Build thread

[speedjunkie]

I checked the possible gear oil leak today and there was only a little residue on the side, which could have been left there when I wiped it off. So that's good. I still put some RTV on it anyway, all the way around, just to be safe. I'm gonna drop it back down and probably drive it tomorrow. I'd rather drive it during the day if I can and I might be able to do that tomorrow.

[speedjunkie]

I drove the car today and killed it a couple times. Holy crap the clutch grabs hard and fast lol. I think I'll be swapping back to a single plate that's more streetable at some point. As long as it will hold the torque, and being a rotary I imagine it can. I will say it pulls pretty hard though. And it still has the noise when the clutch pedal is pressed, so I guess that's not going away.

My next steps are adjusting the rod on the clutch pedal so there isn't as much play at the beginning, and taking the UIM back off and cutting the brake booster nipple off. The brakes worked just fine today with the line rerouted so I'm gonna chop it and plug it.

[Shadowden]

Sweet.

Sounds like you are good to go for a while. Have fun driving it!

[speedjunkie]

Ok, I just spent the last 30-45 minutes typing out a reply and for some reason the tab went to it's own page and then trying to fix it somehow it went to the previous page, and Firefox wouldn't let me go to forward to let me see if it still had what I typed. So it's all gone now and I'm FURIOUS. So this won't be as long.

I'll be good for a while if I stop messing with the car lol. I have a few more projects for this winter too, but for right now it's staying as is. I really need to do something about the sideskirt though because now it's really flopping around while I'm driving.

I pulled the brake booster nipple and plugged it tonight.


I also adjusted the clutch pedal pushrod so there is no play anymore, but I didn't take any pics of that.

I forgot to mention I moved the MAP sensor to the rear of the throttle body to get it off the firewall.


And I might need to repaint the firewall so it looks good since now nothing is on it lol.


I checked the coolant level to see if it had dropped and it had just a bit, and then I noticed this leak. I put sealant on the set screw and made sure it was really tight, and then had it powder coated over and it STILL leaked.


And this is what the engine bay looks like now.

[speedjunkie]

I decided to tear down my original driver's seat to see if I could use it without the center padding, and it works GREAT! Granted, I'll have to add SOME padding, but it really isn't crazy uncomfortable without it. My butt sits all the way in the bottom of the seat and I have about 2" of space between the helmet and the roof, and about 3-4" between my head and the roof. So I'm going to take it to an upholsterer (not the lady in Manitou lol) and see about either shaving the stock foam down or having just a little foam put in. I had thought about adding some bolstering for the legs and ribs, but with no foam it's actually not bad. The bottom is all fiberglass anyway, so I'm not sure if I could successfully add it there anyway. The ribs would be doable because those are steel and I could have some pieces welded on to extend them. But I'll see first how much a little foam changes things. I do think the side bolsters need to be shaved down to make more room for my ribs, my torso doesn't sink enough into the back.


You can't really see how low the bottom is to the floor, but it's only about 1cm. Can't get much better than that. Especially since the stock seat sits down between the rails and my butt sinks all the way down into it, so basically I'm sitting right on the floor.




I'm even thinking of having a piece welded into the middle just below the headrest area, that way I can use a harness and not worry about it hurting my neck. And also thinking about cutting the hole for the 5th and 6th pieces of the harness, between the legs. I just need to figure out where to mount it.


This post on 7club shows what another guy was doing last year that's similar and it shows better how close it is to the floor.
http://www.rx7club.com/interior-exterio ... st11930216

[speedjunkie]

I went to Timberline Auto Upholstery tonight with the seat and they quoted me $500 to put foam in the bottom and back and reupholster the seat with black cloth. I might see if I can get my hands on some Alcantara or Ultra Suede and have them use that instead. Then maybe someday I'll get the dash and some interior parts done in it too haha.

[speedjunkie]

I took apart the passenger seat tonight so I can have them do that seat also. If I have a passenger on track they may need the extra space too. Say, if Dave/chickenwafer/Grape Ape rides with me HAHA. Or if someone else drive's the car and I'm in the passenger seat. And I'm keeping the current seats just in case someone who can't fit in the "race" seats rides with me. I had asked Timberline if they could make the cushion removable in case it made me sit too high and they said they could, and I'm supposed to test the seat with the foam first before they start reupholstering anything.

I swapped the door welt on the driver's side today...and that's it lol. Nothing really to do to the car right now. Although I suppose I could start pulling the tranny back out since I bought a different clutch kit the other day haha. Carter Thompson, who races his FD and I regularly buy parts from his dad, had a lightly used ACT Prolite flywheel and ACT pressure plate and I bought them both for $300, not bad. He had a 4 puck race disc too but I'm trying to go more street so I bought a regular street/race disc on Amazon for $117, so I'm basically doing a full kit for a little over half what I paid for the overhaul kit for the twin plate. And I'll be selling the twin plate and the extra parts I have for it if anyone is interested. The street/race disc I got holds 450lb/ft and I'm only making 355, so I should be alright even if it was slipping a little on the dyno.

[chickenwafer]

LOL Grape Ape...you don't want me riding with on the track I'll slow you down too much LOL

[speedjunkie]

LOL, well let's just see about that. Challenge accepted lol.

I dropped the seats at Timberline today.


So I guess it'll be about $1k for both seats. I talked to him about using suede but he suggested against it because it's not as durable as cloth. He suggested two different types and I chose the black one. I think the gray one might be a bit more durable, but I don't think it would look right, I think it looks too cheap. The black one is a little nicer. They both look kinda like tweed, and the gray one kinda is, but the black one is more like a high end cloth.


Zico and another friend and I got to talking about splitters last night and the friend, Josh said he used Dibond to make his on his Mk3 Supra. He said it's thinner and stronger than alumacore. His is 3mm thick and stronger than twice as thick alumacore. He said he got a sheet about 4'x8' for about $100, not bad at all. It's also bendable, so I can make a diffuser out of it too. Anyway, Adam Griffith who made my seat rails for racing seats, and the oil catch can I'm using (he's an awesome fabricator) makes splitters using carbon fiber, alumacore, and an aluminum frame and mounts. He said he's stood on his and it actually compressed the front shocks, it's that strong. I talked to him about making the frame and mounts for me and he said it would be $130. So for $230 (+ shipping) I could have a front splitter, and an awesome one at that. I need to make a little duct for my power steering cooler, but that shouldn't be a big deal. Here are some pics of Adam's splitters.











I'm going to have to mount the Dibond to the frame differently than Adam did, and I'll probably use countersunk screws like Zico suggested. This is how Adam mounted his.



And I'm going to try to put some NACA ducts into it for the front brakes, like this one for a Subie.


And if no one has seen it yet, this is the new FEED GT3 kit. I think it's awesome, and I've even thought about getting one (the real one is about $5k, but I think Shine said his version will be about $3k or $4k), but it won't be long and a lot of people will have it and it will no longer be original, and I don't feel like cutting up my rear fenders. Also, some of these kits are just too big and bulbous, and I like my current setup because I feel it's more sleek and understated. But this thing is definitely awesome, and if I ever go widebody, it will probably be this one.

[Shadowden]

Let me know about splitter material. I am pretty sure DW and I would be interested in getting some material as well if we can all save on shipping cost. Thing about a splitter in the front is that you might need to match that up with a wing in the back. The splitter will give you more DF in the front essentially taking weight off the rear wheels. The big GT wang will put the wheels back down and bring the car back to neutral with more DF overall. Diffusers are good for adding DF in the back too, but seem to be better for reducing drag. At least that is my understanding. Also, I am not sure where the oil filter and oil drain plug are on your car, but I plan to make a removable panel for my splitter that will allow access to make oil changes as simple as possible. The other thing I have seen is a splitter that can be either easily removed or that can be unlocked to allow the splitter to rotate for easier trailering. At some point, I'm sure my car will end up getting trailered to the track instead of driven.

Did something happen to your current diffuser, or are you just not happy with it?

[speedjunkie]

There is a place in Denver that sells the Dibond, I have to get the info from Zico. So shipping shouldn't even be an issue. I've thought for a year or two about doing a wing, but I want to mount it on the back of the car instead of the hatch. Something like this, but probably have the stands further apart.

http://driftdialects.com/products/chass ... 2087443459

The oil filter is on top of the engine on the driver's side rear, easily accessible. And the oil pan sits in the middle of the subframe which is directly behind where the splitter stops, so that won't be an issue either. The only thing I won't be able to access is the bottom side of the radiator, the radiator fan wiring, oil cooler lines, etc. Not stuff I really need to worry about on a regular basis. As far as making it easily removable for putting it on a trailer, I'm all for that. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to do that though haha.

Well my current diffuser is beat to hell. I'll most likely be getting a new one anyway unless I make one. Although now I don't believe Dibond is as bendable as I'm hoping, not bends as tight as I want anyway. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do now, maybe buy a new one and put some Dibond on it to strengthen it and protect it.

[chickenwafer]

That new FEED kit looks pretty tits.

It's crazy that the last FD's were made just over 14.5 years ago and companies are still churning out new parts for them. That's awesome!

I want a splitter for the REPU!! Although that would be a little tricky with the oil cooler scope.

[speedjunkie]

Yeah it's pretty aggressive. I was thinking the same thing. As old as these cars are and companies still make stuff for them. I think that's a testament.

I'm sure you could figure something out for the splitter. The materials are almost too good not to use haha.

So now I'm thinking I'll probably just get the wing on that website I posted before, and build a diffuser similar to the one on the car too, using Dibond. But after thinking about all this, I'm kinda moving away from more of a street car again. I'm trying to keep the car streetable, comfortable, quiet, etc, but I'm putting aggressive aero on. HAHA

[Shadowden]

Now that I've actually seen the pictures, I like the idea of the NACA ducts. Never heard that term. Google for s2000 didnt reveal much, but did find that summit racing sells them. If those ducts are able to pull smooth air off the under tray and to brake ducts, oil cooler, and intake, then my whole approach to cooling my car'so essential track parts just changed. Could use something like that on front and rear for brake ducts and at about the same cost as flanges I had been looking at.

[speedjunkie]

Another benefit to having them pull from under the car is that it will aid in pulling the front of the car down, or so I've heard. I'm planning on having them for the brakes and maybe to supply cool air to the ignition coils. I never noticed, does the S2000 not have oil cooler openings?