I moutned my firewall and cockpit aluminum with cleco's then took it apart and had it powdercoated. All steel pieces plus 1/2 the aluminum was ~$300. Got a special price since my friend works at the PC shop.
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I moutned my firewall and cockpit aluminum with cleco's then took it apart and had it powdercoated. All steel pieces plus 1/2 the aluminum was ~$300. Got a special price since my friend works at the PC shop.
Zero Decibel Motorsports
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Thanks for the info Kurk818. I drilled out the brackets and that worked great. The width with the brackets removed is perfect for the STI spindle. I used a die grinder the expand the upper hole and that worked well.
Here is the modified bracket mounted:
I do have a question for the masses however: Here is a diagram of the size of the upper and lower holes in the STI spindle as well as the bracket.
In the instruction manual they suggest that you use the stock front OEM lower bolt in the lower hole, and the stock OEM Rear lower or upper bolt for the upper hole. The upper hole is larger to make room for the stock adjustable camber bolt. I verified the part numbers for the rear strut bolts [20540AA100] and they are the same as the front lower (20540AA100) ( in the 02-04 WRX case, the STI has a slight difference in the front lower bolt part number (20540PA010) but the bolt is the same size).
The OEM front lower/rear both Bolt is 13.92mm wide.
The OEM front upper Camber Bolt is 16.33mm wide.
It would seem if you use an OEM rear strut bolt in the top hole, there will be some slop (~2mm). While the bolt may be tightened alot , I can’t see it being safe to rely on clamping friction to keep it from moving. Since that movement would change the alignment, it would seem it best to have a bolt that is very close to the camber bolt/hole size… Since the FF bracket is not big enough for the OEM Camber bolt, that isn’t a solution. You could find a bolt that is very close to 16.15mm in size and that would be a bit better. An M16 metric 10.9 bolt would work pretty well since that would be 16.0mm in size.
Am I missing something?
Jeff
And I get to answer my own question: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...per+strut+bolt
Are most people doing the M16 16.0 mm bolt? That seems like a pretty easy solution, but I am surprised this wouldn't just be part of the kit.
Jeff
If this makes you or anyone else more comfortable, I and others have opened up the top hole on our coilovers or struts to gain camber on our heavy-as* Subarus. Mine is a pure track car that has been over the bus-stop curbs at WGI (and so-on) and that clamped spot has not moved. I did use slight pressure so the bolt rested on the side of the hole before I clamped it and then I used my camber plate for the final camber adjustment.
I like the clean, better approach of a larger bolt, but the other will work.
"Scotty, give me all the TRACTION she's got!" Pictures of what I drive till 818R is finished
Track Car Journal on IWSTI (with build info)
Well I was using a smaller strut bolt relying on clamping force, but now that I have seen this and what others did, I will order some M16 bolts.
Frank
818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
Build Completed Winter 2021
I have made a bit of progress. Some of the front and rear suspension parts are mounted, most of the steel brackets are off to powercoat, and I did some drilling in panels for rivets.
The donor STI had Perrin lateral links which are not made any more. The fit great into the chassis, and have nice spherical bearings as well as both legs are adjustable.
I also drilled the control arms and added the lower shock bracket. Very easy to do with the aluminum arms.
One thing that seems odd is the upper mount on the rear shocks. The manual specificly calls out to use a slightly smaller spacer in the front of the attachment point and the slightly larger spacer in the rear. However as you can see in the picture, with the smaller spaces the space is not filled up. I suspect that when I tighten the bolt it will just deform the bracket, but it seems odd.
I highlighted the gap with yellow lines.
Does anyone else have this problem?
I also started working on the axles. Since I am using the STI 114.5 spindles, I need to use the STI outer CVs. The causes a problem because the rear outer CVs from the STI are larger in spline count then the WRX ones. The axles provided by FFR will not work.
Here is a picture of the FFR axle, the STI front axle, and the STI rear axle:
As you can see the STI rear axles are the perfect length (the same as the provided FFR one). Unfortunately the rear inner CV is larger spline count the the inner front CVs. Since I need to install front inner CVs to go into the transmission, those rear axles will not work. The STI front axles would work in terms of spline count, however the STI front axle is about an inch longer then the FFR axle.
Kurk818 mentioned that he is going to try using them, and it might work. There is about 2 inches of play in the inner CVs (which are the latitude sliding ones). If you start compressed 1 inch due to the axle being longer I am unsure if there is enough room left for full up to full down wheel extension. Once I get my transmission in, I'll assemble everything and see how it works.
I have one other complication that is different from Kurk818. I am using an Andrewtech 5-speed, and 5-speeds usually have stub outputs (held in by a lock ring). I would like to use the 06 STI front inner CVs that I have which are stubs as well. I talked to Sam an Andrewtech and he said he thought it was possible to convert the 5-speed to use axle stubs. On the 04 STI 6 speeds it is pretty easy as there are seals and rings for both designs. Hopefully this will work out.
If by change I can't get the 5-speed to work with the STI stubs, I will have to get a set of WRX inner front stubs (well stubless stubs) and have a custom axle made that can do the STI outers with WRX inners.
Either way I'll get it working, but it would be great to have everything all set to use either a 5 speed or a 6 speed without changing axles,
Oh I also ordered a bunch of goodies from VCP today (AWIC, arms, ktuned shifter), Rori ( Ktuned brackets, rad brackets), ReplicaParts (Brake bracket), Boyds (Fuel Tank), Breeze (Coolant Tubes), Amazon ( Radiator, Nickel Copper Brake Lines ), and BrakeConnect (some 10mm x 1.0 fittings for 3/16s line.) Still need to get the good flare tool (Eastwood).. but stuff is on the way!
Jeff
Thanks for the info. I now remember that some people used smaller camber bolts in the rear that didn't full connect to the outer bracket (because they were smaller in diameter in the no cam'd part), and those never seemed to slip or move. I went ahead and got some M16 bolts and everything is snug as a rug now.
Jeff
Last edited by Bob_n_Cincy; 06-24-2014 at 09:50 AM.
So you installed the shock mount pointing outwards. The manual shows both orientations, so what made you choose this one?
On the rear upper shock mount, I think I have space as well, I have space almost everywhere where there is something mounted on the chassis, but like you said the brackets will get closer once you tighten them up.
Frank
818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
Build Completed Winter 2021
I dont remember my STI front axles being that much longer than the FFR axles. It was more like 3/8" if im not mistaken. I ended up using the STI axles and installing the rear outer CVs on them. I had to widen my track width accordingly to ensure there was no binding and have some axle movement between hub and tranny. With the 295's that i will be running in the rear, body modification was already going to be needed so having an extra +/- 1/2" was not a concern.
Your 5speed to STI hubs is another problem im glad im not dealing with. LOL
I'll have to do a detailed measurement, as the 'inch' was just a guess. I'm also looking at at least 295s in the rear, so body work for me as well. When you say you widen the track, did you do that by lengthening the lower lat links and the upper links?
Yea, after drilling I did flatten the spots out so the bracket would fit flat. Once I torqued everything down it looks pretty good.. and the angle of the bracket doesn't make a huge difference since the upper joint pivots. I used 10.9 metric hardware for that, and some threadlocker.
Yea, the manual has an almost equal number of pictures with each orientation.. but more of them with the aluminum arms has it this way. Is is possible it is reversed in the R ride height? Changing the orientation makes a slight change in the angle the shock is at, but does not really make a difference in terms of suspension movement (aside from a small amount of precompression). I would hope it doesn't matter which way you do it.
I am digging building this car... Lots of cool stuff to learn and it seems pretty easy so far.. minus my own crazy choices of course..
Jeff
Wayne Presley www.verycoolparts.com
Xterminator 705 RWHP supercharged 4.6 DOHC with twin turbos
[QUOTE=sponaugle;158886]I'll have to do a detailed measurement, as the 'inch' was just a guess. I'm also looking at at least 295s in the rear, so body work for me as well. When you say you widen the track, did you do that by lengthening the lower lat links and the upper links?
That is correct.
Yea, after drilling I did flatten the spots out so the bracket would fit flat. Once I torqued everything down it looks pretty good.. and the angle of the bracket doesn't make a huge difference since the upper joint pivots. I used 10.9 metric hardware for that, and some threadlocker.
I drilled and tapped mine. Then torqued them down with locktite
I went out and measured my axles. The front STI axle was 21 5/8, and the FFR axle was 20 13/16, so a difference of 13/16th. Less then the 1" I guessed at, which is good. I suspect with even just 3/8 - 1/2" track width addition it will be in the working range. Once I get everything mounted I'll do some more measurements.
Jeff
Last edited by sponaugle; 06-28-2014 at 11:50 PM.
Last edited by sponaugle; 06-25-2014 at 02:36 PM.
They are not Rota's. They are Miro 398's. I have since put on 15mm spacers in the front to clear the brembo and help out with the clearance between the inside back sheet metal panel. I will need to create a depression within the panel to ensure no wheel rub at full lock. (shouldnt be more than 3/8" additional clearance)
Last edited by Kurk818; 06-25-2014 at 03:10 PM.
Thanks Kurk. Sure enough even Amazon has the rears:
Rear 18x10.5 5x114.3 +20mm offsets: http://www.amazon.com/Miro-398-18x10.../dp/B009B1ROR6
Are you looking to buy those rims? PM me and ill let you know what i bought them. I got a way better deal then they advertise.
Some parts came in before the weekend..
New crank, oil pump, water pump, oil cooler, wheel studs, head studs and timing belt.
I sent all of the steel brackets off to powder coat.
A new rivnut tool, and a new coolant fill system.... if you have not used one of these before, it is a great way to get a complete coolant fill. You put a vacuum on the coolant system first and check for leaks. If all is good you then open a valve and use the vacuum in the system to pull coolant in. It gets a very complete fill with very few air pockets.
A new shortblock case ready for parts.
A new radiator.
Jeff
Jeff, is that the UView 550000?
Frank
818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
Build Completed Winter 2021
Is that drill insert for rivets or rivnuts? I've been looking for something similar to the Dafra DRNCA-4210, which doesn't seem to have any distributors in the US.
Unfortunately not. It is just a rivet tool. I looked for that rivnut tool but could not find it in the US. I did find a similar one at Grainger: http://www.grainger.com/product/RIVE...ion-Tool-3EHT4. It was a lot more expensive however.
Jeff
I temporarily installed the front suspension components to see how everything fit.
Once both sides were done, I noticed the drivers side upper control arm ball joint bracket was backwards.
.
Even though my kit is a new kit (#198) I was surprised that got the older angled upper brackets.
I followed the procedure in the tips thread and removed thread from the fixed side of the bracket, and flipped the bracket over. Now the passenger side looks like this:
And the drivers side...
I don't like this solution. While it is possible to have both side adjusted to the same final outcome, it will happen with different side length adjustments on each side of the car. Since on the passenger side the front bracket coupling is fixed (it does not rotate), and on the drivers side the rear coupling is fixed, to get the same x-y position the brackets will be at difference rotations (and thus the turnbuckles at different lengths.). To be clear I don't just mean the front turnbuckle on one side will be the same the rear on the other, I mean it will be different then both the turnbuckles on the other side.
This means the total available adjustability is now limited by two different variables and where they overlap (assuming you want the same settings on each side.) Because of this I am going to try to get a set of the straight brackets.
Anyone else noticed this?
Jeff
Thought you were running a H6
Jeff, my kit is 181 and I don't have that problem. My upper arms look quite straight with minimal adjustments. But, they are on the wrong side, I have the longer arm pointing to the back instead of the shorter arm pointing to the back. I need to flip them side to side, not over. Now that I think about it, maybe that's the way (longer arm pointing back) they should go? Not sure if it would give more adjustments though.
Frank
818 chassis #181 powered by a '93 VW VR6 Turbo GT3582R
Go-karted Aug 5, 2016 - Then May 19+21, 2017
Tracked May 27/July 26, 2017
Build time before being driveable on Sep 27, 2019: over 6000h
Build Completed Winter 2021
Thanks! I was debating writing a little matlab program to calculate the change in adustability, but probably a waste of time. I am going to run the H6, but I am putting in a EJ257 first so I can pass the registration emissions. The H6 runs with a Vipec ECM that does not do OBDII. I have a 2004 STI ECU laying around that I'll use with the 4 cylinder and that will do OBDII. Since I have 3 other Subarus, it isn't a bad idea to have an extra built long block sitting around.
Hmm.. Yes I was surprised to have the older angled brackets. I contacted FFR to see if I can get the straight ones.
Jeff
I have started on the engine build. Since this is really just an engine for chassis break in and getting registered, it is not going to be anything fancy. New case and crank, Weisco pistons, Crower Rods, Cosworth heads and cams, and a GT35R twin scroll turbo. I know... I can't resist having just a little bit of fun.
I had a bunch of bearings in my parts cabinet that I forgot about. Looks like I have both std and extra size of each which is good for matching.
Crank Journals
New pistons measure up.
And the bore gauge..
I'll post up the detailed data on the clearances once I make a final pass.
Jeff
The boyd tank came in yesterday so I dropped that in to see how it fits. Perfect. It makes is easy to push the firewall back.
I do need to find someone in Portland with a brake large enough to bend that back aluminum panel about 20 extra degrees to make up for moving the firewall. Any ideas?
My VCP trailing arms also came in:
It was interesting that the spacers provided were cut down on one side as mentioned by others, but my chassis did not need the cut down. Perhaps they made a production change in the chassis. I ended up making some spacers from some bar stock I had. Wayne have you heard this from anyone else?
My daughter Audrey (~21 months old ) loves coming out to the shop to help out.
I wanted to mention that your detailed writeup on the GTO forum about the Racelogic TCS was very impressive and sold me on the benefits of the module. Too often there seem to be a lack of curiosity and analysis as people are so focus on the 'what' of results without looking at the 'why' to back it up. Thanks for giving back to the various communities.
(Posting here so as to not pollute your calibration Q&A thread)
Jeff, Could you measure the width of the front bracket? And you are going to want to offset the front rod end toward the inside of the car for more tire clearance. The tank fits well, I know the guy that designed it . The firewall can be done a number of ways. I cut the 90° and 75° bends out and welded them together. Or you can cut the 3" section between the 90 and 75 to 1/2" on each side, overlap the two 1/2" sections and bolt them together (or weld).
Audrey is cute and enjoy every minute you can with her. You'll turn around one day and she'll be all grown up. My oldest daughter got married last weekend and my youngest graduates from Auburn in 6 weeks. Seems like yesterday they were born...
Wayne Presley www.verycoolparts.com
Xterminator 705 RWHP supercharged 4.6 DOHC with twin turbos
I have purchased the uview airlift 5500000 on ebay for $80 shipped, I have never really used one and on a wrx you prob leak test/fill via degas tank ??i am guessing you will have to clamp off overflow tank hose??
Last edited by metalmaker12; 07-05-2014 at 01:30 PM.
Thanks. It was interesting to see how the data supported the road feel of the system.
Sure! Here is a picture with the spacers before adding some extra:
And here is a picture showing the size:
I have the spacers about even right now, but once I get my wheels in I might need to space it over a bit and will just rotate the spacer I made to the other side.
I took your advice and cut the aluminum to about 1/2 inch on each side and it worked perfectly. Thank you for the tip!!
Indeed, Even just these last 20 months have been a blur. Audrey has taken to preferring to go in one of my cars instead of my wifes car because mine are louder and as she says 'wow sounding'. She really like the sound of my 08 STI. Congratulations on the wedding and graduation. Lots of activity in your house! More recently Audrey has shown interest in what spanners are for:
I know.. a little OCD on my part, but I figure it is always good to have a spare engine in case something happens during race season. You never know when something bad will happen to a good engine! I'll be watching your thread to see how your engine progresses.
The overflow tank line should not need to be clamped during the vacuum since the radiator cap will stay closed. In the past without the Airlift I have typically just removed the top radiator hose and filled the block to full then the radiator, then run for a heat cycle. I have borrowed a airlift from a friend before and it worked perfectly, and given the size of the lines in the 818 I suspect air bubbles will be a bigger problem. I used the degas tank to fill and leak test and that worked great. When you put the vacuum on the system the soft hoses usually collapse a bit.
Jeff