Sleepy's 240

[Sleepy_Steve]

I've found some of the discussions on this site to be very good reads over the last couple months, and figured I'd stop lurking.


Car is a 95 240sx se. Mild car's off the shelf breakdown:

Suspension = Stance GR+ coils and Peak RUCA's because at the time I wanted to play around with adjustability more than anything else.

Brakes = ATE slotted rotors + super blue + HP plus pads because I couldn't spring for another set of carbotechs at the time.

Tire = rt615 (225/50-16) not sure if its the new compound or not, think I might have gotten the last of the old compound given what the price did shortly after I got my set.

Wheel = I could technically squeeze these onto a spare set of stock rims, but I'd much rather snag a pair of 16x8 RPF1's.

Motor stuff = (mostly leftover from abandoned turbo attempt) ARP head studs, BCv2 cams, cone filter, ebay 4-2-1 header + wrap, aeromotive FPR, walbro 255, mishimoto radiator, ACT street clutch, bikirom ECU... Hopefully less buggy on stock MAF and Injectors.


Pics:

Exterior
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/IMG_0710.jpg

Old engine bay
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0735.jpg

New engine bay
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/Car%20Parts/112_0062.jpg

Tiny brakes before I put the pads in.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/Car%20Parts/112_0009.jpg



Goals:

Do more HPDE's, I've got two behind me and had a blast. So I want more, but in this car for once. One in my old S14, and one in a friend's borrowed E36 325is. -- To do that I need to get off my ass, fix the cam or distributor timing preventing it from firing, jack it up on the driveway and make sure the coolant is bleed properly. I've also got to get the car to pass emissions one more time this summer, so I guess I'll need to get a cat welded on after the header, and put some heat shielding under my butt.

Brake ducting, spacers, and helper / tender springs are things I'd like to look into / play around with on the car as I get more into HPDE, and gain new skill-sets.

If I actually stick with this, I think I might want to see what I / the car can do in the PTE class in NASA's MA region since there are always a few people running in that class, and it seems to be the class where the less common cars congregate. So one of the things I want to do as I advance is develop the car better to the class. At the moment I think it would be over the points limit, but I think there are at least 7 or 8 points that I'm not getting good value from, and a ton of free items that should help make up for the loss of points budget.

Thanks for all the info in advance.

[KA240SX808]

I see you made it over here Sleepy (240-kid from 240SXF ;))
Wait so you went from KA-T back to N/A? Man I need to pay attention in your build thread lmao.
Sadly my plans for an SSCA Auto-X S14 has changed but I do plan on building another after this KA-T build get's done.

Nice to see another Grip oriented S-chassis

[hai1206vn]

hi from another burgundy s14. That engine's mad clean.

For 16x8 wheels, try to grab r32 gt-r ones. Good look, forged, light, fairly cheap, correct bore size, perfect fitment.

[KA240SX808]

+1 for the R32's I was browsing on Yahoo Auctions Japan and they have sets going for like $250 lmao OMG I want like 3 sets lol.

Diggin the silver mirror BTW ;) lol j/k

[Sleepy_Steve]

Mirror is silver moss... reminder from the old car lol. Yes, the head is stupid clean, I think lots of gas did it. Stupid Subaru injectors. Don't worry about the build thread over there kid, no one pays attention to it.

R32 rims do look nice, but kinda hard to find on the east coast. I don't see any for sale outside of CA and Australia atm. Besides I'll bet a set of RPF1's are lighter anyway... OK maybe not, but easier to find since Bumnah appears to be selling a set and isn't too far away.

[hai1206vn]

Keep an eye on zilvia, r32 wheels show up pretty often. Got mine with lightly used rt615 for $700.

[KA240SX808]

Yeah. I mean for 16lbs for a Factory wheel. Thats not bad at all IMO. I just wish more ppl made 225/45's tires...

[hai1206vn]

^ 225/45r17? Every company makes them. Same for 225/50r16

[KA240SX808]

No 225/45/16's for the R32's lol. I know the 225/45/17's are a VERY common size. But not the 16's. Reason I'd want 45 series is a small/stiffer sidewall and the slight Final drive Ratio change due to the tire dia. change. The only decent Tire I've found in 225/45/16 are KDW2's an AO48's which would be lovely but don't have that kind of money lol

[2Fass240us]

Congrats on coming out of lurk mode.

Car looks nice. Needs moar Wilwood. :D

[Sleepy_Steve]

No 225/45/16's for the R32's lol. I know the 225/45/17's are a VERY common size. But not the 16's. Reason I'd want 45 series is a small/stiffer sidewall and the slight Final drive Ratio change due to the tire dia. change. The only decent Tire I've found in 225/45/16 are KDW2's an AO48's which would be lovely but don't have that kind of money lol
I did that on a set of tires a while back... 205/50-16 on the stock SE rims. While it does work, I'd rather just have a new ratio in the rear end. 5mm of sidewall isn't much, and the change to the final drive due to tire size is negligible. More trouble than its worth for me.

Congrats on coming out of lurk mode.

Car looks nice. Needs moar Wilwood. :D

Hahaha, thanks. By willwood, do you mean I should get a bias valve, or do you have issue with my tiny rotors/calipers?

[2Fass240us]

Hahaha, thanks. By willwood, do you mean I should get a bias valve, or do you have issue with my tiny rotors/calipers?Neither. I don't take issue with the calipers. A stock system with really good pads can do wonders for a car.

If the car is a true dual-duty car though, having a caliper where you can hot-swap the pads is a NICE feature. You can accomplish this with Z32 or Wilwood calipers. I just happen to prefer the latter as evidenced here (http://www.nissanroadracing.com/showthread.php?t=1330) and here (http://www.nissanroadracing.com/showthread.php?t=1621).

At close-to-stock power levels, I would suggest no change to your current setup. That is, of course, unless you are unhappy with it.

[2Fass240us]

Wheel = I could technically squeeze these onto a spare set of stock rims, but I'd much rather snag a pair of 16x8 RPF1's.I just noticed this. Bumnah is selling a set here (http://www.nissanroadracing.com/showthread.php?t=1837). Looks like he's only 3 hours away, according to the Googles.

[Sleepy_Steve]

I've already tracked him down. :)

Not sure what you mean by hot swapping pads for a dual purpose car. I always heard that it is kind of a bad idea to use different compounds on the same rotors?

If I were only changing the front pads for the track, that doesn't take long on the stock setup anyway. What am I missing, its not clicking at all in my head.

[KA240SX808]

I did that on a set of tires a while back... 205/50-16 on the stock SE rims. While it does work, I'd rather just have a new ratio in the rear end. 5mm of sidewall isn't much, and the change to the final drive due to tire size is negligible. More trouble than its worth for me.

Well it's actual a Percentage of the Width that makes the Sidewall, it's not a 5mm Sidewall. A 205/55/ to 205/50 Change is ~.8" Smaller so your losing ~ .4" of Sidewall height, a little stiff then 55 I would think. And the Simulated FD Ratio change due to the smaller dia. is = to running ~4.213 FD Ratio. IDK I kind of like to get technical with my stuff but IDK, thats me. I like to try and get all I can out of what I have :)

[2Fass240us]

I've already tracked him down. :)I was talking to him last night and this is the conclusion we came to. Good stuff, Scuba Steve. Good stuff.

Not sure what you mean by hot swapping pads for a dual purpose car. I always heard that it is kind of a bad idea to use different compounds on the same rotors? By "hot swapping" I mean that you don't have to move the caliper to change the pad. I don't see why it would be bad to use two different pads on the same rotor, as long as you made some effort to bed the pad against the rotor.

If I were only changing the front pads for the track, that doesn't take long on the stock setup anyway. What am I missing, its not clicking at all in my head.It takes even less time. All you do is remove the bridge bolts, take one set out, and put another set in. It's literally 5 minutes per wheel.

It takes me 4x as long to change stock pads.

[Sleepy_Steve]

SO how do you compress the pistons back in?

[2Fass240us]

I use an Irwin Quickgrip, but will eventually get a bonafied piston compressing tool.

It *feels* like they are much easier to compress than OE pistons, likely because of the relative age and number of pistons.

[McCoy]

I use the backing plate from a well used stoptech brake pad that a friend gave to me... works fine for the Z32 calipers and his Stoptech's.

[Bumnah]

This guy should do the trick quite well.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-BMW-Disc-Brake-Piston-Compressor-1405-/250631587333?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item3a5ace8605

[Matt93SE]

This guy should do the trick quite well.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-BMW-Disc-Brake-Piston-Compressor-1405-/250631587333?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item3a5ace8605

I made a retractor like this out of some scrap metal in the garage. basically it's a backing plate on a prybar. I pull one pad out and pry the pistons back. drop the new pad in that side, then repeat on the other side.


for OEM calipers, you can use a C-clamp on the caliper while it's still in place on the slider pins. just stick the clamp against the outside pad and against the back of the body and start squeezing.. I used to have a c clamp with a tiny pivot thingy on the end of the threaded part of the clamp. it was much easier to fit around the torque member and between the 'fingers' on the caliper.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Ahh ok, cool. I get it now. -- Been using C clamps on the stockers for years.

Also, got some new shoes. Pics later.

[Sleepy_Steve]

PICTARZ!!!!! Not great pics. but w/e.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0213.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0212.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0211.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0210.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0209.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0208.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0207.jpg

[McCoy]

Wheels/tires look familiar, lol

[Sleepy_Steve]

Oh almost forgot... the car runs!!!

Looks like drilling an 1/8'' hole in the thermostat fixed the air bubble issue I had there last time. So now it appears to be behaving properly on my quick drive up the street and back. Also my supper ghetto rigged VDO water temp gauge is working right as well, real numbers FTW!!!

Sad that it took me so long to re-set the distributor since that's all it took. Then set the timing only to find out i was already pretty much at a factory 20deg. Will leave it stock for now. I'll play with it more when I switch the bikirom back into the car.

Next step is to get the exhaust welded on. Buy some helper springs and see what I can do with the suspension. I suspect it needs a lot of attention.

[Bumnah]

Those look much better on that car. I've got some new shoes coming as well >=]

[Def]

I found these tender springs a while ago. Was thinking of giving them a go...

http://www.more-japan.com/product.php?productid=18496&cat=1061&page=1

Might help you out. For 2.5" stuff just get 65mm springs. 1.6 kg/mm is about 90 lb/in, so more than enough for a light tender.

[Sleepy_Steve]

I'm on stance coilovers... and was considering picking up a set of their helper springs (100lb/in) to turn my GR+ set into a set of GR+ Pro's.

I guess I'm a sucker for the easy button. :)

I've also got a pair of 7k and 9k springs in addition to the 6k and 8k springs on the car now.

[KA240SX808]

Very nice. And those are AO48's correct? I have a set on my Fronts and they grip amazing...

[Sleepy_Steve]

Yeah they're A048's... how long / how many heat cycles are they good for?

Also is there any good way to tell which compound it is?

[Bumnah]

The compound is Medium Hard on your set.

[Matt93SE]

For the compound, look at the first pic in post 23. just at the end of the size (between the Enkei sticker and the valve stem), you can see the MH stamp on the sidewall.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Ahh yeah, should have just looked for the name of the compound on the yokohama site. Harder of the two compounds, sweet.

[KA240SX808]

Well I don't know how many heat cycles as we don't have a track. But They last about 6-7k Daily miles depending on how you drive. I'm about to throw my last set on cause the camber wear has almost made this set a Slick on the inside.

[Matt93SE]

flip them on the wheel so they wear on the other side.
I'll have to post up some pics of my current set of R888s. one guy thought I had some one-off Toyo race slicks on the car last weekend... He got mad when he figured out I was on REALLY worn out DOT-Rs. :)

[Sleepy_Steve]

So I dove around hunting for an open muffler shop today... and I must say... these tires have quite a lot of grip. Really want to take them out on VIR / Summit now and see what they can do.

Also, probably need to do some brake ducting considering the intermediate pad I'm running.

[KA240SX808]

flip them on the wheel so they wear on the other side.
I'll have to post up some pics of my current set of R888s. one guy thought I had some one-off Toyo race slicks on the car last weekend... He got mad when he figured out I was on REALLY worn out DOT-Rs. :)

I would but it doesn't seem like it would last long enough lol

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v731/240-kid/IMG_1348.jpg

Maybe I'll just throw on the Other set under the house :p



And yes these have a pretty high amount of grip. I went from understeer cause the front would slip out to oversteer cause the front just grabs. I was very amazed the first time out with these. If I had the money I'd probably run a set in the front all the time.

[Bumnah]

The A048s have been the best gripping tire I've ever personally used. I used to have their older A032s as well. These a048s are much better.

I think the A048 have an ever lower tread rating than the R888s. 100 vs 60, but different manufacturers, I'm not sure if the rating is all that reliable. Either way, I love the A048s.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Yeah just about any rating numbers can be bent... Not too concerned about tread life as I'm only wanting to get 1 or 2 events out of them.

Sometimes I really wish I had a welder... Because if I did I'd make something like this:
http://www2.zhome.com:81/ZCMnL/PICS/BrakeDucts/P0000433.jpg

Guess I'll need to get the front of the car up in the air after work this week and see what I'm dealing with for making a spindle duct. I'm hoping to have some sort of brake ducting on before I go to hyper-fest. (as a spectator, not driver... might help out my friend who is running H2)

[Sleepy_Steve]

One of these days I'll need to buy a welder. No exhaust place in the area will touch the car since it doesn't currently have a cat on it. Mega pissed, I mean its a 20 minute job that I'd be happy to be billed for an hour an a half to have done.

Instead I'll be breaking out a spare bit of pipe, some clamps, drill, wire, and my band saw, and probably sling some goop on the gaps and hope for the best. Really didn't want to have to ghetto rig it like this.

[Def]

Mock it up and mark it all with sharpie. Take the piece off and bring it to a muffler shop. Done and done.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Its clamped up and holding now. But its leaking a ton out the spot where its clamped. Supper ghetto rigged. Still overly loud.

Think I'll have a cat welded onto this hackjob for emissions and buy something else semi decent to run the rest of the time.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Well, ****... its now developed an issue with the ebrake rubbing the drive shaft, causing a fair bit of noise, and vibration through the ebrake handle.

There is a rubbing sound w/ a bit of a thump noise from that, but also a groaning sound that I can't pin down. Rather confused to be totally honest. But I'll take it appart tomorrow and see what I can do with it. I know I've seen the fix somewhere online, and it seems pretty easy to relocate those ebrake cables. I'd just rather not have to swap my J30 diff for a stock open diff.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Fixed it after I bent up some coat hangers to get around the drive shaft. Managed to pop the cables back into their holder clip things without messing with the exhaust or drive shaft FTW.

The paint on the drive shaft is pretty scarred, and one of the counterweights is missing the first 1/4'' or so of it. But looks sound aside from that. E-brake cable rubber shielding is gone, and down to the metal shielding, but the cable inside seems to still be fine. So lack of apparent long term damage is good I suppose.

The only cause I can think of would have been two and a half years ago when I put the LSD in, I may not have put the cables back into their clips and instead just wedged them together between the clips... which somehow held them for the last couple years.


In other news...

The test pipe got here today...

Cat back is still on back order; so much for sounding non ghetto.

AC duct replacement is also on back order to the factory... No idea at all when/IF that might get here. Probably need to cancel that order.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Helper springs came in just now. Looks like another inch and a half of drop or so?

Doing some quick estimates right now about how to set everything back in there... Don't exactly remember how much travel the struts have on the stance coil-overs.

[Sleepy_Steve]

OK, way more straight foreward than I thought... added spring compression causing drop would also take care of lowering the rear of the car like I was initially planning on.

lol /facepalm


In other news, the sunroof is out, and the patch panel thing to replace it is all painted and ready to go in before the end of the weekend.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Car needs to be ready to drive me to VIR by Thursday night. So I think including tonight thats 4 days to work on it. One day to pack and head out the door.

Brake dust shields removed on the fronts, one of the rear brakes has a stuck bleed screw... hopefully it won't boil on me. Installing some 3'' ducting for the front wheels tonight or Monday evening. Also need to adjust my base distributor timing, and change the oil. Then I think the only other bit of attention the car needs is making sure the rear ride height is high enough so that my tires don't rub, and I should be good to go.

I really hope I'm not forgetting anything important.

[Def]

So which tender springs did you buy? Pics?

[KA240SX808]

IIRC he got the Stance one's.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Yes I got the stance ones. Oddly enough my SD card with the pics on them wound up at work... Not sure how that happened.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Sunroof panel is fixed... Ghetto as hell, but should do the job / not leak.

Oil is changed, base timing is fixed... I think, passenger side brake ducting is in, and I think will work well for me - nice straight run.

All thats left is to run the drivers side brake duct, and try and do a corner weighting of the car. Also, I'm beginning to suspect my rad fan is blowing the wrong way... More testing required, its gonna be hot enough at VIR without a screwed up cooling system.

[gawdzilla]

cool.. you live in Laurel? I'm in Rockville. Have fun at VIR this weekend. Casey (vq35goofus) should be there. I believe he's doing the GRM challenge. btw - if you need, i've got a catco cat that bolts into the test pipe area if you want to borrow it and take it to the muffler shop so they can work on your car. just keep it in your trunk and tell them you're bolting it in in place of the test pipe. MD is anal about that stuff cuz the shops can get fined big time for screwing with emissions.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Yeah, should be good times at the track. Don't think I've met Casey before.

I have emissions due in late August... Car is a 95, so I'm probably getting an OBD2 compliant 2 chamber cat that will fit where the test pipe is so that I can pass the sniff test. At least I can re-tune with the bikirom and FPR if I fail this time.

I also need to find an EGR bung. Right now its wide open to the atmosphere and sounds like ass. Doubt its any good for the under hood temps either.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Pictures were taken. Now posted.

Ghetto sunrof panel... Yes, its chalk board paint on top. Holds HPDE numbers pretty well on the inside. At least I'll have headroom with a helmet now.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0248-1.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0249-1.jpg


Helper springs giving me some drop in the rear.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0247.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0245.jpg


Brake duct goodness. Just need to finish the drivers side inlet thing and I'm all set. The tubing is run pretty straight, at least as straight as I could get it, and the outlets are as close as I can get to the caliper / rotor without rubbing at full lock. I think I may still rub a little at full lock under load, but whatever, I won't park in tight places lol.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0244.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0243.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0252-1.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0251-1.jpg


On to ride height. I'm not really sure what low is, but have a look. These are all 4 corners while in the air. I think I may be pushing close to the point where handling goes to poo.

Anyone have any thoughts on the ride height stuff? I'm a bit of a n00b with it.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0242.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0241.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0240.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0239.jpg
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/car%20pics/100_0238.jpg

[Sleepy_Steve]

God damn, most **** filled weekend at the track ever, but... Success!!! Only broke down twice throughout the weekend and almost overheated twice on track. But never missed a session, and got bumped up to group 2. Will post pics of the car in action when I see them online.



Quick re-cap:

Sitting in traffic Friday on the way down on 95, car is slowly overheating. Pull over when coolant reaches 230-240, let it chill, discover fan has been blowing backwards all this time, limp to gas station. Wait in AC to recover a bit, and use a cut up soda can and some electrical tape to crimp the wires together so the fan is actually pulling air through the radiator.

Then outside Richmond, I hear a familiar buzzing sound. ****ing hell, the damned e-brake cables came loose again when I hit a bump. This is the second time its happened and once again, I don't have a jack to get it up and pop them back in. Call a few people, and get a hold of a friend of mine, ask about my options in the area, he tells me about a shop 1/2 mile up the road. I limp over there, beg for help but they're booked solid. So they point me over to the place next door that gets me back on the road in an hour or so. Billed for a 1/2 hour of time for them to put it up on a lift pop the cables back into the stock clips and tie them in place with some steel wire of some sort. $41 and I'm on my way again. Big thanks to my friend on this one, would never have thought there were places to help me out so close by.

Get in late due to the brake downs, pitch tent in the dark.

Get up, run the first session, and everything goes fine. No overheating, no boiled fluid, good predictable traction as the tires get greasy and go away on me.

Second session, as soon as we roll out of the pits, car gets real hot... gets up to 220-230 coolant (water + water wetter) temps by the bridge straight before suddenly returning to normal by the time we hit oak tree. Very odd. It happens again in the third session, but this time to 230-240 before coming back down.

When I checked things over later, it sucked up the stuff in the overflow tank, so I guess that little bit extra in there let me dodge a bullet seeing as my temp sending units are at the outlet from the head, and I'd assume were dry / had a massive bubble in them. Found a crack / leak in the hose at the after market sending unit. Make the rounds to the larger trailers for some rubber tape and a hose clamp. Patch it up, clean off the water deposits on the hood to see if more appear later, park it up hill, topped it off and bled it, and had no further issues the rest of the weekend.

The brake ducting helped keep pad fade in check on HP+ pads, so I'm glad I put that on the car... But the Azenis got greasy as hell being pushed hard in that sort of heat. Would really like to run r-comps soon, doubt the Azenis will tolerate more than two more weekends with that sort of abuse.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Action shots with water marks still on them because $5 / pic for a digital copy seems a tad steep to me. Still the pictures are nice, so props to the photographer.

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/IMG_6222.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/IMG_1794.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/IMG_1550.jpg

[Sleepy_Steve]

Alright, I should probably update this:

I've noticed a clunking noise from the rear end... Which is odd considering the subframe bushings were replaced less than 20k miles ago, almost all of which was just spirited DD work. So I'm wondering if its my nismo subframe bushings were that crummy or if it is the diff bushings?

So now I'm thinking I'll drop the subframe over the winter and investigate the clunking noise as well as some other subframe freshening up.

I'm also making a center dash panel to hold some gauges and switches... And I'm wondering what the best way to mount angle rings to aluminum would be?

[Sleepy_Steve]

Yay dash pannel - now need to give it some gauges and switches!

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/Car%20Parts/100_0270.jpg

[Matt93SE]

Jooo copy ME!
I have a lot more crap on it now.. wiper switch, headlights, fire extinguisher pull, etc..
http://blehmco.com/pics/240SX/interior/DSCN0266.jpg

[Sleepy_Steve]

Actually I copied something i saw on the fab thread on zilvia where a guy made one that covered his shifter boot as well. But I thought that was excessive, so I copied joo without knowing it.

Also, yours appears to be anchored more securely than mine... I may have to coppy that as well.

[Matt93SE]

I used the two factory holes at the bottom, and then took another leftover strip of sheet about 3/4" x 12".. I bent it into a V and drilled the two top holes into that. so basically the top is just clamped into the dash with the strip, but it works. It helps that I don't have a glovebox in place though.. :)

[Sleepy_Steve]

Yeah the top's got two tabs riveted in place that go into where the vents had tabs going originally, then two screws into a bar of wood where the climate control used to be... And just press fit on the bottom for the moment.

I might try riveting on some more strips that bend down to those bottom screws, but I'm not sure how accessible that would be with the shifter trim and center console still in place.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Last event of the season was this weekend at Summit.

Despite all the problems leading up to the weekend, viewed in part in this thread http://www.nissanroadracing.com/showthread.php?t=2291

The car ran great all weekend despite being double stinted most of the weekend when my friend broke a motor mount, radiator fan, and possibly radiator on his E36 in his second session, so 10 sessions total instead of six for about 340 miles covered on track.

It just needed a bit of an alignment tweak Sunday morning that I wish I'd done sooner on Saturday. Fuel starvation did appear any time the car tried running a second session without topping off, so a surge tank is high on my list of things to get. And my HP+ pads went from looking really very new in the front after the VIR event to less than 1/8th of pad material left by the end of this event. In the mean time I found some OEM looking pads to use to get to and from shops / whatever else till a certain set of rotor hats and brackets come in.

Water marked pics up when I see them up on the Finish-Line productions site.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Pics. Now in less annoying link form.

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7705.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7754.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7755.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7803.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7804.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7906.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7907.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7908.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-1/IMG_7909.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0337.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0461.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0462.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0463.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0537.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0538.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0539.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-2/IMG_0540.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-3/IMG_2874.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-3/IMG_2875.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-3/IMG_2940.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-3/IMG_2942.jpg

http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2010events/2010_nov_sp/hp2-3/IMG_2982.jpg

[Sleepy_Steve]

Anyone know how much clearance do I need to pull the sub-frame out of the back end of the car on an S14?

[Sleepy_Steve]

Subframe got pulled. Aluminum bushings went in the subframe and for the diffrential.

Made a new exhaust:
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b24/sleepysteve72/Car%20Parts/100_0380.jpg


Headed down to VIR Thursday evening (t-14 hours) so that I can catch the UTCC on Friday. Very Excite!!!

[Sleepy_Steve]

Exhaust sounds decent, not too loud... nice at lower RPM / part throttle, kinda buzzy wide open at higher RPM but that's not too bad. So I'm reasonably happy with the way the exhaust turned out, especially for my first time.


Down side, is that once again before going to VIR in July... The parking brake cables are rubbing on the drive shaft. Why oh why didn't I just cut them out when I had the subframe out for subframe bushings? /facepalm.

[Sleepy_Steve]

Pictures from this past weekend at VIR. Weather was hot, rad fan was on most sessions just in case / I was forgetting to kill it rolling out of the pits. Rad fan is on the fog light circuit and so headlights have to be on for the fan to function.

Phone lap timer thing said my best lap was a 2:38.1, which considering the class I'm aiming for (NASA PTE), is a mere 20 seconds off pace... Which is fine considering the car is rolling around ~450lbs over weight for the class, down 20-25hp, is on street tires instead of r-comps, and I see at least 4-6 seconds worth of improvement as the car sits just in me driving better / more effectively.

Its funny, I find myself looking more at the sizes of the contact patches on the tires and the height of each side of the front lip than I do the actual picture. I guess I like seeing how weight is being transferred around and how much body roll is going on.


http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2011events/2011_07_vir/hp2_1/IMG_7080.jpg
http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2011events/2011_07_vir/hp2_2/IMG_0305.jpg
http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2011events/2011_07_vir/hp2_3/IMG_1282.jpg
http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2011events/2011_07_vir/hp2_3/IMG_1177.jpg
http://www.catesracing.com/flp/nasa/2011events/2011_07_vir/hp2_3/IMG_1178.jpg

[Chrisw]

OH MY GOODNESS... Please imbed your pics as the last few have been done... Clicking on 1000 links is driving me insane. So insane in fact that I just leave your thread without looking at them :P

P.S. : Car looks the hotness... :)

[Sleepy_Steve]

I un-embedded them to save people load times and save them from hitting page down a ton. I re-embedded all pictures posted in the last year. I think it was two pictures?

Anyways... Temped to buy a '91 miata that's already prepped from my friend as a DD... I'd be getting rid of my '05 TL and its car payment... But its just as track ready as the Nissan, and I sense a conflict of interest.