by crispone » Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:15 pm
onefiend wrote:I don't think the brakes got any lamer on your Solara, but because you like the noise so much you are definitely pushing the car a bit more now and probably is braking a little bit harder too.
You're right, of course... but the point is exactly THAT! The personality of the car has now changed... not just alittle, but COMPLETELY! It still possesses the classy feel, but now that I am experiencing such fantastic response and heightened torque with which it is transferring power to the road, I am encountering a very different driving experience all together. It rained this evening, and in the dark, with standing water here and there and some sprinkles, I found the car to be more "skatey" and "vague" than before. The suspension now feels "mushy", and the body roll is excessive. It is fascinating to me that these characteristics were not noticable to the same extent previously. I have always been an extreme proponent of understanding the principles of "balance" in regard to "tuning" a car or otherwise modifying it.... there is no "screw" to turn up... no single magical mod that transforms a vehicle, car or bike, into a beast by itself. I'd have to say the fundamental combination of just the CP-e and TRD exhaust has net one of the most impressive, "single action" driven improvements to a vehicle, that I have ever seen! (That's a mouthful, considering I have done numerous Powercommanders and Yoshimura EMS installs and still tune for fun --> seat of the pants, style.)
Suddenly, the need for balance of the various peripheral functions on the vehicle have become much more paramount, in that the stock array is no longer within the threshold of "adequacy" to maintain the same degree of "security" in feel as a complete machine. I can see I HAVE to do the springs soon, get the front/rear braces on, and I need to find out if there is a braided line kit for the brakes. (Maybe a slotted rotor out there?)
Anyway... the car would have been a better platform to accept the performance increase (in so many more ways than "just power") if it already had the suspension and brake stuff.... BUT I SURE DON'T REGRET doing the CP-e FIRST!
Yeah... I'm sure the wet roads, 15 hour day I worked today, and lack of familiarity with the newfound performance enhancements have affected my ability to cope authoritatively with the car. But there is no doubt I'm needing other upgrades to achieve the balance that this car now deserves more than ever. The CP-e upgrade doesn't just give you fresher air and a throaty sound, it constitutes the very foundation for serious modifications that many much more complicated and involved systems provide.... usually costing many times more.
Time to start saving some more pennys.... let's see, I saw some change in the center console of the 'lara.... and then there were the quarters in my junk drawer....
- crisp
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crispone - Immitagably Verbose Dude
- Posts: 3269
- Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:40 pm
- Location: Ohio
Then go at it with some suspension work and some new wheels/tires and just forget about paying all the rest of your bills for the next couple of months! 
but yeah maybe my reality is different...I pay 330$ CAD each month for my appart (4.5 rooms) and I have 2 miles to go to work...I've no children and no gf (I just meet a nice girl last week tho...). Yeah maybe I talk too fast...because just adding an house payment and would be stuck like a rat ! I finish for now all the mods I wanted to do...I'll wait for any headers or the Y-pipe for the 3MZ
