Mikelly

You're not being an annoyance. You're un-informed and we're helping! What Jmortensen said! Mike

Well I did successfully fight State Farm back in 1995 when my Solo2 car was totalled by a plumbing truck. My little 260Z got me $8000 for my receipts and negotiations. But my guess is a lot of people have tried this enough that the insurance industry has changed their proceedures over the last decade. Jim "assumed" that he'd be able to prove that these cars are rare just by vertue of pricing comperable available examples, and providing receipts for his modifications... In the past this would have been sufficient if you were the victom of someone elses negligence. I mean, lets think about this guys... Shouldn't you expect replacement of what you had 2 seconds before the incident? Why should Jim lose his $60K investment? Mind you, I'd have gotten better insurance coverages and a stated value... I know Jim is so upset over this, he hasn't touched any of his car projects since the accident... Makes me wonder if he'll bail on modified cars altogether... Mike

Chris, Tremec makes the T56. They've produced all the T56 trannies since the first ones in Camaros in 1993 and in the Vipers upon their creation. I believe Tremec also was the original designer of the T5s found in Fords and Chevys from the early 80s on. To my knowledge Getrag has never been involved in GMs tranny program, but does supply all the IRS centers for the Corvette C5/6 programs. Mike

On another forum I lurk in, there was a discussion about how the number of accidents has been on the rise at AutoXs and HPDEs. The reason is the rise in popularety, and the fact that a lot of people with no skills, lots of money, and powerful cars are out there. In the years I used to race Solo2, I only witnessed two real car damaging accidents. I bet I've seen 25 or more on the web in the last year... I personally believe this will impact how SCCA manages site locations in the future. Some parking lots simply don't have enough run off to protect the ignorant from themselves... Mike

Bastaad, WHY are you SO hung up on getting raped and taking the hit on the depreciation of a new car? Have you NOT learned anything from trying to unload the SRT? There are thousands of low mileage 2004-2005 cars out there with trasferable warranties, that you SHOULD be looking at. Dude, you're a car guy. Why would you ONLY consider a "new" car? Ugh... I give. Mike

I know on the cars I'm refering to, they are all V8s and all in the 11-12inch diameter range. The Exedy Hyper Stage3 I'm using in the vette is supposed to be good for over 650#ft. torque, but it is MASSIVE and the pedal is pretty damned stiff... Maybe JohnC is onto something...I don't know. All my Datsun Centerforce experience was with 245Crank HP or less. Mike Mike

Have you contacted Jim Cook Racing? Mike

I'll give you one better... BLKMGK on this site has a 700+WHP Toyota Supra that was totalled last July when a Sears Repair Van pulled in front of him at a left turn yield green intersection. Jim (BLKMGK) hit the guy "T-boning" the van with his $60,000 Supra. State Farm is the company insuring the van. Jim's car has been sitting in storage SINCE JULY while they fight over the numbers... Jim was injured in the accident, and lost wages while he was out with his injuries. He has receipts for 90% of the modifications to his Supra, including a lot of custom paint and bodywork... You can't buy a clean, stock 95 TT Supra for less than $25K and Jim's was SHOW quality. They offered him $20K to settle. Needless to say, Jim has a lawyer and is going to go to court. These insurance companies are getting more and more strict on what they will allow in covering damages to higher end vehicles... So be forewarned. You may be better of in taking the hit and letting your own insurance company fight it out with that of the offending driver... State Farm Basically told Jim that the mods were his choice and they weren't about to pay for them... I'll keep you guys posted on what happens in his case... This is very interesting, because all of us have significant cash dumped into our rides... Might want to talk to your insurance companies about "agreed upon" value with an appraisal. Mike

Well be forewarned, We've seen spec clutches fail pretty spectacularly as well... Maybe even worse... But You might want to go back to CF and speak with them again. I have had them warranty clutches for me... I had a clutch disc rip the center spline out years ago on an autoX car I was champainging in a series and Centerforce was not a sponsor. They covered the shipping and the part. I think the guy I've worked with at Midway is Brian... Going on faded memory here, but the guy I constantly deal with seems sharp and is reasonable... Also, from the pics, I'd re-use the flywheel and the Pressure plate... Take a 3m scotchbright pad to both to resurface them. I'd replace the disc with something else and call it a day... Currently I'm using an Exedy Hyper Stage 3 in my Vette, and I'll be using a Centerforce disc and PP in my Datsun 383stroker setup. Good luck and keep us posted... Mike

Just remember to pull all those parts off before you go to the dealer with the busted trans. I think you're better off just sitting on it and paying it down. YOu guys are talking about moving across country... Focus on one hurdle at a time. Get out here, get settled, then sort the car issue out next spring. By then you'll have paid it down much more and will be able to unload it more easily. Mike

I have to ask this, because tech staff at Midway Engineering will... Did you follow their breakin procedure? If not, you'll kill it for sure. Nothing wrong with centerforce clutches. I know guys with well over 600WHP running them with no failures. Sorry you experienced this... Mike

Yup Brad, Still wrong wheel drive... Mike

If the car is completely gutted with no rails, no cage and no windows/door hardware, and is using an R180 kinda setup MAYBE they will, but then you're dealing with chassis damage and parts breakage issues... Jon, Right now the only practicle tranny to run with the LS1 is the T56 and it, along with the massive clutch and flywheel setup adds a BUNCH of weight. The trans alone weighs about 140-145 pounds and the flywheel is a 42# monster. Add to that the needed beefing up of the chassis, the rear diff, and other "stuff" and I don't see an S-30 Z being happily sitting at a weight less than 2200#. Mike

BINGO! THAT's what I'm talking about right there! You're not gonna get a STRIPPED OUT V8 Zcar to come in close to that weight... I'll let you know when my track car is done. I'm HOPING for 2300# range... With an LS1 equipped car, maybe I'd dip into the 2200# range, but I doubt it. Mike

Michael, I didn't take it as such, trust me. The point is that based on my discussions with Pete, and your discussions with both of us, I'm pretty safe in saying what I said above. I don't think you're gonna be happy, primarely because it doesn't exist. Your BMW is a prime example. It does what it was designed to do well, and isn't "slow". It needs to be run in the powerban the engineers designed it for. You're basically trying to get all these vehicles to do something they weren't engineered for... Your description of meekly tapping the gas pedal brings back memories of a Ford Fiesta with an over tightened gas pedal cable. No droop or slack. You tapped the pedal and it was very much ON for all 68HP From zero speed to about 20mph it would snap your neck back, which was probably great when I was 16. I could care less what people choose as their daily drivers, or for their Zswaps, but when someone makes the comments you did, they need to be qualified. I drive every car I've owned pretty hard by most people's standards, and when I read comments like that about a car that does 11s in the 1/4, it just makes me shake my head and roll my eyes. To each his own. Mike

No No, I'm refering to the total package in a car. The LS1 is another light weight motor that gets installed and then the car is still weighing in closer to 2800#... Where'd the weight gain come from? We know, but the point is to track these cars as well... That's the argument. Mike

YOu guys really need to trumpet those weights when you get these cars weighed... This is the TRUE advantage of the SR20DET swap, and if you guys want more of Us (Hey I'm already a fan) to be into this swap, you gotta sell the strong points of it. Those dyno numbers don't do the swap justice until you see them WITH the cars weight stacked up to them... Can't imagine you're not gonna be hundreds of pounds lighter than similar equipped same year L6 and V8 swap cars. Mike

... and where might one with large porn collection find such women? Couldn't resist! Mike

And Michael, While you're at it, don't scrimp and RE-Use the old pushrods like you discussed with Pete a couple of days ago. You spent all this money on that new build. Don't cheap out now and re-use what is likely to be the wrong length pushrod. Mike

Your best bet is to keep your SRT and pay it down. You are about 6 months into the loan, and you're not gonna get a favorable trade in. Michael, You're the wrong guy to comment on cars in general, dude. Your expectations of every car you drive are of endless torque below 3K rpms... I've never met anyone like you when it comes to cars in general. My C5 is a 11.7second quarter mile car, and just like any other car with a cam in it, you need to get it into the cam's performance range. Michael's idea of a "test" was to have me roll onto the gas crawling at 1000 rpms in first gear. Never mind the fact that my torque ramp up is at 2K rpms. No, Michael, I've pretty much given up on figuring our your car goals... Basstaad, you need to pay down the loan more before you even think about selling it. Mike

Bastaad, I don't know your financial situation, but the Credit unions I'm affiliated with treat used and new car loans the same. Same rate, same term lenght on the loan, and no issues. Mike

This is going to be a slow process and we're not sold on the lake, but still looking at all our options... So we'll be MONTHS getting this resolved. We still need to paint and have the sidewalk fixed, and install new windows. I'm really stressing more over a garage though... I don't like the idea of not having mine, and I'm also looking at just taking my lift with me, instead of buying another. Mike

Well, it's official... Our house is on the market. $349,900.00 We're not sure where we'll go, but the contingentcy is based on us finding a home to move into... Oh, and I'm not gonna be very flexible about stuff in the garage conveying. Bottom line is they'll pay me for my lift, or I'll take it with me! The search begins... Donna has gotten over the hurdle of prices and costs, and we've moved our price range up to between $350-550K for a home/land/garage. We'll see what comes of it. If we don't get a contract, we'll be renting it out... David, I'll call you Monday! I need a pre-approval letter for the realitor. Mike

Based on what a friend of mine has done to his 2005 GTO with about $1200, I'd say that it is worth the 30WHP he experienced. However, It is still a big car and Racin' Jason might be right. However, that little four banger isn't gonna be as "durable" when you start squeezing more out of it... I know, I know "I'm not a turbo guy", but I live with a few and they are still trying to piece together a "durable" combo that'll withstand 100K miles on enough boost to offset the discplacement of a Chevy V8. You squeeze enough and that motor will pop, and from what I've read, the rods and rod bolts on the SRT aren't that robust. Then again, I'd not look at the GTO in the first place because of the weight. I'd look at... Ah, never mind. I've already GOT what I'd be looking at! The SRT is a nice little capable car. But at the end of the day, it's still a Neon, and you're just never gonna get some folks beyond that. It's like $30K Civics that are cranking out 350WHP... Nice and all, but it's still a wrong wheel drive Civic. Mike