Brando's Newbie 818R Build Thread

[Wayne Presley]

What is a "quality" alignment? Same numbers on each side (no matter what the numbers are) or the right numbers on each side (the ones the car will be optimal at)?

Quality is when you ask for -2° of camber you get -2°...

[Evan78]

Brandon - can you share names of alignment shops? I always go to Darren at West End Alignment up in Gardena because he's always done a good job and has a great reputation. The only down side is the drive from OC.

[Brando]

The poorly done alignment was Glenns automotive in Costa Mesa.
The properly done alignment was Action Automotive in Mission Viejo.
I also strongly recommend Action Auto for your Brake and Light inspection as well

[ehansen007]

I told you Rusty was a pushover....(and Jim doesn't give a ****). Hilarious.

I'm also interested in the camber setting. I started with about 1 degree at ride height but needed to raise the car to get over speed bumps and such and now I'm looking almost positive camber. Problem is, my front adjuster is all the way in and pulling the rear in will only add more caster. Anyone else see this on the S model?

[Brando]

No doubt Eric, thank you for sending me their way. They didn't sweat anything, super cool guys. They charged me $170 for the alignment AND Brake and Light. Compare that to my previous alignment cost of $275 and B & L of $145. Those guys are my new go-to for these kinds of tasks.

On my front camber I had to cut off 3/4" from the front adjuster threads and about 1/2" off the rear. That way I was able to bottom out the threads and get that kind of camber. Be it that they both are pretty much bottomed out it didn't leave much adjustment for caster.

[Evan78]

The poorly done alignment was Glenns automotive in Costa Mesa.
The properly done alignment was Action Automotive in Mission Viejo.
I also strongly recommend Action Auto for your Brake and Light inspection as well

Great, thanks.

[matteo92065]

There are two "Action Auto" shops in 'Orange Area'. First one is "Action Auto Inc." in Cypress. Second one is "Action Automotive" is in Mission Viejo. I'm assuming the Mission Viejo is the location you had yours done at?
Mission Viejo is 76.62 miles, and Cypress 90.79 miles from my house.

I've talked with some local San Diego shops, they want to provide very detailed inspections.

Thanks for the tips!!!

[Brando]

Yup, Mission Viejo was the one.

[longislandwrx]

brando, how is your ez cool holding up.

[Brando]

brando, how is your ez cool holding up.

Besides a few gouges from mishandled tools the ez cool looks good as new. It hasn't delaminated whatsoever.

[longislandwrx]

cool, I found a roll at my father in laws house from my Vega. Was thinking about cutting pieces out for the front firewall.

[FFRSpec72]

brando, how is your ez cool holding up.

I can tell you I had this on my challenge car and after 1 season of racing it was pretty much trashed, I have removed it (which is a real pain), not again for me.

[Brando]

What does trashed look like? I am not seeing any signs of deterioration yet.

[FFRSpec72]

What does trashed look like? I am not seeing any signs of deterioration yet.

Challenge cars have an issue with blow by and thus kick out oil and the oil and high engine bay temps just eat away the facing of the ez cool, along with all the rocks and tire tread hitting it

[Brando]

Got my dyno today and realized how lucky I am. Turns out a combination of too much timing plus a split hose between my turbo pressure line and the boost controller, had my car throwing all the boost it can at the motor. Sounds like the Red FFR car, but mine was the boost controller not the wastegate causing the issue. I'm very fortunate not to have blown my motor, and had I used pump gas probably would have. 101 octane kept this mishap from being catastrophic.

The first 400HP pull was as the car drove in. It started leaning out and they stopped it right there and we started troubleshooting. You can see it really start leaning out at 5k rpm with the prior tune.








I did (2) 3 gear runs and logged them. There are 3 worksheets, one uphill, one downhill and the last is my log prior to the tune.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

Things are back in order and I am at 330/315. We had to stop at 330 because the MAF was maxed out. Next on the list is a larger diameter intake tube for the MAF and it should be good up to 360ish HP.
We also did a ECU boost cutoff level of 2.4 bar.

It feels nice and strong through the entire range now, with no noticeable drop off in power like before. I can't lie though, that 400HP felt pretty darn nice while I had it.

[longislandwrx]

Powah! PO103! Excessive MAF voltage!

glad you dodged a bullet. Have you considered ditching the MAF for speed density?

[Frank818]

Good work!!!

[Scargo]

Speed Density! YES.
Not to toot my own horn, but consider doing something like what I did for 395/393:
Light bowl and runner ported heads matched to TGVs and manifold. Racing valve job, ie, radiused exhaust seats/Manley springs and titanium retainers
TGV delete modification
Coated CP pistons
Blouch Dominator 2.5 XT-R with 3” air inlet and 8cm turbine A/R (probably could do better but this is a great turbo)
Injector Dynamics fuel injectors- 1000cc
Perrin crank pulley
Walbro 255 fuel pump
KS Tech MegaMAF 73mm Big MAF Cold Air Intake(type-TXS for TurboXS, FMS, & AVO FMIC) with Stock MAF sensor, Denso#22680AA380*
Agency Power 3” polished aluminum hard turbo inlet
Grimmspeed EBCS
Tial Blow-Off Valve
NGK Iridium plugs: one step colder
Full Race twin Scroll headers and appropriate turbo
Setrab 12x12x2 oil coolerwith Mocal thermostatic bypass valve
Canton 90 degree rotating remote oil filter adapter (22-597)
Canton Remote Oil Filter mount (I run a big K&N HP-3001 Performance Oil Filter)
Accusump, two quart
KillerB aluminum pan, baffle plate and pickup
JEGS vented catch can

This has been a very reliable engine, even after the wastegate started sticking and I went from 24 PSI with the tune to spikes of over 26!
*I list the MAF though it is not used with a SD tune...

The power is addicting.

[Brando]

Nice call on both. My engine was throwing EDC's and they were in fact PO103, excessive MAF voltage.
Church Auto also recommended a speed density tune and before today I had never been educated as to what they are or how they worked. He had a 2002 to which he did a speed density tune, but for whatever reason the ROM wouldn't load as a baseline. He needs a 4 hour block to do it from the ground up so I need to reschedule if i go in that direction. So i'm left with the decision If I should refine the MAF/MAP sensors and setups or go with a speed density tune next time I see him

Do you really think speed density is the way to go moving forward or should i maximize what I can get out of the MAF by increasing diameter and adjusting the tune accordingly? I'm a bit stricken with the HP bug at the moment, hopefully it doesn't stick around too long.

Scargo- How is it your MAF with 24PSI was fine by mine is at capacity at 19PSI. Is it the MegaMAF 73mm? We had to pull boost down to 16psi in the upper RPM's to keep everything in it's happy place. I would love to increase to boost, the motor can obviously handle it, but until I figure out something with the MAF i'm stuck at 330HP. Was that on pump, race or E85?

[metalmaker12]

From my experience and my tuners and many other tuners subaru speed density is an option, but tends to be the less reliable option with many more quirks than a maf tune. The oem ecu was set up for maf and changing all the tables to SD and getting it just right can be more of a challenge than your current issue. I would stay maf and not look to make more than 360whp and rather a reliable setup. SD seems to require much more maintance on table adjustment and is a bigger pain for a none tuner who relies on others to tune.

Nice call on both. My engine was throwing EDC's and they were in fact PO103, excessive MAF voltage.
Church Auto also recommended a speed density tune and before today I had never been educated as to what they are or how they worked. He had a 2002 to which he did a speed density tune, but for whatever reason the ROM wouldn't load as a baseline. He needs a 4 hour block to do it from the ground up so I need to reschedule if i go in that direction. So i'm left with the decision If I should refine the MAF/MAP sensors and setups or go with a speed density tune next time I see him

Do you really think speed density is the way to go moving forward or should i maximize what I can get out of the MAF by increasing diameter and adjusting the tune accordingly? I'm a bit stricken with the HP bug at the moment, hopefully it doesn't stick around too long.

Scargo- How is it your MAF with 24PSI was fine by mine is at capacity at 19PSI. Is it the MegaMAF 73mm? We had to pull boost down to 16psi in the upper RPM's to keep everything in it's happy place. I would love to increase to boost, the motor can obviously handle it, but until I figure out something with the MAF i'm stuck at 330HP. Was that on pump, race or E85?

[Scargo]

With a Speed Density tune you do not use the MAF sensor's input.
I added to my list the 3"OD (or 73mm ID) "hard" turbo inlet from Agency Power. I cut off the two superfluous appendages and welded close the holes. . I run this EJ257 motor without spacers. Without the appendages, I can slip it out without pulling the manifold (for what it's worth).
I have had discussions with experienced folks and read quite a bit about power thresholds that demarcate a safe and reliable HP range for track use. Without going nuts (meaning: spending inordinate sums of money) or employing engine mystics or voodoo, 460~475 HP at the crank or 405~415 rear wheel HP (based on 12% parasitic loss) is my guess, and coincidentally where FFR had their red car's HP. This is around where 8:5 to 1 CR, 21-22 pounds of boost and 93 octane premium gas stops you.
On one particular motor, with a stock block, my tuner wanted me to be fairly safe so he limited the boost to 21.6.

[C.Plavan]

Brando-

Remember that the more HP- the higher class you will be eventually running. There is no reason to run 400HP unless you want to eventually run the Super Unlimited class with NASA. There are alot more things to consider than just HP.

[Brando]

If I was to get confident and fast enough to go with ST1 then I think 405HP was the correct power/weight. Giving it some thought, I am not sure ST1 is for me until a season or two of ST2/ST3 is under my belt.
I am surely not racing any of them this upcoming season. I need another year + of racing this car, let alone getting the car race prepped, before I even consider it.
If finances permit, the goal is buying a second powerplant such as a 2.5 built for torque ~270HP and targeting ST2 for the 2016 season.

At any rate I already did my diligence and made my decision with tune. I ordered a wider MAF tube from VCP and that will give me a little room to grow should I choose to want another 30 or so HP. I decided i'm not building the motor past that point for the sake of my trans, my motor and my health.

And I am with you the HP comment, but I am allowed to let HP get me a little punch drunk occasionally.

[07FIREBLADE]

Congrats on the tune and getting your car straightened out. Did Kevin do your tune at Garage Tuning? If so, your results from them is making me a bit nervous. They built my motor and I get a free tune once my cars up and ready. Might need to rethink them if everything is so out of line. Were your problem because of defective parts or improper installation or a combo of both?

[flynntuna]

Originally Posted by Brando
Eric, by oil canning are you referring to that nasty pop from the floors sheet metal every time I step in and out of my car? I have been putting 90lb of weight on it for weeks with no luck.
So i just need to torch it? Nice tip.

Dude, congrats on being the first legit street legal 818 in CA.
I am so close. REFS took all sorts of pictures and Sacramento is reviewing the details. I'm waiting for a call any day with the results.

Flynntuna:
Your going SB100 right, why do they need to go to Sacramento to review anything? Aren't they going to let you register by body style? I thought it would be pretty straight forward. Hope they don't jack you around, best of luck.

Brando:
I don't want to Hijack Erics thread, but will briefly say...the guy scanned all my documents, took a bunch of pictures, and told me it's not up to him, its up to Sacramento. He told me because they have not had an 818 go through their system yet, it goes to Sacramento for review. He also noted it being an R might make things more difficult. It will take 1-3 weeks he said. The guy was not cool and had no interest in make life easy for me. Yes I am going by body style SB100, but before I can even get that far it has to pass go.

Flynntuna:
I wonder if the GTM guys had this problem, reading the law from a lay man's prospective it seems that since it doesn't resemble any production car the 1969 designation should apply. But what do I know.... This just is part of the love-hate feelings toward California.

[wleehendrick]

It seems that the Sacramento review Brandon's being subjected to is not SB100 classification (this should be no problem, as George mentioned, since the GTM gets a 1960 designation due to the body not resembling a production car) but the fact that he has an R, with no wipers and short, non-DOT glass windshield, roll cage, etc... that makes the referee uneasy to sign off on.

[Brando]

^ What he said.
SB100 is only a piece of the REF's BAR Specially Constructed Vehicle inspection. If/when Sacramento approves I will have to return to the REF and at that point will get to choose body style for the SB100 smog exemption. At my first appointment I didn't even get to the point where I got to specify body style as my preference, but that will be a sweet moment as I watch him put EXEMPT in that smog field and rivet the exemption tag onto the frame.

I reserved "818R" as my license place, I paid my registration/tax/title fees ($1,300), and jumped through a few hoops. It's my last step in the process and getting shut down now will not sit will. If they do deny me, they will have to provide me with reasons, of which i'm sure each one I will overcome. Hopefully the windshield isn't on that list.

Since its is actually the CHP's job to inspect the windshield and wipers, which I sneaked by on, i'm guessing it won't be an issue. It's a factory windshield after all, and i see cars with mini windshields driving around all the time. I highly recommend officer White of the Santa Ana CHP office for your inspection & VIN #. He is a fan of FFR and your best bet for that part of the process.

[longislandwrx]

ArnoldSchwarzenegger.jpg

hell yeah.

[flynntuna]

image.jpg

Ugggg

[longislandwrx]

Jerry Brown disapproves of the 818.

[FFRSpec72]

SB100 is only a piece of the REF's BAR Specially Constructed Vehicle inspection

I assume you got through all this under the SEMA Bill (Kit Car declaration) that CA has in place and you will use the SB100 to get by the emissions testing ?

The WA law states the following for windshields (I don't have one on my challenge car):

1) All motor vehicles operated on the public highways of this state shall be equipped with a front windshield manufactured of safety glazing materials for use in motor vehicles in accordance with RCW 46.37.430, except, however, on such vehicles not so equipped or where windshields are not in use, the operators of such vehicles shall wear glasses, goggles, or face shields pursuant to RCW 46.37.530(1)(b).

[Brando]

Leaving in 1 hour to Buttonwillow Raceway to redeem my last failed visit.

Requirements:

1. Return home safely to my family

Goals:

1. Stay on the track
2. Run a lap < 2:00
3. Run all 5 sessions without breaking down

Long term goal:

1. Long term goal at this track is to run < 1:50 but that is pretty darn fast. I use this particular video as my benchmark (lotus 2-eleven running a 1:50) running buttonwillow configuration 13cw. I have this video memorized

Have I even mentioned how bad a** my trailer is! It gets chicks.

[Rasmus]

May your lap times be low and break downs be minor.

[C.Plavan]

No pressure, but that Lotus can probably drop another 3 seconds due to the new pavement laid down in July What AOA is that on the wing? Bejezzuzzzz

I'm so jealous. Mine, is, almost, there.... Teaser pics will slowly start to trickle out.....

Chicks dig Uhauls driving 55mph.

[Brando]

10*
I will lower it as the day progresses. Just playing it safe

[Santiago]

Looking forward to hearing how things went. Be safe, run hard.

Best,
-j

[C.Plavan]

10*
I will lower it as the day progresses. Just playing it safe

That's smart. Have fun be safe.

[D Clary]

The way the lotus was hitting the rumble strips make me think it was a borrowed car.

[C.Plavan]

The way the lotus was hitting the rumble strips make me think it was a borrowed car.

That's just racing, no AX there :P. I'm much worse with my own car.

[metros]

Looking forward to new track videos and hearing how it went.

Good luck.