should i modify my car??

[Putonyourshoes]

oh wow that sounds interesting.. make sure you post here when he's figured it out

[323Racer]

well if i step on the acc very quickly there is a slpit second of lagg before the revs go up...is dat wat u mean by the dead spot....so its coz of the AFM huh...

[Sleepy Gonzalez]

If I'm seeing the picture right, that air intake scoop under the car appears to be dangerously close to being a potential water scoop. Thought I'd mention that just in case you weren't aware of the risk of hydrolock.

[zappy65]

Yes, the lag is what i mean and this inturn will kill your acceleration...all Astina's however suffer from it...the AFM controls how much air to put in, and this inturn lets the ECU figure out the injector cycle load, having a pod filter will let more air in but what you want is cold air, not lots of air...in a NA engine there is only so much air that can be pushed in at any given time but if its cold it will combust better...ever noticed when you drive a warm car at night how much more zippier it is, this is why...colder air = more fun...id put a box around tho pod and see how you go, i made a SS box for mine and i actually noticed the diiference, it feels like im driving at night, during the day..hahahaha

[phoenix steve]

hey guys this is my first time in any forum and i'm still a little fuzzy on how to use it so heres hoping i get it right.
i would like to know if a 2.5 motor and auto trans from a 626 will slot straight into the engine bay of a V6 auto astina. also any ideas on availability of a suitable front cut to do the job in OZ and possibly a rough idea of the expense. i know i'm asking a lot but i'm guessing that is what this is all about.
thanks. regards steve.

[phoenix steve]

hey guys this is my first time in any forum and i'm still a little fuzzy on how to use it so heres hoping i get it right.
i would like to know if a 2.5 motor and auto trans from a 626 will slot straight into the engine bay of a V6 auto astina. also any ideas on availability of a suitable front cut to do the job in OZ and possibly a rough idea of the expense. i know i'm asking a lot but i'm guessing that is what this is all about.
thanks. regards steve.

[project.r.racing]

hi phoenix steve - their are lots of threads answering all those questions, have a quick browse...

[project.r.racing]

if there is a lag, hot air from the engine bay will not be the cause.

i would be money on it being either a sloppy acc cable or a dirty wire inside the AFM.

i wouldn't worry about water travelling up the piping you have created for you CAI. although it is very low to the ground and would be sucking up the hot air from just above the tarmac on hot days.

ryan

[323Racer]

its really the only place i can put it....coz theres all this metal frame blocking the pipe from getting through into where the fog lights should be...i looked on the other thread where a guy actualli did it with the same model as mine but in the pic where his front bumper is off i dont see any metal frames in the way...anyway im thinking of getting a new front bumper from carmate.com and then getting a custom made hole through where the resonator is into the front bumper for the cold air pipe...but man i juss dunno wat im doing wrong...
lately i've been getting beaten so badly by old subaru imprezas.....holden commodores and mazda 3's n 6's....i know obviously the rex has a turbo n both the mazda's n holden has a bigger engine...but no matter how hard i step on the acc they juss seem to zoom right pass with ease....n it sux coz i've been working hard on my car for the past few months....

this is my "heatshield" for the moment....

[project.r.racing]

1. full exhaust -> from head to tip,
2. use 95ron fuel,
3. metal piping -> between AFM and throttle,
4. ECU -> tune for 98ron,
5. high flow head.

Do this stuff in the numbered order above... Hopefully it will help.

[323Racer]

is that the pipe i should be replacing with a metal one...sorri about the small pic..
maybe i should try to find a whole pipe from throttle through the afm to the pod so i dont have that crappy adapter there n so many hose clamps..

and the high flow headers....do i do that with the full exhaust system...cause high flow headers means bigger extractors or did i juss put it to simply..wats the difference between extractors and high flow extractors...size...shape?

n im already using permium so i can tick that off the list

now i gotta go looking for a 98ron ecu compatible to my car....wat does that do exactly?...increase efficiency with the use of 98 ron fuel?

oh yeah lately i've been timing my car from 0-100 n i got 10secs..but i hit juss a lil above 9secs 2nite...is that good?? wats ur time project.r.racing snce u have the sdame model it would be cool to set a time for myself

[project.r.racing]

high flow header = extractors

just do the full exhaust 1st and see how you like it. you never know, that could be enough for you???

also - a few thing you may wanna check are your plugs, leads, dissy and coil condition. if any 1 of these are not working properly, it means less spark and less power.

you have a 97 right? what suspension are you running? ages of suspension conponents are?

ryan

[323Racer]

oh so by full exhaust system u mean juss catback n muffler? i thought it included extractors

so i \should get the electrics of the engine cheaked....well they did a major service when i first got my car about 6 mths ago n rekon the spark plugs are alrite but i'll get it cheaked out again and the acc cord n AFM wire...hmm hope the RX-7 AFM will be ready soon....hehehe

i think the suspension is standard....im not sure what it is but its not been modified or changed, prob been the same since 97'

[project.r.racing]

no by full exhaust sytem, i mean full exhaust system... cat back in only 1/2 a system and not worth doing alone.

standard suspension isn't gonna help your cause at all. Upgrade that before looking for extra power.

i bet when you hit the acc hard, your front end lifts to the heavens right??? causing all the weight to shift to the back, giving poor accelleration.

ryan

[rodhog]

Originally Posted by 323Racer

lately i've been getting beaten so badly by old subaru imprezas.....holden commodores and mazda 3's n 6's....i know obviously the rex has a turbo n both the mazda's n holden has a bigger engine...but no matter how hard i step on the acc they juss seem to zoom right pass with ease....n it sux coz i've been working hard on my car for the past few months....

this is my "heatshield" for the moment....

Look I should proberly not say it but as your not in my state anyway. But you have two things wrong

1 car - wrong
2 budget wrong.

If you want to be winner on street or at least win a few traffic light Grand Prix. You need an edge and as sad as it is both a BP or KF BA is not going to cut it.
The power to weight and torque to weight ratio means it's only average - in straight line out right battle and it's got nothing in the way of on the move excelleration.

So what do you do. You improve other sections as well as power.

My bet is your also transfering alot of weight to the rear, before the car is even moving this alone in a low powered car can help eliminate up to second.
But do take note it still would not beat a well conditioned 202 Kingswood with a trimatic. As low powered as they were, being RWD they got it where it counted.

So Take advantage of the really well desgined suspension system of the BA. With just the right springs, shocks and rear sway bar this can really turn them into something that might not compete well in a straight line but a car that can compete in the corners a well. I know WA is not like sydney or melbourne where you can have this Duel, which I think Are wrong.

but even when you get those other mods listed to the engine, remember a 626 turbo/Tx5 of 1987 listed at doing 7.7seconds to 100km stock on 91RON.


Use the Ba's strongest points

Good brakes ( especially on the V6 model)
Really well desgined road chassis. It's got the right stuff in desgin. Don't over lower it and you will e able to take corners as well or better then many many other cars on the market, then and today.
if it's stock the rear end will be soft and you can't expect anything decent with crap suspension.


But as stated before, if you want to Beat all those other cars if that's your main aim you have to have the right equipment.
Unfortunatly a BA has very limted going for it, with out large amounts of money put into it.

IMO it sounds like your going to regreat modifying this car as it will not give you the results you are looking for.

[project.r.racing]

Originally Posted by rodhog

So what do you do. You improve other sections as well as power. My bet is your also transfering alot of weight to the rear, before the car is even moving this alone in a low powered car can help eliminate up to second.

Strongly agree!

Originally Posted by rodhog

Use the Ba's strongest points

Good brakes ( especially on the V6 model)
Really well desgined road chassis. It's got the right stuff in desgin. Don't over lower it and you will e able to take corners as well or better then many many other cars on the market, then and today.
if it's stock the rear end will be soft and you can't expect anything decent with crap suspension.

Strongly agree again, that's why i asked the question of what suspesion 323Racer was running/using.

I think we have found the reason for the 1 sec lag issue, (if you can call it that.)

Although I know you can lower it 30-40mm before you have suspension geometry issues. After that, extra lowering can be overcome by expensive suspension components.

This is what I suggest you do 323Racer to boost you performance:-
Buy extractors
Buy 4x new shocks
Buy 4x lowered/stiffer springs
Buy a front strut brace
Buy a rear sway bar

This will cost you $2000+, it is your choice if you do it or not. If you do, come back and report your on you likes or dislikes of it all.

Ryan

[323Racer]

well im slowly starting to regret it....but if my car has the potential to be better at cornering then thats what i'll do....i thought after doing the filter with the CAI n having a larger exhaust n also using premium fuel would boost my car exteremly but its not doing a whole lot...i guess i juss expected to much but thanx to you guys with all your great advice i got some hope back in making my hatchback a performance car...

$2000 doesnt seem to bad....what brand would be best for me?

[project.r.racing]

Originally Posted by 323Racer

hey guys btw forgot to tahnk you guys for my other posat on spoilers...much appreciated...its been about 5 months now since i bought my first car which is a mazda astina 323 1997 BA model....i want to modify the wheels, exhaust, spoiler and parts of the engine but is all this worth it on my 1.8 L ??

im really like struggling here....isit worth spending a grand on this car?? i mean theres nothing wrong with it...i do enjoy driving it but should i put all this moeny into this car or get a better newer one and then put money into it???

you answered these questions yet?

[323Racer]

oh dam...thats like my first post when i started this thread.

well...i've done the wheels...done the cannon...parts of the engine would be the air filter...cost me so far about $1500 for wheels...$168 for filter n parts $175 for exhaust....n the answer is ....no....its not worth it actualli

well except for the wheels...

but to go through all this trouble..besides now gaining some experiance in modifying its not worht it on this particular car...it might be great for other things but not to go against honda type R's or impreza's hmmmm

man can't beleive i've spent so much money...

i've been considering getting another car...mayb this one isnt for me..

[project.r.racing]

impreza = $48,000+ new
type r = $45,000+ new

astina = $20,000 new (in today's market)

big difference in cars there, you cannot and should not even compare the 2...