Author Topic: Baby, you're much too fast (Oh, oh) (Read 22798 times)

TheHire · « **Reply #120 on:** May 08, 2021, 05:58:36 pm »

Nice plate frame

dirtyjeffer · « **Reply #121 on:** May 08, 2021, 07:46:58 pm »

Quote from: Firm on May 08, 2021, 05:56:11 pm

I have a couple before and after videos...not great cuz the sound quality on my phone is mediocre, but you get the idea....

BEFORE
https://youtu.be/X5PQaGTnzz0

AFTER
https://youtu.be/GfPDWdA2bVk

yea, i get it...the beefy sound is kinda cool, but likely gets annoying after some time in the car, especially if it drones when at a constant speed.

Firm · « **Reply #122 on:** May 08, 2021, 08:20:33 pm »

Trust me, it was waaay too much. The kinda sound that has everyone on the street looking around for the moron who feels the need to make that much noise while you're driving around.

me_2 · « **Reply #123 on:** May 08, 2021, 09:39:07 pm »

Quote from: Firm on May 08, 2021, 08:20:33 pm

Trust me, it was waaay too much. The kinda sound that has everyone on the street looking around for the moron who feels the need to make that much noise while you're driving around.

Looks better too!

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #124 on:** May 09, 2021, 08:36:16 am »

That is a childhood dreams kind of sound. Nice work! Looks and sounds great.

Sent from my SM-G935W8 using Tapatalk

Bubba · « **Reply #125 on:** May 09, 2021, 07:10:15 pm »

Sounds great.

Gurgie · « **Reply #126 on:** May 09, 2021, 09:23:37 pm »

The before sounded like you were running a high lift cam... reminded me of a few boats I'd see out on the Ottawa... sweet sounding, but not so much in a car. New exhaust sounds good, and I'm sure when you open it up it has a nice growl.

Sent from my SM-G970W using Tapatalk

Firm · « **Reply #127 on:** May 09, 2021, 09:31:39 pm »

Thanks guys, and yeah, it was way to loud before....the audio here makes both clips sound a lot quieter than in-person. The no-muffler deal was so loud on the road it was almost undrivable.
The new Borlas do sound great, and even better once you get on it a bit.....unfortunately there was nobody around to rev it when I took the clip.

Firm · « **Reply #128 on:** May 25, 2021, 09:25:08 am »

So now that the Vette is mechanically sorted, and my little driveway expansion is ready to park on, I brought it home to my place to finish the cosmetics. Ran great on the 30-minute ride home, and on the highway - tracks well, pulls strong. Upholds my theory that GM's with the SBC from the 80's have got to be one of the most consistently reliable cars out there.

I didn't get as much time as I wanted on it this weekend with the annual garden/planting stuff going on, but I did make some good progress. Deep cleaned the interior and soaked the seats in leather conditioner, dyed the carpet in the trunk area that was heavily faded (and patched), serviced the front brakes (sticky sliders), fixed a few spots of flakey clear coat, re-painted the exterior door handles, and a bunch of other little things.

Next up is to repaint the flat black metal trim around the windshield and targa top (it's flaking and really ugly) and then I can break out the buffer (I just bought a new DA as my old one was dying) and go at the paint.

I didn't do a great job getting photos, so this will have to do.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

The boy enjoyed himself too...

ChaosphereIX · « **Reply #129 on:** May 25, 2021, 10:38:33 am »

looks great

BWII · « **Reply #130 on:** May 25, 2021, 02:33:48 pm »

You're making me want to give it a shot...and they're cheap!
1990 a good year?
@ $10,000 it most certainly isn't the slowest car you can get for the money!
And the wheels look good on it too.

Firm · « **Reply #131 on:** May 25, 2021, 02:51:35 pm »

'90 is considered a good year....mechanically and on the exterior it's basically the same as the 85-90, but it has the face-lifted interior. Personally, I hugely prefer the original 84-89 interior; the digital Atari style dash and big blocky center stack/console were one of the most impactful and era-specific features of the C4, when it was launched that digital dash was in all the ads, brochures, etc. IMO The 90+ interior is a watered-down version that was done to appease journalists, and loses a lot of it's flare....Both interiors are of horrendously low build quality, so anyone that says the later version is higher quality is full of crap, but there are probably a equal number of enthusiast who do prefer the later interior.

To your point though, I don't think you can find anything that performs better for <$10K today. The one you linked does look like it's in pretty good shape too, I'd be a little concerned about the nitrous comment though; what else is done? If the owner plumbed it for nitrous he probably wasn't driving it easy....

rrocket · « **Reply #132 on:** May 25, 2021, 04:44:24 pm »

Quote from: Firm on May 25, 2021, 02:51:35 pm

To your point though, I don't think you can find anything that performs better for <$10K today.

I can.

And it's not even that hard.

I think we all could.

BWII · « **Reply #133 on:** May 25, 2021, 04:49:43 pm »

I'm liking what you've done with yours so far...the carpet looks impressive in the pics.

As far as hard driving - respectfully hard is better than agedly soft - that doesn't come out right

...anyway, you know what I mean.

I bought a '69 Caprice w/a 327 a thousand years ago and the guy that drove it BBWII just putt'd around. It literally couldn't break traction in a shallow puddle of mud when I got it. I beat on it...and by mid summer, that thing could break the tires at will, it was fun. By the looks of the outside it appears to be well kept so might be an off chance it's a guy like me who's now old (too old for a Vette - but hey, I'm fat enough to drive one now) and just figures it's time to give up on his youth - I haven't quite reached that point yet. So maybe he just drove it "casually hard" - just quick bursts up to 80 mph and whoa! That's enough!! (lol 80 mph...there's actually people out there who've never been "up there" or even close to it.)

Quote from: rrocket on May 25, 2021, 04:44:24 pm

Quote from: Firm on May 25, 2021, 02:51:35 pm

To your point though, I don't think you can find anything that performs better for <$10K today.

I can.

And it's not even that hard.

I think we all could.

Money where the mouth is!

Should we start a new thread?

rrocket · « **Reply #134 on:** May 25, 2021, 05:01:27 pm »

Quote from: BWII on May 25, 2021, 04:49:43 pm

Money where the mouth is!

Should we start a new thread?

As slow as 0-60 in 6.6 and 1/4 mile in 14.8 https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/reviews/a9817/1989-chevrolet-corvette-6-speed/

Or 0-60 in 6.0 and 1/4 mile 14.2 https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15114543/1989-chevrolet-corvette-z51-vs-porsche-911-archived-comparison-test/

(Although I've seen some times in the mid/high 5s. Lots of variance here)

Skidpad seems to be .87-.9 G or so.

Those aren't difficult numbers to eclipse for $10K IMO.

Firm · « **Reply #135 on:** May 25, 2021, 05:18:56 pm »

Quote from: rrocket on May 25, 2021, 05:01:27 pm

Quote from: BWII on May 25, 2021, 04:49:43 pm

Money where the mouth is!

Should we start a new thread?

As slow as 0-60 in 6.6 and 1/4 mile in 14.8 https://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/reviews/a9817/1989-chevrolet-corvette-6-speed/

Or 0-60 in 6.0 and 1/4 mile 14.2 https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a15114543/1989-chevrolet-corvette-z51-vs-porsche-911-archived-comparison-test/

(Although I've seen some times in the mid/high 5s. Lots of variance here)

Skidpad seems to be .89-.9 G or so.

Those aren't difficult numbers to eclipse for $10K IMO.

Show me, lol. I am honestly curious.....I can think of maybe an LS1 f-body, speed sure, maybe not on the skidpad? What's the newest Mustang you can get for $10K, GT or V6 might be able to pull it off?
350Z is probably the only winner I can think of, and I haven't bothered to validate the numbers.

To be clear....C4 is slow by modern standards, I think everyone gets that. I bought it because I like it, not for driving it fast. Point is, it's a dirt cheap V8 RWD platform and .9G in the skidpad is definitely respectable.

Just read the Car&Driver article you linked. Interesting that the Vette was the favorite by a long-shot, but you can buy 7 or 8 (or more?) really nice C4s for what that Porsche would cost today. Kinda shows that performance, ultimately, is a pretty poor predicter of a cars future desirability.

rrocket · « **Reply #136 on:** May 25, 2021, 05:26:24 pm »

^^The 1998 GS400 was quicker to 60, 1/4 mile, braked better and was .87-.9 on the skidpad. And this is a large car to boot. https://www.motortrend.com/news/1998-lexus-gs-300-1998-motor-trend-import-car-of-the-year/

-An IS350, Infiniti G, BMW 335, 2 Series, etc)...or any luxury sedan from the mid 2000s will put up similar/better numbers. Even V6 family sedans are quicker...though they fall a bit short on the skidpad.

-A plain old 2009 WRX will put up those numbers. An Sti will smash them.

Those are just off the top of my head.

There are many more I'm sure.

BWII · « **Reply #137 on:** May 25, 2021, 05:32:58 pm »

Quote from: rrocket on May 25, 2021, 05:26:24 pm

^^The 1998 GS400 was quicker to 60, 1/4 mile, braked better and was .87-.9 on the skidpad. And this is a large car to boot. https://www.motortrend.com/news/1998-lexus-gs-300-1998-motor-trend-import-car-of-the-year/

-An IS350, Infiniti G, B - Fine, but they won't sound as good doing it.

- MW 335, 2 Series, etc)...or any luxury sedan from the mid 2000s will put up similar/better numbers. Assuming it's (any BMW) still on the road - but won't that cost you more in maintenance to keep it on the road than the Vette would for the rest of it's extended life?

-A plain old 2009 WRX will put up those numbers. Same as a BMW no? You can't just drive it...you have to tithe your car. might be a religious experience but is it the right religion?

Those are just off the top of my head.

There are many more I'm sure.

I'ma start a new post!

Firm · « **Reply #138 on:** May 25, 2021, 05:34:35 pm »

Quote from: rrocket on May 25, 2021, 05:26:24 pm

^^The 1998 GS400 was quicker to 60, 1/4 mile, braked better and was .87-.9 on the skidpad. And this is a large car to boot. https://www.motortrend.com/news/1998-lexus-gs-300-1998-motor-trend-import-car-of-the-year/

-An IS350, Infiniti G, BMW 335, 2 Series, etc)...or any luxury sedan from the mid 2000s will put up similar/better numbers.

-A plain old 2009 WRX will put up those numbers.

Those are just off the top of my head.

There are many more I'm sure.

By the numbers in that MT article the GS400 was a tenth slower in the quarter, and a tenth slower to 60, and .87 in the skidpad.....Close, but not quite. Close enough for comparison purposes though, but, can you find a 98 GS400 in decent running condition for under $10K? You can find Corvettes all day everyday.

I googled the IS350, and a brand new 2021 is rated a 5.7 0-60 and 14.2 in the 1/4....On par in the 1/4 and a tenth shy of the Vette in the 0-60....and that's a 2021.

Show me some numbers

Firm · « **Reply #139 on:** May 25, 2021, 05:36:38 pm »

Oh, I don't give two shits, lol. Like I said, I have no interest in the performance of this car....it's just another fun toy to tinker with. If I want to go properly fast, I drive the XKR.

I (a) like pushing Ron's buttons today, and (b) I do think that the C4, in general, is great bargain basement performance.