Starting a new build thread - Mostly stock to full track car.
04-16-13, 10:07 PM
#52
Update: Murphy's Law Strikes
Doesn't look like I'm going to make it to DGRR with the FD.
I seem to be jinxed as over the last month the Apexi PFC I bought turned out to be fried, the irons we used for the engine turned out to have bad porting which destroyed some seals and now it turns out the Exedy dual plate clutch I bought is somehow not functional. With one day left till I was going to leave for DGRR and my bill for the project increasing from the $19k original estimate to a total cost of about $50k; I'm slowly losing motivation and cash to allocate to the project as I anticipated a good chunk of change would go towards this but this just can't be a bottomless pit. I swear someone’s up in the clouds right now snickering right now.
Sorry for the down post but I'm just a little depressed at the moment. I scheduled the week off with a plan to brake the car in and familiarize myself with it so I'd be in a good position to drive it through the Dragon, as of now I've done spring cleaning for the last 4 days.
On the bright-side, my garage is near spotless, house is clean, yard is ready for spring, managed to find time to replace a bunch of my bathroom AND a buddy who was going to ride shotgun with me offer for us to take his Audi down so we can still make it to DGRR.
I’m also growing to throw up a new for sale thread and close the old ones out with a pictorial of everything I have left over from this project with the plan that if it doesn’t sell within a month I’m scrapping it. So if you’re looking for any parts I’ll throw up a link when it’s up.
Thanks for reading my rant! Night.
Doesn't look like I'm going to make it to DGRR with the FD.
I seem to be jinxed as over the last month the Apexi PFC I bought turned out to be fried, the irons we used for the engine turned out to have bad porting which destroyed some seals and now it turns out the Exedy dual plate clutch I bought is somehow not functional. With one day left till I was going to leave for DGRR and my bill for the project increasing from the $19k original estimate to a total cost of about $50k; I'm slowly losing motivation and cash to allocate to the project as I anticipated a good chunk of change would go towards this but this just can't be a bottomless pit. I swear someone’s up in the clouds right now snickering right now.
Sorry for the down post but I'm just a little depressed at the moment. I scheduled the week off with a plan to brake the car in and familiarize myself with it so I'd be in a good position to drive it through the Dragon, as of now I've done spring cleaning for the last 4 days.
On the bright-side, my garage is near spotless, house is clean, yard is ready for spring, managed to find time to replace a bunch of my bathroom AND a buddy who was going to ride shotgun with me offer for us to take his Audi down so we can still make it to DGRR.
I’m also growing to throw up a new for sale thread and close the old ones out with a pictorial of everything I have left over from this project with the plan that if it doesn’t sell within a month I’m scrapping it. So if you’re looking for any parts I’ll throw up a link when it’s up.
Thanks for reading my rant! Night.
04-17-13, 01:26 PM
#54
^^ - Thanks!
Another update - while I'm still sore from the increased cost of the build we were actually able to locate a brand new replacement clutch after my last post and get that loaded up today.
Car is running, shifts like a knife through butter right now I'm told. Should be dropping it off in a couple hours so it looks like she will be making it down to DGRR. We'll be doing a street tune with John Rena tonight to get it around 15 psi and then dyno tuning it for more later on.
I grabbed a trailer because I'll have maybe a couple hours of time behind the wheel before we leave tomorrow morning and I'd rather be safe than sorry incase anymore issues crop up.
Another update - while I'm still sore from the increased cost of the build we were actually able to locate a brand new replacement clutch after my last post and get that loaded up today.
Car is running, shifts like a knife through butter right now I'm told. Should be dropping it off in a couple hours so it looks like she will be making it down to DGRR. We'll be doing a street tune with John Rena tonight to get it around 15 psi and then dyno tuning it for more later on.
I grabbed a trailer because I'll have maybe a couple hours of time behind the wheel before we leave tomorrow morning and I'd rather be safe than sorry incase anymore issues crop up.
04-24-13, 12:50 PM
#55
05-08-13, 05:44 AM
#59
Thanks! I forgot which paint it was but I was going for more of a vintage red!
As far as power goes we're putting down around 420 at 15psi we think... Took it to a Mustang dyno and had some issues getting readings.
The hope is to tune it around 24-25 psi with a 50/50 meth/water mixture on a dyno later this month.
As far as power goes we're putting down around 420 at 15psi we think... Took it to a Mustang dyno and had some issues getting readings.
The hope is to tune it around 24-25 psi with a 50/50 meth/water mixture on a dyno later this month.
08-28-13, 12:47 AM
#61
Sorry for the delay in updates... I've had a TON of stuff going on include a brief spell where I wanted to drive it off a cliff. That said things are MUCH MUCH better now.
This is going to be short as I need to sleep but I'll try to get an update in before the Carlisi meet.
The short of it is, we had MAJOR issues with the CJ carrier and the 044 pumps to the point where the shop handling the car had custom hardlines done for the fuel system to eliminate rubbing issues. This is where I was loosing my mind.
I also finally gave up all hope of Tein sending me springs for the Super Racing suspension I ordered back in January. I instead ordered Swift springs which were here in 2 days flat from California. Now I actually just dropped the suspension in this past Saturday to get it ready for Rotorfest. Had no time to sort it after the fact and I couldn't even fit a finger in between the tire and fender but luckily the Super Racing suspension is so damn stiff the tire never came in contact and I had the fenders rolled Monday evening.
I also switched from the PFC to the AEM Series II with patch harness from TriPoint Engineering. Now we had some issues with this however I want to say without going into detail the TPE is went above and beyond to sort out the issues I had and won themselves a loyal customer. We have started the tuning process with John Renna who also has gone above and beyond to help me in the process and I cannot thank him enough right now.
As far as tuning goes we are street tuned to around 17-18psi with the goal of dyno tuning next month to 28-29 psi.
I am also sorting out the brakes which are the last MAJOR issue I need to address right now. I am likely ordering the Hawk HP+ pads along with new lines and endless brake fluid. Also I'm considering upgrading the master to help out. I figure these fixes should last at least until I am tracking the car on a regular basis and then I'll probably upgrade to an actual brake kit.
Sorry no updated pics yet and this post already turned out quite a bit longer than I was planning.
-Marc
This is going to be short as I need to sleep but I'll try to get an update in before the Carlisi meet.
The short of it is, we had MAJOR issues with the CJ carrier and the 044 pumps to the point where the shop handling the car had custom hardlines done for the fuel system to eliminate rubbing issues. This is where I was loosing my mind.
I also finally gave up all hope of Tein sending me springs for the Super Racing suspension I ordered back in January. I instead ordered Swift springs which were here in 2 days flat from California. Now I actually just dropped the suspension in this past Saturday to get it ready for Rotorfest. Had no time to sort it after the fact and I couldn't even fit a finger in between the tire and fender but luckily the Super Racing suspension is so damn stiff the tire never came in contact and I had the fenders rolled Monday evening.
I also switched from the PFC to the AEM Series II with patch harness from TriPoint Engineering. Now we had some issues with this however I want to say without going into detail the TPE is went above and beyond to sort out the issues I had and won themselves a loyal customer. We have started the tuning process with John Renna who also has gone above and beyond to help me in the process and I cannot thank him enough right now.
As far as tuning goes we are street tuned to around 17-18psi with the goal of dyno tuning next month to 28-29 psi.
I am also sorting out the brakes which are the last MAJOR issue I need to address right now. I am likely ordering the Hawk HP+ pads along with new lines and endless brake fluid. Also I'm considering upgrading the master to help out. I figure these fixes should last at least until I am tracking the car on a regular basis and then I'll probably upgrade to an actual brake kit.
Sorry no updated pics yet and this post already turned out quite a bit longer than I was planning.
-Marc
09-04-13, 03:01 AM
#63
So here is a more detail breakdown of what has been going on since my last post. Brek – Thank you! I love the wheels as well.
Fuel System Issues - We had purchased a CJ carrier for the fuel pumps (dual bosch 044s). CJs instructions indicate routing line in a circle around the pumps to avoid hard angles and provide better flow. This created a problem because they were such a tight fit in the tank that they blocked the floater from providing a reading on the fuel level. Additionally there was rubbing that was actually resulting in the lines slowly being frayed. After much experimentation we decided the best route was to run a custom hardline setup direction from the pumps to the carrier. The problem and where I was getting pissed is that the fix was supposed to take 2 weeks and ended up being almost 2 months of prime driving season and potential tuning time for the car. However I have to say after the fact the finished product was worth the wait.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3l4bxvzkko...magejpeg_1.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s5jetgg0ghqbvp1/IMG_8655.jpg
Regarding Tein – I ordered Tein springs in January of this year 2 sets for front and rear. In May they shipped me one set, in July they said they might have the second set in the US in August. I said screw it and ordered springs from Swift. 12k front and 10k rear. Swift had them at my door in 2 days. Amazing service if you ask me. I have since installed the Super Racing suspension and used Swift’s springs on it and so far I’m completely satisfied with the setup. Had to roll my rear fenders as you couldn’t even fit a finger between the fender and the tires. Now there is just enough clearance IMO. I still need to drop the front by about .5 to 1 inch and I’ll be happy with the setup. Once I get the height where I want it I will be installing the EDFC kit that has been collecting dust since December of last year.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a033o45ubb...824_192248.jpg
ECU Situation – The PFC I purchased off the forums last year turned out to be a dud. We figured this out shortly before DGRR this year. Rich at IRP was kind enough to provide me with a band aid so I could make it there. Originally my plan was to just purchase a new PFC at that point as I didn’t feel like dealing with any issues of a shitty transaction off the site. However after speaking with the fella tuning my car he suggested I consider the AEM Series II ecu modified by Tripoint Engineering. I also had to contend with my buddy Josh who was/is hyping up the Adaptronic system. Needless to say I ended up deciding on the AEM system with all the bells and whistles. We picked it up with the AEM coil setup, prewired options, CAN, Wideband failsafe with boost gauge (since I only use one pod this made a perfect replacement) and 2 trim switches. After installation we were attempt to load up a base tune and do some street tuning unfortunately we couldn’t for our life get the car to start. After about 10+ hours we gave up and decided to start anew the next day. After a ton of work my tuner figured out there was a problem with the harness we received from TriPoint that was causing the problem and also had some unintended side effects. That said then they found out about the problem without hesitation they did everything needed to make the situation right and as I said in my previous post won a loyal customer. We have since street tuned the car to 18psi (lowest we could go on the setup after a little boost creep). This however led to a problem I’ll break out in more detail below.
Brake Situation – One of my biggest concerns since I plan to track the car is making sure I was able to stop the car. I decided on HP+ pads all around and have since installed them. We burped the brake lines to make sure there were no air bubbles as well. Turns out the fluid was pretty darn clean. I was planning to do a flush but I ordered the Sake Bomb brake lines and didn’t feel like doing it twice so I have two cans of Motul 600 waiting for the lines to arrive so I can switch to DOT 4. I am also considering switching to the bigger master cylinder over the next month or so to provide a bit more oomf to the system and will likely upgrade to the Sake Bomb brake kit in winter or spring. Once that’s completed I believe I’ll be satisfied with my current braking ability.
Current issues – This is going to be a multi bullet section
• Tuning – We are currently experiencing breakup at 6500 when trying to tune. This has happened more than once and the cause is fouled plugs. However even after putting in brand new plugs we were still running into the same issue. John did everything possible through the ECU to remove the issue however we haven’t been able to get around it with that approach. This guess at present and that of multiple people I’ve consulted is that first we are probably overdoing the meth injection. The system was installed with the large (550ml/min) nozzle and this is possible choking out the engine to some degree. Additionally, I’ve been a bit concerned with the speed that the engine is gobbling up the boost juice. Also we think we need to run colder plugs. My solutions are 2 fold, 1st I’m going to switch from the 550ml nozzle pre-tb to a 315ml nozzle. Then I’m going to add a 130ml nozzle pre-turbo reducing the current spray by about 20% and helping to cool down the turbo a bit. I’m also switching the plugs from 9s to 10s. I will be using the Autolite 3932xs to start as I know a couple people running them at the moment successfully on decent boost and at about $4/plug it’s a significantly cheaper than NGKs. I am crossing my fingers that this will solve the breakup issue and allow me to get this breast to the dyno so we can give her the 28-29 psi she deserves.
• Rotors (wheel related) – After installing my beautiful HP+ pads (which I know eat rotors) I found that on my return from the Pocono meet this weekend something had wedged itself in-between the pad and rotor and destroyed my passenger front rotor. Initially I thought I was going to get an I told you so from a friend of mine who warned me about the aggressive nature of the pad however once I inspected the other three and found zero damage I realized I couldn’t’ be directly attributed to the pads. The fix is that I have ordered average quality slotted rotors to get me through until I can buy the brake kit which comes with high end quality rotors.
• Tuning Again – With everything I’ve done to the my tuner decided some of this was little above his head as far as bringing it up to 28-29 psi so we are looking to Brian of Speed One (KDR) fame to finish the job. As soon as I can sort this breakup issue I’ll be scheduling a session with him to get everything up to speed. In the meantime however I’ve got two issues that I’m trying to teach myself for. First my startup is horrible and I realize its really just a matter of mapping out each individual temp to make sure its setup right. I’m also having an occasional stall issue when dropping to neutral from speed which from what I understand is pretty easily tuned out as well.
Chewed up rotor - https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ofwou8ne5...G_498150_1.jpg
Fouled plug - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ju8w5azors...903_122730.jpg
Enough bad things and on to good stuff. The car is creating boost at 3100rpm which is amazing. She really wants to boost pretty much all the damn time. The spool is insane! I’m hoping to purchase a GoPro soon so I can document just how fast this setup is. My Toyo R1R tires are also amazing. Drop shifting into 2nd with boost and heavy acceleration doesn’t even result in a chirp, she just launches. In fact, aside from hard cornering I haven’t heard a peep from them. Also at the recent meet I won a couple things in the raffle… a Banzai Racing trans cross member (which I really wanted bad) and here’s irony for you a half price engine build from IRP. I also got a few shirts, a hat and trinkets that are pretty cool.
Trans Cross Member - https://www.dropbox.com/s/qnjsgyiptaxnxft/tcm_parts.jpg
Future – I reserved a spot on a waiting list with a friend for 2 track days in the beginning of November. I have my eye on a couple track days in between and will hopefully sign up for one if the stars align. I’m also considering plasti dipping the car. After seeing how Phil’s FD turned out and realizing I really don’t want to chip the hell out of my paint if I don’t need to it seems like a good thing to look at.
Here are a couple recent shots of the car in action.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hbw5ffbgvrr6rjc/DSC_1081.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iwlgxflw5ni33ns/marc.jpg
That’s about it for now. I just ordered a bunch of stuff to get everything on the level, 8 plugs, auxiliary injection kit, brake lines, rotors, VR1 synth oil, saber premix, more boost juice and some other stuff. Time to get this puppy moving.
Fuel System Issues - We had purchased a CJ carrier for the fuel pumps (dual bosch 044s). CJs instructions indicate routing line in a circle around the pumps to avoid hard angles and provide better flow. This created a problem because they were such a tight fit in the tank that they blocked the floater from providing a reading on the fuel level. Additionally there was rubbing that was actually resulting in the lines slowly being frayed. After much experimentation we decided the best route was to run a custom hardline setup direction from the pumps to the carrier. The problem and where I was getting pissed is that the fix was supposed to take 2 weeks and ended up being almost 2 months of prime driving season and potential tuning time for the car. However I have to say after the fact the finished product was worth the wait.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3l4bxvzkko...magejpeg_1.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/s5jetgg0ghqbvp1/IMG_8655.jpg
Regarding Tein – I ordered Tein springs in January of this year 2 sets for front and rear. In May they shipped me one set, in July they said they might have the second set in the US in August. I said screw it and ordered springs from Swift. 12k front and 10k rear. Swift had them at my door in 2 days. Amazing service if you ask me. I have since installed the Super Racing suspension and used Swift’s springs on it and so far I’m completely satisfied with the setup. Had to roll my rear fenders as you couldn’t even fit a finger between the fender and the tires. Now there is just enough clearance IMO. I still need to drop the front by about .5 to 1 inch and I’ll be happy with the setup. Once I get the height where I want it I will be installing the EDFC kit that has been collecting dust since December of last year.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/a033o45ubb...824_192248.jpg
ECU Situation – The PFC I purchased off the forums last year turned out to be a dud. We figured this out shortly before DGRR this year. Rich at IRP was kind enough to provide me with a band aid so I could make it there. Originally my plan was to just purchase a new PFC at that point as I didn’t feel like dealing with any issues of a shitty transaction off the site. However after speaking with the fella tuning my car he suggested I consider the AEM Series II ecu modified by Tripoint Engineering. I also had to contend with my buddy Josh who was/is hyping up the Adaptronic system. Needless to say I ended up deciding on the AEM system with all the bells and whistles. We picked it up with the AEM coil setup, prewired options, CAN, Wideband failsafe with boost gauge (since I only use one pod this made a perfect replacement) and 2 trim switches. After installation we were attempt to load up a base tune and do some street tuning unfortunately we couldn’t for our life get the car to start. After about 10+ hours we gave up and decided to start anew the next day. After a ton of work my tuner figured out there was a problem with the harness we received from TriPoint that was causing the problem and also had some unintended side effects. That said then they found out about the problem without hesitation they did everything needed to make the situation right and as I said in my previous post won a loyal customer. We have since street tuned the car to 18psi (lowest we could go on the setup after a little boost creep). This however led to a problem I’ll break out in more detail below.
Brake Situation – One of my biggest concerns since I plan to track the car is making sure I was able to stop the car. I decided on HP+ pads all around and have since installed them. We burped the brake lines to make sure there were no air bubbles as well. Turns out the fluid was pretty darn clean. I was planning to do a flush but I ordered the Sake Bomb brake lines and didn’t feel like doing it twice so I have two cans of Motul 600 waiting for the lines to arrive so I can switch to DOT 4. I am also considering switching to the bigger master cylinder over the next month or so to provide a bit more oomf to the system and will likely upgrade to the Sake Bomb brake kit in winter or spring. Once that’s completed I believe I’ll be satisfied with my current braking ability.
Current issues – This is going to be a multi bullet section
• Tuning – We are currently experiencing breakup at 6500 when trying to tune. This has happened more than once and the cause is fouled plugs. However even after putting in brand new plugs we were still running into the same issue. John did everything possible through the ECU to remove the issue however we haven’t been able to get around it with that approach. This guess at present and that of multiple people I’ve consulted is that first we are probably overdoing the meth injection. The system was installed with the large (550ml/min) nozzle and this is possible choking out the engine to some degree. Additionally, I’ve been a bit concerned with the speed that the engine is gobbling up the boost juice. Also we think we need to run colder plugs. My solutions are 2 fold, 1st I’m going to switch from the 550ml nozzle pre-tb to a 315ml nozzle. Then I’m going to add a 130ml nozzle pre-turbo reducing the current spray by about 20% and helping to cool down the turbo a bit. I’m also switching the plugs from 9s to 10s. I will be using the Autolite 3932xs to start as I know a couple people running them at the moment successfully on decent boost and at about $4/plug it’s a significantly cheaper than NGKs. I am crossing my fingers that this will solve the breakup issue and allow me to get this breast to the dyno so we can give her the 28-29 psi she deserves.
• Rotors (wheel related) – After installing my beautiful HP+ pads (which I know eat rotors) I found that on my return from the Pocono meet this weekend something had wedged itself in-between the pad and rotor and destroyed my passenger front rotor. Initially I thought I was going to get an I told you so from a friend of mine who warned me about the aggressive nature of the pad however once I inspected the other three and found zero damage I realized I couldn’t’ be directly attributed to the pads. The fix is that I have ordered average quality slotted rotors to get me through until I can buy the brake kit which comes with high end quality rotors.
• Tuning Again – With everything I’ve done to the my tuner decided some of this was little above his head as far as bringing it up to 28-29 psi so we are looking to Brian of Speed One (KDR) fame to finish the job. As soon as I can sort this breakup issue I’ll be scheduling a session with him to get everything up to speed. In the meantime however I’ve got two issues that I’m trying to teach myself for. First my startup is horrible and I realize its really just a matter of mapping out each individual temp to make sure its setup right. I’m also having an occasional stall issue when dropping to neutral from speed which from what I understand is pretty easily tuned out as well.
Chewed up rotor - https://www.dropbox.com/s/0ofwou8ne5...G_498150_1.jpg
Fouled plug - https://www.dropbox.com/s/ju8w5azors...903_122730.jpg
Enough bad things and on to good stuff. The car is creating boost at 3100rpm which is amazing. She really wants to boost pretty much all the damn time. The spool is insane! I’m hoping to purchase a GoPro soon so I can document just how fast this setup is. My Toyo R1R tires are also amazing. Drop shifting into 2nd with boost and heavy acceleration doesn’t even result in a chirp, she just launches. In fact, aside from hard cornering I haven’t heard a peep from them. Also at the recent meet I won a couple things in the raffle… a Banzai Racing trans cross member (which I really wanted bad) and here’s irony for you a half price engine build from IRP. I also got a few shirts, a hat and trinkets that are pretty cool.
Trans Cross Member - https://www.dropbox.com/s/qnjsgyiptaxnxft/tcm_parts.jpg
Future – I reserved a spot on a waiting list with a friend for 2 track days in the beginning of November. I have my eye on a couple track days in between and will hopefully sign up for one if the stars align. I’m also considering plasti dipping the car. After seeing how Phil’s FD turned out and realizing I really don’t want to chip the hell out of my paint if I don’t need to it seems like a good thing to look at.
Here are a couple recent shots of the car in action.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hbw5ffbgvrr6rjc/DSC_1081.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/iwlgxflw5ni33ns/marc.jpg
That’s about it for now. I just ordered a bunch of stuff to get everything on the level, 8 plugs, auxiliary injection kit, brake lines, rotors, VR1 synth oil, saber premix, more boost juice and some other stuff. Time to get this puppy moving.
10-23-13, 05:10 PM
#64
More bad news... was with Josh this weekend and we were both scheduled for tuning and both of us have blown motors. Actual cause isn't yet know for either of us, he found out Saturday and I just found out yesterday... its still a bit surreal as I just got the motor in April...
10-23-13, 08:10 PM
#65
Man, that sucks! It seems lately people chasing high hp numbers have been eating motors
It always sucks to see so much hard work over the course of years just leading to disappointment....
but hey, at least it's rebuildable and your car wasn't wrecked!
It always sucks to see so much hard work over the course of years just leading to disappointment....
but hey, at least it's rebuildable and your car wasn't wrecked!
11-07-13, 08:17 PM
#66
Ok, time for another update. The shop broke the motor down last night. Innards were mint (THANK GOD) except for the apex seals, which were virtually all warped one pretty substantially. We were also surprised to find one of the waste-gates completely discolored and the metal turned blue.
The initial suspect is the ignition break-up we were experiencing a while back that resulted from the grounding wire being attached to the wrong place (body vs. battery).
Waiting for the ECU logs to be pulled to see how the tune was doing.
No other updates yet. Not going to rebuild or drop another engine in until we are sure of a cause. I'll be damned if I'm going to do this again in 6 months.
The initial suspect is the ignition break-up we were experiencing a while back that resulted from the grounding wire being attached to the wrong place (body vs. battery).
Waiting for the ECU logs to be pulled to see how the tune was doing.
No other updates yet. Not going to rebuild or drop another engine in until we are sure of a cause. I'll be damned if I'm going to do this again in 6 months.
11-07-13, 08:46 PM
#68
Yeah agreed. That said the directions for the coils specifically stated to route the ground to the battery. We tried everything else to make the problem go away and only when we move the ground from the body to the battery did it cease.
11-07-13, 10:42 PM
#70
Thought that too, but the batt was relocated to the rear passenger bin. The ground was on the frame directly next to the battery in the bin. Checked the connectors and everything was clean, checked the ground from the batt to the frame and everything seemed good. Aside from opening the wire there wasn't anything else to check. Nothing else was acting funny except the ignition system.
