Teh Official "Dude Where's My Forum?" Thread, Brought to you by the minds of Box, and her fiancée, Lorelei Options

[Bitter]

QR25DE or VQ35DE?

[Box]

It's the QR25DE.

[Bitter]

Pretty reliable engine, only thing I regularly saw were failed crank position sensors causing it to stall sometimes. They're no fun to change out.

[Box]

Only thing I really saw reading up on them was earlier models burned oil, like '02-03, but this one is an '05. Raging 170 horsepower and four speed automatic, woooo. It's kind of funny, I was bracing myself to reach 40-50 on the stretch of road to test the brakes whereas in the Firebird it just happens without much thought. Which it's to replace that '94 Escort that finally died after 320K miles, blew the head gasket on it near one or more of the cooling jackets since all the compression is going straight into the cooling system now. Going to tear it down eventually and if the head isn't warped will just replace the gasket since it's cheap enough.

[Bitter]

That 1.9 4 cylinder is good for dropping valve seats and getting stuck rings and engine sludge, but otherwise is a reliable engine. In Europe the 1.6 gets pretty cranked up and they got a turbo version. There's also a 1.8L Mazda BP that came in the Escort GT that I hear is a fun engine.

[Box]

This one has actually been good up until this point, but he's the second owner and both the previous owner and himself changed the oil often. Should be worth the $50 head gasket kit if the head is still ok to have as a spare vehicle, though he likes the Altima a lot more already since it's a good bit quicker I imagine and probably a lot more comfortable. I think the 1.8 in in the Escort GT is more or less the engine used in the Miata and Protege, so I'm not so sure how fun that'd really be.

[Bitter]

It is the same engine pretty much, but mated to a good 5spd manual with closer ratios I think. It's certainly a smoother engine, the 1.9 was one of the roughest 4 cylinder engines, they sound like they're coming apart worse than a Toyota ZZ or AZ engine!

[Box]

Yeah the 1.9 is pretty noisy and lumpy. That's one thing that continues to impress me on the Firebird is how smooth the LT-1 runs, and how quiet the engine itself is mechanically. Then again it's the culmination of decades of engineering and perfecting mostly the same engine, so one would kind of hope so truth be told. Still it's a lot smoother and quieter than the 5.2/5.9 OHV used in my brother's Durango and it was pretty much the same story there in terms of being around forever. The 2.0T in the Audi is pretty noisy too, though at least it feels fairly smooth. Same with the 2.0T in the Genesis.

[Box]

I want one:

Should totally import one.

[Box]

When you think any car over 3,000 pounds is a fat pig. I think it comes down to that more than anything. I've driven my brother's Genesis before and while it's better than the Firebird in terms of suspension and handling it has a similar feel in heft to it, which shouldn't be much of a surprise since it's barely 100 pounds lighter than the Firebird. I just don't like big and heavy cars I suppose, I hated driving mom's Challenger. HATED IT. This is all the Celica's fault, it got me used to having a car I could toss around like a rag doll with reckless abandon.

[Bitter]

Found your ideal car.

[Box]

After thinking about it more than I'd care to the Celica GT-S is probably my ideal car given my needs and budget, I would say a MR-S or Miata perhaps but they're completely useless as cars though the Miata is decent enough if you remove the spare tire from the trunk. At least the Celica is still really useful for carrying things being a liftback, and it does have a useless backseat to shove people into if you have to. If I had the money a Toyobaru twin would probably be right up my ally.

This post has been edited by Box: Aug 14, 2017 - 11:30 PM

[Bitter]

The hatch with folding back seats is very useful, but then you buy a TRD 3 point bar and it's not nearly as useful anymore BUT the car becomes noticeably more solid and rigid so you really don't care. That bar was one of the easiest and most immediately apparent mods I did early on. HUGE difference in how much flex I could feel and it's not like the chassis is a wet noodle or anything. The bar isn't a gimmick. I've seen some photos from side impact accidents where honestly I'm pretty sure that strut tower bar kept the vehicle from collapsing more. One guy said it probably saved his son's life in the back seat.

[Box]

Yeah the 7th gen Celica is supposed to be a nice stiff chassis from what I've read, and it seemed like the 6th gen's was fairly stiff so the 7th being even better is just another bonus. I hear mixed things on strut bars, I just it just depends on the car and the bar I suppose. Of course I'm the type where I want to see chassis rigidity tests on one with and without the bars for scientific comparison.

[Bitter]

But it's a TRD product so you KNOW it's good!


Srsly though, it's a solid 3 point bar. It's good ****. The Rod Millen front bar is a solid 2 point bar. I only do solid bars.

[narly_charley]

****, you could make a really nice bar yourself and have it painted in an afternoon for a fraction of the cost... I never had one, but I've heard really good things about them.

[Box]

I think the biggest thing with strut bars is to get one that the mounting points are solid, and not that hinged and held with a nut and bolt nonsense. Allegedly they help with the struts unloading into the chassis primarily, and then any reduction in flex between the towers themselves is secondary. On a car with shocks they'd only serve to reduce any flex between the towers since shocks aren't structural like struts are.

Today I was reminded why I need a car with a back seat, or the room to recline the front seats anyway. Driving down the road and out of the blue I was instantly nauseous feeling like I was about to throw up or black out, I had to pull off the road into the first parking lot and then recline my seat all the way back so I could lay down. Ended up laying there for about 20-30 minutes with the A/C on until I felt ok enough to finish driving home. Had I been in something I couldn't recline the seat I'd have been in trouble. Thanks fibromyalgia...

[Bitter]

I've slept in the Celica front seats on a long trip fairly comfortably, but you're a bigger box than I am so you may be a little cramped to sleep.

[Box]

I'm only 5'8" or so, but my shoulders are on the broad side at around 21" across. It's why I fit perfectly in a Miata until I close the door. So long as I had shoulder/arm room I'd be ok.

[Bitter]

Ok, I'm a little taller so I think you'd be OK.