GVR4 as a daily driver?

I own 3 other vehicles so the GVR4 gets plenty of rest. My life may be taking a change from country life to city life and I might only be able to keep one car. This life change is probably for the best. Please don't be offended, but the 4G63 is not my first choice as a daily driver. From the gas mileage to the reliability, I would rather drive my Ford Escort GT (Mazda BP equipped non-interference motor). Where I am heading, I won't be able to work on my car either and I really don't like that....but life goes on.

I have really put alot into the GVR4 and I don't want to let her go. I have let go of 2 DSM's before this and I have never been the same. I don't want to feel the same about my GVR4 since I love it even more.

Could I ever have a reliably Daily Driven GVR4? I guess that it would require being nice to it for many years until I got back on my feet. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[Scott Y]

My GVR-4 has been running 12s at 5800' for years and is reliable. The only thing that makes them less reliable is the owner/operator using inferior quality parts and skimping on necessary maintenance. Bolting a bunch of parts and beating the crap out of an untuned car can't be something you can blame on any inherent unreliability of the platform (I'm not saying that's what you do, just illustrating a reference point).
If you run 30lbs of boost every day, launch from every light, then you're going to wear any car out.

I've driven my car on 10+ hour drives plenty of times, I consider anything 4g63 powered plenty reliable.

 

[NickDromez]

i use #485 as my daily driver. its quiet enough, its smooth, its comfertable, it gets good gas milage. just take care of it and itll take care of you

 

[Galantvr41062]

My galant VR4 is the first car I bought, and I am in the boat of if it is stock and maintained it can be just as reliable as any other car that is 18years old, or as reliable as any car that is 9 years old making the same power as your current Gvr4. If you leave it stock and maintain the vehicle there is no reason you could not drive it 60k miles before you have to replace the timing belt, clutch, etc. If I needed to make a life style change and go down to 1 vehicle I would also not be looking at a 91/92 Galant VR4.

~John

 

I am listening and I am inspired! I think that my past mistake with my previous DSM(s) were as you all described to be honest.

1st dsm - Was tuned...but I couldn't afford to maintain it anymore yet I was too immature to let go of it or my driving habits!

2nd dsm - Money was not an object but I did not have the skills, self confidence, or patience to work on it. I was too impatient to leave the car down for a while and I didn't have a place to work on it. The car was also tuned by the person who owned it before me and they didn't know what they were doing. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

Missed your post John...I posted right on top of yours. You feel how I kind of feel but the other posters posts are inspiring. My car is far from stock. I ran out of signature space!

 

[Galantvr41062]

It also comes down to how you drive, I drove like an asshat the first few years, but now I drive like a 70 year old grandpa that keeps up with traffic. Just because you may make 400whp+ or - does not meen you need to use it all the time, in which case the car will be as reliable as if it made 100whp or what ever you end up using just driving around "normal". As for MPG the best my car got was heading out to the Dells in wisconsin, I had a Mutt 1 and supporting mods, I made about 320fwp and got 27mpg.

~John

 

You all are right. I have grown up slower than most and I am 35! The temptation is always there with a car this powerful. Heck if I can drive my Escort GT down the highway at 65 mph day in day out to see how many MPG I can get off of it, I guess that just take it easy on the GVR4 and just be happy to have it!

 

[donkeylips]

I daily drove 924/1000 for the past year and aside from my ISC motor wreaking some havoc in the dead of winter, the tranny exploding, and the clutch slave taking a dump in the spring it was very reliable. Some of the electrical devices and wiring/connectors get old and you'll usually find those quirks fast; they're easy to track down. I would only use mitsu timing components and a high quality water pump and make sure every engine gasket is fresh. I would never use cheap parts there, replace it all at once and put a few thousand miles on the car and you'll know if she's reliable.

 

convinced!

 

[bmxkid415]

I daily drive 623 everywhere. I have no other car and I put 30k a year on my car. Its been all over the east coast and I would drive it from NY to CA in a heart beat. It has some small slight mods but nothing crazy. I don't know what I would do with out my GVR4

 

+1 on proper maintenance
+1 on using quality parts

I learned the hard way on both of those, but since then my GVR4 has been extremely reliable. This past week I took the car on a 900 mile round trip, which included over 100 miles of dirt roads and some mild four-wheeling. The car ran great the entire time, I averaged over 24 mpg over the trip (would've been better but the wind blows hard in Wyoming), and I never felt nervous that the car would leave me stuck or stranded. At the beginning of this year I took the car 2100 miles in a 5 day span with the same outcome. If you feel like you'd be better off with your Escort GT, dig through your local phone book. Indoor storage might be cheaper than you think.

 

[496of2000]

I just spent about 500 to get the right front 5 lug hub replaced. It was bent and had a bad wheel bearing. Outer tie rod was bad too.

 

[turbofonz]

I've been daily driving nothing but 4g63's for about 5 years now.

For 2 or more years was my 11 second 1g... Maintain it, and you'll be fine.

I'm driving my VR-4 right now with ZERO problems.

 

[belize1334]

I've had three problems that took the car out of commission which weren't my fault.

1) Timing belt jumped a tooth when the A/C belt broke and got sucked in. Cost a few hundred dollars to fix because I got lucky.

2) Stock transmission bearings went south so I had to get another transmission.

3) Heater hose blew resulting in over-heating due to coolant loss.

All of the above incidents COULD have been avoided with proper preventative maintenance. Every other problem I've had has either been easy to catch and repair before it came to anything, or else was my own fault. If you're on top of it and are diligent about maintenance, then there's no reason a 4g can't be reliable.

BUT... you'll never get the same kind of mileage that you would out of a Honda. My gf has a '98 accord 2.4L sohc sedan and we use it for road trips. It's more aerodynamic with an engine that was designed for efficiency and cruises at 3k rpm at 85mph... and I don't work on it which makes it "feel" more reliable.

 

[bustedsm]

I ran my VR4 with the big 16g at 21lbs (292whp / 303ft lbs) for about a year and a half with no issues, and then ran it with the SBR G60 at 26lbs daily for another year and a half before it finally let go....plenty of racing, backroading, and abuse everyday!

If done right, it can run for quite some time, I'm hoping that I can keep this setup running solidly for a minimum of two to three years at 30+lbs of boost /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DR1665]

I bought my second GVR4 specifically to BE my daily driver.

Aside from other drivers not paying attention, the only issue I've ever had was a roached tcase - and I might have avoided that, had I done a better job of keeping up on quality fluids.

464/1000 might not get the best mileage (barely 20mpg @85mph w/AC), but it starts every time and runs nice and cool (now that I've finally replaced all the cooling system hoses and components like I should have done in the first place). If I can sit in 115*F, 40% humidity Phoenix monsoon weather slow-n-go rush hour traffic with 45* AC blowing and a temp gauge barely pointing to 11 o'clock, you can man up and keep the more unique and interesting vehicle when you move into town.

Don't get me wrong, not talking sh*t on the old Escort GT - they were sweet rides - but there can't be more than about 1300 GVR4s left on the continent. It's paid for. Should all hell break loose, rent a storage unit in town and grab a $1000 Volvo to drive until you've got cash to get the VR4 back on the road, then sell the Volvo for $1000.

You can do it.

Never, ever, ever, EVER give up.