Mighty Favog Posted October 17, 2002 Author Share Posted October 17, 2002 Jim- Yea, another thought was a Ram 2500 with the V10. Runs about the same price as either the 300 or the TL-S. After all, the Viper's engine started life as a truck engine before it was sent to the Europeans for, well......tuning. Wow...that would be something telling people you got a 488cid under the hood! I could see it now, spark plug wires the same diameter as my MITermonator 2's. Is it possible to bi-wire a single spark plug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted October 17, 2002 Author Share Posted October 17, 2002 STL- (an acronym for TL-S??) I'm all for doing upgrades but getting into old age (yea right!) I may want to tone it down a bit, literally. If anything I could send out the stock manifolds to be ported and smoothed. The car I have now, 94' Talon 2.0l non-turbo, has a Borla cat-back, ported exhaust manifold, K&N air filter (don't they all?), and platinum plugs. The problem is that it's getting a little too raucaus for me now. I have tinitus in my right ear and I think that has something to do with it. Although a close friend says it's the best sounding/running non-turbo, automatic trans, four cylider he's ever driven ( he's driven a LOT more than I have, even owns an 86' Shelby Charger Turbo for himself, as the rest of his family owns one form of Shelby or another). Remember in the movie Bullitt when the Hemi-Charger is sitting in traffic quietly and nails it going up a hill to the left? Now if I could get my new car to sound like that only after 5k rpm that would be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Hmmmm. Bi-wired spark plugs? Intresting concept. I wonder... RFI nightmare? Or heighten top end response? Tom, Too many good choices! Isn't car shopping fun? I hope you get what you want. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 ---------------- On 10/17/2002 6:29:23 PM tblasing wrote: Yea, another thought was a Ram 2500 with the V10. ---------------- If you're considering a truck, then you can't honestly be worried about handling! If you need a truck get one, but why buy a truck just to get a V-10? The weight of the truck is going to offset a lot of that power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STL Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 ---------------- On 10/17/2002 6:43:02 PM tblasing wrote: STL- (an acronym for TL-S??) ---------------- STL = St. Louis which is where I currently live. I don't own a TL-S (yet); I have a S2000, Prelude, and a Civic. Back to the subject, I don't think adding just a header is going to make a Acura TL-S sound much louder than stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted October 17, 2002 Share Posted October 17, 2002 Did i see hemi charger somewhere, what an R/T Yea now your talking LOL! Man those hemi trucks were nice! Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted October 17, 2002 Author Share Posted October 17, 2002 The truck idea actually was the same friend's as the Shelby owner. A truck is not something I NEED but would like to be able to lay my hands on one if I need it (we've all been there). I borrowed a co-workers loaded Toyota Tundra the other week and although it was brand new it still led me to believe I had to take corners rather wide. I guess I'll just have to keep hoping she'll still let me use it when I need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted October 17, 2002 Author Share Posted October 17, 2002 Jim- The friend with the Shelby used to have a 69' Charger SE with a small block (most came with big blocks). The only thing I could never get used to in that thing was that it had manual everything, except for the Torque Flite. Even the front brakes were drums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornwalled Posted October 22, 2002 Share Posted October 22, 2002 Hey, I saw a post here talking about wanting a Viper engine in a Ram 2500 pickup truck. Well, guess what, Dodge is going to be doing EXACTLY that! Only they're going to one up you and stick it in the 1500! And it's not de-tuned in anyway, all 488 cubic inches, 450 HP. It'll be coming out in 2003. Also, Chevy has brought back the Silverado SS. 6.0 liter V8, 345 HP, full time all wheel drive. I'm not sure if it has 4 wheel steering or not. But both those trucks are probably in a higher price point- around 35 I would guess. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted October 23, 2002 Author Share Posted October 23, 2002 Jon- Didn't the Chevy SS454 truck have some rediculously low haul rating of something around 4 or 600 lbs. total? Or was that the tow rating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted October 26, 2002 Share Posted October 26, 2002 Too bad your not looking to pick up anything now. The discontinued Lincoln Continental is going for about 28k in my area(N.Y.). There must be a large inventory of them around, the cars best feature is a 32 valve, 4 cam V8 rated at 275 horsepower. Definetly not a great handler but a good highway car. Joe T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted October 26, 2002 Share Posted October 26, 2002 I'd put my money in the acura.I've been in the car business for 21 years and never worked on a chrysler i thought was built right, except of cource the older models .If you don't like the acura after driving it for awhile the re-sale value is much higher than a chrysler.Another thing to take into consideration is the labour rates at the dealership in there service dept. I don't know where you live but here the rates are about 10 - 15 dollars an hr higher for the imports. The 300 is a neet looking car but styling gets old real fast.It's hard to find a lemon in todays marketplace so for god sake buy what you like and forget about everyone's opinion.Your the one that has to drive it so sit back and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted October 27, 2002 Author Share Posted October 27, 2002 JJT- I may know why the Continental is so inexspensive now. If I remember correctly they were discontinued after a, 40+ year run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenratboy Posted October 27, 2002 Share Posted October 27, 2002 DALE WALKER: Don't forget the 4 year warranty. Heck, you could probably get a 6 year warranty for a few thousand bucks. If you sell the car before the warranty expires, you are all set! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh Posted November 7, 2002 Share Posted November 7, 2002 I have a 2000 TL, and I think for the money, it is one of the best buys on the market. I paid $28k, and have had no problems. Maintenance is inexpensive, and the dealership service is top-rate. Plenty of power, and you can make a couple of inexpensive tweaks for a few more hp. MPG is great (approx. 30mpg @ 90mph on the interstate!). I've had it to 120+, and smooth as a baby's ars. As to the Bose (my first tour of the Hope facility was by a EE who took a class from Dr. Bose at MIT. Spy!), they're ok. I had a friend who took out the back rest on the back seat, and put in Heresy's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgh Posted November 7, 2002 Share Posted November 7, 2002 Speaking of car audio, I didn't know that McIntosh was producing auto products. Anyone familiar, or have heard, the Mac for car? http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted December 3, 2002 Author Share Posted December 3, 2002 O.k., so the Acura is still in front on the short list. I did, however, test drive a Volvo S40 1.9l Turbo (170hp @ 5600rpm? for a 2,750-ish lb. car). Actually I rented it to go to the GF's parents' in Flint, MI. I handled quite well although there was quite a bit more steering effort needed than I thought was prudent. The 5-speed auto trans was terrific. It was virtually impossible to tell when it shifted apart from watching the tach and/or listening to the rpm's. The audio system was a bit boomy and flat but I only was able to play the radio. Mostly on AM since I can get WLW-700am from Cincinnati to Toledo with NO problem. I like the station anyway to boot. Trunk capacity was a bit small but it did fit the one large rolling suite-case we take each trip. It did leave very little room for additional stuff we brought back from Cabela's in Dundee, MI. The ride was smooth and even a little athletic feeling for not having the Sport Package. The tires surprised me having 195VR60/15's. It's very easy to find yourself doing 80mph to 90mph if your not carefull (no speeding tickets assigned). The fuel filler door was a little remedial with the door being fully manual but I'm told it is supposed to be opened with a key fob remote (mine didn't come with one). The turbo didn't kick in until the engine was fully warmed up. It even got kicked in with the GF's 79 year-old mother in the back seat (I heard a "wheeeee!!" voice from back there). Mine came with "DSA" or "Direction Stability Assist" and could be defeated if needed if the donught spare was used. There was the threat of snow there last weekend and I was hoping it would just to put this thing through some of it's core intended paces. The headlight lighting picture was a bit odd. It had quite a few projected reflections that I can't account for except for having a strangly shaped "mirror" in the sealed beam. For all I know it could have been from the headlight wipers that come with the Climate Package that this had. The seats were almost awsome. After about 5 hours of seat time each way, my back-side and back didn't feel too bad. Definitley better than other, bigger, American cars we've rented in the past (i.e.- Buick Regal, Chevy Impala and Chevy Malibu). My biggest humungous complaint were the headrests. They are SOOO HUGE it's impossible to turn your head to the right to look through the rear window to back up. Major points lost there. When we got to Enterprise to pick up the ride the man gave us a choice (usually don't have one; only that you can opt for what class you want), either a Buick Century or the Volvo. I grinned and looked at my GF who said "Do you want the Volvo? Let's go look at it." No wonder I'm still with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.