[AOZORA] '99 S2000 track/daily build
05-27-2014, 04:11 AM
#21
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Last minute Skyline Nationals preparation...
Out with the old...
In with the new...
A subtle change but one I've obsessed over for ages
A quick trip to the alignment shop and a long discussion about how coil-over manufacturers actually aim their alignment settings to be predictable and not necessarily fast - made me drastically change the settings.
Firstly, Amuse recommend settings that cause enourmous understeer. While oversteer is a problem with new S2000 drivers, it's not THAT bad... in the end, I had finally got my Ikeya Formula toe arms fitted to smooth out the dynamic toe curve (changes very drastically without - hence making the rear end a bit more predictable). And also lessened the amount of rear camber in exchange for maxing out front camber and similar toe settings.
A very hot day and my spare boot being an awful scratched Silver, sent me to DT Panels to remove the badge holes left behind.
PS: I'm horrible at welding but getting better with some lessons Staring directly at the spark with the shield takes some getting use to...
With some sanding and bog... once again thanks to Van for the last minute welding lessons, and DT Panels in general for the use of their shop and help as always
Then afterwards, a trip back home - remaining prep work done by the missus (!)... a million coats of matte black and ta da...
Also took the opportunity to do some weight reduction in the engine bay and some wiring clean up
End result?
The night before the Skyline Nationals. I told myself if I couldn't beat some notorious traffic light heroes who were joining... I'd quit track days altogether...
Out with the old...
In with the new...
A subtle change but one I've obsessed over for ages
A quick trip to the alignment shop and a long discussion about how coil-over manufacturers actually aim their alignment settings to be predictable and not necessarily fast - made me drastically change the settings.
Firstly, Amuse recommend settings that cause enourmous understeer. While oversteer is a problem with new S2000 drivers, it's not THAT bad... in the end, I had finally got my Ikeya Formula toe arms fitted to smooth out the dynamic toe curve (changes very drastically without - hence making the rear end a bit more predictable). And also lessened the amount of rear camber in exchange for maxing out front camber and similar toe settings.
A very hot day and my spare boot being an awful scratched Silver, sent me to DT Panels to remove the badge holes left behind.
PS: I'm horrible at welding but getting better with some lessons
Staring directly at the spark with the shield takes some getting use to...With some sanding and bog... once again thanks to Van for the last minute welding lessons, and DT Panels in general for the use of their shop and help as always
Then afterwards, a trip back home - remaining prep work done by the missus (!)... a million coats of matte black and ta da...
Also took the opportunity to do some weight reduction in the engine bay and some wiring clean up
End result?
The night before the Skyline Nationals. I told myself if I couldn't beat some notorious traffic light heroes who were joining... I'd quit track days altogether...
05-27-2014, 04:14 AM
#22
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Track day #5 - Skyline Nationals 29/10/2011
The day has arrived. Will my frustrations of slow times continue to haunt? Can a silly Honda stand up against an army of RBs?
My ghetto battery triangle and some energy to boot...
Needless to say, my fears were groundless
My practice session revealed a time of 1:44.8910
Totally destroying my previous PB of 1:47.5x
The first session saw a lot of traffic and admittedly, I should have moved up a group... I could only muster a 1:46 given the conditions.
Then this is where things get shitty...
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re...29/10/2011.WIN
I actually went through up until Session 5. Where were my times?
For some magical reason, my time was not recorded. But funnily enough, a few others in my group still had their times posted.
To make things a bit more interesting, those people in my class/group who did have their times posted were also contending for the trophies in RWD Standard class. Admittedly the 1st place was taken out by a R33 GTS-T with a 1:39... but 2nd place was not far from my practice session time...
But then again - shit happens too. Anyway...
Car impressions? Awesome. I was definitely still not pushing it's limits and only just getting use to them. I could definitely carry atleast an extra 10km/hr through the sweeper and about the same through the S-bend. I was braking later and turning in sharper... I couldn't believe this was the same car I had driven previously on Winton!
That said... I now had...
- Working ABS
- Rebuilt coils
- Decent "street" tyres
- Proper alignment
- Toe arms
- GT wang
You'd hope one would improve their times after all of the above....
Needless to say, I kept on with my track days
A quick fly by...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wYNvmfvSu8[/youtube]
The day has arrived. Will my frustrations of slow times continue to haunt? Can a silly Honda stand up against an army of RBs?
My ghetto battery triangle and some energy to boot...
Needless to say, my fears were groundless
My practice session revealed a time of 1:44.8910
Totally destroying my previous PB of 1:47.5x
The first session saw a lot of traffic and admittedly, I should have moved up a group... I could only muster a 1:46 given the conditions.
Then this is where things get shitty...
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re...29/10/2011.WIN
I actually went through up until Session 5. Where were my times?
For some magical reason, my time was not recorded. But funnily enough, a few others in my group still had their times posted.
To make things a bit more interesting, those people in my class/group who did have their times posted were also contending for the trophies in RWD Standard class. Admittedly the 1st place was taken out by a R33 GTS-T with a 1:39... but 2nd place was not far from my practice session time...
But then again - shit happens too. Anyway...
Car impressions? Awesome. I was definitely still not pushing it's limits and only just getting use to them. I could definitely carry atleast an extra 10km/hr through the sweeper and about the same through the S-bend. I was braking later and turning in sharper... I couldn't believe this was the same car I had driven previously on Winton!
That said... I now had...
- Working ABS
- Rebuilt coils
- Decent "street" tyres
- Proper alignment
- Toe arms
- GT wang
You'd hope one would improve their times after all of the above....
Needless to say, I kept on with my track days
A quick fly by...
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wYNvmfvSu8[/youtube]
05-27-2014, 04:18 AM
#23
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Post track day
Even prior to the track day I had noticed a knocking and vibration coming from the rear end.
Some new big axle nuts!
A Honda TSB was released due to old axle nuts shaking ever so slightly loose to create distance between the hub and the driveshaft causing a knocking sound. None the less, the new spec is to torque them to 220 ft/lb - which unfortunately not many mechanics had available...
Sabbaddin helped out and torqued them to spec.
To add they also found the following...
- Cracked diff bushes
- Cracked mid-muffler welds
- Vibration still present
The vibration turns out to be a common problem on lowered S2000s.
To quote...
"When you lower the car, it moves the spider to a new spot where it normally rides. Based on the geometry, the new spot is very close to the old spot. The vibration is caused by the spider sliding over the edge of the new spot into the old spot. It trammels back and forth there.
A spacer takes care of the vibration by moving the spider far enough away from the old wear spot so it can't trammel into the old spot. Swapping the cv buckets from right to left and vis versa fixes the vibration by giving the spider a new surface to create a new wear spot." - negcamber S2ki forums
That said, Rob didn't recommend the CV cup swap and it made sense to me to correct the lowered car geometry, you'd need to space the driveshaft to be the correct length between the hub and the diff.
So the spacers were installed... I was actually running very short on time and my Spoon parts were once again - NOT overnight from Japan (Damn you F&F again)
So I settled for some "Hardrace" ones instead. These brand seem to be popular in the States but are actually just copies of multiple well known brands made in Taiwan. That said they didn't seem too bad once installed and quality wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Props to JDM Yard for shipping these out express!
Even prior to the track day I had noticed a knocking and vibration coming from the rear end.
Some new big axle nuts!
A Honda TSB was released due to old axle nuts shaking ever so slightly loose to create distance between the hub and the driveshaft causing a knocking sound. None the less, the new spec is to torque them to 220 ft/lb - which unfortunately not many mechanics had available...
Sabbaddin helped out and torqued them to spec.
To add they also found the following...
- Cracked diff bushes
- Cracked mid-muffler welds
- Vibration still present
The vibration turns out to be a common problem on lowered S2000s.
To quote...
"When you lower the car, it moves the spider to a new spot where it normally rides. Based on the geometry, the new spot is very close to the old spot. The vibration is caused by the spider sliding over the edge of the new spot into the old spot. It trammels back and forth there.
A spacer takes care of the vibration by moving the spider far enough away from the old wear spot so it can't trammel into the old spot. Swapping the cv buckets from right to left and vis versa fixes the vibration by giving the spider a new surface to create a new wear spot." - negcamber S2ki forums
That said, Rob didn't recommend the CV cup swap and it made sense to me to correct the lowered car geometry, you'd need to space the driveshaft to be the correct length between the hub and the diff.
So the spacers were installed... I was actually running very short on time and my Spoon parts were once again - NOT overnight from Japan (Damn you F&F again)
So I settled for some "Hardrace" ones instead. These brand seem to be popular in the States but are actually just copies of multiple well known brands made in Taiwan. That said they didn't seem too bad once installed and quality wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Props to JDM Yard for shipping these out express!
05-27-2014, 04:19 AM
#24
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Track day #6 - EXE event 20/11/2011
Less than a month since the last track day... another chance to put the mods to good use...
Props to Daniel for the awesome shot
- Music blaring...
- Heavy foot
- More balls...
Got back into the pits after my first timed session to find Vyets running my way shouting something... eventually when he got closer I found it translated to "1:42 you monster!"
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re...11/2011.WIN.S1
1:42.74 - New PB! I was over the moon and did not expect it...
...celebrations were short lived when I returned the many missed calls on my phone while out on a track. Turns out my Mum had been in a nasty car accident and was sent to hospital.
I quickly packed, left the GT wing on and headed off quite numb with uncertainty. The 3 hour drive back was full of crazy thoughts...
...but luckily everything turned out ok. She pulled through with whiplash and a few cuts and bruises. The whole ordeal left me very mentally and physically drained. I was quite temperamental at the end of it all especially considering how disrespectful and how much of a nuisance some people can be... but then again - it was Dandenong. I felt strongly for the security and paramedics who have to work in such conditions...
Regardless - I want to thank everybody for their supportive comments prior to me leaving abruptly. My girlfriend namely for staying through the crazy ordeal...
Mum has pulled through perfectly fine but shaken up a bit still. She was incredibly lucky. No person would normally have survived it... to put things into perspective...
That is the driver's side. Her seat had moved into the center of the car along with the rest of the floor pan.
Less than a month since the last track day... another chance to put the mods to good use...
Props to Daniel for the awesome shot
- Music blaring...
- Heavy foot
- More balls...
Got back into the pits after my first timed session to find Vyets running my way shouting something... eventually when he got closer I found it translated to "1:42 you monster!"
http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/re...11/2011.WIN.S1
1:42.74 - New PB! I was over the moon and did not expect it...
...celebrations were short lived when I returned the many missed calls on my phone while out on a track. Turns out my Mum had been in a nasty car accident and was sent to hospital.
I quickly packed, left the GT wing on and headed off quite numb with uncertainty. The 3 hour drive back was full of crazy thoughts...
...but luckily everything turned out ok. She pulled through with whiplash and a few cuts and bruises. The whole ordeal left me very mentally and physically drained. I was quite temperamental at the end of it all especially considering how disrespectful and how much of a nuisance some people can be... but then again - it was Dandenong. I felt strongly for the security and paramedics who have to work in such conditions...
Regardless - I want to thank everybody for their supportive comments prior to me leaving abruptly. My girlfriend namely for staying through the crazy ordeal...
Mum has pulled through perfectly fine but shaken up a bit still. She was incredibly lucky. No person would normally have survived it... to put things into perspective...
That is the driver's side. Her seat had moved into the center of the car along with the rest of the floor pan.
05-27-2014, 04:26 AM
#25
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Just a quick note - although it may seem trivial/obvious to some, but remember that nothing lasts forever. Each day you have shouldn't be wasted... hug your relatives once in a while. Even if they're asian and feel super awkward about hugs.... just makes it more fun =P
After doing some research on safety and a few recommendations, my Mum ended up picking up a VW Golf 2011 model not too long after the accident. Which has a bottle opener in the centre console but anyway...
Post track day again... Spooning my car haw haw
Notsoovernight parts had arrived 2 days after the track day. Argh.
The Spoon differential bush replacements are solid rubber as opposed to liquid filled. The old bushes cracked and leaking... there's a few videos on the S2000 forums showing how badly they flex under throttle when worn...
All fitted!
Direct swap over of stock bushes. The driveshaft spacers felt ALOT more solid than the Hardrace ones... but people still use the Hardrace style ones without issue - I could just be paranoid =P
Driving impressions - the throttle response with the new bushes has improved but not drastically. I'm considering aluminium collars to make the differential mounts completely rigid as I don't see a need for compliance in the subframe. I mean if Nissan Skyline/Silvia subframes don't have bushes for their diffs... why do Honda?
After doing some research on safety and a few recommendations, my Mum ended up picking up a VW Golf 2011 model not too long after the accident. Which has a bottle opener in the centre console but anyway...
Post track day again... Spooning my car haw haw
Notsoovernight parts had arrived 2 days after the track day. Argh.
The Spoon differential bush replacements are solid rubber as opposed to liquid filled. The old bushes cracked and leaking... there's a few videos on the S2000 forums showing how badly they flex under throttle when worn...
All fitted!
Direct swap over of stock bushes. The driveshaft spacers felt ALOT more solid than the Hardrace ones... but people still use the Hardrace style ones without issue - I could just be paranoid =P
Driving impressions - the throttle response with the new bushes has improved but not drastically. I'm considering aluminium collars to make the differential mounts completely rigid as I don't see a need for compliance in the subframe. I mean if Nissan Skyline/Silvia subframes don't have bushes for their diffs... why do Honda?
05-27-2014, 04:27 AM
#26
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
More mods/updates
Amuse R1 repair...
Onto the exhaust... I pulled it off at the same time and noticed a nice crack on BOTH ends of the mid-muffler. And at the exhaust hanger on top. I thought it was the end of my prized exhaust as Titanium welding was not your average joes job at Dandy exhaust...
Luckily when all was thought to be lost, I found Trikfab in South Dandenong. Not only did they weld up the cracks beautifully but also rounded my exhaust tip after the monkeys at the dock bashed it about...
The shop atmosphere was relaxed yet professional. It reminded me of those custom cruiser bike shows with old men talking sh!t all day long and still enjoying their work.
We talked about the exhaust itself and they were impressed at the quality and grade of Titanium used, considering that most Titanium exhausts on the market are far from pure and weigh a tonne because it's really only part of the tip that's actually Titanium... or the grade used in the rest of the exhaust is thick/far from pure. But at the same time, being thin - and rigid were not good points especially on street.
The Titanium is so rigid that vibrations from the engine can cause cracks/welds to break open. So we all agreed that an exhaust flex joint and stiffer engine/gearbox mounts should help ease the problem.
But it would probably happen again... so they welcomed me back anytime ahha.
Front bar sprayed (Wasn't sprayed ever since fitment!) and Guards flared even more for new things to come
Thanks again to DT Panels for all their work.
Spoon thermostat and thermoswitch
Lastly... I noticed temps were getting a bit high than I'd prefer in Summer (Not use to Hondas high thermostat/fan temp setup) - so I found some cheap Spoon bits on sale and picked them up at a bargain price from the US
In go the Spoon thermostat and thermoswitch. Did I mention it's not a good idea to unbolt a thermostat thinking there's no coolant left in the system? Hmm...
And the big one...
Rollbar install...!
All interior is now back in and trimmed to fit nicely! Even bought spare interior trim incase I want to revert it back to stock
This took me more than a couple of days, most of it was trimming interior panels and making sure everything was dead centered before cutting. Very very solid bar... I have no doubts this will save my head should the worst happen *touch wood*
Also have a Takata 4 point harness lying around so I'll put that to the test come next track day...
Shout out goes to Trung (AE92) for helping me clear a SRS code during the rollbar install. Huge thanks... the manual tells you to do it using a jumper but it's basically impossible to do and you need Honda stuff to clear it.
J's Racing S1 camber joint
J's Racing S1 camber joint. Been meaning to pick up a pair of these for quite some time. Standard camber adjustment range for the front at the moment maxes out at -2.5 degrees. I don't want to go any lower as I'm already scraping enough as it is so these were the next best option. From what I remember, they should allow for the camber to go up to -4 degrees given my current height.
Reason for more front camber? I'm finding through the sweeper - the front seems to be "pushing". I know there's definitely more traction in the tyres too which is quite frustrating. And apparently RS3s love camber...
Picked up side steps really cheap along with the rest of the interior trim... my old ones were fairly beaten up and scratched and also had a different design. That's the excuse I use anyway...
Got bored... gf had some metal polish...
Ta da! Got rid a few small scratches... even got to work on the Cusco catch can later
Amuse R1 repair...
Onto the exhaust... I pulled it off at the same time and noticed a nice crack on BOTH ends of the mid-muffler. And at the exhaust hanger on top. I thought it was the end of my prized exhaust as Titanium welding was not your average joes job at Dandy exhaust...
Luckily when all was thought to be lost, I found Trikfab in South Dandenong. Not only did they weld up the cracks beautifully but also rounded my exhaust tip after the monkeys at the dock bashed it about...
The shop atmosphere was relaxed yet professional. It reminded me of those custom cruiser bike shows with old men talking sh!t all day long and still enjoying their work.
We talked about the exhaust itself and they were impressed at the quality and grade of Titanium used, considering that most Titanium exhausts on the market are far from pure and weigh a tonne because it's really only part of the tip that's actually Titanium... or the grade used in the rest of the exhaust is thick/far from pure. But at the same time, being thin - and rigid were not good points especially on street.
The Titanium is so rigid that vibrations from the engine can cause cracks/welds to break open. So we all agreed that an exhaust flex joint and stiffer engine/gearbox mounts should help ease the problem.
But it would probably happen again... so they welcomed me back anytime ahha.
Front bar sprayed (Wasn't sprayed ever since fitment!) and Guards flared even more for new things to come
Thanks again to DT Panels for all their work.
Spoon thermostat and thermoswitch
Lastly... I noticed temps were getting a bit high than I'd prefer in Summer (Not use to Hondas high thermostat/fan temp setup) - so I found some cheap Spoon bits on sale and picked them up at a bargain price from the US
In go the Spoon thermostat and thermoswitch. Did I mention it's not a good idea to unbolt a thermostat thinking there's no coolant left in the system? Hmm...
And the big one...
Rollbar install...!
All interior is now back in and trimmed to fit nicely! Even bought spare interior trim incase I want to revert it back to stock
This took me more than a couple of days, most of it was trimming interior panels and making sure everything was dead centered before cutting. Very very solid bar... I have no doubts this will save my head should the worst happen
*touch wood*Also have a Takata 4 point harness lying around so I'll put that to the test come next track day...
Shout out goes to Trung (AE92) for helping me clear a SRS code during the rollbar install. Huge thanks... the manual tells you to do it using a jumper but it's basically impossible to do and you need Honda stuff to clear it.
J's Racing S1 camber joint
J's Racing S1 camber joint. Been meaning to pick up a pair of these for quite some time. Standard camber adjustment range for the front at the moment maxes out at -2.5 degrees. I don't want to go any lower as I'm already scraping enough as it is so these were the next best option. From what I remember, they should allow for the camber to go up to -4 degrees given my current height.
Reason for more front camber? I'm finding through the sweeper - the front seems to be "pushing". I know there's definitely more traction in the tyres too which is quite frustrating. And apparently RS3s love camber...
Picked up side steps really cheap along with the rest of the interior trim... my old ones were fairly beaten up and scratched and also had a different design. That's the excuse I use anyway...
Got bored... gf had some metal polish...
Ta da! Got rid a few small scratches... even got to work on the Cusco catch can later
05-27-2014, 04:31 AM
#27
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wait... there's more?
Christmas?
Top: New door trims thanks to tweeters mounted incorrectly on the trim that came with the car...
Left to right...
- Spoon strut brace (To go with a Spoon Engine Torque Dampener - yes I know, I'll explain after)
- J's Racing Type-S front and rear tow hook (There are no mounting holes in the Amuse front bar to allow for stock tow hooks and will change the color from yellow)
- GT Motoring 285mm wing stands (Note on this - there were a few issues with this order which took an excessively long time to resolve...)
- Berk High Flow cat 63.5mm (Supposedly reduces drone... it does somewhat! And some kw to boot apparently... while keeping the environment happy. Yay!)
Everything installed... yes there's a Spoon Engine Torque Dampener in there. Wanky yes? Hear me out... the exhaust had shaken itself to death because of excessive vibration. Checked the engine and gearbox mounts... fine. Given the point where the headers are mounted at, this seemed like the next best idea. I can't say for sure it's saved the exhaust but the gearshifts seem to feel slightly smoother and easier to do at higher revs.
Spoon in all their marketing wisdom also thought it would be a good idea to force anybody installing these, to also buy their strut brace (that black mount came with the ETD - not "other strut brace friendly"). So the Cusco went and in came the Spoon replacement. Doesn't do anything but add bling. In my poor defense it weighs close to nothing...
Uh-oh... while installing the new door trims (No pics yet unfortunately). After repairing a cross-over unit, eventually narrowed the dead high end on the driver's side to a blown tweeter. While shopping around - found out that MB Quart are no longer made in Germany but in... the glorious People's Republic of China and bought out by Maxsonics or GoldenBirdStarLuckyGoRedFreedomSpeakers. Judgements aside, I heard a few pairs of the "new school" MB Quart and... they don't sound all that crash hot. So still hunting around for some replacements.
Polish frenzy continues!!
And.... bam. Could not get into gear one morning. AT ALL.
Checked the Clutch master reservoir and empty... argh.
Trung to the rescue again! Much much love. I owe you a trip to somewhere in Hallam lol
New vs Old... getting under the dash to replace it is a real PITA. Had to do some serious acrobatics to position myself under there.
Some High Temp Grease for the Slave cylinder nipple... I mean...pivot prong clutch thingy... point...
And all fixed
While under the car, also took the time to refit the Amuse R1 and install the Berk HFC!
As she stands last night...
Sexy. It's been rough at work so please excuse these latest entries...
As for track days...
EXE - May
Honda Nationals - September
New pads on their way, soon tyres, alignment booked...!
Christmas?
Top: New door trims thanks to tweeters mounted incorrectly on the trim that came with the car...
Left to right...
- Spoon strut brace (To go with a Spoon Engine Torque Dampener - yes I know, I'll explain after)
- J's Racing Type-S front and rear tow hook (There are no mounting holes in the Amuse front bar to allow for stock tow hooks and will change the color from yellow)
- GT Motoring 285mm wing stands (Note on this - there were a few issues with this order which took an excessively long time to resolve...)
- Berk High Flow cat 63.5mm (Supposedly reduces drone... it does somewhat! And some kw to boot apparently... while keeping the environment happy. Yay!)
Everything installed... yes there's a Spoon Engine Torque Dampener in there. Wanky yes? Hear me out... the exhaust had shaken itself to death because of excessive vibration. Checked the engine and gearbox mounts... fine. Given the point where the headers are mounted at, this seemed like the next best idea. I can't say for sure it's saved the exhaust but the gearshifts seem to feel slightly smoother and easier to do at higher revs.
Spoon in all their marketing wisdom also thought it would be a good idea to force anybody installing these, to also buy their strut brace (that black mount came with the ETD - not "other strut brace friendly"). So the Cusco went and in came the Spoon replacement. Doesn't do anything but add bling. In my poor defense it weighs close to nothing...
Uh-oh... while installing the new door trims (No pics yet unfortunately). After repairing a cross-over unit, eventually narrowed the dead high end on the driver's side to a blown tweeter. While shopping around - found out that MB Quart are no longer made in Germany but in... the glorious People's Republic of China and bought out by Maxsonics or GoldenBirdStarLuckyGoRedFreedomSpeakers. Judgements aside, I heard a few pairs of the "new school" MB Quart and... they don't sound all that crash hot. So still hunting around for some replacements.
Polish frenzy continues!!
And.... bam. Could not get into gear one morning. AT ALL.
Checked the Clutch master reservoir and empty... argh.
Trung to the rescue again! Much much love. I owe you a trip to somewhere in Hallam lol
New vs Old... getting under the dash to replace it is a real PITA. Had to do some serious acrobatics to position myself under there.
Some High Temp Grease for the Slave cylinder nipple... I mean...pivot prong clutch thingy... point...
And all fixed
While under the car, also took the time to refit the Amuse R1 and install the Berk HFC!
As she stands last night...
Sexy. It's been rough at work so please excuse these latest entries...
As for track days...
EXE - May
Honda Nationals - September
New pads on their way, soon tyres, alignment booked...!
05-27-2014, 04:34 AM
#28
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Tyre woes
Track prep is looking good with the exception of tyres...
Unfortunately (unknown to me), Hankook RS3s were never sold officially in Australia. And my main resouce Tirerack.com have their next shipment of RS3 tyres sold out... there is a slim chance they may have some but with the way Australian customs works, it will probably not be on my car for EXE.
The next alternative is Dunlop Z1 Star Specs which priced at $1.1k landed.
OR
I can bite the bullet and go for Advan A050 semi slicks at about 2k
May have some another set of RS3s but nothing definite...
Something within me is resisting going to semi slicks for some reason!
- I feel like there is more to learn on street tyres in terms of lines etc
- My car is a daily so having street-able tyres is a huge bonus (The Z1SS also have better wet grip apparently which is good and bad haha)
- Price tag!
- Apparently with heavy semi-slick usage, there are possible front upper A-arm mount strength issues... early AP1s that are tracked heavily do need the mount seam welded or reinforced (Spoon/J's Racing offer reinforcement brackets for a pretty JDM $) but not exactly something that breaks after one track day...
- The satisfaction of being able to try for some quick times on cheaty street tyres is always a motivator!
I'd be curious to see what swayed other people onto semis...?
Track prep and more goodies
So Tyrepower Hawthorn don't want my money.
Contacted Chris from Tyrepower North Melbourne who called me back within 15 minutes to confirm pricing etc. However later in the day it turns out they're out of stock until June of Ventus TDs
Chris will chase up other options... but as it stands, semi-slicks are probably out of the question now.
Installed these into the door trims... turns out one of the cross-overs is slightly faulty and my "repair" on the tweeter channel altered the range of the tweeter slightly Ended up using the in-line cross-over for the tweeters instead... sounding good!
These funky exhaust hangers are for AP2s... Trung sourced them from Japan and after installing them, they've corrected the angle of the exhaust somewhat But there's one hanger that's still not within reach - will have to make a custom hanger mount somehow...
My old HC+s were wearing thin so I picked these up on special! 24k yen for front and rear!
The rest is all miscellaneous interior bits and pieces.
New door trims installed.
This custom piece (non-Bride), holds the seatbelt in place... was getting annoying having to pick it up every now and then...
Track prep is looking good with the exception of tyres...
Unfortunately (unknown to me), Hankook RS3s were never sold officially in Australia. And my main resouce Tirerack.com have their next shipment of RS3 tyres sold out... there is a slim chance they may have some but with the way Australian customs works, it will probably not be on my car for EXE.
The next alternative is Dunlop Z1 Star Specs which priced at $1.1k landed.
OR
I can bite the bullet and go for Advan A050 semi slicks at about 2k
May have some another set of RS3s but nothing definite...
Something within me is resisting going to semi slicks for some reason!
- I feel like there is more to learn on street tyres in terms of lines etc
- My car is a daily so having street-able tyres is a huge bonus (The Z1SS also have better wet grip apparently which is good and bad haha)
- Price tag!
- Apparently with heavy semi-slick usage, there are possible front upper A-arm mount strength issues... early AP1s that are tracked heavily do need the mount seam welded or reinforced (Spoon/J's Racing offer reinforcement brackets for a pretty JDM $) but not exactly something that breaks after one track day...
- The satisfaction of being able to try for some quick times on cheaty street tyres is always a motivator!
I'd be curious to see what swayed other people onto semis...?
Track prep and more goodies
So Tyrepower Hawthorn don't want my money.
Contacted Chris from Tyrepower North Melbourne who called me back within 15 minutes to confirm pricing etc. However later in the day it turns out they're out of stock until June of Ventus TDs
Chris will chase up other options... but as it stands, semi-slicks are probably out of the question now.
Installed these into the door trims... turns out one of the cross-overs is slightly faulty and my "repair" on the tweeter channel altered the range of the tweeter slightly
Ended up using the in-line cross-over for the tweeters instead... sounding good!These funky exhaust hangers are for AP2s... Trung sourced them from Japan and after installing them, they've corrected the angle of the exhaust somewhat
But there's one hanger that's still not within reach - will have to make a custom hanger mount somehow...My old HC+s were wearing thin so I picked these up on special! 24k yen for front and rear!
The rest is all miscellaneous interior bits and pieces.
New door trims installed.
This custom piece (non-Bride), holds the seatbelt in place... was getting annoying having to pick it up every now and then...
05-27-2014, 04:36 AM
#29
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Fakes strike again - 19 April 2012
http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/i...owtopic=324958
After inspecting my harness... yup. It's a fake.
Earlier in my blog, I bought a 180SX Type-X and this came with it. Didn't really think much of it until closer to when I actually had to use it...
Now another thing to add to the shopping list? But if I can't find anything, I'll just run the normal belt. Not happy.
Tyres sorted and more track day prep items...
255/40/17 Dunlop Z1 Star Specs - $250 each from Tyrepower North Melbourne.
Sorted! And cheaper than Tirerack (After shipping)!
Also contacted Revolution Racegear and got the following prices on 4-point harnesses...
RPM - $249
Willans - $325
Willans with Alloy fittings - $575
Willans harness pads - $39
Not as expensive as I was expecting. Props to Seamew for the suggestion.
Takata new is about $600+ if anybody is wondering...
Dropping off the tow hooks later to be sand blasted then powder coating after that...!
Should be picking up an Eibach adjustable front swaybar later tonight too...
http://www.nissansilvia.com/forums/i...owtopic=324958
After inspecting my harness... yup. It's a fake.
Earlier in my blog, I bought a 180SX Type-X and this came with it. Didn't really think much of it until closer to when I actually had to use it...
Now another thing to add to the shopping list? But if I can't find anything, I'll just run the normal belt. Not happy.
Tyres sorted and more track day prep items...
255/40/17 Dunlop Z1 Star Specs - $250 each from Tyrepower North Melbourne.
Sorted! And cheaper than Tirerack (After shipping)!
Also contacted Revolution Racegear and got the following prices on 4-point harnesses...
RPM - $249
Willans - $325
Willans with Alloy fittings - $575
Willans harness pads - $39
Not as expensive as I was expecting. Props to Seamew for the suggestion.
Takata new is about $600+ if anybody is wondering...
Dropping off the tow hooks later to be sand blasted then powder coating after that...!
Should be picking up an Eibach adjustable front swaybar later tonight too...
05-27-2014, 04:40 AM
#30
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 524
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
More track day prep... Eibach swaybar, new rims and more...
Decided to put together my wing again and will soon send the boot off to get sprayed nicely
285mm wing stands vs 255mm wing stands
Fitted the new wing stands and added the Voltex stickers... (left it off last track day - cbf putting them on until recently)
New Eibach swaybar installed - not as stiff as the Whiteline but overall balance feels more neutral as opposed to "pushy". Slight hint of oversteer but I think that could also be due to wet weather and running a little bit less toe in... Might readjust toe closer to the track day after some proper "testing" in dry weather.
Pulled out the old swaybar (weighs atleast 10kg... solid 30mm bar) and fitted the new Eibach swaybar (weights about half... hollow 32mm bar)
Set the links to hard... and my test drive? The bar isn't AS stiff as the Whiteline bar BUT - overall feels slightly more neutral and throttle inputs at lower speeds don't "push" the car but make the rear end a bit more active. Not overly crazy difference but just enough for a balance I quite like This was in the wet and in the dry... as I got use to the balance, I tried the limits more and more and loved it!
Paid a visit to Traction Tyres and had the J's Racing S1 camber joint fitted. Initial alignment after fitment showed about 3.6 degrees of camber up front (could be more or less cause I don't think the front was maxed last time...). But sounds about right. I shouldn't need more than 3.6 degrees anyway I hope
Got the car aligned... in hindsight I should have got more rear toe in... so I might go back for some fine tuning but overall, happy with their work
(Apologies for the bad pic - was the day before I went interstate and had non-stop rain...)
Get a phone call that I have something waiting for me...
I was in interstate at the time and dying to get back to pick these babies up...! Initial trial fits had me a bit worried, especially in the rear but after lowering and putting 255s on instead of a full width tyre, it worked out quite nicely The car oddly feels more grippy?? Even though I'm using the same tyres (alas rotated because of inner edge camber wear). It doesn't break traction as easily so I'm kinda surprised that wider rims has helped this much? I don't know if it's placebo... or poor G-force butt sensor?
In more ricey news...
Sand blasted at "Swift Metal Fab" in Springvale
Some habits die hard ahah...
Powder coated again at "Top Gun powder coating" in Clayton
Both places with top work as usual
My old rims have now been sold (deposit taken) so it's good bye to blue rims... which I believe will be at the EXE track day anyway - possibly resprayed!
Decided to put together my wing again and will soon send the boot off to get sprayed nicely
285mm wing stands vs 255mm wing stands
Fitted the new wing stands and added the Voltex stickers... (left it off last track day - cbf putting them on until recently)
New Eibach swaybar installed - not as stiff as the Whiteline but overall balance feels more neutral as opposed to "pushy". Slight hint of oversteer but I think that could also be due to wet weather and running a little bit less toe in... Might readjust toe closer to the track day after some proper "testing" in dry weather.
Pulled out the old swaybar (weighs atleast 10kg... solid 30mm bar) and fitted the new Eibach swaybar (weights about half... hollow 32mm bar)
Set the links to hard... and my test drive? The bar isn't AS stiff as the Whiteline bar BUT - overall feels slightly more neutral and throttle inputs at lower speeds don't "push" the car but make the rear end a bit more active. Not overly crazy difference but just enough for a balance I quite like
This was in the wet and in the dry... as I got use to the balance, I tried the limits more and more and loved it!Paid a visit to Traction Tyres and had the J's Racing S1 camber joint fitted. Initial alignment after fitment showed about 3.6 degrees of camber up front (could be more or less cause I don't think the front was maxed last time...). But sounds about right. I shouldn't need more than 3.6 degrees anyway I hope
Got the car aligned... in hindsight I should have got more rear toe in... so I might go back for some fine tuning but overall, happy with their work
(Apologies for the bad pic - was the day before I went interstate and had non-stop rain...)
Get a phone call that I have something waiting for me...
I was in interstate at the time and dying to get back to pick these babies up...! Initial trial fits had me a bit worried, especially in the rear but after lowering and putting 255s on instead of a full width tyre, it worked out quite nicely
The car oddly feels more grippy?? Even though I'm using the same tyres (alas rotated because of inner edge camber wear). It doesn't break traction as easily so I'm kinda surprised that wider rims has helped this much? I don't know if it's placebo... or poor G-force butt sensor?In more ricey news...
Sand blasted at "Swift Metal Fab" in Springvale
Some habits die hard ahah...
Powder coated again at "Top Gun powder coating" in Clayton
Both places with top work as usual
My old rims have now been sold (deposit taken) so it's good bye to blue rims... which I believe will be at the EXE track day anyway - possibly resprayed!