Cliff Notes: I bought a new '06 STI on November 2006 with the intention of making it a race car one day. I finally started seriously working on it winter of 2010 and this is a journal of that experience. Hope you enjoy! Table of Contents: Pre-2011 History Blown Motor Re-Build 2012 Racing Update #1 1st Time Out on New Motor Installing Suspension and Brake Upgrades (I now have Brownbo's) 2012 Racing Update #2 Oil Cooler Time 2012-13 Winter Work/Upgrades/Updates Personal Best Laps and Sessions Race Motor Update – First Birthday AP Racing Track BBK - 325 x 32MM Trailer Bitc* and Exhaust Time! Aftermarket Fuel System and Custom Trunk Firewall Hydroplaning + Concrete Wall = Trouble .
Now that I'm more experienced on how to use forums and moving on to the next stage of my car, I thought it might be good to start a new thread. Here is some history: 01/08/2011 - I have a '06 STI that I bought new from Gary at Subaru of Gwinnett back in November 2006. I tried to keep my car as close to stock as possible until the warranty was mostly finished and I got another daily driver. I'm glad to say that I bought a daily driver last month (December 2010) so the work on the STI has begun. I want to give a little back drop on how I got to the current state of my car before I get into the long list of what I would like to do. The first thing I did was buy the STI with no options, silver with silver rims. The two things I had installed (almost within a month) was a SPT short shifter and the Subaru under-seat sub-woofer. I drove my car around like this until it was broken in. I changed the oil, then went to a BMW HPDE at Road Atlanta. Boy was that fun, but my shoulders and arms were sore from trying to keep my body upright through the turns during the weekend. Also, I had to press the brakes too hard to get the car to slow down enough preparing for turns. So, the next things that I bought were a harness bar from eBay, 5-point harnesses, stainless steel brake lines, and Hawk HP+ pads. I went to two more BMW HPDE at Road Atlanta that year and that set-up suited me well enough for 3 years and a total of 8 HPDE with the BMW and Porsche clubs at Road Atlanta. I would have liked to do more with the car, but I ended up buying a foreclosure home and spent most of my money and time on it during 2009 and 2010. The only things I really did during this time was strip out of the back seat/seat belts, radio, speakers, and door cards. I also installed a LiteSpeed rear chassis brace. That pretty much takes us up to when I bought my daily driver - except for having to replace the whole driver's side of the car after hitting the inside tire wall at turn 7 in summer 2008 at Road Atlanta. Definitely learned a lot from that experience, like two tires in the wet grass and two on asphalt around a sharp turn will spin the car. All-wheel drive or not. Here are some pics of the carnage: Front: Side: 01/09/2011 - I forgot to mention that I have a Cobb AP v1 with a stage 1 tune loaded into the car. This was to get the car performing how it should have been from the factory. No more hesitation between 2-3.5K RPM and a little more power. So, December 2010 I bought a used '10 Ford Focus. I did this for many reasons: 1. So I could turn my STI into a dedicated weekend/track car 2. The Focus is actually a fun car to drive and should last a while 3. To get better gas mileage 4. To be able to use regular gas at the pump 5. Cheaper insurance, almost the same price for two cars than just the STI (I thought it would be less overall with both cars, but when I got my bill this month it wasn't - time to work on that) Back to the STI. I took out the glove box, who would have guessed that it weighs almost 6 lbs. But attached to the back is what looks to be the ECU, so I need to find a good way to mount it. And I'm not sure if it needs to be mounted to plastic (not grounded to metal). I'll be posting that and other things in the technical forum... Installed an Autometer 3 gauge cluster pod on the A-pillar with boost, oil pressure, and oil temperature gauges. This was a little more involved than I expected installing gauges to be. Running the wires and hoses, installing the sensors, and mounting the gauges took my friend and I almost a full day to complete! However, the gauges look and work great. My parents are awesome and got me a set of used Hoosier R6s (245/40-17) for my car. I haven't used them yet, but I'm guessing that I'll have use slicks at the track now. I probably won't be able to go back to a high performance street tire $$ . Next, I installed a RCE Kool brake kit and put some NASCAR blowers on the hoses to get enough cool air to the brakes. This was quite a chore to do too as I retained most of the dust/heat shield, ran the hose and wiring. I ended up just having the duct work an blowers right underneath the car near the wheel well instead of running them to the fog light area. It looked like it would be a major pain in the butt for me to run them all the way up front. I'll wait until I start stripping things out of the engine bay to reassess this. Also, I'm flushing the brake system (like I do every year) with better brake fluid this time. I'm using ATE Blue so that I can make sure I get all the old fluid out and have a higher boiling point. I'll look at using Motul 600 if the ATE doesn't cut it this year. So, a little bit about the HPDEs that I attend. I have managed to progress in the BMW CCA to group B and Group 3 in the PCA. My goal is to become an instructor eventually and take some people around the track with me. I know it is an eye opening experience for anyone who hasn't been in a very fast car with a very fast driver. Some people love it and for others once is enough. That catches us up to January 2011. 01/16/2011 - So, here is the list of things that I plan or want to do in rough order. My overall goal is better safety and handling over more power. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions with the list or order of the list. Upgrades to consumables: 1. Better brake pads (have Hawk HP+ now) - looking at Hawk Blue or DTC-70. Any recommendations here? DONE - Carbotech XP12 and XP 10s, then XP20s front, and now Endless ME20s 2. Better rotors - DBA 4000. I've seen some people recommend Auto Zone rotors, but I'm not sure if they would hold up on the track...DONE - Just went stock, they last so long and can find used ones that have plenty of life left cheap... 3. Lighter weight flywheel once the clutch needs to be replaced Found out this isn't good on these cars... Upgrades to the Car: 1. Remove A/C - Actually decided to keep this in - the southeast gets too hot 2. Front strut tower brace - Found out that this really isn't necessary on this car 3. Front splitter - I'm now scared of speed bumps when the car is lowered... we will see 4. Larger rear diffuser Have an ARP ABS one, but haven't put on yet 5. Welded in roll-cage and new racing seats (driver and passenger) - any recommendation on where to get the roll-cage installed would be appreciated. Also taking out the airbag system in this step.DONE - Thank you Robinson Racing for your awesome fabrication skillz / Sparco Pro2000 and OMP Seats 6. Upgraded suspension (coil-overs, beefier cowl stays, camber plates, ALK, sway bars, rear control arms, and 4 corner balancing).Racecomp Engineering Tarmac 2s w/ GTWorx Camber Plates / TIC Fender Braces / Whiteline Race ALK / Whiteline 24mm Sway Bars (F/R on stiffest setting) / waiting on 4 corner balancing $$$ for not much of a time difference 7. Replace intake and exhaust systems. Also getting a stage 2 Protune at the same time, but not too aggressive. I would like to maintain some reliability and keep heat in check. Invidia Downpipe and Borla Exhaust sounds so good... / TopSpeed Motorsports Protune 8. Lightweight battery whenever my red-top Optima battery craps out (which will probably be a while) 9. Replacing steel car parts with carbon fiber to lessen weight - maybe. 02/16/2011 - So, back to letting you know what I've been doing to my car lately. I bought a couple of parts from members of this site. First was a new seat, a Sparco Pro 2000. I like how I'm a little lower in the car, it holds me in, and I can feel the car better. I also like the fact that I have a submarine belt that actually comes up throught the seat! I can't wait to see how much better it will hold me in place on the track, especially with my stickier tires. Second was a set of Carbotech XP12 brake pads for the front and XP10 for the back. Since I already made so many changes to the car since the last time I have been out on the track and I just put on a brand new set of HP+ brake pads on a month ago, I'll wait to put these on after the event. I'm thinking next on the list is safety; a HANS restraint and a welded in roll-cage top that list. 05/04/2011 - Quick update. I got my car back from Robinson Racing and they did a GREAT job on the roll cage (pics below). The bends and welds are top notch and also very tightly fitted (can't get that from a kit...). Only problem is that my DCCD is giving me error codes now and I don't think you can re-set/fix it without the expensive computer thinngy. Are there any good garages near Buckhead/Midtown? I might have to go to the Alpharetta area if not... Regardless, I'll have to wait until I get my padding delivered and installed before I drive it on the street again. 06/09/2011 - The car performed great with the new cage, even though the DCCD wasn't working at Road Atlanta this past weekend with the Porsche club. Here is the best video from the weekend. About a minute and a half into it I get passed by a Lambo, so make sure you are somewhere you can turn up the volume because it has some exhaust work done on it... 201106pca_Sun1.mpg - YouTube Enjoy!
11/20/2011 - I haven't updated this thread in a while, but I broke my car, so I wanted to let everyone know what I've been doing to her up to this point. This summer I did a lot to the car. I had the following installed at TopSpeed Motorsports: Moroso V2 Aluminum Oil Pan ARP Wheel Studs Moroso Air/Oil Separator Invidia Catted DP Borla XR-1 Cat Back Very Conservative and Smooth Road Racing Tune GrimmSpeed EBCS I installed the following myself: Whiteline 24mm Sway Bars - Front and Rear (stiffest setting) Kartboy Endlinks Whiteline Racing ALK Titanium Brake Shims Modified My Racing Seat for Correct Position of Shoulder Belts Padded the roll cage Intake Air Silencer Delete GrimmSpeed Master Cylinder Brace I had an alignment done at GTE. I enjoyed going there as they let you hang out with the tech and your car while they explain what they are doing... It's amazing what a good alignment will do (mostly due to getting the most negative camber out of the stock suspension as you can). I broke a couple of things on Saturday at the MVP track event: 1. I broke 1:45 at the track (my dad said he timed a 1:42, but we will see after I review the videos). 2. I broke my car. Lots of oil being burned through the tailpipe on startup and under load. Don't feel comfortable driving it all the way home Thank you Cicio for offering to tow my car from the track to TopSpeed Motorsports. Hopefully, we can get this car fixed and ready for another 5-10 years of hard racing without me having to get a second mortgage (if you can even do that anymore). I only had three sessions before the car broke (two on street tires and one on R-compounds). So bummed that I won't be driving the rest of the weekend; the car felt so good, like good enough to hit 1:40 - 1:41... 11/22/2011 - Here is my video (using Harry's Lap Timer on my old iPhone 3GS) of the last session my car was able to run... Pretty eventful session. Broke my car, turned a 1:43, and passed a Lamborghini Aventador around 5:50 in the video... The g sensor turns yellow above .9Gs and red above 1.1Gs. The beeping was set to 6,200 rpms on the tach. Enjoy! 201111 RA MVP 3 - YouTube 11/27/2011 - Found out that two cylinders aren't holding compression very well... Looks like it is time for a motor rebuild. I'm trying to figure out if I can swing getting a new turbo (Blouch Dom 1.5) at the same time since I'll have to get the car re-tuned anyway (and it would be awesome). I'll be working on getting everything lined up this week, so I'll post some updates when I figure out what's going on. 01/18/2012 - At TopSpeed Motorsports getting a new race motor built, new turbo, and new clutch put into the car. Here are the details of what I am getting done: TopSpeed RR1 Engine Subaru Performance Water Pump New Springs and Retainers for the Heads Valve Job ACT 6 Puck Sprung Clutch Kit w/ Heavy Duty Pressure Plate TopSpeed Motorsports Break-In and Race Tune (looking to target 350 awhp) Moroso Oil Accumulator Blouch DOM 1.5XT-R Turbo (heat coated hot side) Deatsch Werks Side Feed 850cc Injectors Walbro Fuel Pump Perrin Turbo Inlet Hose Here are some pics of the car getting disassembled: No Motor: The Old Motor: Interior 1: Interior 2: Interior 3: 02/22/2012 More updates on my build at TopSpeed Motorsports. I was hoping to have this build done in time for my first event March 3rd and 4th. This is my second time dealing with specialty after-market parts. The first time wasn't fun and spent more than 75% of my time getting the parts acquired (calling, tracking, getting ETAs, then calling again...). Looks like more of the same this time. We want to get this build done right the first time and not rush things so if the car isn't done in time, I'm okay with that. Here are some pictures of the parts that will be going on my car: DOM 1.5 Turbo w/ Heat Coating on the Hotside: Clutch: Accumulator: 03/02/2012 At TopSpeed Motorsports again. The motor is in and will be getting a break-in tune soon. They will be breaking the motor in on the Dyno next week and then re-tuning for the full on race tune after. Can't wait Here are some photos of the new motor:
Thanks! Yea, you are right. I'm thankful that I can participate at the level that I do. Not having kids or a wife also allows you to spend money where you want to... Using a new OEM oil pump. The accumulator set-up will help keep oil pressures from sagging/dropping and spiking. Would really like a dry-sump set-up... just waiting on a sponsor to give me one, so I'll be waiting a while
If you bring me your oil pump Ill port it for you, they need to be torn a part and checked, some of the 11mm pumps have a bur in the bypass that will make it hang open. I take all of them apart and check them. Regardless of if you have me port it or not I would have someone take the pump apart and check it. Matt
Breaking in the car this week and will hopefully take final delivery of it next week. I'm looking forward to getting her back out on the track! I'll be making a huge review/update after my Porsche club event later this month. Stay tuned...
2012 Racing Update #1 Here is my first racing update of 2012: Last year was a busy year. I finally did more than 3 track events in a year – I attended 5. I also advanced to the best run group in the BMW and Porsche Club (well, second best in the Porsche club since my car doesn’t have enough power to be in group 5, yet…). Unfortunately, I also blew my motor at the end of the season. If interested, here are some videos from the last three events of the year: August 2011 Porsche HPDE at Road Atlanta: 201108_RA_PCA_Sun3.mpg - YouTube 201108_RA_PCA_Sun4.mpg - YouTube September 2011 BMW HPDE at Road Atlanta: 201109 RA BMW 1 - YouTube 201109 RA BMW 2 - YouTube November 2011 MVP Track Time at Road Atlanta - this is the session where I blew my motor, nothing spectacular, just oil starvation that killed compression in two cylinders. I had a new exhaust (which you can hear the difference) and a tune installed on the car. The g-force meter turns yellow at .9 Gs and red at 1 G. The tach was set to beep at 6500 rpm: 201111 RA MVP 3 - YouTube I’m excited for what this year might bring. I have partnered with a great shop here in Atlanta (TopSpeed Motorsports) and they were able to give me a little sponsorship. I hope this relationship grows into something larger than it is right now. They are currently fixing/upgrading my car and putting one of their race motors, aftermarket turbo, racing clutch, oil accumulator, and supporting modifications to make this a true race car. I hope this set-up will last me many more years. Also, I’ll be installing a new coil-over suspension myself in April and can’t wait to see how much of a difference it makes. I’ve heard it is night and day. I plan on attending as many events as my wallet will allow and hope to become a driving instructor soon. With that said, here are the events that I’m trying to attend this year as long as my bank account and car survive. Let me know if you want to come check one out. Please remember that this is a tentative list. I might end up attending more or less or changing the events I go to, but this is what I have so far: March 23rd, 24th, and 25th – Porsche at Road Atlanta June 2nd and 3rd – Porsche at Road Atlanta September 22nd and 23rd – Chin Motorsports at Barber Motorsports Park September 29th and 30th – Chin Motorsports at Road Atlanta or Porsche at Atlanta Motorsports Park October 13th and 14th – BMW at Atlanta Motorsports Park October 27th and 28th – Porsche at Road Atlanta November 17th and 18th – MVP Track Time at Road Atlanta People have asked me, “Can I ride with you while you are racing?” The answer is maybe… It depends on which club I’m driving with and if you can find a helmet to wear. Also, I don’t have a passenger-side airbag, so ride at your own risk! Here is the breakdown: Porsche – No ride alongs allowed, even with instructors BMW – Ride alongs allowed ONLY with instructors, for free. SA2005/M2005 or newer rated helmet required. I’m not an instructor yet, but hope to be soon However, this is the club I’ve been driving with the most, so I know a lot of the instructors and can probably get you a ride. Also, we can probably find an extra helmet… Chin – Yes, but you have to pay $20 to get a wristband. SA2005/M2005/K2005 or newer rated helmet required. MVP – Yes, for free. Last year they didn’t check the helmets so a SA2005/M2005 or newer rated helmet should be okay. Let me know if you have any questions.
1st Time Out on New Motor First a big thank you to TopSpeed Motorsports for putting together an incredible package. It took a little longer than expected, but that seems to be the norm in this industry The motor is smooth and power is predictable enough to throttle steer through the turns. I had them put a VERY conservative road race tune on the car. I want the motor to last a while and I also didn't want crazy power and have to upgrade the entire brake system... Here is a dyno chart of the new motor (peak boost is ~19-20 psi on my AutoMeter gauge): This motor was set-up a little 'loose' since it will mostly see track duty and I only ended up going through half a quart of oil after racing 3.5 hours at Road Atlanta. I was consistently hitting 1:44 laps even while taking it easy on the back and front straight. Here is a session off of the TraqMate that TopSpeed Motorsports let me borrow - thank you!! I had to name the extension .doc to upload here, so please change to .tqm if you want to see it in the free Traqview software: View attachment 22294 Videos to come soon... UPDATED 7/9/2012 - Here are the videos: My last session on Saturday Sunday Enduro (Warm Up) There is a brand new Porsche RSR in front of me on this one Sunday Enduro (1st Stint) The RSR starts to race and eventually laps me… GT3 Drifting in front of me around turn 6 and 7 Sunday Enduro (2nd Stint) Now that I have a TraqMate system, it has this cool thing where you can put together the best user-defined segments from your session and splice the videos segments together automatically creating a theoretical best lap (TBL). That is why the video ‘jumps’ at certain points and a car that was there before is now gone. You probably can’t drive you TBL since you would be traveling at different speeds and the car is at different locations on the track, but it is useful to see how you drove the fastest on segments of the track. Here are some of those videos: My last session on Saturday - TBL Sunday Enduro (1st Stint) - TBL Sunday Enduro (2nd Stint) - TBL
Amen. I try to do all of the work I can. There just isn't enough time in my life to learn how to build a great motor, much less purchase the tools necessary. Plus, when something goes wrong, I want to be able to point a finger . Also, working with shops can be fun and very educational if you pair up with the right one. My car is currently on jack stands in my garage getting a new suspension set-up installed. I'm putting on RCE T2s with 600/500 springs, upgrading the rear differential mount bushings, rear sub-frame lock down kit, TiC front fender braces, and I'll be making/installing a custom forced brake cooling kit to the front brakes. Hopefully, I'll be done in a month so I can post pictures, make a through update, and be ready for my June event with PCA at Road Atlanta.
Awesome build, I'm pretty sure I have seen your car at RA a few times and it looked pretty quick! Keep up the good work and I will make sure to grab some shots of you on track this season.
Installing Suspension and Brake Upgrades (I now have Brownbo's) I was at Little Talladega in April and found out that my current set-up couldn't handle the track. I boiled my fluid twice and turned my Brembo's brakes into Brownbo's (the paint color went from gold to brown they got so hot). I also tested the difference between a TraqMate and Harry’s Laptimer since I had both and thought that Harry’s was pretty good. It seems like there is a one second delay with Harry’s Lap Timer, but I’m sure there is a way to eliminate that… Here are some videos from the event: Street tires: Little_Talladega 20120407 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81 4 Created-street tires.mp4 - YouTube Slicks: Little_Talladega 20120407 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81-Harrys_vs_TraqMate-on Slicks.mp4 - YouTube Here is what I am currently installing myself before my June HPDE event: RCE T2 Coil Overs TiC Fender Braces TiC Unabomber's Sexy Rearend Fan Forced Brake Cooling Set-Up Castrol SRF Brake Fluid Aluminum Front Bumper Beam I'll just need to set the ride height, then have the alignment done. I'm looking forward to massive negative camber. I'm tired of cording the outside of my R compounds... Here are some pics of the progress Front driver's wheel well: Front Bumper Inside and Outside:
2012 Racing Update #2 June Road Atlanta PCA HPDE This event was cut short by two bolts coming loose on my exhaust manifold. However, I did manage to set my best time yet at Road Atlanta (1:41). The new suspension really, really helps. Now instead of the car feeling like it is going to tip over in the turns, it feels super stiff and planted. In the beginning, I ended up exiting turns in the middle of the track as I wasn’t used to how fast I can now take turns. This was fun, but I’m starting to get tired of the limited passing allowed by PCA. In other clubs, you can either pass anywhere with a point by or no passing just in the esses. Here are some videos from that event (sorry for the jittery video, I was using the iPhone and my car broke before I typically use the better camera to record sessions): Whole session Fastest lap yet Here is my schedule for the rest of the year. If you are interested in watching or participating, let me know: September 8-9, BMW CCA at Road Atlanta October 27-28, PCA at Road Atlanta November 17-18, PCA at VIR or MVP at Road Atlanta OR November 24-25, Chin at Road Atlanta December 8-9, PCA at Barber or Chin at Sebring
Oil Cooler Time With summer heat beating down and having a built motor, a lot of people have recommended I get an external oil cooler. Here are some pics of the oil cooler I selected: It is a Fluidyne High Performance Oil Cooler (DB-30816-24). I'll post pics and test how much the temperature drops when it's installed. Hopefully, I won't see 270 degrees again... Here are some install pics:
2012-13 Winter Work/Upgrades/Updates Been a while since I posted anything. Lots of things going on in my life, but fortunately all of them good Did a few track events over the winter which was a first for me. Fortunately we live far enough south where that doesn't involve snow, although that would probably be fun too... Took care of many maintenance items like replacing 3 axle boots that were slinging grease and other miscellaneous items. The only major thing that I upgraded since the big oil cooler was the front brakes. I was pushing the limits of my stock Brembos and wanted something more race worthy. I also didn't want to buy bigger rims (I have two sets of stock rims) and tires to make 6-piston calipers fit. I ended up going with the AP Racing brake kit that uses the CP8350 caliper and CP3908 rotors since I was sticking to a 4 piston design.
Personal Best Laps and Sessions By track, here are my personal best laps, complete sessions, and theoretical best laps. I will be keeping this post updated when there are new personal bests. Let me know if you would like any of the TraqMate data files. I would be happy to share them ----Atlanta Motorsports Park---- Lap (1:34.6): AMP 20130518 06Subaru_STI Griggs81 6 Created_134.6 - YouTube Session: AMP 20130518 06Subaru_STI Griggs81 6 Created - YouTube TBL (1:32.7): AMP 20130518 06Subaru_STI Griggs81 6 Created-TBL_132.7 - YouTube ----Little Talladega---- Lap : (1:09.362) Session: Little_Talladega 20120407 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81-Harrys_vs_TraqMate-on Slicks.mp4 - YouTube TBL: Little_Talladega 20120407 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81 5 Created Slicks-TBL - YouTube ----Roebling---- Lap (1:23.258): Roebling 20130217 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81 7 Created-123.3 - YouTube Session: Roebling 20130217 06 Subaru STI Griggs81 7 Created - YouTube TBL (1:22.7): Roebling 20130217 06 Subaru STI Griggs81 7 Created TBL - YouTube ----Road Atlanta---- Lap (1:39.182): Road_Atlanta 20130322 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81 4 Created-139.18 - YouTube Session: Road_Atlanta 20130322 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81 4 Created - YouTube TBL (1:38.8): Road_Atlanta 20130322 06_Subaru_STI Griggs81 4 Created-TBL - YouTube
Race Motor Update – First Birthday I’ve put 6k miles on the race motor built by TopSpeed Motorsports and over 2k of those pushing hard at the track (averaging 1:40 lap times at Road Atlanta). I’m happy to report that I have had no issues with the motor. The oil temps never get above 220 even on the hottest of days with the oil cooler set-up. On colder days I actually have block off part of the oil cooler so the oil temps stay warm enough. The motor only burns half a quart of oil at the track during a HPDE weekend. The other half a quart I use during the weekend is emptied out through the air/oil separator. The motor still feels as strong and smooth as the day I got it. I’m looking forward to many more years of hard track use
Went to AMP Last Weekend I've updated post #24 with my results from Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP). I only ran on my R compounds (Nitto NT01s) for two afternoon sessions. The first two in the morning were on my 'rain' tires (Hankook Ventus V12s) since the track was wet. Sunday's sessions were cancelled due to the flooding in Dawsonville, GA. So, I've only had 4, 20 min sessions at AMP so far. Can't wait to see how much faster I can get with a little more practice
AP Racing Track BBK - 325 x 32MM I looked at many different brake kits and took my time thoroughly researching each one. I bought and installed the AP Racing Competition Brake Kit in October 2012 mainly because to fit a 6-piston caliper would require me to get larger wheels and tires. I was surprised how much smaller the AP calipers are than the stock Brembos, but overall, they perform better than the stock ones. The one thing people driving this brake kit on the street should be aware of is the rotors are fully floating, so there is chatter when driving around town. You might think it is one of the drive shafts or bearings making the noise, but it’s not. It’s just the rotors making some noise. To fix that, you can run your stock rotors (or stock spec replacement) if you want to eliminate that chatter (do so at your own risk): Front View: Brake Pad View: Top View: My car is now a dedicated race car, so the extra noise doesn’t bother me. At the time, you could only get the kit with the AP Racing Brake pads. The AP Racing C300 Brake pads that came with it are pretty good and you can get them in the larger radial depth. However, I needed more bite and a higher temperature range. The Hawk DCT-70s fit the bill, but I should have been careful what I wished for. Unfortunately, the pads can be super abrasive if they don't reach the right temperatures and can melt the rotors since the operating temperature of the brake pad is so high (1600 degrees which is higher than the rotor should see, around 1300 degrees surface temp - not throughout the rotor). I have to put on new rotors now since the J-hooks disappeared. I would like to say that I miss-used the rotors by operating them below the DTC-70s minimum operating temperature (http://www.hawkperformance.com/downloads/brochure-road-race.pdf) and above the rotor’s operating temperature (750-1100 degrees http://www.apracing.com/Info.aspx?InfoID=36&ProductID=976). I had one person come up to me after a session at Road Atlanta where I passed him and he told me my rotors were glowing red as I went past him into turn 10a Up close with brake pad: Front 1: Front 2: Another thing I don't like about the Hawks is that they don't make them in the larger radial depth. I’m currently working with Mike at TopSpeed to figure out what pad to use next. Hopefully, the new pads will be aggressive enough to engage the ABS as I cannot seem to do that now with my R-Compounds in a straight line at racing operating temperatures with the DCT-70s. Even before I got my rotors glowing orange I was having trouble keeping the rotors cool enough. I put together a forced air brake cooling kit with two Detmar electric fans, dryer hose, rooducts, brake ducting, and RCE KBK. The Quantum kit wasn’t around when I first bought the RCE KBK. I would also like to note that I retained my stock rotor heat shield after modifying it for the KBK and material off the top so the rotor can evacuate the hot air more effectively. Other than that, everything else is stock: Brake Ducting- Front Left Hub: Front Fan with foam: Front left from fan to dryer duct: Dryer duct from fan to roo duct: Front left front no wheel: Front Right Hub: Dryer Duct from fan to roo duct: Back bumper with fans installed: Rooduct front: Let me know if there are any questions; I would be glad to help.
Trailer Bitc* and Exhaust Time! It has been a while since I've been able to post here and there has been many things going on (all good things thank god). The moment has come. I bought a truck about a year ago and a trailer late last year. De-registered the car and now have special race car insurance. So now I can do whatever I want to the car (except drive it on the public roads)! First step was to remove the cat since I don't have to pass emissions anymore. While I was at it, I decided to ceramic coat and heat wrap the entire exhaust system. It took some time and patience, but the reduced heat transfer into the engine bay and cockpit should be nice. So my set-up is all stock to the turbo, then an Invidia catless downpipe and a Borla XR-1 cat back exhaust system. Man it sounds so good! Had the tune updated since I removed the cat and TopSpeed recommended that I could safely turn up the boost a few PSI. So that is what we did. Not sure of the exact power levels now, but I can feel the power difference without the cat and re-tune. More updates coming soon
seal the front half with the DEI silicon spray. fiberglass will start to breakdown and start flaking off if not sealed.
Brian, I appreciate the concern. From what I understand, DEI doesn't recommend using the silicon spray on their Titanium exhaust wrap (which is the wrap that I used).
Aftermarket Fuel System and Custom Trunk Firewall I’ve been having fuel starvation problems for a while, so when the below custom aluminum fuel system came up for sale at TopSpeed in January, I jumped on it (even though it was overkill for my set-up). It has two Bosch 044 pumps, however, I only run one with the power levels on this car (the other is a spare/backup). For safety, we re-ran the braided fuel lines (supply and return) outside the car except for the part that is in the trunk. However, that part is behind the custom made, removable, aluminum fire-wall. We had to remove the factory fuel pressure regulator and put an aftermarket one in to handle the new fuel load too. Happy to report that I no longer have fuel starvation issues!
Hydroplaning + Concrete Wall = Trouble So, have some bad news to share. First of all, I’m okay. I didn’t have a bump or bruise on me. I would like to thank the helmet, 6-point harness, HANS, racing seat, and 6-point, custom, welded-in cage for keeping me safe. I’m also happy that I took out the airbags so they didn’t smack me. It happened in late March at Road Atlanta entering the esses from turn 4. During turn in, the car wasn’t turning and there wasn’t enough room to correct, pause, and recover before getting onto the grass. So from there out, I knew the concrete wall was coming fast. I put both feet in and tried to relax so I wouldn’t get hurt from being too tense. There was a little smoke, but the safety workers got there very fast and put out the smoke. Unfortunately, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is time to sell the car as a spare parts car or someone looking to take all the good racing parts and put them on their car. Here is the link to the posting: http://wrxatlanta.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35818 Please PM me if you are interested.
Thanks. I was thinking about something with a V8 next, we'll see. I'll have to wait until I sell the car and clear my garage of the parts before I can do anything else.
I'm in the same boat. My suby's given me so much heart ache that a coyote mustang with the track pack looks mighty nice. Glad you're alright and hope you get what you're looking for from the sale.