33 Machine electric 818e build- Sold! Headed to China!

[ehansen007]

On my build I have some gaps between the buckets and the headlights. Some you can't notice and other's not so nice. What type of trim did you add on the edge of the fiberglass to the close the gaps?
Attachment 31446

Brett

At first I used some of the "D" gasket to close the gap and it worked fine but then I found something better.

[ehansen007]

Hi Erik,
Everything looks great.
Will they have recharge facilities on sight?
Good luck.
Bob

Yes they will have 220 in the pits and the campgrounds. No supercharging yet though!!! . I've taken the car out on a few midnight runs already and it's doing great.

Couple of things: Like Brando, I doesn't like to stay in 5th. To me it seems like the shift linkage does not allow for that long notch you feel when shifting into any gear. Is this a result of the play in the cables? Shifts are not confidence inspiring for sure.

Also, thanks for the design RPsepex
More pics to come.

[RM1SepEx]

That's what the forum is for, cross polinization makes for a better breed. I did use a couple little bronze bushings, are your hinges just aluminum?

[07FIREBLADE]

What headlights are those again? Did you get them off ebay or something and will you be able to pass Brake and Light inspection with that DRL strip flashing too? Love the hood hindge idea.

[Aero STI]

Those headlights look slick. They definitely make the car look more modern.

Do you have any drawings for your front hinge setup or did you just make them on the fly?

Your weld in spacer inspired me to come up with this low buck solution to quik latch pins being a bit short and unstable. It's a 1/2" bolt drilled and tapped to 1/4-20. I did everything on the lathe, but it could be done carefully on a drill press. A relieved tap is necessary to go the whole depth of the bolt.

[ehansen007]

The headlights are Spyder with the DRL LEDs built in but the headlights sit so low the DRLs couldn't be seen. Imagine my DOH! So I found these "switchback" LED strips and Ordered them from Ali express. It took a few weeks but I got them and just silicones them to the outside as a gasket and I have them on T connectors so I can disable them for brake and lamp inspection. My only regret is that I shroud have ordered the 90cm instead of the 60cm. Oh well!

I made the hinges on the fly all out of aluminum and it was a pain taking that hood on and off over and over!! . Glad that's done.

[C.Plavan]

Those headlights look slick. They definitely make the car look more modern.

Do you have any drawings for your front hinge setup or did you just make them on the fly?

Your weld in spacer inspired me to come up with this low buck solution to quik latch pins being a bit short and unstable. It's a 1/2" bolt drilled and tapped to 1/4-20. I did everything on the lathe, but it could be done carefully on a drill press. A relieved tap is necessary to go the whole depth of the bolt.

Nice solution. Do you guys know the height of that whole assembly?

I have those same headlights darn it. I bought them for the DRL's..... I love your solution though.

[ehansen007]

Chad, $40 here solves the problem! They have internal switchery already wired in! Besides the singular LEDs are so 2013. These are the future! (for at least another 3 months or so)

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2x-Wh...647016778.html

They should hit amazon and ebay shortly as well.

[ehansen007]

That's what the forum is for, cross polinization makes for a better breed. I did use a couple little bronze bushings, are your hinges just aluminum?

Yes, I believe the mounts are 7075 for more support and I used 6061 for the brackets since they had to bend more. I used 1/2" OD 3/8" ID bronze bushings as well. To square it, I put a 3/8" rod through the body as a guide just as you did. The one thing I'm really pissed about is that as hard as I tried to get that front nose of the hood to match the line on the bumper, it still came out way off. That whole front end is way out of whack from the molds.

[ehansen007]

Question, how are you guys lining your headlights up? Mine are down and pointed at the center. Don't see any adjustment available. Also, any input on 5th gear? I'm calling FFR on that one.

[C.Plavan]

Chad, $40 here solves the problem! They have internal switchery already wired in! Besides the singular LEDs are so 2013. These are the future! (for at least another 3 months or so)

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2x-Wh...647016778.html

They should hit amazon and ebay shortly as well.

I bought the 85mm ones right after I saw yours.

[Brando]

any input on 5th gear?

Aside from shift linkage issues I have been told it could be due to a few different things. Synchros, a mount or shifter bushing, or the nut on the end of the mainshaft has loosened up a bit.
I am opening up my trans and will let you know what was found. It won't be for a few weeks though.

EDIT: Most the people I have found with the same issue online were due to the mainshaft nut coming loose.

http://www.wrxtuners.com/forums/f69/...ut-gear-17631/

[ehansen007]

In getting ready for the track, I secured the hood, painted the underside, and made a wind blocker for the radiator opening. The good news is, I have a Frunk!

[ehansen007]

Dead tired....but here she is.. Interior yet to come as I'm expecting some new parts in...

[Wayne Presley]

Looks ok I guess.... Congrats Erik!

[07FIREBLADE]

Nice frunk!!! Where did you get the LEDs for your instrument cluster and what data does the iPad display?

[GUNS]

Dude, well done! I can't wait to see how it does on the track!

[Aero STI]

Your car looks fantastic. I'm definitely going to need to copy the hood hinge design.

[Frank818]

Freakin great!!!

[ehansen007]

I got the LEDS from a local electronics store. They looked like the F1 type and I forgot I had ordered the indicators on the speedo but stayed with them anyway. The Android Tablet isn't displaying anything yet but I'm working on it. It will be mostly for stereo and some battery readout info. Working on registration right now.

[wallace18]

Very nice job! You should be proud.

[esff32]

Looks amazing Erik, very cool. Cant wait to hear it…Lol!

[Aloha818]

Looks great! Good job! Good luck with the registration process.

[Brando]

Cant wait to hear it

Nice whip. Heard she purrs like a sewing machine

[Speedy G]

First of all, awesome!! The whole car came out prrty clean. Maybe you need a little work on the interior but that's it.

Erik, do you have final numbers on the weight of the car at each corner? you posted the weight pre-body. I'm just wondering how much the fiberglass stuff weighs. Is there any part that weighs enough to be made out of carbon fiber for a weight advantage?

Speedy G

[ehansen007]

Hey speedy, I'm about to do just that if I can get the scales from my friends today. I'm interested to find out as well.

Also I spoke to Jim Schenck yesterday about rear suspension setup and how the rear wheel sits so far back in the fender well. Basically the body is on and it's lined up per the manual so I couldn't have moved the body any further forward. When I look at the suspension setup I can see that the lower trailing arm is fixed and if I shorten the upper link to compensate I'm creating roll steer and also moving the upper later link closer to the spring where it will hit. It doesn't seem like it will work out. Anyone else have this issue? (probably, I've been too busy to read all the posts!) If so how did you fix it?

[RM1SepEx]

mine's the same as yours... My car is not aligned yet so I'm not sure where they will be when the rear suspension is aligned properly

[ehansen007]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. What's crazy is that it's an issue with the Hot Rod too (with some people but not all). Check these pics out. The original SEMA car is a bit forward and then the candy red car is back in the well like ours. I'm considering pulling the bottom of the bumper out a bit and see if it helps. I don't like stressing the body like that though.

OH4A2785.JPG

0_1DPM22780.jpg

[WIS89]

Erik-

Car looks fantastic. I have enjoyed following your build. Thanks for the great build details.

I hope it exceeds your expectations on the track!

Regards,

Steve

[myjones]

Yeah, I was afraid of that. What's crazy is that it's an issue with the Hot Rod too. .
]

Erik
JS is very touchy about that issue. He says it's not true about the 33.
I tried to have a polite convo with him about the 33 and he got irate, so I just apologized for making him angry and thanked him for his time.
Nice whip
DB

[Frank818]

the lower trailing arm is fixed

What trailing arms are you using, OEM non-adjustable?

You are the first one I see this misalignment, I don't know if adjustable trailing arms can fix this. Usually if you change the length of one of these multiple arms we have there, it screws up adjustment and you have to move one or more of the others to balance everything out.

[ehansen007]

Erik
JS is very touchy about that issue. He says it's not true about the 33.
I tried to have a polite convo with him about the 33 and he got irate, so I just apologized for making him angry and thanked him for his time.
Nice whip
DB

Okay, well, I know others as well as Dan Ruth who have worked to get the wheel centered in the fender well. It could just be a preference thing so I may be wrong. It may also be that without the fenders, it looks off but the fender doesn't follow the rear of the car all the way back. Not sure. I just know my was off at recommended setup and ride height.



As for the 818, I'm not the only one, we've got two others mentioned above including a FFR SEMA car that have the same issue. I don't want to buy adjustable trailing arms (if I don't have to) and moving the wheel forward may cause the upper transverse link to hit the springs. I may just need to work it around a little. That's typical with these cars and I was on the phone with FFR we walked through it and came to a similar conclusion. It's a beta kit so I'm okay with these issues. My point was to try and find out how others who have had this situation fixed it or overcame it. Thanks guys.

[myjones]

Okay, well, I know others as well as Dan Ruth who have worked to get the wheel centered in the fender well. It could just be a preference thing so I may be wrong. It may also be that without the fenders, it looks off but the fender doesn't follow the rear of the car all the way back. Not sure. I just know my was off at recommended setup and ride height.
My point was to try and find out how others who have had this situation fixed it or overcame it. Thanks guys.

Erik
For clarity Mine on the full fender 33 was way off too and I had custom adjustable 4 links made to put it right. I have seen lots of pictures of completed cars that were obviously way off. I was hoping to discuss an updated 33 having that addressed. 33 MK2
On your 818 since it's a BETA, IF it is wrong they will likely improve the components, They do seem to listen to you and that's good for all of us.
I have enjoyed watching your build.
DB
Hemi33

[Frank818]

It's a beta kit so I'm okay with these issues.

I don't disagree with that. The question is "when did the beta production stop, giving place for real production kits?"

[RM1SepEx]

I think the correct terminology is early kit, there were no 818 beta builds

Erik what is your serial #? mine is 17 and I'll be tweaking, mine look like your's. I think one issue is the 5/8 measurement for the sides/rear fenders. That measurement is made after riveting an aluminum panel over the frame. When you piece together 8 major 3D body panels to control gaps there is some variability that results, it doesn't take much for the gaps to look "off"

Look at the issues some are having in the front. Between rear bushing mounts that are off, early steering rack mounts being off center, any misalignment of the holes through the brackets can cause you to twist and distort the rubber bushings a bit. It all results in slightly differnt wheel positions.

I think that long term it is the nature of the beast. We would be well served however if FFR could give us some hard and fast measurements so that we could work them while building it up vs after everything is mounted and the body is on casuing us to redo everything.

I've done some browsing on the forum of other FFR models and every model has similar issues. So... many... variables...

[metalmaker12]

I just centered the quarters and fenders over the wheels the best I could make it all centered and look correct. image.jpg

[ehansen007]

I just centered the quarters and fenders over the wheels the best I could make it all centered and look correct. image.jpg

Yup and it looks good. You can see where the front fender is hanging over a bit in the front though. I felt those lines needed to be matched up and I could work with the back. But I'm finding I can't. It's minor though and I'm not complaining about it. Just trying to find a solution..

RM1: As for the beta reference, you're right; there technically were no betas but make no mistake, we were the betas guys. Maybe call us the "First Builders," I don't know...whatever works. I'm not sure of the first production run but I would have to say the first 30-50 were rolled out while changes were still be made as well as adjustments. Door panels, hood standoffs, poorly filled out fiberglass voids, etc. I was actually very surprised they didn't do betas on these cars and handed them to so many first time builders. It opened them up to a lot scrutiny and from a new demographic that's used to things happening much faster than their current customer base. Let's face it. Subaru guys are younger, more tech savy, and used to getting Amazon packages the day before they ordered it! So patience can be a tough virtue. And you my friend, got one of the roughest kits I've seen. These are the things beta builders deal with and that's okay. It's how apple does things when a new OS comes out because no one dev team can find all of these issues without building and deploying a large amount of products into the field and waiting to hear back... and burn money doing it. So, as I've written before, we are all part of the team, helping them build a new product so take pride in being a "first builder!" I know I do. By the way, I have kit 19E (for electric...NOT) Not sure what the e stands for.

[Turboguy]

At first I used some of the "D" gasket to close the gap and it worked fine but then I found something better.

Erik-

Do you have some closeup pics of the headlight and DRL strip? I'm curious how it's mounted and the level of finish you can obtain with something like this.

Is the LED strip mounted inside the bucket or is it sitting on the surface?

[ehansen007]

It just sits on the surface of the headlight on the outside. They actually come with small clamps that you can screw in if you want to mount on the inside. I just figured it closed the gap nicely and filled two purposes.

[Aero STI]

Erik, any input on this copy of your hood hinge design?