Lotsa Questions

[CLens]

Hey.. I've been lurking for awhile and I finally decided to post!
I'm 16 and I drive a 2003 GT in Bright Silver Metallic with the stock flame accents.

Is it possible to brighten the gauges to match the brightness of the radio? It is so difficult to read the speedometer when the sun is just going down and the lights are on.

The stock speakers are terrible when the windows are down anyone know any good speakers I can replace with the stock ones?

I've been reading and is it true that if you leave the GT in autostick it will perform faster then it being in plain ol' drive?

Do you waste gas if you have the outside air on? (Dumb question, but I just don't understand it)

Does anyone have those Sylvania Silverstar Halogens? What about the turn signal ones? Do they really increase visibility at all? Did you get them installed at the dealer? If yes, how much was everything?



Just so you know: I don't condone street racing nor have I ever street raced, so please don't flame me!

1995 Toyota Celica vs GT (I think we would win hands down, right?)
Honda S2000 vs GT (They are lighter and have more HP so they win by default, right?)

This question is unrelated, but I remember someone arguing about it. Someone had a 1980s Oldsmobile (I think a cutlass, I have no idea, but it's a V8) and the other person had a V6 Ford Focus. The Oldsmobile person was saying they would beat the Focus because they have a V8 and that automatically makes them win by default. Is that true? I think it was a 2002 Ford Focus SVT so it has a supercharged 220HP. Could the Focus beat the Oldsmobile? What about the Focus beating the GT??

[Mr.Blonde]

1.I'd try to adjust the brightness on the gauges by turning the knob on the left switch attached to the steering wheel (where you turn your highbeams on).

2. The stock speakers are terrible, dont know of any really good ones though.

3. When it is in autostick, the car changes gears a little bit after redline, ideal for accelerating quickly. (it also is a lil bit faster with traction control off)

4. Dont know if the outside air wastes gas, my guess is that it cant help gas. (i rarely use the air, so i dont know)

5. I have the Sylvania silverstar Halogens, dont have the turn signal ones. I have noticed increased visibility that everything is brighter and nothing has a yellow tint to it. It doesnt make too much of a difference in range though. I installed them myself, it is very easy, just go in through the wheel well, there is a panel that just pops out. (be sure not to touch the bulbs, oils from your fingers damage it)

6. couldnt find stats on the 95, but a 94 celica GT does the quarter in 16.4 and 0-60 in 8.5. So, you will beat him or her easily.

7. Stock to stock, they will beat you, they have a quarter of around year 2000 - 14.2; 2003 - 14.9 . With some mods like stage 1, and a boost controler, you will be able to beat a newer model.

8. The number of cylinders a car has doesnt necessarily mean that it will win by default. it all matters with weight, horsepower, etc... The PT Cruiser GT, even though a 4 cyl. will beat many stock 6 cyl. If i had to make a guess, the SVT will blow the doors off the cutlass, unless the cutlass is modded. the GT will beat the SVT focus, with equivilent drivers.

Let me know if you have any more questions

[CLens]

quote:Originally posted by Mr.Blonde



(it also is a lil bit faster with traction control off)

and a boost controler

If you take off quickly at a stoplight does the traction control cause small tailspin?

What's a boost controller? I've heard of it... I just don't understand it's exact function.

[ksquared11]

The traction control does not cause wheel spin, your right foot does that. With traction control on, it will see when one wheel is spinning faster than the other. It will then use the ABS to slow the tire down so it can grip the road.

A boost controller is used to increase the amount of boost that the turbo puts out. This will give your car more power.

[Mean Green]

You have to have your boost controller properly set or you'll fry your engine if there is too much boost.

[Mike-in-Orange]

A boost controller is just that; a device to control the boost. Basically they work downstream of the PCM so that the computer doesn't override it. You can adjust, either manually (MBC) or electonically (EBC), the amount of boost you want.

Mean Green is spot on - you have to be really careful and set up a boost controller properly or you'll boost your pistons right through your block! Very spectacular, but it yields really lousy 1/4 mile times.

By the way, I've already outrun a Mustang GT on a 1/4 mile dragstrip with my Stage 1 '04 automatic. Boost is my friend.

[CLens]

What are sway bars?

[MichaelDay]

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question432.htm

[CLens]

What's WHP? I know it's Wheel Horsepower, but I still don't understand it. I googled it and it says "Power output measured at the wheels." What does that mean? So what's the difference between HP and WHP??

[Mr.Barton]

quote:Originally posted by CLens

What's WHP? I know it's Wheel Horsepower, but I still don't understand it. I googled it and it says "Power output measured at the wheels." What does that mean? So what's the difference between HP and WHP??

I think its a way of taking into account that the engine has to go throught the trans and to the wheels.


Thats as far as my understanding goes