Sloppy Mechanics

JWT vs Enthalpy ECU comparison

"Not bad" for a Junkyard Car

I'm not sure about you guys, but this car certainly doesn't look like its' got anymore than about 100 whp lol. I love it.

 

Part 6 v1- Suspension Obsession

Well, it's on the home stretch now. The lower housings, courtesy of Richard F, have finally arrived. While this would seem to imply that the car would be off it's golden jackstands...well, half true. I learned an important lesson today, and that is 'make sure you inspect everything you order online'. While I did go and check out the first two 'kits' from Ground Control, I neglected to look at the last 2...and go figure, the coilover tubes and adjustment nuts are wrong. F ME. Well, if it wasn't for bad luck at times, I wouldn't have any at all right?

Aside from that minor setback (Monday they will be there), everything else is buttoned up, and ready to go. I'll be aligning the car Monday as well, just to keep it all nice (lets hope weather is nice nice).

So here is the last part (well, first half of the last part) of the puzzle that is, the 240 suspension. Is it a lot of work to do this all? Yes. Are off the shelf coilovers available? Yes. BUT this is darn near the perfect setup for our cars, this side of completely custom everything. I'll live with this. Infinite adjustability, rebuild ability, and custom built. Screw JDM crap.

Custom Lower Housings, for the 8611's in the Front,

...and 8610's in the rear

Upper plates with the correct inner bushings that came with the Konis. Let it be known, that T3 plates also come with the correct inner bushing, but the Koni hardware had a slightly larger main shaft part, as well as a top.

And the Tein Pillowball mounts, with brass bushing

And lastly, the Ground Control setup

Tube and Spring:

With Vorshalg TopHat

With T3 plate

Here is the 8611 in the front housing, with gland nut secure and coilover tube. Remember to loctite the gland nut.

And finally here is the assembled front product. Again, use a small dab of loctite on the upper nut as well.

I'll have the back complete come Monday, and then it should all be on the ground and read to go. Lets hope I have no issues, as I can't wait!

Part 5- Suspension Obsession

Another short update:

With all things track related, heat retention, and heat dissipation are two major concerns for any car. Keep to much in, and face nuclear meltdown in the engine bay - release to much and while you keep things cool, you don't keep the turbo lit.

The master cylinder on any 240 is 'in the wat' -- that is, its' always near direct turbocharger heat, and as a result, always fighting the high temps. To help combat that, I decided a 'shield' was a worthwhile mod to create, and to implement. I also chose to wrap some of the basic parts in gold leaf reflective tape to help regulate heat control.

So without ado, here are some pics of the mock up, and finished result

Mock  up

Test fitting, and after sandblasting:

After media blasting, and riveting

I will be spraying the backside with BBQ paint, and coating the front with more gold left. Lets hope this keeps brake fluid temps under control!

Part 4 - Suspension Obsession

In 240-land, a popular upgrade for the rear suspension involves swapping out the crusty heavy cast iron rear 'uprights' (essentially the hub assembly, where all the suspension points bolt too) for the nice and light cast aluminum ones from a z32 chassis 300zx. At nearly 8 lbs a side of unsprung weight, it's a decent 'upgrade', that typically will only set you back 40-50 dollars shipped for both.

For s13's, this is a bolt in affair -- everything lines up as it should, no binding amongst any parts and even the 4 lug hub bolts into the upright (if the owner doesn't want to swap to 5 lug right away). You will need to swap the lower coilover/shock mount to a for style, but that is easy-peezy. All is fine and dandy here, however the same isn't 100% true for s14s. While all the points remain the same, where the biggest 'issue' lays is how the rear strut actually lines up with the upright. Being that their line isn't exactly on, the strut will constantly be fighting against itself in relation to the mounting.

TO combat this issue, Zilvia and NRR member Def (jacob) has released his "DefWorks" rear upright spherical bearing. This allows the owner to swap the stock bushing for a superior mounting solution, that will actually allow s14 owners to have a 'kosher' rear setup, that is, without worry of bending/busting a rear coilover.

Instalation is very easy: Just press out the factory junk, and press these in. YOu can use a traditional press for this, or a ball joint tool. Being that I had already swapped this out for ES poly bushings (as these weren't available at the point in time) I opted to use the ball joint tool as everything was already bolted up. Press the center bushing out first, and then follow my pressing the ES bushing itself. If the stock stuff is in, just press out the entire OE sleeve as a unit. You may need some heat to help with this process if pressing the factory parts out. Install is reverse of the removal, just press the new pieces back in, and you're all done. Winner winner, chicken dinner.

So here are some pics of the bearings unassembled, and then in the car. Super simple piece, but functional as well. Win win for me.

Part 3 - Suspension Obsession

Call me naive, but I can say I was officially bitten by the FFF bug. I typically look at everything on forums as an example; that is, not as a 'how to' but more of an informal source of information that I can use towards fixing/improving my car. I don't mean to sound any more arrogant that I usually am, but I'm pretty adept around cars -- I can essentially do anything (this side of rebuilding transmissions, screw them) and everything I want with my car.

So while looking for a way to improve the structural rigidity of my cheap japanese car's tinker toy subframe, I came across a thread about foam filling it. Now, I've seen such things before, typically in regard to rockers, or inner unibody voids, but never a subframe. Much like any car of this configuration, the subframe is a nicely formed/stamped piece of metal that is hollow. Regardless of it being firmly mounted to the chassis, it is something that can certainly bend under stress, and at the same time transmit noise from the differential into the cabin. Because of these two issues, the Foam especially appealed to me as it would fill the subframe void, while at the same time increasing surface area, which would help absorb sound/vibration. Double win: Stiff Subframe and I can crank Celine Dion without hearing the driveline of the car.

So I read a few threads, and find out that the US Composites Structural Foam kit, in 8:1 variety was the best bet. The Coast Guard requires 2:1 for their boats, so this 8:1 would be more that sufficient for my subframe (but then again, I don't' plan on taking it swimming). By the 'members' comments it would become very hard, but remain plyable to a degree. This seemed great as it would add a great deal of rigitdy (8 to 1) while not becoming like burnt noodles on the bottom a lasagna pan. I order their 16 lb kit, of 8:1 stiffness and went to town.

Now, back to the FFF aspect of things. They all wrote that it was 'easy' and 'no issues'...which was 9/10 true. What they forgot to mention was the 'mess' that this stuff created. Certainly i knew there would be a mess - something that never/does not bother me. BUT in the same regard, i was not expecting anything like the mess that expanding foam creates. After completing the foam project, I will say the following

1. Make sure you ahve some sort of sheeting down to keep the garage clean. I used big pallett sheets. this stuff makes a mess

2. Ensure you have a heat source on the foam. It says it 'works best' at 80 degrees - they don't like. I had the garage at 70 degrees, and until I directed the kero bullet heater onto it, it didnt' expand as it should

3. Don't make more than you need, as it will foam out and all over. If you only need a little bit, make less. Any 'extra' is just wasted.

All in all, it was a great learning experience, and a worthwhile mod. I suggest anyone to do this, if they have sub frame out of the car. It's a no brainer. Rigidity, sound deadening, and cheap - perfect combo.

The Kit I used

It finds itself eveywhere!

Slight Mess

Looks good here, but look at the joint - amazing stuff!

Luckily it 'breaks off' the subframe easily. Thankfully.

All done, and re undercoated

Thank you cargo edition Maxima!

Part 2 - Suspension Obsession

Well, all is coming back together slowly but surely. The joys of waiting for parts right? Somedays it would be easier to have started with a Fox Body ya know? Oh well, live and Learn.

Suspension Fascination Part 1 (of many)

• Assemble a real suspension (Koni 8611, Richards Custom Housings, Ground Control Coilver setup, etc etc)
• Poly Bushings in all mounts, and grease fittings
• New Subframe Bushings (milled lower)
• Box in Lower Arms
• Create my own Power brace, in conjunction with a Jonnie Fraz Tension Brace
• New FLCA with QA1 bearings (roll center correction
• Extra Capacity Diff Cover
• Front Mounted Steering Cooler
• New Rear Traction Arms
• etc etc etc