The Money Pit!

[xd_01]

Here Im starting to pull HVAC and passenger side airbag. Got the dash off and started unbolting the dash bar, center piece, steering column, unplugging lots of wires and holding clips.



Got the blower and heater core out finally and just have to pull the sound deadening off and make some cover for the leftover holes in the firewall and then I can start putting everything back.



Made some covers out of sheet metal.



cut off some brackets that held the passenger side airbag. I probably could've left them but just the thought of somebody hutting there head on these in an accident made me chop them off.



Another shot of the mess.



Dash back on.



Now I have plenty of room to work on the engine harness when I delete the Boomslang harness.



Also made an extra bracket to hold the ECU pocket to center dash supports to keepit from flopping around.



And heres a couple from Summit Point back in August. I also got some video from last weekend at VIR but I still have to upload it.

[wetamup2k3g]

Looking good as usual bro! Lots of work, wiring makes my eyes cross.

[8thLS6]

Taking a dash out is a task I hope I never have to take on, let alone wiring lol. I'm guessing the HVAC and air bag out is a nice lil weight reduction?

[greddy]

car looks great, nice work on the sunroof delete and the HVAC removal. Are your water temps still around 220 or have you been having any cooling issues?

[xd_01]

Thanks everybody, the dash and HVAC removal is actually really easy, just time consuming since you have to take apart so much stuff. The dash bar and center support don't actually get removed for the heatercore to come out just have pull it out of the way about 3-5" and the steering column yout just have to let rest on the seat. The wiring tells you were it goes if you can believe that lol, its bends are shaped to were the plugs connect. After sitting that way for years it kinda becomes permenet but you can always label them too.

No coolant issues so far but I haven't any real flyer laps. Next season Ill have all the safety equipment in so maybe I can grow some balls and go 10/10's lol. Maybe Ill have some overheating issues after that.

[greddy]

so whats your average temps that you get up to? 220?

[xd_01]

Yea 220 ish. What sort of temps are you getting?

[6G72gearhead]

Looks great as usual man, any idea at what the car weighs in at currently? I know adding cage will certainly bump it back up a couple hundred lbs.

I've been out with timing belt issues the back half of my season, its all figured out now, just a little bit late.

[greddy]

Did you end up using a 10mm spacer up front for the enkeis to clear?

[xd_01]

Man i forgot to get it weighed at the track last time. Im going to the track next weekend for the season finale so hopefully i can get it weighed then. There not running any race classes except for TT so they might not break out the scales. Worst case ill ask the cage shop if they have scales, maybe they can hook me up before the install the cage.

Iam running 10mm spacers up front for the rpf1's to clear the brembos. They come with stud extenders or what ever you call them that go in the spacers but i already have extended ARP studs installed so i didnt have to mess with that stuff. If your thinking of getting those wheels i would definetly go witb the ARP extended studs.

[greddy]

I'm trying to decide between the 17x9+22 and the 17x8.5 +30. I dont like the idea of an offset if 12 up front it stresses the hubs and dulls steering feel but increases overall grip especially since I run 255s.

[xd_01]

yea I hear ya but I haven't had any issues yet, steering feels good and bearings get beat on when cornering anyhow. I check the bearings for play before and during an event. I guess its tradeoff in a way just have to stay on top of your wear and tear items.

[6G72gearhead]

Yeah, run high quality bearings and they'll give you about the best longevity you're going to get. I run a 255 on an 8.5 with a +35mm offset, of course I don't have my Brembo's on yet to worry about clearance. I can certainly say a 9" width on a 255 would be ideal.

xd_01, does that low of an offset effect your steering response at all?

Are you guys running the wheel studs for the EVO from ARP?

[xd_01]

you know i cant really make a comparison on the steering response because its been years since I actually drove this car on the old setup which was RPF1's 17x8 +35mm on 225 wide tires. Well not years, in 2011 I had it on track with the fresh evo swap for a lap and half before the cam gear adjuster bolt backed out and shredded the crank trigger sensor and before that it was in 09' before I took the car off the road to start work on the swap. I ran that set up for a couple of events when I was starting out. If there is a difference I haven't noticed yet. im still pretty new to this so when im driving im more focused on traffic, looking ahead, hitting my marks, and staying on track so if there is a delay in steering I must have adapted to it by turning in earlier with out even knowing it.

the 2014 season im moving up to the advanced group which is pass anywhere on track with a point by, in my intermediate group where only allowed to pass in a few straight aways. that well bring a whole new level to the game for me, being on track with guys that are about to go for their competion and TT licenses is gonna be a whole new world. my goal in the '14 season is to get faster and learn to tune things like sway bars, spring rates, dampening adjustments, camber and notice thins like steering response. although if there is a difference in steering response I have to compensate for it somehow if I wanna keep running these wheels im just gonna have to consider it a trade off. But like I said before steering feels good for now.

[greddy]

I know with my miata lower offsets really dull the steering feel the same has happened in other cars I've had the pleasure of driving at the track. I currently run a 255rs3 on 17x8.5 +30 type c for my track setup just considering going back to a 17x9 but the only ones I really like are the rpf1s. Btw advanced group is great and if you get your TT license it's open passing everywhere without a point by. That's the rules up here in the pacnw with NASA time trials. Super fun plus you win tires.

[xd_01]

Yea im looking forward to it although my car may not be that competive in tt because with all the mods i have i will probaly be thrown in into the tt 2 with all the corvettes. Well see

[xd_01]

So I finally edited the video from VIR using a editing program my pops sent me. Over the summer I was shopping for cameras so I searched all reviews on Contour vs. Go Pro and settled on the Contour Roam2 since it has the same quality and is easier to work and cheaper. I used their software to upload automatically to Vimeo which made things easy but guess what, their out of business and took all that software down. So now I cant shorten my videos and post them so my pops hooked me up with that program and its all good now but if you ever consider to buy one of what ever cameras they have left, don't.

Heres my vid from VIR, it was a lot of fun but rained most of the day. Morning session was raining, 2nd was dry and last was dry till the last couple of laps. Heres the last session, cant wait to go back next year and try to be faster!!

[Black8GV6]

Looks like fun, one day I want to take a car around a track. I like that red strap that the passenger holds on to, some people say my car needs those. Do you like the shifter that height?

[6G72gearhead]

How do your tires do in the rain? That's one thing I've managed to miss is having events in the rain.

[xd_01]

the shifter height is nice, I like have my hand close to the steering wheel.

These tires are pretty good in the rain, I slid a little bit (not on purpose) without spinning out a couple of times but im sure I would've spun around if I was going a little faster. I was careful the first few laps then I gained some speed after I got more comfortable. Rain is supposed to be real helpful when your starting out cause you break grip at lower speed and you learn what to feel for when your tires have reached there limit. Last time it rained my instructor had me sawing the wheel in tight corners to break grip on purpose to learn the feel. Doing that exercise actually helps you to build confidence in these situations.