James92TSi's 3000GT - aka "Red"
Red is a '91 3000GT VR-4, which I bought in November 2004. Always garage-kept and dealer maintained by previous owners (a good thing in this case), she is what one might refer to as "a keeper". She is actually one of the first 100 VR-4s to come over to the States, denoted by a gold "Premiere Edition" badge on the glovebox (
Pic 1 Pic 2).
Red was bought as a daily driver to back up my DSMs, and performed that task quite admirably until early 2007. She started to have little issues here and there, and the final straw was when the output shaft failed in late June (
Pic 1). I started plotting and scheming -- as my original plan was to have Red as my daily car, and my '92 GSX project as my track car. It seemed Red had other ideas.
I eventually arrived at the difficult decision to cut my losses on the GSX project, make Red the track car, and shop for a newer car with warranty to serve as my daily. Shakira (my
G35 Sport Coupe) was added to the family in late August, and Red officially moved into the "toy" role.
More pics of Red, including shots on-track, can be found in my Picasa album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/James92TSi
Here's the rundown of what's done to her so far:
Electronics
• Eclipse AVX2494 - touch screen DVD/CD/MP3, 20GB HDD (visible in these:
Pic 1 Pic 2)
• PPI 5440 5-channel amplifier (
Pic 1)
• Infinity Kappa 60.5cs 6.5" component set (front)
• Infinity Kappa 692.5i 2-way 6x9" coaxials (rear)
• Infinity Kappa Perfect 10 DVC sub (
Pic 1)
• Audiobahn 1-farad capacitor
• Optima Yellow battery
• PAC SWI-X steering wheel radio control interface
Under-hood gadgetry
• Matrix cone filter with 3SX MAS mounting bracket
• HKS SSQV
• MSD spark wires (and NGK coppers, of course)
• 3rd revision lash adjusters
• Alamo Y-pipe (
Pic 1)
• Emissions/vacuum line reduction (EGR removed and blocked)
• Supercar Engineering oil pan with trap door and kick-out (
Pic 1 Pic 2)
• Northbend Technologies Quadco XR output shaft and input spool (
Pic 1)
• EK2 poly motor mounts
• Otherwise just your typical stock 2-bolt 6G72 TT, as maintained by an anally retentive person.
Brakes
(
Pic of all parts - note that brakes were not installed yet in pic above)
• 2G VR-4 front brakes - powdercoated red & rebuilt (
Pic 1)
• Porterfield R4S pads
• Drilled/Slotted rotors (eye candy from when the car was my daily)
• Goodridge braided SS lines
• ATE Super Blue fluid (or ATE TYP 200... same fluid, yellow color... good for alternating flushes)
• Speed bleeders
Suspension, Wheels, and Tires
• Tein FLEX coilover system
• MB Motorsports Weapon wheels, 18x9 gunmetal finish (+1 in the garage as a full-size spare)
• Falken FK-452 tires, Y-rated 255/35/18
Miscellaneous
• Chrome front emblem
• Snake Eye mod (
Pic 1)
• Hella H4 conversion headlamps
• Supermac race shifter
• 99 GSX leather shift knob (the last remaining piece of the Talon)
• Active Aero that actually works (a rarity among first-gen VR-4s)
• Brushed aluminum defrost vents (
Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3)
• Leatherseats.com reupholstery kit, two-tone with custom logos (
Pic 1)
• Tint, yo!
Parts I have that are not on the car yet
• 2G VR-4 rear brakes (same disassemble/powdercoat/rebuild treatment as the fronts)
• Greddy/GT Pro FMIC kit
• TD04L 13T turbos
• DNP precat eliminators (tubular o2 housings)
• Alamo 3" downpipe
• More brushed aluminum interior bits
• A whole lot of body parts (for 2G/99 conversion), including a Cianci Viper hood
• Parts for quad e46 bixenon HID retrofit into 94 Stealth glass headlights
... and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting to mention.
Future plans for the car are
• Repair of damage from off-track incident at September's HPDE event (including installation of Tein FLEX system)
• Replacement of the three factory center gauges with accurate stuff
• Another rework of the braking system, to include better quality rotors, more race-oriented pads (most likely from Carbotech), and ducting for the front rotors
• Installation of the 99 front end, Viper hood, and HID retrofit
• A second set of wheels, most likely 17x9.5 with 275/40/17 Toyo RA1 tires.
• Installation of the remaining 2G body parts and repaint of the car
• Resisting the urge to put all of those other performance parts on the car until my driving improves... a lot.
The eventual power goal is 400 to 425 awhp reliably on pump gas, which is well within the capabilities of the parts I've chosen. At that power level, she'll be a complete hoot on the road course... all in due time. Engine management will most likely be AEM EMS.
