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The newer baffle has two rubber seals as well - no idea how they work but 'must surely' be an improvement over original. I only discovered this while browsing the ICP catalog!
I also found the correct Twinscroll bracket:
The previous one was hanging off a home made bracket, which didn't quite work.
So I took this out for a run to see what's going on. It ran really lumpily to start with and I guess that was down to poor fuel (old), which I added fresh to the tank, but then it seemed to smooth out as the ECU starts to learn. No leaks so far, clutch operates well and I'm getting used to all the gearbox whines (PPG) again. Very gentle push of the throttle and the boost comes in well but something is in contact with the engine on over run/deceleration, which I think is the fan connector on the new rad - this is wider and puts the connector near the water pipe at the front of the engine.
I've changed the rear diff oil and will do the gearbox next. I've cleaned the K&N panel filter and will re oil when dry. Pesky airbox has cracked though through age - anyone got a standard airbox version 5 lying around???
It's fair to say I was extremely nervous about this stage of the project! I'd gone through everything in my mind about what I needed to do, several times and trying to make sure everything was as good as it could be. I even checked the tyre pressures and discovered they were all at 18PSI - oops! Having no breakdown cover (not because I'm tight, I just can't find a cover that I'm happy with) I filled the car with a tool kit and tow rope, just in case something went wrong. I looked at the traffic on the morning too as I didn't want to get stuck in heavy traffic with a hot car, smoking due to residual fluids, which is lumpy and difficult to drive slowly.
M1 - standstill at Milton Keynes. Great, just great! I'm in the middle lane and there's a small cloud of burnt oil coming out of the scoop. On the plus side all the gauges are looking good and there aren't too many weird noises.
I've used Bob Rawl for mapping previously as well as Zen. This time Zen could fit me in quickest, which I needed for a track day 'shake down' at Donington in Aug. I'd happily use both TBH. Richard and James greeted me with a cup of tea and we soon got down to Richard connecting up my car to his lap top. The usual 3rd gear 'pulls' to determine ignition, fueling and boost baseline followed many runs for calibration. It always feels wrong flooring the throttle at low revs in 3rd but as Richard says, 'we have to know what it's doing down there too.' The car gets better and better with every flash of new map into the ECU until finally, we think it's there. No sign of surge, the engine is really quiet as far as 'det' goes, meaning I can turn the sensitivity of the knock link down if I wish and the power delivery is extremely smooth. The only oddity is that there is a small dip in power at around 5k rpm - weird because after that the engine pulls stronger and stronger to the red line, as if it comes on a second cam. Some head scratching here.
The Miltek exhaust (twinscoll version, 3 inch and de cat - new to this car) sounds civilised at cruise and mild throttle openings, whilst turning into quite a growl at WOT. I hope it'll be quiet enough on track days? I'll get a bung just in case.
The trip home was fairly uneventful and I could try out the power. On empty dual carriage ways it's hard to feel the speed but overtaking on smaller A- roads shows how quickly you are moving in comparison to other traffic!
Thanks to Richard for the work - top job chap and nice to meet James (and Lucie).
Up rated engine mounts fitted - transmits a tad more vibration through the steering wheel but unsure if noise level has increased (it's loud anyway). We'll see how it improves engine location control on track.
New clutch release bearing fitted and lubed lightly, including splines.
Correct sized Banjo bolt on oil feed but incorrect copper washers - they leaked. New washers sourced and fitted and no leaks.
HI! I'm sorta looking forward to it. When will you be at a track day next?
Not sure. Audi goes for final mapping tomorrow, and I'm racing on the 18/19th if that goes well.
I'd like to squeeze in a track day as a test before then, but we'll see if I can find the time.
So, I did a trackday at Donington on Monday, full GP circuit. This was going to be a shake down day to see if the car is going to be reliable enough to take it to Germany in September.
It is rare that I have issues as 99% of the time I just turn up and drive, and certainly nothing of note that will stop me lapping or send me home early, but yesterday I had some problems that didn't stop me driving but certainly gave me something to think about. Unsurprising really considering how long the car has been off the road, dismantled and put back together again. Good news for me is the engine was fine all day and not a hint of surge at all. It was the other stuff, some of which has been untouched since the car was new 18 years ago, decided to play up. I guess some stuff isn't as reliable as I'd thought
Firstly the car developed a squeak from the nearside front - jacked the car up and fiddled with the caliper, cooling ducts and anything else I could think of and this reduced it. Took some gentle laps but it returned. Fiddled some more and again it reduced enough for some serious lapping. I noticed there was a small leak under the ABS unit, which was obviously a concern so I kept an eye on the levels and the moment I felt any issues with the brakes, I would slow and return to the pits to check it again. The pedal went soft after about 15-20 mins on track but fixed itself once cool.
The exhaust suddenly became a whole lot louder during the last session but it wasn't obvious what had gone wrong. I found out on the way home when the two bolts that connect the back box to the centre section fell off and the back box just touched the ground. I stopped immediately and fixed it temporarily! Not a huge issue but I'll need to keep an eye on it to see why it came undone - I've never had that before.
The main issue was the squeak return on the way home. ALL the way home... :-( I think it's the wheel bearing and I'll need to fix that.
When did the paddock become all Gucci? Average track car value must be £50k. So many stripped out 911's and Caymans, Lotus, Caterham etc. The only comparable car to mine was an 450bhp Evo X all carbon and slick tyred, but even that was trailored there in a covered 'race box' behind a fairly new RR autobiography! No Seat's or Megan's even. There's a theory is that they are all the same track day goers from when I started track driving 18 years ago, who have just got older (and richer).The real problem is where are the new young track day guys now...
I managed a healthy amount of laps and tried to stay out of the way of the race boys in their Radicals and Race VW's (blindingly quick) but got fed up with the VW Fun Cup cars, which I discovered were relatively slow overall. The GP circuit is tricky to master. Never really found the correct braking point or turn in especially as the last hairpin is a blind crest. It didn't help that I couldn't really trust the brakes with that leak in the back of my mind.
I have ordered a replacement ABS pump, however it occurred to me that I could simply bypass the pump by joining the brake pipes that are connected to it, then pull the ABS fuse. Is this feasible, leaving the bias valves in place? Micky mentioned that I'll need a non ABS master cylinder though. What else would I have to do to stop the ABS warning lamp appear on the dash board? There are two inputs to the ABS and 4 x outputs, one to each corner - I'm not certain which would need connecting to which!
I haven't the time to do an ABS delete, so I replaced the ABS pump, which took an hour or so of messy work. I'm now bleeding the lines until my 'bleed kit' broke A neighbour has lent me his kit so I'll have another go tonight.
I hate having trouble with brakes on a TD. Ruins your confidence.
I was plagued with inconsistent brakes at Rockingham a few months ago. Swapped out the fairly new track pads for used street legal pads and they were fine again. If not prone to overheating.
Thanks Jonny. I've reviewed that link but can't quite work out what goes where. Needs a diagram to help me!
I have used new pads on track days before. The first heat cycle can make them go very 'soft' but after a cool down they are normally fine for the remaining life span.
I've replaced the ABS unit for hopefully the exact same version. No leaks so far and all bled up fairly straight forwardly. No lights on the dash also. Need to try it on the road with a good few stops but I have to replace my wheels bearings first, which are totally shot to pieces now that I've removed them...
I forgot to give my initial review of the Hard Race engine mounts after Donington. They seem to be better than stock, especially when hot. I say 'seem to be' as I didn't notice any problems trying to change gear during heavy braking, only that my **** kept moving around (fnarr). The gear **** has become loose and needs fixing somehow! What do people do about this - loctite?
I've discovered a small coolant leak, which is a bit weird. I think it's coming from the top hose where it joins the cross pipe on the engine. The coolant pools just behind the power steering pump but only when it's cold? I'll move the power steering pump and try to see what's going on as I've already changed the top hose and cleaned up the cross pipe - perhaps there's a crack in the cast pipe?
I've discovered a small coolant leak, which is a bit weird. I think it's coming from the top hose where it joins the cross pipe on the engine. The coolant pools just behind the power steering pump but only when it's cold?
If its only leaking when cold I'd suspect its because of aging rubber pipes. Over time they can harden up, particularly noticeable when cold. Once they're warm they soften slightly to create a seal.
Yes, I agree. I've changed it for a new pipe (which is considerable stiffer to fit) and it still leaks. Grrrr.
Anyway, new and majorly significant upgrade underway - I'm halfway through and the results will be published soon... It's only been about 8 years in the planning!
Mods completed. Car aligned and it showed a degree more negative camber from what I thought were same settings on strut bolts and Toe was out too (positive). No time to upload photos yet. Old hubs and bearings off and the nearside was shagged but you can only really see how bad it is once the hub nut has been loosened.
Replacement ABS unit fitted as I didn't have time to research and build a non ABS system. Bled and working, no warning lights and not tried getting ABS to cut in at this point.
Coolant still leaking behind power steering pump. Grrr
Slightly wet power steering low pressure pipe!? Not sure if it has worn through against new larger rad? I have a repair kit for this just in case.
New tyres being fitted tonight, brand new. It's never ever had brand new tyres so this will be a revelation I'm sure - always sourced used tyres for track work but current tyres are 2007 and decided I need a change. I do have some tyre grip, which has had reasonable success in the past to recover grip in hard tyres.
After what seems a monumental effort to a) get my car ready for the Ring and b) actually get there and all the cost involved, here's my assessment:
Great to see so many old and new friends
Great to finally get back to the Ring
Weather was generally pretty good for most of the 2 day event.
The Subaru drove there and back, was comprehensively thrashed at every opportunity and only needed air in the tyres. Got a bit noisy but luckily it fixed itself.
Replaced ABS pump with ebay £20 jobbie and worked perfectly. Didn't die and pedal never went soft.
New bearings, hubs, and knuckles conversion including ghetto abs sensor addition worked perfectly. Amazed. I'll document this upgrade soon and anyone who is fed up of changing wheel bearings will want to see this!
Relearning the track didn't take as long as imagined.
That's the good.
Remember I've changed my engine, twice. Upgraded some stuff, all a bit experimental and had little time to see if it all worked apart from Donington, where the hub and bearing failed, although it didn't stop track driving and I drove it home, as always.
What this means is that I was incredibly nervous about this trip and all the things that could go wrong, plus I forgot to get breakdown cover.
So, huge anticipation and super worried about potential disaster. Not to mention the cost - track event, travel, food, fuel and parts for the car. All par for the course, but somehow more on this occasion. So many nerves that I'm wondering if it's all worth it after 5 years away from the Ring. I nearly cancelled but Darren persuaded me otherwise (I had fun lapping with him).
Therefore:
Disappointing to see so many thundertwats on the first day, just being generally dickish but some of them got what they deserved.
I get that people get carried away, I really do, but ****me some are stupid. GT3/GT2 guy, well the red/yellow striped flag means something bad and slippy is happening in front. I slowed because I don't want to crash of course but this guy thought it meant he should go as fast as possible with 2 wheels on the rumble strip and two wheels on the gravel. Nearly collected me. So fast that I could not tell what car it was.
No clear laps. Not one. Tell a lie, the sighting lap on the second day was fab but at half speed.
Lots of stoppages.
Radical. That's not a good thing. FFS, spinning on DH out of the pits, really!
Radical, did I mention crashiness?
There was traffic of course and this was to be expected. Not an issue. I'm sure I got in the way of faster cars too. Normal stuff - fast cars were fast and some fast cars were slow (but thought they were fast). Some cars were faster than they should be.
I suppose I'm saying that I had a lot riding on this track day(s) but it didn't deliver for me. Not Darren's fault. Could have done with more close lapping (with mates who couldn't be there) although I did have some fun in that respect. I did meet a white well modified classic Impreza there (Adam?) but we didn't get any close lapping sadly.
So, the major development that I’ve been planning for about 6-8 years… The wheel bearing upgrade!
I started a thread on 22B in 2012 and here’s the basics:
I've got fed up with replacing front wheel bearings regularly and the associated problems despite adding extra cooling to cope with track day braking heat generated – the hubs lean over during hard cornering on track days and the discs start to make contact with the brake calipers! Not only is it noisy but also worrying. There’s also the effort, cost and time to replace the hub bearings. I’d sourced myself some spare complete hubs with the intention of rebuilding for annual swapping/maintenance. I've fitted new bearings to original hubs. The first time I fitted new bearings, which I had repacked with Redline grease onto brand new hubs, in freshly painted knuckles but this lasted 2 years of track days. The second set was new bearings on same hubs and no redline grease. This set has done one track day and already I can see some play. I intend to add more cooling as existing is not enough but changing hubs on a regular basis is a chore. I used NSK labelled bearings the second time.
I researched the options available:
1. Sixgunracing used to sell a kit that allows you to convert to the 05+ STi bearing/hub setup to 5x100, but the web site is now dead? Would have been nice solution!
2. WRC spares sell uprated 5x100 hubs with Audi bearings installed but Rodney says they have to have STI drivesahfts? I have a UK '00 car, but not sure which diff I have but it's OE. There is also the small matter of cost = £900 for a pair!!!
3. Machine current hub/knuckles for larger Audi A6 bearings, but which ones? Would the hub need modifying or just the knuckle and is there any issues with driveshaft fitment. I believe that Mark from Finch Motorsport did this mod successfully. Quote’ Double tapered roller bearing - jrm4249 or equivalent - went with a version that was rubber shielded, as opposed to metal, thought that a metal shield might retain more heat?’
4. Fitting modified 114 hubs. Slimming the knuckle and moving a hole to mate with my classic fitment coilies doesn't seem too bad a job. Does the bottom ball joint still fit? I would redrill for 5x100 studs. This option is now offered by Alyn at AS Performance – speak to him for a quote. I very nearly went down this route.
5. LIC Motorsports – extensive options here but they may not be offering 5 x 100 versions any more.
As time was getting short after Donington, where I discovered that my wheel bearing was ‘destroyed’ and rather than change yet another set of bearings into my now ‘lost’ spare set of hubs and knuckles, I thought it was now or never to do the upgrade before I took the car back to Germany – what could possibly go wrong!?
I search Ebay and found some ‘Legacy Outback Impreza Diesel 2.0 EE20 Front Wheel Hub Knuckle Right 2010-2012’ and left versions, described as only delivery mileage (photos of item looked good). These were as much as I wanted to pay at the time and as they were delivery mileage then the best second hand versions I could find and cheaper than brand new. The reason I got these is because it matched this data I gathered for this project:
WRX 08 hatch 5x100 or equivalent parts list:
Brand new parts:
Front upright (Right) : 28313AG020 - £163.04 +vat (£195) subaru UK
Front upright (Left) : 28313AG030 - £163.04 +vat (£195) subaru UK
Knuckles can be Legacy BL/BP '04-'09 or later Legacy. Or '08 on Forester. As well as '08 on WRX
Again:
28313AG020
28313AG030
If you are looking at bearings for these then there are some options: Same bolt-in wrx, forester, legacy bearing (*All 76mm od*) different mounting plate design.
I've linked to the summit site, as you can seriously enlarge the image.
The wrx '08 and sti '08 knuckle are different part numbers.
The 4 x bolts that attach the '08 sti bearing are part number: 901000287
The wrx '08 bolts use part number: 90100238
I used an 8mm spacer from Alyn AS Performance – super quick delivery and fitted perfectly.
Tightening torque of the bolt is 66 N · m, about 2/3 of the wheel nut. Since it is an important part here, torque wrench recommendation. By the way, the torque of the centre nut is 190 N · m.
Front upright (Right) : 28313AG020
Front upright (Left) : 28313AG030
For bearings and hubs : VKBA 6885
Wheel bolts : 901000238
You’ll notice that one is new looking = great. The other is not so new = sad face!
Bugger. No time to return the bad hub, although it was still pretty fresh and I estimate that it had done less than a few thousand miles, so I started a partial refund request on Ebay. This took several weeks but I got some money back.
Old hub being removed:
Spacer slips onto driveshaft:
I needed to dress the bolts slightly to clear the ABS ring on the driveshaft:
If you are sticking with ABS then you’ll need to make a hole for it:
Yes, I know this will have some structural reduction and no one knows how much, but it seems to have worked. I will inspect it regularly and I have smoothed it.
Last edited by Floyd; 10 October 2018 at 02:17 PM.
This was cut with a large drill bit and then dressed with a Die Grinder.
The last thing for me to do was to cut a hole for my cooling duct in the dust shield:
Old alongside new (not mine):
You can see the difference in steering joint height, which will affect roll centre correction positively (I think!).
After fitting the new knuckles I gained a degree of negative camber for some reason – bonus!
So, what was it like on the road and track. It seemed to steer better, there was no noise and more importantly. No rubbing of brake disc onto the calliper housing. It just worked! Time will tell if it lasts longer but so far so good.
Last edited by Floyd; 10 October 2018 at 02:13 PM.
I don't think I've reported what I did to the rear end... I've added Hard Race control arms with uprated rubber bushes rather than pillow ball or polybush. I don't trust Poly as it squeaks and sticks - hard to service. Pillow ball doesn't last long when it get dirt in it and it costs far more too.
So:
Off with the old- still pretty fresh looking TBH after 16 years.
And the new:
You'll notice I've placed bicycle inner tubes over the adjustable bits. I sprayed them with lithium grease to stop corrosion and the inner tubes over them to keep them as clean as a whistle. Just slide the tube back and adjust!
Finally, I also fitted my Carl Davey tank insulating spacers - Thanks Carl! I invented this mod.
13 July 2018, 01:27 PM
Average track car value must be £50k. So many stripped out 911's and Caymans, Lotus, Caterham etc. The only comparable car to mine was an 450bhp Evo X all carbon and slick tyred, but even that was trailored there in a covered 'race box' behind a fairly new RR autobiography! No Seat's or Megan's even. There's a theory is that they are all the same track day goers from when I started track driving 18 years ago, who have just got older (and richer).The real problem is where are the new young track day guys now...
A neighbour has lent me his kit so I'll have another go tonight.
