hello to everyone!
 

just saying hi, been reading these forums for a while but never bothered to sign up until now. kamesama and dkjones will recognize me from the cressida forums:)

one thing i noticed about this site - you guys want proof. everything is thought about critically and a very scientific approach with a no B.S. attitude. this is the only site where i really notice that, its very refreshing to see something other than 'joe blow added x device into his car and gets better mileage'. as someone who works in the engineering field this is great.

i started with my toyota cressida almost 2 years ago and i've been learning about cars ever since. so far i've done mostly repairs. rebuilt differential, fluid changes, testing where needed, new rad stuff like that. i also removed my a/c since it was completely empty and i didnt really want to bother finding a leak and spending money on refrigerant.

so in the future i'll be swapping in a 5spd (probably with a fidanza lightweight flywheel), possibly an aluminum 1 piece driveshaft, removing the clutch fan for an e-fan, and i also hope to build some sort of automatic rad blocking device - kind of like window blinds maybe. and i intend to track all of this. i wont be doing anything until after the winter so there will be at least 6 months worth of gas logs to compare against!

oh and one other experiment that i *might* try if i can get the parts cheap. i might add a very small turbocharger but keep the boost very very low. probably around 3-5 psi. my theory is simply to eliminate the energy cost of the engine sucking air in. the turbo will almost always be spooled up since i plan to run a 4cyl size turbo on a 6cyl engine. at such low boost levels i hope that the stock electronics can cope with this but that's why its an experiment;) don't hold your breath for that, it will be quite a ways off even if i get around to doing it. if i do it will be fully documented of course.

so a friendly hello to everyone!