sim_rx3 daily - 1990 HC royal classic luce

[sim_rx3]

Hi sim, I gotta say your car is awesome. Looks like you could live in there. I have the Xedos (Millenia) and I'm just looking at your car with envy !

You just can't beat getting a car that is fully loaded but this is off the hook ! My hat goes off to you bro' !

What can I say....awesome !
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thanks man.

And where did u find such a rare car such as yours?
It has everything you could ever want and more, my hat goes off to you!
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on the net. saw it for sale and traded it for a 1992 nissan maxima..
definetly havent regretted it!!

wow heated rear seats did not know that, these cars were more equipped than i thought.

now you have the AAS suspension which i (had) but shock replacement was too expensive and north worth wasting money on. i used shocks that were meant for Luce/929 that didnt have AAs, a straight swap.

did you buy new AAS shocks ? and what do u mean buy having the front springs reset ? the Luce has come down at least 2" in the front compared with the first pics

the bushings being replaced must have made a good improvement on handling. how much does it cost to replace the bushings ? im thinking it would be must do on 15+ year old car.

i could use an 80amp alt.
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yeh rear heated seats as well. didnt want to post the pic as the dash with that bit as it was a bit dirty when i took it.

nah new aas shocks are too expensive. so im just using normal ones atm..but planing to go coil overs soon.

front springs reset - the spring is reheated and squashed to be lower. not a good option to take but it will do till i get the coil overs..

new bushes made a massive difference.

I was looking at your pictures again and noticed the new tach...9ine also has one I think...I thought the digital dash had one..how come you guys got aftermarket ones?? I'm sure there's a simple enough reason, just curious! And the 80-amp alt would be great for me if it just bolts right in place of mine...hmmm..gonna look into it!
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nah mine was a boost gauge it was stolen 3 days after owning the car. hense the screw driver in the later photos, to block the pipe till i get another installed.

[9ine Deuce]

thats too bad about the boost control getting stolen.

ok i understand you got your shocks compressed, good enough to hold you over until you get coilovers. i know we've beated the coilover topic to death but how much more clearance do you think you will get with coilovers cranked up all the way when compared to a set of FC springs/struts swapped in ?
you said the front crossmember was only 2" off the ground, how much more will coilovers brign this up.

[sim_rx3]

thats too bad about the boost control getting stolen.

ok i understand you got your shocks compressed, good enough to hold you over until you get coilovers. i know we've beated the coilover topic to death but how much more clearance do you think you will get with coilovers cranked up all the way when compared to a set of FC springs/struts swapped in ?
you said the front crossmember was only 2" off the ground, how much more will coilovers brign this up.
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well if i get the coil overs to suit my car. ie get longer ones than fc then its just a matter of adjusting the spring height to what ever you want..

[9ine Deuce]

i though coilovers were all the same hieght. so i guess you would have custom spring hieghts.

[sim_rx3]

most coil overs are custom man.

you work out how much travel you need at a certain height.

order the shock to suit and then the spring to match (with spring rates its better to weight the car on each wheel individually.

then average the 2 weights of the front.and choose a spring rate to suit.

same for the rear.


all weights are to be taken at half a tank of fuel which is an average of the load on the suspension system..

[sim_rx3]

update -

started striping the engine bay yesterday to get the block out for a rebuild.

what a nightmare. ive got some pics and will post them up after i upload them..

whats happening -

13b will be rebuild to standard except a few reliability mods like FD engine seals etc and going to run FC NA rotors to give here a little more low down grunt.

turbo will be rebuilt and highflowed with 56mm p trim front wheel.
internal gate sealed and external gate installed to stop boost spike issues..
boost level will be kept below 10psi

gearbox is getting rebuilt with a stage 2 kit installed.
basically kevlar bands and higher oil pressure in the box and a upgraded torque converter.

ecu change to a Haltech e8 (with closed loop boost control function)

looking forward to driving the finished product. then time to focus on my rx3!!

[nitros13]

stripping the engine bay was a nightmare with mine as well Sim
let me know how the box goes, ill be interested to see...

[9ine Deuce]

how much low end grunt can be found with FC NA rotors ?

[sim_rx3]

nitros13 - will do

im also getting the stall converter overhauled. ie get engine and everything done. put it all back together and get the car dyno'ed. work out the power curve. then get the box out and send the torque converter away to get modded to suit = better drive from convertor. not going to run a higher stall as its a daily.

9ine Deuce -

dont know as i havent experienced it yet but have been told by a luce guru here (DMRH) it makes quite a difference to low down torque. but boost levels have to be watched. which is why im putting the external gate on.



some pics of engine bay stripage -

[nitros13]

gotta love the rats nest hey Sim