I did not get a chance to check out the under side in person, but I have seen pictures. I already have an undertray on my car that I like alot. I use the 3-piece carbon undertray from shine that was meant for the '99 spec bumper. That will be staying on my car most of the time, but I want a splitter that extends out past the bumper for track days. The part that I am worried about is the section that extends out past the bumper. That needs to be very rigid. Although it depends on how far out it extends.



We will talk. This will be happening come spring time.

And yeah its warm down here... The dashboard read 100F when I got in my car to go to lunch yesterday haha

Ah, I see....

How thick is the carbon? I'm thinking maybe build a replica out of some sheet, and use the aluminite for the section that protrudes?

Excellent :D

Yeah welllllllllll, I think it's supposed to drop into the 20's tonight I think, maybe 30's. Admit it, you're jealous ;)

John, thank you for your constant inspiration and new information.

Dude, I don't know you, but, I admire your dedication to your FD.

If you are ever in Canada, specifically Alberta,
we should grab a bite, or something like that.

:o16: DUCTING

what DriFD3S said.

i feel like reading your thread and following your build is like cheating. you're doing everything i want to do. thanks for paving the way, :)

I normally FDs are not my thing. But this car is Prefect. I like the wheels you have, It is so clean, and the ducting, I want it.

The Pettit GTC replica bumper arrived and I had some time to test fit it while I was home over the holidays. Good news is it fits perfectly! :D

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...7/IMG_0052.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...7/IMG_0063.jpg


My only complaint is that the bumper came "unfinished" with mold markings and various imperfections in the gel coat. Im going to smooth these all out before it goes to paint.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...7/IMG_0060.jpg


I also took some time to finally mock up a template for the intercooler splitter. I ran all last year without any ducting to the intercooler core and it worked ok, but with this Im hoping it will help maintain lower AIT's during longer track sessions.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...7/IMG_0073.jpg

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...7/IMG_0088.jpg


I need to order some wire mesh for the bumper openings.

Mmm, I've always loved the GTC bumper. And I like that ducting too. Giving me some good ideas.

+1, love this car

I think I read somewhere that zerks could weaken the bushings because you need to drill through the body of the bushing to lube the inner wear surface (which would also prevent it from moving freely). I used the Energy Suspension grease which I heard is good for 30k+ miles if you stay out of the wet/rain.

John, is your paint Innocent Blue Mica?

I see where you are coming from, but I am skeptical that drilling a single small hole through the center of the bushing will make any difference. Especially when some of the bushings are designed as two piece.

The zerk fitting also serves as a set screw to lock the busing in place relative to the suspension arm. I see this as an advantage to assist the bushing in doing its job correctly. An OEM rubber bushing is designed to flex, where as a poly bushing is designed to piviot on the center shaft (see below). I have seen evidence that my bushings are binding up on the shaft and the entire bushing stays stationary while the suspension arm piviots around the bushing. My idea is that adding the zerk fittings will correct this.

Rubber bushing
http://www.elephantracing.com/images...shanime128.gif

Polyurethane Bushing
http://www.elephantracing.com/images...shanime128.gif



Nope. Electon Blue Metallic from a Corvette. Painted it myself in a makeshift garage paintbooth (some tarps and a box fan) about 8 years ago. Turned out pretty good, but I will never do that again. All the prep work involved sucks.


Some pics from back in the day when cameras first started appearing on cell phones :lol:

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1325687874

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1325687886

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1325687898

Yeah your paint came out really well! Makes me think about trying it, but you're right, the prep work sucks. I painted just my engine bay and I hated doing all the prep for just that.

Most of the guys installing zerks also cut grooves/channels in the body of the bushing (some have this from the factory), otherwise the bushing may pivot and block off the lubrication passage

http://www.timskelton.com/lightning/...e_bushings.htm

I've seen pictures of poly bushings without zerks that still looked new (of course the grease was dirty) after 30k - it's driving in hard rain that you want to avoid if possible. For track use, the zerks are probably a good idea.

I like this thread :)

You have made a beautiful car :iagree:

:cheers2: Thanks. The car has come together nicely... I just need to improve my driving skills now :driving:



I came across some more shots a fellow photog buddy of mine took at one of the events this past summer.

This new bumper was LONG overdue...

This is me getting black flagged because the corner worker thought my hood was popped... it was just large panel gap :(

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...R_PCA013sm.jpg


That same day I also lost my driver side headlight cover at the end of the front straight from air getting under the cover... once again from a poor fitting bumper :icon_no2:

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...R_PCA014sm.jpg


And a random shot of my interior from the same photographer.

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/j...R_PCA004sm.jpg

I've lost my headlight cover a couple times too, I hate that lol. And they're hard as shit to find used.

Is that grey on the interior panels similar to the Spirit R pieces? Is it somewhat rubbery like in the Spirit R? I've been wanting to do that for a while now. It looks REALLY good.

It is just the 94 finish plastics painted gunmetal grey. I did this back in my "ricer" days back when other people were painting their plastics the color of their cars and whatnot. Im just glad I picked a color I still like, because there is no going back. At the time I was unaware the Spirit R had a grey dash.

Oh ok cool haha. I'm surprised the paint has held up so well all this time then. Now I can see the texture of the 94/95 dash. Thanks!

Always loved Electron Blue, yours looks better than mine though :D
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1325831751

I painted my silver car about 5 years ago. I'm with you... Never again! The prep work is so freaking time intensive. I've painted a few things since(like my bumper and headlight covers... also like you :D) and have been happy with how it's turned out. Towards the end when I'm wetsanding, buffing, and polishing... I'm ready to check out.

We've got a thread going on the 7club about a bunch of us trying to get together at RA or VIR this next track season. Let me know if you guys are interested or think it's feasible.

Damn John, I didn't know you did that paint job yourself, well done sir :icon_tup:

I don't understand the big deal, I personally love paint and body work, one of my favorite things to do. It pisses me off when I fuck something up and have to do it again... IE I painted my hood 7 times :banghead:

Update.

Home from Puerto Rico and work on the FD has resumed!

I got all my body panels back from paint and I have been working on prepping the bumper for install. I have installed SS screen to keep rocks and tire chunks from damaging any of my heat exchangers. I also finished my intercooler duct / splitter. It is hidden nicely behind the screen.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7052/6...a8529072_b.jpg

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6215/7...8548b3c7_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/6...d97ea6fd_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7094/6...f48e1739_b.jpg


I have been sending batches of parts off to the powder coaters... I got tired of all the polished parts and I'm having everything coated in different forms of black. Here is the first batch: Radiator plate, dress up plate, and strut bar in wrinkle black. I have another batch that I should be picking up this week.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7...e2e02995_b.jpg


Also joined the 21st century by adding some hood struts

http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6115/7...9d4c344d_b.jpg

Fawking LUV it!!

I wonder if any of your temperatures (IAT or oil) will go up slightly as a result of the mesh. It doesn't seem like much but it really does impede flow. There's a reason we don't have mesh screens in front of jet engines :) That being said I'm sure the peace-of-mind of knowing you won't put a rock through an oil cooler is probably worth a couple degrees.

You are absolutely correct. The mesh I used has an open area of 62.7% so it is definitely impeding airflow. However, as with anything it’s all about the trade-off's. My radiator is starting to get pretty beat up in the bottom corners so in my opinion the mesh is necessary. Also the oil coolers are very vulnerable to severe damage from being struck by large objects.

With this ducting setup my temperatures have always been very good, so I am willing to sacrafice some for saftey.

Looking good :icon_tup:

Thats one sweet car!

mmm, love that beauty plate in the engine room :)

Awesome build!!!

Have you thought about moving your front brake ducts to be more in the direct line of airflow in the front opening? It looked like you had some room between the current opening and the intercooler. I know you mentioned brake fade problems at DGRR last year and I would bet money that would go away with more direct airflow into the ducts. Just a thought...

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/...9910f106_b.jpg

I have been considering adding air scoops over the ducts to force more air through them. I did notice barke fade towards the end of the dragon run last year, however the brakes have been good at track events so far.


Anyway, update time.

My twins finally shit the bed last night! The car has been sitting for the past couple weeks while I have been helping all my friends get their cars ready for DGRR. I decided to take it out and stretch its legs last night before I started cleaning it for DGRR... the first WOT pull I was treated to a big smoke screen behind me, then after that the car struggled to make boost and the intake temps kept climbing.

I have alot of very hard miles on my turbos and I knew they were not long for this world so luckily I have a very low mileage pair of cartridges sitting on the shelf. With only a couple days left before we leave I decided to get right to work.

I got the old turbos out, disassembled, cleaned, and new cartridges installed. The fresh set is waiting for me to drop them in tonight after work. I cant wait for DGRR :hurray:

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1334666142

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1334666178

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1334666241

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1334666173

http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1334666250

That sucks but at least you'll fix it in time. I've got an extra set of twins if you need more parts.

what the piece you got coating above your radiator cap area?

you gonna go for that ap racing brake kit?

It is just a decorative plate.

Yep. I have been lending my engineering services to SakeBomb Garage over the past 6 months or so... I had a little something to do with the development in the AP kit so it will be on my car ;)


Update:

So I started up the car to leave for DGRR and noticed a large amount of smoke pouring out the exhaust. It was hard to tell, but it looked like white coolant burning smoke and it smelt sweet to me at the time. I prematurely blamed my coolant seals and pulled the car back into the garage.

After DGRR once I had some time to diagnose the car I determined that the smoke was in fact not coolant smoke, but was definately oil in nature. The turbos I had just recently installed came off of a car with 30k miles and I had physically seen running bfore they were removed and it did not smoke. I assumed they could not be the issue. It was not oil control rings because the smoke would not start pouring out until 30-45 seconds after a cold start, also plugs were dry after pulling EGI and cranking. I tried various crankcase ventilation options and nothing helped. The strange thing was if I drove the car it would stop smoking all together.

I finally gave up and decided to pull the turbos again. Sure enough the front turbo was pouring oil out the turbine side into the exhaust. I checked all oil feed and return lines and could not find any blockages.

Oil from front turbo
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1336568487

Rear turbo dry
http://rotarycarclub.com/rotary_foru...1&d=1336568493

Once I swapped cartridges again and went to install the set I ended up snapping one of the manifold bolts :18: Off they come again.

I got the bolt drilled out and everything back together. The smoke is now completely fixed. However, im now completely burnt out on dealing with the twins so im looking into single turbo setups...

I have an apointment for alignment and corner balance this friday and a 3 day event at VIR next weekend :driving:

twins eat penis.

Great updates as always :biggthumpup:

No idea what this means, but :lol:

It means Peter is jealous of the response the twins have.

If only they were still sequential then that might be a true statement. Sigh.

So I made it out to VIR for the first time a couple weeks ago. I have to say, this track is absolutely amazing! I am planning on going back for another event in September. If it was not for the 7 hour drive, I would be out there every other weekend.


Thanks to Brian for letting me borrow his GoPro!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndTK1w_1weY&hd=1


and here is a quick clip of me chasing down the 3 rotor FD. I was not too happy when he attempted to blast down the straight w/o giving me the point by.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebhx8vex16c


My lap times were nothing spectacular, but im looking forward to more seat time so I can improve.

Pics:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7098/7...797c0b85_b.jpg

New SBG AP BBK!
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7233/7...5f52039f_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7...dac154f8_b.jpg

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7093/7...a4d0d669_c.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7...1f1ab509_c.jpg

saw you were selling your twin power. what coils are you switching to?