Well, I took a road trip down to Eugene today to let Turbojeff take a look at my finished conversion. We took the car out for a little spin so he could put it through it's paces, and I think he was generally impressed.

Anyhow, we stopped at a truck scale along the way and the car weighed in at 2960 lbs. Just 60 lbs heavier than a stock 94 touring.

With the two of us in the car (I'm about 215lbs myself) and a half tank of gas the weight was 1660lbs over the front and 1640lbs over the rear.

I guess I really screwed up the weight distribution what with my 50.3:49.7 weight distribution huh? Another 8 gallons of fuel and I'd be dead even.

Next weekend I'll put it on the dyno and see what it makes. And at some point I'll start finding areas to cut some weight.

 

Nice Andrew!! So it looks like you got the clutch in OK then. I'm painted yellow right now. You got to bring that car next time you come over

BTW, did you actually let Jeff drive the car?

 

Does the new engine sit before or after the front wheel centerline?

 

Yeah, I let Jeff row through the gears. The look on his face sometimes was priceless. I sent him this link, so maybe he will chime in with his thoughts.

I haven't replaced the clutch yet. I did some adjustments with the pedal and bled the system/ replaced all of the fluid and it seems to slip less. It still slips when it's hot, and at the top of the RPM range (5500RPM up or so).

I'm just looking to get through the upcoming autocross, and then I'll swap out the clutch. I was hoping to make Woodburn's first test and tune on the 12th, but I'm guessing that I won;t make it.

 

Pretty much just the accessories sit forward of the front wheel centerline. Maybe a portion of the number 1 and 2 cylinders.

I realize that it sits farther forward than the rotary, but I'm just being an *** since some people have suggested that it would be 60:40 or worse.

I can't say if the handling is unchanged or not, because I completey redid my suspension at the same time. New bushings, coilovers, tires wheels, etc. The point is that the car still handles really, really well. That and the weight distribution is pretty even.

Hopefully Jeff will chime in and provide a non-biased opinion. We have our season opening autocross here in two weeks. Jeff and I are going to co-drive our cars for comparison's sake. We'll get a better idea of the handling, but it will still be an apples to oranges comparison as we run different suspension setups.

 

I drove a V8 powered FD!

I was generally surprised how well the LS1 fit under the hood. It was tight but enough room to change spark plugs, belts, hoses, etc...

Turning the key was interesting, after having driven so many different FDs hearing one with a V8 was just odd. Power delivery was definetly instant and smooth, gearing was short for the V8 torque but with 6spd it doesn't really matter. I didn't get any major speed (probably only 90mph?) but I did run it through the gears at WOT but I shifted a little short at ~5000 rpm. It felt great. I'm told the motor has a cam, LS1 intake and a 6800 rpm redline so I was probably missing out on a fair amount of fun by shifting early. I just wasn't used to the sound of the motor and our test drive was short.

Thinking back I didn't really notice high clutch effort, the steering didn't feel different either. I took it around an off-ramp at a semi quick pace, handling was fine but I didn't want to push it too hard being it was the first time I drove it. On an auto-x course it'll definetly be in the prime rpm range for shooting out of tight corners.

I can't wait to auto-x it. I get into a different world with my helmet on. It probably won't be as fast as my FD on the auto-x course but that doesn't really have anything to do with the V8's weight or power but more to do with specific suspension settings for auto-x on my R1 and my familiarity with it. I'd bet that with a years worth of sorting it would really kick some butt because the rotary, even with twins is still low on bottom end power. I'm looking forward to running it.

All-in-all I'm not really a proponent of V8 swaps but I have to admit the way it turned out really surprised me and even changed my mind a little!

 

is it wierd never touching the last 2k rpm?

 

You might think about weighing it on something a little bit more accurate, that sounds like it might be a little bit on the heavy side.

 

Truck scales are pretty accurate. I spoke with a engineer that sits on the board of Weights and Measures. I forgot the exact terminology but the scale is accurate within 1 division at this weight which is 20lbs.

 

Like Jeff said, the scales are probably pretty accurate.

I'd tend to believe that most other people are giving "internet" numbers, and that mine is a no BS real world number.

I don't doubt that there are some people out there with some very light cars, just that a lot of people post what they think their car "should" weigh, rather than what it does. I'd add that I was a little surprised that it was that heavy, but not shocked.

Mine wasn't particularly light from the factory, and I haven't really done much to keep the weight down. I pretty much just did the swap and let the chips fall where they may.
Maybe I can get Resource to show me how to cut the 600 lbs of extra weight I'm toting around.

 

I have a question for you guys. I have started doing my conversion and I am curious what you think about my concerns...

1. How does the shifter feel? I hear that some people hate it and the throws through the gears are terrible.

2. Is the added low end torque too much for traction as a daily driver (and I use the term loosely). Is the power too, is the car no longer "civil"?

Thanks.

 

I'm curious to hear who thinks it feels terrible? I can't comment about the stock shifter because I never used it. I went with the Pro 5.0 shifter, and I'm using a Steeda tri-axis short throw shifter arm. Shifts are crisp, and once you get used to the gates (Jeff was having a problem finding 5th and 6th) it's really quite nice.

I'm using the car as my daily driver for now. I spent so much time building it I figured I owe it to myself to use it.

My car is cammed, and the power really doesn't start to surge until 2200 rpm or so, so just creeping around town it's really docile and not a burden at all. I do have some cam surge at low speeds, so creeping around parking lots is not too much fun and you get to ride the clutch.

I am runnig Nitto 555r2 25/40/17 tires all around, and they are damn sticky (R compound), so dry traction isn't really an issue. They don't even squeal until they break loose, so there is little feedback in that department, but you get used to the feel of the car, and I can tell when the rear is going to come loose.

Wet traction is a whole different story. The car is frightening in the wet, and I'm going to be buying a beater for use on rainy days pretty soon. It's a handfull and I have to be super careful on the throttle to keep everything under control.

 

Sounds like the car has turned out very nice and will be a blast one the clutch is fully sorted out. It is past 5K when that LS1 I'm sure comes really alive with your cam upgrade.

I think Jeff liked the drive more than he is letting on.... but considering he is an FD afficionado it probably was weird too.

I'm really curious how it does in the AutoX and especially on a road course.

Are you running 275/17's all the way around? You missed a number.

-GNX7

 

Yeah 275 all around. 25s would be like bicycle wheels.

 

Sweet, thanks for the info. What kinda cam did you get ? Did you upgrade the heads too? And have you remapped the idle to 800rpms?

 

Sweet, thanks for the info. What kinda cam did you get ? Did you upgrade the heads too? And have you remapped the idle to 800rpms?

 

My mods are pretty simple
Thunder Racing 230/224 reverse split cam (230.5/224.5 110.5 lsa on their cam doctor)
Ported Stock LS1 exhaust manifolds
LS6 Intake
MSD ignition wires
Custom Cold Air Intake

And yes, I drilled my throttle body to 15/64, changed the main volumetric efficiency table, advanced the timing, and raised the idle to 950 RPM to get the idle to run smoothly.

I haven't done heads yet, but I will probably do them when I step up to long tubes. Unfortuantely, your options for long tubes are to make them yourself. Hinson has been saying for about 6 months now that he has long tubes a week away.

 

Yeah I asked about those before Xmas. Said they were on the way. You have a nice cam in there. From the little research I've done it's probably got plenty of lop to it. I plan to use a 224/224 .560/.560 114LSA cam with partiot heads for a 6800rpm redline. That plus the other tweaks should be good for the 400rwhp I want. Too bad you don't live on CO. I'd love to take a look at your ride.

 

The shifter was definetly different than a stock FD. It was in just about the right spot with the correct height. The shift feel and effort were different. I found myself having NO problem rowing it through 1st-4th gear, after that I had a little problem with 5th and 6th. Nothing I couldn't get used to, it was just different than a FD's stock shifter.

The low end torque was no problem at all, of course the tires were good. I think a LARGE part of traction problems are tire related. I've driven so many stock and mildly modded FDs. Some spin the tires like crazy, some don't while they all have about the same power. Tire size, type and condition all are huge factors here. Old good tires (hard) or new cheapy tires will make any FD, V8 or rotary easily spin it's tires. My FD has 275/40/17 Firestone FZ50s on the rear and I really can't spin them except in 1st in the wet or shifting hard into second on certain types of pavement. When I put my race tires on, 245/45/16 Kuhmo V700s, I can spin those suckers at will and I never have a set on my car that is a year old. The tread does make a difference!

I did like the car, it was a little loud but that probably had to do with the diff and suspension bushings.

 

I don't know why people always ask the question of "too much torque". You can never have too much torque. I've driven cars that break traction as soon as you open it up. Learning how to part throttle doesn't take long.

Lets put it this way. Having too much torque doesn't lose the race. Having too much torque with a heavy foot does.

 

While I agree with you in principle, I'm not racing on my way to work every morning.

And the combination of available torque and a tire setup for optimal dry grip, it really is "too much" for the rain.

I've already gotten sideways many times with it in the rain. Fortunately all but one of them were intentional, and the one that wasn't was easily saved.

 

That's kind of my point. Too much torque is never bad. It's there when you need it and isn't when you don't, if that makes any sense

 

Glad to see that its all came together. And hopefully, you can make it out March 14th. I'll be there...but chances are it won't be in my 7. I still need to get it tuned, and buy a new helmet. DOT and snell 2000. My current helmet is DOT and snell 95. I'm going to probably take out the 8, and see what she'll do.

BTW, you have any pictures of the finished product?

CJ

 

CJ, I'm going to try to make it out to Woodburn for the test and tune, but I'm not sure the clutch will hold out. I'm hoping to put it on a dyno this weekend, and then autoX it the weekend after that, and seeing as how it alreday slips at higher RPMs, who knows.

Yeah, I have pictures of the finished product. I might post some later when I get home from work.

 

Give up the launch, don't slip the clutch at all. If you slip it on the launch you'll heat it up and it'll slip more.