Frank's 818R build

[Hindsight]

Nice EWG. You'll have to let us know what you think of the difference in performance.

[Pearldrummer7]

Ha ha... It's almost as big as the turbo! Where is that monster going to belch its fire (exhaust to)?
I used to ride a Kaw KZ650 C2. I think I put 65K on it and sold it ridable.

Nice EWG. You'll have to let us know what you think of the difference in performance.

I'm gonna make a divorced dump tube to go out near the exhaust. It's a lot of work for seemingly no gains to route the EWG gas into the exhaust. I'll definitely let everyone know what I think of the power difference!

Sweet bike! Mine has very few miles on it, but every one of them is a hard mile haha

[Hindsight]

From what I have read, you get more power by NOT re-merging the EWG dump back into the main exhaust due to turbulence losses. By not merging it though, it will be loud and have that distinct sound.

[Pearldrummer7]

From what I have read, you get more power by NOT re-merging the EWG dump back into the main exhaust due to turbulence losses. By not merging it though, it will be loud and have that distinct sound.

Both my toys are already so loud that a little more noise won't be an issue

[Sgt.Gator]

I ran an open EWG for awhile in my LGT and had two issues. One, it makes a very weird and loud sound. It took a while to get used to it, and I never really did get used to it and never liked it. The other was it dumped next to the tranny, that heated up the tranny too hot. In a street car you would never see the heat issue because the EWG is not open long or often enough, but in a race car it's open all the time and dumping the hot gas. So I ended up re routing the EWG back into the exhaust a couple of feet downstream past the tranny. If you bend the end of the dump tube away from the tranny and run it out the back or side that shouldn't be an issue.

[Pearldrummer7]

I ran an open EWG for awhile in my LGT and had two issues. One, it makes a very weird and loud sound. It took a while to get used to it, and I never really did get used to it and never liked it. The other was it dumped next to the tranny, that heated up the tranny too hot. In a street car you would never see the heat issue because the EWG is not open long or often enough, but in a race car it's open all the time and dumping the hot gas. So I ended up re routing the EWG back into the exhaust a couple of feet downstream past the tranny. If you bend the end of the dump tube away from the tranny and run it out the back or side that shouldn't be an issue.

I already have a dump tube that angles to the ground at the back of the car. I'm gonna wrap it and re wrap the UP today. It does make a weird sound from what I have seen from YouTube, but at least it'll be behind me instead of in front of me.

[Wayne Presley]

You still hear the dump pipe ...
https://youtu.be/C3CZKoLbwg4

[Hindsight]

If you run an EBC, you'll often times get a weird fluttering sound coming from the dump tube... like a pulsing sound. It's due to the way the EBC pulses to control the boost. I hear there are some new EBCs coming out that are somehow smoother and don't result in this sound.

[305mouse]

I miss my ewg on the Saabaru I used to have. For dd it was too much but at an autox event that sound put a huge smile on my face. I'm sure you're familiar with cherry valley Frank. It echoed off the hillside. But obviously the EWG isn't for sound. Turbo felt a lot better afterwards. It was a VF35 and held 22 PSI peak.

[Mechie3]

Indycars use EWG not replumbed and they sound sweet.

[longislandwrx]

just aim it away from your axle boots and fiberglass.

[Pearldrummer7]

I'm excited for the noise they sound very race car.

Intake prototype, version 1:





Assembled a bunch of the car last night. I have an appointment to get tuned again on 6/24. 6/25 and 6/26 are car days at the track, so with any luck I can hit the track right after the tuner appointment

[Pearldrummer7]

My poor passenger....




Had a little deepwater horizon incident here.... oil line to the turbo wasn't bolted in. That was one of those....okay, it started; idles okay; let's che-OH CRAP TURN IT OFF!... moments




Despite the spill, most everything looks good (including the license plate):


However, little bad news. My ball joints do NOT fit in my control arms. The second I started moving in it, I noticed that one. They have a ton of slop on the lower portion, and it gouged my wheel pretty good. Hopefully getting new ball joints from the dealership today (I had non-OEM ones) and doing a little run down the driveway.

[AgentH]

Busy weekend! Changed oil on 6 cars, finished up my front suspension:

There are these aluminum cones that fit over the ball joints into the control arms and provide a secure fit. Could be why you are seeing all sorts of slop from your ball joints?

[Pearldrummer7]

Yeah, I just found that in the part diagram. Ordered from Subaru along with new ball joints. Oops!

[Pearldrummer7]

Installed them! I will be headed to the tuner tomorrow after work for a Friday morning alignment and a tune. With any luck, I'll be on track Saturday morning at NYST. I drove the car down the driveway and it reminded me how insanely fun this thing is. I absolutely love this car. So stoked to get back out there!

[Pearldrummer7]

Friday I dyno'd and aligned the car and today I tracked it at NYST. Awesome time. It broke after the 4th of 7 sessions but nothing too bad. I'll upload a video, logs, and a description when I'm at a computer.

This car is FREAKING AMAZING. I love it.

[Hindsight]

Awesome Frank, big congrats!! Looking forward to video.

What broke?

[Mitch Wright]

Great news Frank congratulations.
Curious what did you break?

[Frank818]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!

[Pearldrummer7]

Awesome Frank, big congrats!! Looking forward to video.

What broke?

Here's a video clip of it. I only had the GoPro on during this session and it's when I had the issue that made me go home. A rundown of the day:



The good:
I had a ton of fun and OH MY is this thing fast. All I did was pass people all day. It's like playing Forza on "easy" difficulty. It's much more stable with its current alignment and the power is much better/smoother than before. The dyno'ing went very well and the alignment went alright. We got left to right balance with -3.5* caster and -1.5* camber. I wanted more oh both but that's all she had in her. Had to borrow from caster to get camber.


I ran with no rear deck lid as my new intake (Chad style, kind of) won't allow it and the AAIC doesn't get good airflow. Once I go AWIC I will modify the deck lid to fit. Till then, less aero and more cooling.

By the end of my day (I did 4 of the 7 sessions) I had great looking logs (no big timing pulls, steady boost, great IATs and coolant temps steadily in the 120-135 range while moving (more like 150-160 while stationary). I run coolant fans off of a switch so they're always on while I'm at the track (and even after I shut it off for a minute or two).

The bad:
I had a nut back off on the shifter cable (dunno why), so I did a session mostly in third gear. STILL was passing people even losing so much ground on the straight.

I had a bit of tire rub pic will go here) on my front left fender so I trimmed it a little but will have to take it down more later. Nothing too bad, just beat the tire up a little bit. Only had a leatherman (no dremmel or sandpaper) so I trimmed by hand :lol:



I had a bubble in the coolant that I caught early and worked out quickly.

I have NO confidence in that shifter, as you can see in the video. I really hate that thing and will try to get the new one working as soon as I can. I have to shift very slowly and deliberately- and then double check if I'm actually in a gear- if it's got left/right motion to it (i.e. not 3rd and 4th gear). It sucks and it really throws me off mentally and line-wise.

The ugly:
In the above video's session I kept feeling the car pull left seemingly out of nowhere. I thought it was suspension bind or a loose joint while driving. Came off track for it a bit early because it was getting worse and saw a cloud of smoke behind me. I turned the engine off and pulled it into the pit and immediately saw it was the brakes and the axle boot's grease. I believe the axle boot was popped off when the brake seized, or maybe ripped/burned through. pic here Either way it was clear that the brake was done. Rather than push my luck and run to the parts store and try to replace it on the fly then get back out there, I decided to go home. I had more fun in the 4 session I drove than anyone else did in their 7, I'm pretty sure. Boy did it suck to push that onto the trailer and around the garage with a stuck brake!
UPDATE- NOT A STUCK BRAKE. BEARING FAILURE



Author's notes:
I have been riding the bike for 7 track days now and kept getting told how I'll never want to go back to the car by a bunch of guys there. I took 3 of them for a ride today and all 3 were shocked at how fast the car was and how late I could brake. I also am SURE that my car is more fun than my bike. I couldn't be happier with this car right now, even though I drove my 93's pickup truck with a 6 cylinder (SO SLOW) for 12-13 hours this weekend just to get an hour on track with it.

[Pearldrummer7]

but seriously it's so fast you guys

[Kurk818]

Congrats man! so happy for you.

[07FIREBLADE]

^^^ this is why I'm alright with selling my bike when I get married in August. I can push the car harder than I feel comfortable on my bike. Glad you had so much fun.

[Hindsight]

Wow that looks like fun! Sorry to hear about the trouble but for a first track day, that's not too bad.

Have you decided what shifter you are going to switch over to?

[DSR-3]

Conragats' on what sounds like a fun day. "It's always something"... I was always super thorough about prep for weekends, and very few didn't have something more than "gas and tires" to work on... Bikes are great fun, and I sometimes miss them. Flying off- not so much. I can still feel a couple of those 30 years later!
Thanks for posting on your experience.

[Frank818]

I love that video! Nice straight, nice track, beautiful! I'm sure you can take that 1st corner faster.

We won't tell anyone you're driving a car with motorcycle gloves husssshhhhh lolllll I admit the idea is great!

[Pearldrummer7]

Thanks all! It wasn't my first day out with the car, just the first time this year. I'll post all the pics and videos tomorrow. Frank- I can, but I miss 4th gear about 25% of the time. Not worth the risk until I have some confidence in the shifter. Those are "dual purpose" gloves in my mind

I found out I do NOT have a stuck rotor, just a destroyed wheel bearing. Completely destroyed! Carnage video tomorrow morning. Now to decide if I buy a used knuckle with a hub already in it from someone on Ebay (or ideally on the forums!), or buy a brand new bearing from Subaru with the cartridge style bearings. Any advice, all?

[Hindsight]

I would go with a new bearing from Subaru. Never know what condition a used one will be in and you dont want this to spoil your fun again. Ensure you get all three seals from the dealer too. I got some aftermarket ones and they were really crappy so had to replace with OEM.

[Wayne Presley]

I know a guy that make a really good shifter

[07FIREBLADE]

Mechies mr2 shifter setup is really sweet you should look into that one.

[Pearldrummer7]

I would go with a new bearing from Subaru. Never know what condition a used one will be in and you dont want this to spoil your fun again. Ensure you get all three seals from the dealer too. I got some aftermarket ones and they were really crappy so had to replace with OEM.

I think I have to replace the whole knuckle. It's pretty beat up from banging around in there.

I know a guy that make a really good shifter

Mechies mr2 shifter setup is really sweet you should look into that one.

I actually already bought an MR2 shifter and am making my own linkage (because I'm broke and I like machining things). If it fails I'll cave and buy someone's

[Hindsight]

Ahh wow, it REALLY failed. Yeah, I'd buy a hub+spindle assembly on eBay then press in new bearings and seals. I actually had to do this when the idiot powder coater I used to use sandblasted the INSIDE of my spindles, where the bearing goes. Knuckle-heads (dad joke there for you).

Have fun making the shifter..... lots of pics and posts to see how various people have done it. I have plenty of pics up on how I did mine.

[Frank818]

Knuckles are cheap. Bearings are expensive when you fit in new ones, roll 0in with them and press them out to fit other new ones. 3 times. Don't ask out I know. lolll

Seals are tricky. Replacement part #s often don't match physically the OEM seals. Not sure if that's a problem, but keep a good eye on that.

[Pearldrummer7]

Knuckles are cheap. Bearings are expensive when you fit in new ones, roll 0in with them and press them out to fit other new ones. 3 times. Don't ask out I know. lolll

Seals are tricky. Replacement part #s often don't match physically the OEM seals. Not sure if that's a problem, but keep a good eye on that.

haha thrice pressed bearings, very nice.

Ahh wow, it REALLY failed. Yeah, I'd buy a hub+spindle assembly on eBay then press in new bearings and seals. I actually had to do this when the idiot powder coater I used to use sandblasted the INSIDE of my spindles, where the bearing goes. Knuckle-heads (dad joke there for you).

Have fun making the shifter..... lots of pics and posts to see how various people have done it. I have plenty of pics up on how I did mine.

Yes, it's super dead. I ordered a new one and am gonna pop in a new seal. I am mostly done with the shifter and was going to finish it this week but I am instead focusing on the bearing and maybe riding the bike this weekend

[Pearldrummer7]

Here's the before and after on the dyno, by the way. It's amazing what attaching your fuel line to the pump does to your power curve.


SO SMOOTH!

[Hindsight]

Nice... we have very similar power numbers.

[Pearldrummer7]

Nice... we have very similar power numbers.

The number is interesting to me. I made 297/329 on a Mustang dyno (EFI Logics) and only 225 or something on Moon's Mustang dyno (where my 818 was tuned). So I figure my 818 would be more like 350 on the EFI dyno, but who knows which one is "accurate"

[Sgt.Gator]

Good video.
Do you and your passenger have arm restraints????

Here's why:

[Pearldrummer7]

Good video.
Do you and your passenger have arm restraints????

Here's why:

No I don't. I didn't even know that was a thing, actually. Now that I see this it seems like a very good idea. Especially with how cheap they are. I'll be buying these shortly.