I remember like 22 years ago when easy performance actually dyno proved the 180 stat made more power on a stock L36. That was the same company that did the R&D for the ER rockers. I don't remember what the hp gain was but it's probably in the same range of what most would consider normal dyno variance.

I totally agree it's not worth it for like 95% of n/a 3800s, especially in colder climates and in 2024.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

Given that these things will run at around 220 degrees stock in the summer time, I can easily see how dropping the whole under hood ambient heat package by around 40 degrees really helps with performance and longevity of fluids and plastics.

If I were to still have access to HPTuners I would toss in a 195 degree Tstat and set the fans at 200/205 or something like that. Versus the factory 220.

But! The cold has left the area so I don't care as much anymore.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

Soldiering on. Got wheel bearing number 167 for the driver front side. No more ABS lights after pot holes. For a few months...
Oil change happened. Also finally got the wiper module all sealed back up. Pleasantly surprised with no corrosion in there, though the same can't be said about the rest of the car. Wipers can be removed with some rocking force. Bending them back as if you were changing the blades and rocking them back and forth really made it pretty easy.
Been wondering what's warming up my glass above the mirror. ONStar is unplugged...

As for life updates, wife was jobless for a few months between our wedding and leaving teaching as it was a disaster for the most part. Finally got another job and this one is remote 4 outta 5 days of the week. So that really removes pressure from me to rush to get another vehicle soon, as I can use her 2011 Fit when needed.

Rumors of my work moving to like 3-4 miles away from my current place have me looking at e-bikes more than cars... Haha

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

That rear door jamb reminds me of my i30.. I probably could have punched through the driver side rear wheel well to my rear seat area..

Nice on the job upgrades. I'm as close as I'll ever be to my current job at 7 miles but will probably end up 40-50 miles away in a few years.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

Couple hundred miles away from 250k! Still kicking, and very trouble free so far this year. Never get around to doing the subframe bushings. Amazing that the car has no highway shakes...
Anyways! Here's the ole gal with the new Chicago Damen stop. Also, makes a great table for when you want to make Korean BBQ at work for lunch.
After doing the AC compressor in 2021, and the condenser last year, it blows me away how COLD this AC is. Love to see it as we get into some hot weather in the next few days.
Was checking on the front brakes, decided to put on an OEM S2000 wheel for funsies. Would look cool with proper sized tires... Lol Front brake rotors are toast after about 80k miles. Incredible.
Hope everyone is enjoying the remnants of summer!

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

That's going to be cool to hit a quarter mil.

There's something special about cold AC when you've gone through periods without it. I'll never forget summers in my 1st 95 baking in rush hour traffic on i95 or finally narrowing down the leak on my wifes Jag after a couple seasons. When I feel the cold air in my wifes car or my beater Cobalt, there's just a voice in the back of my head that says heal yeah.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

We did it! 50-250k took from 2011 to 2024.

Some maintenance stats:
Original trans with shift kit and cooler added. 4 fluid exchanges, still on original gasket. 3 upper intakes. 19 front wheel hubs (sorta JK)
One crank position sensor.
3 AC compressors, otherwise all original accessories, water pump, PS pump and rack, tensioner, etc. 3 radiators. Lots of little maintenance items. 7.5-10k oil change intervals. On tire set #5. Battery #3. Had to do a full set of hard brake lines last year due to rust. One set of LCAs. One set of front struts. 4-5 rear shock sets. Ditched the air ride and no issues since 70k miles ago. 3-4 passenger CV axles, driver is original. And lots more. Easy car to keep on the road with basic tools and the internet. This thing taught me to wrench not only on cars, but gave me the confidence to try and fix anything and everything from phones to appliances to much more.
If it wasn’t for the Midwest rust, I’d bet it could go quite a bit further. Gonna keep driving it till I can’t anymore, but I’m officially at peace if she’s gotta go. Will cry when it happens. Have been promising myself that once I do hit 250k, I will purchase another vehicle and I have! It's a 2014 Lexus ES300h with 121k miles. It returned 51 MPG on my work commute this morning.
Penny will remain around until she cannot proceed forth any further. The ES will take over a lot of business use, work commuting, and also supplement use for my parents as well. Honestly, it'll give me a chance to do little things to all the cars. The GX needs a lot of suspension maintenance. Penny could finally use subframe bushings and rear shocks and front brakes. The S2000 needs a lot of misc work too. Lot less pressure with an extra car around.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

Congrats on 250k! Glad to hear you'll keep her around for a bit longer too.

Nice on the ES too. I'm sure that has a lot of trouble free miles ahead of it

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

No reason to give away an otherwise good, comfy, running car. The only bad thing about it is the way it looks.

The ES is incredible. It is so quiet, comfortable, MUCH bigger inside, super fuel efficient, and feels a lot newer than a 2014. Ordered all the fluids, spark plugs, all filters for it. It has mismatched tires, and a cracked front bumper, but I like that it isn't perfect so I don't need to worry about it too much in our big city.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

Replaced the front trans mount today and the oil. Gonna save a sample for a Blackstone test. Noticed drips under the front and first thought was radiator, but the hydraulic mount had torn and just puked its guts out.

New issue, the amplifier (aftermarket Kenwood) powers on only for like 3 seconds then cuts out. Everything appears fine visually. At first this problem started by the amp cutting out after driving for a while. A new thing to explore.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

Have you done a blackstone test on this car before?

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.

Happy New Year!

I did do a black stone test around 100k miles and it came back positive. However, on her maiden voyage to work for the year, I've discovered why the vehicle smelled of gas so much lately, and why my fuel economy numbers are so far off the DIC when hand calculated. The fuel lines are gone. Also, there is a fair level of concerning rust along the unibody frame rail that holds the e-brake bracket on.

Whole fuel line kits exist for reasonable money, just like brake line kits. I've also watched some videos on doing this repair on my own. I dropped her off at my favorite local mechanic dude just to take a look. It is SO cold here right now and about to snow. Additionally, I don't want to get this thing in my parents' funny garage and get it trapped in there if I cannot succeed in the repair, due to inclined driveway. No way I can push her up that.

Anyways, she had a really good 2024, and runs really well, but perhaps we may be reaching an end point here. She did reach 250k miles which was always the goal. Still runs, shifts, and operates mostly great. So it feels hella wasteful. Whatever happens, I think she may get parked for a bit while I mull over what to do or attack the under side with a hammer to see what hard metal remains. Safety in accident is starting to cross the mind, even though she's a local city driver that never really sees over 30-35 mph these days.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles

The fuel lines on my Cobalt rotted out in this one section and I used compression fittings with copper nickle line to repair it. It probably took me like 3 hours on jack stands but the only part that really sucked was not lubing up the fittings to get proper torque at first.

_________________

95 SLE... a keeper. 241k miles. Low and Slow.
97 BMW 528i
98 Infiniti vq35'd i30: 13.3@104mph, 30MPG Hwy (RIP)
02 Jag X-type
03 BMW M5
05 Chevy Cobalt LS
07 Infiniti G35s 6MT (Sold)
07 Ducati Monster S2R 800 with DS1000 swap
83 Yamaha IT175K
72 Yamaha DS7: '74 RD250 swap, JL chambers

Info on dropping a 92-99: Here.