Stick Shift Soarer
I have an imported 1992 Toyota
Soarer 2.5-litre twin-turbo and am looking to change to a manual transmission.
What options do I have with regard to selection of gearboxes?
Jake
Australia
The Soarer twin-turbo was available with a factory 5-speed manual, which
you might be able to find at the Japanese import wreckers - however, these
‘boxes are rare. Alternatively, we suggest contacting Dellow
Automotive (+618 29774 4419). They might have a conversion to suit.
Tough on Touareg?
As a motoring hack in a
different country with similar driving conditions I often read your site with
interest. Michael Knowling's assertion that the VW Touareg has limited off-road
ability
Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI Road Test
shows he did not take
it off-road, thus missing the greatest treat this SUV has in store for its
driver. Even the "little" 2.5 diesel Touareg maintains a "steady as she goes"
poise over terrain which has lesser 4x4 stuck on axle-benders or careening down
steep slippery slopes. Treat yourself. Ask for the Touareg again – and, this
time, get it off the tarmac to tackle the rough stuff.
Alwyn
South Africa
The test was of the V10 TDi Tourag - the
only model in the line-up that comes with 275/45 19 Pirelli P-Zero Rossos.
Serious off-roaders cringe at the thought of these tyres on the rough. The
cheaper 2.5 TDi Touareg you mentioned is probably BETTER off-road
since it has higher profile tyres that are more suited to off-road conditions.
The lack of a full size spare is also a major shortcoming of the V10 TDI.To be fair, we did state..."On one hand, it looks the goods
with a switchable centre diff lock, high and low range gearing, hill start and
downhill assist, adjustable ride height, generous approach/departure angles and,
of course, ample grunt."
Special on OE Superchargers
Great magazine. Just wondering if you could do a tech story on all of
the superchargers that came fitted to Japanese cars. Something from a
‘person wanting to install one on their engine’ point of view.
Pretty much everyone knows about the SC12 and SC14 from Toyota 4As and 1Gs
but what other options are available for the home modifier on a budget? You
could give physical sizes, plumbing connections, pulley sizes, maximum safe rpm,
power output, size of engine they came off, volume displaced per revolution,
cost, etc. Might make interesting reading. I've seen a lot of turbo comparisons
but never any supercharger ones.
Daniel Griffiths
Australia
Thanks for the interesting idea. We like it and will certainly check it out, though some of the information you mention will be
impossible to find. Oh, and we now have a supercharged Toyota
Crown in the AutoSpeed staff stable!
More on Cooling
I just read about the Peltier device (Peltier Intercooler Water Spray)
and thought I’d chuck one of
my unfinished ideas up against it....
I read many years ago about a guy with a Toyota T18 with a 3T-GTE - he had
somebody make a refrigerant-based intercooler for it. I remember it worked okay,
but it seemed a little inefficient - especially as the car air-con saps about
10-15kW from the engine...
What I am about to suggest would only work for water-to-air intercooled
cars...
A heat exchanger mounted on the air conditioner evaporator exit piping would
make use of the often unused ‘cool’ from the evaporator. You could pump the
water from the intercooler through this new ‘heat exchanger’ to an insulated
tank and back to the intercooler. It could work on the principle that on hot
days you need more intercooling - and that’s when you tend to use the air
conditioner... I have noticed that my car often develops condensation on the
air-con compressor's suction pipe - even on a 35+ degree Celsius day.
But, without building one yet,
I’m not sure how it would go. Your thoughts on how it might be constructed?
Maybe the ‘straws through a can’ approach? At this stage lack of time has
prevented me from putting it into practice.
Adrian Wortley
Australia
You might be interested to read
The Patent Files: Refrigerated Intercooling
Motor Mounts
I was wondering if you could help me with a small problem! I recently bought
a Holden CV8 5.7-litre V8 and a 6-speed gearbox that I would like to fit into my
VN 5.0-litre - but I’m not sure how to go about doing the engine mounts. Do you
have any ideas? Any advice that you can offer will be
appreciated!
Kym
Australia
We suggest contacting your
local traffic authority for the contact details of an accredited engineer. They
should be able to tell you exactly what needs to be done to keep things safe and
legal.
Sleeka Slip-Up
Re The Celica ST-185 Convertible
... Sorry to disappoint
but the Celica ST185 was the GT4 version only. The ST185 didn’t come out in
soft-top - the soft-top version is the ST184.
Mitchell Cunningham
Australia
You're right - our mistake.
A Neater Way...
Re your underbonnet and boot
sound insulation article
Fitting Sound Insulation
... I
think a much neater and more factory look would have been achieved by creating a
cardboard template of each shape between boot/bonnet frames and cutting each
piece to fit snugly as OEM pieces. This is the way I did it on my 1967 Alfa. I
agree that the stuff is really tough to cut – a brand new Stanley blade gives
best results.
Simon
Brown
Australia
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