Leeza to the Rescue
I’m interested to know if you guys are going to test a particular car that
has caught my attention lately. The car is a Daihatsu Leeza, which is currently
being imported by Yahoo Motorsport in Adelaide.
I have been interested in purchasing a cheap and economical car (brought on
by inflating fuel prices) and, after finding the Yahoo Motorsport website from
one of your articles, I’m interested in the little Daihatsu. I currently drive a
heavily mod’d R33 GTST which chews more fuel that a 5.7 litre V8! The cost of
fuel is killing me. I’ve decided to buy a Kei car for daily driving and leave
the Skyline for the weekends.
You’re probably saying to yourselves, "why don’t you go an’ test drive this
car?" I would love to, but I’m in
Sydney... Even if you guys aren’t
able to test drive this particular Leeza, is there anything you can tell me
about the car? Good or bad points? I know it is Mira based but I cannot find any
info in English. Thanks heaps and love your work!
Boris Kotevski
Australia
Yahoo Motorsport has two L100 model
Daihatsu Leezas arriving - a turbo and non-turbo version. And, yes, we hope to
test these cars soon! At this point we don’t know much about them either –
except that they run an EB-series 550cc three-cylinder and the chassis is
Handi/Mira based. They also look pretty cute... Stay tuned.
GZE or GTE ECU?
I hope you guys can help me out... I have a
Toyota1G-GZE engine but it has no
ECU and wiring. I want to remove the supercharger from the engine and make it a
twin-turbo like the 1G-GTE engine. Which ECU should I use - the ECU and wiring
of the 1G-GZE or 1G-GTE engine? Also, how much will the ECU and complete engine
wiring cost to buy and send to me in
Pakistan? Please
help me out.
Abdullah Mahsud
Pakistan
Neither computer will be 100 percent
perfect because the GZE and GTE engines have different compression ratios. That
means, if you put the twin-turbos onto the GZE engine, you’re creating a combo
that neither computer is designed to suit. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be
done with good results... The computer and loom from the GTE would be the better
choice for your application so long as you run high-octane fuel. Try asking www.adelaidejap.com.au about prices and
availability.
Boost Control Question
Re The Audi's DIY Boost Control - Part 1... I have just bought the parts
to fit this boost control system to my R33 Nissan Skyline, but have noticed that
once all the four hose barb fittings are inserted, there are still four outlets
left open on the valve bodies. What’s the deal?
In the picture plugs poke out on the front of each valve. Did you have
to buy these nipples, because mine do not have them? I hope I haven't just
wasted $100.
Shane Crawford
Australia
The pressure regulator and relief
valve should come with small screw-in plugs that seal the threaded side ports.
The barbed fittings (used to connect to the wastegate hose) screw into the
larger threaded ports.
You should have received the screw-in
blanking pugs with the regulator and relief valve. If you didn’t, we suggest
returning to your supplier. If you can’t easily return to the supplier, any bolt
with a suitable thread and the appropriate length can be used to seal the side
ports.
Off-Keel
I am getting a little sick and tired of Julian Edgar bagging almost every car
he has driven for the past two years. I can come up with only two brands that he
has ever praised - Holden and Lexus. I am not at all surprised that certain
companies will not give him cars for review.
Looking back over the last 12 months, Julian has given glowing reviews to
Astra, Vectra, Adventra and One Tonner. Is it any wonder that Holden keeps
sending him vehicles for review? Compared to other marques there has been very
little complaint about their product.
I would suggest that it as about time that Julian Edgar be left to create his
tech articles - which are excellent - and also develop his electronics projects.
Please, please leave the new car tests to people like Michael Knowling. Maybe
then we can have a more even keeled approach to the reviews we read.
Brent Muldoon
Australia
Good Reading
I found Julian Edgar’s column on cars in novels (From the Editor)
while Googling on "hirondel" during a chat with my Dad in
California. Like you, I also have
a complete collection of Leslie Charteris and Dick Francis novels.
As you ask for books featuring motors, you should try the Travis McGee series
of novels by John D. MacDonald - these are freely available in reprint over
Amazon.com. McGee drives an ancient Rolls-Royce pick-up truck painted electric
blue and named Miss Agnes. It was customised by a previous owner with no respect
for the marque. The novels are a wonderful blend of adventure, philosophy,
violence and sex - establishing the
Florida novel genre in American
literature. Enjoy!
Kathleen
UK
Stang with Kick
I have a 2000 Mustang with a 3.8 litre V6 engine. Currently, I have added a
Superchip, dual exhaust, cold air induction and Nology hot-wires. I want to take
the next step and really kick up the horsepower but keep it streetable. I would
like to keep it naturally aspirated. I would appreciate your recommendations of
the parts I should get and what you project the HP to be. I am hoping to get at
least 300-350HP.
James Pence
USA
With a factory output of just under
200hp, your V6 ‘Stang would require quite a lot of work to get up to 300 –
350hp. That’s more than a 50 percent power increase. Following the atmo route,
we’d start off with a new cam, ported heads and higher compression. With
suitable management changes, these mods should give a significant improvement –
but we doubt whether it would be more than 50 percent. To achieve 300 – 350hp+
without sacrificing driveability you’ll need forced induction or nitrous.