Hindsight's build thread

[Hindsight]

Whew, 12 hours in the garage today. The window-mount A/C unit is making that possible. In the heat, the best I could manage was 4 or 5 hours tops.

The final* exhaust is done and wrapped, turbo blanket installed. I have no heat shield so we shall see how well the turbo blanket and header wrap control radiant heat.

I cut out the "S" roll bar too, in prep for fabricating and installing the new custom roll bar tomorrow. As I was planning the new bar, I realized I forgot something; the R models have a slit cut down the side of the engine cover to allow the rear roll bar support to pass through. I'm not a huge fan of that and my engine cover is hinged so I may have to cut even a wider slot than FFR does on the R engine cover. I may try to figure out a way to add a support that doesn't require much cutting in the engine cover but it will be a challenge because doing that will mean the rear support will attach a bit low on the roll bar. We'll see how it goes.

I have realized that I just don't have enough time to get everything I want done before the race this coming weekend. I think at this point, I am mostly concerned with tire rub. I haven't had time to check and adjust tire clearance front and rear by removing the shock. I also won't have time to re-adjust the ride-height and add some camber. Right now it's sitting about a half inch lower than FFR suggests for the S.

[Hindsight]

We weren't able to bend the DOM tubing in my friend's bender without it kinking so I am now on the hunt for someone local who has a mandrel tubing bender and is willing to bend the main hoop for me for a reasonable price. Will work on other punch-list items in the meantime but I now only have three evenings left before the HPDE event to get the new roll bar fabricated and installed so it is looking like there is a very real chance I will be SOL for this event. Ah well.

[C.Plavan]

Nice work on the AWIC hose insulation. Great idea.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Chad, hopefully I can measure temps this coming weekend at the track. It's closed cell foam pipe insulation wrapped with the summit heat sleeving.

[Frank818]

You wrapped the muffler? I thought mufflers and flex bellows weren't very good to wrap, but it seems 50-50 on google, so I don't know if I should.

[Hindsight]

It is all stainless steel construction inside and out. Due to the baffling, the muffler will probably shed heat faster than the surrounding pipe, but it will still give off heat and the more heat I can direct out of the exhaust pipe instead of into the engine bay, the better.

I switched gears today after the roll cage fabrication didn't work out. I moved on to the rear splash guards (wheel well liners). The right-rear splash guard was fairly high on my priority list because I didn't want a rock getting thrown from the tire into my air filter and piercing it. Unfortunately, as others have discovered, the splash guards don't fit so I had to customize mine.

First things first, the 265 rear tires do indeed clear the fenders at full compression! I removed the spring and jacked up the tire to test that. While the spring was out, I fit the wheel liners. I can't modify/fix the inner liner (vertical piece) to make it work unfortunately so I tossed it in the scrap bin and will order yet more aluminum tomorrow. I started with the outer liner first. With the tire jacked all the way up, I positioned the liner where it would clear the tires. There was no room for bulb seal near the top but it's ok because the liners contact the fiberglass tightly there. I used the bulb seal lower down. I had to notch out liner where it hits the upper cross member, then make a little bracket that puts it in the right position. I then had to make a 90 degree bend out of some scrap .040 aluminum for the rear of the liner so it can actually contact and fasten to the bumper since the liner is too short back there. I also had to cut the liner where the bumper-side sail seam is because the factory cut was in the wrong place. Because of that, I had to make another little trim piece to close up the gap. I secured the liner to the body front and rear using a total of four 1/4" bolts. I probably spent 3 hours on this so far and still need to fabricate the inner liners. Then I need to do the left side......

I found a local guy who fabricates roll cages so I am hoping to pick up a hoop bent to my specs tomorrow sometime. Once I have it, I will weld it in place and add on the added support bars.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Hindsight,
I failed trying to bend tubing with a HF bender.
I ended up buying the main hoop from Competition Engineering.

I used the halo bar out of this kit for my main hoop.

http://www.shopcompetitionengineerin...hsubmit=SEARCH

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob, good to know I'm not the only one. I lucked out and found a local guy who will bend me a tube to my specs for only $40, including materials!

[07FIREBLADE]

Are you going to add the inner portion of the fender liner at some point?

[Hindsight]

Yes, I just need to get more aluminum and make a new one from scratch.

[Frank818]

The rear splash guards don't fit at all or fit moderately? The first means trash to me and fab 100% a new part but the latter means modifs like you seem to have done.
What about the front guards?

[Hindsight]

Overall, the FFR provided aluminum has fit generally well. Especially the stuff that gets riveted to the frame in the cockpit area. The splash guards are the exception. Many have noted that they don't fit well. Compounding my issue is that I have the 265 tires in the back.

Here are the problems with the FFR liners:
1 - They aren't long enough - won't reach the side sail in back. They are short by about 1.5 to 2"
2 - The notch for the body seam is in the wrong place
3 - They contact the side sail right where the wheel arch opening is and at full compression, the tire needs room to go up into the fender past the lip (as shown in my pic above). This required me to notch the splash guards out allowing me to raise them up higher and not have the cross member get in the way. You can see this in my pics.
4 - The inner liner's radius and shape wouldn't work for me. The inner liner will hit the inside of the tire at full compression and it also squeezes the outer liner into a shape that is smaller than it's total diameter via its mounting tabs.
The FFR provided plash guard liners contact the side sails right where the wheel arch opening is.

In the end, I was able to re-use the FFR outer liners with modifications but not the inner liners. I will make new inner liners from scratch.

I haven't installed the front guards yet as they are a bit lower on my priority list.

[Frank818]

Oh crap, that's a lot more issues than I was expecting.
I have one more very important, my 265s are flush and even maybe 1-2mm outside the fender on one side. Given the -0.5 camber I doubt they would slide inside the fender at full compression, which means they will hit the fender?

What's your rear height?

[Hindsight]

I am right now at 4" rear height but will raise it to the FFR suggested 4.5" so I have full suspension travel.

The only way to know for sure if they will rub is to remove the spring and jack the tire up. the wheel does move in and cambers in as well when raised so you might be ok.

[Frank818]

Ok, I'm at 4.5 or something so yeah maybe I'm ok. If it rolls ok on a track I'll pass inspections as is (they don't check that) and fix it in over a year. If you set the rear in the middle of the travel threshold, you should have about 1.5" of travel up (wheel up, fender down), cuz the full travel is 3".

[Hindsight]

Well this happened tonight.......




I still need to add the rear brace for it. I will do that tomorrow. Then hack up the engine cover for clearance, which is going to make me cringe but what can you do. The taller and different shaped bar really changes the look of the car. I like the lower "S" bar better because it looks sleeker but it was just unsafe with my head sticking way above it. Safety first.

And the new bar is probably going to prevent my engine cover hinge from working, so looks like I will need to use hood pins instead.

[Hindsight]

Added the rear braces tonight, finishing it off. I think my hoop is a bit more narrow (by about 2" total) in width than the R. In hindsight (yes there is a good reason that is my nickname), I might have made it wider (all the way out to the edge of the frame) because it's better to cut out engine cover material from the flat part than it is from the humps. Really just an aesthetic thing but it looks fine as-is. It took a lot of trimming on the engine cover and I was in a bit of a hurry burning the midnight oil two nights in a row to get this thing ready for the upcoming track weekend, so I still need to go back and clean the cuts up. At some point, I will make some sort of a cover that covers the slot I cut into the engine cover for the roll bar but I will need to spend more time thinking it out.

I still need to add the hump block-off plates (for support) and a quik-latch for the center of the engine cover. And I need to paint the roll bar. Will try to get all that done tomorrow night. The good news is that my engine cover hinge still works... sort of. I have to coax the front of the cover around the bars in some areas.

Oh yeah, I borrowed a friend's MIG welder to do this (since I only have a TIG). This was my first time MIG welding and WOW is it like 50x faster than TIG! Obviously not as pretty welds though.

[Zach34]

Something to consider - there aren't any vertical tubes directly under the horizontal square 1.5" tube where your rollbar ends are welded. Tech inspectors for NASA are hitting the R's for having the rollbar welded to an open-ended horizontal square tube, which could collapse. But in the R, the rollbar ends are vertically inline with the 1.5" vertical square tubes that form the rear corners of the interior tub. I'm guessing a severe rollover impact with the way you have it welded could shear the horizontal square tube. Shouldn't be a tech issue if you don't plan on running NASA, though.

[AZPete]

Nice work, hindsight. Good luck on the track!

[Mulry]

Small thing, but make sure that you run the end of your shoulder harnesses back through the triple-bar adjuster before you roll on track (or into tech). That's an insta-fail in tech as shown in the photos above. I'm guessing you probably just haven't gotten around to it just yet while adjusting harness length, but I know from experience that's the kind of thing that's easily forgotten and then can frustratingly send you to the back of the tech line depending on who's doing tech and how they're feeling that day.

[Hindsight]

Thanks guys.

Zach, I won't be racing in any sanctioned series... just HPDE days. If that ever changes and I race in a series, I will want a full roll cage instead of a roll bar. I will also need slicks which means a dry sump and all that = $$$$ so probably not going to happen, at least no time soon. But I appreciate the heads up.

Question to those who run a lot of HPDE in Miatas and other convertibles/roadsters: How strict are HPDE tech inspectors for this kind of thing? I could re-do the bar but won't have time to re-do it before the race this weekend.... and it was a lot of work!!!

Mulry, thanks for the heads up on the harness straps! I'll ensure to loop them back through.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Question to those who run a lot of HPDE in Miatas and other convertibles/roadsters: How strict are HPDE tech inspectors for this kind of thing? I could re-do the bar but won't have time to re-do it before the race this weekend.... and it was a lot of work!!!

We did our first 3 track days with the S roll bar. No questions about roll bar. It was purely our decision to go to the taller bar.
We will also go to full cage in the future.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Cool thanks Bob. The consensus I'm getting from friends is that this bar should be just fine for HPDE.

[Frank818]

That's quite a change on the engine cover.

[Hindsight]

Yup, it is now basically just like the R. I may cut the front sides off completely, then make new fiberglass pieces that are removable, and close the gap to the humps..... down the road sometime.

[Hindsight]

At the track. First run great. Second run immediately experienced total power failure under corners. Exactly like fuel cut. So i pulled off and gassed it up but it only took 2.8 gallons! No clue whats happening. Will see if the extra 2.8 gallons helps i guess.

[RetroRacing]

Check your battery leads, sounds like something is loose

[Hindsight]

Just checked every connection i could and all is tight. Next run in 45 mins so fingers crossed. I also bypassed my racelogic traction control unit. I had it off, but the furst unit i got was bad and cut fuel even when switched off so maybe that's it

[RetroRacing]

Good Luck!!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Just checked every connection i could and all is tight. Next run in 45 mins so fingers crossed. I also bypassed my racelogic traction control unit. I had it off, but the furst unit i got was bad and cut fuel even when switched off so maybe that's it

Hindsight,
I take by your response that it now runs in the pits. When it cut out on the track, did it immediately restart?
Any fault codes stored in the ECU?
Bob

[Hindsight]

It didnt fully die, just lost ALL power and as soon as the g forces from the turn let up half way, the power instantly smapped back on in full. ONLY happens in turns, especially in hard S turns.

My last session was good. I only got 3 laps though because i realized my engine cover was not secure and was lifting so i had to pit. No cut outs the last session. I am going to try Hydramat as my next step soon and if that fails I will go transfer tank.

I already want stiffer springs and shocks with better rebound. Car is VERY fast. Will have vid soon.

[Hindsight]

Ok, if the tank is REALLY full, so much so that it gets fuel into my charcoal can, it doesnt cut out. So is def fuel starvation. Just amazed at how full it can be and still star e. I may end up fabbing my own tank that has plenty of baffles.

Gopro did great today so will have vids.

[metros]

Are you using ffr tank or Boyd tank?

[Hindsight]

The new ffr tank. Not Boyd. There is an 818R here with a biyd tank and he isnt having any issues like this...

[Frank818]

Definitely sounds like fuel tank with bad baffles and high lateral g-forces. Very surprised you need to fill it up THAT much to prevent starvation.
Surprised FFR never experienced that too...

Before fabbing your own tank you could try that guy's idea (forgot his name) and use this https://www.holley.com/products/fuel...s/parts/16-111

[mikeb75]

There are a couple of builds looking at the Hydramat. The only problem seems to be finding a fitting that will connect the holly fuel line to the Subaru/Walboro/Aeromotive fuel pump - but other than that issue its a very promising product for preventing fuel starvation.

OTOH, we found a surge tank and knock-off fuel pump from that E-place for really cheap (going to cost more for AN hose and fittings than the tank & pump).

[Hindsight]

Yeah the hydramat is on the list of things to potentially add. It is SPENDY though. But I have talked with a few people at the event I'm at who speak very highly of it.

Couple pics real quick... the 818 never fails to draw a crowd. I've talked with hundreds of nice people who have come by and asked 20 questions. About 50% have heard of Factory Five and the rest just look at me blankly when I mentioned it lol, so in the latter case, I have a canned spiel I go into.







And here is Ron's 818R. He lives about an hour North of me in Georgia and I just met him at this track event. Had no idea someone around here had an R that was on the track (though this was his first track event with it). He's a really nice guy and also has a BRZ with a supercharged LS3 in it

[Zach34]

Nice to see the interest in your car! Did you happen to catch what wheels/tires Ron was running?

[Hindsight]

I am not sure about wheels but he was running some nitto r compound DOT tires on there. Only 245 in the rear, IIRC, but he was turning good times on them. I will try to remember to ask abt the wheels today.

[Mechie3]

Getfast1.com has good quality made in USA fittings for m ch less than jegs and earls stuff.