RM1Sepex Build Thread

[RM1SepEx]

I guess that I'll adjust them as even as possible and go with that. The only adjustment we had to make to get them under that affects the fore/aft movement of the arm is the one in the aluminum bushing on the right. I just had that nagging thought in my head that the slot mod could change wheel position... bothered a good sleep. As long as that slot is "tweaked" in the top side of the bushing I can make them even and they should be in the same place as yours and the fenders aligned fine. Naturally in my first attempt I did the lower slot and buggered the fore/aft position of my wheel! :-) replacement bushing is coming...

Agreed that slight diff in wheelbase, side to side don't matter, the wheels are independent after all. I just wanted to make the wheel spacing as easy as possible to line up. I had no thoughts about wheel position when I was using my spacer soln.

Thanks for the help, sounding boards are very beneficial to my thought process.

[Mechie3]

So you're saying, bolt the bottom of teh bushing in without modifying it, then slot the top part? I'd assume it doesn't matter which one you slot really as long as you slot the same piece (top or bottom) on the left and right?

[fateo66]

Do you need another set of transverse link bushings now? I have a set of WRX ones that you can have if you pay for shipping.

[RM1SepEx]

So you're saying, bolt the bottom of teh bushing in without modifying it, then slot the top part? I'd assume it doesn't matter which one you slot really as long as you slot the same piece (top or bottom) on the left and right?

NO! when you slot side to side you move the wheel front to back as the triangle rotates... We need to get the body to line up too

the left fits transversely... only the right needs to be slotted if your bushing doesn't line up.

Lay a broomstick across the steering rack mount, sits nicely there giving you a straight edge across the front of the frame. Mount the LCA loosely with the front pivots, you can easily measure the position of your LCA to the broomstick. My left rear bushing didn't align front to back in the top hole. I cut back the vertical tab to clear the bushing. Now the hole didn't align, the bushing is too far back for the hole. I ground the frame bracket hole backwards. This gives my a distance to the broomstick of approx. 1/4 in to the sway bar link tab on my aluminum arms.

On the right side when I move the LCA to get that same 1/4 distance the lower Bushing bolt lines up. Insert a bolt and hold it in place. Use a sharpie to mark how much material needs to be removed of the aluminum bushing.

I used a die grinder to get the slots ground on the steel frame bracket for the left and the aluminum bushing on the right.

Re-install everything and tighten so that the distance to the broomstick is the same on both sides

DONE!

I also got the engine in this AM. Two issues:

My plastic coolant fill tank on the right side of the motor can not fit under the cross brace, I'll need to fabricate a custom bracket.

Like Metalmaker my headers have a clearance issue with the left motor mount. I'm guessing that there is less than .1 clearance so when the motor moves it will destroy my nice ceramic coated header. The question is how much do I need to clearance it to avoid contact?

[Mechie3]

Thanks for the pics. It makes more sense now.

I also got the engine in this AM. Two issues:

My plastic coolant fill tank on the right side of the motor can not fit under the cross brace, I'll need to fabricate a custom bracket.

Like Metalmaker my headers have a clearance issue with the left motor mount. I'm guessing that there is less than .1 clearance so when the motor moves it will destroy my nice ceramic coated header. The question is how much do I need to clearance it to avoid contact?

Get aftermarket mounts. The stockers are soft. I have steel/urethane cusco knockoffs. Not these exactly but they look similar.



Here is a link to a cad model of the plastic tank I made. It's downloadable so you can design a bracket.

http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/down...=171&id=340778

[RM1SepEx]

BTW How did you do at Nationals?

[metalmaker12]

I am grinding down the motor mount corner that will touch about a good 1/4 inch or so. I am making a stainless or aluminum bracket to drop the coolant tank down 1/2-3/4.I will post both along with my arm bushing relocation. I am hopping to not have to open the mount whole up as much as guns did, but only going to know when I get to it tomorrow am.

[RM1SepEx]

I had to open up my left LCA mount bracket between 1/4 and 3/8 inch, the same for the aluminum bushing on the right
I took 1/2 inch off the vertical of the bracket, was more than needed
can you do the broomstick measurement so we can compare?
I'm doing the same re the tank, most likely Aluminum
Will 1/4 inch be enough on the motor mount? The videos show the motor jumping a lot, I don't want to be rapping my header into the mount but am not ready to go to new mounts just yet... I just noticed my only stock rear arms are the ugly stamped trailing arms... project creep could really get rolling here if I'm not careful

Anyone got a source for the rear sway bar bushings and mounts? I'm having trouble locating mine. I pulled the donor apart a year ago and I can't seem to locate. Perhaps they were rusted to crap?

[Mechie3]

BTW How did you do at Nationals?

National Championships (aka: nationals) isn't until Sept 2.

I was a ProSolo (national event, not to be confused with nationals, lol) 2 weekends ago. Won the R1 class (race tire class) with a .8sec lead. Not bad for my first time in the car. Co driver (car owner) had some difficulty such as spinning in the rain, red lighting a start, and...oh, yeah.....losing a front wheel. We fixed the damage (minor) the next morning and that's when I came back to win it all.


Some fun numbers from the event:
1.89 peak lateral G's

200 foot sweeper at the start we had a minimum of 1.69G's sustained

longitdinal G's were 1.24 at start

Stopping the car after the burnout before the start we had -1.15 G's.

3.2s 0-60...but the results are skewed as we were already turning at 1G when we hit 60 so we weren't in a straight line anymore.

Fastest straight line speed was 2.5s 0-55

The videos show the motor jumping a lot, I don't want to be rapping my header into the mount but am not ready to go to new mounts just yet... I just noticed my only stock rear arms are the ugly stamped trailing arms... project creep could really get rolling here if I'm not careful

Anyone got a source for the rear sway bar bushings and mounts? I'm having trouble locating mine. I pulled the donor apart a year ago and I can't seem to locate. Perhaps they were rusted to crap?

Stock motor mounts in a stock subaru makes the motor rock back and forth like crazy.

I got my aluminum arms (the 2nd pair) for $20. Every now and again someone on ebay doesn' tknow what they have.

Check local subaru clubs for swaybars. Offer them $25. Most can't sell them and would take almost anything. Brackets will be harder to comeby.

[bstuke]

spinning in the rain

Lot's of groans from Team Solo Atlanta as well as Heyward...

[RM1SepEx]

I have the bar and the rubber. The one bracket that I have would never fit the frame's bracket spacing. Worst case... billet aluminum mounts.

[RM1SepEx]

back to it today

pulled apart the axles, my aftermarket fronts wouldn't pop apart on the outside... I used a bandsaw, then a lathe to clean up the stub axles...

The inners look like they are supposed to... waiting for axles, fingers crossed re splines matching

Steering rack mounting, 05-07 rack The manual shows the bracket on the top and specs 2.25 inch bolts
we got 2 inch bolts if you place the bracket on the top of the frame bracket the distance is much farther from the frame than on the other side.

I ground the arc of the bracket to fit the rack (about .030 too small) and placed the bracket underneath as Mechie showed in his thread, it is still too high and the bolts too short. I also made up some bushings and ground off the tab so that it just clears the fitting.
I made mine 1 inch as that should put the rack approx. the same distance from the frame on both sides. The arc is still too high and the bracket tilts as you tighten it. I measured the distance for the bracket to sit flat at .200, thankfully two 1/2 washers is .199 thick! I bolted it all together, and it seems to sit well, nice and tight and pretty square with the other side. Now I need to go get some 2 1/2 long 7/16 bolts and paint everything up.

I also installed the clutch master cyl. It did pull in the aluminum with my 1/4 gap from the aluminum firewall to the steel frame but it pulled it together nicely. I can see where a 1/2 gap would require putting one of the 1/4 clutch cyl spacers under the aluminum as Metalmaker did

[Mechie3]

I ended up making an aluminum bracket for my steering rack. Used a jig boring head on a manual mill. I'd forgotten that the bolts were wrong. I never get around to even trying to fit them last night to realize they wouldn't work.

You cut your axles down farther than me. I kep the outer dust shield intact, though I'm not sure there's any benefit to it.

[metalmaker12]

What did you cap the axle end with, I got a couple ideas, but I like that

[RM1SepEx]

I just turned it down on a lathe, since no abs I popped of the tone ring and the dust shield and cut it back/faced it to the shoulder. It slides into the seal nicely and has a nice face to run up vs the edge. I cleaned it up with Eastwood Pre painting solvent and gave it a heavy coat of gloss black

I like the aluminum block idea but I wasn't at a location with a mill... so I just used what I had. Can you guys publish dimensions? The Factory Five steel bracket didn't give the correct height either on top or under the frame bracket. What did you two decide on for a dimension?

You can see my .050 abs sensor hole covers too...

[metalmaker12]

Oh daaa,
Btw my nice koyo radiator is not fitting, it is too thick

[JeromeS13]

Oh daaa,
Btw my nice koyo radiator is not fitting, it is too thick

That's not what I was wanting to hear... I was hoping to run my Ron Davis that I had in my '08 STI... :-/

[Mechie3]

I have a print at work. Ill post it tomorrow. I modeled the oem bracket, the ffr bracket, and the bushing to determine where they were trying to locate it. My block seems to work though i havent measured left and right.

[metalmaker12]

That's not what I was wanting to hear... I was hoping to run my Ron Davis that I had in my '08 STI... :-/

I am trying to get it to work, I might get lucky with shims, but the hood clearance is close. I could also re work the support, but that would make me have to cut apart a powder coated piece, guess that's the best option. I will work it out either way

[bstuke]

Btw my nice koyo radiator is not fitting, it is too thick

Hopefully the Yonaka radiator fits...

[Mechie3]

Here's the print I made yesterday. I used a slightly lower bottom to centerline dimension as what I measured off the FFR bracket (the 1.515" dimension) because I messed up and accidentally measured from the top of the mounting flange on the FFR bracket to the centerline. The real centerline is .178" taller at 1.693". That said, even at the 1.515" I think it's still too tall.

A bubble level on the top of the frame showed the driver side ever so slightly taller than the passenger side. The same level on the steering rack showed the passenger side higher. I'm also not sure how well the .104" centerline offset from the top works. It certainly offers compression on the bushing, but I'm not sure if it's too much since my bolts were too short and I couldn't tighten them down.

I would probably adjust the dimensions so that the .507 reference is smaller, but the centerline offset from the top surface is the same (ie: subtract same amount from the 1.411 and 1.515 dimensions). How much, I'm not sure yet. I need to measure the rack itself and see where the centerline is relative to the driver side mounts and modify my test piece.

[C.Plavan]

Hopefully the Yonaka radiator fits...

I'll be wanting to know the same.

[longislandwrx]

I got my aluminum arms (the 2nd pair) for $20. Every now and again someone on ebay doesn' tknow what they have.

Thats a sick deal. I paid $50 or $60 for mine. Beware a lot of them are bent and people don't even know it.

[metalmaker12]

Swapped for a smaller koyo, seems like it will work with minor adjustments.

[RM1SepEx]

bolted up the master cylinder, bought socket head cap screw and ground the side of the washer flat for clearance... Thanks for ID that the bolt was too short and the clearance problems, saved me a trip to ACE, picked up my 2.5 long steering rack bolts at the same time...

Had to turn down the bushings in my aftermarket adjustable rear transverse links... they were over .100 too wide!

I need my B/O axles and the rear trans cover...

[Mechie3]

Thanks for ID that the bolt was too short and the clearance problems, saved me a trip to ACE

That's what I'm hoping these early build threads do, save others some time. Usually, for me, I could fix the issue at work in 5 minutes, but it takes much longer at home. I could always wait till the next day, but that usually means I do nothing that night.

[RM1SepEx]

I want to know about the bracket and bolts from Joe... Don't we all need them? We are flying blind here!

[metalmaker12]

I am freaking Ray Charles than lol

[RM1SepEx]

Thanks to Samiam1017 I got a replacement LCA bushing and my front end is together and buttoned up!

Off to Loring AFB for a full weekend of autocross and good social bonding... the Rotax RM1DD2 is ready, I swapped in the tallest gear set for a fast course. I have a brand new set of MG greens to use if my soft bridgestones don't last the abrasive concrete runway. Scruffy from MA designed the course so it should be both interesting and challenging. (Scruffy does a ton of course design for varied clubs in Massachusetts) My trailer is loaded and will double as my low end camper. We camp on the side of the runway with zero facilities. I'm setup with good battery capacity, LED lighting and two 100 watt solar panels on the roof. I'm looking forward to a deer steak dinner, some cold brews Sat PM and listening to the club's pick up band of misfits... We have a propane and battery powered shower unit. Life is Damn good!

No 818 work until next Tuesday!

[projectrally]

I'm heading up tomorrow night right from work, Dan. I'm driving the Miata up rather than towing behind the Yukon, so my camping accommodations are going to be a lot more spartan than yours. I'll see you there! Can't wait.

[metalmaker12]

I will be sleeping on my ac, and driving my cart around.................. III ..... just kiddinnnn

[projectrally]

Any new progress, Dan?

[RM1SepEx]

Loring took a lot out of me... My eye bubble is tiny, perhaps it will be finally gone tomorrow! You should stop by and check out my 818 progress!

Front suspension is buttoned up except I don't have the original rear sway bar mounts... I have the rubber but not the metal... don't know how that happened, I saved every nut and bolt.

Dealing with the right side steering mount issue is frustrating... bracket doesn't fit, diameter too small, interferes with one of the PS fittings, requires bushings that we didn't receive, bolts longer than those provided... UGH Answer from Tony Zullo. "The PS bracket mounts from the bottom of the bracket ours hear fits..call me if you want.." Mechie3 and I have documented the issue, provided photos etc... the new manual specs .865 bushings and mount underneath... bushings that were not included in our kit and the mount is too tall for a simple .865 spacer... I've piced together a soln but wanted to try F5's... doesn't look like that will happen

It took a week and 3 emails with photos before the believed that they had a problem with the LCA rear bushings... everyone ahead of me just mounted them on top vs underneath... UGH


I've installed the pedals and steering column

I'm bolting up the rear suspension but I need AXLES!!!! I'm also waiting on the rear transaxle cover... I've asked several times but have heard nothing re my back ordered parts, 4 weeks, not a word re status or expected delivery

I've tried to mount up the seats, It looks like I was sent the brackets for 02-04 seats and they don't work with my 05 seats... Manual is confused, 05 is listed in both stock seat scenarios... I can't see how my stock seats will work, my 5'2" daughter wanted the seat farther back and it was back to the bulkhead... those WRX seats are very bulky... I may need to try a set of Miata seats... I was trying to avoid buying seats, attempting a donor parts 818... We will see I expect answers soon... I'm disappointed in how they react to "issues"... getting a bit frustrated!

I need to work in some sliders so my 5 foot tall wife and I can both drive the car. I'm figuring that I'll need some add'l brackets to mount up my 3/4 tall sliders... Right now with stock wrx seats she would be the only driver... my legs are all crunched up...

I've started the gas tank install and fuel pump conversion...

Anyone else having problems with some of the bushings not actually being large enough to slide over the 1/2 bolts? Filing them to go over the unthreaded portion of the bolt takes too long with a rat tail file!

[Samiam1017]

Ya any updates. And how did the auto crossing go?

[projectrally]

Eek. Sounds like you're having all sorts of issues. I suppose that's part and parcel with being an early adopter, but it sounds incredibly frustrating. Subaru made a lot of small changes to the Impreza line over the years, so I'm not surprised there are fitment issues. I think installing NA Miata seats is a great idea. They're more comfortable (at least for my frame), better bolstered, and smaller than WRX seats. And didn't I sell you an extra set of those seats with the red Miata?

I'd love to come check out the progress. Slammed at work this week, but after Labor Day I should have a lot more time.

[RM1SepEx]

Loring AFB in my Rotax RM1DD2 kart http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ1g31ONPOY

[RM1SepEx]

some updated photos
DSCF0006.JPGDSCF0005.JPGDSCF0007.JPG
will work to finish the gas pedal this AM and the fuel tank and pump this afternoon

[Erik W. Treves]

looking pretty good...most of the big pieces are on! I think FFR recieved the axles last week..might want to call them and remind them that you still need them...I called yesterday and they are inbound!

[Frank818]

I like those discs.

[RM1SepEx]

I like those discs.

the finish is Eastwood fast etch... cleaned up some slight rust spots, I bought them ages ago...

re axles been asking over and over...