Sorry to hear that Matt.
I've decided that Bosch are generally a bit ****e; like Audi and Mercedes they have built up a false impression of reliability, when actual warranty claims prove that the opposite is true. Their batteries definitely don't last.

 

A few updates.

New engine is just 30 miles off it's first 500 mile oil change, it's running well now and I'm gradually developing the map (mostly around fueling and idle control) it's pretty decent now and will be fine until proper mapping session when it's ready for it.
Good news is that I am getting confident in the car again and beginning to enjoy it again.

RealDash engineers dream dashboard is all fully working now, can display and log any parameter coming in via canbus. It's so configurable, hours of fun if you are into that sort of thing.

 

500 mile oil change done, so now it’s on it’s last mineral oil.

 

Small update, 920miles complete, couple more runs out and the semi synth will go in.

Apart from that it's mostly mapping tweaks for idle and general drivability.

A new K&N cone went on and have been messing around with RealDash some more.

A few more small projects are coming up.
1) New fast response IAT sensor that is supposedly resistant to heat soak
2) 4inch spal fan which i plan to wire to the ECU to come on when IATs are high and vehicle speed is low, probably aimed at the throttle body area.

 

Good work, keep it up 👍

 

Semi Synthetic oil has gone in now, so able to rev it out, smiles per mile just went up.

 

As i start to push the engine a bit more I'm using MegaLogViewer in combination with data from RealDash.

Each cell is showing the variance from the lamda target, in boost it's near 0 which is good.
It's also a handy chart to observe the boost threshold and when it reaches certain boost levels, here we are hitting 1.5 bar at 4200 RPM.

 

Len's polished, should let that lovely LED white light shine through now.

 

Found a safe spot for a 3rd gear pull on a flat road, this is at 1 bar max boost.

 

Got the NTC2F IAT sensor fitted yesterday and while i need to review the logs to confirm, it does seem to be much better in terms of heat soak resistance and reactivity.

I know the ambients are lower now but on a 1hour plus run it never became heat soaked and if the IAT did go up in traffic it fell back well once on the move, which is what i would expect.

I used to find with the standard sensor that once the temp had become raised it never seemed to fully recover. This may mean that the idea to aim a fan at the throttle body will not be needed (hopefully) , doubt it would have worked anyway.

If you are interested in the sensor, be aware it comes in M10 x 1.0 thread which is less common and also it does not protrude as much as others so might require some modification on your install.

 

So, it's all about the track day coming up in March.

AEM Map Sensor went on, these are supposed to be more reliable.
Got some mapping planned in a couple of weeks to check everything over and make sure it's running safe for track. I've no doubt the tweaks I've made based on logs can be improved upon.
So full synth oil will go in soon as it's over 2k miles now.

Had some SuperPro bits sitting in the garage since pre pandemic times, so these will be thrown on aswell.

Nankangs have been put on my spare set of wheels, these won't go on until March though.

 

Superpro and STI bits finally installed on the rear suspension. This has made a bigger difference than expected. I would not be suprised if something was seized before as it feels much nicer now.

 

Car also went on the rolling road and showed a somewhat optimisitc 590hp at just over 2 bar

 

Excited for this one .......

Found a CAE Shifter for sale, been on the lookout for a while, but they seem out of stock or maybe not even still made for 08 on STI.

 

Great day at Brands last week, great tuition from James as well. Car was faultless on the day.

 

How did yours times improve after tuition? , im thinking about having ago.

 

Huge difference, gave me so much more confidence to push on. Gained many seconds.

Main thing is I enjoyed the laps after those with James a lot more.

Just do it.

 

Was visited by the friend of you and I (car related frustration) yesterday.

CAE shifter install did not go to plan, having got the CAE linkage in there it became apparent that the extension adapter is required and i did not have it. Old linkage put back in and ordered the extension from CAE in Germany.

Hopefully turns up quick as i was so excited for this install

 

I know that feeling only too well.....was planning to install Ohlins this week, but clients keep interrupting.

 

Looking forward to hearing what you think of those, good luck with the install soon.

 

CAE shifter is in ! Feels sweet. Thanks to Slowboy racing for fitting it, was a bit of a PITA.

 

Inspired by hedgecutter I've started working on some rust treatment and prevention, mainly in the wheel arches.

Nothing that bad discovered so far, treatment has been rust convertor and blowing over with Dynax.

This is definately not being done to hedge throughness standards, but hopefully will still be a good investment of time.

 

Good job!
I need to do it again, it's been 2 years!
That shifter is mad...mad shifter for mad car!

 

It is a bit bonkers. Got a "what the hell is that" from the Wife.

Now need to go out and do another wheel arch.

 

Phenomenal car an absolute credit to you my man keep the updates coming

 

Just done the headlights with the kit from Cerakote.

After having used, 3M, Armour All and a variety of home brew methods I can honestly say this is by far the best result.

Proof will be in how it lasts, but when you put the ceramic layer on it’s almost magical !

Highly recommended

 

yeah will be good to see how long it lasts - i used a combination recently of the autoglym and the holts resto kits - autoglym pads are easier to work with but holts give you a bottle of sealant also

cerakote looks handier worked with again and if its "lifetime" protection it'll be great!

 

End of summer update.

Hella horns are on the car now, very loud.

CAE Shifter, I'm not 100% sold on it yet.

Main thing added is this.

 

Nice!
Is that an HJS sports cat fitted after a decat downpipe?
Where did you get it fitted and at what cost? PM if you prefer.

 

It’s a 200 cel sports cat from redback performance, you can Google the port number which is visible in the image.

it’s fitted after the decat down pipe and I have a straight pipe for off road use.

Haywood and Scott in Basildon fitted it and turned the car around really quick, speak to Ian there if you want to know more.

Quite expensive, but it’s a good quality unit.