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Thread: ::WINNER:: September Car of the Month :: Jimvr4

  1. #1
    Monogamous Gigolo verified Feedback Score 8 (100%) 2fnloud's Avatar
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    ::WINNER:: September Car of the Month :: Jimvr4

    Congratulations to Jimvr4 & their
    1995 MITSUBISHI 3000GT Spyder VR4 (3/S/GTO Spyders!)


    Jimvr4's Garage Link

    FIRST LOVE
    I first fell in love with 3S cars in the fall of 1994. I was admiring the new 2nd gens on the lot but they were out of reach for me. A salesman suggested a test drive in a 91 TT stealth and I was duly impressed with the gadgets and the performance! A few weeks later I bought a glacier white pearl 1991 VR4 with only 17K on her. The next year I saw the Spyder on the cover of Road and Track and I told myself that if I ever hit it big I would buy one.

    SPYDER ACQUISITION
    Five years passed and the company I was working for had seen its stock jump 10X in the dot com boom and suddenly I had a windfall. My family took a summer vacation in August 1999 and I stayed back to work but stumbled on two black Spyders parked in front of Courtesy Mitsubishi in San Jose. One was an SL and the other a VR4. I took the VR4 for a top-down spin and fell in love all over again! It was pretty clean - I bought a new shift knob and some floor mats and had to figure out the CDs go in upside down but I was all set!

    I drove it stock for a couple of years while I still had the white 91 VR4 which was BPU by now. With the growing family I couldn't justify having two GT's so I pulled the upgrades out of the 91 and installed them in the Spyder and sold the 91. I still miss the 91 with the tall gearing.

    EARLY MODS
    With the 91 gone I concentrated on the Spyder, first powder coating the brakes, then upgrading the leather with the CFI kit which had no Spyder rear seat pattern at the time.

    Since around 1999 I was a member of Team3S and I knew Matt Jannusch had a setup where his DEI remote worked with a bunch of timers and relays to automate the top up/down. In 2004 I decided I had to figure out a way to make a remote top system. I managed to drain my battery a few times when my early prototypes left the car powered up but finally developed a prototype unit that would work with an aftermarket alarm system. When Bob Stirling (OhioSpyderman) agreed to try it out I refined the design and started group buys as JNS Engineering. To date I've helped about 40 Spyder owners get remote top systems.

    From the early days of Spyder ownership I had joined 3000Spyders on yahoo groups which was setup for owners to discuss retractable top issues and fixes. Folks had read the manuals and knew there were proprietary hardware and software that the dealer used to talk to the Spyder roof computer and diagnose it. Finally some group members were able to obtain the original software and discover the company that made the RS-232 / ISO-9141 adapter to plug into the car. Unfortunately the adapter was over $200 and we could not build the cable that would connect it to the car. Further the program ran on an old school DOS computer with a serial port. In 2009 I developed the Toplink interface that runs the original software in a DOS window on a modern laptop with USB ports. More than 50 Toplinks have been sold to Spyder owners at this point, savings owners from high dealer fees to "diagnose" top issues.

    MODS AND REBUILD
    Since around 2008 I've steadily added and upgraded the Spyder tastefully to what I would want in a new car. In 2012 I managed to break the motor, throwing a rocker and detonating a couple pistons. Of course this was an opportunity for rebuild and I decided to upgrade several things in the process.

    This was my first engine rebuild and it was successful with about 6K miles now on the rebuild. The car looks totally stock inside and even the engine bay only hints of the power inside. I'm pushing 450 AWHP on 101 octane and will probably convert to E85 to go even higher.

    MOD LIST

    EXTERIOR
    Full repaint
    Smoked turns and tails
    Skillard lip splitter, billet grill, and under channel
    DDM tuning 5000K HID
    30% tint
    3M Clearbra, full hood, full fenders, and bumper
    Yantech CW134076C front camera

    INTERIOR
    Leatherseats.com shale seat leathers and trim with Spyder font
    CIPA 36500 rear view mirror with compass and temp gauge
    Passport 8500 wired into header

    ELECTRONICS
    Kenwood DNX-7160 DVD Nav with HD radio, Farenheit RVC-1 backup cam, Android phone integration
    PAC SWI-JACK steering wheel button translator
    Power antenna control and OIT bypass control
    Viper 5904 remote start system with 508D proximity sensor and neutral safety sensor
    JNS Engineering Remote top controller
    Apexi Super AVC-R 3 bar MAP sensor
    AEM 30-2310 wideband sensor
    Clone ECU with adapter harness running Chrome 2.0
    ECU controlled boost
    Tactrix 2.0 logger / flash adapter

    UNDER HOOD
    Ross / Pampena forged pistons and custom rings
    Dynamic Racing DR650 turbos
    DrWeldin wastegates set to 14 psi
    Autobahn 88 silicon IC hoses
    Chrome plenum, valve cover and IC pipes
    Chrome throttle body, water housing, and water neck
    Chrome oil pan, cam gears and motor mount
    Chrome coil plate, PTC plate, cruise box cover, and dipstick tube
    3SX polyurethane motor mounts
    Greddy Type S BOV
    IPS shorty downpipe with test pipe
    Gutted rear pre-cat
    Supra fuel pump with JNS hot wire
    EVO 560 cc injectors
    Big bore hydraulic lash adjusters
    Z06 MAF and MAF-T
    K&N cone filter
    Clear cam covers
    Gates T195RB racing belt
    Pampena polished ECS caps with diamond engraving
    All hardware re-plated in clear zinc chromate
    Southbend K05075 Stage 3 OFE clutch

    SUSPENSION AND BRAKES
    Powder coated subframe
    New hubs and ball joints
    New stock ECS struts
    Tein S tech (front) and H tech (rear) springs
    Powder coated brake calipers in Cardinal RD03 red
    R1 concept rotors
    Carbotech AX6 pads
    Goodridge SS brake lines

    WHEEL AND TIRE
    Volk racing SF Challenge 18x9 with RMC finish +34mm (Disc A)
    Bridgestone Potenza RE760 255/40ZR18


  2. #2
    BAD ASS - I've got one Not Verified Feedback Score 9 (100%) j2k4's Avatar
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    Congratulations, Jim - the car is STUNNING!
    Ranked No. #1 in initial quality

    Idiots, simply by being idiots, seem capable of achieving randomly bad things that are beyond the imaginings of sensible people.

  3. #3
    Member verified Feedback Score 0 DocWalt's Avatar
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    Congrats Jim!
    R135
    ╚╬╬╝
    - 24

  4. #4
    JNS Engineering verified Feedback Score 1 (100%) Jimvr4's Avatar
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    Thanks. Maybe I'll get some time for the E85 conversion before winter.

  5. #5
    Forum User verified Feedback Score 2 (100%) J-Groove's Avatar
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    Congratulations Jim! LOVE your car!

    -John

    1999 3000GT VR-4 #216 - 19T-HL running on Chromed ECU
    2012 Regal GS - 2013 Trail Teams FJ

  6. #6
    There will be Blood! verified Feedback Score 4 (100%) CoopKill's Avatar
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    Congrats Sir!

    Help them, for they know not that which they do not know!
    CoopKill's Mistress Makeover Thread!
    "Punk, Nutswinging, Small Time, Asshat, Monkey, Jerkoff, Loser that rides on other peoples accomplishments!" . .

  7. #7
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    Great job! Sweet ride!

  8. #8
    Keeping it real... Feedback Score 0 ChargerX3's Avatar
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    Always classy Jim. Congrats!

  9. #9
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    Beauty, well deserved.

  10. #10
    Forum User Not Verified Feedback Score 2 (100%) jba3's Avatar
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    Congrats Jim!
    1995 VR4 Coupe

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