newbie 2 the all trac

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Anonymous

Guest
i may just be getting into my possesion next month an all trac. this will actually be the first time i would have ever to lay my hands on one. i would greatly appreiciate feed back on what to expect. thanks! :D
 

Gary

Moderator
Welcome!
You can expect love and hate relationship.
Kinda more love than hate for me.
And if you like working on your car, you will not complain.
It's also good to have tiny arms and hands too.
Are you getting ST185 or ST165, which year?
What car are you driving now?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
im currenty looking at a 92, from which i figure is an st185. i currently own an 03 tiburon gt 6spd, but it is in limbo. engine currently exploded and hyundai doesnt want to warranty. im still fighting it, but car is going to get junked. i love it to death(literally), however im going back to school. i need something with a bit better fuel economy that still holds a fun factor. other options for cars are a 99 trans am 6spd, 89 mustang gt(modified), 92 supra turbo. all from which are nice, but dont save on gas. my arms aren't too small, but im used to working in tight spaces. i've owned several toyotas, from which ive learned to fix very quickly.
my list of toyotas ive owned
86 toyota corrola
85 celica supra (1 auto, 1 standard)
95 camry
96 tercel
all were nice, tercel is questionable, but fun.

what i need to know is, can this car be run hard and survive? im 23 and have owned 9 cars. i keep up maintenance, just run hard.
 

Gary

Moderator
I know many people who often push this car to the limit and they are doing fine. But like any other cars, problems start when you begin to modify it. Remember, power + reliability = money. It's a trade off. You just need to balance them.
And talking about tight space, let's look at some pic here. :wink:

dscn07807ya.jpg
 

BraveUlysses

New member
If you're looking at an alltrac for better fuel economy than some of those other cars, I would suggest you keep looking. These are cool cars, but by now means fuel efficient unless you NEVER boost and granny it everywhere. Sounds like you drive pretty hard, and you'll probably get less than 20mpg around town.
 

RIalltrac

Active member
If you're looking at an alltrac for better fuel economy than some of those other cars, I would suggest you keep looking. These are cool cars, but by now means fuel efficient unless you NEVER boost and granny it everywhere. Sounds like you drive pretty hard, and you'll probably get less than 20mpg around town.

ya what he said, and since youd have to run either 91-93 octane (most commonly available octanes) it really doesnt get cheap. you cant just pump that 89 crap into these cars, youll spend more time in safe modes than you will boosting.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
my tib only saw premium during its life with me. i purchased it with 7k miles and it now has 40k miles on it. it hurt when prices went up, but highest i ever paid was 2.15 a gallon. i do lots of highway driving from which the tib in 6th gear at 70 mph was screaming at 3k rpm. the ratios are very short to keep it in its powerband which consumes gas. according to my calculations, i was getting 20.66 mpg with all the highway driving i do. one thing that has been brought up as a concern from a friend of mine is rust. he was telling me since the car is far north, they put salt on the roads which leads up to the undercarriage rusting. is this something i have to ask the owner about?
 

Stubble

Active member
...and if you're concerned about rust, have a look yourself before you pick it up. See if you can jack the car up so you can look at the floor pan. Pull the tires off so you can stick your head right in and look at the fender and quarter panel lips. Lastly, they like to rust on/under the rocker panels.
 
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