Frank's 818R build

[AgentH]

Thank you and thank you! I like Southbend too and I love how this felt. If I really needed a replacement I would go with their even-heavier-duty full face clutch instead of a pucked one.

I had the organic feramic (stage II endurance) on my wagon. I made around 300 wHP/325 wtq (butt dyno) and could hold that all day long. It saw lots of clutch drops and 50k of dd... Totally cooked looking at 50k but I'll never go to another brand clutch as long as I drive subies.

[Scargo]

I make 400 WHP/400 TQ in my STi and it's 8:1 W:P. I now use this ACT setup and a light ACT flywheel. It is not a difficult clutch to use. I was surprised at how smoothly it engages.

[Pearldrummer7]

I make 400 WHP/400 TQ in my STi and it's 8:1 W:P. I now use this ACT setup and a light ACT flywheel. It is not a difficult clutch to use. I was surprised at how smoothly it engages.

It's also a lot of money compared to what I paid! That better last a really long time

[AgentH]

I make 400 WHP/400 TQ in my STi and it's 8:1 W:P. I now use this ACT setup and a light ACT flywheel. It is not a difficult clutch to use. I was surprised at how smoothly it engages.

400 wTQ would probably destroy my Southbend. Before my Southbend, I had a ACT HD street full face clutch. With my modest power levels, it was overkill. But at the same time, without a complete clutch drop, it wouldn't hold very well. I felt like it had a very vague feel and a much higher than stock pedal force. It also chattered quite a bit only lasted about 40 - 45k before slipping. Overall, I was not happy with it. Going to the Southbend clutch was a game changer. I could drive my car for more than an hour and not have a sore clutch foot. Engagement was very easy to modulate and it would grip up very quickly compared to a stock clutch with no chatter. But again, with only 300 wTQ, I have the option of picking a lighter, more civil clutch.

[Pearldrummer7]

Bought an MR2 shifter and started copying Hindsight's bell crank design.






I'm not great at it, but it's fun to run the mill. They have no issues with me using the one at work. It'll prolly take me a whole week to make all the parts with how intermittently and slowly I'm using it.

Also ordered a Gates timing kit, crank and cam seals, a new 07 STi oil pan and pick up tube (and dipstick guide since mine was cracked). Lots of upgrades to the car!

[Scargo]

It's great to see others making their own parts! Good luck! No fly-cutter?

[RetroRacing]

Nice, need a mill....we need a mill....

[Pearldrummer7]

Nice, need a mill....we need a mill....

Love being able to use the one at work. They have all sorts of cool tools here. Plasma cutter, CNC's lathes and mills, but here I am using the manual knee mill

It's great to see others making their own parts! Good luck! No fly-cutter?

These were the only bits I could readily find. I'm not super fancy when it comes to my machining. Find a speed that makes good chips and lube it. That's the extent of my "choice" in things

[flynntuna]

Could you post the demensions of the parts when your done?

[Pearldrummer7]

Could you post the demensions of the parts when your done?

Jeff (Hindsight) dimensioned them for me I can send those to you or he can. I assume he wouldn't mind.

[Hindsight]

Send away, I don't mind at all. I didn't have time to take a photo-copy of them so you have the only set of originals. You can repay me by being the keeper/sender of the plans hahah. If you have access to a scanner, scanning it into PDF format so it stays true to size and then being able to e-mail it would probably work best.

[Pearldrummer7]

Send away, I don't mind at all. I didn't have time to take a photo-copy of them so you have the only set of originals. You can repay me by being the keeper/sender of the plans hahah. If you have access to a scanner, scanning it into PDF format so it stays true to size and then being able to e-mail it would probably work best.

I will scan it in. I also wrote dimensions (in mm) on the drawing. Just rough estimates- Jeff's drawing and my measurements are a little more art than science

[Mechie3]

Hey, what's the angle on one of those?




Frank will get it. Hahahaha!

[Pearldrummer7]

More than you can afford, Pal!

hahaha

[Pearldrummer7]

Went to the junkyard to get parts for the truck, and I found something pretty nifty:




Defeated, and buying new parts for the Ferd, I decided to do some wiring, replacing the straight wires with WeatherPack connectors for ease of removal.



Also, these came with the sway bar links from FFR. Think I can repurpose them for use on the shifter? I think so

[Hindsight]

RE those rod-ends, they will need to be 1/4-28 threaded for the shifter cables since that is what most of them use. You could always use an adapter of course, but if you do that, it will change where the cables need to mount since they will need to be pushed back a bit.

[Mechie3]

I would just buy the 1/4-28 rod ends. The sway bar ends are BEEFY!

[Hindsight]

The 1/4-28 rod ends are only ~$5 a piece from McMaster if you get the Bronze ones. They have kinds that are even cheaper though.

[Pearldrummer7]

Ordered the rod ends from McMaster instead of trying to adapt these ones. They're so much smaller than I anticipated them being!

Also made the L bracket in the shifter (just roughed up, like the transmission mount one), and half of the cable mount bracket. 1.5 more pieces to make and I'll be ready to test.


In the mean time, my transmission is at Andrewtech getting re-sealed. Wish I could afford the differential this year, but it'll have to wait till next year. Had to buy things like new summer wheels and tires for my WRX, and ran right through both my Hoosier budget for the 818 and the differential budget. Silly cars

[Frank818]

ran right through both my Hoosier budget for the 818 and the differential budget. Silly cars

Yeah you bet. Solution to that is to increase your budget. lolll

Nice machine BTW.

[Pearldrummer7]

Yeah you bet. Solution to that is to increase your budget. lolll

Nice machine BTW.

Haha it keeps increasing my budget. How does that keep happening??

Thank you, it's work's haha

[Pearldrummer7]

Got my new DD wheels. 17x9 + 35 for the WRX so I can stuff some meaty tires under there. 255/40 or 265/40. I'm pretty torn at this point, might just run the "conservative" smaller size.





An 818 set will be in the works this year I hope. They are seriously beautiful and so solid/strong feeling. I'm excited to see them never break!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Good choice Frank,
I also got TD, Copied off of Chad.
TD 17x9 48et with 15 mm spacer in the rear. (making it a 33). 255/40-17
TD 17x9 48et with no spacer in the front but with the suspension moved out 20mm. 235/40-17
They are AotoX, DD and track day with R888.

P1050475s.jpg

[Pearldrummer7]

Bob- Why such a high offset? You could've gotten a +35mm and a much smaller spacer, I would think that's less stress on the lug nuts.

I love how they look. This set is for my WRX, but the next set will be probably the same thing for the 818.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Bob- Why such a high offset? You could've gotten a +35mm and a much smaller spacer, I would think that's less stress on the lug nuts.
I love how they look. This set is for my WRX, but the next set will be probably the same thing for the 818.

Hi Frank,
These are the advantages I see:
1. The +48 matched the donor. I wanted 53, but 48 were in stock.

ofset.jpg

2. The front, no spacers. The higher the offset the smaller the envelope of space used by the tire. Allowed me to use 235 in front with no rubbing.
3. higher offset is less stress on the bearings.
4. The front, less steering pull during braking.
5. The front, less steering pull during bumps.
6. Same rim all around.
7. allows offset adjustability with spacers.
8. My rear has 15mm spacer with 255 tires. If I do custom trailing arms (Wayne's), I can go to smaller or no spacers and go to bigger tires (275) while staying under the fender.

Disadvantage:
1. More stress on my rear ARP studs from an 1800 lb car. The weight on the tire is really handled by the center hole of the rim. I would only use hub centric type spacers.


I think that covers it
Bob

[Pearldrummer7]

Did cam seals and timing. Well, almost. I found that the rear timing cover was cracked and I am going to replace it before putting my new belt on. Cam and crank seals well well, especially thanks to my fancy seal install tool, courtesy Sgt Gator. Thanks man!



It also even slides the crank gear on nicely. This thing fits everything! 10/10 would buy again. Word of caution: use a rubber mallet; I chipped a piece off using a regular hammer.

Found the culprit of the engine leaks. This one cam gear was full of oil and burned plastic from the broken timing cover. The seal was clearly installed without a proper tool and was seriously bent up. It also pulled out so easily! I inserted #8 machine screws into the seals to pull them (with pliers), by the way.




Replacement went smooth, and it was 50*+ all weekend so I actually could work with the doors open and in a t shirt. Man do I miss "summer" weather!

[Pearldrummer7]

This stripped pretty bad. Couldn't get the 28.9 ft*lbs on it that the FSM recommends. So...I drilled and tapped and installed a helicoil.




Timing and seals are all complete. Now for oil pan upgrades!

[Scargo]

Please ditch the heat exchanger and that tube that looks like an accident about to happen while you do your upgrades.

[Tamra]

What's wrong with the oil cooler (heat exchanger)? We are using the OEM one in ours too.

But yeah, that oil line looks bad.

[Pearldrummer7]

Please ditch the heat exchanger and that tube that looks like an accident about to happen while you do your upgrades.

What's wrong with the oil cooler (heat exchanger)? We are using the OEM one in ours too.

But yeah, that oil line looks bad.

I have a new tube on order already. What's wrong with the cooler? It looks okay to me! Thanks for the concern though

[Scargo]

There's this thread about heat exchangers where I currently have the sixth and last post. I think I have screeds elsewhere. You can do this or many other similar sandwich solutions* or no sandwich plate.
About the heat exchanger: This heat exchanger is designed for heating the oil and was added to late-model engines, solely to satisfy emissions test requirements by helping accelerate the warm-up process on a cold engine and thus reduce gas consumed. Initially the water circulates through it and as the water warms it warms the oil passing through the exchanger. Once it has heated up the oil it is a worthless POS. It's not needed to pass most emissions tests, as I know them, since you drive in with a warmed-up engine anyway.

I think once you start modifying the exhaust it is a real detriment. I'm not kidding about how headers wrap so closely around it and the hot oil pan is radiating heat. It becoming the Hell Hole of heat. It is not helped by air flow (there is no airflow there) and it is not finned.
Oil is as important to cooling the engine as water is, so relying on the water cooling to reduce the oil temps through the heat exchanger is a joke.

*Move the oil filter to a cool location by adding an adapter block where the filter was and plumb in an oil cooler. If yours is a street car that might get driven in really cool weather then you would need to add a thermostatic valve and/or block off the oil cooler when it's cool. Yes, you are adding complexity and cost but you are eliminating some connections and hoses that can easily leak or burst if they get too hot or old.
If you or anyone wants specifics for an external oil cooling system, I have posted bits and pieces about it here on the 818 forums, but would be happy to provide links to parts if you PM me.

[Tamra]

We watch our oil temp and we haven't had any problems with the oil temp climbing, but perhaps it's more relevant for the track or something. The OEM setup seems to work for us!

[STiPWRD]

That really corroded tube is actually a coolant line if I recall correctly.

[Pearldrummer7]

I'll be removing the coolant line and plugging the ports.

I also just got insurance for the 818! It starts Monday (birthday is Sunday) so I'll be heading the DMV then to get plates. So excited! I went through American Modern.

[Hindsight]

Congrats! How many insurance providers did you shop and what made you choose American Modern?

[Pearldrummer7]

Congrats! How many insurance providers did you shop and what made you choose American Modern?

I shopped 7 I think. A few wouldn't do it because of age/roommate's age (NY has to list all household members on registration), and a few were really expensive. American Modern was very reasonably priced, easy to work with, and has good reviews. I don't have personal experience with them yet but it's been pleasant so far. I turn 25 Sunday so I am going to the DMV bright and early Monday morning to get this squared away. So excited!

[Mitch Wright]

Happy Birthday

[RetroRacing]

Dude, one word for you.....t-a-b-l-e.

[Tamra]

Happy birthday and congrats!!

[Pearldrummer7]

Happy Birthday

Happy birthday and congrats!!

Thanks guys! I'm so excited to be an adult in two days! Now that I have a track membership, a track car, and a track motorcycle, I'm responsible enough to drive the track car on the street. That's how it works, right?

Dude, one word for you.....t-a-b-l-e.

Of insurance quotes and such? I can do that, I think