zeroptzero

I pulled the oem hood prop to avoid causing damage to my Mugen intake a while back. I finally got around to adding some NRG carbon hood struts. Funny how such a small mod can make the car feel more upscale, lol. The hood struts are 1/2 power so they work well with the J's Carbon hood. They are rated for 100,000 cycles, somehow I can't imagine them lasting that long lol.

Bubbels**

Nice mod, suits your car/enginebay well. First time I see those hood dampers being used with a carbon fiber hood.
Did you modify them in any way or does NRG just sell them for this specific application?

Orjinal

That engine bay looks super nice. So many high end parts.

How does the Strut bars you've had/have compare to no strut bar?

zeroptzero

Thanks !. I think in the early days carbon hood manufacturers recommended against using hood dampers as they had too much pressure on closing. NRG makes a carbon specific hood damper that is approx. 1/2 pressure of normal dampers so they don't take as much force to close. Seems to work perfectly, and the J's Racing hood is paper thin

zeroptzero

Thanks for the kind words. I'm a bit of a JDM whore when it comes to rare parts, I can't resist them when they come up for sale.

I've always felt that front strut bars don't do much on this car, but I like the engine bay better with a strut bar than without. They are mainly for looks, and a place to rest your arms when doing valve adjustments, etc. I also feel they may add some extra crash protection, but who really knows. The only bar that felt like it made a difference was the ASM bar that I had with the lower X support that tied into the subframe. I think it provided some added steering feel and stiffness. None of the other bars seemed to do much, but I like having one. This ARC bar has been one of my favourites in terms of looks an rareness, and the ASM bar for functionality. Expensive parts though, for perhaps not much gain or value.

The beatrush and spoon undercar bars that I bought from you have made a difference to steering response and chassis stiffness that I could feel, I've been happy with them which I'm using with the spoon tunnel brace and beatrush rear brace.

zeroptzero

I always wanted to play around with cam timing to see if I can gain some mid-range to top end power. The Toda gears were a bit expensive for the relatively small gains that can be found, but I got a good deal on some unused Skunk gears so I don't mind messing around with them. It will give me something to do over the winter months and keep me occupied. Gears look like pretty good quality.

zeroptzero

I finally found the time and energy to get the new cam gears installed and adjusted. I've got them set them to +3.5 intake and -2 exhaust .

No better way to spend Christmas eve , Happy holidays to all who celebrate.

sillyboybmxer

i agree with your opinion here on the ASM strut tower bar, i had wanted one for years and once I finally got it i liked the way it looked but that was it. I felt a slight tightness is steering feel at very slow speeds but i knew the money was better spent elsewhere.
Looking forward to your thoughts with your cam gears.
Happy holidays!

zeroptzero

Yup, I sold a couple of ASM parts that I had on this car during the build, simply because I felt the money was better spent elsewhere, although the ARC strut bar wasn't a cheap purchase either.

I was able to take the car out for a short spin tonight despite crappy road conditions. I have the gears dialed in for extra overlap at +3.5 degs intake and -2 degs exhaust. No piston to valve clearance issues at these settings, so it seems safe. The engine still idles smoothly, and the bottom end power still feels good. Mid-range feels similar, but I'd say the top end power is improved across the board, it feels really good. My air fuel ratios seem leaner tonight, not sure if it is the cold temps or the cam gears, I'll have to give it a check come spring.

zeroptzero

I fattened up the rear tires with new RE-11 in 245-45-16's. I'm committed to hitting the Tail of the Dragon RTD 2017 this year so the new tires are a welcome addition, should be more grippy than my S0-2's.