Zyla's Suzuki Reno - Modification Plans Now In OP.

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Look how dirty she is! I can't wait to wash her in Spring.
I would not wait until spring to wash your car. The less you wash it in the winter, the more it will rust. In fact that's exactly why northern cars rust as much as they do. People don't wash them nearly enough and the road salt destroys them. If you have a pull through car was with an underbody spray, it will save the life of your car.
 
I would not wait until spring to wash your car. The less you wash it in the winter, the more it will rust. In fact that's exactly why northern cars rust as much as they do. People don't wash them nearly enough and the road salt destroys them. If you have a pull through car was with an underbody spray, it will save the life of your car.

My underbody is covered in undercoating, so the rusting problem isn't something I need to worry about. The reason I won't wash the rest of the car is because it literally gets dirty every day.
 
My underbody is covered in undercoating, so the rusting problem isn't something I need to worry about. The reason I won't wash the rest of the car is because it literally gets dirty every day.
Even though the underbody is undercoated, the road salt still gets everywhere on the entire car. All the components of the car that are not undercoated, still get covered in salt that produces rust. All the suspension parts, drive train parts, brakes, everything is still exposed. Undercoating is only for the body, all the other components are still exposed to salt and rust. Spend a couple dollars to prevent rust now, or spend hundreds to thousands later. The less you wash, the faster the rust forms. You should at least wash it every couple weeks. Just advice I have learned after owning vehicles for 16+ years living in a winter climate.
 
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Even though the underbody is undercoated, the road salt still gets everywhere on the entire car. All the components of the car that are not undercoated, still get covered in salt that produces rust. All the suspension parts, drive train parts, brakes, everything is still exposed. Undercoating is only for the body, all the other components are still exposed to salt and rust. Spend a couple dollars to prevent rust now, or spend hundreds to thousands later. The less you wash, the faster the rust forms. You should at least wash it every couple weeks. Just advice I have learned after owning vehicles for 16+ years living in a winter climate.

Well I certainly appreciate your advice. I'll definitely consider washing it. Thanks for the info. 👍
 
Well guys, Suzi is still pretty ill, but she does run and drive fine despite said illness. I have noticed a decrease in performance as expected, however. We have yet to purchase the parts needed to cure her malady, but I'm not totally worried about it as of now, seeing as there is too much snow around here to have any real fun with the car anyway, and it's doing well enough that a few more weeks of waiting won't be of much concern to me. Since it is the holiday season, and Christmas is only a whopping 5 days away, I've provided a "gift" for those of you who would consider it one, and recorded what Suzi sounds like at full throttle. I was in a secluded residential area, but a residential area nonetheless, so I didn't get as close to redline as I could, and I didn't exceed 50mph. The engine note is a little off due to the valve cover and gasket being bad, but it still sounds good to me. (The wobbling sound in the background is the bent rim. :indiff:) Enjoy, and as always, happy holidays, everyone.

 
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Well everyone, it seems that we're making some progress in terms of repairing the Reno. I've spoken with my parents about her needs and my dad claims that he will be taking a look at the car tomorrow or sometime this week. (I think he's just glad to have an excuse to use his new jack.) So far we've concluded that all it really needs is a new valve cover gasket, new spark plugs, and a new belt. I hope to get her back on the road again before school starts (blech) so I won't have to worry about it anymore. I'll keep you guys posted.
 
Well everyone, it seems that we're making some progress in terms of repairing the Reno. I've spoken with my parents about her needs and my dad claims that he will be taking a look at the car tomorrow or sometime this week. (I think he's just glad to have an excuse to use his new jack.) So far we've concluded that all it really needs is a new valve cover gasket, new spark plugs, and a new belt. I hope to get her back on the road again before school starts (blech) so I won't have to worry about it anymore. I'll keep you guys posted.
Gald to hear you're car doing good. So what's next.
 
Suzi's on her way, folks! I knew it would happen soon, and today it finally did. The serpentine belt has been replaced. Certainly feels good to know there's a new one around her pulleys. We've still got the gasket and spark plugs to go, but I think things will be alright until that can be done. Let's cut the chit-chat and move to the visuals, as I know you're all just dying to see them.

The new belt!
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Here's my dad looking in to see how everything is configured so we can begin the process:
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Got the passenger wheel off as well as the air box.
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Old and new:
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And here's the new belt on, all nice and happy:
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That's all I've got for now, guys. Stay tuned as more improvements will be made over the next few weeks. :D
 
Nothing new to report on Suzi, but she's been holding up pretty well despite her various ailments.

Last week I traveled to a place near the west mountains just off the SR-111 and took a few shots. I mean, with it being clear outside all week, how could I resist?

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Eh, this one could have come out a little better, I think.
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I thought it was pretty awesome to see another Reno while I was out-and-about in the Liberty yesterday afternoon.

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Stay tuned. 👍
 
Nasty. Stay safe out there, you can never be sure how much of a lunatic the other driver is.
 
Damn, that guy sounds like a dick. Fair play to you trying to get away from him in case he had a gun, I'd never really thought of that as it's not so much of a threat over here. If it was me, I'd be sure to give him a piece of my mind, as unfortunately I've inherited my parents' road rage... which is very bad. :P
 
Man, I wish I could just get a damn job already. I've applied at all kinds of places and I've heard nothing. Do these people want an arm and a leg or something? Oh well, I'll just keep trying.

Until then, I'll just do my best to keep this thread alive with a new set of pictures every week or so. These particular pictures are a few days old, but that's recent enough.

I headed down toward my favorite mountain range that towers over one of the best rural highways known a Bacchus. There was a little side street that led to some business building, and it had a patch of mud and snow that wasn't owned by anyone that I know of. I figured I would use it as a spot for a little rallying and some picture taking:
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Rallying on street tires... total desperation right there.
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Now this was a really nice area just down the road from the "rally" patch:
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10/10 would visit again.
 
It finally happened guys. I got new tires. I was pretty stoked about the whole thing, as it pretty much came out of nowhere. I received a text from my dad around 12:45 today during 7th period asking me what my tire size was. So I told him it's 195x55x15. He then asked if I would miss anything important if I left school right then so I could meet him somewhere. At this point I didn't know where, but I inferred pretty quickly that he was talking about tires. So I went to 8th period and left about 20 minutes in, and walked out to the silent parking lot to see my car shining in the sun (It was surprisingly clear today). I got in, and headed over to the Diamond Tire shop in Salt Lake City where my dad told me to meet him. After arriving, I parked in front of the garage door and walked in with my dad to see the guy at the front desk. We talked about normal tire-related stuff and he informed us on a few things, and in the midst of our colloquy, I saw my new tires being rolled in by two of the mechanics. Dad and I paid, and left to go get some lunch. After coming back, I saw my car sitting in front of the shop with her new shoes on.

Now, that's the good part of the story, but like with nearly every good story, there's a drawback. Apparently back when I was suffering in the snow and ice on the nearly bald tires that were previously on the car and slid into the curb a couple of times, the front-passenger rim itself was bent. According to the mechanic, one of the reasons the wheel wobbles is because the rim is rolling all cattywampus-like. We're planning to swap the front wheel with one of the back ones (which I'm probably going to do after I post this) until a new rim can be found and then have the new tire mounted onto it. The rear-driver's side rim that had a bent lip was supposedly pounded with a sledge hammer until it was nearly perfectly balanced, so I don't need to worry about that until I get aftermarket rims in the future.

All in all today was great. I have less concerns about my grip on asphalt and in the snow, and my car is rolling smoother than it has in the last two years.

Here we see the kind of tires I got, they're Ohtsu FP7000s. I believe Ohtsu's are made by Falken. Just to get a good look at them when they're clean:
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Inside the shop. This is one of the mechanics draining the air out of the old tires:
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Suzi in the air with bare feet:
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Finally home so I can look at the new rubber up-close:
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They may be dirty already from the nasty Utah winter roads, but they certainly handle a lot better and the stopping distance feels much improved. I was also amazed by how quiet they are. Cruising in 4th at 40mph with the radio and air off, I could hardly hear any road noise. Just goes to show technology is advancing as we speak. I can't wait till I have the chance to open the car up a bit and see how well these tires really do grip, all while making sure to stay alive in doing so. That's all for now guys, stay tuned, because this isn't even the beginning of what Suzi will see in her heyday.
 
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Nothing beats the feeling of new rubber.

Except boost, boost definitely feels better - but boost is much more expensive so hey swings and round abouts :lol:

If you have to get new rims you should get some second hand alloys, much more visually appealing than hubcaps and you can often find them pretty cheap.
 
Nothing new has really happened with Suzi, other than me finally washing her yesterday, but then my mom had to drive her to a meeting before I could dry her off. :grumpy:

But at least she's clean(er); I even hosed off underneath and inside the wheel arches to get all the salt crap out.

I was given the idea to make a list of the things the car needs as of now and things I want to purchase for it later on in terms of modification, so I edited the OP for those interested to have a look. But don't look at me, I got the idea from @Katiegan, so she can receive the credit for it. :D

Stay tuned!
 
Significant future modification plans:

-KW Variant 3 coilovers
-Holden Viva headlights
-OEM foglights
-OEM grille replacement
-OEM front bumper replacement
-Touch-up paint
-Custom exhaust system (TBA)
-Low RPM turbo kit
-5 speed manual transmission conversion
-Motegi MR119 wheels
-Ibiza Cupra R front lip
-Suzuki mudflaps
-Rear roof spoiler

I approve of everything on this list. 👍
 
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