Congrats!!! What's with all the action in Little Rhody lately. It's a hotspot for 240 'verts.
The engine is the KA24de. You were very close! The 24 refers to 2.4 liter engine.
you've got the overdrive thing figured out... just saves you milage at higher cruising speeds. The ability to turn it off is designed for people who drive on hilly areas or tow loads behind them. It's hard for the engine to maintain speeds in overdrive with a load or while fighting gravity. When you are going up and down hills, etc... you would want to turn the overdrive off so that you have more power to handle the changing conditions.
waterdog wrote:Also, do all S-13 body parts fit the convertible? For instance, if there is a door or fender for a coupe available, can I expect it to fit my car?
Many coupe parts will fit the convertible, but not all. Fenders are the same. The doors are sort of a trick question. They fit, but the seatbelts are different. The convertible door is designed with the tower to help reenforce the door and put the seatbelt in a better position. You could modify the seat belt position and use the coupe door. A member named dcdcdc just did that. See this post for more info on the convertible doors/seatbelt modification.
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waterdog wrote:I've seen some ebay listings for chips that claim to boost HP in the car. I'm a little leery of thier claims, but if anyone has noticed an improvement using one, I'm game.
Lastly (for now at least), are there any suggestions for stiffening-up the car a little? It seems kinda loose and I'm not sure if this is incurable due to use or if there are some suggestions for tightening her up.
Modifying your 240 is the name of the game. Don't pay any attention to EBAY scams like computer chips, air intake vortex crap, etc... They don't work. I don't know that from personal experience, so someone might proove me wrong i guess.. but I am pretty sure they are all garbage. If you want some performance boost, the best place to start is helping the engine breath better. Get a cold air intake. They are cheap on ebay and work nicely. This will help your engine get more air at a cooler temperature. Should be a good a for a few cheap hp gains. Next stage would be to help the engine exhale more easily. Get a performance exhaust system... ask AZHitman for help.. he works with BRM.. they make nice stuff. I could also help you get something from Megan Racing. Check out our sponsors and buy from them first if possible. You could also get a high-flow catalytic converter, exhaust manifold, etc... But, be mindful of your states emissions laws.
To stiffen the car... get strut tower braces. CPRacing makes a triangular front strut tower bar that is great. You can also get one for the rear end. You could get some sway bars as well.. Whiteline? Those things will go a long way to help stiffen the car.
Congrats on the new ride. Hope to see you post here often. Feel free to ask questions and participate often on the forum. Keep in mind the search button on the top right of the screen. There is a wealth of knowledge on NICO that can be accessed by searching it's database.