Stew's 98RS
581 - 595 of 595 Posts
i've only heard good things about those jescar products. that is a lot of work you did there. I wish I had the time like back in the day to do detailing. It is hardwork but it looks oh so good.
rebuilding cv boots are yuck. Hopefully they last awhile.
rebuilding cv boots are yuck. Hopefully they last awhile.
A friend recommended the Jescars stuff. I debated doing a ceramic coat similar to that I applied to my Civic, but I think the coupe might get more exterior maintenance so I wanted something I can easily strip down and correct if needed.
And yeah...fuck CV boots. The clamps that Subaru uses suck. I with they were still Ear clamps but nope.
Well, I've got a two day event at Gingerman Raceway this coming weekend. Two of the last things on my list to do were to weigh/corner balance the car and to install an oil cooler.
To the second point...I wasn't wild about any of the oil cooler kits out there, so I decided to piece one together myself.
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I went with a CSF heat exchanger because I liked the in/out position of the lines and thought I could tuck it nicely between the radiator and support. Which proved to be correct...roughly like so (mocked up)
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I also went with an RCM oil sandwich plate because it puts the in/out lines right in front under the timing cover. This allowed me to get the lines to be very short with very clean routing. Although...I'm a little mad that the kit didn't come with all the hardware necessary to mount the plate to the block. Luckily I had an oil filter stud thing (black threaded bit) on an old block in the garage.
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Everything assembled and routed a coolant line bypass since the factory cooler is removed.
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And here it is mounted and all buttoned up with the radiator re-installed. Super happy with the packaging here...
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Finally, I filled it all up with new Motul oil. Went with 15w50 this time based on some reading and feedback from another one of my engineer friends who does a lot of track driving. That and reading a lot on the facebook groups about what people are using in 207's on the track. this 300V has the nicest packaging I've ever seen for oil.
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Also, I started to make an intercooler shroud. Not too stoked on this, and I need to figure out how to do the rear edge...but it's better than nothing for now.
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Okay...On to weight and corner balancing. Before I tore the car down and when it had a full interior, EJ20G swap and about 1/4 tank of fuel, the car weighed about 2750lbs. I took a lot of weight out during the build, but I also put a significant amount back in with the cage. So, I was hoping that I broke even and would be roughly around 2800lbs. With about 3/4 tank of fuel the car weighs 2750...So basically achieved the goal and broke even on weight.
As for corner balancing...I suspected I would have some trouble here. When I set the ride height on my coilovers, the left rear needed to be about 1/2" to 3/4" longer than the right rear to achieve the same ride height. This car was wrecked before, so the chassis could have some tweak or other demons hiding in it...however the car also has been on a frame machine and corrected to factory specs ( a long time ago). And, based on measurements when I was building the cage and replacing the quarter panels...I don't think there's that big of a difference side to side in the chassis.
I decided to play with the pre-load a bit. I took some pre-load out of the right rear which allowed me to lengthen the shock over-all to match the left side. This also corrected some difference in droop side to side. We were able to get the cross down from 60% to about 55%. Not great, but its an improvement. At some point, I need to go through and set droop / pre-load from scratch on all 4 corners. Anyways...here's the weight of just the car before adjustment, and the weight with me in it after adjustment.
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So, overall the car is in good shape and I'm super looking forward to this weekend.
To the second point...I wasn't wild about any of the oil cooler kits out there, so I decided to piece one together myself.
I went with a CSF heat exchanger because I liked the in/out position of the lines and thought I could tuck it nicely between the radiator and support. Which proved to be correct...roughly like so (mocked up)
I also went with an RCM oil sandwich plate because it puts the in/out lines right in front under the timing cover. This allowed me to get the lines to be very short with very clean routing. Although...I'm a little mad that the kit didn't come with all the hardware necessary to mount the plate to the block. Luckily I had an oil filter stud thing (black threaded bit) on an old block in the garage.
Everything assembled and routed a coolant line bypass since the factory cooler is removed.
And here it is mounted and all buttoned up with the radiator re-installed. Super happy with the packaging here...
Finally, I filled it all up with new Motul oil. Went with 15w50 this time based on some reading and feedback from another one of my engineer friends who does a lot of track driving. That and reading a lot on the facebook groups about what people are using in 207's on the track. this 300V has the nicest packaging I've ever seen for oil.
Also, I started to make an intercooler shroud. Not too stoked on this, and I need to figure out how to do the rear edge...but it's better than nothing for now.
Okay...On to weight and corner balancing. Before I tore the car down and when it had a full interior, EJ20G swap and about 1/4 tank of fuel, the car weighed about 2750lbs. I took a lot of weight out during the build, but I also put a significant amount back in with the cage. So, I was hoping that I broke even and would be roughly around 2800lbs. With about 3/4 tank of fuel the car weighs 2750...So basically achieved the goal and broke even on weight.
As for corner balancing...I suspected I would have some trouble here. When I set the ride height on my coilovers, the left rear needed to be about 1/2" to 3/4" longer than the right rear to achieve the same ride height. This car was wrecked before, so the chassis could have some tweak or other demons hiding in it...however the car also has been on a frame machine and corrected to factory specs ( a long time ago). And, based on measurements when I was building the cage and replacing the quarter panels...I don't think there's that big of a difference side to side in the chassis.
I decided to play with the pre-load a bit. I took some pre-load out of the right rear which allowed me to lengthen the shock over-all to match the left side. This also corrected some difference in droop side to side. We were able to get the cross down from 60% to about 55%. Not great, but its an improvement. At some point, I need to go through and set droop / pre-load from scratch on all 4 corners. Anyways...here's the weight of just the car before adjustment, and the weight with me in it after adjustment.
So, overall the car is in good shape and I'm super looking forward to this weekend.
Tidy little oil cooler install, and not too shabby on the weight! Looking good.
I agree on the Subaru CV boot clamps. Did you end up using OEM clamps, or go another route? When I replaced the boots on my coupe, I was able to re-use the original clamps, but it was a pain in the ass without having the special tool.
I agree on the Subaru CV boot clamps. Did you end up using OEM clamps, or go another route? When I replaced the boots on my coupe, I was able to re-use the original clamps, but it was a pain in the ass without having the special tool.
Unfortunately I didn't have time to get different clamps and had to get the car back together, so I ended up using the OEM clamps. They're really similar to how the "metal zip-ties" work. I got pretty good at those when doing the exhaust wrap. So, these are pretty secure, but I don't have 100% confidence in them. Hopefully they hold up!
I've seen a couple custom intercooler splitters mount to the intercooler itself, I wonder if that would be easier to build. I prefer them mounted to the hood like yours and stock though.
I saw a guy on a youtube video use a pair of these. For 15 bucks they might be worth a shot...
Yeaaah, I thought about that too. Like you, I prefer hood mounted. The rear is sooo close to the hood anyway I think one mounted to the intercooler might be hard to make. That and I'm too paranoid about messing up the anodizing on it haha.
With my Grimmspeed intercooler, I had a fair amount of contact between the hood and intercooler when the car was under load. I ended up having to pound some portions of the hood in. I should clarify this is with Group N engine mounts and drag strip launches though.
I took the coupe to Gingerman Raceway this past weekend. My college buddies and I are all gearheads, so we try to make an event together once a year. I signed up for this event last December, so this weekend was my target "completion" date for the car. I'm happy I had it together in advance and had some time to shake it down....the thing didn't skip a beat over two days of abuse.
Going into this, I was kinda hoping for mid to low 1:40's at this track. My personal best here in my wagon is around a 1:51. I started Saturday in the intermediate group and it was a shit show. By the second run of the day, I was getting really frustrated with traffic. Despite getting blocked nearly every lap, I still managed a 1:42.6 in traffic. My buddy who's an advanced driver suggested I just bump up to his group since I clearly had some good pace.
So, after bumping up to advanced in the afternoon and having some clear track I was really able to explore the limits of the car. Sunday morning we started early - I was on track by 8am. I think the cool air helped a bit - I was hanging with my buddy in his 1LE Camaro and clicked off a 1:40.55. In my second run of the morning I managed a 1:40.13. SO close to a 1:39.X. I honestly could not believe how fast this thing is. I never thought I'd be pushing one-minute 30's this early in the cars development. I need to hone in on a couple things - alignment and other suspension setup as well as figure out a cold air intake setup. Later in the day the pace dropped off, and I couldn't improve on that time. I was fighting really high IAT's and I believe the tires we're getting over-cooked as well.
In any case, this car is an absolute Joy to drive. Feels like such an animal and makes great noises. A couple photos and video of my PB below. For whatever reason, my dash showed 1:40.13 but the data from the sessions shows 1:40.19. I'm taking the former
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Going into this, I was kinda hoping for mid to low 1:40's at this track. My personal best here in my wagon is around a 1:51. I started Saturday in the intermediate group and it was a shit show. By the second run of the day, I was getting really frustrated with traffic. Despite getting blocked nearly every lap, I still managed a 1:42.6 in traffic. My buddy who's an advanced driver suggested I just bump up to his group since I clearly had some good pace.
So, after bumping up to advanced in the afternoon and having some clear track I was really able to explore the limits of the car. Sunday morning we started early - I was on track by 8am. I think the cool air helped a bit - I was hanging with my buddy in his 1LE Camaro and clicked off a 1:40.55. In my second run of the morning I managed a 1:40.13. SO close to a 1:39.X. I honestly could not believe how fast this thing is. I never thought I'd be pushing one-minute 30's this early in the cars development. I need to hone in on a couple things - alignment and other suspension setup as well as figure out a cold air intake setup. Later in the day the pace dropped off, and I couldn't improve on that time. I was fighting really high IAT's and I believe the tires we're getting over-cooked as well.
In any case, this car is an absolute Joy to drive. Feels like such an animal and makes great noises. A couple photos and video of my PB below. For whatever reason, my dash showed 1:40.13 but the data from the sessions shows 1:40.19. I'm taking the former
That looks like a riot! The point by from the Mustang is the perfect ending to that lap too.
This track is flat and fast. Luckily Mustang guy is a friend and didn't spoil my lap haha
I'm going to make some changes before the event in October. Hopefully we'll see a sub 1:40 then! BTW, talked with Max about camping / pitting together. We should make plans for that.
Yep, Gingerman isn't the most technical track out there, but it does offer lots of safe run-off. So, I always feel more free to push the car really hard here.
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