Frank
01-28-2003, 03:57 AM
Since my Cougar is getting a new bumper cover put on, I've been stuck driving my beater everyday, an 88 Beretta GT, 2.8 V6, 5-speed MTX. Some background on the car:
First, it only cost $400. No matter what I tried, I could not get the thing to idle right... always wanted to stall. In desperation, I adjusted the throttle stop so that the throttle plate is always cracked open a hair. It now idles at around 1000-1500RPM now, and it's got throttle hang from hell during shifts... but it doesn't stall out anymore, so I'm happy. Second, the power brake booster is totally shot. So I've gotta stand the pedal to make it stop. But it saves me time at the gym, so no biggie. Most of the oil in it is a few years old - but it does have one fresh quart of mobil-1 I used to top it off with the other day (it only leaks from 3 different places - nothing serious). It also doesn't leak that much antifreeze anymore, since I plugged most of the cracks in the radiator with muffler-weld.
To compensate for the mechanical problems... I've done some big performance mods. I cut off the muffler and replaced it with straight-pipe. Not only that, but I clamped on a nice 3-inch chrome tip. Not only have I saved weight, and improved its looks, but it now sounds like a finely-tuned John Deere. I also replaced the stock airbox with a conical air filter. It also has a full body kit on it... painted flat-black to match the rest of the car. The big 15-inch rims the car came with were also replaced with lightweight 14-inch alloys off an 86 Z-24 at some point in the cars lifetime. Obviously, this car has had a history of being tuned for performance.
The transmission was recently rebuilt as well. So far, the only thing I've managed to break is the first gear synchro... but how often do you really have to downshift into first anyway?
So... onto the big race. I was driving home from class when I caught the attention of a stock silver ATX Cougar. After weaving our way through traffic, we managed to catch a light. This kid had his girlfriend with him, and I saw him point at my car and laugh. Then he said something to his girl and they were both laughing and staring at my car. I revved my tractor engine in defiance. Light goes green and he's pushing that ATX for all it's worth. Since I still can't launch this car worth a damn, I was just spinning the passenger-side front tire... finally I gave up on first gear and shifted into second. He was about 1.5 car lengths ahead when the car finally hooked in 2nd. That's all this clown would get. By the top of second, I had pulled even with him. Shifted into third, chirped the 14-inch tires, and the car just leapt ahead. Shut it down at around 80, 2 car lenghts ahead. He just kept on it and flew past.... didn't look like he ever let off.
So the moral of the story... as sh!tty as Isuzu manual transmissions are, Mazda automatics are even worse.
First, it only cost $400. No matter what I tried, I could not get the thing to idle right... always wanted to stall. In desperation, I adjusted the throttle stop so that the throttle plate is always cracked open a hair. It now idles at around 1000-1500RPM now, and it's got throttle hang from hell during shifts... but it doesn't stall out anymore, so I'm happy. Second, the power brake booster is totally shot. So I've gotta stand the pedal to make it stop. But it saves me time at the gym, so no biggie. Most of the oil in it is a few years old - but it does have one fresh quart of mobil-1 I used to top it off with the other day (it only leaks from 3 different places - nothing serious). It also doesn't leak that much antifreeze anymore, since I plugged most of the cracks in the radiator with muffler-weld.
To compensate for the mechanical problems... I've done some big performance mods. I cut off the muffler and replaced it with straight-pipe. Not only that, but I clamped on a nice 3-inch chrome tip. Not only have I saved weight, and improved its looks, but it now sounds like a finely-tuned John Deere. I also replaced the stock airbox with a conical air filter. It also has a full body kit on it... painted flat-black to match the rest of the car. The big 15-inch rims the car came with were also replaced with lightweight 14-inch alloys off an 86 Z-24 at some point in the cars lifetime. Obviously, this car has had a history of being tuned for performance.
The transmission was recently rebuilt as well. So far, the only thing I've managed to break is the first gear synchro... but how often do you really have to downshift into first anyway?
So... onto the big race. I was driving home from class when I caught the attention of a stock silver ATX Cougar. After weaving our way through traffic, we managed to catch a light. This kid had his girlfriend with him, and I saw him point at my car and laugh. Then he said something to his girl and they were both laughing and staring at my car. I revved my tractor engine in defiance. Light goes green and he's pushing that ATX for all it's worth. Since I still can't launch this car worth a damn, I was just spinning the passenger-side front tire... finally I gave up on first gear and shifted into second. He was about 1.5 car lengths ahead when the car finally hooked in 2nd. That's all this clown would get. By the top of second, I had pulled even with him. Shifted into third, chirped the 14-inch tires, and the car just leapt ahead. Shut it down at around 80, 2 car lenghts ahead. He just kept on it and flew past.... didn't look like he ever let off.
So the moral of the story... as sh!tty as Isuzu manual transmissions are, Mazda automatics are even worse.