'99 3000GT VR4 info wanted

[CaptTurbo]

My buddy got one when he graduated high school (rich Castlemore parents)...and he got it to run 12.48, then he broke his tranny
Ya, the tranny sucks on those cars, and they are heavy...but they make power, and can go like the Devil with very little work...I really don't think any of that eras domestic AWD systems were any good...AWD Talons jump out of the hole like gangbusters too, but everyone I've evr known with an AWD Talon, has ended up selling the car because of tranny problems....I would buy one of the font wheel drive Talons though....

At 13-14psi, even with the weight advantage, I think he'll hand you your ass, from a stop or a roll, but who's to say... I never underestimate Omni's, especially against big heavy fat ass cars like that....but I can attest to the fact that they do move, and with over 300HP bone stock, it would be foolish to think that they are a joke....I've been in the car when he destroyed(and I mean destroyed) a vette.

[glhsken]

LOL... Most of the cars on here have no "nevermind" paid to the suspension. Find a td done right and it will not Hit the 110 you say your TT does (BTW, AWESOME cars) But it will be close. I've come out the top of "cloverleaf" onramps doing 80+ mph (LOL saw the cop as soon as I got on the highway, open 3" exhaust, he heard me swung the laser gun up right as I nailed the brakes... Glared at me as I cruised by)

A well done TD will roll a stealth on the straights.

[RSTURBO]

at 17psi my csx takes my buddy's vr4 by 1 car from a roll from a stop it's almost even by the end of the race.

I only have a cold start 2.5 straight pipe all the way from the turbo down cold air intake tu cal and 17 psi.

But I will also say he doesn't do 6k launches when we go to the track he constantly pulled 13.8-14.0's when he does a 6 k launch he pulls a 13.0-13.3


Tranny's suck but they have a recall due to the fact that the fill plug and seals go and you don't know your low on fluid till it's too late

[dragulazero]

Yeah they are heavy and have junk trannys,but just look at them. They are a work of art. Owning one is expensive but honestly its a joy to work on. Respect it,and treat it good and she'll do the same for you.Oh yeah save the races for the real cars not ever fast&thefer......wannabe kid with a wing and a hack job exhaust. I would'nt mind having my arrss handed to me by that Challenger.

[Car #907]

I am a die hard 3gt fan. I have absolutely loved them my whole life. When my cousin got one the day he turned 16 I could have killed him, but that just got me even more into them. It's hard for anyone to deny that they are a piece of art. The only thing that I like more about TD's is they are a 1/4 less to work on. My cousin has spent $1400+ just taking 1.5 seconds off his quarter. I have priced my TD modding it the same way as others, and for 1.5 seconds it will cost me about $500. MUCH, MUCH cheaper. I would still give my left nut for a 99' VR-4 any day of the week!

[moparzrule]

You can cut 1.5 seconds off a TD 1/4 time with $50.

[88-16V-Lebaron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sexygomer i hear they have pretty much a throw away tranny, no workie on that beast, you break it, you bought it...ewww! and the are a beotch to work on, even an oil change is complicated

You can get them rebuilt for about 1K

[88-16V-Lebaron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by juxsa Dude... I know what your talking about.... I had some honda boy with the whole spaceship body kit laugh at me at a stop light when I tried to race him. I tried to race another guy in a new NSX and he laughed but atleast gave me a thumbs up

I raced a porsche in Atlanta in 1996 (with my 1991 Spirit R/T ) and after he gave me the finger. I think he was mad that I kicked his POS Porsche's ass. They are worthless for performance under 90K sticker in the 90's

[88-16V-Lebaron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptTurbo Ya, the tranny sucks on those cars, and they are heavy...but they make power, and can go like the Devil with very little work...I really don't think any of that eras domestic AWD systems were any good...AWD Talons jump out of the hole like gangbusters too, but everyone I've evr known with an AWD Talon, has ended up selling the car because of tranny problems....I would buy one of the font wheel drive Talons though.... .

It is not the transmissons it is the drivers. Dropping the clutch. Slamming the gears and not replacing broken motor mounts can kill a trans quick. Drive like you have a clue and the transmisson will last at least as long as a FWD dodge going 2 seconds slower in the 1/4

[aerosmith145]

gotta give them credit though - look at that launch!!

http://www.dynamicracing.com/our_car...d_stealth.html

The 11.009 video demonstrates it fairly well..

[wild thing]

This is my BONE STOCK (K@N drop in, for what that's worth ) 94 RT/TT with 112,8xx miles on the original engine/transmission. This was the 2nd run I ever made on it:



Full weight, spare and tools in the trunk. That was my best run, my worst (of 5) was 13.89, with a monster wheelspin issue at launch.

And to the clown who posted on page 2 that it's all at the launch and they're done at the top side of the track, get a effing clue; the 1/4 comes almost exactly at the 3-4 shift.

As far as the transmission, it's durable. The 2nd and 3rd gear synchros will wear out if it's abused. The transfer case is the weak point and it got better in 94, although still not perfect. It's not the hard-parts fault though. I have video of my car spinning all 4 on the launch at the drag strip. Imagine if you will spinning 4 tires on rubber coated asphalt in a 3700 lb car with a 200 lb driver... That's abuse no TD has ever seen.

[mech1nxh]

weeesus .....so many opinions
wild thing is finally down to the core........the trans is not the weak point....
the transfer case is the weak point ......for some reason mitsu decided to split
torque 59/41 and the housings are weak....have seen grenaded "transfer " gears
on the ground!!!!!!
still the"3" was never designed to be a true 1/4 miler...but its a *****in "world" car

[Shelby VNT]

If the clown you speak of on the 2nd page is me, consider I what I said. I spent a lot of time on the 3S forum reading everything I could about the cars because I wanted one. I know these cars are easily capable of running 13s all day. My point was many drivers launch at 6K rpm and drop the clutch to break into the 12s. At no point did I say running something slower then a 12 was 'all in the launch'. And if the end of the 1/4 mile comes right at the 3rd to 4th gear change (you said it yourself), what good are the other 2 or 3 gears? I'd much rather have a close ratio transmission with gears that will benefit the car's performance.

Further more, I don't know how many racing stories I read on the 3S forum when I spent my time there which got the reply - 'Next time rev to 6.5K and drop the clutch to totally waste that guy', when the race was close. You can't sit here and tell me that the guys running 12s with light mods aren't doing high rpm clutch drops to get there. It's proven fact that a harder launch and better 60' times yield a better e.t. alone.

I can point you to magazine test articles in which a stock Subaru WRX Sti ran a faster 1/4 mile time then your car (13.29 at 100.5mph in Jan '04 issue of Hot Rod) but with the same trap speed. If you're telling the AWD factor doesn't effect a car's performance on the top end, you are crazy. Just look at your trap speed!

I can also point you to articles on the Toyota Supra in which the cars tested ran anywhere from 13.1 at 109 mph (March 1993 issue of C&D) to 13.5 at 106 mph (in March 1993 issue of Motor Trend). Now look at those trap speeds. The second one, in particular, is darn near identical to your best run with the e.t. but the trap speed is 6 miles per hour faster then yours. Why would two cars with the same rated hp run identical times, but one a faster trap speed? Drivetrain loss, right?

On the topic of all your 'monster wheel spin' - I didn't catch what you said your modifications are, nor did I happen to catch your description of the launch and what rpm you leave the line at. If you are spinning that bad with an AWD car on a prepared surface like the track, you are either doing high rpm clutch drops like everyone else, you are over inflating your tires on purpose, your limited slip in the rear is not working (effectively giving you 2 drive wheels - no limited slip in the front), or maybe it's just your clutch slipping.

Care to share your launch technique and mods? A stock VR-4 or Sleath R/T shouldn't normally spin tires with a normal launch unless it's been modified. I know, I've gotten rides in them, knew people who drove them, and even on the 3S forum I downloaded a movie with a 1/4 track run in which the poster of the movie stated he purposely over inflated his tires so he would spin. His reasoning was that it would reduce the drivetrain shock.

[phantomrt]

The twin turbo cars are indeed Grand Touring sports cars that can be driven many many miles and not have any abnormal problems if driven normally. They are very well designed. But there are a LOT of parts on them so there IS the higher chance of something somewhere going wrong. That is true for ANY car out there as complex as a stealth/3000 GT. Even '06 cars are typically much much simpler.
Heavy? Yea so were the 1960's muscle cars but they really hauled on the straights. Weight is a huge disadvantage but they easily make up for it with sheer power and traction. The 3.0 V-6's are very very very tough. Too bad the transmissions aren't. They'll easily do the job on an unmodded car that isn't beat to total hell. When they're beat on, they have AWD with viscous couplings that prevent any wheelspin so SOMETHING needs to give. Worried about breaking one of these transmissions? You have worse breakage problems with a Lamborghini or Ferarri.

Overall, very little beats them even today and for the price they sold for they really are bargains. The handling is awesome. Nothing quite like it. Stability is extremely solid. Very well balanced. They spank vettes quite nicely. Especially the slush box vettes.

Just my opinion. Like it matters, right? LOL

[wild thing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelby VNT Unfortunately the hard pull starts to slow down on the top end of the track,

That was what I was talking about.

You make it sound like the car runs out of motor. That's not the case. The puny turbos run out of breath, but there are 3 more gears, and it still pulls hard in 2 of those 3.

My launch isn't a dump. On the one launch that I let the clutch grab too aggressively (dumped) my center diff broke totally free after some crazy wheel hop and netted me my worst time of the day. A good launch is an aggressive slip, minimal wheel-spin, but strong engagement. You can't build boost without load, so the faster you engage the sooner you'll be making power.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelby VNT what good are the other 2 or 3 gears? I'd much rather have a close ratio transmission with gears that will benefit the car's performance.

The japanese version of this car had a numerically larger final drive ratio. I'm trying to source the parts so that I can give my car that final drive over the winter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelby VNT Further more, I don't know how many racing stories I read on the 3S forum when I spent my time there which got the reply - 'Next time rev to 6.5K and drop the clutch to totally waste that guy', when the race was close. You can't sit here and tell me that the guys running 12s with light mods aren't doing high rpm clutch drops to get there. It's proven fact that a harder launch and better 60' times yield a better e.t. alone.

I assure you, I'm not trying to be facetious, I assure you. This paragraph is really odd though. How would you suggest that we launch? Isn't the idea to release the clutch as fast as possible while maintaining RPMS? I know in the case of a FWD you do a high RPM clutch drop, it just so happens your "drop" is slower. I don't think any one of the fast 3S drivers sidesteps the clutch. That's best left to the old American Iron that can take it. (I used to do that in my 70 Baracuda which could put up with the abuse)

About sharing my launch technique... I already did. I don't watch the tach, but I'd guess while the ambers are on their way down it's around 6-7k and then I aggressively engage the clutch trying to do it as quick as possible without spinning and without dropping below boost, probably around 4500 RPMs into full engagement. Again, that's speculation as I'm not watching the tach.

Here's one of my better launches, not my best:
http://www.jrssite.com/perm/13_83_20050803.wmv
The time sucked because I shortshifted so we could see how well it would pull through 4th. As you can tell, 4th gear isn't dead, it only brought me down ~3/10s, and I was SERIOUSLY shortshifting, probably around 5500-6000, + the extra time to make the 3-4 shift.

I mentioned at the beginning of the post that my car is bone stock with the minor exception of a K&N drop in.

These cars break transfer cases (not transmissions) because:
4000+ # fueld with driver
300 or 320 HP
4 WD
lower any of the above numbers and the transfer case would be fine (of course if you lowered the bottom number it would cease to exist)

Closing I want to apologize for the "clown" comment, but your assertion that the 3Ss (of all cars) are running out of steam at 100 MPH is absolutely absurd. I do understand they trap low and launch hard, but your comment was:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shelby VNT Unfortunately the hard pull starts to slow down on the top end of the track,

And that is absolutely untrue... there is a LOT left.

-JR