Underwhelmed by my new toy

[goldar]

A few months ago I bought a minty low mileage pulsar gtir. Mainly because I wanted a hooligan car again and I'd been hankering after some old school jap for a while, but partly because it's small enough to fit onto my drive.

It's almost bone stock. A set of wheels, lowering springs, strut braces, and an exhaust.
I've upped the boost to 1 bar and upgraded the fuel pump. It flies now, but I'm not sure if it's hitting the spot for me. I wanted something that I can absolutely thrash on the road, but it takes effort to do so in this car, which ruins the experience. I imagine that I'd be quicker in a Prius just because it was easier to drive.

For example:
- The steering isn't as direct as I hoped it would be. More input is required to the steering to get round bends. This makes it slower.
- The uprated clutch is stiff and I have to push the pedal all the way to the end to get it to disengage. Again, this makes it slower.
- The gear selector can be quite notchy. It's not a smooth shift. I have to be slow and gentle, I can't bang gears like I can with almost any other car. Again, slow.
- The car doesn't feel very tight. 30 year old bushes and standard shocks. Easily fixable, but I don't want to turn this into a project.

So, opinions. Would I be making the wrong decision by getting rid of it?

Edited by goldar on Thursday 29th June 01:25

[s m]

Sounds like you don’t like it that much

Get a test drive in a Yaris GR and see if you prefer that

My friend used to work on the rally GTi-Rs back in the 90s

The chase cars were great fun but not everyone gels with an old car from 30 years ago

[sherman]

New wheels?
Are they different size etc to standard. You say it needs new bushes
Did you put new tyres on with the wheels
Does the car need its geometry(tracking, alinment etc) reset?

The gearbox is 30 years old. Does it need an oil change?

The clutch can probably be adjusted or you could replace its slave cyclinder

Its a 30 year old car. It will need a bit of love.

[goldar]

I've had old cars before, but they weren't a chore to drive. I don't want to buy a modern car. I want lightweight and appreciating value.

The wheels are 15" and were fitted by the previous owner. 1" over standard.

I don't think the geometry needs doing.

A gear oil change may be a good idea. But I imagine it's been done at some point.

I didn't know it was possible to adjust the clutch like that?
What would changing the slave cylinder accomplish?

[sherman]

goldar said:

I've had old cars before, but they weren't a chore to drive. I don't want to buy a modern car. I want lightweight and appreciating value.

The wheels are 15" and were fitted by the previous owner. 1" over standard.

I don't think the geometry needs doing.

A gear oil change may be a good idea. But I imagine it's been done at some point.

I didn't know it was possible to adjust the clutch like that?
What would changing the slave cylinder accomplish?

A bigger tyre and lower stance. Is the tyre rubbing in the wheel well?
Geometry could cure this.
The clutch can be adjusted. The cable between the pedal and the clutch can. The slave cyclinder may be to blame for both clutch and gears
https://www.yourmechanic.com/article/how-long-does...

Gearbox oil should be done every 50k miles or so

[goldar]

Why would you assume the tyre is rubbing? How did you even arrive at this conclusion?

Clutch cable and slave cylinder? Together? What sort of cars have you been working on?

[SlimJim16v]

Bushes could be to blame for a lot of that. Clutch may need bleeding or new cable, whichever it has.

I remember a test or 2 comparing it to the integrale, it did quite well.

[sherman]

goldar said:

Why would you assume the tyre is rubbing? How did you even arrive at this conclusion?

Clutch cable and slave cylinder? Together? What sort of cars have you been working on?

Only giving you options to consider. Do with them what you will. Its your car. Go figure it out yourself.

[Jamescrs]

Sounds like this car isn't for you to be honest.
It's a 30 Yr old car so ots always going to be an ongoing project.

Maybe something like a Mk7 Fiesta ST would fit your criteria better?

[J1990]

Did you come here to moan or ask for input? Everyone who has tried to give you some options to look at or suggestions to improve the ride has been met with your dismissive responses.

If the car isn't hitting the right spot for you then there's 3 options:

1) Get it sorted and adjusted to closer meet your preferences
2) Sell it
3) Suck it up

I appreciate that you're disappointed your new toy isn't living up to what you'd hoped but being dismissive of all suggestions is a quick way to get people to stop trying to help.

[raspy]

Dump it. Life is too short to sit around being underwhelmed by a car.

[Cambs_Stuart]

I'd find an owners club and try to either get to a meet, or get the recommendation of a good specialist.
Then use their experience to work out if that's how they all are, or if something needs to be done and how much it will cost.

[Belle427]

I can't see any mods making it better.
Not sure on your budget but a Mitsi Evo may be the car for you.
All the hooligan you will ever need!

[Export56]

s m said:

Sounds like you don’t like it that much

Get a test drive in a Yaris GR and see if you prefer that

My friend used to work on the rally GTi-Rs back in the 90s

The chase cars were great fun but not everyone gels with an old car from 30 years ago

Unpopular opinion, old cars are pants, drive a brand new tight amg45 or an GR and you see what I mean.

[Krikkit]

goldar said:

For example:
- The steering isn't as direct as I hoped it would be. More input is required to the steering to get round bends. This makes it slower.
- The uprated clutch is stiff and I have to push the pedal all the way to the end to get it to disengage. Again, this makes it slower.
- The gear selector can be quite notchy. It's not a smooth shift. I have to be slow and gentle, I can't bang gears like I can with almost any other car. Again, slow.
- The car doesn't feel very tight. 30 year old bushes and standard shocks. Easily fixable, but I don't want to turn this into a project.

Watch out folks, the new Max Verstappen on the case being slowed down by a notchy gearchange

Just get rid if you don't like it, dunno what you'll get that fits the bill mind.

Export56 said:

Unpopular opinion, old cars are pants, drive a brand new tight amg45 or an GR and you see what I mean.

Great if you want minimal character, electronic nannies and controls with no feel.

Edited by Krikkit on Thursday 29th June 09:00

[Truckosaurus]

I'm not sure the Pulsar was ever known for its delicate steering - I suspect it was as numb and light as the Subarus of similar vintage.

What it did have was 4wd and lots of power when the equivalent European hot hatch had around 150bhp.

Sounds like the OPs car needs some clutch work and a suspension refresh. But even then it will feel 'old' which might be a positive or negative.

[s m]

Krikkit said:

Export56 said:

Unpopular opinion, old cars are pants, drive a brand new tight amg45 or an GR and you see what I mean.

Great if you want minimal character, electronic nannies and controls with no feel.

I recommended a GR Yaris as well earlier as I think it’s the closest modern day thing to the Pulsar maybe…. Smallish, 4wd and fun to drive

[ZedLeg]

goldar said:

A few months ago I bought a minty low mileage pulsar gtir. Mainly because I wanted a hooligan car again and I'd been hankering after some old school jap for a while, but partly because it's small enough to fit onto my drive.

It's almost bone stock. A set of wheels, lowering springs, strut braces, and an exhaust.
I've upped the boost to 1 bar and upgraded the fuel pump. It flies now, but I'm not sure if it's hitting the spot for me. I wanted something that I can absolutely thrash on the road, but it takes effort to do so in this car, which ruins the experience. I imagine that I'd be quicker in a Prius just because it was easier to drive.

For example:
- The steering isn't as direct as I hoped it would be. More input is required to the steering to get round bends. This makes it slower.
- The uprated clutch is stiff and I have to push the pedal all the way to the end to get it to disengage. Again, this makes it slower.
- The gear selector can be quite notchy. It's not a smooth shift. I have to be slow and gentle, I can't bang gears like I can with almost any other car. Again, slow.
- The car doesn't feel very tight. 30 year old bushes and standard shocks. Easily fixable, but I don't want to turn this into a project.

So, opinions. Would I be making the wrong decision by getting rid of it?

Edited by goldar on Thursday 29th June 01:25

I think buying a 30 year old car, especially a low mileage one and expecting it to be ready to go was maybe a little naïve. Depending on how low the mileage is, all the bushings and connections could be original, which would be conducive to all the problems you've had. If you don't want to do the work it might be worth handing it in to a specialist for a thorough refresh?

[LasseV]

goldar said:

A few months ago I bought a minty low mileage pulsar gtir. Mainly because I wanted a hooligan car again and I'd been hankering after some old school jap for a while, but partly because it's small enough to fit onto my drive.

It's almost bone stock. A set of wheels, lowering springs, strut braces, and an exhaust.
I've upped the boost to 1 bar and upgraded the fuel pump. It flies now, but I'm not sure if it's hitting the spot for me. I wanted something that I can absolutely thrash on the road, but it takes effort to do so in this car, which ruins the experience. I imagine that I'd be quicker in a Prius just because it was easier to drive.

For example:
- The steering isn't as direct as I hoped it would be. More input is required to the steering to get round bends. This makes it slower.
- The uprated clutch is stiff and I have to push the pedal all the way to the end to get it to disengage. Again, this makes it slower.
- The gear selector can be quite notchy. It's not a smooth shift. I have to be slow and gentle, I can't bang gears like I can with almost any other car. Again, slow.
- The car doesn't feel very tight. 30 year old bushes and standard shocks. Easily fixable, but I don't want to turn this into a project.

So, opinions. Would I be making the wrong decision by getting rid of it?

Edited by goldar on Thursday 29th June 01:25

What are you actually looking from a car? I don't think that old cars are necessarily easy to drive fast or thrash on the road. They are fun for sure, but easy? But yeah, you are propably right that modern Prius is faster because it really is easy to drive. Automatic transmission, lots of torque, big tires ets. Not fun, but faster to a certain point.

I have an manual i30N and i think even that needs quite a lot of effort to drive fast.

[Jester86]

Unfortunately old Jap cars are exactly that.....old.

My RX7 has been loved and is in wonderful condition. It is still 22 years old though. Over the last year or so it has been completely rebushed, steering rack refurb, Ohlins fitted and generally gone through. The difference is transformative.

If you love the car, get the work done. If you don't sell up and move on.