"Back to the future," in a JDM STI Ver-9 Widetrack
24 February 2013, 06:55 PM
#424
I dare say 18,995 of those posts might be mine!! Lol
Coilovers I bought from Chocolate o Brian last year, but are new.
Only further suspension modifications planned are thicker ARB`s front and rear, but these may get done after Caldwell.
Apart from that I need to fit the seat, get harnesses and sometime in future - baffled sump, PF 2 piece disks, roll cage and slicks!
Coilovers I bought from Chocolate o Brian last year, but are new.
Only further suspension modifications planned are thicker ARB`s front and rear, but these may get done after Caldwell.
Apart from that I need to fit the seat, get harnesses and sometime in future - baffled sump, PF 2 piece disks, roll cage and slicks!
24 February 2013, 10:39 PM
#425
Scooby Regular
Good luck at Caldwell Ricky- could get lonely though as everyone else will be lapping CADWELL. 
Sensible mods going on there, looking good and hopefully you'll reap the benefits on track. Keep up the good work. I'm hoping to be able to get to Cadwell to spectate.
Sensible mods going on there, looking good and hopefully you'll reap the benefits on track. Keep up the good work. I'm hoping to be able to get to Cadwell to spectate.
01 March 2013, 04:30 PM
#427
True to my name, the cross threading continues....this time the car has cross threaded itself...must be contagious!!! lol The full suspension renewal turned into a bit of an event as my near 10 year old Impreza suspension did not want to be parted from the car! We also found the front lower ball joints to have perished, rear trailing arm offside seazed & shocks in a bad state. 
Wishbone pin bolt snapped inside the thread while trying to flip the pin for free caster mod; Camber bolts did not want to come out without a fight; new drop link bolts too short & a trailing arm decided it will rather die than come off the car!! WD40, heat, breaker bars everything was thrown at it, inevitably it too snapped. So after several hours we were able to just set the front ride height, order the new Subaru trailing arm bolt & a wishbone from Scoobyspares. Steve at Hughberry was very helpful as always & took the entire rear hub off & took it to an engineering workshop the next day at 7am & a huge industrial machine drilled out the stubborn bolt. So 2 days later Scoobyparts, super fast next day delivered the wishbone & all other parts in hand, Steve was able to finish the job.
We got there eventually, even after a fair bit of faffing by me & my exact ride height requirements!! Car needs an alignment immediately as almost entire suspension has been changed. This has been booked in with Omar at the new Supercar Garage he works at in London, apparently they are the bees knees & I have my own settings anyway.
For reference:
Front ride height set at 355mm
Rear ride height set at 345mm
No additional pre-load
(Tein recommend for Monoflex Winding Master -2005 Impreza Sti: 342mm all round
Subaru std ride height is 380mm front & 360mm rear IIRC).
Alignment settings to follow.
Last edited by rickya; 01 March 2013 at 04:41 PM.
10 March 2013, 10:03 AM
#431
Update:
Cheers mate, was just going to update the thread & the pic's already here.Big thanks to Omar & Car Care Kensington who specialise in high end sports & supercars, must have been a first with my hooligan-mobile for them
The all new suspension was completely out as you can imagine. The wide track rear was more like a ultra narrow track ( if you look closely at the pic above you can see how far in the rear wheels were) & everything was badly misaligned. Turned out the man for the task was an ex Subaru WRC technician from Portugal! Over 2.5 hours setting it up to perfection, a lot of time was taken to sort the rear track width now that we have adjustable rear trailing arms. Everything was done with a lot of precession & in between car was taken off ramps twice to test drive & then brought on for final tweaks to Toe etc.
Due to an issue with the rear camber bolts, we decided to go for a tamer setup than originally planned. Probably a good idea with almost every suspension part changed, adjustable but inexperienced Tein Coilover use, tricky Cadwell in what may be poor weather. But as it turned out I really dont think you would need a more aggressive setup with the suspension bits & DDCD-Auto that this car has. Since the alignment the car handles sharper & turns harder than anything I have ever driven, it reminds me now of a Caterham/Lotus experience day I once went on!! There is now zero under steer, slight controllable over steer, with never ending grip up front & is now effortlessly easy to aim the nose at any point mid hard corner.
These kind of mods would make for a much quicker car IMO than going only for power increase. The what 350bhp the car has was never being fully utilised by the standard 10 year old suspension, its almost as if around corners i was only able to harness 60% of that power. The car now is much more capable than I am as a driver I think until I can learn to drive it to its full potential, there is no need to ever think of power upgrades!
Front Camber: -1.65 deg neg
Front Castor: +3.8 deg pos
Front Toe: +0.10 toe in
Rear Camber: -1.15 deg neg
Rear Toe: 0.00
(maybe in in summer when I get used to new setup I may consider Front camber -2.25 deg neg / Rear camber -1.75 deg neg)
Cheers mate, was just going to update the thread & the pic's already here.Big thanks to Omar & Car Care Kensington who specialise in high end sports & supercars, must have been a first with my hooligan-mobile for them
The all new suspension was completely out as you can imagine. The wide track rear was more like a ultra narrow track ( if you look closely at the pic above you can see how far in the rear wheels were) & everything was badly misaligned. Turned out the man for the task was an ex Subaru WRC technician from Portugal! Over 2.5 hours setting it up to perfection, a lot of time was taken to sort the rear track width now that we have adjustable rear trailing arms. Everything was done with a lot of precession & in between car was taken off ramps twice to test drive & then brought on for final tweaks to Toe etc.
Due to an issue with the rear camber bolts, we decided to go for a tamer setup than originally planned. Probably a good idea with almost every suspension part changed, adjustable but inexperienced Tein Coilover use, tricky Cadwell in what may be poor weather. But as it turned out I really dont think you would need a more aggressive setup with the suspension bits & DDCD-Auto that this car has. Since the alignment the car handles sharper & turns harder than anything I have ever driven, it reminds me now of a Caterham/Lotus experience day I once went on!! There is now zero under steer, slight controllable over steer, with never ending grip up front & is now effortlessly easy to aim the nose at any point mid hard corner.
These kind of mods would make for a much quicker car IMO than going only for power increase. The what 350bhp the car has was never being fully utilised by the standard 10 year old suspension, its almost as if around corners i was only able to harness 60% of that power. The car now is much more capable than I am as a driver
I think until I can learn to drive it to its full potential, there is no need to ever think of power upgrades! Front Camber: -1.65 deg neg
Front Castor: +3.8 deg pos
Front Toe: +0.10 toe in
Rear Camber: -1.15 deg neg
Rear Toe: 0.00
(maybe in in summer when I get used to new setup I may consider Front camber -2.25 deg neg / Rear camber -1.75 deg neg)
Last edited by rickya; 10 March 2013 at 01:26 PM.
10 March 2013, 10:20 AM
#432
Update:
Also bought this cheap bargain off ebay, a used Drift X170 action cam (non HD). Thought id first get this & sort out mounting, how to use effectively etc. Modified the mic fix and a couple of mounting positions & holes
later! (not to worry I have a spare pod) Its much better than my previous contraption which involved a full size tripod, velcro & a camcorder......Jimy found it funnier than anything he had seen in a while!
Also thanks to John for his great job in fitting my seat subframe, seat with rails & harness. He's probably sick of seats as Jura was coming the next day to get his seats done!! They fit it perfectly, but may after Cadwell, get rid of the rails as I wanted to sit lower down. Also may either before or after Cadwell sort out a Harness bar.
The new seat grips you like a drunk minger in a bar in Magaluf, with the harnesses its like a drun minger in a bar in magaluf but you resemble Tom Cruise!
ps if your car has any driving requirements other than track days & the odd weekend blast then sod bucket seats, they are amazing in what they do but there is no way I could live with then on a day to day basis! IMO a great balance are the std seats that came in a Bug STi (see Mantaz's seats) or something like the Recaros in a DC5/DC2 Integra (see Banny's seats)
Also bought this cheap bargain off ebay, a used Drift X170 action cam (non HD). Thought id first get this & sort out mounting, how to use effectively etc. Modified the mic fix and a couple of mounting positions & holes
later! (not to worry I have a spare pod) Its much better than my previous contraption which involved a full size tripod, velcro & a camcorder......Jimy found it funnier than anything he had seen in a while!Also thanks to John for his great job in fitting my seat subframe, seat with rails & harness.
He's probably sick of seats as Jura was coming the next day to get his seats done!! They fit it perfectly, but may after Cadwell, get rid of the rails as I wanted to sit lower down. Also may either before or after Cadwell sort out a Harness bar.The new seat grips you like a drunk minger in a bar in Magaluf, with the harnesses its like a drun minger in a bar in magaluf but you resemble Tom Cruise!
ps if your car has any driving requirements other than track days & the odd weekend blast then sod bucket seats, they are amazing in what they do but there is no way I could live with then on a day to day basis! IMO a great balance are the std seats that came in a Bug STi (see Mantaz's seats) or something like the Recaros in a DC5/DC2 Integra (see Banny's seats)
Last edited by rickya; 10 March 2013 at 01:48 PM.
10 March 2013, 10:48 AM
#433
Seems strange to say, but almost exactly 2 years & a fair bit of wonga later, the car is almost complete 
The few remaining things I have on mind may or may not be required, I will only know after Cadwell next Sunday.
These are:
-Thicker, adjustable Anti roll bars.
I would actually prefer some suppleness in the current hard setup that I have, but going round some corners on track will help decide.
-Oil cooler (with oil filter relocation, but then may have to relocate battery to boot!)
Will keep any eye on oil temps in the day but a summer track day may be different?
-Big brakes.
If they are found to be the weak link then the next step will be 2 piece front disks. Either Performance Friction or Giro Disc. I dont think bigger calipers are needed at this power level.
-Baffled sump.
This is the one thing I'd rather do anyway regardless, but a proper baffled sump not just a baffle plate.
Currently trying to get away with by reducing crankcase pressure with oil catch can with return to sump and slightly over filing the oil.
Thats actually quite a list......lol...
The few remaining things I have on mind may or may not be required, I will only know after Cadwell next Sunday.
These are:
-Thicker, adjustable Anti roll bars.
I would actually prefer some suppleness in the current hard setup that I have, but going round some corners on track will help decide.
-Oil cooler (with oil filter relocation, but then may have to relocate battery to boot!)
Will keep any eye on oil temps in the day but a summer track day may be different?
-Big brakes.
If they are found to be the weak link then the next step will be 2 piece front disks. Either Performance Friction or Giro Disc. I dont think bigger calipers are needed at this power level.
-Baffled sump.
This is the one thing I'd rather do anyway regardless, but a proper baffled sump not just a baffle plate.
Currently trying to get away with by reducing crankcase pressure with oil catch can with return to sump and slightly over filing the oil.
Thats actually quite a list......lol...
Last edited by rickya; 10 March 2013 at 01:55 PM.
04 April 2013, 06:43 PM
#440
Cadwell
Cadwell Park trackday a few weekends ago was rather wet to say the least, the word "rainstorm" may be more appropriate! But the morning was ok & I was able to get some time behind the wheel which was the main thing. Big thanks to all of ETC & MSOC fellow members with their organisation, food, snacks, track advice & generally made me feel welcome through out the weekend. Cant wait for the next one....
It was the first time I have driven the car with all new suspension, pretty much every suspension component /mount were ditched or modified. Alignment was a bit of a stab in the dark considering I had not driven the car after fitting. Also had to get used to the bucket seat (slightly higher driving position, - may ditch the rails for fixed pos), harnesses & RE070's in the rain & a tight & twisty Cadwell Park!
The engine side of things worked very well, with all leaks, drips, gasket replaced & now return to sump catch can fine, with no need to empty & top up engine etc. The Spec C, anti surge fuel pump housing cured fuel starvation issues that I had at Snetterton last year. The 4 in 1 gauge showed that all temps & oil readings were fine throughout the day. Braking was fine, but in hotter, drier conditions, on a faster track, things may be different?
Finally the handling is now..................immense!!! It is very different to the standard Hawkeye Spec C & Spec C running on BC Coilovers. The main difference is the car is much sharper with quite a bit of tail happy oversteer & zero understeer. This is due to a combination of stiffening up the rear end, with thicker drop links, modified rear ARB, all Hardrace Lateral links, trailing arms, rear strut brace & obviously Monoflex Coilovers. Also the fact that the Ver9 JDM Sti Diff sends more power to the rear than the Hawkeye Spec C, is also a contributing factor. It was great fun & behaved almost like a RWD, LSD equipped car, but some tweaks will have to be made to calm this down a tad!
The obvious way to balance the handling would be to e.g fit a slightly stiffer front ARB or adjust rear ARB (already have thicker front drop links & std upper strut brace). But before that I will play with Coilover damping/rebound settings as they were all set at full soft due to rain & being new to me. Yesterday after stiffening the front e.g. 3 half turns (50% of max) & the rears 2 half turns it has firmed up the ride & has dialled out a little of the oversteer. The main change will come when I change alignment settings to more rear neg camber from -1.1 neg to -1.75 rear camber (also front changed from -1.6 neg to -2.0 neg camber). This will definitely increase rear end grip & the smaller difference between front & rear will help to. If this doesnt have the desired affect then I will also consider the Summit Racing front under braces which will no doubt stiffen the car without the need to go for a thicker front ARB. The reasoning behind this is that IMO it would be better to try & stiffen/balance the car body itself first & adjust alignment, before resorting to huge Anti roll bars.
.....if you read through that lot you must be more of a nerd than me!! lol
Cadwell Park trackday a few weekends ago was rather wet to say the least, the word "rainstorm" may be more appropriate! But the morning was ok & I was able to get some time behind the wheel which was the main thing. Big thanks to all of ETC & MSOC fellow members
with their organisation, food, snacks, track advice & generally made me feel welcome through out the weekend. Cant wait for the next one....It was the first time I have driven the car with all new suspension, pretty much every suspension component /mount were ditched or modified. Alignment was a bit of a stab in the dark considering I had not driven the car after fitting. Also had to get used to the bucket seat (slightly higher driving position, - may ditch the rails for fixed pos), harnesses & RE070's in the rain & a tight & twisty Cadwell Park!
The engine side of things worked very well, with all leaks, drips, gasket replaced & now return to sump catch can fine, with no need to empty & top up engine etc. The Spec C, anti surge fuel pump housing cured fuel starvation issues that I had at Snetterton last year. The 4 in 1 gauge showed that all temps & oil readings were fine throughout the day. Braking was fine, but in hotter, drier conditions, on a faster track, things may be different?
Finally the handling is now..................immense!!! It is very different to the standard Hawkeye Spec C & Spec C running on BC Coilovers. The main difference is the car is much sharper with quite a bit of tail happy oversteer & zero understeer. This is due to a combination of stiffening up the rear end, with thicker drop links, modified rear ARB, all Hardrace Lateral links, trailing arms, rear strut brace & obviously Monoflex Coilovers. Also the fact that the Ver9 JDM Sti Diff sends more power to the rear than the Hawkeye Spec C, is also a contributing factor. It was great fun & behaved almost like a RWD, LSD equipped car, but some tweaks will have to be made to calm this down a tad!
The obvious way to balance the handling would be to e.g fit a slightly stiffer front ARB or adjust rear ARB (already have thicker front drop links & std upper strut brace). But before that I will play with Coilover damping/rebound settings as they were all set at full soft due to rain & being new to me. Yesterday after stiffening the front e.g. 3 half turns (50% of max) & the rears 2 half turns it has firmed up the ride & has dialled out a little of the oversteer. The main change will come when I change alignment settings to more rear neg camber from -1.1 neg to -1.75 rear camber (also front changed from -1.6 neg to -2.0 neg camber). This will definitely increase rear end grip & the smaller difference between front & rear will help to. If this doesnt have the desired affect then I will also consider the Summit Racing front under braces
which will no doubt stiffen the car without the need to go for a thicker front ARB. The reasoning behind this is that IMO it would be better to try & stiffen/balance the car body itself first & adjust alignment, before resorting to huge Anti roll bars. .....if you read through that lot you must be more of a nerd than me!! lol
Last edited by rickya; 05 April 2013 at 02:17 PM.
04 April 2013, 08:41 PM
#442
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Cars looking good
I think the difference the pillow ball lateral links and trailing arms make is often overlooked.
They improve turn in and make the car feel much sharper. Obviously chassis upgrades are dependant on needs but I personally think these are a must have.
I think the difference the pillow ball lateral links and trailing arms make is often overlooked.
They improve turn in and make the car feel much sharper. Obviously chassis upgrades are dependant on needs but I personally think these are a must have.
01 May 2013, 08:59 PM
#447
After having a look at Mantaz's Zerosports under scoop undertray I did a bit of research on the net & saw a few variations.
The basic design is to spread / diffuse the cold air into the centre of the top mount intercooler. The problem with the std intake / undertray is that the lower diffuser sends air to the bottom of the intercooler & the rest of the air goes straight up to the top of the intercooler, completely missing the centre. The faster you go the worse this gets. If you look at your TMIC you will see that the top & bottom is dirtier & the centre relatively clean. (I have already raised the angle of the TMIC by fitting metal spacers under the fixing bolts).
So after getting a bit of aluminium for the grand sum of £1.95 I set about this afternoon! A couple of hours later & we have Ver1!! t Essentially it will split / diffuse the the air into two above the first std splitter already there. So now with three diffusers the air should hopefully also hit the centre too. I think by cleaning the intercooler now & then seeing how it gets dirtier over time may give a rough indication of where the air is now going.
Getting there
Fitted
I shall call it the ZeroCosts Cooler!!
The basic design is to spread / diffuse the cold air into the centre of the top mount intercooler. The problem with the std intake / undertray is that the lower diffuser sends air to the bottom of the intercooler & the rest of the air goes straight up to the top of the intercooler, completely missing the centre. The faster you go the worse this gets. If you look at your TMIC you will see that the top & bottom is dirtier & the centre relatively clean. (I have already raised the angle of the TMIC by fitting metal spacers under the fixing bolts).
So after getting a bit of aluminium for the grand sum of £1.95 I set about this afternoon! A couple of hours later & we have Ver1!! t Essentially it will split / diffuse the the air into two above the first std splitter already there. So now with three diffusers the air should hopefully also hit the centre too. I think by cleaning the intercooler now & then seeing how it gets dirtier over time may give a rough indication of where the air is now going.
Getting there
Fitted
I shall call it the ZeroCosts Cooler!!
Last edited by rickya; 01 May 2013 at 09:07 PM.
01 May 2013, 09:22 PM
#450
Scooby Regular
Not at all mate.... keep it on else it causes a pressure problem with the airflow to the TMIC. I was just checking you hadn't taken it off.