Team3S: 3000GT & Stealth Tuesday, December 2 2003 Volume 02 : Number 314

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I know it sounds kinda stupid, but I'm in a bind right now. I bought an

after-market cooler from Jeg's and I am having a tough time getting fittings

to adapt it to the Stealth. I need my car for work, so I just by-passed the

cooler until I can figure it out. What am I risking? I use the car as a

daily driver. I am in cold climate and can't really do it myself until the

spring now. I don't know if that makes a difference to the oil

Daily driver/winter..shouldnt be a problem unless you really beat on 'er

parts for Toyota, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, SAAB, Volvo.

Where do you buy YOUR brakes? I can help...asking is free! :)

I'm posting this for Todd since he's not on the list(hope I'm not breaking

list rules). I would like to hear some positive input on it, or what you

think of it so far, just to see if this can be a good kit for us. Like I

said before, I'm NOT his salesman, I am on the "3/S Community" side of this,

The simple facts thus far are this: the same bracket fit the NA car as does

the Eclipse. The LATER hub is different ID than the EARLY hub, (got one for

sale if someone need a new one too) the late hub is the same ID as is the

late Eclipse. No way to identify them but to pull the wheel and measure.

The brackets DO NOT have 'pad over hang' of any kind, they are NOT radial

mount as perhaps the others are in which case you do space the caliper on

its proper studs with AN washers to achieve the proper height of the caliper

to rotor relation. The bracket can simply fit say 12-13.5" rotors depending

upon the spacers used. VERY common practice. I don't do radial mount for the

The set up I'm working with is NOTHING MORE than the SAME parts as on the

ECLIPSE. That's all it takes! Same hat, same bracket, same caliper, same

rotor- IF you run the base kit 1.10 rotor package. This is the one that Erik

There is some method to my madness. The larger 1.25 rotors still fit the

SAME hats and use a slightly different caliper so to fit them. Can you say

FLEXIBLE? I didn't fall off the brake truck last week. I've been doing this

Look, let's state this again from my end; I'm not out to re invent the wheel

on this one. I'm just using what is a PROVEN product off one line and

adapting it to another. AND I'm doing it at what I feel is a very attractive

and the 13 x 1 25 is at about $1350. And a 12.2 x 1.10 with the six pots

FITS the stock 16" wheel for under $1300 AND when he gets bigger wheels, the

Now I fully understand that some here may love their Brembos or Stoptechs or

whatever. That's fine. Not everyone wants to spend $3k to get too where you

are. Now before you jump and yell about how these kits won't stack up

against some X brand set up...fine, maybe it doesn't, won't, never will in

your mind etc. etc. BUT keep in mind the target doesn't support this and if

your heart is set on Brand X then I'm not on your call list anyhow. That's

fine. Some folks can't swing a $3k kit but maybe a $1200 one can fit their

budget and needs as well. If it's only 70-80% of what YOU feel is the 'BEST'

ok, but they only paid 49% for it and it still gets them what they want.

Lastly for those who just can't believe that a 'unknown' (because you didn't

ask outside your own circle) shop to do a bigger, better package, well I'm

on that now too for another car. Target $2400. Car? Not saying, just that I

have full access to the product line too. Can't make up and sell you a $2400

I really hope this paints a better pic in the minds of the critics. Please

don't be critical of something you know nothing about. Ask. I'm a phone call

PS, MOST of the web site is updated, the Car pages are the last thing to do

Laguna Seca has always been one of my favorite tracks. It's not just for the

"mystique" and reputation that it has..., from all those great drivers who

have run there, (although that's part of it). But except for Watkins Glen

(and possibly Road America), there's nothing like it. If you don't know its

history, LS (which is now know as Mazda Laguna Seca) was built by the US Army

Corps of Engineers, and it's a model for road construction perfection. From

the exacting turn radii specs to the excellence of the road surface itself,

Because of the Thanksgiving weekend, (and possibly the high-$ that NASA

charges just to "break even" on this event), the turnout was light. There

were no races scheduled, so the entire time was dedicated to HPDE events and

Open-Track. There was a single (notable!) "Vette-Viper Challenge" race after

Saturday's regular events - more on that later... ET ran our '94 Stealth NT

and I ran our '91 VR-4 in Open Track, and Jim Berry ran his '93 Stealth TT in

Group 4. Geoff ran their 2003 Z-06 in Open Track and Nissa ran in Group 4. A

few other racing friends were there - a his-and-hers Vette couple from Reno,

Al B in his Mini Cooper, and assorted other cars that we know from Sears

Point, THill and Buttonwillow, also running in Group 4 or OT. Not many 3S

My S.O. "ET" (Eileen Thomas) ran the Stealth, since her Spec Miata racecar is

in the shop being prepped for the NASA 25-hour Enduro at Thunderhill (Dec

6/7). It's the longest endurance race in the country, with 90 teams entered

from all over the world, including several teams from Japan and New Zealand!

We only had one set of 3S race tires left (17" Proxes RA-1's), so those went

on the VR-4, while she ran on the same tires she drove to the track - 18"

Bridgestone S-03's. On Saturday, ET and I went out in the "racers group"

(Open Track) to practice for the Enduro-- we wanted to "put her through her

paces" by my "bothering her" everywhere she drove: First I'd dive in under in

Turn 2, pass her on the inside, then I'd almost stop in the middle of the

turn, preventing her from executing a proper apex, and forcing her to go wide

in Turn 3. I passed again on a short 4-5 straightaway on the right, then I

pulled over to her front left and stood on the brakes, forcing her to avoid me

off-line at 100 mph, and enter turn 5 way wide. I passed her just before "The

Corkscrew" (Turn 6) and took away her line, forcing her wide, then I dove hard

left and pulled right across the track in front of her to the far right and

almost stopped at Turn 7, which made her do a VERY early apex through Turn 8

and limited her trackout through Turn 9. I shifted sides again at 10 and made

her pass me almost in an L-turn in Turn 11. I didn't tell her in advance what

I was going to do - I just tried whatever I thought she'd least expect. And I

had a ball "hot-dogging" the track a bit, and showing off for some of the

younger racers. I don't think even the two Japanese "Impreza Drifting Champs"

team cars running behind us had ever seen a 4000-lb VR-4 in a full drift at

Some of the faster cars caught up with us, since we were slowing down in all

the *wrong* spots, and we ended up with a bunch of cars behind us - just

watching... At various times, an M3, a race prepped Pro-7 (RX-7), a 5-slow

Mustang and a WRX tried to get in on our "action" and blow by us when we tried

a "dicey" move... Every one of them spun out just in front of us! LOL! I

don't think these guys knew that a base Stealth could even GO 120mph on the

long straight, and they had no idea just how fast we were going while trying

all these race maneuvers. I don't watch my speedo much on the track, since

I'm there for technique - and to learn. But I topped 150 on the main straight

a couple of times, which is as fast as I've ever gone on any track in the

VR-4. The main is half the length of the straight at tracks like Road

America, so slowing down was a bit less graceful! I found out the effect of

mistorquing a wheel when I felt a shuddering vibration going from 150 to 30

into the hairpin at Turn 2. My torque wrench no longer locks, so I had the

lugnuts at 75 (3 of which came loose) - not a good thing at high speed. I

discovered it in between runs, when I was going to switch the rear wheels for

the fronts, thinking I had bent one. As I tried to remove the left rear, I

noticed how loose the lugnuts were. I screwed up BIG time. Torque your

wheels, folks - it's SO important. After proper torqueing, the VR-4 stopped

On Sunday, we did it all over again. In the rain! My Proxes are almost

slicks, so I had to put on my 17" Blizzak LM-22 snow tires, which are squirmy

even on a dry highway. But they are H-rated (130mph), so I figured I'd give

them a try. It was a big learning experience running at high-speed on a soft,

full-treaded tire, but they felt fine up to their 130 limit, which is as fast

as I went on the straight. If you ever get the chance to run in the rain,

you'll learn more about car control in a weekend than you would in a year on a

skidpad. We've done "rain days" before at Sears Point and at Thunderhill, and

as you all know, AWD simply RULES in the rain. There was great drainage and

no chance of hydroplaning, so we *dropped* the pressures in our tires (on the

highway, where puddles are possible, we would have done the opposite). Each

of us did one "tank-slapper" (almost spin, but saved) at turn 11, and we

drifted full out through most of the turns. It's such a joy to drive in cars

with such outstanding control "in the wet". We must have put on quite a show:

as ET & I drove the last cool-down lap side-by-side, a couple of the corner

Jim has really progressed since I first saw him at Sears Point 3 years ago,

now passing Porsches, 'Stangs, and other high-HP cars with ease. But even

with 13" rotors and Wilwood brakes, there is still that "I wanna drive this

thing home", "pucker factor" that holds him back from opening it up all the

way. It's exactly the way someone in an advanced school group *should* be

driving - fast, skilled, careful... Jim had never driven at LS before, so it

took half of Saturday for him to learn the track, but once he got it, he

surprised a lot of the cars in Group 4. By his last run on Saturday, he was

coming out of Turn 11 passing cars before they got 100 yds down the straight.

I'm sure his Hoosier tires helped. Even 1 or 2 times he got squiggly, AWD and

those tires got him right back into it. What a perfect tire for our cars - I

wish I could afford them. Personal note- Jim has shed 130lbs and is no longer

"larger than the average bear" - way to go Jim! Every time 3S people show up

at a track, people DO notice us! ;-) Three Porsche guys from Group 3 kept

coming over to see Jim's car ("what's he got in that thing?") and find out why

he was passing their buddies in Group 4 so effortlessly. Peeking under our

hoods and even checking out the "lowly" NT Stealth that kept passing faster

cars. ET really DOES "drive it like she stole it"! ;-) Jim was just about

Nissa finally opened up the Z-06 on the straights on Sunday, and came back to

the pits smiling... She had been a bit too careful in the past, after Geoff

wrapped the car up twice this year - they just can't afford another big-bux

repair. She got tired of watching slower cars blow by her - she FINALLY hit

the throttle and let it fly! It's easier to keep the line when you're at

proper (high) speed on a track like LS than it is to go slow. Yay, Nissa!!!

She looked great out there! Geoff ran all day Saturday in the Z-06, and he

seemed to be babying the car, too. He'd start off at the head of the pack,

while ET and I started at the back. ET & I wanted to "play" so we didn't want

cars behind us (only 3 or 4 ever caught up with us, but Geoff never did...).

But we found out WHY Geoff was taking it easy-- "Mr. Speedtoys brakes" was

But it wasn't the same story when Geoff ran the "Vette-Viper Challenge"-- he

led by 10 car lengths for 7 laps, then finally got passed by a 750hp

Lingenfelter LT-1. Geoff had backed off to save the car, but just to show the

others WHO was the best driver, he passed the Lingenfelter on the OUTSIDE of

turn 3 like he was parked, in one of the most amazing passes I've ever seen!

Geoff backed off after that, making a wise choice to protect the car, for 3rd

place. He led the race for 8 out of the 12 or 13 laps - in the ONLY Vette

with street tires & cheapo rotors!!! I take it all back, Geoff. You DO know

how to "walk the walk", not just "talk the talk" - IMPRESSIVE driving, bro!

Everybody KNOWS who really won that race! I'm happy that Geoff is going to be

driving for ET's Enduro team this weekend at Thunderhill. Since "we" (Team3S)

are a sponsor of their team, Geoff will be driving for the "Team3S NASA BBQ

Crew". Go get 'em, guys/gals! Let's go kick ass at the Enduro!!!

I have a 91 stealth R/t n/t it a auto what would be the set up for my stell

i am thing 3000 any one know if that well with off the line power or shourd

Stall converter? With our higher revving motors, and torque peaks in

Yes, go with 4000 rpm, then if that burns the tires too much..

It is a sad, sad day. I have bought a house and elected to sell

the 3kgt. This will certainly be the only message I post on this, but I

figured if anyone on the list was looking (or knew someone who was) they

may be interested. She's in pretty good shape, and ran a 12.52 @ 109.9

the last time I had her to the track. Starting bid on e-bay is $10,000.

I'll list details below. If you want to follow it, my website contains

I won't cry and wish you all farewell until it actually sells --

RPS Sport Series Clutch, Unortho pulley, Fidanza light-weight flywheel

i have a problem with my 1992 mitsubishi 3000GT SL transmission - the fifth

gear won't stay ingaged! jumps off while driving. what should i do?

Stop driving it immediately (seriously). If it's not at home, have it towed. If you aren't going to do the work, tow it to a shop. Don't drive it.

Remove the end-cap on your transaxle and check for the non-reusable locking nut backing off the output shaft. It seems to be somewhat common on the FWD transaxles and is a pretty simple fix if you catch it before the damage is done. If you let it go too long, it makes for a much more expensive repair.

Here are some excerpts from previous threads on this topic. Note that you can search the entire Team3S archives from the www.team3s.com web page.