My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by Musclefan21
come on guys, give the OP some slack. Yes you can save money by buying other fast cars and make the faster but that isnt the point. the point is making a crossfire running down the strip with its front wheels up.
I can definitely see a chevy small block under the hood and making some 8-9 second passes. However, you will give up A LOT of stuff. it will be nothing but a trailer queen. I would love to see it.
I can definitely see a chevy small block under the hood and making some 8-9 second passes. However, you will give up A LOT of stuff. it will be nothing but a trailer queen. I would love to see it.
actually the point is to make a fast track car, not a drag queen(lol)
but a crossfire wheelstand would be pretty cool too
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Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Well when you get it sorted out let me know. I use my Crossfire for Solo1 and track days. I have the power to hang, the brakes to hang, but I wave bye bye in the curves. My biggest handicap is being new to this and learning by trial and error. Not to mention that I don't want to cut up my car or strip it. If I was willing, I think the car is capable. So live the dream and share.
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Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by xfireinva
How much weight do you think would be saved removing the interior, the wall behind the seats, all sound deadening etc., until it is just a bare chassis?
...
take out a/c, radio, power windows
...
i dont think the current crossfire suspension has enough aftermarket support to really put down fast lap times/ acheive the look i would want
...
The problem with the SRT-6 engine is that there is no manual transmission that will mate right to it and be able to handle that kind of power. The crossfire 6MT can barely handle a measly 215, so i could either go with a completely different setup or fabricate a better clutch/flywheel and strengthen the crossfire 6MT.
...
take out a/c, radio, power windows
...
i dont think the current crossfire suspension has enough aftermarket support to really put down fast lap times/ acheive the look i would want
...
The problem with the SRT-6 engine is that there is no manual transmission that will mate right to it and be able to handle that kind of power. The crossfire 6MT can barely handle a measly 215, so i could either go with a completely different setup or fabricate a better clutch/flywheel and strengthen the crossfire 6MT.
Originally Posted by xfireinva
like i said, i bought a crossfire for the styling, and also for an auto tranny and some comfort in traffic.
BTW, that "wall behind the seats" houses the fuel tank and is a piece of the vehicle's structure... good luck removing it.
My personal suggestion? Buy an Elise or a Miata for track days... you're really starting with the wrong canvas here.
If youre completely hell-bent on it being the XF, search for some of HDDP's posts.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
I don't know about your firebirds or camaros... but obviously my Camaro was special. That thing handled like a dream. I used to take that car around real sharp turns at REAL fast highway speeds and I never felt out of control. It felt glued to the ground. I just don't trust the crossfire on sharp turns like my camaro. The crossfire wheels will squeal if you push the car too hard.... I never heard my camaro squeal once in 5 years. That camaro saved my life many of times 
Same driver just different car and I notice a difference between the two cars.
I remember one time I was going around a real sharp entrance ramp (a full 360 sharp turn) with the Camaro and hit the gas. That car was glued to the ground and I took that turn at 60 MPH. My body nearly flew out of the car I hit the wheel so hard. There was a car right behind me (turned out to be a unmarked cop). I left him in the dust on the turn. I come back around and was doing the speed limit. He was way back there and finally caught up and pulled me over. Didn't get a ticket but he was pissed! Not sure if he was pissed at my driving or that he couldn't write me a ticket.
Same driver just different car and I notice a difference between the two cars.I remember one time I was going around a real sharp entrance ramp (a full 360 sharp turn) with the Camaro and hit the gas. That car was glued to the ground and I took that turn at 60 MPH. My body nearly flew out of the car I hit the wheel so hard. There was a car right behind me (turned out to be a unmarked cop). I left him in the dust on the turn. I come back around and was doing the speed limit. He was way back there and finally caught up and pulled me over. Didn't get a ticket but he was pissed! Not sure if he was pissed at my driving or that he couldn't write me a ticket.
Last edited by blackcrossfire07; 05-06-2010 at 11:30 PM.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
'69 Z-28, '71 big block, '92 Heretige Pkg....not a one would stay with either of my XF's of today...on the strip, curves, top end....not even close...the first 2 were for the strip, but the '92...would handle fairly good, and had good top end, but would never stay with the XF...maybe an LS1 would be close...certainly on the strip...
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Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by xfireinva
like i said, i bought a crossfire for the styling, and also for an auto tranny and some comfort in traffic. If you want to talk to me about how amazing the crossfire handles and then in the same post talk about learning to drive the car i already have, you obviously havent been to too many track days. The crossfire's steering is vague and numb, gives no real feedback, body roll through almost any corner, inspires no confidence, not enough grip, no limited slip diff (lmao if you think the crossfire handles well stock with an open diff haha i truly lold). i ask you instead of blindly defending the crossfires sub-par handling with your fanboyism, to go out and drive some real track cars WITH a 1.5 or 2 way LSD. An s2000, mazda mx-5, sti, evo, NSX, z51 corvette, s14 silvia, 350Z. (All of which i have driven, on a track) Of course these cars were modded but like i said in the OP, the crossfire has no REAL aftermarket suspension support other than a few sets of coilovers and springs. Ever hear of camber plates, strut tower braces, tie bars, etc etc? all of these suspension components are CRUCIAL in setting up a race car for a true track prep alignment. My other car is an s2000 slammed to the ground on buddy club coilovers and i can honestly say stepping into that after driving the crossfire is like going from a 1/2 ton truck down to a regular car, thats how much of a difference i feel.
Im not trying to insult you with this post man, its just that IM sick of people DEFENDING the crossfires handling, which may be good for someone whose driven a minivan for 20 years, but leaves a real enthusiast who HAS pushed cars to their limits ON A RACETRACK wanting more.
Im not trying to insult you with this post man, its just that IM sick of people DEFENDING the crossfires handling, which may be good for someone whose driven a minivan for 20 years, but leaves a real enthusiast who HAS pushed cars to their limits ON A RACETRACK wanting more.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by Thirteendog
You bought the car for it's comfort around town and you want to shove a manual in it and rip out the interior??? Come on now, you're comparing a cars that are built for the track to cars built for the street? I know when I had the limited I had every bit of confidence in it when I drove it hard. Granted I never tracked the limited, honestly I can't figure out why I would. The SRT has seen the track and will continue to see the track. Hell the SRT's seen the Dragon and surrounding roads, if I didn't think it would stick I wouldn't have driven it that hard. I know when I drive my car I can feel what it's doing, I can feel how hard I'm pushing it and where it's slipping. Is it possible you've got the wrong tires? I know I can't remember a time when I had my limited out of shape. It just stuck no matter where I put it. Good luck with your adventure, but if I remember right you've got a thread asking if $1000 dollars was the right price for a dealer to replace your steering stabalizer. You must have some seriously deep pockets.
that was a power steering pump, i bought a used one for 600 and did it myself. still a ripoff. And this is a few years down the line, ill have another "comfort" car by then. And this isnt about building a "fun" car that wont get bent out of shape on the dragon, this would be a project to build a well balanced streetable race car capable of turning the fastest laps humanly possible while still using the xfire chassis. all told, it is just an idea, albeit one i would like to see happen. People build wild time attack machines all of th time, i would just like to be the first crossfire out there competing with gt2's, z06's, time attack built evo;s, s2000's, sti's, rx-7 and 8's etc. I just want a unique car that can hold its own in whatever class/ organization that would best fit the build, its not just about feeling how well the car handles around turns, im planning on building a RACE CAR that would compete. I would love to have a 6 like you but they are the same chassis which would really be the only thing retained accoring to my (ambitious) plans.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by oledoc2u
'69 Z-28, '71 big block, '92 Heretige Pkg....not a one would stay with either of my XF's of today...on the strip, curves, top end....not even close...the first 2 were for the strip, but the '92...would handle fairly good, and had good top end, but would never stay with the XF...maybe an LS1 would be close...certainly on the strip...
this wouldnt be a stock LS1 and the car will have lost a huge amount of weight. a 2200-2300 pound car with 400/400 (easily attainable with an NA ls1) is a low ten second car.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by former NXMX5
you want an automatic, comfort in traffic, and love the Crossfire styling, but you want to rip out the interior, A/C, radio, and sound deadening; it doesnt have a strong enough manual; and you need to find a completely different suspension to find the look you want...
BTW, that "wall behind the seats" houses the fuel tank and is a piece of the vehicle's structure... good luck removing it.
My personal suggestion? Buy an Elise or a Miata for track days... you're really starting with the wrong canvas here.
If youre completely hell-bent on it being the XF, search for some of HDDP's posts.
BTW, that "wall behind the seats" houses the fuel tank and is a piece of the vehicle's structure... good luck removing it.
My personal suggestion? Buy an Elise or a Miata for track days... you're really starting with the wrong canvas here.
If youre completely hell-bent on it being the XF, search for some of HDDP's posts.
this build would be solely for the purpose of having a crossfire capable of beating elite track/ tuner/ time attack cars, not to just buy the same car as them and turn fast laps. One of the reasons i want to do this so bad is BECAUSE the xfire is indeed the wrong canvas, making it even better if i succeed. And the fuel tank (which would become a fuel cell, i dont want to die in a fiery wreck) can easily be relocated to the hatch and a brace can replace the "wall". anything is possible with a sawzall and a good welder.
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Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by xfireinva
I would just like to be the first crossfire out there competing with gt2's, z06's, time attack built evo;s, s2000's, sti's, rx-7 and 8's etc.
Originally Posted by former NXMX5
If youre completely hell-bent on it being the XF, search for some of HDDP's posts.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by BoilerUpXFire
Maybe before calling respected members of the forum posers and fanboys you should check out what some of them have done. HDDP has been running for quite some time in more of less the car you decribed above as your dream car. Before bashing or puffing your chest out saying you want to be first, you should look to those that have already been there and done that.
) and its getting sent off to upholstery today. All sound deadening and weight removed from the rear, and soon to be the interior. Since it IS my daily driver I plan on putting some dynamat over the inner rear fenders just so my girlfriend doesn't mind riding in it....or I could just turn the stereo up (the one thing I will NOT sacrifice for weight loss).The only warning I can give is that if you strip the trunk, be prepared to put some heat wrap over the gas tank or to make a fiber/plexiglass mini-trunk cover, as in the heat the car will smell light straight gasoline vapor for like...10 minutes...a good stop smoking aide though
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Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
As others have already alluded to...... someone's already been there and done that.
Derek (HDDP) stripped his down and raced it for quite a while. He then proceeded to swap in a SRT motor with a manual tranny. He spent a boatload of cash doing it and said it was basically a exercise in futility.
BTW...just to help save you some major headaches..... the "wall" between the trunk and passenger compartment is made of Martensitic AHSS group 4 steel. I hope you're a REALLY good welder who understands metal embrittlement, HAZ, and have a LOT of sawzall blades.
Derek (HDDP) stripped his down and raced it for quite a while. He then proceeded to swap in a SRT motor with a manual tranny. He spent a boatload of cash doing it and said it was basically a exercise in futility.
BTW...just to help save you some major headaches..... the "wall" between the trunk and passenger compartment is made of Martensitic AHSS group 4 steel. I hope you're a REALLY good welder who understands metal embrittlement, HAZ, and have a LOT of sawzall blades.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
Originally Posted by BoilerUpXFire
Maybe before calling respected members of the forum posers and fanboys you should check out what some of them have done. HDDP has been running for quite some time in more of less the car you decribed above as your dream car. Before bashing or puffing your chest out saying you want to be first, you should look to those that have already been there and done that.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
I think the OP needs to realize some basic tennents (sp?) of crossfire ownership.
A) You can make ANY car fast and handle with enough money
B) Most folks around here aren't really interested in really tinkering with their cars to dramatically improve performance. The car itself doesn't really attract the track-day crowd, with the exception of a couple of people.
C) Most people who come in here with gradiose ideas about the crossfire (motor swaps, forced induction, creating a track monster) are full of it.
See the best and worst thing about the crossfire is that quite a few thhings that I see on other car forums just don't seem to get done here, specifically when talking about the base or ltd crossfire. So you have to be willing to be a pioneer of sorts if you want to build that type of car. Trial and error and a reasonable amount of disposible income are needed in many cases IMO.
I do agree with the OP that the handling of the crossfire could and frankly should be better. The chassis is extremely stiff, but all the supporting elements are designed more for comfort than performance. The car in stock form just doesn't take a set very well. There are subtle body movements that I frequently experience when taking a turn and I've noticed these since I bought the car new off the lot. Forgive the extreme exaggeration here, but to better illustrate my point, it's like taking a lincoln towncar and putting the car on fatty racing slicks. Once up to temp, the towncar would likely have amazing grip, and yet it would still be considered to handle poorly with little feel and limited body control.
Though I would be willing to bet that for those who would pony up for a set of KW coilovers, they can get them custom valved with custom spring weights, in addition to better than stock tires. That would probably go a long way to getting these cars where they should have been from the factory. Cheap though? Not a chance.
And that's what KILLS me about these cars. They are extremely well built IMO and a major reason for why I own one. People LOVE to tout the mercedes heritage of the crossfire. People adorn their cars with "powered by mercedes", "Karmann", and (often inappropriately) "AMG" stickers. And then I go into the technical forums and people are talking about buying cheap *** chinese knock offs, many of which are from ebay--this is especially prevalent when it comes to replacement brake parts. Why would anyone compromise the design and engineering integrity of these cars by purchasing no-name stuff just because they're in expensive? Does anyone buy anything from a place like pelican parts for example? They sell a lot of porsche stuff, but they also sell general replacement parts for the SLK320, much of which is the same stuff found on the crossfire. Places like this sell the high quality German parts that come on the car from the factory---and they aren't nearly as expensive as you might think. Front rotors for an SLK 320 were listed at $70.00 on pelican, which sounds like a great price to me.
I think the bottom line for the OP is that if you are looking for a car and related community that really embraces high performance driving/track events, the crossfire just isn't the best choice. For every track junky/autoX guy on here, you will have 5-6 guys on a porsche or bmw forum for example. And many of those guys have no problem ripping into their own engines to fix things and document the repair process along the way. So it's a different world in those places compared to most of what I have seen here.
A) You can make ANY car fast and handle with enough money
B) Most folks around here aren't really interested in really tinkering with their cars to dramatically improve performance. The car itself doesn't really attract the track-day crowd, with the exception of a couple of people.
C) Most people who come in here with gradiose ideas about the crossfire (motor swaps, forced induction, creating a track monster) are full of it.
See the best and worst thing about the crossfire is that quite a few thhings that I see on other car forums just don't seem to get done here, specifically when talking about the base or ltd crossfire. So you have to be willing to be a pioneer of sorts if you want to build that type of car. Trial and error and a reasonable amount of disposible income are needed in many cases IMO.
I do agree with the OP that the handling of the crossfire could and frankly should be better. The chassis is extremely stiff, but all the supporting elements are designed more for comfort than performance. The car in stock form just doesn't take a set very well. There are subtle body movements that I frequently experience when taking a turn and I've noticed these since I bought the car new off the lot. Forgive the extreme exaggeration here, but to better illustrate my point, it's like taking a lincoln towncar and putting the car on fatty racing slicks. Once up to temp, the towncar would likely have amazing grip, and yet it would still be considered to handle poorly with little feel and limited body control.
Though I would be willing to bet that for those who would pony up for a set of KW coilovers, they can get them custom valved with custom spring weights, in addition to better than stock tires. That would probably go a long way to getting these cars where they should have been from the factory. Cheap though? Not a chance.
And that's what KILLS me about these cars. They are extremely well built IMO and a major reason for why I own one. People LOVE to tout the mercedes heritage of the crossfire. People adorn their cars with "powered by mercedes", "Karmann", and (often inappropriately) "AMG" stickers. And then I go into the technical forums and people are talking about buying cheap *** chinese knock offs, many of which are from ebay--this is especially prevalent when it comes to replacement brake parts. Why would anyone compromise the design and engineering integrity of these cars by purchasing no-name stuff just because they're in expensive? Does anyone buy anything from a place like pelican parts for example? They sell a lot of porsche stuff, but they also sell general replacement parts for the SLK320, much of which is the same stuff found on the crossfire. Places like this sell the high quality German parts that come on the car from the factory---and they aren't nearly as expensive as you might think. Front rotors for an SLK 320 were listed at $70.00 on pelican, which sounds like a great price to me.
I think the bottom line for the OP is that if you are looking for a car and related community that really embraces high performance driving/track events, the crossfire just isn't the best choice. For every track junky/autoX guy on here, you will have 5-6 guys on a porsche or bmw forum for example. And many of those guys have no problem ripping into their own engines to fix things and document the repair process along the way. So it's a different world in those places compared to most of what I have seen here.
Re: My dream: Fully stripped Crossfire race car/ street monster.
I gotta be honest those thoughts have crossed my mind too xfireinva and this is from someone who swore up and down they'd never touch a thing on the car. They really are perfect stock. That lasted about 2 and a half years into my 5 years of ownership. I'd personally love to see a Pro-mod version of the Crossfire. Tub'd out rear and a big old Blown Hemi sticking through the hood. I figure if you're gonna do something like that you might as well stick with the Mopar family of engines.
Where are you in Virginia?
Where are you in Virginia?