Hotter than your sister in a G - For Honda car buffs (Honda Dual Titinaum Valve Springs)

[woodscomp]

The problem I have with the "rice" imports are a few things.

1. Sticker Shock. Why spend several thousand more for transportation that does the same thing as a cheaper American car?
2. Metal is not as thick as American made cars. Have you ever felt like you were inside of a tin can when entering into any Japanese car? I mean there is not one that I have been in that did not feel like a go-kart encased in a pepsi can.
3. I agree with the sand peep airdale that we ought to help keep this economy rolling and support our own corporations. Those same companies throw millions of dollars each year into schools, local economies etc... Why not keep it here? Sure there maybe assembly plants in the US for the "rice" cars however they are not the coporate HQ's which do the big purchasing, they are just using our labor and land.
4. I have yet to go look at a "family" car that was Japanese that could comfortably seat my five family members. They are fine for one or two people but certainly not for five.

 

[woodscomp]

Originally posted by: Salvador
This is rice

Sal

Not only is that "rice" if food could be homosexual, they would be called rice as well. That is the gayest car I have ever seen.

 

[jasonja]

Originally posted by: Bacinator

Originally posted by: jasonja
Ford bought Mazda several years ago in 96' but they've owned 25% or more of Mazda since the 70's. Did you think it was just coincidence that the 626 looks just like the Contour or the Tribute looks just like the Escape or the Mazda Truck looks just like the Ranger?

So why do yesterdays eagle talons and mitsubishi eclipses looks like twins?

Because the Talon, the Eclipse and the Plymouth Laser were all products of Diamond Star Motors which was a joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi in the 90's. Here's a good link about DSM's history here. They also mention the Dodge Stealth and Mits. 3000GT, another set of twins from DSM.

 

[jasonja]

Originally posted by: woodscomp
The problem I have with the "rice" imports are a few things.

1. Sticker Shock. Why spend several thousand more for transportation that does the same thing as a cheaper American car?
2. Metal is not as thick as American made cars. Have you ever felt like you were inside of a tin can when entering into any Japanese car? I mean there is not one that I have been in that did not feel like a go-kart encased in a pepsi can.
3. I agree with the sand peep airdale that we ought to help keep this economy rolling and support our own corporations. Those same companies throw millions of dollars each year into schools, local economies etc... Why not keep it here? Sure there maybe assembly plants in the US for the "rice" cars however they are not the coporate HQ's which do the big purchasing, they are just using our labor and land.
4. I have yet to go look at a "family" car that was Japanese that could comfortably seat my five family members. They are fine for one or two people but certainly not for five.

I agree with some of your points, well really only one and that is number 3. I like buying American when I can just because I know somebodies job counts on it. But Import car companies employ a ton of American's as well.

Up until last month I never owned a import car, but when going shopping for a new SUV I went with the Toyota 4Runner. I always thought the 4Runner was priced much higher than a comparable Explorer (the sticker shock you mention) however after researching it I was surprised that it wasn't. The 4Runner came with much more stuff standard than the Explorer, things I wanted too. Keyless entry, towing package, climate control and more. Then I researched on Edmunds the true cost of ownership and due to low depreciation and low cost of maintance on the 4Runner the Explorer would actually end up costing me $5k more over it's lifetime. My previous SUV was an Explorer, while a good SUV, I wouldn't say it was better built than my 4Runner. Driving in my 4Runner I get no rattles or squeaks and their is no road noise and it's loaded with technology that Ford hasn't done yet (power close tailgate, power rear window with keyless control, rear cargo shelf, Hill Assist, X-REAS suspension, and cup holders that actually work). I have more horsepower in a smaller V8 and I get better gas mileage in my 4Runner than I did in my V8 Explorer. Of course the Explorer has some things I liked that I miss too, but I can easily say that the 4Runner is not a go-kart. Not sure what family cars you are looking at, but there are plenty of imports with room for your family don't look now but the top two are from Japan.

 

[Tweakmeister]

Personally, I wouldn't bother with these.

Take a look at EF-1 Radical Cams

Zex is a company for the fast and the furious crowd, not the true tuners.

 

[misterj]

Originally posted by: Bacinator

Originally posted by: jasonja
Ford bought Mazda several years ago in 96' but they've owned 25% or more of Mazda since the 70's. Did you think it was just coincidence that the 626 looks just like the Contour or the Tribute looks just like the Escape or the Mazda Truck looks just like the Ranger?

So why do yesterdays eagle talons and mitsubishi eclipses looks like twins?

DSM - Diamond Star Motor vehicles = chrysler + mitsubishi

 

[flythunderbird]

Originally posted by: jasonja
Ford bought Mazda several years ago in 96' but they've owned 25% or more of Mazda since the 70's.

Ford took its initial stake in Mazda back around 1973 at the urging of a Japanese bank. It was approximately a 10% stake. Over the years, Ford upped its stake to 30%; 30% is enough stock to effectively control Mazda. Ford does not "own" Mazda per se; Japanese law prohibits foreign companies from owning Japanese companies outright(i.e. owning 50% + 1 share of stock).

Did you think it was just coincidence that the 626 looks just like the Contour or the Tribute looks just like the Escape or the Mazda Truck looks just like the Ranger?

The Contour and the 626 may have looked similar, but they shared no common platform. The Contour/Mystique(and the '99-'02 Mercury Cougar) were designed and built on Ford's Mondeo platform from Europe. The 626 was not. The Ford Probe and Mazda MX-6 sports cars were on a commom platform and built on the same assembly line in Flat Rock, Michigan. The 626 may have shared some components with the Probe and the MX-6; I'm not sure.

The Escape and the Mazda Tribute do indeed share a platform and a common Ford assembly line. Ford and Mazda jointly developed those vehicles. The Ranger and the Mazda B-series trucks are identical, with the exception of grilles, badges, and possibly some interior trim. Both are built on the Ranger assembly line. Ford did the design and engineering work on those trucks. The short-lived Mazda Navajo SUV was a rebadged and regrilled '94-'95 Explorer.

The old Ford Courier(anyone remember that one? ) was a rebadged Mazda truck, just like the old Chevy LUV truck was a rebadged Isuzu truck.

 

[badboypolar]

Originally posted by: Amploud

Originally posted by: Eric1285
Let's just put it this way...

$20k Japanese car + 10k PERFORMANCE mods...no stickers or crap like that

Will dust any car under $50k with the possible exception of the 'Vette Z06.

Yes, doing this will allow you can beat many new cars that are bone stock off the line. Big deal. Racing a modified car against a bone stock car that has been engineered for fuel efficiency, ride, saftey, and long term durability is not what I'd call a "fair fight." Any car enthusist is capable of doing things that Automakers would never choose to do because of warranty and litigation concerns. Notice Honda doesn't ship Civics from the factory pushing 125HP per cylinder!

For the sake of argument, for that same $30K you mentioned above, you could acquire a "Bubba mobile" (Mustang GT, Camaro, Trans Am) and tune the heck out of it an no hopped up import would touch it.

Your right that Honda doesn't ship with 125 hp per cylinder but they do ship with 125 per liter. If you can "bubba mobile" had even close to that you would have a near 600 hp mustang. But you don't, you have a near 300 on 5.0 or lower with 4.6. Yet the Honda S2000 makes 240 HP on 2 liters. That my friend is 120 hp per liter. Throw in a better air filter and bam! 125 hp per liter.

Also you can't compare apples and oranges. If you want to compare dollor for dollar value and fixed-up anything will lose in an all-around contest. You don't have warrenty and your gas-mileage went downhill. You might win in a drag race or couple laps around a track. It's all persepection I guess.

And to mister "Zex is for the FATF crowd". I don't run NOS nor to I like it, I prefer the whine of all-motor. But these valve springs that enable you to run bigger cams and rev upto 10,000 rpm for the quoted price of $200 is EXTREMELY cheap. Most sets, and ZEX's set usually run in the neighbor hood of $600 for a comlete set, which this happens to be.

 

[sxr7171]

Originally posted by: Bacinator

Originally posted by: soltrain

Originally posted by: Bacinator Isn't Mazda owned by Ford?

I noticed when I went to Mazda.com, at the bottom right it says "Ford Motor Company". When did that happen? When did Shaq leave the Orlando Magic? I thought Jim Kelley played for the Bills. Why is the world spinning so fast?!!?

Also keep in mind that the production of Hondas, Toyotas and Nissans in the US puts food on the tables of many hard working Americans. I'm saying this as a student of economics because I don't like Japanese cars myself.

 

[sxr7171]

Originally posted by: kehi
This is got to be the gayest thread evar. Titanium valve springs for a pos car that produces no hp

Wrong, they are alright in hp, but what they forgot about was torque.

 

[sxr7171]

Originally posted by: Bacinator

Originally posted by: jasonja Ford bought Mazda several years ago in 96' but they've owned 25% or more of Mazda since the 70's. Did you think it was just coincidence that the 626 looks just like the Contour or the Tribute looks just like the Escape or the Mazda Truck looks just like the Ranger?

So why do yesterdays eagle talons and mitsubishi eclipses looks like twins?

In addition to Jasonja's explanation above:

GM used to sell a Toyota for many years as a Chevrolet, they also used to sell Suzukis with the GEO brand name. There have many instances of American companies selling straight up imports under American brand names. More recently it is more foriegn designed, but built in America imports much like Toyotas are built in America "imports."

Globalization has it's merits - the key rule to understand is that no transaction ever takes place without benefit to both parties. So if people are buying imports or buying stuff made in China for cheap it is beneficial to both the people buying and the people selling. These sorts of things benefit US companies as they do foreign companies.

 

[Bacinator]

Originally posted by: jasonja

Because the Talon, the Eclipse and the Plymouth Laser were all products of Diamond Star Motors which was a joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi in the 90's. Here's a good link about DSM's history here. They also mention the Dodge Stealth and Mits. 3000GT, another set of twins from DSM.

Nice. Thanks for the info.

 

[GroundZero]

Originally posted by: badboypolar
First Hot deals post.

first post to hot deals and it's going to be real hot with it being a rice thread.
flame on

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: jasonja

Originally posted by: alkemyst
I have some things to say about 'rice' and dumping money into 'cheap' cars.

I say buy a $500 car and dump $10k, 20k, or more into it and have something no one else does and is better than any factory offering. Your taste will dicate what others think of course

Brilliant, then when you trade it in or total it in a wreck you'll get $500 for it, because Blue Book says your 93' Honda Civic was worth that.

You are OBVIOUSLY one that has 0 experience with wrecks and performance cars......

I never drove a civic....I drove a 2 year old GSR, at the time...but that car wasn't really modded.

My 1966 Mustang GT had over $40k into it....insurance tired to offer $500 in the total.

My 1997 GTI VR6 got sliced down the middle along with about 30 other cars (a big piece of black steel fell off a truck in the middle of the night, I was heading down I-95 at 4am and it was in a non-lit section)....they tried to tell me they don't cover street racing

etc.

whenever you 'mod' a car you are now going into territory where insurance will not cover you....the trick is you rely on your own finances and not insurance....in even a total many things can be transplanted if you know what you are doing.

 

[huesmann]

Normally insurance doesn't cover restorations, dude. If you'd insured your 66 Stang as a classic you might have gotten more for it.

BTW, Mr. S2000 fanatic, your mill puts out 76.5 ft-lb per litre. Mustang Cobra puts out nearly 85.

 

[misterj]

Originally posted by: huesmann

BTW, Mr. S2000 fanatic, your mill puts out 76.5 ft-lb per litre. Mustang Cobra puts out nearly 85.

:claps: way to mistake torque for hp. what a surprise! another ricer/redneck tactic..

 

[salsa086]

for all you "ricers" "hating" on American built cars... get your domestic bi**h-slap here

 

[straubs]

Originally posted by: huesmann

Originally posted by: ItsOnlyAComp
Um...its still only a "Honda" no matter how you look at it...

Yeah, but Honda runs in Formula One. At least they used to. Or was it Indycar? Can't keep those stupid feuding racing organizations straight.

So does Oldsmobile. What's your point exactly?

 

[jasonja]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: jasonja

Originally posted by: alkemyst
I have some things to say about 'rice' and dumping money into 'cheap' cars.

I say buy a $500 car and dump $10k, 20k, or more into it and have something no one else does and is better than any factory offering. Your taste will dicate what others think of course

Brilliant, then when you trade it in or total it in a wreck you'll get $500 for it, because Blue Book says your 93' Honda Civic was worth that.

You are OBVIOUSLY one that has 0 experience with wrecks and performance cars......

I never drove a civic....I drove a 2 year old GSR, at the time...but that car wasn't really modded.

My 1966 Mustang GT had over $40k into it....insurance tired to offer $500 in the total.

My 1997 GTI VR6 got sliced down the middle along with about 30 other cars (a big piece of black steel fell off a truck in the middle of the night, I was heading down I-95 at 4am and it was in a non-lit section)....they tried to tell me they don't cover street racing

etc.

whenever you 'mod' a car you are now going into territory where insurance will not cover you....the trick is you rely on your own finances and not insurance....in even a total many things can be transplanted if you know what you are doing.

WTF are you talking about? You just proved my point with your statement "My 1966 Mustang GT had over $40k into it....insurance tired to offer $500 in the total." My point was unless you insure your car for all those additions (which I doubt you would do because telling your insurance company that you just turned your car into a racing machine probably won't make them or your checkbook happy) they will not cover that stuff. So in the end you have a $500 car that you paid way too much for.

 

[0roo0roo]

2. Metal is not as thick as American made cars. Have you ever felt like you were inside of a tin can when entering into any Japanese car? I mean there is not one that I have been in that did not feel like a go-kart encased in a pepsi can.

crash tests don't seem to support that though, jap cars seem to perform on par or superior in the same class.