SOneThreeCoupe Reintroduction

[SOneThreeCoupe]

I'm Steve, and I'm a Nissanaholic. I wouldn't mind if you all knew me by my car, so I've already posted enough about me and will move on to my car.

This is my car:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/101_0088.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/DSC00389Large.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/mycarcornering.jpg

This is why I love my car:

-Engine, Transmission, Diff-
ACT HDSS clutch kit
Chromoly lightweight flywheel
Stainless clutch line
Clutch damper removal
C's short shift kit
ATS Carbon 1.5-way LSD
VLSD diff cover
SPL aluminum subframe bushings
UHMW polyethlene engine mounts
Peak Performance Race tranny mount
JWT ECU
3" Catco cat
3" piping to Magnaflow muffler
AEM short-ram intake
MSD Blaster SS ignition coil
Braille BT14115 battery, mid-passenger mounted
14" electric fan

-Suspension-
SPL v2 tension rods
SPL Pro tie rod ends
Z32 inner tie rods
Koni 2811s (Previously KTS)
SPL Pro rear upper control arms, upgraded to V2
Peak Performance toe arms
Peak Performance traction rods
NAMS fully adjustable front control arms
NAMS fully adjustable rear control arms
Whiteline sways
SPL spherical bearing endlinks
Attain front 5-lug hubs
S14 SE rear hubs

-Brakes-
Motul RBF600 fluid
Z32 1" MC
ArizonaZCar 12.2x1.25" 4-pot front brake kit
ArizonaZCar 12.2x.81" 4-pot rear brake kit

-Wheels/Tires/Spacers-
245/40R17 Kumho XS all around
17x9 +15 Volk Racing CE28N (2, front)
17x9 +15 Volk Racing TE37 (2, rear)

-Bracing-
DC Sports front strut tower brace
Nismo Power Brace
Ultra Racing fender braces
Nagisa Auto shakitto plates
SPL Parts toe arm brace
SPL Parts subframe brace
Foamed pillars


-Interior-
Sparco Pro2000 mounted on Bride rails
Nardi Deep Corn 330mm wheel
HKB hub
Works Bell quick release
Nismo GT shift knob
300mm rear view mirror
Almost complete gut job
No window regulators, motors, or electrical crap

-Exterior-
Silvia front end sheetmetal
Fiberglass hood
eBay GTR grille
Seibon FRP trunklid
Aluminum sheet sunroof delete panel

[2Fass240us]

I love it...looks like ass but moves fast! Obviously the motto I'm following on my S13, but to a lesser degree. :)

What do you think about the ArizonaZCar brakes? I've been drooling over those for years now.

[Epstein]

There's something about a 3-colored S13 with forged Volks... Looks great and that's one hell of a parts list!

[Def]

Nice car! Welcome!


How do you like the ArizonaZcar Wilwoods?

[SOneThreeCoupe]

The AZCar brakes work well, but they don't really work with SPL FLCAs, at least not how delivered by Dave. The rotors contact the lower nut on the spindle under compression and it gouges the rotor and grinds the nut. I took off .125" but it needs at least another .125", and that means new hardware as well as a rethink of the thread depth and strength.

I may just have the machine shop in the industrial park where I work make me some new hats that work better. Luckily, I have all the caliper clearance I need due to the design of the Volks.

The Wilwoods are temporary until I can afford something totally overkill for the car in its current state. Plans are 300-450whp, NA and as light as I can keep it.

If anyone knows someone selling an Autopower race roll bar, I want it. I don't have the cash or the downtime to cut the roof off and have a cage and carbon roof made yet, so I'm going to just do a stopgap roll bar for the time being.

Thanks all for the kind words.

Right now, my priority is setting the car up right. I need to ditch the KTS and replace them with Konis and I'm going to figure out a new sway bar setup sometime soon.

[racepar1]

I lured you back! Muuuhahahahahaha! Good to see you here man! Hopefully i'll see you at the track soon!

[a_ahmed]

hehe, awesome car bro :) Welcome back.

Btw what would you consider as overkill brakes lol? I would have thought the willwoods are quite the bang for the buck.

I am so excited man... I'm just waiting for real spring... just waiting... a buddy of mine will hook me up with track days with some ford racing guys lol as he works for ford... i know ill get my ass whooped, but hey, cheaper track days :).. but before i do that i need some parts to make the car track ready... plus alignment :)

Your parts list and your car are both sexy :)

[SOneThreeCoupe]

I'm getting her back on the road.

Here's a current pic of the situation:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/P1000084.jpg

As you can see, I ended up getting Konis and 8611s all around. I took the pumpkin out and had it rebuilt properly. I've removed the exhaust and will be removing the driveshaft to allow room so I can install aluminized heat barrier to reduce in-car temperature so I don't get so tired after hours on track. August track days at the Streets of Willow usually mean two or three cars out on track after 1pm due to the heat. I just remembered that I need to order new end link rod ends from McMaster or MCP for my sways; the old ones are toast.

Those brand-new Kumho's may be flat-spotted, if so I'm swapping them out for Z1 Star Specs.

I should be road-ready by this weekend, aligned by Monday, and I'll start putting reliability and setup testing miles on during the week after work. I drive the car to the track and back, so she needs to be stone reliable.

Holy crap, it's been more than three years since the start of this thread. To think that I haven't been back to the track since...

[Bubba]

Welcome back. Hope to see more additions to this thread soon.
My car is the brotha from anotha motha version of your car, it's black with a grey hood.

[spent]

Where did you get your fiberglass oem hood? I'm in the market but all I can find is expensive carbon fiber :(

Cool car btw, love the lines of a s13 with oem aero :cool:

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Thanks for the compliment.

Got the hood from a guy in the parking lot of a Carl's Jr. up in LA. There are no markings as to who makes it, but it weighs all of 12lbs. I once left it unpinned in the front and it flipped up and over. Took me and three of SD's finest to get it duct-taped in place to drive it home.

I'll finally have time to work on it Sunday. Hopefully I'll be able to put her back on her wheels and driving again on Monday. I have an appointment at West End Alignment (really good shop in SoCal) on the 10th, so she has to be sorted and ready by then.

[EfiniRX7]

I like it. It has something to it, can't quite figure it out though. It's definitely a bad ass car.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Replaced steering rack bushings and removed remnants of front dust shields. Had a spider fall in my face.

Have installed three out of four Torrington bearings. Not happy with damper hardware setup so need to buy more nuts.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Everything's back together.

Had the car's engine bay and underside pressure washed prior to corner-weight and alignment; developed a heavy misfire immediately after.

Drove the car to West End Alignment (~95 miles) on Wednesday with the heavy misfire; car would still do 80 and KAs are cheap. Besides, you cannot miss appointments with West End. Corner weighted to exactly 50/50 crossweight and car weighs in at 2260lbs with slightly more than a half tank of gas. Also, foam expanding ear plugs are a must; rubber ones do not muffle the sound properly and long drives are a chore.

Not sure what the problem is; I have a new set of injectors on their way (mine were old anyway) and I'll swap brains this weekend. Cap and rotor will be replaced soon but are in fine working condition; no CEL is showing and car is otherwise healthy.

Hope to have the car fixed Saturday morning so I can make a late afternoon run up my favorite mountain to test it out.

[Matt93SE]

If it's missing after a wash, first things I'd look at are dizzy and spark plug holes.
pull all the plug wires out and spray them with compressed air.. they have a tendency to leak water into the plug hole and short to ground.

also pull the dizzy and spray with air or rinse with alcohol or WD-40 to remove any moisture.

those are the common spots.

If you don't have compressed air, an easy way to get the moisture out of the plug holes is to go for a drive and get the engine warmed up, then shut it off and pull the plug wires out. stuff a rolled up paper towel in there to wick up as much as you can, then let the engine heat cook the rest out.
filling the tube with rubbing alcohol (watch for fire though if getting alcohol near hot exhaust!), then wicking it out and letting it air dry works a bit faster sicne th ealcohol dilutes the water and evaporates much faster.

HTH.

[Def]

2260 lbs with a KA sounds super light. Anything else you've done like lexan vs. looks like the FG hood you have?

My car is probably high 2400's with an SR and rollbar.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Matt, you were right. I got all the moisture out of the plug wire areas and the car runs fantastically well now, especially with a fresh tank of gas.

Def, no lexan, it's all factory glass. I did switch to crank windows, though, and dropped a couple pounds there. Trunk lid is a modified Seibon part and I run no hinges to lose those few pounds. I depinned connectors to remove wiring and have no dash to speak of. The car still has factory bumper supports; if I were to remove those and have tubular supports made, I'd probably lose significant weight. There's still a lot of wiring to lose; I have the factory wiring diagram supplement coming so I can make sure I'm not removing necessary bits.

I took her out for some exercise yesterday; at first I was disappointed as the car felt far too stiff, so I softened front compression by a half turn and rear by a quarter. The car was planted over bumps without being excessively soft, but I lost a little feel out of the front. I'm probably going to stiffen the front by about a tenth and the rear by the same and see if that brings it a little closer to perfect.

I also need to move the front sway from full stiff to mid stiff to see if I can alleviate a little understeer; although the current setup is supremely confidence-inspiring and has nice turn-in, I'd prefer a more neutral car on the track.

As you can see, the car is front left heavy and rear right light. I can't add any weight to the right rear without changing the polar moment, so I guess my goal is to lighten the front left. I was pleasantly surprised by the weight distribution; I was expecting more frontward bias. A cage will help move weight rear as well.

Pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/2011-08-13_18-17-52_750.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/2011-08-13_16-46-53_314.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/2011-08-13_16-47-14_419.jpg

Today, my job is to check over the entire car and get it fully ready for the track day. I will be wrapping wiring up, installing heat insulation, clearancing the front and rear fenders and wheel-wells a little more thoroughly, zip-tying various bits out of the way, bleeding the brakes and making the hood fit without flopping about. I was hoping to be able to get back on the road and get some more wheel time in, but it's more important that the car get to the track, perform well and drive back afterward.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v239/OppositeLock/2011-08-13_16-47-31_363.jpg

[Def]

That's good news. I'm hoping our S13 Chumpcar will be in the 2400 lb range after we're done with it. It's a hatch, but it can't have any glass except the windshield, so we'll probably do lexan rear quarter and hatch panels quick and dirty like. It will have a full cage though, so that's probably around 75-90 lbs.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Bled the brakes, did a little fenderwell "massaging," wrapped up wiring, found and fixed a fuel leak, added itty-bitty brake ducting (every little bit counts, right?), reduced hood floppiness and cut a nicely-sized piece of cardboard for use as an instrument hood.

I must admit that I am worried to run with Evo Xs, a Boxster, a GTR, an NSX and M3s simply because of the straight-line speed disparity. I can outbrake all of them (he says confidently) and can likely outcorner them, but with only about 130whp I will be a rolling chicane on the straights.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Video:

http://youtu.be/r8HFu6t-RRo

http://youtu.be/4TMuWs0OQ_c

http://youtu.be/fcVmAnqSU2A

http://youtu.be/QvhZPl5nsJE

I'll be updating as I go.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

I did another event on the 24/25th of September. My lap times dropped dramatically. (4.818 sec CCW, 2.757 sec CW) with serious room for improvement.

Almost all the videos are uploaded to my channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/sonethreecoupe

I was having issues with my shifter popping out of the linkage during hard shifts the first two run groups at the August event. The solution while at the event was to shift more positively and not bang into gear. After the event and before the next, I put a Miata crank seal in as a retainer to keep the cup from popping out; as a result the shift action is exceedingly positive with zero worries.

Tire wear is fantastic, but I'm having more shoulder wear than I like in the front; I will increase camber by another quarter degree to see if that helps. Despite the street tires, I was able to run with, and run faster than, many cars with R-compounds and serious horsepower advantages.

Below is a list of problems and solutions that I've found during these last two track days.

Problem Too little front negative camber
Solution: Add negative camber; ensure camber plates can take the installation of Time-serts to repair stripped threads to allow safe increase in camber. Do a CBA to ensure $60 cost of thread repair makes sense.

Problem: Too much front dive and rubbing in the bowl turn
Solution: Increase front spring rate to 550lb/in; tub front fenders if continues to rub

Problem: Brake pads lack the initial bite and modulation I prefer; it would also be nice to be able to come into the corner after the chicane a bit harder without having the rear end want to come around
Solution: Carbotech XP10s front and XP8s rear along with a switch to Brembo LCF600 fluid for its low compressibility and consistent pedal feel

Problem: I brake too early and too light in some cases
Solution: Brake later and harder with the knowledge that the rear is slightly less wont to come around

Possible problem: Braking later and harder taxes the braking system harder
Possible solution: Install duct work for 3" tubing along with custom plenum to cool caliper and rotor. Install titanium pad plates to reduce thermal conductivity and keep fluid cooler.

Problem: Wasting time in certain areas of the track and wasting the car's potential
Solution: Install passenger seat for instructor use and improve upon current times

Problem: 2260lbs is still kinda heavy, innit?
Solution: Replace rear bumper support with aluminum, replace exhaust with straight-through canister-style, replace front bumper support with aluminum, continue to remove excess wiring, reroute battery wiring from under car to inside car, remove sunroof sheetmetal assembly.

Problem: Oil leak around left front of engine.
Solution: Find and fix it.

I will photodocument much of this.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

To help with the soft pedal response, and to negate the glazing I likely incur on my drives and on the way to the track I've begun looking into slotting the ultralite rotors. I called up brakewarehouse.com and they were supremely helpful, even going so far as to call up Frozenrotors.com to see if they can safely slot ultralites. Edit: Got a call back, price for 12.19" rotors slotted and cryo-treated is $101 each.

Why am I going through all of this when the end result will likely be the same cost as a set of GT Spec-37 rotors? Because the weight difference is 2.2lbs per side and that means lighter steering at speed, more feedback, less rotating mass, and less unsprung weight.

I'm going to be running titanium pad shims to keep a little more heat out of the caliper and should be just fine with those rotors slowing my 2435lbs with driver.

Also, I'm focusing on improving my driving by using rFactor. It's not perfect, but I prefer its physics to GT5.

[eye-5]

According to the Carbotech website, the XP 12s up front are more in tune with "instructor level" drivers for our cars. That is what I run up front for track pads.

Not to be miss understood that I think I'm some great driver or anything, just that the XP12s will hold up better for you when driven hard.

[Matt93SE]

I think you're over-engineering the car. worrying about that kind of weight on a car that's not REALLY competing is just a waste, IMO. but that's just me. I'd rather become a better driver than worry about 2lbs.

[Def]

Glazing? Sounds like a crappy pad problem. Drove an E36 M3 this past weekend that had Carbotech XP10s or 12s - thing felt HORRIBLE. No real feel from the brakes, had some judder from pad transfer. Just bleh bleh bleh.

You can drive Hawk DTC-60s to and from the track without much issue. Just try to bed them right before you get to the track. They're cheap, give them a try before paying a ton for rotors.


I went with 48 vane Wilwood rotors since they seem to thermal cycle less than the 32 vane rotors. They weigh a tad more, but no big deal, and they last longer, so the dollar per event is roughly the same or maybe even better.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

I over-engineer everything. I over-analyze everything. I also am lazy, so that doesn't help. I eat, sleep and breathe my S13. If what I'm doing to it is a little overkill or a lot overkill, or follows the law of diminishing returns, it doesn't matter as long as it contributes to lower lap times.

Def, I never had problems when running XP10/XP8 combo on my 180SX brakes. I've never been happy with my Wilwood pads, and I hated my Hawk HP+ pads so much I'm willing to completely ignore the company.

eye-5, the only reason why I'm hesitant to use XP12s is that I'm not running R-compounds, only sticky street tires.

[Def]

HP+ are a street pad, they're not meant to be used on track despite what Hawk's marketing blurb might say.

Try out a DTC-60, it's cheaper than Carbotech pads and I think you'll be pleased with how they feel.

[eye-5]

eye-5, the only reason why I'm hesitant to use XP12s is that I'm not running R-compounds, only sticky street tires.

I use the XP12s with street tires and they seem fine. I like how easy they are to modulate, they don't lock instantly but really clamp down when you want them to. I am very pleased with them. My friend that tracks his S2k a bunch was using the XP10s and I recommended the XP12s to him. They ended up lasting much longer for him.

I had a similar experience with the HP+s and I was using them for street/autocross. Kind of soured me on the brand as well. They were loud as hell, dusted like crazy, and stopped worse than the other aggressive street pads I've used. I took them off with half the life left.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Def- I may try them; variety is the spice of life, right? Also, I just had some work done on my Rover Classic and am now poor, and the DTC60s are ~$50 cheaper.

Eye-5- Interesting. Ease of modulation is the key for me, and the longer life might justify the increased cost.

Which one is nicer to rotors? My rotor cost is now nearly $175 each.

Guess I have a little thinking to do, anything to get my mind off work and the fact that my general manager is costing me money left and right.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Update:

I've changed the purpose of the car at this time. Before it was outright speed, comfort and street manners be damned, now it's more of a compromise as I don't foresee me having a spirited daily for quite some time. I've been going nuts not being able to run my favorite local roads because the car is total crap on them. Video gaming just doesn't cut it; I need to drive. The only thing I need to change, really, is my spring rate selection.

The car performed very well at the last track event but is probably too stiff with 9/7 (504/392) spring rates. I've been having a tough time dialing the car in; I cannot find a happy medium that works on bumpy tracks.

I went with that combo because I thought I was running 8/6 (448/336) rates, but was actually running 5.5/6 (300/336) rates due to a snafu at a supplier. At my car's weight, the 9/7 rates were putting my frequency at somewhere between 2.93 and 3.05Hz in the front and right at about 3.37Hz in the rear; far too stiff for the bumpy tracks I frequent IMO.

Thus, I'm going back to 8/6 rates with the possibility of going 7.5/5.5 (or 8/5.5); I have not decided yet. 8/6 puts frequencies at 2.75-2.88Hz front and 3.11Hz rear, 7.5/5.5 puts frequencies at 2.67Hz-2.78Hz/2.98Hz. I'm likely going to run 6" springs with 5/4 helper springs to give me some more travel and a little more softness on the street. I still need to do the measurements to ensure I'll have enough/not too much length on there at full droop and full compression.

I have a competition coming up, which I plan on placing highly in. I now have two months to prepare the car. Piece of cake.

My car, though built to be a track monster and able to dice with higher-horsepower cars, is still my daily when my Range Rover Classic needs to be worked on or when I need to get out of the house and see the world from a mile up. I've compromised it to the point of it being unbearable in usage as a daily, and that's unacceptable until I sell the Range Rover, buy an E36/another S13 coupe/Alfa Giulia or GTV/Lancia Fulvia/AE86/Evo MR/912/S2k/Boxster/etc, and have something I can take on fun drives.

[speed_demon]

S ichi-san ;). Love the build, and I would love to see what you've done in the areas of weight reduction. I had my 90 hatch weighed at 2338 with the old single cam KA, before I started really digging into things.

-10 to 12 pounds on the wiring harness is easily doable. I removed a little over 10 pounds from my interior harness. Also, the driver's side relay box is not needed at all with a silvia front if you also removed your heater/AC. Otherwise it can still be be pruned down significantly.

I also have a thread to help out with deciding what parts come in at a better $/weight reduction ratio.

http://nissanroadracing.com/showthread.php?t=2880

If you have any questions feel free to ask. I know plenty about weight reduction. :D

[SOneThreeCoupe]

I removed the driver side relay box in its entirety the weekend before last, and removed a couple other relays and all associated wiring. I really like electrical work, but it's time-consuming and I've yet to pass smog.

Weight reduction is as follows:

Here's a nearly complete list of what's been removed or replaced to save weight:
-all interior panels including door panels and dash
-rear seats
-most of the sound deadening except on rear wheelwells and driver's and passenger's footwells ahead of seat bracket mounts
-AC compressor, compressor bracket, condensor, condensor fan, lines and all associated wiring
-replaced Optima with Braille B14115 and relocated to behind passenger seat
-replaced stock power belts with S14 manual belts
-removed stock power sunroof and riveted sheet aluminum in its place
-replaced stock trunk lid with lightened FG trunk lid, held shut by 2 pins and 2 latches
-replaced stock hood with FG hood, held shut by 4 pins
-removed cruise control
-removed all speakers
-removed antenna
-removed all unnecessary wiring inside the passenger compartment and a decent amount from the engine compartment
-lightweight flywheel (it's not much but it counts)
-removed clutch fan
-replaced driver's seat with Sparco Pro2000
-USDM front end replaced with Silvia front end (Silvia front bumper support weighs all of 10lbs)
-removed e-brake assembly (necessitated by braking upgrade)
-removed spare
-removed all unnecessary bracketry
-removed wheel well liners
-removed passenger seat and seat belt
-aluminum rear bumper support

Here's where I've added weight:
-wheel/tire combo (despite the CEs/TEs each being 3/2lbs, respectively, lighter than stock, the much bigger tire increases the weight)
-front DC Sports strut tower brace
-Nams shakitto plates
-Ultra Racing fender braces
-Nismo TC bracket brace
-Koyo radiator
-Whiteline sways
-SPL subframe and rear link braces
-all the rear links
-aftermarket FLCAs
-coilovers with camber plates
-VLSD diff cover
-3" cat-back aluminized steel exhaust

I'm sure I forgot a couple things but that's about it. I'll be switching to a Hotshot header if I can find one as they're 13.3lbs lighter than the factory bits.

I've gotten to the point where it takes serious money to get lighter. I'm even considering going NA Renesis because it's so light and can be mounted so low and far back. With a planned carbon roof, titanium exhaust, and fiberglass doors, I feel confident that I can get under 2150lbs caged and with 50/50 weight distribution. That's light enough to make 240whp feel very quick coupled to an S15 6-speed with 4.36 gears. I could also build an absolutely silly 13B using RB alloy housings, but at that cost I'd be able to build a dry-sumped LS7.

Everyone seems to think the best way to make a fast track car is to add power, then compensate. I think 7.5lbs/hp might be about right for my track toy... but I could be persuaded to run 5lbs/hp.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

This week is gonna be expensive.

Was just under the car trying to see if I could find the reason for my steering wheel shimmies and shakes. Found excessive looseness in the tie rod ends, left side especially, steering rack, and tension rod ends. Decided to remove the power steering pump for rebuild while I'm trying to find a rebuilt HICAS rack and waiting on rod ends from SPL. I also removed and disassembled my front coilovers so I can put on 8kg/mm springs with 5kg/mm helpers. My right front damper feels a little wonky, but I'll let it slide until I have some more time to test; it's felt weird for a while so I'm thinking it might have let me down. Hopefully, I'll have all the parts by Friday so I can put the car back together Monday night.

I also may install my ASP crank pulley. Depends on how I feel.

[SOneThreeCoupe]

Upgraded to SPL v3 tension rods, bought their new and improved tie rod ends, received new Swift springs and bought a rebuilt HICAS rack.

Also bought a brand-new in box Hotshot header. Goodbye 13.3lbs of forward weight distribution.

Will post pics of install on Mon/Tues/Wed.

[turtl631]

Where did you pick up the HICAS rack?

[SOneThreeCoupe]

The company goes by "juniorsautoparts" on eBay. I talked with one of their salespeople on the phone and he said to specify that I wanted a HICAS/four-wheel-steering rack rather than standard when I used buy it now on the auction for a standard rack. It should be in my hands on Monday; I'll let you know if it worked or failed then.

Monday edit: From a real quick test using vise grips (clamped on a piece of rubber around the shaft), I did indeed receive a HICAS rack.