| Complexity |
Hey guys,
I am new into tuning and I wanted to ask for some advice. Right now I am only 18, in collage and working on my free time. I really do want to get into auto tuning but I don't know if it is worth it.
Right now I am driving a 4 door 2004 Hyundai Elantra (note my ride description) Sure I could put cash into that but what would be the point? What would you recommend as a good starting project car? I would prefer if there was a lot of work to do on the thing so I could invest quite a bit of my free time into it and really learn the mechanics behind engines, body etc. The downside is I have nothing in the way of tools and a limited budget. Is it even worht trying to start something up at the moment? |
|
|
| TrevorK |
If you have a limited budget, then I'd hold off.
Modifying a car is expensive, and if you do it yourself you do need tools to do it with, which can get expensive. $20 here, $40 there and pretty soon you have $500 worth of tools when your budget was $100.
The other thing to consider is do you have the room to have a project car?
I know even now, with a double car garage, a 4 car wide driveway and RV parking I wouldn't want to have a project car taking up space. |
|
|
| ehrgeiz |
If your willing to work at something over a long period of time I'd say it's worth it. Before anyone could recommend a project car they would have to know your eventual goals for the car?
Street/Show?
Drag racing?
Road racing?
Rally racing? |
|
|
| HeavyEarly87T |
Complexity,
Tools:
$200 well spent on tools will cover 95% of all your needs. Keep rolling throught the Crappy Tire flyers for the deals...over 3 years I have bought most of my tools at 50% or less off and they are guaranted.
If you need a special tool for once or twice go to princess auto and buy the cheap stuff. I bought a 32mm socket there cause I needed it once in my motor swap. I'll never use it again.
Project Car:
Pick something everybody is tuning. You will find a ton of support and many deals on used parts for your project. Join a club too, our club members will help out others with many project cars and clubs are good places to look for a project car.
Just my thoughts,
Url |
|
|
| Complexity |
quote:
Originally posted by ehrgeiz
Street/Show?
Drag racing?
Road racing?
Rally racing?
I was thinking of making a drifting car. I would also want to use it as a daily drver. Yeah, call me crazy.
@ TrevorK
My parents said they would let me use the garage at thier house because they only have one vehicle that they hardly ever put in it anyway.
@ HeavyEarly87T
Sounds like a good idea. Even if I don't need the tools right away it might be handy to have some around the house. |
|
|
| ehrgeiz |
| If I were in your situation I'd look for a beaten/blown SOHC Nissan 240sx. With the amount of cars and parts being thrown around from all the JDM imports in my opinion it would the way to go when building a drift car. |
|
|
| Complexity |
| That is what iw as thinking too ehrgeiz. There is the blown siliva up in Edmonton area. Too bad it will cost an arm and a leg for the car and then i would have to get it shipped down here to Calgary. Not worth it me thinks. A 240SX does sound tempting, I will look around and see what I find. |
|
|
| GOT BOOST |
quote:
Originally posted by Complexity
Hey guys,
I am new into tuning and I wanted to ask for some advice. Right now I am only 18, in collage and working on my free time. I really do want to get into auto tuning but I don't know if it is worth it.
Right now I am driving a 4 door 2004 Hyundai Elantra (note my ride description) Sure I could put cash into that but what would be the point? What would you recommend as a good starting project car? I would prefer if there was a lot of work to do on the thing so I could invest quite a bit of my free time into it and really learn the mechanics behind engines, body etc. The downside is I have nothing in the way of tools and a limited budget. Is it even worht trying to start something up at the moment?
Hi complexity,
The Elantra is a nice car. I had one for 2 weeks as a rental car. I feel there is potential or this car.
As for tuning, it all depends on what you want to do with it. You mentioned on a post on this thread that you want tune it for drifting. If that is the case, you may want to look at a different vehcile. Perhaps one that is Rear Wheel drive. With rear wheel drive you can still negotiate turns better while braking, and sliding than what you could with a front wheel drive set up. This is because your rear wheels are powering you thus giving you more control in a pushing motion rather than pulling. In a front wheel drive set up as you know the front wheels are powering you, however when you are braking, guess which ones are braking..... the front ones.
However you can still do it with a front wheel drive car. Things to tune would be engine, suspension (Strut tower bar, enhanced front and rear sway bars, rear strut tower bar) Struts and springs. You would want to be able to loose control and regain and maintain control very quickly. Also look at exhaust. Different "performance mufflers" offer different exhaust notes. As for piping, I would go with no more than 2.25 to 2.50 inch on the exhaust pipe on a NA 4 cyl car. Reason for this is you want to reduce backpressure. Loss of back pressure will hurt you in the lower end, but loss of it in the higher end will help you gain a few KM/h and hp in the higher RPM range. If you go with too little back pressure be prepared to have pedestrians out accelerate you in the lower speeds.
If you throw a turbocharger on this, you then would want to look at 3 inch exhaust piping from the turbo back with no restrictions.
As for the tools, I bought mostly all Craftsman. Yes, they are expensive but when they break (and they will at the worst time) you can just take them back under warranty.
Watch the fliers for sales and things. Yes, women need to be praised for their "super sale items, and religious flyer checking". This will help your budget. Also do your research before you jump into a project. Find out what the total cost till be "Time, Tools, Parts, parts that can be upgraded since you are in that area already". This will help out.
But most importantly have fun and prepare a budget.
Hope this helps and sorry for the long post.
Mike Nikolai |
|
|
| TrevorK |
RWD:
RX7
240SX
Supra
MR2 (Pre 1990)
Mustang
Those all can be had for cheap and are RWD.
Out of all the RWDs, the best aftermarket would be the domestics (Mustangs, Camaro's, etc...) followed by the 240SX platform.
The Supra's might be very fun for cheap, because even the low-end one's still have a V6 (Which offers some nice torque). Get yourself an older one (83-85), which will look good and give you the potential to swap in another motor (Like a 300HP 1JZ even) later on down the road. Supra's with work needed are easily under $2000... |
|
|
| GOT BOOST |
quote:
Originally posted by TrevorK
RWD:
RX7
240SX
Supra
MR2 (Pre 1990)
Mustang
Those all can be had for cheap and are RWD.
Out of all the RWDs, the best aftermarket would be the domestics (Mustangs, Camaro's, etc...) followed by the 240SX platform.
The Supra's might be very fun for cheap, because even the low-end one's still have a V6 (Which offers some nice torque). Get yourself an older one (83-85), which will look good and give you the potential to swap in another motor (Like a 300HP 1JZ even) later on down the road. Supra's with work needed are easily under $2000...
Hi Trevor_K and Complexity,
The Supra is a good option for a drift car. However the has been much debate on in the Supra community inregards as to which engine is best for it. The concensus has been that the 7MGE or 7MGTE are sub par motor options for drifting due to the location of the oil pump. The 7M motor will starve its self of oil in the drift and lead the motor to an un timely death. The 1JZ motor is a far superior option and I feel that it would be worth while to save up the money and do the swap before you find out the hard way and tow your ride back.
Mike Nikolai
....Just read Trevors post about the 83-85 Supra. :smack: Well If you get a MKIII that info will be helpfull to you......
Mike Nikolai |
|
|
| Trowa |
Pick a car you like the looks of, cause with enough money anything will go fast LOL But whatever you do, make sure the car you buy doesnt have rust, or very little of it, because getting rid of rust will cost more than any engine build up IMO.
Supras are nice, but then I have one lol and it's inline6 not V6....
Maybe go and test drive the cars u r considering in pretty good condition so you have an idea of what the car should feel like and whether you like it....
But anyway, good luck with the project, and be prepared to pay, cause chances are it will cost you more than you expect lol ask me how I know lol
Andriy |
|
|
| n0c7 |
| If you want to turn yourself into a back alley mechanic spending countless hours and hard work and not to mention 80% of your pay cheque, go for it! Welcome aboard! :thumbup: |
|
|
| Complexity |
Thank you all very much for your insightful posts. I will look around and do some more research.
Right now I am leaning on getting a 240SX but Trevor also brings up a good point about the 80s modle Supra. I guess insurance will be the main deciding factor in the end. While yes, I know that in the end the insurance will be the death of me (18, male 2 points left on GDL 1 crash) I figure it will be worth it.
Once again, tahnk you to everyone who pitched their 2 cents. Now it is time to go off and research :-D |
|
|
| Supra_devil |
quote:
Originally posted by TrevorK
RWD:
RX7
240SX
Supra
MR2 (Pre 1990)
Mustang
Those all can be had for cheap and are RWD.
Out of all the RWDs, the best aftermarket would be the domestics (Mustangs, Camaro's, etc...) followed by the 240SX platform.
The Supra's might be very fun for cheap, because even the low-end one's still have a V6 (Which offers some nice torque). Get yourself an older one (83-85), which will look good and give you the potential to swap in another motor (Like a 300HP 1JZ even) later on down the road. Supra's with work needed are easily under $2000...
I6, not V. its better.
82-86 not 83-85
1jz is a expensive swap with most parts being from overseas, the 2jz goes in with the same mods and is much easier to get parts.
7m bolts in using stock motor mounts < most superir mk2 engine swap available, cheapest, easiest, still capable of 300hp easily.
bad choice for someone on a budget, you will wait for everything, and its not cheap, as well as a limited aftermarket for, 240 and rx7 is superior for aftermarket by far.
however there is an edmonton supra club, and we have a couple mk2 owners (myself included) that have been working them for 5 years or so. |
|
|
| Complexity |
| Do any of you guys have any links to websites for noobs like me to learn the ins and outs of tuning? |
|
|
| HeavyEarly87T |
Complexity,
That would depend on the car you go with. I have 5 main sites I use for the Supra.
Other cars will have their sites; it just depends on what you choose to go with. Most of the mods are the same but set up differently on other cars.
Url. |
|
|
| Complexity |
| Well if that is the case, show me the supra pages. I am still interested even if it dosn't relate that much to the car I am getting. However, I still need to get insurance quotes for everything. Chances are I won't get the supra mainly due to the insane amount of cash I will have to shell out just to insure it. We will see. |
|
|
| GOT BOOST |
quote:
Originally posted by Complexity
Do any of you guys have any links to websites for noobs like me to learn the ins and outs of tuning?
Hi Complexity,
That question is difficult to answer. It depends on what vehicle you are looking to tune.
I can however reccomend that you look at manufacturer's sites directly for better product description.
Ie) www.hksusa.com
www.apexi-usa.com
You can also do a search for the vehicle under a search engine. One of my favorite search engines is www.hotbot.com. This search can sometimes be fruitless, yet it can be frutifull.
Sometimes you can come accross some great sites that are dedicated to tuning that partiular car. The more info you arm your self with the better educated you will become in the tuning end. Be cautious thought. You may get stomped on as a "newbie" for asking a question. That question may have been asked a million times before by other people and some people get agitated with the post. Typically people will respond by saying "look in the FAQ" section. Personally I dislike the FAQ section on any site as it takes me years to successfully navigate through. No disrespect meant for the FAQ on the 780 tuner site.
If all else fails you can always post a question here. Myself or someone else would be more than happy to answer it for you.
Hope this helps.
Mike Nikolai |
|
|
| ehrgeiz |
Fresh Alloy
CLicky ^
Scroll down to Nissan vehicles 240sx (advanced and basic forums) and start reading thread after thread. |
|
|
| Grandmaster |
| If you're worried about cost, I wouldn't really recommend a supra. Civics and 240 parts are easier to come as more companies make aftermarket parts for these cars |
|
|
| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by Complexity
Well if that is the case, show me the supra pages. I am still interested even if it dosn't relate that much to the car I am getting. However, I still need to get insurance quotes for everything. Chances are I won't get the supra mainly due to the insane amount of cash I will have to shell out just to insure it. We will see.
Basic PLPD insurance will be virtually the same for any car you choose (Within $100 because of the comprehensive you should carry).
It's only if you add collision (Which may not make sense on a $2000 car) that it takes into consideration the type of car. |
|
|
| Complexity |
Thanks guys.
I guess I should have been more specific in my question. I am looking for websites that offer a vehicle break-down. Sort of like those Hoss (Is it Hoss?) books where they show you how to take apart a stock model of whatever car the book is for and how to rebuild/replace parts. In a different post I made about the Mustang turbo kits someone shot me a link to a site where users submitted guides to things shuch as a tailight swap from stock to a special cobra light. These walkthroughs contained pictures and some commentary of what they did or what problems they came across while doing whatever the tutorial was about.
So far in my search I have come across thousands of parts for the 240. As to be expected. The problem I am running into is finding an actual car to do the mods on! I searched locally on eBay, Autotrader and the Bargin Finder. There were 240s listed but they were either a) already modded b) stock. Asking price was far to much for what the car was worth (in my opinion) or c) The perfect project car. No engine, some minor panel damage and rust free frame. Problem? Most of them were waaaay down south in the States.
I will continue my search but so far it isn't looking very good. |
|
|
| Supra_devil |
for the supras there is a good online manual
http://www.cygnusx1.net/supra/techtips.html
has mk2 and mk3 supras, has most everything
The best resource for info on the mk2 is celicasupra.com
for all other supras supraforums.com.
hope that whatever car you choose yoy have fun, not having fun kills a project fast. |
|
|
| Complexity |
Thanks for the links Supra_devil :)
That is pretty much what i am looking for. Most of those sites have pretty good resources. |
|
|
| Nightstalker |
| TURBO DSM ENGINE SWAP ! Into the Korean car.. It can be done to most of them only a little trouble.. And pretty much no one is going to expect to get tooled by one. |
|
|
| Complexity |
quote:
Originally posted by Nightstalker
TURBO DSM ENGINE SWAP ! Into the Korean car.. It can be done to most of them only a little trouble.. And pretty much no one is going to expect to get tooled by one.
LMFAO! I am tempted to do that...oh god am I ever. But I mean really, the thing is a 4 door automatic :-( |
|
|
|
