Brandon's 818R Build

[Dave 53]

Ramps are an issue everywhere. Trailers, tow trucks, alignment racks, driveways... Just yesterday my car was on an alignment rack at a track car shop with a C8, McLaren and 2 Porsche's in the garage. They use old clanky wooden boards to flatten the ramp out.

My U Haul had front wheel stops at the front of the trailer that were too tall and they were hitting my body work preventing me from rolling the car all the way forward. They were bolted on, so I just unbolted them. Maybe you can see that they are missing in this picture. 20200716_160728.jpg

[Hobby Racer]

I dream of one of these trailers. No ramps, easy loading!

Screenshot from 2023-03-07 07-07-37.png

Futura Trailers

[blomb11]

I dream of one of these trailers. No ramps, easy loading!

Screenshot from 2023-03-07 07-07-37.png

Futura Trailers

Haha I made the same comment to my brother-in-law saying we just need to buy a Futura trailer that drops to the ground. Such a cool trailer.

[cob427sc]

I used to own a 22' Texas rollback aluminum trailer which required no ramps to load even a very low car. Dumb decision when I sold that one!

[blomb11]

Well it sure has been a busy couple months and trying to keep working on the car at the same time. Got all settled in the new home, epoxied the garage floors, and got the garage all organized to be able to work on the car. Then also working on some different renovations around the house taking away from having free time to work on the car.

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I have been working on the interior and installing the head lights. I found out at the beginning of April EcuTek is following Cobb and will be removing the ability to disable DTC codes in their RaceROM software. So I have been scrambling to get a tuning appointment at my local tuner and getting the car ready to be tuned. I was able to clean up the wiring (a little not as good as others) under the dash and the center console. I had to make some changes to the aluminum center console panels to work with the K-tuned shifter. I got the dash fitted and installed the cluster and gauges. However, I fit the dash before I installed the gauge cluster which I learned is a mistake since the cluster brackets are now in the way and do not let it sit as far in. I will need to pull it back out and make some adjustments to get it to its final position. I was tried to think about serviceability so I made all of the wiring with quick disconnect connectors. However, it is still kind of a pain to remove and will only get harder with the windshield installed. With the interior temporarily buttoned up I was able to weld on the Vibrant TPV muffler. I will add a support to the muffler when I build the wing structure. I need to build some wooden race ramps to help with loading the car on the trailer and then one final radiator/AWIC fluids check to make sure all of the bubbles are out before some dyno pulls.

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My tuning appointment is tomorrow so I swapped over to the 1080X injectors and added a second fuel pressure sensor for the flex fuel kit. However, not with additional challenges thrown in because on Friday someone hit my truck parked on the street and drove off. Luckily no one was hurt, the guy ditched the mini cooper one street over, and ran into the hiking trails. Thankfully to some good neighbors I got all of the details, pictures, and filed a police report. The guy ended up confessing to the hit and run so now I am waiting for his insurance info. The truck is still drivable and it missed the trailer hit so I am still able to make my tuning appointment tomorrow and then will get the truck fixed after.

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[driveslikejehu]

Glad to see you posting, but bumming about your truck. Always a worry of mine when having to park on the street.
Hope is goes well with the tuner...

[blomb11]

I got my race ramps built yesterday and then pushed the car out to get it up to temp and burp the cooling system one more time before the dyno tune. I got the car up to temp and all of the bubbles out of the cooling system, but then noticed I was leaking oil and the oil pressure was dropping. I had noticed a wet surface under the passenger valve cover a few months back so I was worried it was due to this. Last night I pulled the valve cover and sure enough the gasket had separate up by the intake cam. I was worried it was also coming out of the front through the cam gear, but I pulled the front cover and did not see any oil in there or on the belt. So I think it is safe to say the leak is just from the torn gasket. New EJ207 JDM gaskets ordered.

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My tuner called me yesterday and said reverse is required to get the car off the dyno. So between the oil leak and not having functional reverse my tuning appointment is delayed. I have until 5/10 to get it to the tuner to still be able to get an EcuTek tune. I have been putting off trying to figure out why it does not reverse. I have been hoping it was just the reverse lockout not being in the right position because pulling the trans to open the case would not be ideal. I was hoping it was just the syncros not being meshed since I have not been able to get it up past 30-40 mph in the neighborhood. It is very difficult to get the shifter/linkage into 5th, 6th, or reverse. I took off the shift linkage and the reverse lockout bracket to see what the issue is. I am able to shift the selecting rod into gears 1-6 pretty easily and confirmed able to move the wheels forward in 5th/6th. I am able to feel when the reverse lockout is engage or open and can then put the selector into reverse. However, when in reverse I am not able to move the wheels in either direction. I dropped the wheels on the ground and it just rocks forward/backward a few inches when in reverse. Seems like maybe something with the reverse selector or gears are not aligned. Stupid question, but I did not engage the clutch during any of my testing so would this making a difference?

Sorry for the rotated image. I might try adding a hole higher up on the bar I welded to the selector bracket. Maybe this longer lever arm will help make it easier to get it into 5th/6th.

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[driveslikejehu]

Brandon, you may already have something like this; I put it together to note how much rotation is needed for reverse lock out
o position.jpg

Years ago I had something similar. It turned out I had left out a little detent pin/follower and the shafts moving the dogs back and forth could lock up. Hope it's not something like that and you have to go back in.

[blomb11]

This was a smart thing to do wish I would have thought of this. Instead I just took the OEM bracket off to make my new one and tried to feel the required adjustment range. I think I know the correct spot for the reverse lock out to be able to shift it into reverse which does require adjustment to my bracket. However, the bigger issue is when it is in reverse the gears are locked up. Probably gonna have to pull the trans, open it up, and check to see what is causing the lock up.

[blomb11]

I realized when I rebuilt the EJ207 I ordered a gasket kit from Flat Irons Tining for an EJ205 because on NASIOC I read the EJ207 was very similar for parts as the EJ205. The valve cover gaskets are not because the EJ207 has AVCS. This was my mistake. I remember the gaskets not fitting well when I was putting the engine back together and this should have been my red flag. The gasket had to be stretched to fit the recessed area where the AVCS is and looking three posts up you can see in the picture of the failed gasket this stretching is the smoking gun. I replaced both valve cover gaskets and stopped the oil leak.

I adjusted the reverse lockout bracket to make sure it had the proper clearance and of course opened the lockout so it will go into reverse. I finally noticed why I struggled with shifting into 5th, 6th, and reverse. I noticed when trying to shift into these gears the side to side cable was raising the fore/aft cable hitting the VCP bracket. So I took out the Dremel and noticed the bracket allowing for clearance. I can now shift into these gears easier. Once I had these adjustments made I wanted to check reverse again. My brother in law pointed out sometimes it takes double clutching to get the trans actually into reverse. I remember this being an issue on my previous WRX and STI but for some reason it didn’t click before. I jacked up the rear end, double maybe even triple clutched, and finally the rear wheels spun in reverse. Yesterday I was able to back the car out of the garage and down the driveway with a quick sling around the block !

Dyno tuning appointment rescheduled for 5/11.

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[blomb11]

The road bumps continue. I was able to drop the car off at the tuning shop last Thursday after sorting through some final hurtles. The wooden race ramps I built worked like a charm and I was able to load/unload the car on the U-Haul trailer by myself. It took a couples times, but I now have my system down. I am not used to this McCloud Racing clutch may have spun the tires a few times getting it on the trailer the first time. I told the tuner to make the flex fuel kit to be powered off the rear O2 sensor, but unfortunately I forgot I wired in the Innovate wideband O2 sensor to the rear O2 connector thus removing it. So when I dropped the car off Thursday they needed to rebuild the module before it could be dyno tuned so worse case I had to leave the car and it would be all done by Tuesday. Thankfully they were able to keep the car inside on the dyno so it was cover since I did not provide the rear hatch and obviously there is no roof. After no update on Friday and nothing as of Monday morning I call to find out the tuner tore his ACL and would not be able to dyno my car because of the roll cage. So yesterday I went back to tow the car home, module was not complete, the tuner did not even have stock of the EcuTek dongle, and I am right where I started last week. Kind of frustrating and a waste of $120 in U-haul trailers but at least I got practice loading and unloading the car. So now I will revert to e-tuning the car which will actually save me $800 over the dyno tune so I guess that is a plus.

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But man was it cool to look at see this view and especially seeing the car in the rearview mirror driving down the road. Hopefully soon it will be this same view to the track for a first shakedown. It is so hard not to mash the pedal driving the car around .

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[Dave 53]

Seems like the tuner could stand next to the car while someone else started / stopped it and reved it to certain RPM under his direction.

Are you doing a MAF or a Speed Density tune? On my OEM ECU, I found the MAF tune was fine on cool track days, but it struggled on hot days. I could do a couple of laps until everything got hot, then it would run like ****. I also once had a long drive home from Willow Springs with a bad MAF sensor that was no fun. Switching to a Speed Density tune solved it. All it required was adding an air temp sensor on the intercooler plus optionally replumbing the blow off to vent to atmosphere.

[blomb11]

Seems like the tuner could stand next to the car while someone else started / stopped it and reved it to certain RPM under his direction.

Are you doing a MAF or a Speed Density tune? On my OEM ECU, I found the MAF tune was fine on cool track days, but it struggled on hot days. I could do a couple of laps until everything got hot, then it would run like ****. I also once had a long drive home from Willow Springs with a bad MAF sensor that was no fun. Switching to a Speed Density tune solved it. All it required was adding an air temp sensor on the intercooler plus optionally replumbing the blow off to vent to atmosphere.

Yea I agree it could be worked out somehow, but this is just what they told me. Plus this way I can do the datalogging and the pulls myself in case something goes haywire. It will be a MAF tune for now. I have been learning about speed density tunes recently so I will have to see how this goes and see if the shop offers a speed density tune using their flex fuel module. I do remember reading about your struggles and will keep it in mind.

[Rob T]

I am also a happy Speed Density "customer". I used to have have MAF and the shop that rebuilt my engine suggested I switch it. Another tuner in a different state reviewed that SD tune and said he couldn't make it any better.

[blomb11]

I am using the OEM VF37 turbo still so I think I will be okay for now starting with MAF. If I switch to a bigger turbo down the road I will definitely consider switching to a speed density tune. On my '18 STI running e85 with supporting mods I had a MAF tune through Delicious Tuning as well and had no issues for about 10k miles, SoCAL autocross, and SoCAL track days. I appreciate the feedback always good food for thought to make sure I am not missing anything.

[blomb11]

Still slowly chipping away at things when I get the time. Projects around the new house are almost done to really get back to working on the car more. I have been working on the front radiator ducting to close it off. I got all of the provided front panels around the nose added and then I also added some block off panels since I am not running the front sway bar. The AWIC heat exchanger adds for some complexity in sealing things off. I have my cardboard templates drawn up just need to cut them out of aluminum and install them.

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I have been working with Delicious Tuning as well to complete the flex fuel tune for the car. This has taken quite some time to get time on their busy schedule that works with mine. I have been logging data and cruising around the neighborhood and one short city street. Man it’s hard not to mash the pedal, but I learned quickly not to when the dash flew up in my face since I don’t have the windshield glass installed yet….oops

Since I was getting the car up to temp and driving it around I roughed out the vents in the hood. I am thinking about extending them back to the frame or at least a couple inches. My rear duct is going to attach to the frame so it makes sense to have a larger opening to help exit the air from the radiator and fans.

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It has been helpful to not have the headlights installed yet when installing and removing the front fenders. It has also given nice room to reach in there when fitting my ducting panels. I am going to have to find a new technique once they are installed.

[blomb11]

I finished ducting the radiator. I had to make a few extra panels around the sides to close it off to the fenders. Because of the AWIC heat exchanger brackets it made it a bit challenging to close off the sides. It is not perfectly sealed but it might do the trick. I may go back and add tape if needed to make it air tight if needed. I am going to add another piece of aluminum to close off under the car between the radiator support and the frame.

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I am trying to finish the car moving front to rear. I cleaned up the hood cutouts and trimmed the hood flange down by 0.25”. Using the multi tool for this made it cut easy to cut and control the line. I mocked up the headlight lenses. I have already glasses in studs on the back side. I am going to tape off the inside of the lenses, paint the borders black, and then RTV them in place. I have been using the headlight holes as a way to remove and install the front clip so not sure how I will do this when the headlights are actually installed.

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[driveslikejehu]

Will the only air exit be the two hood openings? I was concerned that they are too small and poorly positioned (straight up from the radiator). I see you're thinking of this and plan to enlarge them. I added a couple of ducts to each side after calculating the inlet area. Not saying your layout isn't sufficient, just curious.
Also, Since I have the STi engine, etc I wanted more air inlet. It was pretty easy to bend the radiator floor down to pick up that lower opening. I made a couple of filler pieces for the sides.
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And yeah, I left the final headlight mounting to nearly last to keep that access.

[blomb11]

All of the air is supposed to go out of the hood cutouts. I read somewhere your inlet area should match your outlet area so I need to check the numbers again. I agree though it does seem like the hood outlets need to be opened up a little more. I do like how you lowered the the front of your bottom floor of your duct…smart. I was thinking about opening the 3 pre-cut slots too.

[Rob T]

A couple of other ideas....1) the slots on the bottom pan are opened on my car - it came that way from Chad. I guess it adds a bit more flow. 2) Now would be a good time to figure out how to protect the radiator. Mine got "shelled" from rocks and track rubber until I installed a 1/2" thick nomex honeycomb sheet right on the front of the radiator. It's typically used for dirt track cars, but works great here. It has a lot of open area and is very strong.

As for the airflow past the radiator, a lot comes out of the vents, but also leaks into the wheel area and between the windscreen (no windshield for me) and the hood. My radiator has two fans. One is on a thermostat and the other is on a switch. This lets you run the fan in the pits before and after sessions to keep the AWIC cool....

[driveslikejehu]

I started a thread on radiator opening in the General section: I determined the 2 hood vents total to about 92 sqin. The upper grill opening is about 79 sqin. Adding the lower grill open about evens them out.
I also added ducts to exhaust air to the wheel well and then out the fender/door slot.
I used 1/4" hardware cloth (metal screen) in the grill openings.
frt grill screen.jpg

[blomb11]

A couple of other ideas....1) the slots on the bottom pan are opened on my car - it came that way from Chad. I guess it adds a bit more flow. 2) Now would be a good time to figure out how to protect the radiator. Mine got "shelled" from rocks and track rubber until I installed a 1/2" thick nomex honeycomb sheet right on the front of the radiator. It's typically used for dirt track cars, but works great here. It has a lot of open area and is very strong.

As for the airflow past the radiator, a lot comes out of the vents, but also leaks into the wheel area and between the windscreen (no windshield for me) and the hood. My radiator has two fans. One is on a thermostat and the other is on a switch. This lets you run the fan in the pits before and after sessions to keep the AWIC cool....

Great point and I do have plans to add mesh to all openings down the road. I found this stuff on Amazon I am probably going to try.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08T8HBHNL...lig_dp_it&th=1

[Sgt.Gator]

Keep in mind if you ever intend to actually race the car in a sanctioned event there are rules on the size of the screen mesh. Often the minimum size is 1/2" squares. But since it's a tube frame race car which often puts us in the unlimited class the screen mesh size doesn't apply. I use cheap Home Depot screen in the STI and BRZ. I need to add it to the 818R. The HD galvanized screen doesn't hold paint very well but works fine. I'll add pics of my radiator ducting thread mentioned above. My coolant temps don't hit even 200 degrees after a hour of full race conditions.

[Rob T]

Because the honeycomb material I was talking about has some structure (about 1/2" thick), I mounted it on the front of the AWIC radiator and used some aluminum channel to hold it. Who knows, it might even "straighten" the airflow to the radiator a bit.....

[blomb11]

I wired up my headlights and replaced the low/high bulbs with cheap LED ones I found on Amazon. I wired the 3 LED accent lights to come on with the DRL and also the parking lights. The blinkers did not work, but then I remembered I never got a hazard switch. So hopefully once I receive it and plug it in they should work too.

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I shouldn’t be surprised there is basically nothing on wiring the tail/reverse lights. The only sentence in the manual doesn’t cover the parts I got in my kit. Does any have a schematic on how to wire these lights and use the LED flasher diode? Or could explain it to me please? I see the tail lights are 3 wire (red, brown, and white) so does it matter which I use to connect the brake vs parking light? And the reverse lights are 3 pins so maybe turn signal, reverse, and ground? I remember reading a post about these reverse light contacts so I will have to see if I can find it again.

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[RPGs818SNA]

Hey Brandon,

I rewrote the manual pages regarding the tail lights, but FFR doesn't seem interested in updating the manual. Here are the basics:

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This shows how to wire the tail lights using 06 wire colors. Yours may vary.
Wire the supplied tan brake/parking socket as follows:
Connector black ground to white socket ground
Connector brake wire (shown as WB) to the red socket wire
Connector parking wire (Shown as R) to the brown wire

backup light connections.jpg
Crimp a connector onto your backup, turn signal, and ground wires. The black ground wire goes into the middle position. The backup and turn signal wires can go into either of the outer positions. Once the bulb is installed, if the colors are wrong, remove the bulb and reinstall it in the other direction.

If you'd like the entire 8 page writeup, PM me your email address and I'll send it.

RPG

[blomb11]

Thanks! Yes I would love to read your write up ([email protected]). I am probably over complicating and over thinking it per usual. My donor is an 07 so it should be pretty much the same.

[RPGs818SNA]

PDF sent. I hope it helps.
RPG

[blomb11]

Thanks RPGs818SNA for the write up. I got pretty much all of the lights working now. However, when I turn on the headlights the tail lights do not come on so I am not sure what is going on there. Also when I press the hazard switch nothing happens which is weird since the turn signals work. I will have to look into this further.

I am also working on the rear fender liners but the manual does not offer much here other than to look at their picture. It seems like they have the shock cutout just above the shock collar but it seems like there may be a gap at the bottom where it meets the side sail and the bumper. Does anyone have any pictures of their install or suggestions? Kinda tricky because it can't be too low to avoid rubbing the tires.

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[lpmagruder]

Mine ended up needing some significant trimming to clear the shock, upper lateral link, and upper trailing link. The shock cutout didn't end up matching the shock location with it lined up where I liked it on the side sail and bumper. Mine fits just about like yours does. I forced a bit of a twist in it on the forward side to keep it tucked under the fiberglass.

Also, all the little tabs that are supposed to be used for rivets broke. I ended up bending some stainless brackets into little L brackets with a rivet on one side and a 10-24 riv nut on the other end, to make the panels easily removable.

[Bicyclops]

The bulb seal is going to change how everything fits. I put it on and then started clamping and massaging it into place. I had to pull my engine out (blew up on the dyno :-( ) and I replaced the rivets holding to the rear bumper with 8-32 button head screws. I had to cut off the tab that rivets to the shock crossbrace at the top. I remade it with a longer piece of bent steel through bolted to the brace and screwed to the fender liner. If I were in your shoes, I'd do that now. I don't think I had to trim the liners, but I did make some slots for brake line clearance. I wrapped the brake hoses with a bunch of silicone tape and shoved them up in the slots and they seem happy.

Ed

[driveslikejehu]

Here's a few pics of my tubs.. I trimmed the lower f-glass front and back to make the fit cleaner. I added spacers as needed cuz fenders were a little wide due to clearance/fit etc.
Let me know if you want more pics.
tub back.jpgtub frt.jpgtub inner.jpgtub rear.jpgtub spacer.jpg

[blomb11]

This is super helpful thanks to all! Funny how one mined your brains becomes sometimes...I started moving the brake lines instead of thinking to cut the liner instead to make room. The initial fit with the bent pieces on the end of the liner was throwing me for a loop, but per usual trim to fit

I will add the bulb now and recheck the fitment. I am definitely planning to make this assembly removable because it will be nicer to have the extra room for maintenance.

[blomb11]

I have been reviewing the 06-07 wiring diagrams but I can't see how the brake lights are connected to the headlights. Can anyone explain how the tail lights are connected to the headlights? Does it connect to the parking brake switch or something else? As mentioned I have the headlights working but the tail lights only come on when the brake pedal is pressed.

[RPGs818SNA]

Well, it's complicated. Since you can read the schematics, I'll just give you a roadmap. Here goes:

Parking switch above steering wheel works with ignition turned off or on. Check this first.
PSUP02 Battery + to A PSUP03
PSUP03 A to Fuse 7 to L PSUP04
PSUP04 L to FB12 to ILMES01
ILMES01 FB12 to PK SW ON to PK SW COM to FB3 Parking switch ON
PSUP04 FB3 to Fuse 5 to FB6 and FB7
ILMES03 FB6 to front parking lights to ground
ILMES03 FB7 to rear parking lights to ground

If the parking switch over the steering wheel works front and back, move on to the stalk switch.
Tail lights that come on with headlight switch, power path
PSUP02 Battery + to A PSUP03
PSUP03 A to Fuse 7 to L PSUP04
PSUP04 L to Tail relay to FB10 Relay coil must be on. See control path below.
ILMES01 FB10 to PK SW OFF to PK SW COM to FB3 Parking switch OFF
PSUP04 FB3 to Fuse 5 to FB6 and FB7
ILMES03 FB6 to front parking lights to ground
ILMES03 FB7 to rear parking lights to ground

Here's the relay control path:
Tail lights that come on with headlight switch, Relay control path
PSUP02 Battery + to Fuse SBF1 to B PSUP03
PSUP03 B to Fuse SBF4 to E PSUP 5
PSUP 5 E to IGN SW to M PSUP4 if ignition is on or start
PSUP4 M to tail relay coil to FB11
ILMES1 FB11 to Light Switch to ground if stalk switch in park or headlights

It's a long and winding path, but it should get you home. Hope it's something obvious and easy to fix.

Best of luck,
RPG

[Dave 53]

Thanks RPGs818SNA for the write up. I got pretty much all of the lights working now. However, when I turn on the headlights the tail lights do not come on so I am not sure what is going on there. Also when I press the hazard switch nothing happens which is weird since the turn signals work. I will have to look into this further.

I am also working on the rear fender liners but the manual does not offer much here other than to look at their picture. It seems like they have the shock cutout just above the shock collar but it seems like there may be a gap at the bottom where it meets the side sail and the bumper. Does anyone have any pictures of their install or suggestions? Kinda tricky because it can't be too low to avoid rubbing the tires.

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Looks like you have the horizontal wrap around piece inside out and backwards. In other words, you have the right piece on the left side. The piece I'm looking at in your picture is for the right side.

[Dave 53]

Instead of the bulb, consider using just yoga mat. Much cleaner look. Rock protection / sound deadening. yoga mat.jpgyoga mat 2.jpg

[cob427sc]

Dave 53 is correct in that you have the panels on the wrong side. I did the same thing, had to take them all apart and reinstall. The instructions are not clear on how to install these.

[blomb11]

Thanks Dave and cob427sc I feel dumb. I literally looked at both because I thought I had them incorrect. I will flip them around and see if that helps me see how it should fit. John's pictures help too! I just need to get time back in the garage.

[idf]

Here are some pictures of mine. I used the Zero Decibel Motorsports mounting tabs at the top and two rivnuts at each end on the bottom. Reasonably easy to remove when needed.818 inner fender 1.jpg818 inner fender 2.jpg818 inner fender 3.jpg