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Another mod I did over the winter was I installed seat heating elements into the Recaro PP. Sorry I don't have pictures. It was pretty straightforward and it's nice to have a warm derrier on cool/cold days. The car just hibernates over the winter.
I did finally just get around to doing some work on the car this past weekend. As noted last year, the oil cooler caused a pressure drop. So, I pulled the mishimoto sandwich plate and drilled a 1/4" hole in it. I deburred the edges of the hole on both sides and retorqued all the fittings. I've only done a short drive but it looks like pressure is at least 5+ psi higher now in vtec. I will have to measure it during an event to be sure but it looks like it did the trick. This shouldn't affect the oil cooling ability but if I get 5-10psi more pressure (and back to normal oil pressure) in vtec I'll be very happy.
I'm planning on doing a couple events this year. Looking forward to really driving the car.
So I figured I'd post an update to this thread as it's been a while. I can't believe it's been over a year... Anyway, not much has changed on the car. I did one track day this year at Shenandoah, and the Z2's now which are I think ~4 yrs old are on their last legs. I checked them when swapping pads back after the track day and the inside is wearing badly, so the alignment is off. Plan for next year will be new RS4's and of course an alignment. I also will be swapping out the diff mounts for some softer ones and getting the test pipe modified slightly as it's causing some tension and some added vibrations.
Only other fun I had with the car besides the occasional putzing around these days was taking my son to see my friend Dave race at Summit Main in SSM. I strapped his car seat in the passenger seat and he got a kick out of it. Big props to Dave for coming in 2nd in points for the year! He's come a long way since our HPDE days, and the guy can drive!
As with all hobbies in life, they come and go. The S has been sitting a whole lot lately but I'm hoping to enjoy it more next year. I got tired of driving the minivan as a daily for a couple years now, and finally got my 3rd garage spot back, so picked up a low mileage e90. I've been looking for one for a while.. Trying to find one with a sport package, rwd, and low mileage isn't easy and fortunately found this one. I love the car, and is the perfect balance between minivan and S for the street. It's nice to have a "regular" car again. For the price ($13k) I think they're a steal for what you get. I didn't consider a 335 because they have a lot more problems than the NA 6. The NA 6 is plenty for putzing around town. I didn't consider the F30 because I much prefer an NA 6 over the turbo 4, and I actually don't like the F30 overall as much. Here's a shot after it got detailed.
Anyway, figured I'd post an update as it's been a while. I picked up a spare trunk and wing that's been passed around several local S owners, but haven't put it on the car yet. Hopefully next year I'll get back to the track more.
Not too much done over the winter this year. One big focus is making it a little more comfortable on the street. I had a couple annoying vibrations and rattles I wanted to get rid of, and figured I could make a few adjustments to make things better. Around 3-3500 rpm there was a resonance that was annoying.
1. I ditched the ES diff bushings and switched to Megan Racing. The move from Urethane to rubber should help NVH a little.
2. I softened up the KW coilovers' rebound stiffness one whole revolution softer for the street.
3. The test pipe I have looks to be about 1/4-1/2" shorter than the OEM cat. This seems to be a problem with some test pipes and I think the strain may have been the thing causing the annoying resonance at certain rpms. To fix this I stacked 3 gaskets where it connects to the exhaust and replaced the donut gasket at the front with a slightly thicker one. Credit goes to someone here on s2ki that suggested it. I don't have the link to the thread handy but thumbs up!
Finally, my original ~4 yr old Dunlop Z2's finally wore out and swapped over to Hankook RS4's. I'm excited to try these out and see how they do on track. I have noticed they seem to need a little more time to heat up to gain grip over the Z2's.
With these changes the car is noticeably a little less bumpy/harsh/noisy on the street which is welcome. Sometimes the little things make a big difference and make the car more enjoyable. Hopefully I'll get a chance to try out the RS4's on track soon.
Edit: Forgot to add last year sometime the Mr Sideways radiator sprung a very slow seeping leak so I put the oem radiator back in. One of these days I'll get around to trying to find it and fix it.
Been a while since I've done an update to this thread. I did one track day this year and was pretty rusty. I spun the car and with some luck had no damage. My Canton pan did spring a small leak and it looks like a bad weld on it. I will be pulling the pan to inspect it, weld it and reinstall it.
I have some big changes planned for the winter. Planning on a G25-660 .82ar IWG with a PFab topmount with an SOS V mount setup. I've wanted to do a turbo for a long time, but haven't had the time to enjoy the car for the last few years and been busy with other things in life. Finally circling back to the car more.
So you might ask why I chose this setup? Well reason is I want to run low boost to make more power but still keep it somewhat reliable for track days. I also want to have some room should I want to push more power. The Ptuning kit looks like a solid kit, but the manifold creeps, and even with the restrictor plate I'm not sure it can hold low boost (~7 psi). I also prefer an internal WG for my setup. It makes things a little simpler and cleaner. I have no desire to run open wastegate. The other consideration was the SOS hot side. I think people are aware that the manifold is a bit restrictive and hard to access. I have heard people post pretty good numbers on the SOS manifold >400whp, but I was weighing all the options and figured even with the headaches of a top mount (battery relocation/ac line relocation) it's hopefully worth it. Why I wanted a turbo? Well honestly I want to drive the car on the street a bit more and let's be honest, it's slow in a straight line. Target is ~350whp on 7-8 psi, which should be fun. I will be doing mods so that it can hopefully be fairly reliable for track days as well. I have no plans to be competitive but just keep running hpde's and have fun. The SOS v mount, trackspec hood vents, header wrap the downpipe and a turbo blanket should hopefully keep temps in check.
If anyone has any advice/suggestions I'm all ears. I really like Jason's build in the FI forum. I guess mine will be similar in some aspects. He's been very helpful with suggestions/advice. Big thanks to Khiem as well.
Not too much going on now, just taking things apart waiting for more parts to arrive. I'll probably get the new clutch (ACT PP/stock disc) installed before the turbo stuff arrives.
Another thing I'm debating is a wing setup. I picked up a spare trunk lid and universal apr gtc200 from a local a couple years ago that's been passed around between mid atlantic s2k owners. At first the plan was to just reinforce the trunk lid, but after more thought I think the wing should be mounted more centered in the trunk lid and not on the rear edge. It makes it very difficult to weld some extra reinforcements on the rear edge of the trunk (due to the curvature and the big spaces between the outter skin and inner framing). So.. that leads me to the decision.. should I keep the universal gtc200 and remount it and reinforce the trunk lid (I will weld in some supports), or get a different wing entirely like the voltex ebay replica? I'm borrowing a friend's mig welder so I can patch holes/reinforce the spare trunk lid myself. If anyone wants to throw in their 2 cents please do. I'm thinking with the trackspec front vents I will need some sort of wing. Here are some pictures of the trunk lid and wing. It was mounted too far rearward imo. The trunk lid got a little bent but it's not for a show car, and I can pretty it up a bit.
If you're going turbo, you'll want a bigger wing with more down force. Ebay replica, GT250, or 9livesracing are all good options. I'd stick with a 2D wing profile and mount the wing higher up in clean air. You only really need a 3D wing if it's mounted low below the roof line.
If you're going turbo, you'll want a bigger wing with more down force. Ebay replica, GT250, or 9livesracing are all good options. I'd stick with a 2D wing profile and mount the wing higher up in clean air. You only really need a 3D wing if it's mounted low below the roof line.
Thanks BW appreciate your input. While I did want to try out the GTC200, ultimately better to just get things better dialed in from the get go than having to change out the wing later. The ebay replica seems to be pretty popular and perform well.
Another big question mark is the oil cooler. I have removed the Mishimoto oil cooler (seemed like a solid kit for an NA car) and am looking at piecing together my own oil cooler setup. One thought is to mount the oil cooler underneath one of the headlights. Downside to this is I obviously lose the brake ducts. I'm going to see if I can get some replacement ducts similar to the ones Khiem made in the motoiq article and remove the wasp ducts.
For the oil cooler, I guess I will go poking around on some other forums for EVOs/STIs to see what they're running. If one of the ap2 bumper ducts feeds the oil cooler that should provide decent airflow to the oil cooler. This leaves one bumper duct unused which my OCD side is slightly bothered by but with the turbo mounted up high and the v mount I don't think I could route the passenger side duct as an intake for the turbo. I have to do some research and some thinking..
Well looks like change of plans and I will likely just stick with the 19 row Mishimoto oil cooler. I already have it, it seems to work fine, so might as well try it out and see how it does. At most all I'd be able to fit is a 25 row underneath the headlight, which I'm sure would help, but I can always change it later if it's a big problem. One thought is does anyone use any specific ducting to direct airflow through the oil cooler? I saw Baero sells an under headlight duct but it looks like it's meant to be mounted to a splitter. Anyone run it by chance? I guess I'll try to seal up airflow around the oil cooler so it forces air through the cooler rather than going around.
A first for me.. I cleaned the engine bay. I should've done it sooner! Nice not to rest my hand somewhere and have grime all over my hand. You can also see where I have some minor damage up front from bumping a wall on Shenandoah years ago. I thought about getting it fixed as a couple things are slightly out of alignment but maybe down the road. I also pulled my pole position seat and checked the BC welds and they look good. Maybe the older rails were more problematic? While I have it out, I might add a few small welds in a couple spots for piece of mind.
Here's a shot from November after washing it. Car looks clean and stockish. It's going to pain me a bit to cut the hood and install the trackspec vents.
08-20-2018, 08:47 AM
It's nice to have a "regular" car again. For the price ($13k) I think they're a steal for what you get. I didn't consider a 335 because they have a lot more problems than the NA 6. The NA 6 is plenty for putzing around town. I didn't consider the F30 because I much prefer an NA 6 over the turbo 4, and I actually don't like the F30 overall as much. Here's a shot after it got detailed.
Big thanks to Khiem as well.
I thought about getting it fixed as a couple things are slightly out of alignment but maybe down the road. I also pulled my pole position seat and checked the BC welds and they look good. Maybe the older rails were more problematic? While I have it out, I might add a few small welds in a couple spots for piece of mind.
