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Response

Some of this week's Letters to AutoSpeed!

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More on NSXs?

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The Honda NSX article today - Vee Six Zed. Given the astonishing shortcomings of the book, is there any additional information available to properly consider the NSX? Yes, I've read your article The NSX Approach.

Roger De Salis
New Zealand

Aside from the book featured we aren’t aware of any publications dedicated to the NSX. Can any readers offer some useful links?

Why Would Anyone Want to...

Re: Vee Six Zed.

Why would anyone want to put one of the VG engines into such a car??? The RB engines are much more reliable for the same power output. Instead of putting a DOHC turbocharged VG engine into the car, it would be much better to put in an RB30 complete with RB25 DOHC head and a turbo or two (the RB25DET head on a standard RB30 bottom-end drops the compression ratio to around 7.8:1 if I remember correctly). The RB transplant would be a lot easier than the VG transplant and it would end up being a much more reliable engine and possibly with more power too. But I suppose it's a case of "each man to his own..."

Danny Barrett
Australia

Sway Go Away

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I have just been reading Sway Bar Shenanigans and found it very interesting. I have a Ford EA Falcon and picked up a XR6 front swaybar for AUD$20 and found that there was a definite improvement - just by increasing the bar diameter by 1mm. I still have the stock swaybar in my shed and want to add it to the XR6 swaybar but I fear the car will understeer too much.

My question is: can the same principle be applied to the rear swaybar? Can I get another stock rear sway bar and add it to the one already there? I am unsure about the pivoting action of the rear swaybar as compared to the front - and I realise that I should fit an LSD at the same time and have sourced a hemisphere to fit my diff center. Your help on this topic is appreciated.

Also, on a side note, fordforums.com.au and fordmods.com are very good resources for all knowledge and buying and selling Ford parts.They may also facilitate you with questions about the Falcon computer and electronics system. Congrats on your new EF Falcon - good value for money

Anton
Australia

Yes you can successfully ‘double up’ rear swaybars. We imagine there will be no problems in terms of clearance around the live axle Ford. And thanks for the links!

More Mazda Zoom-Zoom

Big fan of your work! My wife has a 2002 Mazda Astina SP20 that is about to be freed from lease and I am looking for some tips on how to "spice things up a little".

I was thinking of trading it but I took it for a spirited run the other day and it was really quite fun. The handling is excellent with only low profile tires on standard mags. I don't think that I would change anything in the suspension setup or brakes.The SP20 already requires 95 RON fuel as standard, so does this mean that it would be ill-advised to consider forced induction (turbo) as an option? In your expert opinion, would running a small turbo with 5 psi boost cause terminal detonation problems? I don't really want to mess around with internal engine mods or decompression plates, but I would like to play a bit harder than the standard "breathing type enhancements".

Kurt Armbruster
Australia

A turbo set-up could be installed despite the already high state of engine tune – after all, you can buy off-the-shelf turbo kits for Honda VTECs. Five psi would be about right so long as the engine is conservatively tuned using an aftermarket management system – or you might be able to ‘get away’ with another a more creative approach to maintaining adequate fuel and ignition control. You’ll need a custom exhaust manifold, new exhaust, turbocharger, oil and water lines, an intercooler and possible fuel system upgrades – at minimum. It won’t be cheap!

XR6T ‘Box Swap

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Loved your four part series on the XR6-T (starting at XR6 Turbo Guide - Part One). I am having a great deal of trouble finding a second-hand manual XR Turbo in NZ but with the engine mods I want to do I am most likely going to have to upgrade the transmission anyway. My question is, can the T56 (which you refer to in Part 4) bolt into an existing Tiptronic model or are there other considerations (such as the ECU) to take into account? In other words, should I stop looking for a manual, pick up a cheap XR6-T auto and use that as the base for a modified car with the T56 manual gearbox? It would save a lot of hassle. Second hand Ts are as low as NZ$26,000 over here at present with 70-80,000km on the clock - bargain!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for your help.

Ross Smith
New Zealand

Interesting question. We suggest you discuss the conversion with a company having ‘extreme’ XR6T tuning experience, such as Nizpro or Redcliffe Dyno and Performance (contact details are listed in the series). Its possible there may be hurdles with regard to the ECU, tailshaft, mounts and – of course – pedal system.

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