4A-GE wrote:MattNA8 wrote:It's a '97 1.8 that seemed in relatively good shape for the price I paid.
Is it the white one from te kuiti?
That's the one, lol. Looks really clean save a good scrape on the front passenger-side fender and some dirty oil (waiting on a K&N filter before I change it).
WideOpenThrottle wrote:You cant compare an all wheel drive Forrester to a rear drive car...totally different feel!
I know they're very different animals. I was commenting more on the fact that I'd expect a sorted MX-5 to have less of a body-roll feel to it than the crossover. I've had RWD cars for years now--the AWD was a big change for me but suited our needs more
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marcellarius wrote:I would hold off on throwing parts at it; on completely standard suspension the handling should be pretty good. They do have a bit of body roll, but I've found this affects the driver's grip on the car a lot more than the car's grip on the road ...
Alignment and some good rubber. If you want more grip, a good set of tyres does wonders. The OE Enkei wheels are good, very light; I suspect most people get bigger wheels for aesthetic reasons.
As Snapfrozen mentioned: make it sing. If I'm on an exciting road, 3rd gear and really letting it rev really wakes the car up.
If your car has a Torsen LSD, I've noticed the way it responds to throttle through corners is fairly subtle. My car seems to like gentle throttle through the mid-corner. Trailing throttle through corners and coming on hard at the exit seems to just make the car feel unsettled.
Thanks for that. Yeah, even if I wanted to have the parts shipped tomorrow, I couldn't afford it, haha. I always like getting the feel for stock cars and addressing the issues I find with them with modifications after some time with them. I'm just fastidious with my cars and like to plan out expenses and parts in advance
. I'm going to get the alignment done before the week's up and think about tires at that time. I suppose I'm in no rush for the 15x8's, as they were more of anticipatory purchase (with good-look benefits) for my 4 year goal of a turbo set up. Anywho, all besides the point, lol.
Based on the trim of the car, I think it's a Touring with an open diff. I'd really love a Torsen down the line--I hear they make an enormous difference. In fact, this is my first RWD without a LSD, so that could be contributing to the car feeling off to me.
As per everyone's suggestion though an alignment and tires are both first on the list. I also bought some oil for the trans, diff, and engine, as well as new coolant. I jacked the car up yesterday for the trans oil but the fill plug is totally seized in there, haha. After a lot of grunting and half a can of penetrating oil I just went ahead an ordered an 8-point socket for the damn thing.
I'll update with any significant improvements once all the maintenance is done!
Cheers,
-Matt
