Rarity Among VR4's?

[gtluke]

Quoting turbowop:
Maybe you're just way better at autocross than the guys driving those other cars.

I bet you'd be just as fast if your GVR4 had a sunroof. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dunno.gif



It's not me, I've autocrossed exactly 3 times. Once last year, once the year before that, and once in like 2001

The car is a beast at the mid sized autocross courses that the BMW club puts on. It goes into, through, and out of turns so effortlessly and flawlessly. I bet I'd be super fast if someone who knew WTF they were doing at least told me what to do with my tire pressure. Or if I didn't set my alignment in my driveway with string and rulers. But it rips, the 14b at full tilt on a stock million mile motor is actually fantastic especially when paired with the evo transmission, using a 1gdsm shifter mounted on a plate that raises up a good 4 inches so it's in a nice spot while driving. The thing is ALWAYS in boost, and it always seems to be exactly the right amount of HP. Much more and the car would be difficult to drive. The stock brakes with good hoses and with good pads up front are perfectly balanced with the characteristics of the car. Stomp on them, and it slows perfectly. Jump off the brakes, crank the wheel and lean on the evo MR struts and cut espiler springs, the rear wheels squeek moments before the fronts, then hammer back on the gas half way through the turn and it exits PERFECT. The major flaw of the car is I can't get the power steering to stop exploding at high RPM's with the wheel cut hard. I've resealed the pump twice, and it just erupts out of the main o-rings. I need to get back on installing the 2g PS pump I got, and see if that helps. It would probably help if I put in new trailing arms that have those nice heim joints instead of home made bushings welded in to eliminate the active rear toe. The welded bushings force an unnatural binding arc in the wheel travel, but it's 100 times better than the rubber bushings.

 

[gtluke]

the panel missing doesn't effect the chassis, there is no structure where the panel was, it's just sheet metal, there is good structure around the border of the roof by the doors.
trust me, I had a good look at all of it.

 

[gtluke]

Oh, here's how I know for sure. 3 times a week I put a 30# bicycle on my roof. I'll take the pepsi challenge on if I can tell there is a bike up there or not. You can totally feel it in the handling of the car. It's probably worse because it's even higher up on the roof, but my bike is sure lighter than that anchor of a moonroof contraption they put in the roof.

 

[prove_it]

Wait, you stitch welded your frame pieces? Yea, that won't compare to a stock car.

I like 40 rear and 34 front for tire pressures. Basically If I remember right the higher the pressure the narrower the slip angle of the tire. (how fast the tire will break free). Lower pressures are more stable but won't grip as well in corners. It does help mine rotate better, but you have welded your chassis. Hell I did that to my 95 accord and I could slide the rear tires just by lifting the throttle quick and snapping the steering wheel quick. That thing would go sideways. Get on the throttle and control the understeer and damn it was fun.

Stiffening the chassis like that is a whole other thing.

As far as your P/S issue, your having cutout isssues. It's common on 1G pumps. Search and you'll find a solution to PS cutout. It's a fast easy fix.

 

[turbowop]

Jesus, Luke. Who pissed in your Wheaties this morning? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rofl.gif

Nobody said you don't know what you're talking about. "13 f***ing years" and you've autocrossed three times? I'd rather have the sunroof in my car for the rest of the 99% of the time and take what little performance hit there may be, if any. In theory all that weight sounds horrible, but I still think if your car had that sunroof in it, you'd see the same lap times as without. Maybe it's more noticeable during your morning commutes from stoplight to stoplight. I'm sure the stitched chassis gets you to the local Starbucks much quicker as well, or to Walmart to buy new flip flops. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif

 

[gtluke]

It's not like I drive like a grandma when I'm not at autocross, I get out of 1st gear in my driveway /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif
The PS cut fix is the reason that the pump is pissing fluid, the cut is there to prevent the crazy high pressure, I fixed the cut, but the crazy high pressure now makes the pump erupt. There isn't a fix, but I'll try a 2g PS pump and see if it helps.

 

[prove_it]

By the way, I think the rarest VR4 stateside is a bone stock any color, professionally maintained non rust car.