If you could start over...

Tugger · Post by **Tugger** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 7:51 pm

I would rather slam my hand in my truck door then try to maintain one of these cars for a daily driver.......but i do like them as a toy!!!!

xrian · Post by **xrian** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:19 pm

You bet i would! Still am.
25 XR4Ti's and still counting

Greenturbo · Post by **Greenturbo** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 11:39 pm

i should have bought a mustang ....
would have alot more money in my poket and it would run right.......

mangostick · Post by **mangostick** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:12 am

a rustang??? why? you've already got an a**hole right? why have something everyone else already has?

kidding, I like mustangs as much as any ford nut does..but the xr has a very specific flavor to it that I've never been able to find in another car. I bought mine fairly abused from my sister... and slowly repaired damage/neglect from her/ po. nuf said on that. Anyway its been quite reliable (mine is my only car and daily driver) I drove it to carlisle from FL this year, and will again next year if work/school schedule pan out. I drive ALOT...like 15k this year alone and I've only been back stateside since mid may. These are great cars if you love to tinker or cant leave something alone

. I would definatly do this again and if this one meets its end somehow, Will do it again in the future.

smoke3006 · Post by **smoke3006** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 7:26 am

Well I had a nice long post typed out, but my stupid internet connection at work just blew it away...

Thank's for all the info and opinions.
I have looked at DSMs, Mustangs, etc

The XR4Ti is still my top choice.

Going to look at 2 of them today and I really excited

MerkXRTurbo · Post by **MerkXRTurbo** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:00 am

I don't regret a day of XR ownership. It has been a blast (literaly

). I love the car, I love driving it, and I love modifying it. Sometimes it can be a PITA, but it all makes up for it when I pull up next to a S2000, Boxter, newer Mustang GT, WRX, SRT-4, you name it.

Oh, and it's my daily driver.

Post by **anglin** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 10:01 am

flylear45 wrote:I wish for easier upgrade options, though. It seems many things for us are custom bodges rather than an off the shelf bolt on, ie brakes and suspension stuff. In particular I'd like to be able to buy a set of caster/camber plates.

Do you consider Godfrey's camber/caster plate a "custom bodge?" Yes, it's not a true "bolt-on," but our strut towers don't lend themselves to a bolt-on arrangement. You'll need coilovers to get enough adjustment range out of them to make them worthwhile. Both of these issues are artifacts of the car design, not faults of the aftermarket. I've been around long enough to remember when Rapido was the only vendor (unless you counted good ol' Modern Performance). I paid through the nose to get a SVO Plus kit, a Borla dual exhaust (2.5" pipe), and teensy intercooler. If you wanted suspension, Rapido was the only way to go. Remember when the stiffest springs available for your "racer" were 120 lb/in? Remember when Rick Byrnes had practically the only set of XR4Ti coilovers on the planet? (It was such a big deal that I took a picture of them.) Remember when Euro lights were exceptionally rare at Carlisle? The aftermarket support for these cars has grown 10 fold in the last few years.

In reality, you are right. The XR4Ti aftermarket is a very small place. There is no one-stop shop. If you want a variety of different types of parts you have to a variety places. The aftermarket is driven by the folks buying the parts.

Tugger wrote:I would rather slam my hand in my truck door then try to maintain one of these cars for a daily driver

Huh?!?! I've got 132,000 miles of daily driving time in XR4Tis. I've only started with one car that had less than 100,000 miles when I purchased it (and that one became my racer with 133,000 presently). I've started with two cars that had more than 130,000 miles on the odometer. The most substantial work I've EVER done to a daily-driven XR4Ti is a fuel pump and that was with 160,000 miles on the odometer. I've NEVER been left stranded by an XR. I don't pop the hood every day. I'm not anal about routine maintenance. I check my tire pressure and I do oil changes (sometimes at 5000 mile intervals) and brake jobs. I don't beat on the car. There are projects that need to get done, like my current daily driver has a motor mount that the previous owner broke.

This car wasn't exactly babied by the previous owner - abused is more like it. Rode hard and put away wet. Drove'd like it was stole'd. He modded it until it ran low 13s then "returned it to stock" for me (some assembly required on my part). I was cleaning grass and dirt clods out of the rear bumper from his donuts in somebody's lawn or something. The hood has dents in it from the thottle linkage bashing the hood from underneath when the motor rocked up off the broken mount in hard launches. He beat the tar out of it and the only thing I've done is oil changes, a fuel pump, and replaced some worn out suspension stuff in 31,000 miles. It presently has 162,000 on it.

I realize that some folks don't do their own mechanicking. This can add some difficulty to ownership, costwise.

I'm a Merkur-owner for life. As long as I have the choice, I'll own my racer, if nothing else. I have hundreds of hours of sweat-equity in that car. I've handled (fondled?) literally every system on the car. That car is the expression of who I am and my mechanical skills and creativity. I've spent 10 hours designing and making stuff like:

http://www.merkurtech.com/merkurtech/sh ... ket001.jpg

The work I do tends to serve two purposes. First, it fixes an existing problem. Second, it shows what I am capable of and my creative ability. Every time I make a new part, it is better than the last. Every time I touch my car, it is better, faster, cooler, or more original than before. Most significantly, every time I do something to my car, it becomes more difficult to part with. Years ago, I had too much of myself invested to ever get rid of the car. Now, you can imagine that it would take a nuclear (not nukeular) event to separate my racer from me.

Snake · Post by **Snake** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 12:45 pm

My Merk has been the best car I've ever had.

Kulik · Post by **Kulik** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:02 pm

Your damn right I would do it again, I put 40,000 km on the car since spring....! It only left me stranded at a service station once becasue of a collant line. My vw's broke down once a week!.

I live in a small town, all the ricers and rednecks stand around a cut-up one anothers rides. You know what they say about the XR...

"Holy F*ck, what's that..... sh*

t it's loud, wow it's fast"
And comparitivly it's a slow XR...

Honestly this car gave me a purpose in life

I found something I can spend all my money on, and when I'm board I drive it and I'm instantly happy, even working on it gives me pleasure.

I took out my cat the other day to finally make it true straight pipe. Seriously it's damn loud. In the morning when it back fires it's sooo loud.

The other day I drove past my buddies house in the morning he told me he could hear the car while he was lying in bed..... The guy was 3 blocks away!!!!!! That made my week when he said that.

Done

Greenturbo · Post by **Greenturbo** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:46 pm

mangostick wrote:a rustang??? why? you've already got an a**hole right? why have something everyone else already has? kidding, I like mustangs as much as any ford nut does..but the xr has a very specific flavor to it that I've never been able to find in another car. I bought mine fairly abused from my sister... and slowly repaired damage/neglect from her/ po. nuf said on that. Anyway its been quite reliable (mine is my only car and daily driver) I drove it to carlisle from FL this year, and will again next year if work/school schedule pan out. I drive ALOT...like 15k this year alone and I've only been back stateside since mid may. These are great cars if you love to tinker or cant leave something alone . I would definatly do this again and if this one meets its end somehow, Will do it again in the future.

the main reason i hate my xr?
the way the front suspension is designed..... its trash..
i dont care much for the under built no options diff either..
and that fact that i cant figure out why it runs so $#!%^& all the time..
on day its a screamer.. the next ist pig rich and bogs.. go figure..
my 2000$ car has cost me 3 times that by now.. and if i sold it today i dont think i could get 2000$ back...lol

and wan know somthing stupid? i just bought another 89....... i need help

mangostick · Post by **mangostick** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 9:08 pm

Greenturbo wrote:
the main reason i hate my xr?
the way the front suspension is designed..... its trash..
i dont care much for the under built no options diff either..
and that fact that i cant figure out why it runs so $#!%^& all the time..
on day its a screamer.. the next ist pig rich and bogs.. go figure..
my 2000$ car has cost me 3 times that by now.. and if i sold it today i dont think i could get 2000$ back...lol

and wan know somthing stupid? i just bought another 89....... i need help

Its ok man, join the club

we're here for ya! Besides..if you can make one of these cars run consistantly...you can look at yourself and KNOW your a skilled and creative individual...let alone one hell of a troubleshooter.

flylear45 · Post by **flylear45** » Sat Sep 24, 2005 3:35 pm

anglin wrote:

In reality, you are right. The XR4Ti aftermarket is a very small place. There is no one-stop shop. If you want a variety of different types of parts you have to a variety places. The aftermarket is driven by the folks buying the parts.

And I do appreciate what you and your partner share with the rest of us! You guys are supplying a needed center for hi-po and general maintenance bits. As you well know, when you piece things together, sometimes the results aren't as you had hoped. Too often as you change one thing, there's an undesired consequence. That's where your future suspension kits will be a great asset for folks. Trial and error is an expensive way to tune your suspension!

DG's stuff is pretty, but too pricey for my cheap self. I don't think much of the early lower control arm bolt camber adjuster scheme, though I don't have personal experience with it. The latest iteration looks good to me. I admire his attention to detail and willingness to sell his designs. Liability worries keep a lot of good ideas from being shared.

Harry King and ...... shoot, his name escapes me, maybe Morgan?? used Mustang plates, with the required upper mount mods (and coilovers). Having a MIG welder here makes it a reasonable 'bodge'

to accomplish in-house.

smoke3006 · Post by **smoke3006** » Sun Sep 25, 2005 11:40 am

Well I'm buying one

Just need to get my funds together and make some trips to the lovely DMV

Ray · Post by **Ray** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 7:22 am

Welcome to your new obsession.

Ghost · Post by **Ghost** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 5:15 pm

Welcome to the asylum... I mean the XR Owners Club

I've had my car for 11 years and 110K miles by now. I've beaten the piss out of it and it just keeps on trekking along. The car was my daily driver for 7 years, I drove it from Colorado to California 3 times running well above the legal speed limit. I've been stranded twice - bad TFI once and a stripped distributor/aux shaft gear. If you have mechanical ability or a good honest mechanic, these cars are a blast. If you don't know what you're doing and your mechanic is a retarded hack, it becomes a nightmare.
There is no other car out there like the XR4Ti, I always think of mine as a poor mans supercar: unique, fast, well handling, comfortable and exclusive.

Again, welcome to the habit!