Summer is well and truly here in Okinawa, with the temperatures rising and the sun shining. Checked the weather report at 9am this morning and was told that it was 31°C but that it felt “like 36°C”. Thankfully the humidity was only 70% and a sea breeze coming through my apartment managed to keep me [...]
After the Evo met an untimely death I decided it was time for something a little cheaper to run and maintain. A bit of looking around later, and a slight rush to become a non-pedestrian again (a $20 round trip to work each day when it was only a 15-20 minute drive was a joke) and I found what I was looking for.
All hail the 1993 Suzuki Alto Works RS-X. Although the RS-X is 2WD, it does have a DOHC engine which is a bit of a positive over the standard Alto Works. Picked it up from a garage close to me and it’s in a not too bad condition. Needs a bit of love and care in some areas (car windows definitely need some new film, and wheels aren’t going to win me any awards), but it’s a solid base. Paintwork isn’t showing too much rust through though and no big dents in the bodywork.
Open the hood and you’ll find the beating heart of a beast of an engine. These are words I would like to be able to say about the car! Unfortunately, you know that with a 660cc engine it’s a pretty far stretch of the imagination, even if it is turbocharged. Needs a clean in there and also an aftermarket air filter of some regard to open up the airflow, but other than that it seems in decent condition.
I have to say the car has been fun to drive over the past 24 hours. It’s a huge step down in power and handling from the Evo, but that’s a given. Already have my eyes on some upgrades though, and brakes are first on the cards. The brakes are pretty mushy and so am gonna get a set of Acre pads all round and some Dixcel front rotors. Rear rotors are actually in worse condition than the front, but aftermarket ones seem to be a little tough to find. The normal Alto Works I believe have rear drum brakes but this RS-X has disc brakes and I can’t find anyone supplying rotors for them.
Will then get a set of Advan Neovas which will come to about $280 for all 4 (one advantage of a small car with small wheels) and a cheap-ass bigger exhaust and I’ll be good to go. Might throw in my stock passenger Recaro from the Evo in there on the driver’s side. Only other current issue is that the horn doesn’t want to work but am going to the garage to pay the rest of the money tomorrow so will get them to look at it before money is handed over.
So pass me a wave when you inevitably overtake me on the roads!
Tags: alto works, alto works rs-x, Cars, featured, Japan, okinawa, suzuki
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August 27th, 2009 at 00:08
There used to be a really quick Alto Works driving around the island. Could this be the beginning of a similar sleeper?
August 27th, 2009 at 00:18
I think I know the car you are talking about. This one’s not going to have as much money put into it as the Evo did, and the first mods are going to be braking and handling ones, but we’ll just have to see after that…
August 27th, 2009 at 11:50
Nice car Dave, great choice on the tyres too
I can reassure you from my own personal experience, that Neovas are one of the best. Mine are still feeling great with little wear after 1 year. And yes, small rims are great when it comes to buying tyres hehe, mine were on 40,000yen for 4, thanks to my 15inch rims.
Good luck with your new car
August 27th, 2009 at 15:04
NICE ONE, DAVE, a little beauty!
I hope you have fun with it – it’s all about skill & momentum rather than raw power – driver skills come to the fore. Should save you a lot of money compared to da evo.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:46
Lol at mikek, I was literally thinking the same thing just before I read your comment. Now Dave’s REALLY going to learn how to drive, without mahoosive to make up for his mistakes hehe.
Also pretty crazy with 3 guys called Mike all commenting hehe
September 4th, 2009 at 20:52
what’s all this mumbo-jumbo about “no power brings out real skill?!!” power’s gonna treat this sleeper sprinter exactly the same way it does all the other yellow plates rolling 3 deep….like a red-headed stepchild (beaten!)