BigMike's Road Encounters

[BigMike]

Figured I'd start a thread on this already

My 4A-GZE is 100% completely bone stock right down to the stock air cleaner & box (it does have a 9 lb flywheel however). Transaxle is a close ratio C56. Car weighs around 2350 lbs. So this will give you an idea of what it can do all stock.

My Street Race Log (last updated 1/28)

Opponent	It's Color?	Where?	Gears?	Result	Notes
Nissan 350Z	Silver		1-3rd	Won, barely	It looked all stock
Nissan 350Z	Dark Blue	Clovis & Ashlan	1-3rd	Lost, barely	It had a nice exhaust system
Ford Mustang GT, newer model	Red with white stripe	HWY152W approaching Los Banos	4th	Lost	I was drafting behind him and still couldn't keep up
Scion Tc	Dark Blue	HWY152E uphill	4th	Won	That wasn't much of a challenge, but uphill is where my torque band really pays off
BMW Z4 (E85)	Black	HWY180W approaching HWY99	5th	Won, barely	Was slowly pulling away in 5th gear. I could have downshifted. No clue what engine it had
Toyota Celica GT-S	Red	HWY152W up Pachaco pass	4th	Won, barely	It was uphill and I was slowly walking away from him
Ford Mustang GT, older model	Black	HWY152W near Casa de Fruita	4th	Lost	Same with the other Mustang, I was drafting and still couldn't keep up
Saturn 4-door	Silver	HWY152E leaving Gilroy	1-2	Won, easily	hahahahaha
Infiniti G30	Silver	Clovis & Tulare	1-3	Won, barely	It was an automatic, but I'm not sure if the person was going all out or not
Kyle's Mitsu Evo9	Silver	HWY168W near Shepherd	1-3	Lost badly	I had Kevin in my car but it was no use, he is waaay faster right now
Chee's 1ZZ Toyota Corolla	Silver	Olive & Winery	1-2	Won, easily	It was just for fun and Chee got smoked
Pontiac Fiero GT	Silver	Ashlan & Armstrong	1-2	Won, easily	We launched 4 or 5 times. Each time had him by about 3 car lengths at the top of 2nd gear

[Sirdeuce]

I believe the Scion TC is supposed to have the same power as the Tacoma, just heavier. The BMW (Big Mexican Woman) I believe has a 3.0 straight 6 with the valvetronic valvetrain I mentioned somewhere on this forum. Supposedly, power is aroound 255 hp. I have learned that the Muskrat guys won't play with Jap Crap any more unless they are modified themselves, so no big loss there. Seems they are tired of getting spanked all the time.  And the guys that go Cobra or Saleen badge don't think a little jap car is worth the effort. I am curious how you would do against the 3 though. I have about a 100 horse on you, and about a 1000lbs. You have a chance! Running about 12 1/2 pouns per horse.

[BigMike]

Ah! You reminded me about Kyle's Evo IX. I got owned by it that day we all came up to your place. Your Speed3 will make my car look like a Reliant Robin



EDIT: I also just remembered about  Chee's 1ZZ-FE powered 4-door Corolla (wife's car)

[Sirdeuce]

Oh yeah! You had troiuble keeping up with a Tacoma!

[BigMike]

[Monty Python]THAT IS NO ORRRRRRRDINARY TACOMA!!!!![/Monty Python]

[BigMike]

Just raced Kevin's brother-in-law Mike and his Pontiac Fiero GT. He didn't stand a chance to the 4A-GZE

We launched 4 or 5 times. Each time I had him by 3 car lengths at the top of 2nd gear. We also did a couple improvised 2nd gear pulls and I'm really impressed with my car.

I honestly thought the V6 Fiero would pose a greater challenge --- which only further indicated that there must be something up with my engine! I gotta pull a valve cover, or check the compression, or the ECU; gotta be something!

I will be doing some dyno pulls once the 6spd goes in, so I'll know soon enough what is up. If I am putting down 125-ish HP at the wheels then I'll know something is up for sure

[Sirdeuce]

Naw, must be something wrong with the Fiero! You know how much of a high performance car they are!

[Sirdeuce]

From what I found, the 2.8liter V6 put out a whopping 140 hp and 160 lbs of torque. The vehicle weighed a bit over 2800 lbs. And the MR2 was supposed to have 145 hp with 140 lbs of torque. weighing in at 2500 lbs. You got more horses, and 300 less lbs of weight. The 20 lbs of torque is nowhere near enough to cover the 300 lbs difference. And the trans gearing for the U.S. car is not going to be worth a bean as they never geared anything properly here! American car makers would use the ratios for a V8 on a small displacement 4 banger. One of the resons the Cosworth Vega was disliked so much! The Cosworth engine produced a powerband like a 4AGE, and had gears for a torqier V8! The biggest complaint was the way the little car wouldn't produce at the lower RPM bands! It had low power in the lower ranges with a high gear, bogged off the line and at upshifts. Just playing the defender of the little guy I guess.

[BigMike]

Good points Bill. Moreoever, my car weighs less than 2400 lbs so make that 800+ weight difference. WOW I didn't realize it was that much of a difference