decisions

[TurboKA37]

OK heres my story, ive been saving up for a turbo kit or some time now and had my goals set on WD's kit come jan.-feb. by that time i am thinking i will have about $5k to spend if not more. as of now my 95' 240sx is completly stock. now that i look over what i am planning i am now thinking of putting my dreams of a turbo kit off for about a year and start upgrading other parts of my car first such as some nice rims and tires. either coilovers or a strut/spring combo, more suspension such as stabilizer bars, sway bars, and strut bars. and then possibly replace some things on my engine to get it as good running as i can by replacing all the fluids, filters, possibly get light weight pulleys and electric fans, etc, etc. what do u guys think? will i have just as much fun with some really nice suspension components and slieght engine mods compared to a pretty much stock car with a turbo? i hear alot of people suggesting the suspy, brake upgrades first before adding major power but i dont kno how long i can wait without boost.

[Nathan]

Hmmm, I'm all for the boost. Fix the suspension stuff as it fails, but not before

[TurboKA37]

Hmmm, I'm all for the boost. Fix the suspension stuff as it fails, but not before

my heart tells me to agree with this post but my brain doesnt

[king_johnthegreat]

I think you would have just as much fun with a tight handling car w/ normal engine upgrades, as you would an otherwise stock vehicle rolling on boost. That is, presuming it would be your daily driver, and not simply a weekend warrior drag car. If you take it around town, and autoX with it every once and again, you'll love the increased cornering speeds, and generally increased responsiveness of the vehicle. Bolt on mods can get you pretty far, if you are dedicated, but tuning is one of the cheaper means of making the most of them. For $5000, you could have a real killer. More so if you put time into lightening up the ride. All of those things would go so greatly with turbo kit, too; most of them, at least. So it's not like that money spent in upgrades is lost.John

[TurboKA37]

yes i kno, and i will most likely go the suspy way and wait on the boost. its just im finding it hard to tell myself to go that way after ive convinced myself that i was getting a turbo within a couple months. i guess that can go on hold

[f8sjester]

put it this way. . . if you go the suspension route, once you put in the pieces and take a nice tight turn, you won't regret anything. . . boost will just put a BIGGER smile on your face later. . .

besides. . . nothing worse than someone putting a ton of HP into a car that can't handle it. . . wheelspin anyone?

[:: orion ::]

BRAKES.

The stock S14 brakes are barely adequate to stop ~2800lbs with 155HP - Ad another 100 HP at a minumum, and you NEED to be able to bring it to a stop. So many people overlook this...

"I don't need bigger brakes b/c I don't run on the track..." = bullsh!t.

I once read that when building a racecar, you should put 25-cents into your stopping for every dollar you spend making it faster... - That's overkill for a streetcar, but it makes a good point.

Later - Brian

[Nathan]

The horsepower isnt making your car heavier or harder to stop (not appreciably anyway). So why waste money getting a great brake kit? Just get new rotors when you need them and a good set of brake pads...

[erich]

Kenetic Energy (the energy that the brake system turns into heat to stop your car) is equal to .5MV^2 or one half mass times velocity squared.make your car go 20% faster on average then you need 44% more heat dissipation from the brakes. Now if you NEVER speed and you NEVER go to the track then you can probably leave the brakes alone. At least one of those assumptions is false or you wouldn't bother hopping up your car.

[Nathan]

Well, I dont really ever plan on taking my car up to any ridiculous speeds, I dont autocross, I will occasionally go to the dragstrip but primarily it is just a quick accelerating street car. Hence, the stock brakes would be more than adequate for myself Although if I was road racing or autocrossing it would be quite a different story.

[:: orion ::]

...primarily it is just a quick accelerating street car

So you'll never get egged on by the ricer Civic next to you at the light??

A quick blast to 80 to kick his *** may take 200 feet to stop with the stock brakes, but 150 with the Z32 or Q45 setup.

Anyway, it's your perogative, but NO WAY would I drive modified S-chassis with stock brakes.

[cosmo]

it's your perogative,

off topic///

anybody else think of Bobby Brown when they heard that line?

[:: orion ::]

Listened to it on the way to work. I have a loop tape with only Bobby Brown and Milli-Vanilli on it...I LOVE IT!!!

[ ^ that's a lie ] :pface

[Nathan]

Well, maybe this issue is...I've never driven a 240! I know it sounds crazy but I honestly havent and haven't experienced the brakes on one, nor have I ever ridden in one! I've had a 90' Camry and an 02' Blazer so good brakes is not exactly something I've experienced. Perhaps one spin around the block and I'll be hunting down some brakes. Heck, I'll probably upgrade the brakes anyway when I need new pads and rotors or something just because at that point I might as well. Same with the suspension, it'll get agx's and some kind of linear rate springs when I decide the stock ones are too worn out/not good enough.

[TurboKA37]

thanks for the help guys