Retiring the wagon for now... :( ?Should I??

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 07:24 PM

It seems the few things I gave people trust to are failing yet again. A big out pouring of water from the overflow is indicative of a head gasket leak.The head was installed on last engine. I am not 100% sure but I am going to drive this until it needs towing.

The rear lowered springs were checked by a forum sponsor today and verified that the lowered reset leaf springs should have had an extra leaf installed to make up for lowering.The car bounces around too much as the springs have sagged. They are out of warranty from another popular suspension shop in Penrith. I suppose if this gets fixed that its only one less problem left.I may order a set of new springs and bushes to fit it myself on the weekend.At least I will know its done right.

The differential had been redone by a different shop recently and is perfect. It seems that my lsd diff centre was never new from the start.This is the 3rd time being redone.
I have got my back up against a wall . I have had a lot of fun and learnt a whole lot but there are so many ratbags and braindeads out there who just don't do things properly .It seems that just babying the wagon until it is fine is the best way to treat it .This way it should last me to my next car which is highly likely to be a typhoon.

Ah well theres my rant.Sorry to sound negative but I will never lower another car again or do an lsd .I cant say they improved the car that much and are costing me twice.

Any comments ..go for it.I am still in 2 minds about permanently retiring it or maybe my light footed attitude will buy me time to get it good again..//

trick_xd · 10-09-2007, 07:32 PM

Save all probs
Strip it and sell parts ...
buy a cheap run around and then get a Phoon

Ps: stop whinging

Harden the F^&** up

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 07:36 PM

Its like a good wife mate.It hasn't been too bad ..ill just stand by it till it dies... even with all its illnessess. heheh

**FTE217** · 10-09-2007, 08:11 PM

You just went to wrong places Stav.....though you go everywhere which doesn't pay in the first place, to much mis informed information and your on a merry go round.
I recall you asking me about your rear susp and didn't hear from you since !
I know where you went and it doesn't surprise me at all !! how dissatisfied you are and importantly Rip Off !

By the way she's a good work truck which actually goes hard which is a bonus, run it to the ground.....no point wrecking up something which should be just a cruiser.

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bluedriver

You just went to wrong places Stav.....though you go everywhere which doesn't pay in the first place, to much mis informed information and your on a merry go round.
I recall you asking me about your rear susp and didn't hear from you since !
I know where you went and it doesn't surprise me at all !! how dissatisfied you are and importantly Rip Off !

By the way she's a good work truck which actually goes hard which is a bonus, run it to the ground.....no point wrecking up something which should be just a cruiser.

Since chatting to you I have not touched the suspension mate.Only traction bars have gone on.The rears were already on. Yes you are right.There is alot of misinformation out there and I do have a spare cylinder head if this goes bung.

It has been a good learning curve up to here and it has clarified what I would like from my next car. A standard ball tearer with warranty. The car that keeps popping in my mind is the f6 typhoon. A standard car which is capable of pulling 13.5 's in standard trim and return decent fuel economy.Maybe not this year but likely next. The wagon will be run into the ground.I would not strip it for the world. However at the end of its life it will be deregistered and born again from the ground up.They can all go clutch for their nos bottles but they wont catch me!!

:

**FTE217** · 10-09-2007, 08:48 PM

Stav I recall you asked me about susp long before you did anything, then at a later date I notice you did something right where I wouldn't go lol and you got your just rewards my friend !
A typhoon and good fuel economy bah ! are you going to drive it like Miss Daisy ? thats the only way getting good economy out of them lol....somehow I don't think you'll be driving like a butler hehe

private9 · 10-09-2007, 09:10 PM

Personally, I'd retire the wagon - you've had your fun and learnt lots, but to me sometimes you just have to know when to give up!

I know how disheartening it can be having crap work done - over the years/cars, I've had heaps of aftermarket work done, and 90% of the time it's either crap or not what you asked for. Really puts you off doing up cars sometimes!

Casper · 10-09-2007, 09:20 PM

Find a good workshop with a good tuner and a good reputation and you will find it is all a lot easier. Catch is it costs more.. but you get what you pay for in the end.

private9 · 10-09-2007, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Find a good workshop with a good tuner and a good reputation and you will find it is all a lot easier. Catch is it costs more.. but you get what you pay for in the end.

Exactly. May cost more initially, but then you won't be paying another mob 12 months down the track to do the same job again properly.

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 10:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Find a good workshop with a good tuner and a good reputation and you will find it is all a lot easier. Catch is it costs more.. but you get what you pay for in the end.

Sometimes you can get caught out with good reputations. I have seen some friends pay top dollar and not get what they pay for.
Truth is that Ive seen so many busted parts that

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Find a good workshop with a good tuner and a good reputation and you will find it is all a lot easier. Catch is it costs more.. but you get what you pay for in the end.

Sometimes you can get caught out with good reputations. I have seen some friends pay top dollar and not get what they pay for or worse go slower.
Truth is that Ive seen so many busted parts that I have learned to do most of the work properly myself. Slowly slowly I am going to just fix whats not right myself. You guys in Victoria are very lucky with guys like g @d and bluepower racing etc.

Up here the au six ford has been put in the too hard basket and so finding someone who knows specifically how to do it just hasn't happened. I know more about it than most of them...I have never seen a soch auto 4.0 put out 170 rwkws on anyones dyno so I have to be happy with that.Still I am up for taking the wagon one last time down the quarter soon.If it blows...it blows..its been alot of fun..hehe

Casper · 10-09-2007, 10:42 PM

Then you need to do it all yourself and make sure you know what you're doing Stav. Simple as that. Its a case of trust someone else or do it yourself.

As for retiring the wagon. Thats entirely up to you. If you think its had its day then so be it. Drive it and enjoy it.
If you think its got more life in it then go for it and see what happens.

No one can make the decision for you.

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Then you need to do it all yourself and make sure you know what you're doing Stav. Simple as that. Its a case of trust someone else or do it yourself.

As for retiring the wagon. Thats entirely up to you. If you think its had its day then so be it. Drive it and enjoy it.
If you think its got more life in it then go for it and see what happens.

No one can make the decision for you.

You're my car buddies so I value your thoughts. I get a bit annoyed sometimes but then somehow I get back into it.I think I just love that dam hobby too much ...

You know I love it lol

Casper · 10-09-2007, 10:55 PM

Its a good hobbie, its great fun and it beats collecting stamps.

Unfortunatly its also frustrating and expensive.. such is life.

Oh, and Stav... we both know that 170rwkw reading is on the happy side. The ET and MPH just dont show it, not even close. Sorry.

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Its a good hobbie, its great fun and it beats collecting stamps.

Unfortunatly its also frustrating and expensive.. such is life.

Oh, and Stav... we both know that 170rwkw reading is on the happy side. The ET and MPH just dont show it, not even close. Sorry.

If the car had a genuine 170rwkws it would have run a 14.2 and maybe a flat 14.It didn't .Still on that dyno I have never seen that figure from an auto 4.0 six.

I wont make excuses there but the faulty walbro pump and therefore destroyed tune may have had something to do with it but it looks like we may not find out.

That 170 does coincide with soxxs 170 when he ran a 14.4.That was the only reliable data to compare.It was right.

stiddy · 10-09-2007, 11:16 PM

Stav, Im going to be blunt.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stav

If the car had a genuine 170rwkws it would have run a 14.2 and maybe a flat 14.It didn't .Still on that dyno I have never seen that figure from an auto 4.0 six.

Regardless of what the dyno reads, your wagon does not have 170rwkw. It just doesnt. You simply dont have the mph or et to back it up.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stav

I wont make excuses there but the faulty walbro pump and therefore destroyed tune may have had something to do with it but it looks like we may not find out.

faulty pump? destroyed tune? your not making excuses?
They sound like excuses mate, sorry..
Your a top bloke, a good mate, but this is just getting out of hand now.

Casper · 10-09-2007, 11:09 PM

I dont see that ET as even close to 170rwkw, sorry. I am only 0.05 behind and I dont have 170, not even close.

In the end though it doesn't matter. 130, 170, 387rwkw. Its all just a number. The ET and MPH tells the reality. If theres more in it with the fuel pump fixed and the tune sorted then give it a run and see.. that will show whats there.

**Stav** · 10-09-2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

I dont see that ET as even close to 170rwkw, sorry. I am only 0.05 behind and I dont have 170, not even close.

In the end though it doesn't matter. 130, 170, 387rwkw. Its all just a number. The ET and MPH tells the reality. If theres more in it with the fuel pump fixed and the tune sorted then give it a run and see.. that will show whats there.

Et is et.Mph? 14.5 95 and 92 mph odd mph both with 4:11 's does mean there is more to come. 14.4 to 14.3. Stidds you're right . The single spinner is fixed. The car will get a retune in due course and new springs will probably be on order. The pump was faulty & replaced under warranty.If the engine is ok then I may take it down for a final run for my own efforts sake.
I shouldn't put the car's shortcoming in front of failure. If it was right then the 14.4 to 14.3 would have been under my belt.Btw cya on Wednesday Stidds..

Casper · 11-09-2007, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stav

Et is et.Mph? 14.5 95 and 92 mph odd mph both with 4:11 's does mean there is more to come. 14.4 to 14.3. Stidds you're right . The single spinner is fixed. The car will get a retune in due course and new springs will probably be on order. The pump was faulty & replaced under warranty.If the engine is ok then I may take it down for a final run for my own efforts sake.
I shouldn't put the car's shortcoming in front of failure. If it was right then the 14.4 to 14.3 would have been under my belt.Btw cya on Wednesday Stidds..

Stav, I've also ran a 96mph pass in mine. I've also got 4.11's. The fact of the matter is that I have a 14.57 pass and, until I beat that, thats what I have. I can claim bad air, bad fuel, bad whatever stopped me from getting a 14.4 or 14.3 but thats not going to change that my ET is my ET.
You are in the same boat. You are at 14.52.. thats it. You can claim bad fuel pump, bad springs, hardened tyres, bad tuning or the aliens landed.. it makes no difference, you have the ET that you have.
If you think you can go faster then go out and run the time, otherwise its a 14.5 and no more. Speculating on times is not worth a damn. Otherwise we'd all be speculating all sorts of things. Its meaningless.
Thats the whole point of the drag strip Stav... it removes all speculation and shows whats what. Good or bad, excuses or not.

**Stav** · 11-09-2007, 09:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casper

Stav, I've also ran a 96mph pass in mine. I've also got 4.11's. The fact of the matter is that I have a 14.57 pass and, until I beat that, thats what I have. I can claim bad air, bad fuel, bad whatever stopped me from getting a 14.4 or 14.3 but thats not going to change that my ET is my ET.
You are in the same boat. You are at 14.52.. thats it. You can claim bad fuel pump, bad springs, hardened tyres, bad tuning or the aliens landed.. it makes no difference, you have the ET that you have.
If you think you can go faster then go out and run the time, otherwise its a 14.5 and no more. Speculating on times is not worth a damn. Otherwise we'd all be speculating all sorts of things. Its meaningless.
Thats the whole point of the drag strip Stav... it removes all speculation and shows whats what. Good or bad, excuses or not.

It does show the truth but I always believed that mph and et on the same run is an indication of potential. Dont you agree? For a moment forget the problems I have stated..they are irrelevant. A 14.5 at 92 mph and a 14.5 at 95 mph is a very strong indicator of which is making more power and has potential to go quicker. Some xr6 turbos do 14.5 at 100mph.These guys have more power .They then proceed to refine the car to run a quicker time..do you agree or not? If my engine is ok and is not a head gasket leak then I will proceed to prove the point. 14.5 at 96 mph with a little more refinement is more likely to result in a 14.4 to 14.2 run at less mph.Your car has run 95 mph but not at 14.5 et. If it does achieve the same mph and et then it shows our power is the same.

Casper · 11-09-2007, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stav

It does show the truth but I always believed that mph and et on the same run is an indication of potential. Dont you agree? For a moment forget the problems I have stated..they are irrelevant. A 14.5 at 92 mph and a 14.5 at 95 mph is a very strong indicator of which is making more power and has potential to go quicker. Some xr6 turbos do 14.5 at 100mph.These guys have more power .They then proceed to refine the car to run a quicker time..do you agree or not? If my engine is ok and is not a head gasket leak then I will proceed to prove the point. 14.5 at 96 mph with a little more refinement is more likely to result in a 14.4 to 14.2 run at less mph.Your car has run 95 mph but not at 14.5 et. If it does achieve the same mph and et then it shows our power is the same.

Potential is another word for speculation.
Here's a timeslip:

Theres a 14.61@95mph. Difference between the ET of that and my PB.. 0.038 of a second. Effectively they are next to identical, you cant even blink that fast. Certainly within a poofeenth of each other. You can even see the splits compared to my PB. There's just nothing in it.. probably a difference of 100rpm at the 1st to 2nd change.
Does that mean my car has the "potential" to run a 14.4 or 14.3? Who knows? Its speculation as it hasn't done it yet. Thats the thing.. I can claim the high mph will give me a quicker run but it hasn't done it yet... so it doesn't exist.

The fact is that a cars "potential" is just that.. potential. My car has the "potential" to run 13's with some changes.. 12's or 11's with a turbo. Its "potential" is almost unlimited. So is yours. The difference is that potential and what its done are 2 different things.

Now I dont doubt that, given time, money and some fixes you can get the wagon to go faster and quicker. Thats not the issue. What is the issue is that, for the moment, it is a 14.52 second car and all the speculation about what it "could have / should have / would have" done is just guess work. Comparing it to other cars is only a vague indication, it cant be done as a science. I cant compare my car to yours, yours to Stiddy's, Stiddy's to DeathXR's etc etc etc. They are all different, have different strengths and weakness's and run different parts of the track in different ways.
All the car's around mine on the time slip database are running 94, 95 and 96mph, far more than mine. In fact the next car to run similar mph to me is running 2/10ths slower. Does that mean that, given those statistics, every car around me has the "potential" to run significantly faster.. or is my car's "potential" showing it should be running 2/10ths slower? Maybe my car has "potential" to run a faster MPH to match the ET? (which is something its already done more or less). Its just not a science like that. Theres far too many variables.

If you think you can get a quicker ET, fix it up and take it racing. The clock will either prove or disprove Stav. Talking about potential before that is just throwing numbers in the air.

LOWAU · 10-09-2007, 11:46 PM

Convert it to LPG, I will guarentee that that would kill any desire to mod it any further(speaking from experience), hahaha.

Keep it as a run around/work car and remember what the AU falcon 6s were made for. Down the track buy something with real balls.

StealthAu · 11-09-2007, 09:32 AM

A higher MPH dosn't mean it has more power, it can mean its geared differently.

sfr rob · 11-09-2007, 09:39 AM

oh well, you will be wondering why you didnt get the Phoon earlier than you did when you buy it, I certainly did

I also reckon, strip the wagon and make some coin from it.

Casper · 11-09-2007, 01:16 PM

and I'm saying its all in the "doing".

Its great to say potential and refinement.. but without the doing it means nothing. I don't dispute you probably have more power then me, you should have with a big cam and major head work compared to a dead stock factory engine. I'm saying that this "power" does not instantly say you can run a faster time than you have. It doesn't work that way. All these XR6T's running mid 14's with 100mph are a classic case of having power but not the times. You are talking about "refinement" but thats just another way to say "more mods". Thats what they do to improve. They get an edit tune.. or M/T tyres.. or whatever. Its not "refining" what they have, its adding a mod.
The catch is that, until they do it, they have a 14.5@100mph car. Not a "potential 13.5" second car.
I'll just say mod away, thats what I intend to do. Go out, see if it works, see if you can get a PB and post it up when you do. Just leave the "it could of / should have / would have" to the ricers mate. They need the fairy tale times more than we do.

stiddy · 11-09-2007, 06:53 PM

Had to do it...

b2tf · 11-09-2007, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiddy

Had to do it...

I had one of these, it stopped working. Now I just have a sticker over the gauge - "all show, no go".

**Stav** · 12-09-2007, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by b2tf

I had one of these, it stopped working. Now I just have a sticker over the gauge - "all show, no go".

Say what you want.Broken components seldom equate to the best et .A faulty pump will not allow to run at optimal tune. This is exactly what was said. If you guys want to take it out of context and use the kindergarten bully tactics then its your call. Take it or leave it. Next time your at the track disconnect your pumps and see how your cars go.I doubt they'll run to their full potential. When you run down the 1/4 and your clutch explodes then I will be jumping in back to say ..excuses..( under your definitions).Sometimes a spade has to be called a spade.

They say that you get criticised the most just about when you are going to achieve a goal.
I dont shriek back in fear from your words because I know that you are wrong and it will be seen.
Falcman thanks for the post.

b2tf · 12-09-2007, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stav

Say what you want.Broken components seldom equate to the best et .A faulty pump will not allow to run at optimal tune. This is exactly what was said. If you guys want to take it out of context and use the kindergarten bully tactics then its your call. Take it or leave it. Next time your at the track disconnect your pumps and see how your cars go.I doubt they'll run to their full potential. When you run down the 1/4 and your clutch explodes then I will be jumping in back to say ..excuses..( under your definitions).Sometimes a spade has to be called a spade.

They say that you get criticised the most just about when you are going to achieve a goal.
I dont shriek back in fear from your words because I know that you are wrong and it will be seen.
Falcman thanks for the post.

Stav I was talking about my ute not your wagon.......

:

StealthAu · 12-09-2007, 08:00 AM

14.whatever. Head work, cam, stall, diff gears and whatever else and you still have a 14 second car.