I seldom go to town and back that I don't pull the bumper loose from where it hooks up to the bumper at least once.. It was worse when I had JCrimson's old 16" wheels with 195-45s on it... I may be able to get a close ratio gear set and shorter final drive gear along with LSD in the future.. If so I want to go to larger tires but that will mean I have to upgrade a lot more due to the added stress and my wrench turning days are waning away. I really don't understand why so many guys spend so much for coil overs, heavy overly large wheels with too much offset and put negative camber on them just to be fashionably dropped and flush when it creates so many problems for them like busting their oil pans. Some of these guys can't possibly drive their cars anyplace that even a third grader on roller skates could go to.

 

A crunchy taco wrapped in a soft shell with the beef, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream in a thing that's shaped like a hexagonal Frisbee.

Put it with some Fire sauce...delicious!

 

Oh, I know what you're talking about now. Those look good but the crunchy shell kinda puts me off. Not that those shells don't taste great, I always get shanked in the gums eating them. Their fire sauce isn't bad though, just needs more kick to it.

Well I see a possible answer to why your bumper is pulling out. Aside from the broken tab you have (you mentioned it somewhere else on the forum) the 195/45R16 tires are ~22.9 inches in overall diameter. Which is about half an inch smaller in diameter than the factory spec 195/55R15 (~23.4 inches) or the 205/45R16 (~23.3 inches). The 195/45R16s would be great for shorting your gear ratio slightly and aid in cornering due to the thinner (theoretically stiffer) sidewall but would reduce your ground clearance in the process. Maybe some 205/45R16s or 195/50R16s could help you clear.

I agree with you on getting a limited slip diff, they help "pull" the car around the corner while on the throttle instead of trying to "push" you away from the apex (unless of course you lift). I'd love to get one of those but they don't make a LSD for the automatics. A shorter 3rd and slightly shortened 4th gear would be nice as well. Did you ever get your bracing yet TC?

 

Bars are paid for and should be getting here in 5 weeks... It is surprising how 1/4" inch can cause a world of shit to occur to the nether regions of a car. I may use the wheels with higher aspect ratio but the fenders will need rolling if I decide to do it again 1/4" but offset. The taller and more offset the wheel the more problems and weight that kills performance you have..I've gotta see the Dr. in the morning so I need to have my cookies and Milk.

 

What are the wheel and tire dimensions you are thinking about running? You may be able to find a combo that would work for you and your Swift springs. If I recall correctly, your favorite wheel the Enkei RFP1 is a 15x7 ET +41 should clear with a 195/55R15. I'm not 100% sure and haven't looked at the wheel fitments thread with pictures and specs of people's setups but I think it should clear.

 

No problem with wheel clearance with RPF1s and stock size tires but the lesser amount of drop in the rear in relation to the front puts the lip closer to the ground than with stock suspension... I had that problem when every thing was stock but at least the front resonator isn't dragging on speed bumps when I ease over them anymore.. The tires I have now are actually a bit larger than the stock Dunlops...Even being taller than the I95-45-16s the lighter weight makes up and then some than the 16s.

 

New avatar test!

 

Only if it makes little Haily laugh.... You need to have Perrrenaud Fit about it and let her check it out

 

I don't think she'll know what Super Mario Bros is plus its kinda PG/PG-13 with Mario going "WTF".

I wish we had the ablity to have a 150x150 avatar or a slightly larger file allowance for an avatar. Two of the ones I wanted to use were too large both dimension and file size wise, here they are by the way. Was leaning towards the break dancing bear.

 

The break dancing bear is great.. I'll bet anything that Haily would laugh at that too, I did.

 

Thanks! I'm not sure if I can resize that bear gif on photobucket, but if I can it'll most likely take the place of Mario. But, that'll have to wait till around 1 AM. Hughes Net is one of the suckiest internet providers, limiting you to 450MB for 24 hours for online access. Once you download over that 450MB, the connection gets slowed down to that of dial up speeds.

 

That's pathetic... Mine isn't much better though. I don't have a cap on mine, but I'm lucky to get a Megabyte per second down speed during the day.

 

It is and its annoying most of the time, especially whenever the cut off point for broadband internet access is a 1/4 away from where I sit. Fortunately though there is a "grace period" were from 1 AM to 6 AM Hughes Net users have unlimited internet access (much like free minutes with cell phones) and everything loads pretty fast.

 

That's something I haven't heard of either. I guess if you are staying up that late then it's ok, but if not then it still sucks.

 

I'm on Hughes Net too... The only time It's been a problem for me is when my wife gets carried away on Saturdays watching Music videos... I should have never turned her on to Blues but since she likes it so much I get to crank my amp really high when I am blowing harp.

 

Tex why are we always on so late?

 

Yeah, its really strange but its understandable. Hughes Net works via satellites and if people in one area were to constantly stream videos, pictures, etc. all at once it would slow down the network for that particular area would experience a slower connection. This is quite common around 4-5 PM whenever all the kids are getting home from school and logging on facespace and all that.

But, if you're an insomniac like I am it wouldn't really phase you.

HughesNet Services - Status Meter

^ Give that a download. What it does is install a gauge in your task bar which tells you the remaining percentage of your download allowance. Its quite handy.

 

Yeah I'm up all the time too. Especially when I shouldn't be. Like now, with work in 4 hours.

That's interesting that they use satellites. The big thing here is Fiber optic now. Fast and cheap. If only I could get it at my house.. 3 more months. 3 more months. 3 more months...

 

Sounds like someone has a few energy drinks or 5 hours in their future. I've never heard about this fiber optic deal till now. What is that about?

 

I'll probably get a Java Monster on the way. Hate 5 hour... And fiber optic is basically cables with light. So data is more or less being transferred at the speed of light. No electromagnetic interference and you can run the cables really long distances. Oh and all the cables are being run under ground.