Love the strut reservoir mounting work, looking like a real race car.

I took a grinding wheel to the bottom of my engine bay strut brace to clear an intake pipe, rounded it all out nicely, you cant even tell its been ground down.
Fits like a glove.
I suppose you could do the same to clear the manifold if you REALLY wanted to. Shims under the brackets also work

RIP Toby

 

Thanks Jake


Yes, great idea that I bet would work for most with under-bar clearance issues

I tried that when I rotated the bar, and added an unreasonable (not enough thread left on the strut to grab) amount of washers for a proof of concept




Great idea Collin, so obvious now and something I should have considered in the drop-in phase

I have a set of Full Function Engineering billet engine mounts with IRP oil pan brace




Height conflict up with the oil pan brace, but three height adjustable solves down with the FFE mounts






Mounts are on the tallest setting







All is good mechanically now, and although a great recommendation, lowering the engine for a strut tower bar is one step too far for me for now

That all said, I am sure this height was chosen with other considerations, and I may find those same conflicting variables when the engine comes back out and I go to put it back in lower...


I like this idea. I was initially thinking I could smooth the Turblown UIM down before it self-clearances (JK I'd never run the car with the bar right on top of it), and send it out for Cerakote

But grinding wheel on the bottom of the bar seems the way better solution if I have a solid titanium bar (versus hollow)

Thanks!


Thanks - short everywhere on real race car, but I'd say racy track car is just about right. I would love to add more racecar safety before getting back on track though
Simon's roll cage 3d modeling is like a Dad mode siren call... anyone ever work with Docol R8?


On the reservoirs, i looked into local shops to grab some nitrogen to fill my tank

Couldn't find anyone with a portable setup - I can't drop my car to get it to their shop without the nitrogen first

But eventually I will be dialing in my JRZ' adjusting reservoir pressure, so picked up my own nitrogen fill tank kit




I went with a Power Tank Shock Boss V2 kit, and figured I can be that guy with the setup at the track I was looking for

Portable tank fill setup from mother tank



JRZ reservoir fill setup



I need to head to AirGas and grab a Mother tank to fill this baby bottle, and will have a write up for myself on the relatively straightforward fill and adjust process soon


Bryan Hise recommends 200 front and 150 rear as a starting point

 

Note to self while I was taking a look at the engine mounts

I'd like to get some protection on the IGN-1A's



and will also add some Spalato LCA eccentric lock washers after we have it dialed in
Going with the D-style (H-style mailed back)




Some other squirrel brain proclivities will be keeping me busy into winter

Chipping away at this bottomless to do list

Updated to 2026 overhaul







Some acquisitions to make this job easier

Vapor honed beauties - Jim Thompson is the best, and is on the lookout for a few more pieces to round it out
Rectifying the two driver side LCA's - was looking at this image going... identical arms geometrically don't work side to side : )
Slipped through Jim and my fingers before delivery



Taking bites out of this when I can




And why not add more to my to do list - Fisch differential brace and PPF (again, Jim Thompson is the best)

This is going to be a fun one to get after from a garage floor



I will keep chipping away

 

You really have to take the engine out to adjust the FFE height setting? I would have thought it'd be an easy task to drop it down.

 

No the engine does not need to come out, but I won't be adjusting my FFE height settings until then

 

I see. Yeah I guess doing it now would probably mess up your intercooler pipes anyways.

 

Was thinking something similar. You could machine down the flanges on the UIM and LIM. You could easily take off 1/8" from both for a 1/4" drop.

Build looks great!

 

Great idea on machining down the intake manifolds, but it's exactly what Collin said - those solid LPS AlphaLoc couplers realigning back up would be a miracle


A reminder for myself on where I have been to slow me down on my next moves

The Xcessive LIM on the EFR shorty then the Turblown UIM have had some massaging to get to work





Getting the intercooler piping realigned with the new UIM took some work





This far off from the UIM alone




Rotated the compressor housing and raised the mounting bracket up






I'll come up with something (with Newton's Third Law ringing in my head...)




Thanks - right back at you with your 20b build!
Looking forward to your next update

 

The intercooler alignment issue is why I went away from the Rotary Extreme signature hard pipe going to the elbow.

Several years ago I found out that my cars upper radiator support was not 100% straight, (fixed now*), this caused every ones kit to be off a tad. Even worse when solid motor mounts or oil pan braces were used that pitched the engine up and back.

So when I made the latest bracket set-up that gives the IC the floating appearance, there is adjustment built into it to give the IC a little adjustment for the pipes. I also have couplers closer to the IC core like everyone else now.

Obviously you already know what I'm going to say, but I'll say it anyways...lol

The easy way:

IC upside down vacuum trick, cut the section off with the flange and redo just that.

​​​​​​​The hard way:

If you want to use the solid hard pipe, you will need to cut it off at the IC, then attach it to the elbow, then re-tac the hard pipe to the IC, then take the IC off for final welding.

When cutting it off the IC make sure the IC is upside down and have a vacuum cleaner hose in the pipe near the cut. This will reduce the metal shavings in the core. This is what I do.

In addition to that I will flush the core with water with my sump pump and ensure no shavings are seen in what ever type of filter or container you decide to use.


GL with your solution !!

 

Curious about the choice to go with the Fisch brace vs Jim/Carter's HPP 2-in-1 brace. Was there a particular feature you liked on the Fisch over the HPP, or was this just a case of availability?

 

Thanks Ben - your v-mount intercooler kit has always been an engine bay favorite of mine

Twin turbo setup <3



What do your single turbo comparable kits look like these days, and where can someone buy one?
Let's move some units!




Hey Ryan - I hope all's going well with you, your hockey season, and your builds!


I considered a few differential brace options
• Banzai Racing differential brace
• HPP 2-in-1 brace
• Sikky differential brace / PPF
• Fisch differential brace / PPF


Banzai Racing - less than 4lbs, $175 - a really good deal while supporting a good Club Member (Chris)



HPP awesome design and Jim is the best (the replacement right front lower control arm just arrived from Jim as I write this!)
unsure of price and availability but Jim still has it in his signature



Sikky (pictured below on Peter's car)
Another cool design, $560 was recently on sale when I was considering
Costas weighed this out at 9lbs4oz, with the weight savings in ditching the 19.1lb PPF



Fisch 13.4lbs


I just brought them in and weighed the individual components
7.71 + 3.48 + 2.20lbs





Right! Your question - why did I go with the Fisch?
What I like most is the multipiece design with the front brace (similar design to the Sikky), and it will pave the way for an eventual CD009 swap

Thoughtful design I am happy on this side of install, but the main piece that pushed me over was Jim had it readily available for a really good deal

I will be coupling this with a Banzai Racing transmission crossmember with install (to be bought)


Special delivery - see above on how Jim Thompson's the best
Front right side LCA arrived - I will be mailing back one of these left side LCA's
Now this picture makes a lot more sense - thanks Jim!

Still haven't put away the TEIN dampers from taking their F/S pictures

The set is available here; PM me if interested
Can't praise this set enough - loved them over the years



Headed out to AirGas and grabbed the nitrogen mother tank. The guy who sold it to me used to have a 1985 RX-7 - small world

I went with the smaller NI20 tank (pictured on the left) versus the NI40 to have just enough or no nitrogen left over
I don't know if it's the right level of paranoia or the picture of the exploded truck next to the register ("This is what could happen when you leave your nitrogen tank in your vehicle"), but I would rather have to run out and refill than having way more than I need on hand




Will brush up on this straightforward how to and will get the reservoirs filled up


Should be chipping away some more over the weekend

 

That's a damned nice, and far more portable than my home brewed shock filling setup!

 

RIP Toby-- love the pic where you can see the PBR beverage!

 

The old set-up with front IC bracket like and the cross radiator support like yours. Since your asking.... as soon as I'm done with my car I'm selling everything - business/car.... annnnnd it's gone, it's all gone... lol
Im going to single as soon as Im done with CWans car. His car will have the latest single vm kit with your core. Im doing a custom smaller vm kit for myself to get a normalish sized battery back into the engine bay.

 

Thanks Rich

Moved that picture off my dresser to my desk - my Boy is mean mugging me from the other side (and that goofball mini Santa's snitch elf landed at my desk for a day, one of five floating around these days...)




Poppy Diane is living the life of luxury as an only furbaby these days - Squirrelfriend's getting big but misses her big brother






I can't imagine this was an easy decision to come to. What are you thinking here and setting yourself up for in the next chapter?

Love the sounds of an evolved single turbo setup but it's going to be weird as a not Ben Meeker's Rotary Extreme FD - you do what you gotta do

In the meantime I am loving watching your build come together and Calvin's car is / has always / will always be one of the coolest FD's built stateside - loving watching you breath new life into it



Slow going here. Spoke with my friend Seamus (congrats on your new lucky boy 2009 pricing VR FD!) on setting up all of these too many suspension variables at once, and he talked me through what he has in mind for the initial setup.

One thing we talked about was the exhaustive work needed in calculating out the right starting point for my eccentric Super Now front LCA camber & caster pillow *****. These can't exactly be set in, adjusted and aligned for and revised in the LCA without having to physically remove and repress (not happening). They made sense this time last year when I planned for them, but now I am wondering if I simplify my setup, and go with a straight set taking out adjustments on the aggressive up to 6* caster & camber there... Shortsighted last year but in the longrun one step too far to eventually dial in?


I will be off for a few weeks for Christmas & New Years and will have some time out in the garage with my new insulated coveralls around keeping my out of school mogwais out of trouble

Goal's to get the front Super Now shortened sway bar brackets and Improved Racing sway bar end links in, reset the front KTS UCA length taking the preload heim deflection out, and filling the JRZ reservoirs.

This may not be sustainable over 12 outs & ins (doable but do I want to or do I grab the 12ton press like I knew I should have) and going with a straight set could still leave the final install up to me before getting it to the professionals for dialing in







Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all!

 

I'm not sure what you mean by "right starting point." You're just supposed to roughly align the angle of eccentricity (there may be a marking?) with the angle of the arm, and then sort things out on the alignment table.
The angle of the pillowball isn't really a point of adjustment.

Unless your issue is that you don't want an excessive amount of camber and caster at baseline.

In which case, I would say you need to ditch the offset high caster spacers and get them to sell you some of the standard length spacers (that's the only difference between the high camber and the high camber + caster versions).
I think they will do this for less than $100, not including shipping.

Then you will have the option of just running the front offset pillowball, which should give you respectable but not excessive camber and caster at baseline, or you can run both and get an obsene amount of camber while having decent caster.

 

Thanks for the input Valkyrie - old school kind of old man here, what's your name?


I am still piecing together my own understanding of what I mean by "right starting point"
I am not setting out to reinvent the suspension on my enthusiast grade chassis, and admit I am working my way through my own ignorance here
Said twice in so many days, I am a knucklehead enthusiast eager to get it wrong but fail forward in learning - see Mr. Howard Coleman or Mr. DaveW or any one of our more experienced and insightful elder statesman for better guidance
That said, ignorance and getting it wrong here have real consequences, so I am going to slowly, patiently walk myself out of my ignorance



Put simply, what I think I mean by "right starting point" is what I can start with statically in calculating out from my variables to get to balance once dynamic:
○ Eccentric Camber Pillow Ball
○ Eccentric Caster Pillow Ball
○ Adjustable Length Upper Control Arm
○ Longer Lower Control Arm Ball Joint
○ Others



Your idea of going eccentric in one and straight in the other is a good consideration


I am going to park some things here as I work my way through my ignorance.
I would love anyone else's feedback who has dialed in a car with eccentric pillow b4lls - obviously not the first FD to run a set, but my searches left me emptyhanded in looking through some of our autocross and track heroes in our Club


Super Now's website & item blog post
Item source eccentric camber, eccentric caster, straight LCA set


Photo references as I work through this - all photo credits to XF Motorsports

01



02



03



04



05



06



07



08



09



10



11



12




I love this one ringing through my head with Sir Isaac Newton's third law:

 

Murphy's law - if there is a way to do something wrong, someone will find it. There are many variations on this, and they're all true...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of Murphy's laws:

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

Popular phrasing: "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" is another widely used version of the saying.
Origin: The law is named after Captain Edward A. Murphy, Jr., an engineer who developed it in the late 1940s at Edwards Air Force Base.
Original meaning: According to his son, Murphy's original statement was more nuanced, suggesting that if there's a way to do something wrong, someone will find it. The more common phrasing evolved from this concept.
Intended use: While often used humorously, the law's original intent was a call to engineering excellence, encouraging thorough planning and foresight to prevent failures before they occur.

 

Great stuff Dave and something I overly plan for with self-rescue analysis for mountaineering


Adopting our friend Carlos's goal of continually stealing opportunities from Murphy where I can

 

When I took over from Chuck, I was never going to be able to open a shop since I had a career already so I just wanted to sell the CNC parts and maybe some hard to get pieces. Times have changed since 2008 and things are so much easier to get... from everywhere.

Even as a side gig I only have time to do group buys, I still can in small numbers. But the reality is I'm getting older and I no longer what my life to revolve around the car scene. I like posting how I build stuff so people can get ideas for them selves.

It's wild to see the new products, the modifications you and everyone are doing here, and it's so cool to read the stories.

I'm honored to be apart of the RX7 life, it's been amazing, educational, and it helps one deal with frustrating emotions...lol.

I'm blessed that I got to work on an Iconic drift car, it's cool to be apart of some type of historical project.

CWan's car should be done by summer 2026, mine.... maybe end of 2027????

I might keep the small business for tax write offs, discount on parts... but I would prefer to step away from everything.

What will I do... play microsfot flight sims, build WW2 style balsa wood planes, pirate ship models... little detailed fun hobbies.

And of course fishing - I finally get it now... just simple peace, passing the time away, no stress, and thankful for the life I have lived and being born in the land of opportunity.

It's weird, with all the world drama going on...... I almost feel guilty for having what I have.

It's time to start thinking how I want to live the rest of my life - I'd like it to be more organic and simple.

Merry Christmas to you as well.

 

I understand where you are coming from Ben and that sounds like a great retirement plan

We'll keep crossing but best of luck bringing that all to fruition until then



Up early to try to catch the jolly fat man while the kids are somehow still asleep


I have been getting a crash course in kinematics and theoretical setup in looking to not make a dangerous unmanageable monster with what I have in mind for my suspension overhaul

Started calculating out the offset and options on the eccentric camber pillowballs to get at the inner pickup point variability and impact yesterday


What I am thinking here for dynamic camber consideration is the correlation of the static camber (what I can adjust with how I set the Super Now eccentric camber pillowball at), camber variation with roll, camber recovery with suspension compression and camber gain, camber variation through the steering arc, and camber compliance throughout the other components


Typical Dad mode distractions on my first day off of my Christmas break




And the typical amount of other draws in focus - my wife bought a bird feeder, but it is definitely for the squirrels

Very distracting but greatly entertaining




I think an understanding of the development and OEM preferred factory settings is a great starting point - these cars are great out of the box and I would be doing myself a disservice in taking any of it's great handling characteristics away






And looking back through the last setup - there are driving characteristics I know I want to get to in evolving this old set up

I am not looking for an extreme amount of camber, keeping it at 3 to 4*, or caster to get it more like 5 or 6*




I like the 3.3* camber but could be leaving something (what that is I do not know yet) on the table?




Visual comparison of the GenPop perfect OEM bushings and pillowball

This OEM bushing will go through so much eccentricity through suspension travel managing NVH as a priority
Probably not the 10mm out I will be able to lock in






Took some rudimentary measurements to get to the one-dimensional state of the lower control arm




x10 mm

 

Parking the factory manual notes on suspension here


I can keep watching Spalato's lock washer prototype - a good visual for the adjustments below

 

Brought my photos and measurements into excel

Obviously the lower left center mark needs to be next to the Matching Mark next to the L - visually drove me bonkers but I didn't want to lose the parallel plane I knew I had
Time to go semi-amateur with something like CAD

This one-dimensional triangulation of two inner pickup points and one outer pickup point will be used next in bringing my theories to the three-dimensional view with the other variabilities I am trying to solve for




Calculated out the offset

versus True Center










And here is a trippy visual of the four +10mm / -10mm extremes (12' 3' 6' 9')




Side view with the above four extremes visualized





With that, my understanding is that the most inward setting on "1" would be the least amount of camber variability assuming 2*, and the most outward setting on "2" would be the most amount of camber variability assuming 5*
Assumption pull in less camber push out more camber

Initially I was assuming "3" and "4" would start with the same built in camber starting point as the true center OEM setting, but the downward angle +10mm of "3" or upward angle -10mm of "4" has some camber impact... I am just not sure what that is yet


Coffee's now brewing, my little mogwais are about to run down stairs and pounce any minute now!

Said it earlier, but a more timely Merry Christmas to all!

 

Continued calculating out how I think I should install the eccentric Super Now camber & caster pillowballs, and I am now seeing the misnomer with both impacting my camber and caster

Decided to add one more variable in the CCFabLap LCA ball joint roll center kit in the next one-dimensional considerations




Easy enough to calculate out the length difference



+1/2" Longer




and then run the lengths through my trusty Pythagoras' theorem with good ol' SOH.CAH.TOA to get some angles

Means I get to bust out my old friend, the graphing calculator
throwback pic when my Bride Xero RS was inside and the Dad toy shelf was better managed with my trusty Texas Instruments TI-84



I have calculated out a -2.25* & -2.37* angle pickup from the 1/2" longer ball joint

Some consideration pieces is that I calculated it out on a right angle that doesn't really exist between the inner and outer pickup points but I am a financial analyst and not an engineer and need to simplify, and the balljoint has 360 degrees of full pivot that I want to prove out through those arcs



Next was combining my installation options around the eccentricity of the camber pillowball NMB Minea spherical bearings and the longer pillowball joint

This is where I was walking around the house with my Wife and kids seeing me mumbling and moving my hands around in a "pivot-in" pull "pivot-out" push motion, mumbling to myself, or rolling an imaginary ball in my hands...
"Dad what are you doing?! Stop that! Eat your breakfast!"



Keeping it simple with just a few extremes versus the full 360* of options
1 -> 2
3 -> 4
A -> B
C -> D








And here's the simplistic view I came up with across these eight options




Looking at this, "1" would be the most conservative option and "2" would be the most aggressive option. Right?
And maybe anything in the right hemisphere ("B" / "2" . "D") would land with more camber than I want and possible tie rod thread and length issues (hey! Super Now has a fix for that too to make me crazier with one more variable!)?
And I think I like the looks of "4" because... ?
Or do I like "3" because that downward angle would be less aggressive camber than "4"? Or is "4" an upward angle? Am I getting that backwards?
What about somewhere in the middle with "A" or "C"?
I don't know?

In looking at the small graduation marks and differences on the cam bolts all of these seemingly small differences here will add what I think could be a big swing in variability on dialing it in on the alignment rack


So going back to my goal... trying to dial it all back mentally

I just want 3 to 4 degrees of camber - which at 3.3* right now with the prior setup, is attainable without these
I also want to get my caster more in line with factory recco at 6 degrees of caster - which with my current setup at 4.2* will be the tricker variable

I have ran this all by some smarter than me friends and am getting conflicting answers on installation point implications - driving me more bonkers than I am already preloaded with
Please let me know what you think!

Next calculation iterations are going to have considerations for the caster pickup point eccentric Super Now pillowball, and the camber and caster adjustabilities in shortening the length (adding negative camber) and offseting the length at the heim joints to change caster of the KTS UCA


This all said, I am going to keep iterating on the eccentric pillowball to find the least conflicting variability option to get me to target

I am going to shelf this eccentric set while I work through my own calculations knowing I'd rather fully understood my decision

In the interest of forward motion, I have ordered the straight Super Now pillowball set (with some R-Magic and Trust GReddy pieces to keep them company in the freight) to keep it moving

Also going with the straight set to avoid the $$$ implications of letting the professionals do the math for me, and I can install my arms myself in my garage


Excelsior!

 

Wrapping up 2025 with some tangible progress on the build


I can finally say the JRZ RS Pro 3 dampers are finally fully installed with the system pressurized

Took my time, read and re-read the straight froward instructions along the way, and documented my process to fully understand this easy adjustment point going forward


I brought the nitrogen mother tank in from the shed and linked it up with the PowerTank Shock Boss v2 filler tank
mother tank left / (reservoir) filler tank right



Tighten the line nut on the mother tank - don't overtighten (15-25 ft/lb)



Make sure the bronze **** on the filler kit block is closed by turning clockwise until it stops



Attach the mini coupler to the side fitting on the filler tank




Slowly open the valve of the mother tank, listening for any leaks in the lines




You should begin to hear gas rushing into the filler bottle
The tanks and system pressure is equalized after you no longer hear the filling sound
Check the gauge on the filler tank, make sure it has leveled out



Close the valve on the mother tank



Depressurize the line by slowly opening the bronze **** on the filler tank block



Disconnect the line at the mother tank



Disconnect the line at the filler tank