Andrew & Tamra's 818SR EM Autox Hybrid Destroked Long-Rod Build

[Tamra]

Sorry guys - I should have clarified. The fitting going into the block is tight. We put it on first and got a socket on it with an extension. It was easy (just like when we had the oil pressure gauge there). The problem is the 30 degree fitting with the hose attached that needs to fit into the one going into the block. Since the hose is on one end, we can't get a socket on it, so we have to use a wrench. Our crows foot tool should be here tomorrow, so we will try it and report back.

[Mechie3]

One of my fuel lines used to be like that. The hose would tilt it at an angle and make it really difficult to get the fine thread started in the area I had to work with.

[Scargo]

May I interject that I have wanted to replace the 20MM nipple that's the PCV mounting spot. I don't like having to use multiple clamps and adapters to get to a 3/4" or 5/8" hose. I tried to pull one of these nipples out of a case and it wouldn't budge without my destroying it in the process.
Looks like the 20mm hole would have to be drilled/reamed and tapped for a 3/4 NPT or a fitting welded to the existing steel nipple and that pressed back in. Another option would be something custom turned to fit. If you wanted a hex on the piece it would have to be 1" to start with. It would also have to be high enough to clear the rib on the case so a socket or wrench could fit on it.
If it could be screwed out then you have more options for accessing the oil galley hole next to it. I have a lathe and TIG so I am really tempted to do something...

[Tamra]

May I interject that I have wanted to replace the 20MM nipple that's the PCV mounting spot. I don't like having to use multiple clamps and adapters to get to a 3/4" or 5/8" hose. I tried to pull one of these nipples out of a case and it wouldn't budge without my destroying it in the process.
Looks like the 20mm hole would have to be drilled/reamed and tapped for a 3/4 NPT or a fitting welded to the existing steel nipple and that pressed back in. Another option would be something custom turned to fit. If you wanted a hex on the piece it would have to be 1" to start with. It would also have to be high enough to clear the rib on the case so a socket or wrench could fit on it.
If it could be screwed out then you have more options for accessing the oil galley hole next to it. I have a lathe and TIG so I am really tempted to do something...

Seems like a lot of work to fix something that isn't broken

Also, if you could screw out the pcv nipple, then you'd be in the same predicament trying to tighten it back down once you accessed the oil galley hole. To be honest, the oil galley hole is easy to access with a socket + extension, just not a wrench, and in our case with the Accusump lines we have to get a wrench there.

Our tools arrived, so we will see if we can tighten down that fitting tonight.

[Tamra]

Forgot to post an update - the Crows Foot did work with some effort. Biggest PITA ever. I think the AN fittings really need to have room to twist in order to get them completely tight, and in that space, we needed to be able to tighten it without letting the AN hose twist around (on the 30 degree fitting). What a pain but hopefully it's tight enough!

[Tamra]

Lots of progress today!

New Amsoil intake arrived. This should help flow some more air! We are waiting on some hoses to get it installed.


New dash blockoff installed:


Meets pretty close to the hood:




Accusump 90% installed, including pull handle in the interior to operate the manual valve! We re-used an FFR shifter cable for this purpose.



Andrew got most of this done on his own today... I stayed out of his hair while I installed a new sway bar on my RX8. Yesterday we went to the rules meeting for our local autocross club and also went go-karting. Great weekend overall.

[Mechie3]

That old filter cone looks tiny!

[Tamra]

That old filter cone looks tiny!

That's a Cobb short ram lol

Here's another shot of the new one:

[Scargo]

That's a good-sized filter, but Andrew needs a bigger clock! Great how you repurposed the cable. I may use one of mine to do that for my STi. As it is, I can barely reach the valve handle.
I might even find use for one of them to actuate the fire extinguishing system on my 818.

[Tamra]

We will probably be a bit MIA the next few weeks as we prep the RX8 for autocross. Three big projects - custom exhaust, full suspension, and rebuild the engine. We will be using this car for some national events this year while we continue to develop the 818 at regional events.

This weekend we custom made a single exit exhaust - saved 19lbs over the OEM system.

The giant can is the old muffler:


New:



We had the RX8 dyno'd at EFI Logics and it's only making 149whp. We knew the engine was getting low on compression, and the dyno results confirmed that! So, out comes the engine for a rebuild. Last night we got it about 80% of the way to pulling - should be out tonight. Will be our first rotary rebuild.

Don't see many graphs like this one on these forums!


Here's where the list sits for the 818. We will resume work in a couple of weeks - we promise!

[the_tool_man]

I'm looking forward to seeing the flare making process.....in a few weeks.

[Hindsight]

Torque peak at 5200 RPM, yup, not like what I'm used to seeing.

You two aren't afraid to tackle anything!

[samuel]

Hi Tamera and Andrew, I've read through your build and many modifications a few times and really admire your ingenuity. I'm working on the shifter in my 818S and I love your idea of setting it low and facing the other way! You mentioned early in your thread that you would make your designs; brackets and cables and such available. I am really interested.
Sam

[Rasmus]

Pulled out the little sleeve to find two shims, added one more, and closed it back up.

Tamra, Andrew:

You two finding any issue with the 3 shim - 10mm oil pump on this build? Oil pressures good? What RPM do you guys spin up to?

I'll be running the same as you 2.33 destroker with Intake Cam Only - AVCS heads.

[Tamra]

Tamra, Andrew:

You two finding any issue with the 3 shim - 10mm oil pump on this build? Oil pressures good? What RPM do you guys spin up to?

I'll be running the same as you 2.33 destroker with Intake Cam Only - AVCS heads.

Hey Rasmus, we ended up with the 11mm pump. On afterthought, probably should have stuck with the 10mm (a new one), but we were worried our pressure issue was relating to the pump size (we think our pump was just worn out). We ended up with 4 shims in the 11mm pump. It still bypasses lower than we would like - I want to say 80psi? Will need to check when the car is back up and running again. Here's the post to when we did the swap.

We should be back in a couple of weeks to work on the 818. The RX8 engine rebuild went well, and the car is now making approx 25whp more than previously (and this is a fully stock rebuild - car is running CS so no mods permitted relating to engine/power). We are going to our first national events in Ohio this coming weekend and Wash DC the following, and then we will have a few week break and hope to get the 818 back to racing status!

[Rasmus]

Thanks Tamra.

[Tamra]

We are back!

Those OEM control arms look a wee bit different....


Finished installing the Accusump and the associated brackets. We repurposed the FFR shifter cable to use with our manual valve. This is the pull tab on the interior of the car (will be sticking out of the console):


Andrew machined the tab:


Here is the end in the engine bay where it attaches to the Accusump:


Another view from the wheel well:


Also worked on our custom firewall. We added an engine bay side wall near the headers:

And then a full, flat wall on the inside (our gas tank is now in the front of the car):



Not sure yet if we will make it to the FFR open house... but our goal is to have the car up and running soon with 275/35/15 and 315/30/18 Hoosiers fitted.

[Scargo]

Good stuff! Will love to see the tire combo and flares on the car. Be sure and let me know when you are taking it Auto Xing nearby.

[Tamra]

Good stuff! Will love to see the tire combo and flares on the car. Be sure and let me know when you are taking it Auto Xing nearby.

Based on how busy we have been (back to back autox weekends out of town, building a rotary engine) we have not made any further progress on the flares. We ordered rivet on ones for this summer and will pick back up with the fiberglass work in the fall.

[Frank818]

Finally back! You left for too long. Don't do that again.
I see you progressed. Can't wait to see how those 4 tires are going to fit and provide traction.

[Rasmus]

Remote Accusump without the complexity of a electronic valve. Nice.

I too was looking forward to seeing those flare. What did you guys use as inspiration to get the curve into the flare in the foam you mocked up?

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Remote Accusump without the complexity of a electronic valve. Nice.
I too was looking forward to seeing those flare. What did you guys use as inspiration to get the curve into the flare in the foam you mocked up?

I also am only using a manual valve.
A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with Bob at Canton Racing about my Accusump. He explained to me that most of my stored oil will be pushed into the engine during the braking approach to a corner. Then there won't be much left for starvation during corning. He highly recommended that I go to and low pressure activated electric valve. That way, I would have a full Accusump tank at 60-80 psi ready to push oil into the engine in case of starvation.
He also said that the pan wont be over filled during idle.
Adding the mod is on my long list.
Bob

[Tamra]

Finally back! You left for too long. Don't do that again.
I see you progressed. Can't wait to see how those 4 tires are going to fit and provide traction.

We hadn't touched the car until Friday... that progress was just Friday evening and Saturday!

Remote Accusump without the complexity of a electronic valve. Nice.

I too was looking forward to seeing those flare. What did you guys use as inspiration to get the curve into the flare in the foam you mocked up?

We will return to the "real" flares soon enough. No inspiration - just started shaving!

I also am only using a manual valve.
A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with Bob at Canton Racing about my Accusump. He explained to me that most of my stored oil will be pushed into the engine during the braking approach to a corner. Then there won't be much left for starvation during corning. He highly recommended that I go to and low pressure activated electric valve. That way, I would have a full Accusump tank at 60-80 psi ready to push oil into the engine in case of starvation.
He also said that the pan wont be over filled during idle.
Adding the mod is on my long list.
Bob

We could see that happening. However, we are less concerned about a low rpm pin turn, and more concerned about a high rpm high speed sweeper, which should normally have moderately high oil pressure until there's a problem.

Also, we picked up wheels and tires for the car. We know lots of local people with 315/30/18 and 275/35/15 Hoosier A7 take offs! All tires have enough life in them to get some good testing in for significantly less $$, and then we'll just pick up some more.

[Tamra]

Andrew bent the sheet metal for the center console, and installed it last night. Wrap is on its way for the final touches soon.



Finished up a few other things such as extending a few wires, clearancing the calipers for our 15x10 wheels up front, and a little filing of one fender to make it fit a touch better. Tonight our lightweight battery arrives so we will be fabricating a bracket for it. It will live behind the passenger seat. Not sure if we will be ready in time for the FFR open house (especially since we will be out of town Saturday-Thursday, so only have 4 evenings left to work on the car), but it's still a possibility.

[Tamra]

Does this battery make my hand look fat?


240 cold cranking amps, 1.7lbs!


Also installed the Works Bell hub tonight. All of the instructions are in Japanese. #JDMyo
It was relatively easy to install. In our 2002 WRX steering column, all of the wiring except the green/red wire was deleted. The hub retains the auto canceling features and also the horn function. The green/red wire has to be connected to ground, so Andrew used the steering column as ground and the hub grounded to the steering column and the wheel grounded to the hub. When the horn button is pressed it connected a stripped portion of the wheel to the fast on connector, which was connected to the horn wiring. None of the wiring provided in the kit can be used on the 2002 WRX steering column (that we could figure out). Perhaps the resistor to cancel the airbag light if it hasn't already been snipped elsewhere.




So much nicer than the OEM wheel...

[Hindsight]

Good to see you back at it. That console looks great and makes me wish I had access to a brake!!

[Frank818]

Nice motorcycle battery! How sufficient (what are its limits) will it be for the car? I mean can you crank, shutdown, crank, shutdown, etc. many times without charging it?

Deltran says 240LCA not 240CCA. Not sure the difference between normal batteries CCA and LithiumCA...
The other thing I don't understand is they says max charge 10Ah, but an alternator will produce 100-200ah. Oh well, I have not yet learned much about these batts.

[Tamra]

Good to see you back at it. That console looks great and makes me wish I had access to a brake!!

Thank you! Can't wait to wrap it.

Nice motorcycle battery! How sufficient (what are its limits) will it be for the car? I mean can you crank, shutdown, crank, shutdown, etc. many times without charging it?

Deltran says 240LCA not 240CCA. Not sure the difference between normal batteries CCA and LithiumCA...
The other thing I don't understand is they says max charge 10Ah, but an alternator will produce 100-200ah. Oh well, I have not yet learned much about these batts.

Andrew would probably know more than I do, but I went based on other autocrosser's recommendations. I know some people who use this battery with good success. It probably won't work well below 45 degrees, and we will need to keep a jump box handy at all times. From my understanding, the LiPO4 batteries last longer and provide full cranking amps until they are discharged (don't get weaker like a typical battery). So basically, we will be able to crank and shut down repeatably, until it dies (not sure how many times we can do that until it dies though). We'll let you know soon enough!

[Frank818]

I like that!! So it seems pretty good. In my case I doubt I would ever crank that engine under 40-45F, but nothing prevents me from getting a 360LCA at 2.6lbs. Although even the 120LCA has the same operating range as the others (40F to 140F). I also like Deltran, they make excellent battery tenders.

Normal situations I won't crank under 55, but some rides would probably be shorter than the time required to recharge the battery, which is why I asked about how many times you think you can crank-shutdown before it discharges.

I'm very interest in knowing what Andrew knows about this thing and also seeing your crank-shutdown cycles results if and when you conduct them.

[Tamra]

We intend to pull the battery between every drive and it will live on a tender. I wouldn't think this battery would be good for someone wanting their 818 as a daily or to leave the battery in the car.

We probably won't do any testing beyond "does it start the car" and if it doesn't start the car reliably, we will have a jump box handy.

[Frank818]

Yeah I see. I don't intend to daily myself and like you the battery will always be on a tender, except I won't remove it. The difference with you is I will crank often 2-3 times during the day or when I stop at the gas station (which you never) and I don't know if it'd give it enough time to recharge. Let's first see how yours crank, if it does, like you said.

[Rasmus]

Does this battery make my hand look fat?

Sweet Freya! Keep it in the circus, Elephanto.

If you all have good success with that battery I'll just follow your lead and get one just like it. I was thinking of making my own but it's just so much easier to not; and get one that's ready to go.

[Tamra]

Sweet Freya! Keep it in the circus, Elephanto.

If you all have good success with that battery I'll just follow your lead and get one just like it. I was thinking of making my own but it's just so much easier to not; and get one that's ready to go.

LOL

We know plenty of people that use this battery in their race cars, so I don't anticipate any problems. We may be able to let you know really soon... hooking it up tonight hopefully, and then technically the car is ready to be fired up for the first time since last fall.

It was cheap too. Only $90 on Amazon Prime.

[insurance guy]

LOL

We know plenty of people that use this battery in their race cars, so I don't anticipate any problems. We may be able to let you know really soon... hooking it up tonight hopefully, and then technically the car is ready to be fired up for the first time since last fall.

It was cheap too. Only $90 on Amazon Prime.

You will find that chemistry battery will last in excess of 5,000 charges. They are amazing batteries with fantastic power. The only issue with lipo batteries is not to let them discharge below a certain voltage as once they are discharged completely they are usually dead.

[Sgt.Gator]

I used the Battery Tender BTL35A480C and Battery Tender 022-0198LI Green Lithium Junior Battery Charger in my LGT race car. The 480 has plenty of power to start your engine a several times in a row. However don't leave it without the charger more than during the day at the track. I left mine for 4 days once in the garage and the ECU drew it down to zero. Luckily it was undamaged other than I had to hit with a more powerful battery charger, the little battery tender charger wouldn't kick off the charging.

[Hindsight]

What are you planning on wrapping the console with? I'm planning on wrapping mine in a carbon fiber wrap. Another forum member did it and it looked really nice.

[Mitch Wright]

Using the same battery, only 30 miles of driving but many starts, no issues.

[Frank818]

The only issue with lipo batteries is not to let them discharge below a certain voltage as once they are discharged completely they are usually dead.

Let me guess. No one knows the value of that "certain voltage". loll
I thought the opposite, that lithium you could discharge completely and these things would never die.

I used the Battery Tender BTL35A480C and Battery Tender 022-0198LI Green Lithium Junior Battery Charger in my LGT race car. The 480 has plenty of power to start your engine a several times in a row. However don't leave it without the charger more than during the day at the track. I left mine for 4 days once in the garage and the ECU drew it down to zero. Luckily it was undamaged other than I had to hit with a more powerful battery charger, the little battery tender charger wouldn't kick off the charging.

The ECU? It was still on when the engine is off?
The only thing I leave on is my cluster LCD displays (2 values are showing with a very very low brightness that I almost can't even see). Doesn't draw much and I charge it every week. I also have a kill switch which kills everything.

Using the same battery, only 30 miles of driving but many starts, no issues.

Street or race?

[Scargo]

Street or race?

How many GoPros hanging off the car, satellite feed, cool suit pumps, dry sump heater ...?

[Tamra]

Battery is installed!
Andrew fabricated up this battery box and hinge. The battery doesn't move at all and the hinge is easy to operate.
Still need to do the wiring but that won't take long. Tomorrow night we probably won't do much (if anything) since we fly out first thing Saturday to go spend the week with my family.