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Not officially, just by default lol. A friend has a V8 drift car, just got a project for my wife, and my old roommate has an 8 and just picked up a FC.
That's a well rounded squad. I just saw a clean white FC on the west side of MI the other week. The FC can still look really fresh with some tasteful body kit options. GL with your build and you wife's project as well.
Originally Posted by Funkspectrum
One of my closest friends is in the A2. Drives a black STi with the Rebel Alliance insignia on the emblems.
He goes to basically every meet there is.
Nice! I'll be on the lookout for that "Rebel Scum" whenever I'm in A2. I can't wait to finally go to some car meets once I'm in shape to have my FD show worthy.
Made sure not plan for anything this weekend other than working on the FD. If I'm not out on the road by Monday, I'll be disappointed with myself for sure.
Guys, I have the best news ever! I got my FD put back together and the exhaust is not smoking AT ALL!!!!
Finished up by putting in the remaining parts, a new air filter, battery tray, used stock IC (old one had about a half a cup of oil pour out), AST, all the hoses, and some new hardware and odd things I'm forgetting at this moment. Putting the bumper and all the air hoses back on was a real PITA!
I was working on the car all day Sunday, and finally at around 11:30 PM I went to start up the FD and there was still a bunch of smoke coming out of. My frustration and disappointment was almost too much. After being in the garage for almost 11 hours I just wanted to drive. I grabbed some quick Taco Bell for sustenance and to clear my head. I thought there was a slight chance that there was just oil still somewhere leftover in the system or possibly in the cat and it just needed to burn up, so I went for a short drive and did some light pulls to see what would happen.
Low and behold, I was right! The smoke dissipated, and went away all-together after running the FD for a while.
However, I had another scare. Stupid me, in my excitement to drive, I didn't properly burp / flush the coolant system, and my water coolant level was severely low. After some moderate driving I went to the local gas station to fill up. The line that runs from the AST to the coolant overflow tank popped apart at the joint and I started freaking out when I noticed a large puddle of water forming under my car! I turned the air to hot and put it on full whack and brought the temps down enough. Thankfully the gas station is less than half a mile from my house, so I limped the car home and let it cool overnight.
Today I re-attached the line, and properly flushed the coolant and followed the FSM to make sure the coolant levels were at the correct level. One it was all legit, I went out and did some real pulls and pushed the engine a bit. It was amazing!!!!!
I was planning to thoroughly wash and detail my car, but we got hit with some massive thunderstorms this afternoon, so my plans got cut short.
I'm trying to figure out how to put it into words to describe the satisfaction and joy when I heard the turbos spooling and the BOVs whistling away. This car is so awesome!!!!!! I am so happy and proud to finally have a working FD, especially since I did all the work myself. Learning and struggling through everything made everything that much better when I was finally cruising around today! Feels good man! I'm going to enjoy driving around for the rest of this season and just get to know my FD in its near stock state.
I have a Flyrx7 gauge pod on order, and the last bit of business is to install the Defi CR gauges once that arrives.
Big things to come next spring after I've saved up some more money. I want to put in an Apexi ECU, boost controller, full exhaust, HKS RS intakes, and hopefully some new wheels!
Gave the FD a proper cleaning this weekend. It had gotten quite dusty in my garage, so it was about time. Washed it, hit it with the clay bar, and then waxed and polished it. Came out looking great again!
I also installed the RZ strut bar, and I washed the trans skid plate and re-installed that as well.
My wife and I were finally able to find a buyer for her old Honda Accord, so I will have a bit of unexpected extra cash. Looking buy a used Apexi PFC and HKS Hi Powered exhaust! The stock exhaust is just too quiet.
Congrats on getting the car going... And the paint turned out beautiful after a good cleaning. A nice exhaust, maybe a few mall bolt on here ad there, and you've got yourself one hell of a toy.
Paint came up nice. Cut back the bumper a bit so it matches and it'll look great .
Cut the back bumper where?
Originally Posted by Mikelivi91
Congrats on getting the car going... And the paint turned out beautiful after a good cleaning. A nice exhaust, maybe a few mall bolt on here ad there, and you've got yourself one hell of a toy.
Thanks! Yeah, it's a fun drive already, but I would like to get a little more out of it with an exhaust + intake + ECU.
Originally Posted by gmonsen
Very nice. I haven't seen an FD without a front lip spoiler in a while. Looks good. I may take mine off and see how it looks that way.
I like how it looks as well. When I eventually upgrade to the '99 spec aero, I will most likely install and R1/R2 lip as well.
Originally Posted by Johnny Kommavongsa
Looking good. BB looks so good when it's freshly washed and clean.
Thanks man! BB best color IMHO!
Meguiar's has always worked well for me, so I've stuck to using their stuff.
Got the RZ strut bar in as well. Sticking with the all black "phantom" theme as much as possible. Engine bay not looking too bad.
Next job will be to install these goodies. I want to make sure I'm getting the proper boost pattern before I go messing with installing an Apexi PFC.
However, I had another scare. Stupid me, in my excitement to drive, I didn't properly burp / flush the coolant system, and my water coolant level was severely low. After some moderate driving I went to the local gas station to fill up. The line that runs from the AST to the coolant overflow tank popped apart at the joint and I started freaking out when I noticed a large puddle of water forming under my car! I turned the air to hot and put it on full whack and brought the temps down enough. Thankfully the gas station is less than half a mile from my house, so I limped the car home and let it cool overnight.
Been there... I started driving without putting the AST cap before and saw white smoke coming from under the hood lol. I pulled into the gas station two blocks from home, put the cap on and limped home.
One of my closest friends is in the A2. Drives a black STi with the Rebel Alliance insignia on the emblems.
He goes to basically every meet there is.
Pretty sure I saw your friend's STI in Ann Arbor the other week when my wife and I went out to eat at one of our favorite food spots - Frita Batidos. We were sitting at the window and I noticed the STI and didn't think about it too much. It wasn't until I saw the "rebelsti" instagram name on the side that it clicked in my head haha. I went out to check the car, and sure enough there was a rebel insignia on the front bumper! Tell your friend I said what up, and nice STI!
Originally Posted by earlqhan
Been there... I started driving without putting the AST cap before and saw white smoke coming from under the hood lol. I pulled into the gas station two blocks from home, put the cap on and limped home.
You know what exhaust you need to buy... ;]
Glad to know I'm not the only one.
I tried to get it man, but it just wasn't meant to be. Hopefully I can snag an HKS Hi Powered here sometime.
Been extremely busy with work and life lately, on top of that my Dad has surgery and we had a death in the extended family. God has been good however, and I have been able to make time for the FD here and there.
More updates and pics incoming within the next day or so, but for now...
Wow, that sucks man, hope things get better for you. Glad to know it's been fixed, what a difference! Also, cool to see more Michigan FD owners on here, though we're about out of RX-7 driving season now.
Wow, that sucks man, hope things get better for you. Glad to know it's been fixed, what a difference! Also, cool to see more Michigan FD owners on here, though we're about out of RX-7 driving season now.
Hey man, thanks for the kind words. Yeah it has been. When it rains, it pours. My wife's uncle was just diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer on top of things.
What part of MI are you located at? Hopefully I'll be on the road sometime cruising with fellow MI FD owners!
On a lighter note, I will try and make time this weekend to post some pics and stuff up of the Defi gauges and wiring setup I did. I was pretty happy with the cleanliness of the loom job I did.
Unfortunately the smoking has come back, not nearly as bad, but there is some there when it first starts up, and lasts for a bit. Trying to diagnose the issue. Did a compression check etc. Broke the gasket between the UIM and TB. Had to order a new one.
When doing a compression check, I noticed the plugs were not seated correctly. They were so loose I could just spin them off by finger. Also, one of the wire didn't snap in nicely and it would just fall off. The connector head inside the rubber sheathing seems to be broken or rotted.
I should have new spark plugs and wires arriving from Ray today. Going to get those installed on Sunday. Then I'll do a "champagne bubble test" to see if there's any exhaust gas getting in the cooling system. After that I'm pretty much going to hang it up for the season. Thankfully, my parents have space in their garage for me to keep the FD safe over the winter. The MI winters suck a lot more when you have to dig your car out and de-frost it early in the morning, so I want my garage spot back for my daily driver.
I'm still debating what to do about the whole thing, but I'm leaning towards just pulling everything out of the engine bay in spring, pulling the engine, and doing a teardown and rebuild. I have a boost leak / issue somewhere as well. I'm only getting about 5 PSI max. I would like to just have a fresh engine bay, power washed, re-painted, and then re-wire the rats nets etc. and put a proper built engine back in.
09-01-17, 02:11 PM
I can't wait to finally go to some car meets once I'm in shape to have my FD show worthy.
I'm going to enjoy driving around for the rest of this season and just get to know my FD in its near stock state.
.
Hopefully I can snag an HKS Hi Powered here sometime.
