Oti's new '89 Alto Works (Pics and review)

Suzuki hatchback tech questions and answers.
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oti
Posts: 303
Joined: Sat Mar 26, 2005 11:36 pm

Just got the last alto 4WD from yahoo motorsports, needs new wheels and a general exterior tidy-up, other than that it's perfect. Blows no smoke and interior is from the 1990+ model 'i.e' alto works, new roof lining needed as there are a few cuts in the current one, it's also a crappy foam backed cloth roof lining, will get a velour one done cheap to match the seats and dash.
Need to get rid of the stickers as they're badly faded and not indicative of the model, it's an S/R (single cam version of the RS/R)(any ideas?) there are 3 on paint and one on the plastic front bar. Drives absolutely amazingly although i havent given it a good hooning as i need to do the compliancing work. Trying to find a way to get it registered as a 4 seater but there's a good chance it will be too difficult to get the seat belts going (child restraints are not an issue, got the bolts etc. for that).

It is surprisingly large for it's weight and interior room is fantastic. As a 6'1" guy (185cm or so) with long legs i thought it might be a bit cramped. Boy was i wrong, with the seat back there is ample room for my legs, head clearance is also much better than other sports cars i've driven.

Sitting in the back seat is something i wouldnt want to do whilst the car was moving, but it would be ok for cramming friends into. Alternatively the space the back seat occupies will be perfect for a sub box (not that i'ma huge 'big audio' fan)

The engine is a single cam F5B with a redline showing on the tacho as 7,500. The wastegate has siezed open so whilst the turbo spools up there is no boost. Will be remedied this weekend. In this non-turbo form (how many HP/kW does the non-turbo F5b have?) i've had it up to 105kph on a slight downhill on the eastern freeway (melbourne). The chime at 90kph+ (realistically 88kph+, perhaps this came from back to the future!) is not noticably annoying with the radio on but it's something i'd definately want to get rid of as it can drive a sane person crazy for long trips.

The gearbox feels nice and the gearchanges are smooth, i'd like a shorter throw on it though, perhaps 40% shorter. Pedal positions are great, good for heel-toe but my technique is sloppy, havent driven a manual car since i got my licence 3 years ago (not by choice, mind you).

I give the car bonus points for its comedy relief stickers, on the top rear spoiler there is a sticker which reads "back door spoiler with high stop lamp" in big black lettering, visible from the top. Also the "power steering" sticker on the rear windscreen on a car that clearly doesnt have power steering.

Here are some pictures.

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Plans for the future are to get it registered here in vic, timeframe 4 weeks. 13" or 14" Wheels from KA/KB laser or first gen magna, and tyres to give same/similar rolling diameter. Tyres will probably be Yokohama A539, they come in 185/50 R14 are only 3.6% off the stock tyres circumference.

Here's a cheap photoshop of the alto with "atom" magna wheels and lowered.

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eDave
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Nice ride mate! :)

I rekon you'll be surprised when you get that wastegate fixed. :twisted:
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Brayden
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Good to hear you're happy with your buy, I must admit I had heard a few things said about Yahoo having only rusted out bombs that you wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but by your description the one you've scored sounds pretty good barring the turbo problem.

Be sure to keep us posted on how you progress mate! The performance you're getting at the moment would probably be in line with the 19kw from a stock F5A single cam. :oops: But as Dave said, you'll be very surprised when you get the wastegate fixed up. :D
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
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oti
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I definately wouldnt call it a rust free car, there is a fair amount of pinhole size rust spots which i'm in the process of cleaning up, a 1 or 2 5c size flecks of paint missing on the rear pillar, and the drivers door edge has a few rust spots. I must admit i was somewhat disappointed when i first saw it but it has cleaned up well, infact i'm glad it wasnt 'fixed up' like some caryards do, so now i know ALL the flaws and theres no ticking rust timebomb ready to go off.

Oh and the roof lining was coming loose and had some rips, will replace with some new foam backed velour, will look much nicer than original and will only cost a few dollars.

If i had have paid the $4000 he was asking originally i wouldnt be happy but i got it for much cheaper, so i'm happy. I guess it just depends how picky you are, last resort as far as the bodywork goes is to rub it back and spray it again, as it's just a flat white it won't really be a huge cost.

Overall it's been a good experience so far, we'll see how things go when it comes to compliancing and getting roadworthy cert.
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oti
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Bad news, dodgy japs. I don't blame Yahoo Motorsports for it but yeah, read on.

Took apart the turbo today, about 3 hours to take off including shearing two bolts. At first glance it looks a bit strange, there are no noticable impeller wheels, i figure this might just be an oddball turbo and take off the other side. Nope, no impeller wheels on this side either. Best guess is that one of the wheels sheared off the driveshaft due to overboost. It doesnt look like they've exploded as the rest of the housing looks sound. So instead of replacing as a new turbo they've just put it back together minus wheels.

So i'm looking for a quick fix solution of an RHB31 *working* turbo, i'll post in the FS/Wanted section too. Pics of the rip-apart will come soon. For such a compact engine bay it's pretty easy to work on. Still cant find that bloody engine number!! From all accounts it's on the back of the engine between the EFI unit and oil sump. Alternatively i'm considering putting a twin-cam head on it and an RHB4, they're pretty big and kick in at about 4000RPM, and with the single cam engine revving out early at around 7,500 to 8000 RPM, thats not a huge powerband. Ideally i'd like to just put a K6A in it but getting it complianced/engineered like that first off might be a bit difficult. Not to mention lack of funds at the moment.
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eDave
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Ahh, damn! That's pretty dodgy!

Well, best of luck finding a replacement!
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Brayden
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Mate look around for a Garrett GT12 - they're a direct performance (ball bearing) replacement for the IHI RHB31. One of those would get your machine hauling. :twisted:
F8B EFI turbo - Three pots and a snail.
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oti
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what are the adaptor flanges like? 3 bolt same as the IHI's? I'd like to keep things simple until i get the F/K6A in.
Last edited by oti on Mon Apr 04, 2005 11:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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eDave
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oti
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Ok, got all the pics together. Enjoy!

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Last edited by oti on Wed Apr 06, 2005 2:15 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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eDave
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Cool man. :)
johnyc
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Location: warners bay

sounds to me like you are goin through the same process i have, I bought a twin cam alto works from yahoo, in pretty good nick and was going to comply and rego it straight up, how ever I had a k6A half cut in my garage, so I could not resist doing the conversion. My alto also had a few specs of surface rust in amongst the paint so I decided to paint it black with gold metalic.
My car is only 2 weeks away from rego and looking forward to it. The car now has a 2.5 inch exhaust and dump pipe. With a bigger intercooler, air filter, hks blow off valve, boost controller(all donated from my brothers 180sx) and bigger pipe work all to be added after rego.
And boy does it rev!
JC
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eDave
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Nice one Johny!
Where did you get the K6A 'cut from? :twisted:
johnyc
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I got the k6a from Ichibarn in sydney. only 40k on clock.
JC
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eDave
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Cheers mate. :)
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