To Spend Or Not To Spend!

[KezR33]

Hey guys,

Got a bit of a dilemma. I've currently saved up a bit of cash and am looking to spend it, but I don't know if I should. My choices are: by a 2-way LSD for my NA Supra, or sell it and buy a cheap daily till I'm off my P's. Now the dilemma isn't so much about buying the LSD, its the thought of "wasting" more money on an arguably slow car that I won't keep beyond my P's. I've got friends who've thrown their entire savings into NA cars only to lose it when they upgrade to the turbo variant, or waste more money converting their NA.

The Pros:

I've still got two years left on my P's, and buying a nice 2-way LSD will pretty much be the last piece needed to make my car a good track/drift/drag machine (actually it needs better brakes pads too - more money). Without it is almost pointless going to DECA, the track, etc because the open diff makes it so unpredictable.

It'd almost be the perfect car to learn in, enough power to drift, but no so much that I'm wrestling the said power just to keep it under control.

The Cons:

Expensive, $2k all up including installation.

Car is essentially a POS, needs a respray and in the grand scheme of performance cars an NA Supra is slow as shit.

2-way is potentially dangerous on the street. 1.5-ways aren't made by TRD and its significantly more expensive to buy other brands.

Can't do the turbo conversion on my car. I'd need to upgrade the gearbox first and the 6spd box costs more than the turbo engine.

Will I actually get out to the track enough to make use of said LSD. I've had enough trouble with the police and am pretty much too scared (even if I had the desire) to "hoon" on the street.

I dunno, hence why I'm here. I'm very tempted to chuck the LSD on it and go out and have fun, but it seems far more sensible to sell it (or even keep it as is) till I'm off my P's then buy a nice Silvia or GT-T which will out perform my car any day of the week, even if I were to spend big bucks on mine.

Appreciate any advice.

[jrm]

At the end of the day, it's money spent that you'll never see back (modifications to cars only decrease, not increase their value).

If you think you're going to get $2K worth of value out of the LSD in the 2 years before you move on to something bigger & better (which will almost certainly have an LSD from the factory), then it might be justifiable.

[Deano 1]

Do it man, don't sit around on weekends worried about money saving every penni. Put the limo in it and have some fun. By the time your

Ready to go turbo that 2k would make f*k all difference in ya bank account.

Go have some fun

[PSI-FED]

^^ x2.

Keep your stocker too and just part out the 2 way before you sell the car and sell it seperately, your bound to make some of your money back and plus your average potential NA supra buyer/driver is more likely to care weather his 20" chromies are shiny not weather he has a 2 way lol.

[R34 -_-]

Save your cash, iv already learned the lesson of wasting cash on an N/A car... i wish i never spent so much money on mine lol it feels good knowing you have cash in the bank too. Unlike aussie we don't have stupid p plate laws, if i hadn't modified my car I'd be able to buy a turbo r34 now, which I'd be a lot happier with.

but if you really think the 2 way will make you happy, buy it, and take it off when you sell your car

[ShanO`]

Do it

A good predictable LSD is one of the best mods you can do to a car like yours, even if it is NA. Plenty of fun to be had.

If price is your main issue you could probably get a 2nd hand one through an importer/wrecker, its not like they are an item that wears out quickly.

If you are concerned about the safety aspect of driving with one on the street, I wouldn't worry. Up until a month ago I was my R34 was my daily driver and I never once had an incident while driving on the street, they are perfectly predictable and should react the same way every time, unlike an open lsd.

If you are concerned about the police, I wouldn't worry too much. Sure a mechanical diff can chirp/clunk but with the right oil and throttle control you can drive almost anywhere and not make a noise. If they can't hear it, they wont know its there

[GTS4WD]

It doesn't seem like your very keen on your supra or else you wouldnt be questioning this.

Fully with Shane, but if your not keen on the Supra, sell itm save money, buy a run about Rolla, and save the money and buy something decent in the future with an LSD already in it.

OR.

Get an LSD. Then turbo it down the track.

[KezR33]

I love the Supra, as far as affordable (we're not talking about S2000s etc) P plate legal cars go I reckon they're about as good as it gets. I just hate my Supra. Mechanically perfect, but the previous owner was careless, and she really needs a new coat of paint.

With regards to fearing the police, I was referring more to not making use of my LSD on the street. I've had cops blatantly lie about things I've done before just to make my offence seem 10x worse. I can get out to every DECA day, and I'll definitely try to make as many Winton drift days as I can, but beyond that I can't see myself really using the LSD more than 6-7 times a year? I suppose I could get into more circuit work, hell, even take it to the drags. An LSD with decent rubber would certainly help there.

Thanks for the advice guys, I think I'll do it. I'll let you know when I do.

[krzysiu]

A 2 way diff is bloody awesome, You wont look back! It locks bloody hard and makes your stocker seem like a pos, It drifts bloody well with it, good at mountain runs. No complaints here.

Like someone said before, put in a 2 way, then when you sell the car put the standard one back in

[R34 -_-]

What kind of lsd do R34 GT-T's come with?

[KezR33]

I spent!

Had to order the damn thing from the US, but it was a lot cheaper than I thought ~$1000 USD, plus a $200 installation kit required to make it fit the NA diff housing.

Will post my opinion of it after this DECA, can't wait.

[zebra]

Good stuff, and as others have said, if you go to sell the car, swap the good diff with a stocker and sell it off, or keep it incase you buy a TT model

[KezR33]

Just a quick update. Got back from DECA on the weekend and am absolutely loving this diff. I may not make as much smoke, or go as fast as some of the turbo boys, but I can certainly get just as sideways!

Without a doubt the best mod I have done to my car so far, and recommend to anyone to invest in a good LSD before splashing out on extractors, etc.

[xALmoN]

Nicely done bro, at least you still have a supra =D

[ShanO`]

  KezR33 said:

Just a quick update. Got back from DECA on the weekend and am absolutely loving this diff. I may not make as much smoke, or go as fast as some of the turbo boys, but I can certainly get just as sideways!

Without a doubt the best mod I have done to my car so far, and recommend to anyone to invest in a good LSD before splashing out on extractors, etc.

Nice work, I agree with you about the not making as much smoke, but you still have the same amount of fun. Alot of people question me as to why I drift my N/A because its underpowered, but they are pleasantly surprised once I take them out for a lap because it has no trouble linking corners.

[thatr33kid]

[Pal]

warning handed out. if you have no useful information for the OP, please refrain from posting

[Galois]

  KezR33 said:

Car is essentially a POS, needs a respray and in the grand scheme of performance cars an NA Supra is slow as shit.

I have a mate making 160rwkw in an NA supra, and all he's done is epic exhaust work, extractors, massive intake piping, tune? Can't remember, but he hasn't touched the engine. That's the sort of power stock plus cat-back r34 gtt's make.

  ShanO` said:

A good predictable LSD is one of the best mods you can do to a car like yours, even if it is NA. Plenty of fun to be had.

If you are concerned about the police, I wouldn't worry too much. Sure a mechanical diff can chirp/clunk but with the right oil and throttle control you can drive almost anywhere and not make a noise. If they can't hear it, they wont know its there

Predictable, unlike my r34 viscous lsd! Fk I swear it chooses to do the least useful thing possible. I dumped the clutch to do a 180 spin in an empty carpark at uni after giving my lil bro manual lesson (he's on his P's so can't drive on the road, figured a few minutes in an empty carpark couldn't hurt), anyways all that happened was the inside wheel lit up, biggest anti-climax ever.

But the viscous lsd works just fine in the rain, trying as hard as it can to make me spin out. It's got a bit more give than a normal lsd, but fk I wish it was more predictable.

And with the police: most of them have no idea what they're looking for anyways, to identify an lsd by it's sound would be impressive, and unlucky...

Edited September 12, 2010 by Galois

[R34 -_-]

If you threw the same wad of cash at a stock GTT as your mate did to his supra you would have a way faster GTT.... lol comparing modified cars to stock cars isn't all that impressive.. unless it was a pos paddock basher or something unusual...

Hows the handling on the open road? (i.e not trying to get it sideways)

Edited September 12, 2010 by R34 -_-

[rb26zed]

If you like the car and would like to turbo it after your P's you dont have to go 6 speed. There are plenty of 5 speeds that would handle a moderate 2j including your current n/a 5 speed. 6 speed is nice but not a necessity.