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got 50 miles on it now, I swapped the US ecu back in to see if the no code issue was still present. It is so i can only assume that ecu is FUBARed. the idle is higher with the US ecu, but smoother, maybe just gaining compression, i'll check compression again at 100 miles.
fans won't come on, so if i leave it idling, it will get hot unless i jump the fans at the diagnostic port or switch on the A/C. I"m also getting almost no acceleration in boost past 50% throttle. it's not sputtering an popping like before, but it feels like a timing retard. No CEL since soldering the OMP wires back together, on either ecu. i wasn't sure if the OMP could be trusted yet, so I'm running a 1/2 oz per gallon pre mix.
The RHD shifter from the Japanese transmission i swapped in gave me some trouble.
As it happens, the RHD version is angled toward the right side of the car (makes sense) just as the LHD version is angled toward the left. I imagine the e-brake placements must be slightly different since i bashed my knuckles into it every time i got in the car for the few days i had the RHD shifter in, but since the half cut i bought was cut just ahead of the e-brake, i can't compare. the pictures show the difference in the shifter angle while in neutral.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/111893829@N08/11876650975/http://www.flickr.com/photos/111893829@N08/11876952143/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/111893829@N08/11876956623/http://www.flickr.com/photos/111893829@N08/11877107184/
Also, I finally got a call from S3 logistics about payment for shipping the front clip, the guy on the other line explained that i needed to release payment and asked if I had any problems with their service. He actually sounded surprised when i told him it took a month to get delivered. he said he'd file a claim with the other shipping company they believed to be responsible and cut me a check for some arbitrary amount. All i could say was "yeah, OK you get back to me on that"
that was like a week ago, I'm not holding my breath.
Well after two days and 4 shops I found a tech who would smog my car. the first kept me waiting for an hour before poking at my car for 15 minutes and admitting he had no idea what he was looking at. the car passed visual despite the tech not being able to see the cat or charcoal canister because the car was "too low" (stock height) an it threw a check engine light on the rollers (no codes in the last 290 miles since the rebuild) actually i'm kind of relieved, at least i have a starting point for diagnosis
on the bright side i finally found one of my mystery clunks. this one was driving me crazy for a while. It sounded like a shot glass rolling around in my wheel well, it would clunk every time I accelerated or braked or turned.
I found this little bastard behind the fuse box in the driver side foot well
still diagnosing the half throttle bog, just eliminating one possible cause at a time.
also won a Tire rack gift certificate, so i decided to replace the worn out suspension.
rebuild is broken in and seems to be doing well, compression is stable, if a little on the low side, but i"ll keep checking.
Turns out most of the driveability and emissions problems were caused by bad spark plug wires. I put a newer stock catalytic converter and stock exhaust on and passed smog. then i took her out to the foothills for a drive.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/111893829@N08/12943935975/
it was a warm day and temps came up in proportion to throttle use, but nothing to high, so i figured she was ready to have another go at auto cross.
Nice work man, good call on the Bilsteins. I work at Fat Cat Motorsports in Redwood City, give us a call if you ever need a revalve. We've got some pretty competitive autocross formulas worked out.
It's been a while, but I'm working on the car again. back in 2017 the car died during an auto x run and after towing it back to my house, It basically sat undiagnosed for several months then what appeared to be a bad fuel pump power line turned out to be a dead fuel pump resistor and a motor with a lot of detonation damage, so then it got to sit for another four years. Several automotive adventures and a career change later, I finally had the time and funds to give the car the love it deserves. While the engine was out, I decided it was time to have the car painted. I like the black ok, but in central California, it gets a bit hot, and I have a soft spot for white cars, so I decided on a color change. from brilliant black to pure white finally back home after a year at the paint and body shop RZ/RS brakes all around time to reassemble new front and rear lips converting to r134
I may be a little bias but white is definitely the best color. Glad to see you are doing the color change properly, seeing mismatched bays really bugs me for some reason. Its a bummer they didn't make the R1/R2 models in white here in the U.S.
Man I just want to so good on you for not abandoning and offloading the car. It is HARD to keep a car that needs work through prolonged periods of life change and then actually come back to it. Keep it up!
I may be a little bias but white is definitely the best color. Glad to see you are doing the color change properly, seeing mismatched bays really bugs me for some reason. Its a bummer they didn't make the R1/R2 models in white here in the U.S.
I imagine If they did, they'd be as unobtanium as CYM
Originally Posted by cloud9
Man I just want to so good on you for not abandoning and offloading the car. It is HARD to keep a car that needs work through prolonged periods of life change and then actually come back to it. Keep it up!
Yeah, I knew around 2016 that I was keeping this one, there's no chance I could ever afford one again if I sold and basically an restoration cost is justifiable when comparing to buying another in decent condition.
