Hindsight's build thread

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the input guys. I'll give that a try. I really just need to get the body on it so I can get it registered and get some road/engine time on it.

I'm working on finalizing the ABS and traction control wiring today. The RaceLogic unit is incompatible with the ABS system and I don't want to give up either one so I'm going to have a toggle switch on the dash where I can flip between them for now. At some point, if I can round up enough people smarter than myself, perhaps I can build some circuit that allows me to have both at the same time but I'm DONE mucking with this portion of the project and need to move forward. Installing the body and windshield wiper is the only thing standing between me and registration. I will get back to working on the body after I'm done with this last bit of wiring.

[Hindsight]

Spent my weekend garage time working on the traction control, again. I probably have more hours into the traction control system than quite a number of other items on the car. But, at last, I can finally say victory. Not only do I have it working but I have it working with the ABS at the same time.

The rear wheel speed sensors are a bit noisy under 12mph so I setup the racelogic so it only activates above that speed. Pretty sure this car will get up to 12mph in the blink of an eye.

So very glad to have this behind me. Most of the time and extra money I spent on it was related to my trying to make a defective traction control computer work, without knowing it was defective. I got a replacement computer and it worked great. I was even able to figure out how to get the ABS working with the traction control at the same time.

Now I get to start back on the body. I feel like I've said that 10x though.

[Aero STI]

Phenomenal perseverance, Jeff! I had one noisy sensor too, may have been a rear, and I set my engagement threshold somewhere similar.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Andrew, your help was very appreciated.

I also figured out my clutch pedal issue last night. The pedal wasn't coming all the way back up if you let out the clutch slowly. The spring was in there and working fine. Turns out the clutch master cylinder pushrod just needed an adjustment. When I replaced the clutch master cylinder, something was just slightly different about it vs the original one from the donor and that caused an adjustment issue. Properly adjusted, it works great now.

Can't wait to get started on the body this week.

[Hindsight]

Got back to the body tonight. Everything is going fairly well except for the hood to bumper area. The hood seems just a bit too wide to fit all the way into the bumper opening. This is most noticeable as you pull the hood forward the last two inches or so to make the front of the hood flush with the front of the bumper. I've tried sanding the returns of the hood down a bit, but those don't have much impact because the returns are vertical (almost) and this is a total width issue. I can't open up the bumper because there isn't much fiberglass there. It isn't awful as-is, but will require some force to keep it in place. Not sure how that will pan-out when using Craig's hood hinges. I think the only thing that would really help the hood to fit would be if I put some curvature in the hood, sort of like the engine cover which flattens out during storage and needs some bow to it. I'm curious if others have had the issue and what they did to make the hood fit into the bumper properly?

[RM1SepEx]

gravity is your friend, curvature is essential, sand down the side edges at the very tip and you can get it to slide forward all the way

I use heavy weights on the edges and had to add a center support with a rubber tip in the center (1 in sq aluminum post)

[Hindsight]

Thanks Dan.... you added the support on the front of the hood? I am using Craig's hood hinges, so am thinking I can use the bracket he provides as an aid for curvature.

[Pearldrummer7]

I think I had the same issue, Hindsight.

My hood actually sits ever so slightly back (towards the driver) since the wedge didn't fit in the front of the nose. It's not too noticeable aesthetically and seems to hold down just fine.

[RM1SepEx]

I have his hinges too, all of the body panels "settle" with time. They are pretty flimsy, much thinner than the Cobra bodies for example. The hood needs some nside layer to hold its shape but it's only in the correct shape when it's mounted and the liner would be upside down for us.

Mine fits all the way forward with almost no gap. It's finally getting warmer, a few sunny days pointed south with 30 lb weights and I'll get a good shape to the hood. I'd love to make some sort of inner liner.

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the input guys. I will try putting some flex into the nose.

[Frank818]

Looks like your images from the 24th are gone.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Frank. I use Imgur to host photos and normally it's excellent for it but lately their mobile app has been getting dicey. It uploads things partially, freezes up, and then deletes the pictures days later.

I just re-uploaded from my computer and they are back up.

[Frank818]

Better now.

So traction control works well? On what grounds/tarmac conditions have you tested it?

[Hindsight]

The only person with an 818 who has tested it so far has been Andrew. My testing has been limited to just jacking up the rear of the car, and with the engine running, accelerating the rear tires in gear. Once the wheel speed passes 20kmh (which I configured), you can tell the traction controller is cutting injectors. I haven't been able to test it on the road because it isn't street legal yet. I did drive it through a business park after I got the dyno tune but it hooked up so well in second and third that I didn't need any traction control. It will be needed for first gear, but I'll need to wait to test it until it's street legal.

[Frank818]

Is it supposed to work the same with and without torque applied to the wheels? I mean, you know when you rev the engine in neutral, there's no torque, it's not the same as driving the car. But for the traction control, wheels off the ground or on the ground it's the same **** for this ECU?

Yeah you better leave it spin in 1st for the first few yards, otherwise it may cut too much power and you'll get smoked by a Honda Fit! lollll

20kmh? This thing makes you think in kmh?

[Hindsight]

Haha, yeah I don't like thinking in kmh, though I do wish we'd adopt the metric system.

To answer your question, it is a very simple system and doesn't have anything to do with load. It simply reads the signal from the rear and front wheel speed sensors and if the rears are spinning faster than the fronts, it knows there is a traction issue. Load doesn't come into play and shouldn't because if you were on ice or a very slick surface like dirt or gravel, the load wouldn't matter - you either get traction or you don't. So once it sees that, it starts cutting the fuel injector pulses. It cuts one injector per cycle, completely, so you don't have a lean condition leading to engine damage. It changes which cylinder is cut each time to distribute it. It is designed to modulate the power you put down to the tires to the point where you have ONLY the amount you can hook up with, no more, no less. There is some adjustability though... you can dial in a knob or zero slip, 10% slip, or 20% slip. I believe 10% or 20% slip gives you the quickest acceleration performance.

Did some work on the body today. Shaved some of the returns down on the hood and am trying to line everything perfectly so I can mount my fenders the frame near the back of the hood. I have all this weekend to work on it as well and am hoping to get enough of it done that I can put the lights in it, then start the process of getting it licensed and street legal.

[Frank818]

The RL ECU is piggybacking the Subaru ECU past its signal so that the Subaru ECU doesn't know about the inj cut?

[Hindsight]

That's correct, however, the ECU will be able to detect the misfire so you have to turn the codes off within the ECU for that.

You simply cut the wires that go from the ECU to the injectors, send them into the racelogic unit, then out of the racelogic unit to the injectors. They give you a couple nice multi-pin connectors so you can bypass the racelogic unit if you are experiencing some sort of odd issue.

[Hindsight]

Been working on the body lately. The front end is all gapped, adjusted, and bolted in place securely including the side sails. When measuring from the upper balljoint to the finder, I'm within 1/16" of even from side to side so I'm pretty happy with that. I still have to do headlights, doors, engine cover and trunk.

Started on the headlights today and wow. Now I see what everyone else has been talking about. This is definitely going to be the hardest part of the entire build if I want to make it look half decent. There have been a number of good threads on doors, but not on headlights. I did see Bob's excellent writeup and the video as well but maybe my stuff isn't going together quite the same as his was. Are most people putting the front lip of the headlight bucket on TOP of the bumper, or below it?

[metros]

Below it. The curved nature of that lip makes it difficult to line up and hold in place while you drill through the fiberglass fender and into the headlight bucket.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Metros. Where do you drill between the fender and headlight bucket though? All I see is to mount the bucket to the bumper in several places.

I was able to get the lights fit "ok" today but I have a lot of fiberglass splinters to show for it Having the bucket lip under the bumper really did help things.

I need to add the bracket that supports the front side of the headlight bucket. I'm going to do the same thing Bob did here with a Z bracket and a glue-on stud, but I think I'm going to use two studs: one that helps hold the bucket up, and one that helps pull the bucket forward to give the light a better fit with the bumper (less gap).

My biggest lagging issue now is that the front-most tips of the fender are a little higher than I'd like. The hood won't sit down flush when they are like that. The headlight is pushing the fender up and I can't really get the light any lower than it is without causing a lot of issues. I may add the hood pin bracket in there and use it to try to pull the fender down, though I am a bit nervous on how much that may stress the fiberglass. I'm not sure why the light doesn't want to go lower here since I cut down the bumper where the bucket rests enough that there is room to move down, though the top mounting bracket is making contact with the mounting position on the bumper as it should, but that also means if I try to pull the light down further, the upper headlight mount is stressed.

[metros]

I'll have to check his posts to see what bracket you're referring to. I haven't drilled mine yet, I'm only speaking from when I test fit them. I've been too busy working on other areas.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Metros.

Anyone else have an issue pulling the front points of the fender low enough to allow the hood to sit flush with the bumper? If so, any tricks to share? I'm close, but would like to be another 3/16" to 1/4" lower. Maybe that hood pin bracket will get me there.

[STiPWRD]

Are you referring to the tabs on top of the radiator support? I've seen some bend those down on the sides and even round the corners a bit. I'm hoping to start on the front end soon, it's being delivered today.

[Hindsight]

No, the radiator tabs seemed ok for me. I did round the corner a bit to ensure clearance, but I think they are ok where they are.

My alignment issue is picture in the circle. The points of the fender (circled) stick up a little high and the headlights are causing it.


Pic.png

[Mechie3]

I had that problem. Rm1sepex had it. some of the FFR cars had it. The headlights prevent it from coming down all the way. I think my driver side is better than my passenger, don't remember off hand though. It's another reason I went to the new front end. The old end has the bumper, hood, fender, headlight, and bucket all meeting at that point. Makes alignment difficult. The new front end has only three parts: Fender, hood, grille.

[Rasmus]

Body panel alignment seems so frustrating to me. Good work powering though all the issues.

[RM1SepEx]

Many have come up with "tricks" to get everything together in the 3D puzzle that is the body panel arrangement. I had to relieve the return on the fenders at the headlights and remove material underneath. I put it together and align with the headlight support loose and tighten them after forcing them up into the panel. I modified the Z brackets and added a molded in 1/4-20 stud. I like Quiny's soln better. (I bought his original nose last weekend!) Extra fiberglass parts are a no brainer.

P1130002.JPG P1130003.JPG P1130004.JPG P1130005.JPG P1130006.JPG

I can do a wee bit better on the left light, will remove more under the fender lip at the headlight, use the hood pin bracket to pull it down

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the input guys. Dan - that is exactly what I was thinking on the Z brackets with molded stud.... also using the hood pin brackets. I have molded studs on order and am hoping to get back at it this weekend when I'm back in town. Will post pics.

Your panel alignment looks fantastic, BTW.

[RM1SepEx]

You don't want to know how long... and remember my first set was returned to FFR and replaced. Doing it the second time made me realize just how much variation there is in these panels. Still using my concrete filled kart tires to get the hood to sit just right. The hood should have a liner to hold it in shape and make it stiff. And everything gets more complicated when your a pig headed, anal retentive engineer. I refused to cut my hood for wipers so keeping the rear edge of the hood away from the windshield is key. I also have a 1x1 post of aluminum with a rubber tip and height adjustability to hold up the center of the hood. Had to do the same in the back with the engine cover. The panels need curvature to fit just right. I'm still not perfect... but close!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

My alignment issue is picture in the circle. The points of the fender (circled) stick up a little high and the headlights are causing it.
Pic.png

Hindsight,
I put my fenders an Bumper together before installing the headlights.
The front of my bumper had a tab on it the I tucked under the bumper.
Bob

nose2.jpg nose3.jpg nose4.jpg

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the additional info guys.

Bob, I used a lot of your tips from the youtube video - thank you.

[Hindsight]

I was able to wrap up the headlights, front bumper, and fenders. I just need to install Mechie's hood hinges and the mini quick latches on the back of the hood and the front end will be mostly done.

I am relatively happy with out the lights, and fender alignment turned out in the long run. I do want to adjust the left fender tip 1-2mm so it exactly matches the other side but that's just me being picky. For the headlights, they really need to be pulled FORWARD to lessen the gap between them and the fender. The FFR supplied bracket won't do. In addition, I didn't want a bolt sticking through the bumper so I did what some others did and added a bonding stud to the inside of the bumper and made my own bracket to support the bottom of the headlight assembly. To pull the headlight forward, I added a second bonding stud on each side that allows me to adjust that. It worked well, though one side popped off because I put too much stress on it without first laying some glass cloth over it to add strength. Guess I will be doing that extra step tomorrow.

I have installed and removed the fenders, bumper, and hood probably 25 times in the course of fitting everything together. Kind of over it!

[RM1SepEx]

I just came to the realization that I needed you headlight brackets... yesterday

[Hindsight]

All the ZeroDB vents are at the powder coater getting gloss blacked. The tail lights and reverse lights have been installed in the rear bumper. The reverse lights don't center in their bucket because the base of the bucket isn't flat - they lean inward. Going to have to put some sort of a shim spacer on one side to make them center up I guess. I also repaired the bond-stud for the headlight bracket and added fiberglass overlay to support.

Trying to decide how I want to secure the lower rear screen to the bumper. I would like attachment to be hidden but I don't think I want the permanence of glue. On the other hand, I don't know why I'd ever need to take the screen off.

[Mechie3]

If you didn't powdercoat the trim ring yet, drill and press in some flush mount pem studs. Use the pem studs and the ring to clamp the screen to the back.

[Hindsight]

They are already at the coater But thank you for the suggestion.

[RM1SepEx]

I found that clear silicone holds the grills extremely well. I used vinyl trim around the edge and no trim ring

[Hindsight]

Thanks Dan. What about removing it, if the time ever comes?

[RM1SepEx]

heat gun and putty knife, the silicone will peel right off