Quote from The General Lee :

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/8993/fullqe4.jpg

Bolt-on forced induction isn't worth it. I could get a turbo kit for my saturn for $5000, and have 260HP. Or I could to it myself for $2000 lol

Quote from sam93 :

I know you can just whack them on. I know they should be professionoly fitted.

and get the block reinforced.... and the internals preferably changed...
and the labour...
looks like the same 3000 if not more

Quote from ajp71 :

Just don't start. You can't even drive so there's no point in casting random made up nonsense. The majority of the motoring press rate the E36s very highly in terms of handling and they certainly have heavy controls with a really nice feel, unfortunately I've never driven one fast enough to comment on the handling

Although i can't legally drive i have driven an old beemer 1995 cabriolet of some sort. I found it had alot of play in the steering and didn't hadnle well at all. But then again i cba to look at what he wants to buy and it may be totally different.

That car is 13 years old though. Suspension bushes could be gone, any part of the suspension could be worn. You shouldn't let one drive make up your mind

For example, on my mates E36 the steering wheel "wobbles" left and right, about 5-10 degrees each way. It has no huge effect on the steering. Mine doesn't do that, but I do have wide, low profile tires on mine, so I get a lot of tramlining.

Fresh out the showroom, or with at least the suspension in a reasonable condition, the E36 handles like a dream.

Quote from Nathan_French_14 :

Sam, why would you wanna mod the car anyway? First of all, your insurance is gonna be hell high with mods, and a 1.8 litre car!

Why not just go for a E36 1.6, or maybe just a bloody 1.2 clio/fiesta or something? Where are you gonna be getting the cash from to pay for the insurance, as i think over £2k or more will be alot for someones first job. Btw sam, the E36 318 is only doing about 115hp, so you will need alot more than a ECU remap to get to your desired 200hp mate.


do that

Lol. I thoroughly enjoy these arguments if only because of the different views on horsepower from Europeans. I find it funny when someone calls a 1.8 liter engine BIG and DANGEROUS, when over here a 1.8 liter engine would be considered puny and worthless. My first and current car was 2.5L, and my brothers first car, which is a 1989 Nissan Stanza that looks like a piece of crap, sounds like a piece of crap, and drives like a piece of crap - is a 2.4L engine. We just have entirely different standards here.

Then again, our cars are also bigger and heavier...

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

Lol. I thoroughly enjoy these arguments if only because of the different views on horsepower from Europeans. I find it funny when someone calls a 1.8 liter engine BIG and DANGEROUS, when over here a 1.8 liter engine would be considered puny and worthless. My first and current car was 2.5L, and my brothers first car, which is a 1989 Nissan Stanza that looks like a piece of crap, sounds like a piece of crap, and drives like a piece of crap - is a 2.4L engine. We just have entirely different standards here.

Then again, our cars are also bigger and heavier...

Thats because the europeans can produce a lot more power in an engine then the US can . We have no need for 5.7 V8 Chevy rubbish..Get me a 2.5 V6 and ill race you

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

We just have entirely different standards here.

Bare in mind specific output and the weight of our cars, a lot consider 1300kg far too much for a small road car, but that wouldn't even touch the scales in the US. Our older cars are nearly always lighter as well.

Then take into account that in Europe there are funny things called corners, I've seen first hand that you lot treat the slightest kink in the road as a hairpin and seem completely unable to conceive that you can actually go round a corner driving at everyday road speeds without grinding to a halt. Then you've got the extra element that your cars are all crap to drive, automatics, really soft suspension, far too much weight, unresponsive engines and the road holding of a walrus. Generally the fact the car is crap to drive will make people less likely to wish to drive fast.

I wouldn't be surprised if a 318is would be able to keep up with one of your 2.5's. My mate, for a while, had a Mondeo 2.5 V6 and that really went polished shit off a galvanized shovel. Not the most desirable car in the world, but it was very very quick. The American 2.5 V6s are mainly automatic and when I have seen them pull away, its like watching a barge move. That's the difference.

Like Alex said, over here with have corner in our road, so a big engined, automatic cruiser is a lot more pointless over here, that would it be in America. Not saying automatics are pointless here though

Quote from Stang70Fastback :

I find it funny when someone calls a 1.8 liter engine BIG and DANGEROUS, when over here a 1.8 liter engine would be considered puny and worthless

Just like Europeans find it hilarious when Americans call their huge V8 engines powerful when they burst out a massive and unbelievable 200 bhp which Honda for instance gets from a naturally aspirated 2.0 inline 4, and BMW get 20 more from a 2.5 inline 6

the thing about BMW is (and I have driven 5 or 6 different E36 in my life) you can easily maintain high speeds through the turns....
just to tell you how ballanced it is, my friend (I was sitting in passenger's seat) managed to catch up with a agressively driving Lancer Evo 7 in a 1.8 singlecam E36 with only a bit wider tires, sports shocks and springs and a front strutbar installed...

and every E36 I have driven feels exactly like it - you can always maintain high average speeds with ease

Quote from mcgas001 :

Thats because the europeans can produce a lot more power in an engine then the US can . We have no need for 5.7 V8 Chevy rubbish..Get me a 2.5 V6 and ill race you

He didn't say anything about "5.7 V8 Chevy rubbish". He stated 1.8L engine considered powerful and dangerous.

@ the general community... Why is it in every thread about street racing, you all jump all over it stating how stupid it is, and what-not. Then, in every car thread, you spout off how superior the cars are in [insert country] and how US cars are crap. Why do you need such a "superior" handling car if you think street racing and driving fast in general is stupid?

I have a small Crossover SUV. I prefer the capabilities of driving through the deep snow over spouting how "superior" the handling of my car is. Under normal driving conditions, my small Crossover SUV will keep up with your penis-enlargement BMW just fine anywhere you want to go.


He did specify a 1989 Nissan, that isn't exactly a Chevy V8 now, is it?

There are roads which are twisty enough so you cannot go over the speed limits. Like... a twisty road with 180 degree corners that are driven fast with lets say 30mph, while the limit is 55mph.

On those roads you can drive fast without breaking the speed limit (and without street racing). And you can drive faster with a good handling car. Therefor, in corners, you'd want a good handling car.

Also... a good handling car feels better, and is more fun in corners (and more safe).

Why do you think people started building better and better cars/suspension/tires/etc? Probably not because they wanted to do street racing.

PS: The latest Corvette is supposed to be a great handling car (according to tests). Correct me if i'm mistaken, but i thought that would be an american car...

One car doesn't mean future American cars will be any good. Okay, two cars, as you did the GT40 too.

Quote from mrodgers :

@ the general community... Why is it in every thread about street racing, you all jump all over it stating how stupid it is, and what-not. Then, in every car thread, you spout off how superior the cars are in [insert country] and how US cars are crap. Why do you need such a "superior" handling car if you think street racing and driving fast in general is stupid?

Street racing is completely different from having a nice trash down a country lane, one activity is enjoyed alone with no sense of competition or desire to push the car to its limits.

Quote from tristancliffe :

One car doesn't mean future American cars will be any good. Okay, two cars, as you did the GT40 too.

Well the GT40 was basically built by Brits with an American Engine inside...

and the new one:
steering from an Aston Martin, brakes are italian, Lotus did the suspension, Body design is basically still British... so no... Ford GT40 and GT aren't American...


Edit: come to think of it, if you WOULD consider GT40 an American car that would mean they build a decent car once every 50 years...

Wel,l trackday last week, lotus exige with a puny 2.0 honda engine was more or less keeping up with a roush tuned GT40 on the straights.

Quote from pearcy_2k7 :

Wel,l trackday last week, lotus exige with a puny 2.0 honda engine was more or less keeping up with a roush tuned GT40 on the straights.

Yes I believe you...

Good luck with your insurance, your going to need it, especially if your going on your own policy and not a named driver on someone else's policy. I've been driving for 5 years and I'm now paying #165 a year fully comprehensive on a 1999 1.1 litre Peugeot - a shit car but insurance has dropped considerably from the first year of #1700 :S

I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice.
As you may be aware, failure to disclose any material facts will void your policy. This does include decals or even factory wheels off a different version of the car.
Insurance companies will try anything to avoid a payout (see Cutter -v- Eagle Star Insurance)
If you intend to defraud the company you must also disclose this information (see Patel -v- Windsor Life Assurance Company).
". . . plainly failed to disclose a material fact when applying . . . namely, that he was seeking to defraud . . . He was obliged to make this disclosure pursuant to his duty of utmost good faith."

Quote from pearcy_2k7 :

Wel,l trackday last week, lotus exige with a puny 2.0 honda engine was more or less keeping up with a roush tuned GT40 on the straights.

When you say puny honda engine... don't you run a supercharged type-R engine?

I want to modify my saturns transaxle so that there's only an output on one side of the differential. And then put it in a RWD vehicle. I want a Saturn powered lotus lol Just need to turbo it.

Quote from pb32000 :

When you say puny honda engine... don't you run a supercharged type-R engine?

Sshhh i was trying not to mention the supercharger...



Wasn't in the white beast which is having some huge engine mods, was in another supercharged exige which has 150 less bhp and is heavier :O