Rides – importnut.net

importnut’s 2021 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Widebody

importnut — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 16:46:00 +0000

You may be thinking, a Dodge Challenger is not an import. I would say it’s a German platform with an engine and transmission built in Mexico and assembled in Canada. That aside, here is my F8 Green 2021 Dodge Challenger Scat Pack Widebody with manual transmission.

I’ve been craving a RWD V8 powered toy and over the past few years, I started to lean towards the Dodge boys.

Why a Dodge? Going back to my childhood, I grew up a Mopar guy. This predates my love of imports and as much as I still love my imports, I felt the need to return to my roots.

I test drove the Challenger in 2020 as well as a Mustang GT. The Mustang is a great car and I love the high revving Coyote engine. However, I didn’t love it like I loved the Challenger. I wasn’t looking for a corner carver, just something to really enjoy.

Thinking of my childhood, Loving Mopars and building models of them, The challenger has that 60’s/70’s vibe that the Mustang and Camaro do not have. Between the styling and the color options, I just had to go with the Challenger. Even the exhaust has that old muscle car tone.

For the sake of hauling my family, I did strongly consider the Charger. I love it as much as the Challenger, but no manual transmission. A few years back, I had a Charger R/T as a rental car. I loved the 8 speed ZF transmission. If I felt that the Charger was the better option, I knew I would still enjoy the automatic.

In the end, I just had to hear the the rise and fall of the 6.4 L Hemi sound through the manual transmission. Challenger it is! We have other family haulers in our fleet!

Specs:

392 and a 6 Speed Manual
Widebody
- 6 Piston Brembo upgrade
- Adaptive Damping Suspension
- 20×11 inch wheels
- 305 35 20 Pirelli tires
Driver Convenience Package
Carbon/Suede interior
Plus Package
Harmon Kardon Audio

I did mention that I wasn’t looking for a corner carver. I still had to give it a try!

The Scat Pack, and especially the widebody, makes it the sportiest version of the Challenger. I understand it has the stiffest front springs of any Challenger. How did it hold up at an autocross? Better than you would expect, but it’s definitely not a Miata.

For as large as the car is, it was still easy enough to maneuver through slaloms and tighter sections. The upgraded Pirellis are not up to the task. I had swapped the Brembo pads for less grabby Hawk Street HP 5.0’s and they weren’t up to the task. Beyond that, I think a proper set of tires and a more track suitable pad would make this an absolute blast at an autocross.

As I’ve already mentioned, I wanted a fun car to experience. The Challenger does that well. For autocrossing, I still have my Civic.

Overall, I’m really happy with the Challenger. It checks a lot of the right boxes. There are more refined and civilized cars out there but I just wasn’t interested!

Murphy’s ’92 B16a Turbo Civic

importnut — Fri, 23 Oct 2015 22:00:23 +0000

Long ago, on a Honda email list serve, I met Greg. He was a fellow Honda enthusiast. The first time we ever met in person (in the late ’90’s), after more than a year exchanging emails, was at an autocross in Indianapolis. Back then, he had a Civic coupe and later bought this CX hatchback. The original incarnation of his Civic was the red and white striped one in the pictures below. The first engine swapped into the car was a JDM SiR II B16a. Greg and I enjoyed autocrossing our Civics as well as a healthy amount of bench racing in the off season! As time went on, as with most, Greg wanted more. He had his Civic repainted and built a JDM B18C (GSR) with cams, rods, pistons, and more. Sadly, that engine met its untimely demise due to valve float at high rpms which resulted in many broken parts. Not yet deterred by engine troubles, Greg pulled his B16a out of storage and fitted it with a turbo. Details below.

Engine Modifications

JDM B16a
GT28RSR Turbo
Thermal Exhaust
Home made Poly Urethane torque mounts
330cc RC Engineering Injectors
AEBS Intake Manifold
Silver STR cam seal
Hondata S300 ECU
Vortec Fuel Rail
Vortec Fuel Pressure Regulator
Moroso Spiral Core Resonator
Walbro Fuel Pump
65mm JG Edelbrock Throttle Body

Transmission Modifications

B&M Edge Shifter
Quaife LSD
Exedy Stage I Clutch
Exedy Lightweight Flywheel

Suspension Modifications

KYB AGX shocks
Eibach Sportline Springs
front upper tie bar
16″ Rota Circuit 8 wheels
Complete Energy Suspension Bushing Set
Integra GSR Steering rack converted to Power Steering

Brake Modifications

15/16″ Master Cylinder and Booster
Fastbrakes 11″ front rotor upgrade
EBC Red Stuff pads
Goodridge SS brake lines

Other Modifications

S2000 Aluminum Shift knob
Sparco Steering Wheel
One Piece Headlights
Carbon Fiber Hood
Carbon Fiber Duck-bill Spoiler
S2000 start button
Body work and paint (A Volvo color)

Luke’s 300ZX TT

importnut — Wed, 13 May 2015 22:00:14 +0000

Luke is a salesman at the Tire Rack. Long ago, while ordering tires, I met Luke. We’ve been friends ever since! In the early ’00’s, He built this well thought out and clean 300ZX. Tire Rack is a benefactor of Gingerman Raceway and through that relationship, Tire Rack employees have access to open track time at no cost. Needless to say, this Z spent quite a bit of time tearing up the road course.

Engine Modifications

JWT Pop Charger
HKS Hyper Exhaust
JWT ECU Upgrade
SS Test Pipe
GD Down-pipes
Boost Jets (14.5 psi)

Drivetrane Modifications

RPS high performance clutch

Suspension Modifications

Greg Dubree Sub-frame spacers
Eibach Prokit Springs
KYB AGX Adjustable shocks
Carbing 1-piece strut tower bars front and rear
Stillen Adjustable Sway Bars F&R

Wheel & Tire Setup

Kazera KZ-A Wheels
18×8.5 Front
18×9.5 Rear
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Tires
265/35-18 Front
285/30-18 Rear

Brake Modifications

StopTech 332mm front brake upgrade
SS Brake Lines
Motul 600 Brake Fluid
Hawk HPS Brake Pads
Hawk Blue Pads for track use

Other modifications

1999 Nissan J-spec front fascia
J-Spec tail lights
Kaminari Rear Wing
AutoVation pedal covers
VDO Boost gauge
Optima Yellow Top Battery
PIAA extreme white low beam light bulbs
PIAA Silicone Wiper blades
Shaved door handles
Shaved rear wiper
Shaved power antenna
Smoothed rock guard
3M window tint (20%)
3M Clear Bra (front and bottom)
Inferno Red Paint
IOPort Racing Roll Bar
Blaupunkt Heidelberg
PPI 450 Amplifier
Polk Audio Component DB6500 front speakers
Polk Audio DB650 coaxial rear speakers

Greg’s 2004 Subaru WRX Wagon

importnut — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 22:00:28 +0000

Greg is a very good friend of mine from grade school that delved into sport compact cars with a B14 Sentra several years ago. Once he outgrew the Sentra, he picked up this WRX. While he owned his WRX, he ran it at Laguna Seca, Willow springs, and Buttonwillow. If we could all be so lucky!

Modifications

Rota SDR wheels
Brembo front calipers, Powerslot rotors and Hawk HP plus pads
Bosal shorty down-pipe
SPT cat back exhaust
UTEC piggyback engine management
STi pink suspension springs
Kartboy rear swaybar endlinks
21mm stock swaybar
STi intercooler w/IC sprayer
STi splitter, and scoop, front brake ducts, hood dampers
innovate technologies wideband o2 sensor
Greddy boost gauge
gutted up-pipe to the turbo
K&N drop in panel filter
Whiteline steering rack bushings
Kartboy short shifter and bushings
titanium shift knob
STi titanium front strut bar
Goodridge stainless steel brake lines

importnut’s 1991 Mazda Miata

importnut — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 22:00:56 +0000

No true gear head can go through life without owning at least one Miata! That opinion may be controversial but I’m sticking with it! This particular Miata had been part of my family from 1996 through 2007. My dad picked this up used with about 56,000 miles and daily drove it until about 200,000. My brother needed a back-up car to his turbo Integra so he took over ownership for a few years. Later on, when my brother finished school, I inherited the Miata. The timing worked out in my favor. Around the time of my acquisition, the hot-rod engine in the hatchback was down and I was done with my Evo.

With the Evo sold, and the Civic waiting for a new engine, I drove this road weary Miata for a solid year through rain, sleet and snow! While I had it, I went through the suspension and replace ball joints, and a few wheel bearings. I also installed a fresh set of rotors and pads, a timing belt and water pump. To spruce up the interior, I picked up a new radio/hvac bezel, shift boot and new shifter seals (weather and transmission).

Driving the Miata in the winter wasn’t fun from a temperature perspective. The snow tires made it safe and fun to drive. These cars don’t really prove their worth until the weather warms up and the sun comes out. With the top down, I could drive this thing forever!

Alas, it was a 16 year old car with 208,000 miles back in 2007 when I needed to get a new car. The hatchback suffered its second engine failure, this time due to faulty workmanship from the shop that did the work and the Miata wasn’t going to handle the commute to the new job that I started. I bought a new ’07 Si and sold the Miata.

After a decade of family ownership, it was time to say farewell to the Blue Bomber, as I liked to call it.

Modifications:

’94-’97 brake upgrade
No name vintage race car gauges faces
15″ Bronze Rota Sub Zero wheels

Lee’s ’99 Turbo Civic Si

importnut — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 22:00:20 +0000

Long ago, this was Lee’s first car. The EM Civic Si was the first Si in the US to come with the DOHC B16a engine*. The high revving 1.6L coupled to a very close ratio transmission made this a fun car to drive right off the showroom floor. Alas, there is always room for improvement! Not satisfied with a stock Civic, Lee added a Greddy turbo kit and a few modest suspension upgrades.

Modifications:

Engine Modifications:
- Greddy Evolution Exhaust
- Greddy Turbo Kit
- TD05/18G turbo (internal wastegate)
- RC engineering 310cc injectors
- Greddy Fuel Control Unit
- Greddy stage I intercooler kit
- Apexi AVC-R Boost controller
- Greddy Turbo Timer
- Greddy Type S Blow-off Valve
- NGK bkr7e11 Plugs
Drivetrane Modifications:
- B&M Edge Short Shifter
- B&M Shift Stabilizer
- ACT Xtreme Pressure Plate
- ACT Organic Street Disk
- Sohfast Lightened Flywheel
Suspension Modifications:
- Eibach Sportline springs
- Ingalls Camber Correction Kit
- KYB AGX Shocks
- 205 50 ZR15 Dunlop SP Sport 8000
Nonperformance modifications:
- DC Sports Shift knob
- Autometer Boost Gauge
- Autometer A/F meter

*I realize the Del Sol VTEC was the first “Civic” with the B16a but it wasn’t the first Si!

A quick video of some back road blasting:

importnut’s ’03 Mitsubishi Evo VIII

importnut — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:00:57 +0000

I decided to leave my original thoughts on this page because I think they were very sound, but I wanted to add my history with this car and reason for wanting to part ways with it.

I will have to say that most publications were right to claim this is an awesome car. It has a huge amount of potential and is truly a car made for the track. My favorite part about the car was the lighting fast steering!

All that aside, I just didn’t like it. The power is nice, but I don’t like lag. Say all you want, good NA power will always be my thing. On to other things. The interior is bland and seems too big for the car. I don’t know how else to describe it. Other than the seats and the instrument cluster, it screams econo-box. Even my 10 year older civic felt fresher inside than this car. Aerodynamically, this car is horrible. Don’t argue with me, it’s bad. Wind beats it badly, and it makes a lot of noise “at speed”. Open the windows and it only gets worse.

Arguably, my Evo may not have been representative of a typical well cared for example. When I bought it, it had roughly 56,000 miles which was a bit high for a three year old car. Other than the intercooler, the car was stock. Once I brought the car home, I quickly found that there were issues. The car made knocking noises (like a bad CV joint, not detonation) and there appeared to be parts missing under the hood and under the car. I also found a mechanical bleeder style boost controller buried under the hood. When I tried to enable the factor control, I learned quickly that it no longer worked.

After a few months, the transmission started grinding in 5th gear and shortly after 4th gear. Technically, the car was still under its powertrain warranty. When I went to the dealer, the warranty rep told me that the car had been black-flagged due to a previous warranty claim. My Evo had come in with a blown transmission as well as every bolt on, exhaust, multi-puck clutch, intake, and piggy back controls. Mitsubishi repaired the car but voided the warranty. Great. The hits kept coming. The car had been repaired and returned mostly to stock and sold as stock.

I wasn’t going to pay the dealer to have the transmission rebuilt, so I set off to do the work on my own. Even though I bought the Mitsubishi multi-volume factory service manual, I found the work to be rather challenging. While dismantling the car, I discovered quite a few missing bolts, cross threaded bolts, and so on. The knocking noises I was hearing had to do with the fact that there were several bolts missing from the rear engine mount and those were loose!

Sparing the story of my struggles with all of the new territory I was experiencing with this car, I took the transmission to my favorite local shop and had it rebuilt. I knew it needed 4th and 5th gear synchros and when they called to tell me that it needed 3rd gear as well, I nearly cried. Synchros for Hondas are very expensive and considering the high cost for evo parts, I was expecting to be bled dry. I braced for impact on the cost and found out that the synchros were about $26 a piece. For less than $300, I had a PROPERLY rebuilt transmission.

The sad part of this entire episode had to do with the fact that the last person to touch this car was a Mitsubishi dealership. All the mistakes I found were done by someone that was supposed to be a qualified Evo tech.

A transmission problem and some confusion on my part led to me pulling the engine.

Once I finished with the work, I test drove the car to verify that everything was working properly, I sold it as fast as I could. The car was 100% better than when I bought it and I felt comfortable knowing that I made it right before passing it off to it’s knew owner.

My original thoughts:

I know there are a lot of people who have followed my stories, projects, and plans over the past few years. Honestly, I thought I would have my 240SX forever. I realized that my goals for my 240SX were not necessarily unreasonable, but impractical. Building a 400hp KA-T sounded really great on paper. Even doing an SR20 swap sounds good, but there are complications with every project, that always lead to more money invested than originally intended. It all came down to looking at what I wanted to do, and deciding if it was best for me. In the end, I chose to sell the 240SX.

With that out of the way, I introduce my Evo. As many know, the Evo comes from the factory with plenty of goodies to satisfy even the most devout enthusiast. Factory turbo, factory Brembo brakes, factory Recaro Seats and a Momo steering wheel. AWD, a wider and stronger body, and a wing that actually does something. This is the car that I had intended my 240SX to be…but it’s all factory. In it’s current almost completely stock state, I’m very satisfied with the performance. There are a few things I’d like to do, but as it is, I’m very happy with this car. It gives me a factory performer that I can rely on for fun daily driving, as well as potential if I want more.

Modifications:

Cone filter
XS boost controller
XS intercooler

My plans for the car were minimal and this is what I was thinking:

B&M Short shifter
Complete turbo back exhaust from AMS
AMS ECU programming
JDM EVO MR tail lights
Remove Wing

Tire Rack Luke’s 2001 Porsche 911 C2

importnut — Tue, 24 Feb 2015 23:30:58 +0000

2001 Porsche 911 C2

Here is Luke’s 2001 Porsche 911 C2. After enjoying his Nissan 300ZX TT for a number of years, he decided to go with the more refined and sophisticated Porsche 911.

He enjoyed his 911 in stock form, happy to burn it’s tires off at Gingerman Raceway or at the Tire Rack Test Track!

Lee’s 2014 1LE Camaro SS

importnut — Wed, 18 Feb 2015 23:47:10 +0000

Over the years, Lee has had quite the variety of cars. Starting out with a turbo’ed ’99 Civic Si, a ’98 Nissan 240SX, and later a ’04 Subaru WRX. One thing that comes into play when considering a fast and fun car, as you get older and start a family, is something that is fast but reliable. What we really need is a car that makes a substantial amount of horsepower but with a factory warranty. Why not a Camaro? You may say, “But importnut, isn’t a Camaro a straight line boulevard bruiser?” For the standard issue SS, I would agree. However, the 1LE optioned SS is not a standard issue SS!

Why is the 1LE important? Here’s what GM has to say about it:

The Camaro 1LE package was introduced in 1988, inspired by Camaro’s involvement in Pro-Am road racing.

For 2013, the 1LE package is offered only on 1SS and 2SS coupe models, featuring a 6.2L LS3 V-8 rated at 426 horsepower and 420 lb-ft of torque. In addition, 1LE is only available with a six-speed manual transmission.

While the Camaro SS features a Tremec TR6060-M10 for all-around performance, the Camaro 1LE features an exclusive Tremec TR6060-MM6. Paired with a numerically higher 3.91 final-drive ratio, the close-ratio gearing of the transmission is tuned for road-racing performance. As with the ZL1, the 1LE transmission features a standard air-to-liquid cooling system for track use.

The 1LE also features exclusive, monotube rear dampers instead of the twin-tube dampers on SS models. The new hardware allowed engineers to tune the 1LE suspension to focus on optimal body-motion control while preserving much of the ride quality and wheel-motion control of the Camaro SS.

Other changes to optimize the 1LE for track-day use include:

Larger, 27-mm solid front stabilizer bar, and 28-mm solid rear stabilizer bar for improved body control

Higher-capacity rear-axle half shafts to cope with increased levels of traction

Strut tower brace for improved steering feel and response

ZL1-based 20 x 10-inch front and 20 x 11-inch aluminum wheels
285/35ZR20 Goodyear Eagle Supercar G:2 tires front and rear (identical to the front tires for ZL1)

ZL1 wheel bearings, toe links and rear shock mounts for improved on-track performance

ZL1 high-capacity fuel pump and additional fuel pickups for improved fuel delivery during high-cornering

Other changes for the 1LE:

Electric Power steering – Variable ratio and effort

Flat bottom suede microfiber steering wheel

Matte-Black hood

Front and rear splitter

Factory ZL1 short throw shifter

Dual-mode exhaust system

With all that being said, Lee also added the factory Recaro seats and optional dual mode exhaust.

As any car guy would agree, no matter how great a car may be, there’s always room for improvement! With the intention of attending more track day events, he wanted to improve the braking performance and made a few modifications. Check out the list below for his current modifications and plans for the future.

Current Modifications

Skip Shift Eliminator
Mild to Wild Switch for Duel Mode Exhaust
Speedware Harness Bar and Tank Plates
Sparco 6 Point Harness
CTS-V Front Calipers powder coated to match the original 1LE caliper paint scheme
2 piece CTS-V factory Rotors
Stock CTS-V Ferodo HP1000 Front Brake Pads
Goodridge Brake Lines
Motul RB600 Dot 4 Brake Fluid
SRP Aluminium Pedals

Future Upgrades:

New tires, not sure what I’ll be running yet
Stand alone engine oil cooler
Z28 factory rear diff cooler
MORE POWER! in a few years

Check out the pictures below along with a video of Lee tearing it up at Gingerman Raceway!

Importnut’s ’94 Civic Si Hatch

importnut — Thu, 28 Aug 2014 23:00:35 +0000

Here is my ’94 Civic Hatchback. I’ve owned this car since October of 2002. I bought it shortly after I totaled my ’95 Civic Coupe. I’ve managed to keep a few bits and pieces of that first Civic which I bought new in 1995. My civic went from daily driver to a dedicated project car/autocrosser in 2007 after a catastrophic engine failure.

As the years go by, I make an attempt to strategically plan the work I do to try and make cost effective improvements as they relate to autocrossing. As I learn more about suspension tuning, and tire tech, I feel as if I can hone in on the best modifications for the money spent.

Building my Civic into a Street Modified FWD nationals level contender would be a blast. However, I only run at the local level and having a 300+ hp civic running 275 35 15 Hoosiers up front is overkill. I’ve been successful running my mild setup on street tires and I’m satisfied with the incremental improvements I’ve made over the years.

Check out my Project Civic Series

Power modifications

OBDI JDM B18C (GSR) from HMotors Online
Skunk2 Alpha Series Header
Skunk2 Alpha Series 66m Throttle Body
Skunk2 Pro Series Intake manifold
Greddy Supreme SP Exhaust
OEM RDX injectors with Xenocron Tuning adaptors
Hondata S300v ECU Upgrade
HAmotorsports reconditioned P28 ECU
Magnaflow Catalytic Converter
Skunk2 Radiator
3″ aluminum air intake, made with Vibrant tubing
Skunk2 Universal High Velocity Intake Kit – 3″ Coupler
Fluidamper crank pulley
Hard Racing hard rubber torque mounts
Moroso extra capacity oil pan
PLM Racing Slim Transmission mount
Deatschwerks DW200 255 lph fuel pump
HPS radiator hoses
B&R Breather kit
Hondata thermal intake manifold gasket
Blox intake manifold stud kit
Silver aluminum Cam Seal
AEM UGEO Wideband O2 sensor and gauge
AEM X-series oil pressure gauge
AEM X-series temp gauge for oil
AEM X-series temp gauge for water

Transmission Modifications

Energy Suspension’s shifter bushings
OEM ITR shifter
Sohfast 11lb. Flywheel
Quaife ATB Limit Slip Differential
Exedy Stage I clutch and pressure plate
Driveshaft Shop Axles
B16a3 1st-4th gear, LS 5th gear

Suspension Modifications

KYB AGX shocks
Whiteline Front control arm bushings
For Racing
- 949 Racing 6UL 15×9 wheels
- 225 45 15 Falken Azenis RT660 Tires
For Street
- 949 Racing 6UL 15×8 wheels
- 225 45 15 Hankook Ventus RS4 Tires
3G Integra Power Steering rack and hardware
Hardrace Steering Rack Bushings
Eibach Sway-bar Kit (25mm front 17mm rear)
ASR Rear Sub frame brace
Skunk 2 Front adjustable upper control arms (pro series)
Hardrace rubber rear upper control arms
Hardrace rubber rear compensator arms
Hardrace rubber rear lower control arm bushings
Hardrace rubber rear trailing arm bushings
Ground Control Coilover Conversion 450lb R 600lb F
Password 3 Point Front Strut Tower Bar
Password 2 point Rear Strut Tower Bar

Brake Modifications

Complete conversion to S2000 ABS
ITR front Calipers
Cooper Mini 280mm rotors
Hawk, DTC60 Pads F&R
Goodridge SS brake lines F&R
Integra 1″ Master Cylinder
Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid