thinking about orange, but that might be a bit too wild... might have to settle for taxicab yellow.

Even the crappiest pad should lock up if you stab the pedal with the front wheels unloaded, but if you load them smoothly it becomes difficult.

I've had pads so bad that they started sliding on me (after bedding in) after half a stop. Maybe I was expecting too much seeing as I was trying to stop from 100 mph, but needless to say, those pads were out the very next day. There ARE pads that are too crappy to lock up the brakes. Be thankful that they're mostly Chinese and you'll never see them over there.

 

[JacoJa]

A... Sera?

A freaking... Sera?


Paint it lime green. Then swap in a V8 along with a Commodore rear axle.

Lol... those modifications would make the car feel a whole lot better than it is now. Driving around a bend feels very dangerous... It flops about like a boat.

Lime green? I would never!...

*shifts eyes*

 

[Eric.]

New master? that's interesting on a car that isn't very old...

25 years old isn't very old?

If your brakes won't eventually lock up with a smooth but hard application, then pads, pads, pads. Even the crappiest pad should lock up if you stab the pedal with the front wheels unloaded, but if you load them smoothly it becomes difficult.

Its really close to lockup on the front. Gotta remember that a mid-engined car gets closer to 50/50 weight distribution when braking, so the rears do a lot more work than on front engined cars. They had no problem locking up the Chinese all seasons or the bald as 🤬 Falken Azenis from Casey_2005.

For autocross puposes I would stay away from a pad that requires heat to work effectively, obviously. Something like Hawk's HP+ would probably work well, but you might want to ask Speed Junkie how those pads work at different temperatures because I've never used them. I do know the HPS works at street temps, but the HP+ is also a much stronger and more durable compound.

You might also want to invest in a master cylinder brace. Those things work magic with the booster's natural flex. That's basically the last step in a rock-solid pedal.

HP+ is advertised for autox use. A friend has HPS on his Civic Si. Said he hasn't really noticed a difference from the stock pads. Another has HP+ on his 09 STI and loves them. Said they take a few applications in winter to get them to do much, but I can deal with that on the MR2. I'll likely keep the current pads around to swap in after autox season, just to save the pads.

Hm...so how would the bedding process work out if you start with new rotors and Hawk pads, then switch to another pad for winter, and then back to the Hawks, without resurfacing the rotor? It might need resurfaced by then, but if it didn't, I guess it would have all the material it needs on the rotor surface already?

 

[MEJ1990TM]

25 years old isn't very old?

Not compared to 40 it isn't.

I looked at mine sitting in the drive way as I was pushing the lawn mower past it so I could mow the front lawn. Does that count for something?

 

[CyborgGT]

Tranny number two is toast. I hate these automatics, I don't know if it's just Honda that can't make them for **** or what, but I'm fed up. As far as the driving experience goes I really don't care which style I drive, so I wasn't in a hurry to get a manual. There were a couple big projects I wanted to tackle before the switch, but now I'm reversing those priorities. Get the auto driveable, then start saving up for a 5-speed Accord coupe (and another bicycle, haha!). Dammit. But, hey, at least now that I have an excellent engine all I have to worry about is finding a car with a solid chassis!

ED. - Lol, I got sensored.

 

[Eric.]

Pretty freaking proud of these autocross results in the MR2. Just spent the whole weekend racing and hanging out with some great friends in Kentucky.

http://www.westkyimports.com/forums/showthread.php?15619-Oktoberfast-2011-Results

 

[Punknoodle]

Good work Eric! I can't wait until I can start doing that stuff myself, I want to see what the Celica can do at track days soon, but have a few more things to do to it before then. Long term I want to build up a dedicated race car, once I have a bigger garage, so we'll see what happens.

Cyborg, that sucks man but I'm pretty sure you will get a lot more enjoyment out of a 5spd 👍

I received my new leather shift boot a couple of days ago so I fitted that, it looks so much better now.

 

[Murcie_LP640]

Stuck one of my Forza LCE vinyls on the front quarter panel of the Accord.

 

[Grayfox]

I still have the scratched and scraped front badge from my Del Sol's wreck. I happened to see it laying in the middle of the street so I picked it up. Never getting rid of it either.

I can understand that.

I still have both badges and my car key from my Honda Accord(my first car).

 

[Dennisch]

I placed a big subwoofer in my car, and to test it, I went for an 1,5 hour drive.
It sounds perfect!

Only I found out that after my car has been idling, at the traffic lights, and I pull away, it smokes like hell, I mean really a lot of smoke. Strange.

 

[Ibonibo]

The sub or the car???

 

[Eric.]

Oh, regarding my "my brakes won't lockup" comment. Disregard.

 

[Dennisch]

The sub or the car???

My car. I suspect the cheap ass oil I have thrown in, otherwise it's my Pierburg crappy piece of **** electric carburator.

The sub is blasting like hell. My ears are still a bit numb. 👍

 

[CyborgGT]

Picked up my Spoon header from PFI Speed, they re-welded it for me. Depending on this week's paycheck, and the extent of what I need to do for the tranny (based on research I might get away with an easy repair), the header might just get polished to its former bronze glory this weekend.

 

[Keef]

25 years old isn't very old?

Oh hell, I thought you were talking about the Civic!

Hm...so how would the bedding process work out if you start with new rotors and Hawk pads, then switch to another pad for winter, and then back to the Hawks, without resurfacing the rotor? It might need resurfaced by then, but if it didn't, I guess it would have all the material it needs on the rotor surface already?

Not a good idea. Pads and rotors should always stick together like a family. Reusing pads on a resurfaced rotor already is a no-no, much less running used rotors. All it will do is wear off the existing texture very quickly, wiping away some of the pad's life as it uses up the smaller surface area. Once you've got pads seated I would suggest (as would everybody else) never separating them until the pads need replaced, and when that happens to at least resurface the rotors for the new, smooth pads.




Anyways, health update on my car. I've got a bad feeling it's gonna need some emergency surgery within a week or so. Tomorrow I'll be checking my front suspension and wheels to see where this awful clunking noise is coming from. For a while now I've suspected my tie rod ends were going bad, but the clicking while turning the wheel suddenly turned into clunking over every bump today, in between drives. It didn't do it on the way to work, but all night it has sounded pretty dangerous. Honestly, it sounds like an imminent break/fall off. Cross fingers that if it does break it isn't anything important, like a sway bar end link, which of course is the only thing that isn't necessary.

Possible wheel bearing clunking, but it is not accompanied by roaring. Interesting to note that I feel it more in the floorboard than the steering wheel also...

 

[Perfect Balance]

Possible wheel bearing clunking, but it is not accompanied by roaring. Interesting to note that I feel it more in the floorboard than the steering wheel also...

Def does not sound like a wheel bearing, and rather a sway bar endlink or a ball joint or something.

 

[Keef]

I'm betting on a tie rod end, though I hope it's an end link. That way I won't have to replace it right away, lol. All I know is that something knocks around when I grab my wheel and shake the car.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

I ordered a new intake manifold for my GSL-SE RX-7 today...

I'm going old school. Weber 48 DCOE side-draft carb:

I'm tired of my less than stellar EFI system which has to breathe through one of these:

PLUS the throttle body assembly consisting of something like 6 butterfly valves. Yeah, great for intake charge velocity, Mazda. I mean, it's not like thats important on an engine that has to flow to make power....

 

[Tommi]

Started installing my central locking and alarm kit today. Got both the actuators installed, control box hidden and the drivers side is all plugged in. Thanks to it getting dark so damn early i've still got the other side to wire up and the control box needs connecting to the 12v constant. Once that's done i'll start on the alarm, so more swearing and even more interior bits will have to come out!