TeamSwift

fullsize pics in my <a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_personal.php?user_id=77">photo album</a>

well the project car is finally getting underway,
first step is getting the suspension sorted out before the big power upgrades from <a href="http://www.turbinetech.ca">Turbinetech</a> and <a href="http://www.teamswift.net/3tech">3-Tech Performance<a> get worked in.

first thing to go were the stock 12" steelies and 155 r12 tires.
replacing them are some cheap 13" alloys from <a href="http://www.teamswift.net/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=3252">tuffcarguy</a> and a full set of sumitomo htr 200 175/50/r13 tires from http://www.discounttire.com
old tires/wheels

new tires/wheels


the change in diameter and sidewall profile, not to mention the actual ride and acceleration is amazing.



next to be installed will be the kyb gr2's from http://www.tirerack.com

just as soon as the lowering springs from <a href="http://www.teamswift.net/profile.php?mode=viewprofile&u=2318"></a> arrive from the uk.


- update -
Just a quick thank-you to the numerous members who've helped me out along the way, some have sent freebie bits and pieces from their collections and others have given some great deals on parts even if we had to go through ebay, and many others have just come through with their knowledge or the use of their driveway
so in no particular order, cheers to; theDad, t3ragtop, tuffcarguy, gypsidigi, jardamuth, daley, suprf1y, SprintDan, DTM Gti, FireAndFuel, jaguar,vettes&sprints, ....

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

Car looks awesome.
You'll never go back to the GTi, once that thing is done
How are the Sumitomo's? Like them? I'll be neeeding rubber soon on the Mk1.
If I have time over the winter, the plan is to get it into the 13's for this season.

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Contact 3tech: [email protected]

for some odd reason, they were only inflated to about 20-24psi when they were installed, pumped them up to 40psi, and what a difference.
read through a lot of reviews seems that these tires have really good grip, but need a little higher psi to make up for the softer sidewalls.
http://www.tirerack.com/survey/SurveyCo ... ntStatus=P

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

dropped the car on the spax springs, installed the kyb gr2's, and upgraded to some later mk2 big vented brake assemblies today. only thing to add to the list of required parts, the inner wheel seals need to be swapped (best to put in new ones) between the hub assemblies.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

pictures added
car prior to all the work today
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3060"></a>

carload of new gear to install, spax sport springs and kyb gr2's
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3063"></a>

comparison of the stock front spring vs. the spax sport spring
<a href="album_pic.php-pic_id=3059.html"></a>

here's a shot of the tiny stock mk1 brake setup
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3061"></a>
and by comparison the larger mk2 convertible & late model geo vented disc brake setup
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3892"></a>
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3960"></a>

the sprint turbo, now sitting a full 2+ inches lower, and riding much smoother AND firmer then ever before. the kyb's really soak up the bumps.
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3064"></a>

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

So how does it handle?
I'll bet its like a Kart around turns. Would be fun to autocross, no?

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Contact 3tech: [email protected]

desperately in need of an alignment, i'll have to check my funds and make some phonecalls today. i can REALLY see the need for some poly bushings and bigger swaybars, but i suspect a lot of that has to do with the higher seating position, compared to the lower buckets in my former gt.
these mk1's have some amazing potential, there'll definately be a few autocross events in it's future.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

That's weird, I remember when I got my GTi the seating felt higher than my MK1 Sprint. The Sprint had stock suspension, and the GTi was lowered.

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my head is closer to the roof, and there's more space under the seat, leads me to think some bucket seats from a del sol or such would be a good swap.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

I have a feeling that seats from a Del Sol won't have much in the way of reclining. Of course if that's not important to you, you could always go for some lightweight shell seats.

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Okay, so where do you get the SPAX springs?

(BTW, your tires are too small.. )

Brendan

Drive one with the 175 50's, and you'll never go back

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Contact 3tech: [email protected]

see the spring thread
http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=1150
i actually got mine from a teamswifter over in the uk who'd listed them up on ebay. if you check any classic british car shops in your area, they may carry spax already and be able to bring in a set with their next order. it cost me nearly double the springs for shipping, and that was a legitimate cost.

btw, that tire size is genius, works great, the tires feel quite nice, and the car is really smooth even on the potmarked roads of seattle and the I-5. I still need an alignment but i'm checking out a shop called 'group 2' on monday.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

Any time that you change ride hight you are going to have to change your alignment , you can do it yourself as I have for past 6-7 years . With some rope(about 20' of thin 1/16" nylon) , two pencils ,12mm for adjusting , 17 and 19 mm wrenches for loosening tie rods and some patience . It's piece of cake and it cost you nothing and you can even straigten your steering wheel at the same time . If there is interest as I'm in need to do it on my car , I could take some pictures for how to post .
As for the seats , you can use CRX seats , that I've been using for a long time , with minimal mods. All it takes is Mk1 CRX seats and your rails and rear bolt hole redrill and you have H seats in your Mk1 .The track widht is the same . I had to swich to Mk2 Integra seats because CRX seats are getting hard to come by since they are old and Arizona sun does real number on them . They take some work to fit in and its real tight squeez , some welding on rails to be able to bolt them to the seat . Integra seats are wider then Swift seats but they are light years better then Suzuki seats and that includes all years of Swifts . That is probably my biggest gripe about these cars , seats , even Metro has better seats then Mk1and Mk2 Swifts GTi . How are you suppose to drive fast when side bolsters are so squashy that you have to spend more energy to keep yourself in the seat then to drive . .(sorry for the rant) Del Sol seats would be as much work to fit in as Inegras are (I assume) and they are still expensive so maybe aftermarket is better solution . I just called local Honda junkyard about it and they did not have any and were asking $245 for a pair .
Springs look really good , I wish you had 185/60/13 so I can compare how much they lowered your car compared to mine . I have cut springs front and back but would like a more civilized solution , like yours or coilover set up .

i think my rear is sitting a touch higher then the front, so i may cut a coil off the rear springs. they're so nicely finished it seems like a crime 'tho, i'll be giving it some time.

we found some vw scirocco seats that the wreckers that we can piece together to make one complete set, huge reinforced side bolsters and quite narrow. just waiting to see if a set of freebie integra seats materialize and checking them out in comparison. having a friend with a new welder could be a huge plus at this point

pictures of your self alignment would be great, i used to 'straighten' my old landcruiser, but i've been assuming this is a "precision" sort of job not to be attempted at home. i need to replace one of my tie rods anyways 'tho.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

Since the only adjustment you have is toe, its a piece of cake. All you really need is a tape measure, and a helper. I've used my wife, or the kids to hold the tape in the center of one of the wheels, while I measure the distance to the center of the other. You can mark them, or use one of the tire treads. Check front and back, and aim for zero toe. You can use a little toe in, like 1/16" for street driving, or up to 1/8 toe out for autocrossing, but my best results have been with a zero setting.
You'll know when its right.

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Contact 3tech: [email protected]

well i pulled some nice buckets from an acura integra rs at the wreckers today. the seat frame rails are a bit too wide and a bit too short, so the current thinking is to bolt the front of the rails to the existing brackets and on the rear, remove the brackets all together and weld some plate to the floor and bolt the tracks straight down. should give a 1.5-2" lower seating position, but the seats are still going to be shifted an extra 1/2" closer to the doors on either side. haven't had a chance to check to see if i can swap the seats left & right to move them in a little.

the big problem with the seats actually comes from the fact that the seatback is connected directly to the seat rails and not the bottom of the seats.
little details you learn along the way.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

Let me just say that the Mk2 seat in Mk1 install is *not* a piece of cake. Maybe if you had a welder, but I had to pay my machinist to do welds for me, and didn't want to run up a bill. It did occur that the Mk1 floorpan could be drilled for the Mk2 rails (everything seemed to match the layout), but again, no on-site welder.

It's good to know there are other car options for narrow seats. My complaint about the '91 seats in my '87 are that I sit higher than I'd like.

Brendan

well fortuneatly for me, there's a great teamswift member just 25 minutes south with a welder and a workshop
i'll post up pictures of how the install goes, it's a bit disapointing that these were about the narrowest buckets i found at the wreckers and they're still borderline too wide. it will certainly be nice dropping them down a bit as i find the stock seats a bit higher then i'd like. anyone local is welcome to my stock seats if they want them. good shape aside from the split in the drivers side vinyl
<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=2899"></a>
next up i'd like to find some carpet, preferably in a dark grey or black, but my funds are getting pretty much tapped out.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

hey n1tr0 , what about the carpet out of your last black swift??? its not in bad shape. i will sell it to you cheap! i have to get some money back from you somehow

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GO FAST TURN LEFT!! IF YOU HAVE TO TURN RIGHT, YOU NEED A ROUND OF WEDGE!!!

here is my sig. karma if you look

it's got the same ratty hole under the drivers feet, might be interesting to see if the carpets fit 'tho, i wonder about the doorsill plastic pieces as well ? and the rubber trim.

sent you an email with a pic & some other details, found you a set of amber 3.8w amber 194's as well.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

Are you going to do anything to the rear alingment to adjust out the off-set the panhard rod caused by using lower springs? Let me know what you plan to do. I am assuming there is a panhard rod the same as the MK1 GTi.
Thanks

one of the members here on the forum may have actually sourced out a genuine suzukisport adjustable panhard rod. I'll post all the specifics of it when we know for sure in a couple weeks.

also some updated pictures of the integra seats installed. fitting them required drilling new holes complete through the front support and cutting/drilling/grinding out the old rear outside seat supports and cutting them down before re-welding them in place. the inner rear seat supports were cut out and the floorpan was reformed (hammered) into place to allow them to be bolted straight down with some high grade bolts and wide fender washers. the seats are still in need of some serious cleaning and weren't the nicest specimens, but they fit the budget and are very firm with large bolsters.<a href="http://www.teamswift.net/album_pic.php?pic_id=3238">
</a>

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

http://www.turbinetech.ca turbo kit in progress
an equal length manifold for the mk1 turbo 3cyl ! maybe the first equal length manifold for any of the suzuki 3 cylinders.

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

That set up looks great , hope it clears radiator support crossbar . Looks like you plan to pump some major horsepower , better get those Wesico pistons , and if anyone is making block guard for Mk1 T3 . Are you getting head ported , port matched and polished ? Take some pictures . I forgot when I was doing mine , and it's already assembled . I think it is absolutely necessary , Mk1T3 head does not flow well over 5K rpm and with that ExhMan and Turbo you going to be above that all the time . Mild port and polish I did on my first head did wonders for it and I can't wait to see how "stage3" port and polish will work (few more days)