Well ... More Developments And Dyno Numbers On My Car

[Mean Green z28]

You'll know I got it running 2 weeks ago, I've since made some changes and did some tuning on the dyno yesterday.

Biggest change: had to lift it back up by putting back in the stock springs all around ... it was so low with the new exhaust system, it literally had just 1.5" of ground clearance and hit every single thing on the road (inc. the road itself) ... now it feels like it's ready to go off-roading

Anyways, strapped it on the dyno and made a couple of pulls. The tranny started leaking halfway through so we had to stop. It made 373HP to the wheels with the tune just halfway done. Considering the fact that it has a stock (really restrictive) intake manifold, a camshaft so mild you'd think it's stock (I think I made a mistake when I put it in), and a torque convertor so loose (as in high stall) a $2 prostitute seem tight, I think I'm gonna have a beast! I think/calculate, if it was a manual tranny car (not so much loss in the tranny), it would have put down somewhere in the low 400HP range the way it sits. Add the new cam and manifold and we're talking approx 475HP .... WOO HOOOO!!! Look out drag strip, it's another 10 second monster!!!!

No money for the last few upgrades

[Hanni]

Hi MG

roughly how much money have you invested to reach this milestone? (If you dont mind me asking - cost of car and upgrades) also what mpg city/hwy do you get?

Also, how well does your vehicle handle in snow? how heavy is it?...

Pardon the odd questions, I've always wanted a camaro and wanted some thoughts from an owner..

also, what are your thoughts on turbocharged jap vehicles (evo/imprezza).. how do they compare to NA American v6's/v8's? in terms of performance and fuel economy? if they are so good as people say they are how come Americans keep buying NA vehicles?

I've always wanted to ask these questions from someone who actually knows what they are talking about, but mention v8 here in SL and people give funny looks...

also, do you still have the toyota truck? any observations on it (performance, mpg, etc)

[Mean Green z28]

Hi MG

roughly how much money have you invested to reach this milestone? (If you dont mind me asking - cost of car and upgrades) also what mpg city/hwy do you get?

Also, how well does your vehicle handle in snow? how heavy is it?...

Pardon the odd questions, I've always wanted a camaro and wanted some thoughts from an owner..

also, what are your thoughts on turbocharged jap vehicles (evo/imprezza).. how do they compare to NA American v6's/v8's? in terms of performance and fuel economy? if they are so good as people say they are how come Americans keep buying NA vehicles?

I've always wanted to ask these questions from someone who actually knows what they are talking about, but mention v8 here in SL and people give funny looks...

also, do you still have the toyota truck? any observations on it (performance, mpg, etc)

How much money? OMG ... hmmm ... ahh ... crap ... well, in 2001 I bought this car for $10500, didn't do much to it until I (with a bit of help from my mum) got the damn thing paid off in '04. Well, with the car market now, you can get a car of this age like this for about $3-5000. As for the latest setup, I haven't still put all the bills together yet, but my guestimation is very close to about $8000 (for parts only) ... yeah, it's kinda high but it could've been higher but I did all the work and got most stuff for cost price. I'd say I have a $1500 or so in misc. stuff scattered here and there in stereo/suspension/etc. EXPENSIVE HOBBY ... for a college student atleast.

If you're going in for a Camaro ... I'd recommend you go for a '99 model or newer, they start from about ~$8000 and go up depending on condition/mileage/mods/model/etc.

As for imports (as in everything not American) and their turbocharged engines, I like them. Ofcourse spending the same amount of money on mods, the american cars will still kick their asses (and still staying naturally aspirated), but some of them are pretty sick! although it's not an import the Dodge Neon SRT-4 is pretty decent too. One of my customers has it and I liked driving it, once you get over the innitial torque steer, they're pretty quick. And as for the whole, 'American cars only go fast straight' bit, they haven't driven one with the right setup.

As for my truck. It gets about 20-25mpg depending on if it's in stop-go traffic or highway. I love it, and it a beast offroad too (posted pics in the 4x4 section). The performance I get isn't much, afterall it's only got a 4-cyl in it. On the highway, it'll do 70-80mph easy, although an overtaking move takes a bit of planning and two downshifts

Economy on my car? lol ... it's not miles/gallon, it's more like gallons/mile. I used to get 17-25mpg stock but I don't expect anything more than about 10-12mpg with the new setup. I'll use the car in the weekends and for racing, the truck will get me from A to B and back .. that is until I drop a turbo in it (already got the turbo sitting at work)

[The Don]

How much money? OMG ... hmmm ... ahh ... crap ... well, in 2001 I bought this car for $10500, didn't do much to it until I (with a bit of help from my mum) got the damn thing paid off in '04. Well, with the car market now, you can get a car of this age like this for about $3-5000. As for the latest setup, I haven't still put all the bills together yet, but my guestimation is very close to about $8000 (for parts only) ... yeah, it's kinda high but it could've been higher but I did all the work and got most stuff for cost price. I'd say I have a $1500 or so in misc. stuff scattered here and there in stereo/suspension/etc. EXPENSIVE HOBBY ... for a college student atleast.

If you're going in for a Camaro ... I'd recommend you go for a '99 model or newer, they start from about ~$8000 and go up depending on condition/mileage/mods/model/etc.

As for imports (as in everything not American) and their turbocharged engines, I like them. Ofcourse spending the same amount of money on mods, the american cars will still kick their asses (and still staying naturally aspirated), but some of them are pretty sick! although it's not an import the Dodge Neon SRT-4 is pretty decent too. One of my customers has it and I liked driving it, once you get over the innitial torque steer, they're pretty quick. And as for the whole, 'American cars only go fast straight' bit, they haven't driven one with the right setup.

As for my truck. It gets about 20-25mpg depending on if it's in stop-go traffic or highway. I love it, and it a beast offroad too (posted pics in the 4x4 section). The performance I get isn't much, afterall it's only got a 4-cyl in it. On the highway, it'll do 70-80mph easy, although an overtaking move takes a bit of planning and two downshifts

Economy on my car? lol ... it's not miles/gallon, it's more like gallons/mile. I used to get 17-25mpg stock but I don't expect anything more than about 10-12mpg with the new setup. I'll use the car in the weekends and for racing, the truck will get me from A to B and back .. that is until I drop a turbo in it (already got the turbo sitting at work)

Meangreen, I heard from somebody the 4 Cylinder Diesels that they put on these Hilux cabs ae very well suited for turbocharging and even for certain other high performance mods, since they come with strong forged steel pistons and rods from stock, is there any truth to this statement ?

Regards,

The Don

[Hanni]

Hey thanks for the detailed answer

pls post pics and info when you install the turbo for the truck!!

thanks again!

[Mean Green z28]

Meangreen, I heard from somebody the 4 Cylinder Diesels that they put on these Hilux cabs ae very well suited for turbocharging and even for certain other high performance mods, since they come with strong forged steel pistons and rods from stock, is there any truth to this statement ?

Regards,

The Don

Well, the diesel engines need to handle more boost (=cylinder pressure) so they're usually built pretty strong. Mine's a gasoline engine, so it's probably not as strong as a diesel, but I'm sure it'll handle about 5psi and the occasional 10 ... Even American engines can handle that, so I'm guessing the engines from the boosted parts of the world could handle a bit.