veritech-z

So what kind of camera did you get? I just got a new one myself, but I haven't really shot anything with it yet. I like the paint job on that car, by the way.

OTM, here's what you do: bring in a copy of Moonraker on DVD and show it to the doctor...As soon as Richard Kiel comes on, pause it and point, and tell the Doctor: "I mhphhph thajpjphph" which he will interperet to mean" I want that!" And then you will get a set of Titanium teeth installed, and not only will you never have to worry about that again, it will make things like rust repair and bank robbery SOOOOO much easier! That's what I would do, anyway... Sorry to hear about you having to take one for the team, though. Broken bones are no good, especially that one I imagine...I have a metal plate in my ankle from a skateboarding injure some years ago, and it still bothers me if I use it too much...At least Panera bread has good broccoli and cheese soup, so you still have an excuse to head out there with your jaw wired, right? OTM's new grill:

Ron, I've got 32cents and some pocket lint, where do you want me to send it?

My wife and I are talking a little about what our car plans are WHEN we have kids. I say they should buy their own cars, that way they can learn what it's like to maintain them, but she wants to give them our old ones when we trade up...it's kind of a sticky debate. I think it will end up depending on what kind of kid they are.

Could have been, but to what end? Why not just route it the shortest way out and not have to worry about ground clearance? I would expect to find any exhaust outlets on the left side of a Z with a standard L in it, but without seeing under the hood of that car, I guess we can't be sure. I like that car too from what I've seen in that picture, I was just curious if there was more to the story.

Found some reference material: 1982,-celica supra -$15,838 1990-supra turbo-$25,200 1994-supra twin turbo-$44,100!!!!!(almost double in 4years...) 1986-300zx turbo(oldest one I could find)-$25,099 1996-300zxtwin turbo-$44,679 (see the pattern here?) 1988-MR-2 supercharged-$17,068 1995-mr-2 turbo-$29,238 1988 RX-7turbo-$22,750 1995 RX-7 twin turbo-$37,800 Amazing how the deaths of these cars coincides so nicely with their at least 50% increase in sticker price...

Hotimport, you're correct that the auto manufacturers have been racing pretty much since the beginning of the automobile, but in the final analysis, for them it is only a marketing tool. I'd be willing to bet that even here on Hybridz, if we took a poll of how many members who can actually afford to spend 50-70k on a sports car, those who would spend that kind of money on a Toyota Supra would be in the minority. I would further postulate that those who are NOT in a position to spend 50-70k on such a sports car would be among the first to say that they would buy a Supra. Why is that? It's because of brand identity. In this country, toyota does not have a performance image among the group of people that are in a position to buy a high dollar sports car. They are known (here is what matters) to the GENERAL PUBLIC as the producer of reliable trucks and sedans. It doesn't matter what the YOUTH MARKET thinks of them (those that grew up reading super street and seeing the Fast and the Furious, who KNOW that the Supra is the best thing since sliced bread) , since they are in no position to spend that kind of money on what toyota (or nissan, or honda) has to offer. For a good example of this, how many Volkswagon Phaeton W-12s have you seen on the road in your area? Have you even heard of that car? If so, then you know that it is a $60k+ sedan that looks like an oversized Passat. Why would I spend that kind of money on what to the average motorist looks like any other Volkswagon? My status car will probably be a BMW or Mercedes, because they are known as luxury manufacturers and I know that my $60k+ is going to get me the cachet that goes along with owning such a vehicle. In the home market, Toyota will probably sell these high dollar cars, but here in the states, and probably in Europe, I don't think it will move too fast off the showroom floor. A car like that is a marketing mistake in this country, in my opinion. If it is that much pricier than its competition (350z/rx-8), it will be outsold, bottom line. Toyota is making some suspect decisions in regards to that market segment lately (like the hot rod pickup that was supposed to be the 350z killer-as if anyone shopping for a sports CAR would walk off the lot to go buy a truck), and it's a shame in my opinion that they just gave that market up to nissan and mazda. If they want to make money, they need to redesign the AE86, and compete with the miata. Of course, I'd also like to see Nissan re-release a 510, but I don't think that is going to happen either...

Phil, you've been keeping a low profile lately...I guess that's because you're actually making real progress. Looking good, man! Nice chip on the F54 piston, by the way!

Jimbob makes a good point, I wouldn't get too hung up on how fast you can make your Sentra. I would maybe find an SR20DE and Manual combo (or at the very least, all the stuff to make your 1.6 manual), and just swap that in. It shouldn't be too bad on gas (better than auto, that's for sure), will perform better (but not break as much), and it's pretty hard to mess up a manual transmission so long as you are any kind of a driver...

That is so hard...you know that movie the Day After was on Sci-Fi last weekend. John Lithgow is in it.

That picture I posted earlier IS a turbocharged 2 cycle quad. The turbo is under the seat, so everybody saying it can't be done, there it is right there...I just went to the link a few posts up from that, and clicked on one, I believe it was the carbureted turbo kit link...Now how it works, or how well it works I don't know, but that page was full of different kits and pictures.

I can sympathise with both Mikelly and SSKid on this one. My mom and stepfather have bought me a few cars, the first being an 86 diesel golf. When that car went bad (and it did so catastrophically), they bought me a combination 18th birthday/graduation present of a brand new 98 Civic Hatchback. I did about the same thing as Craig, but I don't believe in Audio Visual in a car, or Lambo doors (which weren't available at the time anyway), so it just got the 2" drop and cold air intake. I ended up curbing it pretty badly, and trading it to a guy for two CRXs. At this point I was living on my own, but this still hurt their feelings since they didn't know why I would trade the brand new (of course by this time it was 3-4 years old with a bent frame in my eyes) honda for a beat up 10 year old pos(which was a hot rod in my eyes: grabber blue, 10:1 single cam). Well, I was still on my own, so I figured it was my life, how long am I supposed to keep this car, anyway? Well, that one threw a rod and left me carless (my other CRX was an HF model, and I wasn't ever able to get the engine to fire up after I swapped it into the SI) for several months...Luckily I had purchased myself a freestyle bicycle that I was able to ride several miles to work...After the engine swap fiasco, I decided I should just look for something else in the $1k price range, and just start over. I was thinking 1st gen RX-7, but then I came across my first 280z. Well, this thing in retrospect was UNFIT to drive, but at the time, I thought it was the COOLEST thing ever. Well, around this time, I made the decision to go back to school and get my degree (I had broken my ankle skateboarding several years earlier, and ended up taking 2 years off. I hadn't been doing well AT ALL in college, even though I graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA and got a full scholarship on the strength of my SAT scores alone...I just wasn't focused, and didn't know what I wanted to get out of school yet). So when my Z finally became more trouble than it was worth, I decided to save up and buy myself a nicer car, something sporty and RWD, but not too much. This time in the $2-2.5k range. I was looking for a 2g RX-7, or a 240sx. Well, because they were so happy I was going back to school, they decided they would step in and help me get a nicer used car. So now I'm looking at S14s instead of S13s, but since used cars cost so much, we might as well start looking at new cars they said (ARGH, just go buy something and bring it home then and don't even ask me what I want, I thought). So we were looking at Sentras, and we saw the new body style Altima across the lot. One test drive, and that was the car. Of course, had to be the four cylinder, we don't want this one to be in "drag racing trim" they said. Fair enough, but it wasn't really the car I had wanted...Well, then they came and said they wanted me to write them a page explaining why I deserved the car. This was about the limit of my patience at this point...WTF?! I thought loudly...I said, "Why don't YOU explain to me why you offered me something, and now you want me to beg for it? I didn't come to you for help, I was going to buy my own car. I know you are just trying to be nice, but you don't offer something, and then tell someone to write you an essay about why the deserve it? That is just rediculous..." They saw my point, and now I'm driving the Altima. Well, years have passed, I'm married now, and have a project on the side so that I no longer have to "live the dream" and drive my project car every day. I graduated from USF and am now preparing to get my Masters from UCF. Looking back at the situation, I have to say that I had a pretty myopic view of what had been going on all that time. All I could think of was why I didn't have more say in what car I was going to drive, not thanking my lucky stars that I recieved THREE free vehicles, two of them BRAND NEW off the lot. Anyway, my tune has changed a lot. I know that is not your situation, but at least they are doing something. As for your question though, an SR20det in a sentra will be FAST. For a discussion of this topic, check out this thread we had going for awhile: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=113152&highlight=sentra

Along the lines of what I was saying, winning races translates directly into vehicle sales. That's why Toyota is pushing their Nascar program with the tundra. I expect we'll probably see whatever this supra is if it comes out get a body in the regular nascar series.

What's funny about that picture is that it's CLEARLY a 280Z (not a ZX), but I pulled it straight from the MSA link that was in the first post of this thread...As for the louvers, I was never all that fond of them. You really wouldn't even notice them with the rear of your car obscured in smoke though... Hey Dave (Helix), would you mind sharing those designs you've been working on? I'd be very interested to see what you've come up with, but if you don't want to, that's cool too. 260DET, did any of the Electramotive cars run engines other than L28et's? If not, the exhaust should be on the other side of your avatar car, unless they were getting creative with the pipe routing...

powder coat won't work on plastic, you have to heat it, and the plastic will warp or melt. I'd say get some wheel paint and touch them up...

I think the real reason those cars died is because the prices had almost doubled from the previous generation, and the core market was unable to afford them, not because toyota couldn't get their flagship to pass emissions. Why would I pay $40,000 for a toyota? or a Nissan? That mentality is very much alive in this country (probably others), which is what prompted the rebadge movement of the early 90's when we saw the birth of Infiniti, Acura, and Lexus. That way Nissan, Honda, and Toyota could fool the fickle public into thinking that they were actually getting a high end product that was somehow fundamentally different than what their neighbor the college student was driving. I'ver heard it said that the high sticker price and low sale volume of the final Z32's were partially responsible for Nissan being forced to sell a controlling interest to Renault. That's why for several years, they ONLY sold 4 door cars and small SUV's, because that was a garaunteed sale, and they couldn't afford to speculate on a high end sports car. If the cars were selling, they would have found a way to make them pass emissions. If the cars were selling, they would have found a way to pass the crash standards. Car models live and die on sales volume. They just weren't moving the units, and there was no profit in producing that car. That's why you have so much "platforming" now. You can buy a 350z badged either as a 350z, a G35 coupe or sedan, or soon as a Skyline. That is just rediculous from an enthusiast's point of veiw, but makes great economic sense from an accountant's point of view. Anyway, I've got strong feelings about this issue, in case you guys couldn't tell. I don't mean to preach, so I'll climb down off my soapbox.

I talked to a friend of mine who is a long time poster, and he said he'd PM Grippo about it and ask him if that topic is particularly unsavory for some reason. If I hear back, I'll be sure and let you know what they say.

Isn't that kind of a price tag what got the last round of baby supercars cancelled? Nobody wanted to pay those kinds of prices for something that didn't come from a high-end company. Z32, SupraTT, RX-7tt, 3000gtVR-4, MR-2 turbo...they just priced themselves right out of the market last time around, and it looks like they're about to do it again. The original versions of all those cars (minus the 3kGT since it had no antecedants) began their lives as ENTRY LEVEL SPORTS CARS that enabled normal people with normal sized wallets to enjoy driving, but as time went on they got more and more complicated, and more and more expensive, until they got cancelled. I don't see that changing this time around...what is so hard about releasing a truly entry level car that is fun to drive and not a total piece of crap? Is there really no market for that? I find that hard to believe...

Why is anything but a roots blower not a "true" supercharger? That's news to me...also, you should be able to make whatever boost you need by fiddling with your pulley sizes, no?

I don't think my HATCH could support that kind of downforce...

They HAVE to be getting some flack about it from somebody. You would think if it were that big of a deal, they would just make a FAQ about it or something, and post it for everybody to see that talk of EMP shielding will not be tolerated. Maybe EMP shielding would put that device out of compliance with whatever that FCC reg is that says this device must accept all interference and cannot emit harmful interferance?

Looks like he just dug it out of whatever constitutes the tool shed over there, and pasted a quote from it. It IS an intrigueing thread topic, let's see how long it takes HIM to get banned..

I'm with you grumpy. I guess I'm just one of those people that given an unlimited budget would rather buy something older and make it faster, instead of just buying something new off the shelf. That being said, when I saw the Speedvision Corvettes tearing ass around the St. Pete Grand Prix, I wanted to go to a chevy dealership RIGHT THEN and buy one. Those are some of the best sounding race cars I've heard, and on that particular track, the average MPH of the F1 cars was 103mph, and the vettes was 99mph. Not that far off, really. I took this picture at the race:

My SUs used to do this if the car sat for any length of time. It was cold starts really that would do it. Anyway, my theory was that the fuel was evaporating out of the bowls through the vent holes at the top. I have my electric pump on a switch to come on whenever I want, so I would just leave it running for a few seconds before I started the car.

I remember Olderthanme was trying to build his own miniature wind tunnel, and people were telling him he would have to pressurize it to some ludicrous pressure to compensate for it being miniature, or else accelerate his windspeed to a rediculous amount...would this situation be adressed with your scale model wind tunnel testing? If so, then by all means, git r dun! http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=111438&highlight=wind+tunnel