Newbie Questions??????

Going to look at a '99 Ironman tomorrow. THE WIFE wants something new to drive and guess what she picks, so surf and ye shall find. She's dreaming already about more tune sounds; Q#1: are there RCA pre-out jacks for an amp on the factory head unit? Q#2: whats the width on the 16" rims and recommended max tire width and aspect keeping the stock O/A diameter? Q#3: is the VX parts specific for usual maintenance items, or corporate GM?
Any want to buy a great little '88 Fiero T/Top? www.fierobabe.com

Great forum BTW

Mark

q1. no theres no pre-outs for the stock radio. chances are the cd changer will crap out on u so ull need a new deck.

q2. i believe im running stock 16" rims wiht yoko 265/75s. 9.5" for the rims i believe

q3. the engine for the vx is the same as a trooper 3.5. unsual maintenance items should be a problem to get.

Rims are 7" wide. Recommended to stay below 31" overall diameter for tires. Many members are running 285 width tires on the stock rims. Kinda balloonish IMO (I have these as well).

Routine maintenance items are fairly easy to come by online and through a good dealer. Talk to Merlin for good deals on VX particular items.

The shocks are poop, they are most likely blown out already. Get some Bilsteins or at least some Ranch 9000s.

There are many knowledgeable VX owners in FL, you should have no trouble finding someone to give you a hand.

I used to have an 86 Fiero GT -great fun car, except for the time that the headlight cover ejected into my windshield at 100+ mph.

If she's driving a Fiero - she's used to a ride that is not Cadillac quality. The VX is firm - those who like sports cars like the ride. You feel every twig or line in the road - I like that, Cadillac drivers do not. My assumption is that being a Fiero driver - she will.

General maintenance parts are pretty much off-the-shelf for other Isuzu/Honda products, and since there were so many made, the maintenance parts are easy to come by. At some point, the VX specific parts (body, etc) are going to get tough to find; but suprisingly enough, they have not becaome that way yet. There are usually a few in the scrap yards that can yield the parts you need as well.

Tires - I'm running 285/55/18 Pirelli Scorpions right now - that is wider than is suggested for our rims, and I did have some problems with proper seating of the tires, but a qualified, up to date tire shop should be able to fix you up. Looks like you are considering a 2001, and the 285/55's are very close to stock diameter - eliminating all the issues with speedo correction, etc. Oooops - just noticed it's a '99 - don't know about tire sizes for those - but if it were mine, I'd go with larger diameter wheels with lower aspect tires - I just think the VX looks better with "more wheel". Good luck - and welcome to the family!!

Here's specific info on Tires & Wheels

Not all shocks are shot.. Mine are fine 32k miles..there are some that don't care for the ride of the VX but, like Raque said, if you like a sports car ride, you'll like the VX's.

Thanks for the feedback.
So.. are the stock shocks really that bad? I'm used to putting 300,000 on a set of struts on my mercedes, 3rd set on now... Are the factory VX shocks rebuildable if they're that hi-tech? Haven't found a thread yet on that subject. Test drive T- 1 1/2 hours...

[QUOTE=mndwgz]
I'm used to putting 300,000 on a set of struts on my mercedes, 3rd set on now QUOTE]

Wow - you've got 600,000 miles on that baby???

Factories are rebuildable - there was a thread here before on that subject, someone had found a shop to do it - I'll look for it later & see if I can find it.

Here's a couple of threads I pulled up by search...

Stock KYB Shocks Rebuilt
KYB Shock Rebuild

Anyone have any history on this one? The dealer said he bought it at auction just because he liked it. Things I found: 74,000 mi, hood insert hardware is rusty and one corner is loose/broken, hood latch is sticky, some of the brackets in the engine compartment are rusty, windows passed the up and down test, shocks are still firm, no evidence that it was ever off road, feels like it has 150-160 HP at the wheels, antilock brakes work, headlight lenses are sun faded and need a polish, couldn't do the bondo knock below the belt line but overall it just needs tires. I suspect it might have been from the north. And the price is right.

Mark

BOUGHT IT, HAD IT DETAILED, CLEANED UP SOME ODDS AND ENDS, WIFEY HAPPY :p

YEAUHH,
And life is good(specially if wifey happy), welcome to the fam.

Ldub

As far as the shocks...I have close to 90,000 miles on mine. No problems with shocks and they have seen some pretty serious off roading.


And... Congrats on the purchase! Now you start the addiction.

Hijack/Rant on:
Billy,
I have 8 shocks, 4 front and 4 rear, all had less than 40k miles when removed from the VXs.
All 8 of them are shot -they can be easily compressed/extended by hand. This means they have no dampening ability for either compression or rebound. Two show obvious evidence of fluid leakage and I assume they all have lost their gas charge as well.

90,000 miles is a long way on any shocks -especially ones that receive the punishment that yours have. I'll bet if you pull them off and take them to a shop with a shock dyno (or at least some decent testing equipment) they will ALL be dead.

I've fantasized about rebuilding these things/restoring these things/replacing these things for some time, but the bottom line is:
NO MATTER HOW FANCY THEY LOOK, THEY ARE NOT WORTH THE $400+ that Isuzu insists that they are (this is part of the reason that dealers are hesitant to replace them under warranty). I can get a superior quality, rebuildable, and adjustable aftermarket unit for less than half of Isuzu's asking price. Why shouldn't I?

Side note: On Friday the 26th, I'll be back in Ohio and I will be dumping all 8 of these OEM shocks on my service manager's desk. If anyone wants these paperweights, please tell me now and I'll box them up for you.

Hijack off

Despite my frequent gripes about the VXs, I (and my wife) love them dearly. My biggest problem with the VX is the manufacturer. I suppose that I have a case of reverse-Mauganism: I won't be satisfied until I've removed all possible traces of Isuzu from my truck. The wife, on the other hand, prefers her stock, badged, factory CD changer'd, Bridgestone wearing, still has the original "Do not wipe..." and "OK Isuzu" sticker'd VehiCROSS. To each their own, but I'll be dipped if I let her drive around on the OEM KYB 'shocks'.