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My first nice car.

ALEXIS_DH

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
kickstand said:
Toyota owners are RIDICULOUSLY loyal, to a fault,
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I used to work for Toyota until a few months ago. Customer loyalty, above all things, including employees and dealer network, is THE priority for Toyota.
They employ a bunch of people and have a huge marketing machine, rivalled only by their manufacturing prowess, built just for this mere purpose, even if it stresses the distributors and makes the cars a bit "overpriced".

long term strategy vs short term gain is the name of the game.

it has paid off nicely, although they are not the only ones playing this game. hyundai played the same gambit over 10 years ago.... they were the threat Toyota was most concerned about when i left.
 
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Leppah

Leppah

Turbo Monkey
Mar 12, 2008
2,294
3
Utar
I'd take either car, but the Audi would have to be the Avant, and the bimmer an estate. Oh man, those would be dope.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,192
13,339
Portland, OR
Westy

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,440
20,242
Sleazattle
CBJ said:
Browsed that. I looks like he is more into making it look like crap than actually making into a fast and fun track car?
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Strange as most people modifying Corvettes are known for their tasteful well engineered upgrades

The time and $$ put into that car could have been well spent at the track. My guess is it will never actually see a track.
 
jimmydean

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
41,192
13,339
Portland, OR
CBJ said:
Browsed that. I looks like he is more into making it look like crap than actually making into a fast and fun track car?
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The brake upgrades and coil overs are more than just for looks. His fab skills are insane, given that he's only 23 is even crazier to me. While I certainly don't agree with some of the changes, the improved brake venting, rear defuser, functional front splitter and rear wing, all centered around performance.

It was supposed to be done for SEMA but it hasn't been updated in a few months, so who knows.
 
jdcamb

jdcamb

Tool Time!
Feb 17, 2002
19,838
8,438
Nowhere Man!
Fast cars haven't worked out so well for me. I think its because deep down. I am a idiot. Taking Physics in school ruined me..... Cool thread though....
 
atrokz

atrokz

Turbo Monkey
Mar 14, 2002
1,552
77
teedotohdot
Please don't ruin a E36 M3 attempting to make a 'track car'. Just get a 4 door 328 E36 and go from there. The 4 doors are better for track racing (it's what BMW championed because they are more rigid), and the M50 is keen to take boost with a iron block.

All you'd have to do is get the chassis braces welded in to make it take the beating. Save tons of cash, and doesnt ruin a perfectly good M3 in your attempts. Too many people ruining what's a perfectly good street car just to have an M3. It's also then doable for 10k provided you know how to fabricate (if you don't, don't even bother trying and buy a sorted track car already)

- E36 owner, T&D maker, guy who can weld.

I say this because I will be gutting my 4 door E36 in the future for this exact purpose, and have done the research behind it all. Mine will be motivated by a tractor motor (B230FT+16v) that will be a better power plant by far, or a LS1 swap. This is down the road because for now the E36 is wifes car until I get a XC90 or something else for her. Yes, I said a 30 year old Volvo motor is better than a M50. They just are.
 
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Jm_

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,995
9,652
AK
I love driving my Camaro SS with upgraded suspension. I just got a used mercedes X-drive C-class a few months back. It drives just fine, but meh. I'd like to replace my batmobile in the somewhat near future with something a little more all-weather capable, but it's really hard coming up with something that would be as fun as it, I'm even thinking just F-it and go Z28. Godzilla comes to mind, but Z28 smashes even godzilla round a track, and godzilla is butt-ugly IMO, kind of like two different cars joined together in the middle. I do like the Audi 5 series, an S5 is kind of a "less mean" camaro, but I don't know. I shouldn't have bought the camaro in the first place because I love cruising around at 1000rpm all day and then taking a curve way way too fast. Even in wet, it totally smashes my old wrx around corners, only when it gets a little icy or with serious flooding water did the wrx do better, but the better performance tires you have on the wrx, the worse it does in those conditions anyway.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,312
7,738
Jm_: Unless you put a BMW drivetrain swap into your M-B, you have 4Matic.
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,747
5,639
I will get shot down for this, Honda Civic.
If you want to pretend race on a budget you want something light and Japanese, cheap for parts, reliable and when you hit something you don't care as much. If you are beginning in DH you go a decent Glory over a clapped out Yeti, parts are cheap and plentiful.
 
chillindrdude

chillindrdude

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2002
1,852
23
Northern VA, a peckerwood with too many guns
HardtailHack said:
I will get shot down for this, Honda Civic.
If you want to pretend race on a budget you want something light and Japanese, cheap for parts, reliable and when you hit something you don't care as much. If you are beginning in DH you go a decent Glory over a clapped out Yeti, parts are cheap and plentiful.
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i hear ya. i'd like something rear wheel drive tho, but i agree with everything else you said. maybe a nissan 240sx/silvia or mazda rx7/8?
 
HardtailHack

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,747
5,639
chillindrdude said:
i hear ya. i'd like something rear wheel drive tho, but i agree with everything else you said. maybe a nissan 240sx/silvia or mazda rx7/8?
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Nissan for sure or a Honda S2000, do they sell for much in the US?
A couple of friends drift Nissans(Cefiro and 200s) and they have been quite reliable and everything is still easy to find excluding Cefiro body panels.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,312
7,738
That looks to be a 944-spec, to be precise. Nice.

How's the headroom with the cage plus helmet? Besides not having the time for it, I would have to floor mount a seat without rails to fit in a Spec Miata.
 
Toshi

Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,312
7,738
jstuhlman said:
like rx8, but wary of blown turbos.
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RX-8s do eat various parts* but a turbo or two is not among them as they're strictly normally aspirated from the factory.

* mine ate a starter, ECU, plugs, and battery under warranty
 
chillindrdude

chillindrdude

Turbo Monkey
Jan 18, 2002
1,852
23
Northern VA, a peckerwood with too many guns
Toshi said:
That looks to be a 944-spec, to be precise. Nice.

How's the headroom with the cage plus helmet? Besides not having the time for it, I would have to floor mount a seat without rails to fit in a Spec Miata.
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It's actually not bad. Maybe an inch or 2. I'm running a corbeau seat and their dual lock rails, pretty low profile. When I get in, it feels like am sitting on the floor.

It's not quite spec. it's running a few mods, throttle cam, chip, custom headers, and the rear torsion bar has been deleted. This is a track/DE car, so no worries it's not spec since I don't plan on doing W2W racing anytime soon.

Still got a bunch of things to do. It is driveable, but not quite track ready in my opinion. Got it for 4k quasi track prepped. It's got a 1/2 cage, race seats, 5point harness and wheel. Prob gonna put another 3-4k to have it ship shape.

Btw, this is a 1985.5 944. Normally Aspirated.
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,499
19,499
Canaderp
That's pretty cool, wasn't expecting to see a Porsche pop up here. Sounds like a hoot.

Do you have a list of stuff that you need/want to do?
 
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