Mods - History - Track Times
Broken - Plans - Costs
December 19,2004
Nothing really new to mention. I haven't been racing the car due to the bad clutch. I have a new clutch, but haven't had the opportunity nor the motivation to change it out. Just limping by on the old one for as long as possible. Racing begins again in late February so hopefully i'll be up and running by then.
July 5, 2004
Been a long time since the last update. In the last 6 months there have'nt been a whole lot of changes to the car. Pretty much all the parts i have bought are now on the car and everything's running fairly smooth. The downpipe and IC fan were both installed and seem to have helped. The most important 'upgrade' has been to my driving ability. 1/4 mile times have been steadily coming down with very few mechanical changes being made to the car. Current best time is a 13.517 @ 100.40 mph and 1.922 60' time. And now just as i've started figuring out a launch technique that seems to work for me, the clutch is going out and going fast. The next 3 weekends all have Friday night Midnight Mayhem racing so hopefully the clutch can hold out though them.
Feb 29, 2004
Spent the better part of this week rewiring the stereo. I ended up buying a new head unit and some speakers and running all new wire for everything. While running wires through the door jambs I found a couple of broken wires in there, which very well could have been the problem all along, but it's too late for that now. Lots of new parts showed up this week, and I have no idea when they will be going on. I got a KORacing downpipe, new intercooler fan and a shroud for it, and a line lock kit from Summit Racing. I'll update when they go on the car.
Feb 14, 2004
MIdnight Mayhem again last night at LVMS and it was a good one! Got a new best time of 13.999. Also had a run at 14.2 and a 14.4. So 3 of my 4 best times, all in one night. I'll probably be sticking with the stock turbo a little bit long than originally planned. So the next few mods won't be primarily power adding ones, but more along the lines of better cooling and some weight reduction.
Feb 5, 2004
Rebuilt my clutch master cylinder last night. I had been having problems with the clutch pedal sticking to the floor. Actual rebuild of the cylider took about an hour to do, from removal to install. Then the hard part came. Bleeding a new cylider is a bitch. We went at it for about 2 hours or so before I went to autozone and got a Mityvac hand pump. At the point it was a halfhour job. The right tools for the job do help. I'll glad i learned this lesson 20 years earlier than my dad did!
Feb 2, 2004
The JoeO W/I kit appears to be working correctly now. It looks like it was a wiring problem. Most likely due to the location I chose for my ground. Many thanks to Joe for his knowledge and quick replies!!
Feb 1, 2004
Since the last update, I've swapped out the Autometer boost gauge for an in-dash Omori 45mm gauge. Looks like it belongs there except for the difference in the colors of the lights at night. The Omori is a bright green opposed to the dull green of the stock cluster lights. The Butterfly exhaust is now on the car. Quite a difference from the comparably quiet stock pipes. The rear grill is still in place and somewhat hides the giant stainless canisters. The tips just look mean sitting back there. Also just recently installed is a JoeO water injection kit. I'm having a few issues with it working correctly, but i'm pretty sure it's an installation problem. I'll update when its fixed. I'm in the process now of trouble shooting the new stereo I installed. It worked fine up until the install of the JoeO W/I kit. Another indicator that there is a problem in the W/I kit install.
January 24, 2004
Went to a Test and Tune at LVMS today. I got in 2 runs with laughable times. Lost an Intercooler hose clamp in second gear on the first run. Second run i didn't even try to laugh at the lights. I was focusing on a decent lauch to check out the new tires.I have a second pair of the 5Zigen FN01r-c's now. This pair is a set of 15x7's with BFG drag radials on them. Noticed a marked decrease in the amount of wheelspin and hop on my launches.
January 23, 2004
Installed my Water injection kit tonight. The instructions are very easy to follow and installation only took about 3 hours start to finsh. Will do some testing of the system and tuning over the next couple of weeks.
November 2, 2003
Greddy Intercooler showed up 2 days ago and installed it today. Took about 3 hours start to finish. october 17, 2003
Track night! Got in about 7 runs. Noticed some slight overheating while waiting to get into the track. Best time: 14.354 sec @ 96.67 mph
October 9, 2003
Went and picked up tires today and had them mounted and balanced. Installed on car this evening. The quality of the ride has improved dramatically. Since the suspension upgrade,however, I have developed a clunking coming from the rear passenger side. We pulled the strut assembly out and rebuilt it, but it appears to be something else.
October 7, 2003
New wheels showed up today! Hopefully will be installed by the weekend.
October 4, 2003
Finally had the time to put on the new struts and springs i had purchased months ago. the car is definitely a bit lower as i can tell my how much more i scrap coming out of the driveway. also parking next to curbs and cement parking blocks is even more or a no-no now.noticed a definite improvement in the ride quality and that's even with the still set on the stiffest setting.
October 3, 2003
Went out to the track for the first time and got in 3 runs. First run was a 15.337 @ 91.07 mph and 12 lbs of boost. Second run was in the 18s. Turned the boost up to 14 or so and hit fuel cut. Disconneted the fuel cut sensor and turned the boost up to 16 for the third run. Finished the night with a 14.979 @ 92.81 mph.
August 29, 2003
94+ tailights showed up yesterday. Installed today. Fisrt time i've ever put a part on instead of waiting weeks or even months.... lol. They make a LOT of difference in the look of the car. I went with a black center panel to be a lil bit different than most and also remain a little bit true to my '92 roots. Kinda retarded i know.
August 2003
Ordered 94+ taillights conversion.
Late 2002
No real problems or mods being made. Started a new job and working long hours hoarding all that $$$$.
July 2002
Began having problems with the car stumbling and stalling out. Black exhaust smoke. Running rich.
Diagnosis: Bad XXX sensor. $XXX
June 2002
1300 miles back to Vegas. Cars still running strong.
April 2002
FINALLY get the car back on 3-18-02 and it runs great! Less than 2 weeks later it gets broken in by a 1,300 mile road trip to Spokane. Registration is about to expire, so back to WA i go for some $30/yr reg. fees! It just so happens i was planning a trip back up there anyways so the timing was good.
Feb 2002
I finally get around to going back to Desert on 2-25-01. Let' see if the third times a charm!
Oct 2001
Get the car back (again) on 10-13-01. No problems right away, but my sysptoms all eventually come back. I kinda give up on the damn car at this point and it sits through the winter.
Sept 2001
New engine! But everything comes witha cost. (besides the $6,499!!) On the drive home on 9-21-01(less than 10 miles)-- overheating and white smoke. Back to Desert on 9-24-01.
August 2001
While driving down to Las Vegas I noticed overheating and white smoke.
Diagnosis: Warped head, blown head gasket, bent rod.
Being new to the area I really had no other option than the dreaded dealership. The car was turned over to Desert Toyota on 8-14-01 where it would receive a new short block.
April 1, 2001
Purchased car with XX,XXX miles. The car was found on an online ad by my brother. Only after him telling me about the ad did we notice that the car was actually only about 15 minutes away from him. He went and checked it out and test drove it. He called me up and said it was in good shape and ran decent. The seller was asking $6,700 for it, but was willing to let it go fo $6,400. $300 isnt much but it was enough to buy my plane ticket from Spokane, WA down to Las Vegas to pick up my new car.