Hey dudes, got a sec to throw down your two cents?

Of course you do!


I've got a budget of $1000 to work with on my car and I'm trying to figure out what to do with it.

I've already ruled out the CarPC idea.. it just isn't worth it. As much as my inner geek drools at the prospect of putting a computer in the car, I just don't spend enough time in the car. I'd probably just use it to check traffic and listen to MP3's, and I can do all that without building a computer.

So following that logic, I figured I could dump my lousy Bose system and put in a truly nice sound system, with an MP3 deck, rear strut subwoofer box, etc. The works! I'm the DIY type for the most part but I've always been curious about what a professional installlation would be like. How far can a shop stretch a grand? How far could I stretch it if I did the work myself? Custom fiberglass or ZEnclosure? I know there are good resources out there like Crutchfield for pricing, and I'll see what I can put together, but these are the questions I've been asking myself.

The other option of course is to put the money under the hood... a plenum spacer & an ecu reflash would eat $800ish and give 20-25hp, bump the rev limit, etc...

So I'm stuck. What would you guys do? What have you done, what have you liked, etc? Did you do audio over engine? Who makes good sound? I'll go revisit the "greatest regrets" threads and I'm not trying to n00b it up here, could just use some help figuring stuff out. Thanks in advance!

Jason

 

IMO, if you've got $1K burning a hole in your pocket; spend it on a performance driving school, track days and autoX events. $1K in learning how to drive your car at the limit will go much further and 3x the price in mods. Plus, it's a "mod" that you take w/ you to just about any car you climb behind the wheel of. You don't have to want to race, but if you love to drive it's $ well spent. Plus, by doing those things, it'll take care of those demons that'll make your right foot really heavy on public streets. Saving you from having to pay part of that $ to Washington state and your insrance company.

 

I have a S-type Zenclosure sub box for a Kicker 10" L5/L7 for sale, with a 5 ch amp, and some speakers to boot...let me know if you're interested.

 

Don't mean to thread jack but are there any driving schools around here(Seattle)? I would love to take one.

 

i agree with solo...go to a track day, money well spent!! i took my both my cars to the track and left them stock and had a blast. if you have some money id encourage you to get an upgraded alarm than mod.

 

ProFormance (http://www.proformanceracingschool.com/) operates out of Pacific Raceways (Kent) and they have various schools for different levels. Also there are a few local clubs that hold introductory track days as well as autoX schools (i.e.: Northwest Alfa Romeo Club - http://www.nwalfaclub.com/ and Torque Steerers - http://www.torquesteerers.org/). If by chance you happen to be a Boeing employee or a family member of one, your best option is the Boeing Employees Autosports Club (AKA: BEAC - http://beac-online.org).

Lots of options, you really can't go wrong w/ any of them.

 

Gotta say, the driving school's something I hadn't even considered. Definitely not a bad idea! The only problem I've got is that my front tires are at about 4/10th's of tread left and I'm trying to stretch them another couple of months. They already loud and feathered, and I don't want to push the envelope any further than I have to. Definitely gotta hit it when the weather changes back to semi-sane in the spring though.

Anyone ever shop at Super Stereo Warehouse over on HWY 99? "Stereo Warehouse, ah jist can't quit you, etc..." I stopped by there tonight just to poke around and see what they had, seemed like their prices were on par with Crutchfield for the most part.. $179 for a 10" Alpine Type-R, etc. I showed up a few minutes before they closed and didn't get a chance to talk with anyone though. Anyone had any experience with their staff/installers?

 

I re-read my last post, probably going to buy a new set of tires just so I can do the autoX thing this year. Besides, the noise is ungodly.

Now the question of who's ****ing tires do I buy? lol

 

tiredeals4less.com they are a sponsor on these forums. Tires for dirt cheap. Paid like 900 for my tires that les schwab wanted 1700 for. can get mounted and balanced for 50 bucks.

 

gracias dude

 

If you are looking for something local, you might want to check costco as well, they have $60 off/4 tires right now, and they can order you KDW2's or PS2's.

 

The next part of that trick is to then go over to Discount Tires, where they hang banners saying "WE BEAT COSTCO!"

Good call on the KDW2's though, those are the ones I'm really looking hard at.

 

I really hate to ask this, but can someone help me figure out what tire size to buy? I want the Goodyear F1 DS-G3's but they don't come in 225/45/R18 for the front tires.

I can link you to Tirerack's site: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....Eagle+F1+GS-D3

I'd really appreciate the help!

 

Bridgestone RE050 (OEM)

225/45-18 - 25.9" dia
245/45-18 - 26.7" dia

You might be good w/ the following sizes for the Eagle F1 GS-D3:

245/40-18 - 25.7"
245/45-18 - 27.0"

It should reduce understeer and make the car more neutral.

 

My advice is to upgrade to dual flux-capacitors

 

Go to discount tires in Bellevue if you want tires. They have great prices and the best sales people. You can tell them you know me hopefully you'll get somethign extra.

 

Wouldn't the additional rubber make the steering response slightly sloppier than OEM though? I was actually hoping to tighten it up with a slight stretch across the wheel, since I read that these tires' sidewalls are a bit softer than the OEM's.

 

^ For that, it'd be better to go w/ a different tire. I've had the F1-GS's before and I would agree that their sidewall is not very stiff when autoX-ing, not really intended for a car of the 350Z's weight IMO. If you're looking for a stretched setup, you should consider a wider front wheel and then fit your tire selection accordingly.

 

Rats, seriously? What if I was dead-set on them? heh.. after reading C&D's tire shootout (these took #1), tirerack reviews, etc, I'm finally confident about my tire choice and for my sanity's sake I just gotta stick with these...

I found the tire size calculator on miata.net so I could make sense of your comparison. For a slight stretch, do you pick a tire that's a little narrower than the oem tire, or one that's a little shorter than the oem?

 

When I got the F1's I was first starting out autoX-ing ('03) and the recommendation for auto-X is usually to stuff as much tire width as you can on a wheel. at the time I figure going to a 245 front was what that advice ment (later I found that I was going really conservative in my selection). I was attempting to run in a stock street tire class. The F1's and later the Toyo T1-S's we my choice since they both had exceptional wet weather performance and were very good in the dry. But their sidewall stiffness was not to my liking. I know what you mean about running a streched tire, it's commonly applied to the rear wheel & tire selection for drifting to give as much stability as possible. I don't think the perfromance was lacking when I ran a 245/40-18 tire up front (stock 18x8 wheel) due to not being as stretched as a 225 tire. I think it was primarily issue was due to the soft sidewall. Two years later I finally understood the limits and ran 275/35-18 R-comps on an 18x8 wheel and it did just fine, but it was a Hoosier w/ a super stiff sidewall.