Weight reduction = horsepower gain

[humblegumbo]

theres also no way that dropping 5k+ into a 10 yr old honda makes any sense, but weve all done it

True.

All I'm really saying is that $70,000 is a lot of cash. Even if I had it to burn, I can't see myself buying a new car of any kind. I'd so much rather have seven $10,000 used cars.

Actually...just give me seven $1000 cars and I'd have a blast!

 

[humblegumbo]

Technically, dropping any amount of money into modding any car is a complete waste.

Well....since you feel *that* way...

Hook a brother up!

 

[jamesA]

Or I could throw 1/4 that cash at my Rex, carry the rest in the trunk, and spank the Z06 to the bank.

I'm not saying I would turn my back on it if given to me, but there's no way that buying a new car makes any kind of financial sense.

Have fun keeping that car running on your own then. It's a toss up for me, I agree with you with hand building a cheaper car to run the same times.

I'd rather have a car with a warrenty that runs 12s over a car that I hand built that runs 12s. But I'd also like to completely build my own car to my own specs so I know the car down to the very last bolt and nut I put in it.

However, I think I'd enjoy dropping the car off to be worked on for free if I break something.

 

[jamesA]

Depends on the manufacturer and what modification. Ford his very lenient because, and this came from the CEO of Ford (Bill Ford). They enjoy seeing what the owners do with their vehicles.

 

[jamesA]

I have a Ford Civic Si?

My car doesn't have a warrenty on it anyway.

 

[jamesA]

That depends... if the modification (you installed yourself) is the CAUSE of the problem they will most likely turn you away. If it's not the cause then they have to.

 

[Matts96HB]

To be honest, if I had the money right now I'd go out and buy an STI. I love all wheel drive, I drove my grandma's outback to Boise with her, its the H6 3.0. It was middle of winter time, so some of the passes were pretty ugly. I have to admit that changed my opinion on Subarus. I thought they were overpriced for what you get, but I found that I really liked the feel of the car, plus it handled great for a wagon.

If I had 30-40k, I wouldn't put another dime into my Civic except maintenence.

 

[jamesA]

Maybe BMW will do that, but I haven't heard of many other brands' dealers doing as such.

 

[jamesA]

haha Seriously though. Ford at least used to do that quite a bit. If the suspension broke and it was due to your coilovers they wouldn't fix it. If the engine spun a bearing and all you have is coilovers they would cover rebuilding/replacing the engine.

 

[humblegumbo]

I'd rather have a car with a warrenty that runs 12s over a car that I hand built that runs 12s.

Wow. We have a drastically different point of view on this one. I'd rather have the car I hand built and run 16 flat.

I derive a lot of pleasure wrenching on my car. Few things are more satisfying to me than repairing or upgrading something myself and taking her out for a spin.


I'll never understand people that just toss their checkbook to a mechanic. God bless you all, though.

 

[jamesA]

Wow. We have a drastically different point of view on this one. I'd rather have the car I hand built and run 16 flat.

I derive a lot of pleasure wrenching on my car. Few things are more satisfying to me than repairing or upgrading something myself and taking her out for a spin.


I'll never understand people that just toss their checkbook to a mechanic. God bless you all, though.

Did you read the next sentence down? I agreed with you, but I also look at the other side of the spectrum.

I did my own brake repairs. For the 3rd time now, actually. The car was down for 5 weeks and the first time I ran it, I was thrilled.

But at the same time, I would have had less downtime & I wouldn't have interest accruing on my credit card if I didn't have to buy the 130 dollar caliper, then spend 260 on my brembo blanks/hawk pads.

 

[SHOGUNOVDDRK]

They don't have to do anything. If you modify your car they can deny any claim you make. That's why some dealers will install aftermarket parts for you.

Here's an example of what a dealer would do. You install a quality lowering suspension on your car and you're a qualified home-mechanic to do this. So you're just tooling along one day and something in the engine takes a nose dive. The dealer will look at the aftermarket suspension and say that gives them reason to believe that you've been abusing the car, making the failure your fault instead of their fault. Now it's your dime to fix and your warranty is voided. This is common manufacturer practice, pretty much across the retail board.

my friend had this happen to him yesterday

his warranty is now void and all it was was a stupid fuel pump

 

[phyregod]

I know a guy (friend of a friend) who's warantee was voided by kia because his brand new car had a dent in the rear fender.

The transmission blew, and he took it in for repair under warantee (it had like 10k miles on it) and because there was a large dent in the rear quarter panel (he had thrown someone into his car, leaving a man-dent) Kia said that the car was not in the shape that a new car is expected to be in, and was clearly abused. They voided his warantee and sent him packing.

 

[humblegumbo]

But at the same time, I would have had less downtime & I wouldn't have interest accruing on my credit card if I didn't have to buy the 130 dollar caliper, then spend 260 on my brembo blanks/hawk pads.

Well, see, you'd have the $130 caliper the $260 rotor & pads....plus the hourly rate of the mechanic.

I'm not trying to argue w/ you though.
Speaking of downtime, my G/F is in the shop right now while they work out the electrical gremlins for smog. It's driving me absolutely batshit while she's gone.
:bat:

 

[jamesA]

Well, see, you'd have the $130 caliper the $260 rotor & pads....plus the hourly rate of the mechanic.

I'm not trying to argue w/ you though.
Speaking of downtime, my G/F is in the shop right now while they work out the electrical gremlins for smog. It's driving me absolutely batshit while she's gone.
:bat:

LOL I'm talking about warrenty work.. there is no hourly mechanic charge for taking your car back to the dealership.

 

[humblegumbo]

Oooohh....

 

[humblegumbo]

Which brings up a small question in my mind.
I read somewhere that drilled and slotted rotors don't give any benefit w/ today's manufacturing and materials. In some cases the drilling process actually hurt the durability of the rotor.

Since this was a weight reduction thread, is there a source for lighter rotors? Even if it's just a few ounces the brakes count as rotating mass and unsprung weight.

 

[Matts96HB]

Slotted rotors are good for a race car because of the added stress on the brakes. But on the road you won't ever get the brakes hot enough to see that benefit and the slotting will actually wear your rotors out faster. Drilled rotors are prone to breakage, you're correct. All in all, for a street car, drilled or slotted rotors are just for the look.

With the weight reduction aspect, you're better off focusing your efforts on overall wheel size and weight. I'm pretty sure Phyre already said that part, though. So with braking you want maximum effort and with wheels you want to find the best compromise between wheel weight and diameter and tire weight and diameter.

Exactly why I bought mine, they were same price and size as the OEM rotors, I just thought they looked cool.

I have a buddy that is selling a set of motegi traklites.. 15" flat black. I love em. I want to buy sooo bad but he wants like 650 for just the rims and I'm broke lol.

 

[jamesA]

Well, I've worked with several different manufacturers over the last ten years...and done more warranty replacements than I can remember. You're arguing the exception and I'm arguing the rule. As a rule, you will not build a car and keep your factory warranty.

See the following quotes.



You won't get Brembo rotors and Hawk pads installed as a warranty replacement unless you find a dealer who's willing to install them, on your dime, so they don't void the warranty. All you would've gotten was a new caliper...unless they pulled the old one off and saw the Hawk pads. At which point, see the quotes above.

Uh... this all started about because I mentioned I'd love to buy a 70k 2007 Corvette C6 Z06 with a warranty, and someone said they'd rather hand build a POS 1990 Civic that will run 12s.

That's what this started out as, it's been twisted into other directions.

 

[klyph]

Actually, it started as a thread about weight reduction, but you guys started talking about warranty work for some fucking reason.