My GVR4 saga continues. I picked up a clean, one-owner, California Galant VR4 about 2 years ago now. I had built up a stock-pile of parts to make it a fun, fast daily driver. Then with my new company etc. I just didn't have time for it, so I sold (nearly all of) the parts and prepared to sell the car. In the mean-time the trans/tcase got rebuilt (and a Cusco front LSD added) and the car was in pieces. As such I've never actually been able to sell it, and it's still sitting at a friends house non-running.
The latest wild idea I've had is to build it to DSP spec for AutoXing. I've always enjoyed AutoXing, and between my '99 Z/28 Camaro (sold almost 5 years ago) and my current '02 Z06 I've probably done over 100 AutoXs. The Z06 continues its progression to a track-only car (600RWHP LS7 completed a few months ago, and a full cage going in currently) it doesn't fit in any AutoX class, and really is just retarded as an AutoX car. For those that aren't familiar with the "SP" or Street Prepared classes, they are the next step beyond the stock classes, and allow a fair amount of modding but not too wild. The leading letter designates the set of cars that are in the class, and the GVR4 falls in "D"SP. For reference, the Evo VII/IX are cleaning house in BSP (their "SP" class), so much so that there is talk/motions to move them to ASP (where they'd compete w/ modified C5 and C6 Corvettes, to include the Z06s and I believe ZR1s, Vipers, 911s of all sorta including TT/GT2/GT3, etc). AWD and AutoX really do get along well.
In DSP the current "car to have" is the E36 BMW 325is. M3s are not DSP legal, so the 325is is the "best" non-M E36 2-door. Locally there is also a guy w/ a XR4ti that is very fast, and one extremely well prepped 2.5 RS (still NA as per the rules) that is very quick as well. I think a GVR4 could have the potential of being a huge over-dog here.
Roughly, the rules would allow:
[*]Unlimited boost /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif [*]Any intake/exhaust setup imaginable so long as it retains the stock turbo[*]Any FMIC[*]Any fuel system (and any fuel, to include E85)[*]Any suspension mods that retain the stock mounting locations[*]Any wheels/tires[*]Add-on fender flares to accommodate said wheels/tires (complete aftermarket fenders a not allowed, only added flares)[*]Minor weight reduction (things like race seats, steering wheel, AC-delete, etc[*]Any LSDs desired (again, my trans already has a Cusco front LSD) so long as they retain the stock cases (I think this means I could not use a 1G 4-bolt rear pumpkin/LSD /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif )[*]Any clutch[*]Any brakes[/list]
There's a lot more detail to the rules, but that's sort of the gist of it. Some of the details I'm trying to figure out are the legality of ABS and 4WS deletes. The way the rules read is that as long as a part was stock on any car "on the same line" it is legal to swap onto your car. The non-VR4 Galants are "on the same line" as the GVR4 so I would assume if a base model Galant did not have ABS (I'm not sure if they did/didn't) and did not have 4WS (of course they didn't) I could swap to those parts legally... I'm working on confirming that.
So a few questions:
[*]How much wheel-HP could one make on a stock (assuming freshly rebuilt) 14b with E85 and all the supporting mods (fuel, FMIC, ARPs, etc)?[*]What are the best options in suspension currently for the GVR4 (last I looked there were only hokey Ebay coilovers for our cars, no "real" options?[*]What is a realistic weight for a GVR4 with race front seats, a light steering wheel, AC/Stereo delete, ABS delete, 4WS delete?[*]With fender-flares could I run a 275 or 285 width tire?[*]Will the hubs hold up to AutoXing on a 285 Hoosier A6?[*]What am I overlooking that's going to hurt my cause?[/list]
I know a local guy that ran a GVR4 in DSP pretty successfully before they changed the rules to allow unlimited boost, and before E85 was around. He also didn't want to hack up his fenders so he was only on a 245 tire. He's pretty convinced that if he still had his GVR4 and went up to 275 or 285 tires, more boost and E85 it'd be a class-winning car (obviously assuming the driver was there too).
-TJ
The latest wild idea I've had is to build it to DSP spec for AutoXing. I've always enjoyed AutoXing, and between my '99 Z/28 Camaro (sold almost 5 years ago) and my current '02 Z06 I've probably done over 100 AutoXs. The Z06 continues its progression to a track-only car (600RWHP LS7 completed a few months ago, and a full cage going in currently) it doesn't fit in any AutoX class, and really is just retarded as an AutoX car. For those that aren't familiar with the "SP" or Street Prepared classes, they are the next step beyond the stock classes, and allow a fair amount of modding but not too wild. The leading letter designates the set of cars that are in the class, and the GVR4 falls in "D"SP. For reference, the Evo VII/IX are cleaning house in BSP (their "SP" class), so much so that there is talk/motions to move them to ASP (where they'd compete w/ modified C5 and C6 Corvettes, to include the Z06s and I believe ZR1s, Vipers, 911s of all sorta including TT/GT2/GT3, etc). AWD and AutoX really do get along well.
In DSP the current "car to have" is the E36 BMW 325is. M3s are not DSP legal, so the 325is is the "best" non-M E36 2-door. Locally there is also a guy w/ a XR4ti that is very fast, and one extremely well prepped 2.5 RS (still NA as per the rules) that is very quick as well. I think a GVR4 could have the potential of being a huge over-dog here.
Roughly, the rules would allow:
[*]Unlimited boost /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif [*]Any intake/exhaust setup imaginable so long as it retains the stock turbo[*]Any FMIC[*]Any fuel system (and any fuel, to include E85)[*]Any suspension mods that retain the stock mounting locations[*]Any wheels/tires[*]Add-on fender flares to accommodate said wheels/tires (complete aftermarket fenders a not allowed, only added flares)[*]Minor weight reduction (things like race seats, steering wheel, AC-delete, etc[*]Any LSDs desired (again, my trans already has a Cusco front LSD) so long as they retain the stock cases (I think this means I could not use a 1G 4-bolt rear pumpkin/LSD /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif )[*]Any clutch[*]Any brakes[/list]
There's a lot more detail to the rules, but that's sort of the gist of it. Some of the details I'm trying to figure out are the legality of ABS and 4WS deletes. The way the rules read is that as long as a part was stock on any car "on the same line" it is legal to swap onto your car. The non-VR4 Galants are "on the same line" as the GVR4 so I would assume if a base model Galant did not have ABS (I'm not sure if they did/didn't) and did not have 4WS (of course they didn't) I could swap to those parts legally... I'm working on confirming that.
So a few questions:
[*]How much wheel-HP could one make on a stock (assuming freshly rebuilt) 14b with E85 and all the supporting mods (fuel, FMIC, ARPs, etc)?[*]What are the best options in suspension currently for the GVR4 (last I looked there were only hokey Ebay coilovers for our cars, no "real" options?[*]What is a realistic weight for a GVR4 with race front seats, a light steering wheel, AC/Stereo delete, ABS delete, 4WS delete?[*]With fender-flares could I run a 275 or 285 width tire?[*]Will the hubs hold up to AutoXing on a 285 Hoosier A6?[*]What am I overlooking that's going to hurt my cause?[/list]
I know a local guy that ran a GVR4 in DSP pretty successfully before they changed the rules to allow unlimited boost, and before E85 was around. He also didn't want to hack up his fenders so he was only on a 245 tire. He's pretty convinced that if he still had his GVR4 and went up to 275 or 285 tires, more boost and E85 it'd be a class-winning car (obviously assuming the driver was there too).
-TJ