Rotary Car Club - TitaniumTT's I hope I make it to DGRR '09 Build

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Quote:

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT (Post 105521)

I'm waiting for CA to implode under it's own fail.

After seeing the rolling smog stations that are going up in socal i'm wondering if the ACLU would have something to say about it. For the most part the ACLU is a buch of wack jobs but CA is getting nutty with this shit

Not to thread jack or anything but...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Force13b (Post 105617)

rolling smog stations

I had to google that and... WTF?!?!?!?
Jeez... http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2694141

I'm glad I don't live there. I wonder if any rotary owners have ever been involved in a high speed chase after 'suspiciously avoiding a checkpoint' :lol:.

Quote:

Originally Posted by need RX7 (Post 105619)

Welcome to Commiefornia!

Yeah crazy shit. This has to be some kind civil liberties violation

I remember something about unreasonable search and seizure... Hell put up enough of a stink and not roll down your window they can not detain you without probable cause--and refusing to put your car on a dyno or have it inspected/searched is not reasonable cause.

Hey brian thought you'd like this lighting setup

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Hayes

Merry Christmas! Hope Santa is good to you.

Wanted to update you on my progress with retrofitting my car with an OEM-quality HID sleepy eye kit. If you've followed my 20B conversion thread, you'll know the pain I've gone through getting the conversion done. The good news is the process is now at an end thanks to Jesus Padilla and Kilo Racing in Orlando so I am now at a point where I can turn my attention to the little things that I don't like about the car and the biggest of those is the inferior 1990's lighting.

I have waited patiently for a kit to be built that meets my needs of vastly improving the lighting of the car while also enhancing its aesthetics. To me, this means retaining the pop up feature of the lights but making the pop up mechanism more modern, or not having it go so high up. This also means improving the functionality of the very weak lighting by bringing it up to today's HID performance standards. Finally, from an aesthetic perspective, I want to do something that looks like it might be on a car of today.

To date, none of the pop up kits have met my functionality and aesthetic standards. Kits like the Knightsports ones improve the pop up looks of the lights but aren't very good with actually improving the lighting on the car. Other kits like the one currently offered as a bi-xenon pop up upgrade dramatically improve the lighting of the FD but IMO leave much to be desired from an aesthetic perspective. So, my only choice was to go out and develop a kit for myself.

So, after much thought, the best solution for me is one that pops up about half the height of the originals and one that uses two lights per housing. My rational for the two lights per housing was to ensure the car looked balanced when the lights are being used. I want the car to look like its was designed this way, not retrofitted.

With the above in mind, I did much research on HID projector systems, wanting to find something that would give superior lighting while having OEM quality. My criteria was HID-based projector lighting for low beams as I wanted the 300% improvement in lighting that HID systems offered as well as the proper cutoff of projector style lights. For the highs, my only criteria was more lighting so for me, a halogen-based solution was just fine. To find the proper lights for my application, I spoke with the makers of OEM lighting for today's cars, including Hella. Hella then put me in touch with www.rallylights.com, one of Hella's leading retailers, and Will from rallylights.com was most helpful. He pointed me to the Hella headlamp modules they sold and I ultimately decided on the 50mm Xenon HID projector units for the low beams and the 90mm halogen units for the high beams. The 50mm unit specs can be found here:

http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=1796

And the 90mm halogen units are here:

http://www.rallylights.com/detail.aspx?ID=127

The good thing about these lights, in addition to their OEM quality, is they are sealed units as in they both have lens covers so they can be used as is. They also have mounting brackets which allow them to be adjusted via screws just like OEM units. The caution here is they are not cheap and everything I ordered, including the 4 lights and all needed hardware and brackets will set you back about $1,200. Yes, there are cheaper options but I want to do this right one time and then enjoy.

So, as I am mechanically challenged, I have Kilo Racing doing the fab work and the installation of these. To date, they've modified the control arm mechanisms on the headlight units so they now pop up to the correct height. They have also modified the brackets to fit into the headlight housings and they have test fitted the lights to ensure we're able to complete the conversion. They're now busy on finalizing the installation and adjustment of the lights. The final step in the process will be to have OEM-like shrouds made to complete the conversion and to give it a finished look. We're going to cut up the OEM shroud to reduce its height and then use this as the template for the new shrouds.

A few pics of the lights to date:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...b/IMG_0256.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...b/IMG_0257.jpg

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b3...b/IMG_0258.jpg

Note the lights aren't aimed correctly and also note the 50mm lights will be raised up so the tops of them are in line with the 90mm units.

The project should be done in a few weeks and I'll then post up the results!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Force13b (Post 105666)

Hey brian thought you'd like this lighting setup

His paint looks nice :suspect:

ohhhh thats very interesting..i like that :)

though i think i would change up the lighting placement, and use something a bit more compact then the highbeams he used.....might do a little reasearch of my own...perhaps talk to the parts manager at my job

Quote:

Originally Posted by need RX7 (Post 105619)

Not to thread jack or anything but...

I had to google that and... WTF?!?!?!?
Jeez... http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2694141

I'm glad I don't live there. I wonder if any rotary owners have ever been involved in a high speed chase after 'suspiciously avoiding a checkpoint' :lol:.

by the looks of it i dont think most rx7's could get up there without scraping or getting caught on something....and i wonder what they do about awd cars.

huh?...what are those going in?

The FC for "daily duties" I'm going to keep the corbeaus and swap them out for the track unless I can figure out a clean and sexy way to retain the harnesses and my ass stays where it's supposed to on the track. I rememeber back in the day my knee would be sore after an auto-x from pinning itself against the dash or the door to keep me in place. The seats are comfy and will be much appreciated around hour 20 during some road trips. Not to mention the reclining feature is something that I've grown to miss over the years. Should be in by tonight if not tomorrow night.

The seats go in, the car goes to PA one last time, then the car comes apart and the list starts getting attacked

I recognize those, lol. I'll tell you right now though, although more comfortable than the fixed bucket seats, those cloth 8 seats will wear you down on long road trips. They suck for auto-x too.

This may not apply to everybody, but Brian and I are roughly the same frame and the wide bolsters on the stock 8 seat don't hold me well under hard cornering. I need to fatten up :)

Oh - and since they're two piece, after a single season auto-x the two sections "knock" lol, I'm looking to tighten them up before next season or finally get a decent pole position in there.

Good luck with the install - should make the deals gap trip nicer, until you hit the dragon!

Quote:

Originally Posted by WE3RX7 (Post 106038)

Good luck with the install - should make the deals gap trip nicer, until you hit the dragon!

Hmmmmm, interesting. Looks like I'd better keep the harnesses especially if I roll in with a set of race tires in tow :rofl:

let me know how much trouble you have getting them in, i want to put a set in my FD when i have a chance

Once he figures out how he wants to mount them in the FC, the same should apply to the FD. If you have seen the underside of an RX8 seat, then you understand.

Yeah, they are not very friendly to install mainly becuase you can't easily get the sliders off. If there was a removable catch it would make my life ALOT easier but it's not terrible, I've dealt with worse, I'll get some pics up and Dave, I'd would be the same amout of time and effort to get a set into an FD. I MAY get another set for mine, or I'll just have the FD seats re-upholstered. I'm not a fan of the tan, need me some black interior

hey let me know if you can get another set and dont use them, ive been looking for a good set for a while :)

What - no pics of the completed install, bah!?

I'm holding out on everybody for pics for now, lol. Its friggin cold down here, I cant imagine how bad you have it CT! My new gas heater for the garage isnt installed yet :(

Yeah I know, I menat to get pics today. I went to get my camera, it wasn't where it was supposed to be so I gave up without even looking :rofl:

It wasn't that bad at all yesterday and today. It broke freezing and got up to a nice warm 36* today. Expecting the same tomorrow with about an inch of snow, low 20's over the weekend - boooooo - then back into the mid 30's all next week. It's not that bad. I've got a forced heat 30,000BTU heater that takes the chill off and in a few weeks I'm grabbing an 80,000BTU tent heater which get's the shop up to about 65+. Hell, when I was painting I had the shop up to 75* in the winter. SOOOOOOOO nice.

lucky!! last time i worked on the FD i was putting in the shock assemblies, was so damn cold i gave up after getting 3 of the 4 back in...been sitting like that ever since :D

what sucks more is i need to cean/wash the engine bay to really progress.... one FD-sicle coming up!!

How many sqft is your garage Brian?

Quote:

Originally Posted by helghast7 (Post 106342)

:smilielol5: Yeah, I need to give the FC a wash and a wax before I start the teardown too. Heated garages are awesome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by WE3RX7 (Post 106361)

How many sqft is your garage Brian?

The garage itself is about 440sq'. The original Annex right off one of the bay doors is about 180 sq' and Le Annex Part Duex (off the side, not connected but serves as storage for the FD, the trailer, and the FC parts when the time comes) is about 250 sq' Basically my next house is going to need to have enough land to build a 4bay detached garage or an attached 2 bay and the ability to build a 3bay outback somewhere.

Brian, you know where to get everything, you happen to know where I can get a Flange for a 50mm HKS wastegate? I can't find one on eBay.

Thanks,

Kevin

you should try doing a google search, theres some websites that sell them, i just bought a v-band flange for my tial bov on a site i found on google

idk if its just my computer but the pics arent working

Dimensionally that looks pretty good - I cant tell how tall they sit near the headliner, but I'll check it out at DGRR. Seats do match the interior well...

Not bad Brian...not bad. They must feel WAY better then the stock worn out seats.

Is that passenger seat bolted down?? It looks like it sits cock-eyed a bit...

So you are planning on running different seats for racing or all together??

I LIKE the center window switch set up, very cool like a BMW!! :)

I would guess that the seat is bolted down. The FC and FB have a clever system that mounts the inboard rail a couple inches higher and on an angle with the trans tunnel. This makes it almost impossible to mount a seat properly, as the Adjustment is built into the seat frames mounting.( stock)

When I put the FD seats in the FB I ran into the exact problems as he did. The seats are just not dimensionally close at all. IMO. The bottoms of the seats drop down low which in turn causes the higher seating. For me at 6'2 that doesn't work well in the FB.There is o way I can get my helmet on and fit inside the car. I found that S4 seats are a direct bolt in on the passenger side. The donor car I used did not have drivers side seat rails so I made the FB rails work. I have come to hate installing seats:D

Quote:

Originally Posted by WE3RX7 (Post 106533)

Dimensionally that looks pretty good - I cant tell how tall they sit near the headliner, but I'll check it out at DGRR. Seats do match the interior well...

Thanks Bill, yeah I'm liking them alot so far

Quote:

Originally Posted by FC3S Murray (Post 106556)

They are better than the stockers, but I was running some corbeaus. Those were nice, but not the greates for scooting around town or long trips. I'll swap the corbeaus in for track days. 8 bolts, 10 minutes, best of both worlds.

It's bolted down, but becuase of the passenger side floor pan, it sits higher than the drivers. All of them do it, I think the stockers are the only ones that sit at about the same level.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigIslandSevens (Post 106557)

Yeah it is a PITA. In the Corbeaus I had to slouch a little with the helmet. A problem that I plan on rectifing over the winter. Something about having to slouch while racing doesn't really agree with me.

That is a nice power band, I bet that car is fun.

hey Brian, ive been thinking about the item you were talking about on saturday and ive been doing some digging

i cant find shit about it, i found the theory on it, that it was produced, but nothing current, were to buy one, or any kind of specs

if you have some shoot me some links because ive been at it for a good 3 hours lol

i would love to try it out, but after reading the theory it had me a bit concerned with how reliable they are

hehe i bet everyone is scratching there heads on what im talking about

Sooo.....Brian. How much do you figure to replicate those RX-8 seat brackets once you have them sorted out?

Seriously!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tech B (Post 106582)

That is a nice power band, I bet that car is fun.

Yeah she is, if I can keep traction. There's non in 1st or 2nd on low boost, and highboost breaks them loose in 3rd. I dunno if it's the cold roads or what but I can't keep the ass in line when I mat her. I gotta stop driving this car and get to work on her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by helghast7 (Post 106617)

I'm sure they are. The only place to find any real information on them is the manufacturers website. It's not under the general listing though, you need to DL or open thier PDF catalog. Everything else I've found is really just internet heresay, nothing really concrete as it applies to gas engines ..... everyone still guessing :suspect:

Quote:

Originally Posted by djmtsu (Post 106678)

Sooo.....Brian. How much do you figure to replicate those RX-8 seat brackets once you have them sorted out?

Seriously!

Honestly, not that much at all. The only problem is they can't really be bolted in. They really should be welded in mainly becuase of the passenge side inboard front bracket being flush with the floorpan. The passenger outboard front, drivers outboard rear and both drivers front mounts are a piece of cake. It's also the rear inboard bolt on both that cause a huge problem. I don't know if the track can be cut or not and still allow full adjustment rearward. I'll have to figure that out when I start into the car..... which should be today but it won't be :( My solution is to change the mounting entirely on the rear inboard mounts so that the bolt drives through the rack downward. I'll make installation a TON easier as well regardless of the seat that I use. But that requires a steel box with a nut welded on the inside and welding it to the floorpan. Not something that everyone is up for as the prep would take wuite some time to clean off all the heat material, grind the primer down to bare steel, weldthrough prime everything, weld it, seal it etc etc. It's a cake walk with the car at my shop..... too bad all you guys live so damn far away from CT, well, alot of you.

I could duplicate the mounts that I bulit for mine with the exception of the inboard rears fairly cheaply, but they would need to be welded to the RX8 tracks, or bolted. I prefer welding honestly. Maybe $125 for 6/8 mounts, or if I find that the rear inboard track can be cut and the factory bolt holes used we can figure something out.

Brian,

Let me know if I can help you with those brackets. We laser cut and CNC press brake metal everyday here. Thos e brackets could be bolted in if you used a square frame and press brake the ends. We could even powder coat the assembly in house. If you want, let's talk more through PM. We have in-house CAD design as well.

Todd B.
(formerly NoLimitInd)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT (Post 106701)

yea thats as far as i got, the companies site only formally addresses the item for one car, but it looks like it would only work on that specific car

all other sites speak of it in past tense and dont say how to go about purchasing one or the type of setup they would run

and lol im trying to make this go as long as possible lol its getting hard

Oh noes!!!!! I done it again!

The super secret tranny is assembled, it works, sorta, one problem to solve and one piece to be machined. Then it's off to Daves for some cryo treatment, full rebuild and then it can be put into the car. 6-spd, awesome gearing, and it fits in the stock shifter opening and BOLTS up to the bellhousing.

Curiouser and curiouser.......

You should have done it as Count von Count from Sesame Street......

:suspect:

btw, where's mine?