sorry for the late post, but you were discussing the tyre diameter a couple pages before. in various best motoring scooby ( GC8 ) tests they used 225/45/17 and 215/45/17 and I saw one new age with 225/40/17... I don't have experience to talk about this but I just wanted to share this...

 

Thanks for the info. I have 17'' P1 wheels for the road @ 17 x 45 x 205 which suits the car well.
Graham.

 

Today saw the installation of my up-grade to the Real Deal.
Off came the most excellent 'Road' spec AST's used on the road and hill climbing so successfully to make way for the Cream of the Crop, a full-on £2600 AST 3 way system for my Hill climber. Am I ever the lucky one.




The car went up onto the ramp to be 'done' and immediately Curtis noticed that I had installed the front roll bar upside down after a paint n grease session on the car, this slip could lead to the rack's control arms fowling the roll bar = no steering.. First time for everything...

The new units are just fantastic to see the engineering quality of finish, build and professionalism, and to boot I got the AST top mounts with vernier adjustment..



Note the remote canisters for the 2 adjustments, the third being in the base of the strut itself.
Curtis had to open out the top mount holes in the shell to take the mountings.
The rears were fine if a bit difficult to get into place, but more on that later.

The new struts have huge piston rod diameters, about 40mm compared to the 20 of the 'normal' Group buy AST's.
We agreed to keep to the 60/50 n/mm spring rates of last year's set-up as it worked so well in races, and was ok on the road, though a bit 'hard core' to many (except me).

In a very short time Curtis had all the struts in place, and ready for the precision alignment I have become to depend on for the hill climb.




During the alignment, we had problems getting the right neg camber on the fronts, but after installing camber bolts (we thought the AST top mounts would be enough) Curtis had all the adjustability he needed to dial in the 2.5 degs Neg he used last year.
We had the same issue in the rears despite fitting the AST top mounts.
The Top Mounts are motorsport grade, that is direct pillow ball mounts, no rubber here thank you.




Alignment completed to Curtis' exacting satisfaction, he explained the function of the adjustments and how you can tweek the chassis to optimise all manner of chassis changes. This brings me and the car into a new world of suspension systems I've only read about.

Even more now I need the test day ar Curb to dial in the car.

The drive home down the dreadful M5/Worcester by-pass and local roads in the pouring rain was exactly as the suspension was before; controlled and slightly 'bobbing' on undulating roads. We had set the AST's to mid-position all round as a starting point. Pleanty to do to find the Perfect Chassis but a great starting point!

Finally, I cannot finish this without a massive thank you to Powerstation, Rich, Curtis and Andy and all the crew there for doing this for me and making the day such a pleasure.
It was great also to meet Bigbrakes there, a fellow hill climber from Wales who will soon have a *****-out racer to chase circles around me!

Talking of Brakes (which everyone else was to me) please dont laugh at my stock brakes on the car, hill climbers don't need them.....

Some pics to finish off:






Ready now for the front mount to go on, put the front top brace on and tie the canisters of the front units to it.

Should then be ready for AndyF to re-map and off to the races!

Graham.

 

The perfect gentleman as ever, now you have set the bar even higher us leeser types can fight for the scraps, again thanks for allowing me to look over your car, even more things to consider now, which had not crossed my mind

John

Ps Regs arrived today

 

2600 quid though Ouch!

 

i don't want you complaining if you don't beat that EVO now

 

And how much is the Scoobysport/Nitron offering if it ever gets released I hear there may be other alternatives.....

 

you sure are lucky graham...

can I ask why you painted some bars in black?

graham, have you ever thought in widening the wheel fenders so you can use larger tires?


before you said the 16 wheels are lighter than the 17's. I have OZ superlleggera 17 and I think they are lighter than the oem 16's...
I want to put the kosei K1 wheels, they are even lighter than OZ...

 

Kev: You are assuming the EVO has done nothing over the winter. I know Roy very well, and with The Other EVO coming in this year into our class (who beat Roy last year in places) will spurr him to another level.
I'm expecting a stroker engine (Norris?), maybe slicks if he 's found a box to tolerate them,and certainly a turbo/map. He has the budget you and I dream of.....

Strikes me that other suppliers talk of this and that system and a prototype here and there, but Powerstation actually have them, and are very willing to put them smack in front of you all in a very public forum and listen.
List below anyother Supplier who does that so completely:

API engines

Errrrr, someone else?

It will take a bit to tune these struts into trim,(because of my learning curve) but I will certainly bring you the process in real terms of a humble hill climber!

CMP: I have thought of flared arches (ie 22b style) to fit 225 or 235 section (same as the EVO's run) and I'm waiting to see if David Wallis' project yeilds benefit in this department.
I think you can 'overtyre' a car and loose certain qualities in the chassis, but my Jaguar X Type has wider rubber than my Sti ..

(The suspension is painted humble Hammerite black as the Whiteline paint was flaking off and looking very tatty. i find it a bit embarrasing to take a tatty car to Powerstation!)

Cost is a problem, but the most important thing that cannot be overlooked is tyre availability; competition tyres are only available in sticky compound in 15 and 16 rims. If I want hill climb AVON slicks then 16's the max diameter.

This is the next dilema: Run on 16'' Kumhos or 16/17'' Dunlops...
There is a £60 cost difference per corner too.

Lets hope my 'Search for the Perfect Chassis' is getting closer to reaching my goal.


Graham.

 

Graham, Paul (Zen Performance) has some interesting coil over damper options available as well from HPS...to my eye they look every bit as good as the Nitron kit and (dare I say it) superior to the AST products that I have so far seen, although I have to admit I've only seen your new kit in pictures to date

 

TimW, Not sure how you can say the HPS product is superior, I seem to remember that WRC had the 'all singing' HPS system fitted to their TunerGP car http://www.powerstation.org.uk/tunergp.asp Ford Motorsport in Germany prefer the AST's over their previous £8k Sachs units even Lamborghini have asked for a set after driving a customer car. There will also be quite a few more AST/Powerstation racecars competing across Europe this year.

Graham, slight price misunderstanding as the full 3-way coil over kit with the external reservoir is £1,850+vat according to Curtis


Iain

 

Just because a part is fitted Iain it doesn't mean they know how to use it/set it up

Is that the fitted price including the top mounts Iain? If it is then that's a bit more like it

 

The £1,850+vat includes the topmounts, fitting is £150+vat & £70+vat for the Alignment. Support/setup advice is free

Iain

 

Graham, your pictures tell a tale, nice one.

Steven

ps Oil filter

 

I noticed the oil filter too Steven, mostly i label things like that to make sure i put them back in the right place when im still hungover the next morning Copius labeling makes sure i dont f**k up in the future

 

Or use the modern equivalent, a digital camera

 

In the 'good ole days' real filters came with a sticky label to date fitment etc, but I've always dated mine. I drain etc just before the season, or now, before AndyF types-in his magic!

Sorry to mislead Ian, I though I had the price right.
An even bigger bargain!

Getting the settings right will be key. It was so easy on the first set, but this is a new game.(for me) Curtis has offered to pop over to Prescott to check for me , ace guy.

Seeing these units first hand will convince anyone that these are top-draw parts, I hope I can do them justice. The sight of the canisters strapped to the rear roll cage should frighten that EVO for a while

The test day at Curb and the test day at Loton will be very very interesting.
Going to share it with my mate who hill climbs his tweeked Smart Car this year!

Graham (feeling as lucky as THAT dog in the advert)


ps: Ian, that white car of yours needs introducing to a hill climb series.

 

Did a bit in the garage today for an hour or two.
Really to get the FMIC task away, but also to find a permanent home for the AST front Cans.
Curtis was firm to piont out that they need to be kept cool, or at least at the same temperature in the hot engine bay, so i thought I could re-install the Sti cross brace now the TMIC is out and strap them to that, but no room, but there is a very handy bracket Subaru welded in just for me:


With a simple bracket i can mount both cans side by side and they will be air cooled just there by the bonnet scoop.



A bit of luck for a change.

Graham.

 

IMHO.

Now the TMIC has gone, should you not be looking at also changing the strutbrace to a straight one, therefore reducing the tourqe twist/movement (Lateral movement only) of your front struts (as you have no welded strut/topmount bracing) this in turn would allow you to mount the cannisters on the cross brace, but also rota them 180 degrees thus allowing your vernier adjustment not to be impaired by the hose..

(Could also be that little somthing you have been looking for in your quest for that EVO)

As i say this is OMO..

John

 

John, i beleive the Sti brace is a bit of decoration. The clearance in the brace to the mounts is a joke at approx 5mm.
I only put it back on to hold the canisters! Posh bracket eh?

At least it is light (being plastic...)

Graham.

 

Pix not working for me Graham

 

Gerry: That's strange as I've done them as usual!
Sure its not at your end?
Graham.

ps will be getting AndyF down in march to re map my car, in case you might be interested.

 

Odd, pix are now fine

Could be up for a map. Will tie up with you a bit nearer the date, if that's OK

 

mount you remote reservoirs sticking out your scoop for easy adjustment

 

Graham Didn't Carman sell a set of the kosei when he sold his STi?

 

sorry for the question, but... what's the cans job?

 

Kev:

Hard to stretch out of the car and tweek them as you go up the hill climb, but could attach a long bit of welding wire to each for easy access..

Mark:


Yes he did and they were really nice wheels, very very light but looked fragile to me. The best ones were the lightweight BBS slpit rims he had on the car. The car was offered back to Rob @ 10K about 6 months ago. It was in Autosport for ages @ 18K or something like that. Don't know where it is now.
I could have had the whole package for 11K or a swop for my A4.....what a waste.

CMP:
The remote reservoirs have the fast and slow adjustments for the compression stroke on the units so keeping the strut design simpler and accessable.

Graham.

 

ok, so this way you don't need to take the wheels off to set the bound and rebound, right?

 

With all the other mods, why not fit a decent (ie; functional rather than decorative ) strut brace. Or does the cage make it unnecessary?

Richard

 

When I installed the V8 TMIC I had to remove the brace as no space for it.
Never noticed any difference in the way the car drove.

With all the engine and suspension mods the car has gone much faster as the changes are more 'influential' than the brace.

The cage I have adds very little to the car's stiffness, just weight and a feel good (safe) factor!

CMP: Yes you are right, but there is also an adjuster at the base of the strut which can be reached without taking the wheels off.
Graham.