I have returned... But for some of the noobs...

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:28 am

Hello peeps... My name is Fernando Flores, another one of the CSC guys

I have had the car for about 2.5 years and been part of my car club for the same amount of time. I have put almost 70,000 miles on it in that time. I love to travel for events and have been places like South Carolina (2x) and New Orleans for events. Last month i was in Topeka KS for the SRT Nationals. I travel to hang out with friends as well. I work only 8 miles from home round trip, so there are about 20-25 other road trips that i have been on which constitute my mileage, along with hanging out here in Chicago with my friends.

I had done a bit of work to the srt...

Boomba Engine Mounts
Borla Cat-Back
CCA Front Mount InterCooler
JMB Pipe w/Greddy Type S BOV
AEM CAI
Maddog STS
MaxxFabb 3in o2 Housing
Mopar Stage 2 w/ Toys
Needswing DP w/McCord
Ported Intake Mani
Ported Exhaust Mani
Ported Turbo housing

36-Way IPP Coilovers
Front/Rear Strut Tower Bars
Mopar Super Center Cross Drilled Rotors/Brakes
18x7.5 Nex-o rims PX-5
Upgraded Sway Bars

AEM Uego A/F Gauge
Mechanical Oil Pressure Gauge
Tech Gauges

When I autox, i swap out my rims to 17x7 Centerline Storm Rims wrapped in Azenis RT-615. And when i hit the 1/4 mile track, i'll go with BFG DR's with stock rims.

Here is what my car looked like at the end of last summer...

While at SRT Nationals

I enjoyed the car every single day that i had it... It all came crashing down in mid Sept. A strange electrical problem came up, and the car would not run for nearly 25 days... It would run for a few hours and then blow fuses... 3 days in a row in the beginning, i had to have to car towed home each time. Suddenly, one day, the car just started working again. With out reason, just as mysteriously as it was failing, just as mysteriously it was running again.

After all that, i had no confidence in the car, so the great restockification began. On November 5th, I traded the car in for a 2007 Scion tC. By the time that i got the car ready for trade in, i was more then ready to get rid of it. It was a shell of what it once was. I enjoy the tC very much, its nothing close to what the SRT was when it comes to performance, but its a very sleek and comfortable car to have.

In any case, I still am involved as much as before in all the events that go one with SRT's locally. Somone on our site posted a link to this site, so i thought i would come over and check things out again.

Mr Josh Zombie · Post by **Mr Josh Zombie** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:36 am

welcome... again? *laughs*

I love the Scion series. Post pics of your tC!!

graf AXEL · Post by **graf AXEL** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:43 am

i guess im one of the n00bs...

anyway, too bad about the srt, but those scions are nice. a buddy of mine has a tc with an electronic supercharger... hell of a ride.

oh, and im with Opi, pics!

EVOneon2K · Post by **EVOneon2K** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:49 am

damn, i guess all neons have problems. but it was sick looking when you had it. but the tc is nice too. greddy has a turbo kit for that thing where you could get like 150hp out of it. but yea post some pics.

kc2005ptgt · Post by **kc2005ptgt** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:14 am

You had a nice lookin srt4 there, I like it a lot. SOrry to hear about the issues, but if it were me, I would have done the same thing... I usually do, once a car gives me troubles and becomes unreliable, I loose it.

Welcome, and lets see some pics of the tC (I love that car, btw

)

refect · Post by **refect** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:51 pm

quite the story there. love the pics of the srt and welcome to the forum

Chibits12 · Post by **Chibits12** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 5:55 pm

I'm a noob

Nice ride and welcome back! The SRT-4 was really nice, hopefully you'll enjoy the TC as well.

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:33 pm

More pics....

As for the tC? I haven't done much to it so far.. and with winter in full effect here in chicago, i havne't had much chance to take pics.

Before

After

I have a DVD Navi In-Dash... I will be getting drop springs and 18's come warmer weather.

TNK · Post by **TNK** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 8:58 pm

welcoem back to 2gn. too bad about the SRT, it was such a nice ride.

glasswars · Post by **glasswars** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 9:34 pm

Sorry about the car problems you had, but TC's FTL. I see one of those things every 10 seconds. Your SRT was slick, those stripes looked nice.

Post by **Diablo0** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:47 pm

Whoa ! Another CSC guy... it's been some time there since you've been on here Nando. I thought I heard or saw that you sold the car but I guess that was wrong. Welcome back dude!

TNK · Post by **TNK** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 10:53 pm

reading > jason....

he DID sell teh car.

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 11:09 pm

Diablo0 wrote:Whoa ! Another CSC guy... it's been some time there since you've been on here Nando. I thought I heard or saw that you sold the car but I guess that was wrong. Welcome back dude!

If you want to fall asleep, here are were the trials and tributaions leading me to my decision.

Tis true.... I have been in the neon game since around April of 2001... and things really changed for me when i decided to go from a 01 se to a 04 srt. The day that i bought the car, i told my self that it was staying stock, gaining over 100hp instantly between cars was something that i thought i would never get tired of. Slowly but surely, i started hanging out with people that had moddified their cars, and suddenly i was bit by the modding bug.

At first it was small items and then as i started enjoying the car more and more, and so the wallet opened up, and almost $12k later, in everything from Turbo's to suspensions, to 4 sets of rims for different events. About a year ago or so, i stated that i would never get rid of the car, I would ride it until it was riden into the ground. The SRT is a stout car. I believe it is able to handle just about anything you can through at it.... everything but a person that is thinking about changing his mind on what they want.

Almost a year ago, i saw the Scion tC on the streets, and it caught my attention from a visual stand point. I would see them almost everywhere i went, even had a chance to race one on a highway run. Though it was NOT able to come close to hanging with the SRT, it was obvious that it was a car that had caught my attention. So much so, i recommended the car to a friend of mine while we were on our trip down to New Orleans, to my suprise she liked the car so much that she bought it 3 days later. It had been a car that i would like to own some day. Well, that "day" seems to of arrived.

Now, I came to this point after a series of events that occured with my car, in which i experience a coolent leak that could not be found easily. A broken intake Manifold which happens to be ported. The boost leak that never has seemed to be found. The biggest issue of all was that the car was down for nearly 3 weeks with a electrical issue. Which actually would cause the engine to suddenly turn off and not turn back on. It cause me to have to tow the car on 3 consecutive days after i would get the car running again As much as there was no reason for the car to have a electrical problem, as much as it was fixed with out really knowing what the issue was. On top of that, the car has been put thru its motions of enjoyment. I have drag raced it plenty of times probably well over 200 passes. I have autox'd quite a bit. The car will probably have 70,000 miles on it by the time i part it out and get it ready for trade in.

As for the car now, it is running, and running quite well actually. I have been driving it and enjoying what it is. I love the looks i get to this day from people on the street. I love the sound of the exhaust as it pops like you would not believe at times. But i have decided that its time... I don't believe that it will be holding its value for much longer. Currently, i am getting trade in pricing of $10,500 with the car in stock form. I have made a part out list of the car for all its aftermarket parts that are worth removing and come up with a number of $6,200 in after market parts.

Which bring me to the car that i'm getting. It will either be a 06 or 07 Scion tC. I have test driven one for about 30 minutes... and though there are a few things that i will be changing on the car. It is obvious that the tC will never be able to perform on any level with how i had my srt set up. But its not about that.

I have not decided yet what color i am getting. It is between a the Silver, the Flint Mica (Gun Metal), or Black. I already have a rough estimate on how much i'm going to put as far as after market parts on the car. NOTHING will be done to the engine, honestly, it isn't worth it to try to add power to it. I will be getting either 18's or possibly 19's. A set of Coilovers for the stance of the car only, not for performance reasons. A DVD/Navigation system and a good audio system. Tints and maybe a few other odds and ends to personalize the car just a bit more like Projector HID's. I also have a friend that works in parts at a Scion dealership, so i'm probably looking at 25% off on parts.

Now, i know that it still probably doesn't make sense on why. If i look at it like this it might just make sense to others....

SRT-4. Trade-in = $10,500
SRT-4 Aftermarket parts = $6,200

Value for a Down Payment comes out to $16,700~

Sticker price on a 07 tC = $16,700 = $17,500~ out the door

Basically I trade in a car that has left me feeling like it is unreliable, that has been beaten on, that has giving me the best time i have ever had with a car for the last 2.5 years. I walk out with a brand new car that see myself really enjoying for about $1000 which i will probably either pay out of "pocket" persay, though its all out of my pocket. Or just finance that $1000 or so and pay it off in 1-2 payments a month or so later.

So it is true. I have decided on going from a 04 SRT-4 to a Scion tC.... I hope the tC stands for Turbo Charged

KrackstaR · Post by **KrackstaR** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 10:28 pm

dude your car makes the bulge in my pants move...... thats a very hot car.

Post by **Diablo0** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:50 pm

Wow, that's quite a long story

Thanks for clarifying what was gonig on through.

What brings you back to 2GN though if you've gottan a tC? Just seems like you came back out of the blue

Glad to see you're back though and hope you stick around

evlneon · Post by **evlneon** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 11:51 pm

hey flo! *wave*

sorry to see the SRT gone, but the tC is a kewl car. good choice in white too.

later man.

SILVER-ES · Post by **SILVER-ES** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:19 am

^^^
Holy crap, been a while since I've seen you around here.

Post by **Diablo0** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:24 am

I had to show him the thread

haha

evlneon · Post by **evlneon** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 12:48 am

<back to lurking>
lol

scneonchic · Post by **scneonchic** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:59 am

welcome back! sorry to hear you sold the srt, but I dont blame you w/ mysterious problems like that!

I like tC's...I orginally considered one of those before I got the caliber last year, but I really wanted 4 doors.

J-Villa · Post by **J-Villa** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 3:22 pm

supercharged tc's... mmmmmmmMmmmm

glasswars · Post by **glasswars** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 8:14 pm

J-Villa wrote:supercharged tc's... mmmmmmmMmmmm

supercharged tc's... 200 whole horsepower.

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:02 pm

KrackstaR wrote:dude your car makes the bulge in my pants move...... thats a very hot car.

With posts like that.... Hmmm, maybe i'll be leaving the site again

Diablo0 wrote:Wow, that's quite a long story Thanks for clarifying what was gonig on through.

What brings you back to 2GN though if you've gottan a tC? Just seems like you came back out of the blue

Glad to see you're back though and hope you stick around

I did a search on something on google, and after a long progression of clicking on links, it sent me to a list of site which CSC or ChicagolandSRTClub appeared. It was to the thread of my car being on ebay. Which got me to reply "I'm a legend". Then I noticed that Stunuts04 aka Stuey, one of my friends from CSC had just signed up on the site that day. Which got me to post in his thread. I'm on a couple of Scion sites, but I have stayed on all the previous sites that i was before. However our CSC site keeps me extremely busy for the most part.

I will be on this site more, will be promoting the SRT / Modern Mopar Nationals, it is definately a event NOT to miss. I can post my review thread on the SRT Nationals from last year, but its 7 page long post. We already have 15 rooms booked for this years event lol

evlneon wrote:hey flo! *wave*

sorry to see the SRT gone, but the tC is a kewl car. good choice in white too.

later man.

Holy shit!... i havn't talked with you since we use to talk over Xbox live while i whooped you in Halo 2 lol... How you been?

J-Villa wrote:supercharged tc's... mmmmmmmMmmmm

The though cross my mind only after a buddy of mine came into town, he knew that i had just picked up a tC, and he had a couple of tC superchargers laying around. He asked if i wanted one, so i said sure. After he shipped it, I realized that it wasn't the TRD charger, and infact probably not for a tC.

The tC has a Toyota Camery engine in it... I believe that the engine is highly engineer for reliablility, as one of my friends told me last night, i could probably get 250,000 miles out of the car.... with out changing the oil lol... I have no intension on spending a dime on the cars engine performance.

scneonchic wrote:welcome back! sorry to hear you sold the srt, but I dont blame you w/ mysterious problems like that!

I like tC's...I orginally considered one of those before I got the caliber last year, but I really wanted 4 doors.

I wanted to get away from the 4 doors so i went with the tC... I didn't really have another car to look at either... Thought about the 06 GTO. I just didn't feel like having a high car to pay off.

Which hopfully, i can line things up to have this paid off soon, and then start on the saving for a house/condo, and par-lay possibly a SRT8 Challenger into the deal

evlneon · Post by **evlneon** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 9:18 pm

fflores wrote:Holy shit!... i havn't talked with you since we use to talk over Xbox live while i whooped you in Halo 2 lol... How you been?

lol... ya, been a while, and i believe i was doin some of the whoopin on h2. haha.... but i've been ok. rocking around in the wrx, and selling parts for POS swedish GMs (saab). how bout u?

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:05 pm

evlneon wrote:lol... ya, been a while, and i believe i was doin some of the whoopin on h2. haha.... but i've been ok. rocking around in the wrx, and selling parts for POS swedish GMs (saab). how bout u?

Rocking the rex still? times like these i wish i had awd... we got 14" yesterday, and snow drifts up to 24"-36".

SinfulNeon · Post by **SinfulNeon** » Wed Feb 14, 2007 11:36 pm

hey I saw your ride in a myspace neon groups, nice to bad, I love the looks so aggressive.

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:34 am

SinfulNeon wrote:hey I saw your ride in a myspace neon groups, nice to bad, I love the looks so aggressive.

Really? Linky?

SinfulNeon · Post by **SinfulNeon** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 12:48 am

here is a link to the photos dont know if you have to be signed in

http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus ... 3424912234

here is a link to the neon group

http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fus ... EE23833937

fflores · Post by **fflores** » Thu Feb 15, 2007 2:02 am

weird... the one pic of the car was while i had silver stripes, wonder who posted that pic there...