JhnRX7's Weekend Track Toy Build

[Topgear]

Lovely work mate great engineering

[RENESISFD]

Originally Posted by RedR1

I never got to let the suspension fully settle. I drove maybe 200 miles tops. Bought them new, 11/10 spring rates. They were with the first 10 units Rishie brought stateside many years ago.

then they were stolen off my FD when it was stolen and stripped (still hurts).

When you get a chance to ride with John, can you please chime back in or PM me insight compared to the function xs, if you don't mind? I would genuinely appreciate it (though i'm pretty much sold on the DFV's when its time).

Chris,

I rode in Johns car last weekend and the ride is very plush, quite comfortable. It is smoother than my zeals however I have 13k springs compared to the 11k springs John has. I also rode in goodfellas car which has the same suspension but has the settings stiffer (to rich good handling comes with a stiffy) than what John had his set to and the ride was obviously much stiffer.

Overall they are definitely a good streetable coilover that is also great for the track. If I was in the market for suspension I would get the ohlins over the zeals because they are basically the same price, and the ohlins are ohlins.

The expansion joints on the highway are much smoother than my car is but I normally drive them on a stiff setting because I live on long island and want to prevent the car from bottoming out on bumps because I drive my car with it pretty low to the ground.

I would not hesitate to get them even at their price point.

[JhnRX7]

As promised, I had a chance to try out the Ohlins on track










So my last track session was about a month ago at NJMP's Thunderbolt track. That session was on the stance suspension. This past Sunday I got back to Thunderbolt with the new Ohlins (and seats). However, I did not end up running the same track configuration. This time we ran WITH the chicane so lap times would generally be slower... Even with the chicane I shaved 3 seconds off my previous best!

Here is the data overlay. The red line is with the Ohlins, and the blue line is with the Stance. Notice my MPH is significantly higher through all the corners (except the chicane section).



1:46.85 Before
1:43.82 After

I think its safe to say these are better on track

As far as feel, they absolutely inspired more confidence but I think the higher cornering speed just came naturally. Another big improvement was rumble strips. They are so smooth now I can ride way up onto them without unsettling the car.

I have edited a video with data overlay I will be posting tonight.

[JhnRX7]

Video with data!

GPS lap time info recorded via Racelogic Performance Box. ECU data from internal data logging during session. AEM Series 2 ECU.

[Brent]

I can't wait to ride in your car again. Lots of stuff I want to check out. Wish you could have made it down last weekend with Rich and Dan.

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by Brent

I can't wait to ride in your car again. Lots of stuff I want to check out. Wish you could have made it down last weekend with Rich and Dan.

Agreed, I need more instruction! I know the car has a lot more in it. Will your car be ready for next season? I really want to get back to VIR and even more so I want to get on Road Atlanta.


Testing out a new diffuser for SBG... I think I like it, just need to add rear skirts now to match sides.

[jacobcartmill]

john, very nice car. i am jealous.

also, i have the exact same stance coilovers you previously had, even with the 12k front and 10k rear springs. the ride is hard as hell, but they felt fine on the track (i'm probably too novice to even notice a difference). i'm overpowering my stock size tires (RS3s) so the shocks probably aren't getting the same workout as they would on your setup.

[Brent]

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

Agreed, I need more instruction! I know the car has a lot more in it. Will your car be ready for next season? I really want to get back to VIR and even more so I want to get on Road Atlanta.


Testing out a new diffuser for SBG... I think I like it, just need to add rear skirts now to match sides.

I hope so. My biggest constraint right now is time. Work takes up a lot of my time right now and it's a big deal for me to travel more than a couple hours away. I'm going to try to put something together at RA or VIR again in 2014. It'll probably be later in the year.

[JhnRX7]

So my FD is down for the winter and its time for some long overdue motor work. The last time the current motor was out of the car was in 2004. I have not put a ton of miles on the motor (maybe 35k), but they have been hard miles. I had been having smoking issues over the past year so I finally decided to pull it and tear it down.

Seeing as I built this motor when I was 17, there were quite a few things I would have done different had I known better. It appears that I had ported slightly into the oil control ring causing the front oil control rings to wear well past spec. I believe that, combined with using the original (now 120k mile) metal control rings ultimately led to the smoking.



There were other issues I found while I was in there, chattering from the 3mm seals, a dented rotor, and poor side seal clearance on the rear rotor just to name a few. The rusty coolant passages were from years ago when I lived in FL I made the mistake of running the system with little to no coolant.



See the blow by here… this explains why my catch can was filling with fuel!



I have cleaned everything and stacked the parts away on a shelf until I decide what to do. I want to start over with a 2mm motor, and polished stock ports. For now, I am focusing on other projects.

[RX SE7EN]

are the rotors still usable? If so, I might be able to take them off your hands

[JhnRX7]

…other project such as a redesigned, overbuilt fuel system!

I recently had the opportunity to tune an E85 FD and I was very impressed with the capability of the fuel. Not only the knock suppression, but mainly the cooling ability! The coolant temps on that car were rock solid despite the fact it had a completely insufficient cooling system (greedy FMIC, no under tray, etc).

I have always liked the idea of water injection, but never installed it because I don't like the idea of installing additional mechanical systems on the car. My ECU has full Flex Fuel capability so it seemed to me E85 was the obvious choice. Once everything is all setup and tuned I just need to go to the gas pump. The ethanol content will dictate the power the motor makes by automatically adjusting between the 93 map/boost settings and the E85 map/boost settings.

I don't have lofty power goals. I am not using E85 was a way to achieve a big number. Truth be told, I will probably be running 93 the majority of the time. I simply want to take advantage of more capabilities of the ECU and I wanted an excuse to overbuild the fuel system

This past weekend Mr. Ambrosio (RENESISFD a.k.a "Hard Line Master") came down to lend a hand in bending and flaring hard lines for the entire car. I used 3/8" 316L Stainless along with an assortment of tube nuts and fittings. With John's assistance and his fancy hydraulic flaring tool we were able to complete all the motor lines as well as the under car lines.



Injectors will be ID1000 primary, ID 2000 Secondary. Seeing as E85 requires 30% more fuel I upped the stock 5/16" lines to 3/8" which should be plenty for my goals. I maintained the original in series fuel routing. The primary to secondary hard line is my favorite. It fits within a groove in the water pump with thousands of an inch to spare on all sides!





We replicated the OEM under car lines which was not an easy task. 13 bends in each line and if any one was off the whole thing would not fit! I am no longer running a purge control valve so the charcoal canister will vent at the rear of the car. Luckily, the 3/8" lines were able to fit in the OEM clips and everything bolts up exactly as stock



I picked up the newest 2013 GM flex fuel sensor. This sensor is also made by continental like the others however it is smaller and has improved electronics. "Outputs ethanol concentration and fuel temperature within 250ms after start-up" as opposed by 500ms with the older sensor… not sure how much that matters, but I like that it is smaller.



I have yet to determine what I am going to do between the under car lines and the fuel pump. I need to figure out a fuel filter solution first. I plan on running the AEM 320lph E85 pump in tank.

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by RX SE7EN

are the rotors still usable? If so, I might be able to take them off your hands

Im not ready to give them up just yet until I figure out what i am going to do with the motor.

That said… you need 3mm rotors? The clearances all check out, but one is slightly dented.

[TitaniumTT]

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

So my FD is down for the winter and its time for some long overdue motor work. The last time the current motor was out of the car was in 2004. I have not put a ton of miles on the motor (maybe 35k), but they have been hard miles. I had been having smoking issues over the past year so I finally decided to pull it and tear it down.

Seeing as I built this motor when I was 17, there were quite a few things I would have done different had I known better. It appears that I had ported slightly into the oil control ring causing the front oil control rings to wear well past spec. I believe that, combined with using the original (now 120k mile) metal control rings ultimately led to the smoking.

There were other issues I found while I was in there, chattering from the 3mm seals, a dented rotor, and poor side seal clearance on the rear rotor just to name a few. The rusty coolant passages were from years ago when I lived in FL I made the mistake of running the system with little to no coolant.

See the blow by here… this explains why my catch can was filling with fuel!

I have cleaned everything and stacked the parts away on a shelf until I decide what to do. I want to start over with a 2mm motor, and polished stock ports. For now, I am focusing on other projects.

That's pretty good considering the type of miles that your car has seen. What so you think caused the chattering? Hurley, 3mm or what are you using for oil injection? Straight stock or premix in the tank as well?

What are you going to be running for seals in the new motor?

I like stock ports.... they have their place depending on application. The 'vert engine I built was originally supposed to be just a stock engine with a stock turbo making 270rwhp. I didn't change the port timing at all, just cleaned everything up significantly and spent some time in the bowls.

I've since changed my mind and will be doing WM injection, building a mani for it, running either a TO4 something or a BW S360. New power goal is 450. All I'm going to do is crack the keg open and replace the Apex seals... that's it.

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

…other project such as a redesigned, overbuilt fuel system!

This past weekend Mr. Ambrosio (RENESISFD a.k.a "Hard Line Master") came down to lend a hand in bending and flaring hard lines for the entire car. I used 3/8" 316L Stainless along with an assortment of tube nuts and fittings. With John's assistance and his fancy hydraulic flaring tool we were able to complete all the motor lines as well as the under car lines.

VERY sexy...

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

Injectors will be ID1000 primary, ID 2000 Secondary. Seeing as E85 requires 30% more fuel I upped the stock 5/16" lines to 3/8" which should be plenty for my goals. I maintained the original in series fuel routing. The primary to secondary hard line is my favorite. It fits within a groove in the water pump with thousands of an inch to spare on all sides!

Very sexy indeed.... my only concern would be heating of the SS line in that area being that close to the WP housing. But then again, with the amount of fuel flowing through it, I don't think it will be that much of a problem.....

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

We replicated the OEM under car lines which was not an easy task. 13 bends in each line and if any one was off the whole thing would not fit! I am no longer running a purge control valve so the charcoal canister will vent at the rear of the car. Luckily, the 3/8" lines were able to fit in the OEM clips and everything bolts up exactly as stock



I picked up the newest 2013 GM flex fuel sensor. This sensor is also made by continental like the others however it is smaller and has improved electronics. "Outputs ethanol concentration and fuel temperature within 250ms after start-up" as opposed by 500ms with the older sensor… not sure how much that matters, but I like that it is smaller.

Been there, done that, more than a few times.... I get quicker each time, but I like it less each time as well

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

I have yet to determine what I am going to do between the under car lines and the fuel pump. I need to figure out a fuel filter solution first. I plan on running the AEM 320lph E85 pump in tank.

are you going to run any type if surge tank or anything of that nature given how much you track the car?

[JhnRX7]

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

That's pretty good considering the type of miles that your car has seen. What so you think caused the chattering? Hurley, 3mm or what are you using for oil injection? Straight stock or premix in the tank as well?

Yeah, I was running Hurley 3mm seals. The OMP system is stock. I did not start premixing until a few years ago. However I have always changed my oil religiously.

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

What are you going to be running for seals in the new motor?

TBD

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

Very sexy indeed.... my only concern would be heating of the SS line in that area being that close to the WP housing. But then again, with the amount of fuel flowing through it, I don't think it will be that much of a problem.....

This is a valid concern. One I had not really considered... The flex fuel sensor also measures fuel temperature, I will have to monitor fuel temp to see how it is affected as the car warms up. Worst case, that is an easy line to re-do.

Originally Posted by TitaniumTT

are you going to run any type if surge tank or anything of that nature given how much you track the car?

This is part of the reason I did not finish off the rear of the car. I am seriously considering a radium surge tank or the setup Ambrosio has (just not welded in the tank). I want to mount it under the car to maintain a stock appearance.

[RXtacy]

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

…other project such as a redesigned, overbuilt fuel system!

I recently had the opportunity to tune an E85 FD and I was very impressed with the capability of the fuel. Not only the knock suppression, but mainly the cooling ability! The coolant temps on that car were rock solid despite the fact it had a completely insufficient cooling system (greedy FMIC, no under tray, etc).

I have always liked the idea of water injection, but never installed it because I don't like the idea of installing additional mechanical systems on the car. My ECU has full Flex Fuel capability so it seemed to me E85 was the obvious choice. Once everything is all setup and tuned I just need to go to the gas pump. The ethanol content will dictate the power the motor makes by automatically adjusting between the 93 map/boost settings and the E85 map/boost settings.

I don't have lofty power goals. I am not using E85 was a way to achieve a big number. Truth be told, I will probably be running 93 the majority of the time. I simply want to take advantage of more capabilities of the ECU and I wanted an excuse to overbuild the fuel system

This past weekend Mr. Ambrosio (RENESISFD a.k.a "Hard Line Master") came down to lend a hand in bending and flaring hard lines for the entire car. I used 3/8" 316L Stainless along with an assortment of tube nuts and fittings. With John's assistance and his fancy hydraulic flaring tool we were able to complete all the motor lines as well as the under car lines.



Injectors will be ID1000 primary, ID 2000 Secondary. Seeing as E85 requires 30% more fuel I upped the stock 5/16" lines to 3/8" which should be plenty for my goals. I maintained the original in series fuel routing. The primary to secondary hard line is my favorite. It fits within a groove in the water pump with thousands of an inch to spare on all sides!

We replicated the OEM under car lines which was not an easy task. 13 bends in each line and if any one was off the whole thing would not fit! I am no longer running a purge control valve so the charcoal canister will vent at the rear of the car. Luckily, the 3/8" lines were able to fit in the OEM clips and everything bolts up exactly as stock

I picked up the newest 2013 GM flex fuel sensor. This sensor is also made by continental like the others however it is smaller and has improved electronics. "Outputs ethanol concentration and fuel temperature within 250ms after start-up" as opposed by 500ms with the older sensor… not sure how much that matters, but I like that it is smaller.

I have yet to determine what I am going to do between the under car lines and the fuel pump. I need to figure out a fuel filter solution first. I plan on running the AEM 320lph E85 pump in tank.

Hardlines look great!

Originally Posted by JhnRX7

This is part of the reason I did not finish off the rear of the car. I am seriously considering a radium surge tank or the setup Ambrosio has (just not welded in the tank). I want to mount it under the car to maintain a stock appearance.

The Radium surge tank is a sexy piece.