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Author Topic: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)  (Read 799385 times)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #120 on: June 21, 2010, 04:54:38 PM »
Wiring the MAF
 
The new MAF has entirely different tables associated so I drove my car to the dyno with no MAF hooked (I still had my old IAT sensor plugged in and dangling) and re-wired it on the spot prior to tuning.  Several folks confirmed that running this way defaults to speed density tune?
 
Note that the LS7 MAF wiring instructions on Lingenfelter?s site are WRONG.  You need to reverse the pins for the IAT so purple goes to the new MAFs D pin and tan goes to E (page 3 of the linked PDF).  When you wire it the wrong way (per instructions), the IAT doesn?t work right and my tuner was seeing 280 deg F for a stone cold intake.

FYI the instruction PDF is saved below just in case something ever happens to Lingenfelters site.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:17:54 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #121 on: June 21, 2010, 04:54:51 PM »
New Intake Results
 
Intake complete (you can just barely see the two horns peaking out on either side).
 

 
 
Results mostly speak for themselves (this is before and after the intake):
 

 
 
I should put in a disclaimer that this wasn?t purely an intake difference.  A few other subtle things changed as well:
 
-Cam: Futral F13-114 LSA --> Futral F13-112 LSA, same duration and same lift as before
-Head gasket: stock GM --> Cometic 0.040? (adds a tick to compression ratio).
-Power steering removed
 
Weather conditions and everything else was pretty similar so it was a big improvement on net.  I was grinning like an idiot all day.  It certainly didn?t hurt that the tune went down the day before my 30th birthday. 
 
This also proves that you don?t need a stupid huge cam to make good power.  The F13 is only a 230-232 duration with around 0.59 lift on both sides.  To be fair I keep hearing that Cam Motion (Futral?s grinder) is known for having great ?area under the curve? lobes.
 
So what did it cost?  For the intake itself I bought a spare from RPM Motors (dyno shop) that they had lying around with no box. The intake and MAF together were $300 out the door. With hood pins, gas shocks, materials etc I'm into the overall setup ~$600. Add in $300 for the JTR radiator, another $100 for a fan, and suddenly I'm quite jealous of Samberg's FD setup where you've got a bolt in complete intake / rad setup for about a grand.
 
The car?s finally back up and driving great.  Now if I could only figure out this stupid GTO alternator bleeding current issue?
 
-Joel
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #122 on: June 21, 2010, 04:55:27 PM »
LS7 MAF info
 
Habu found some good reference info on the LS7 MAF so I thought I?d attach it here.
 
Quote from: Habu2
   I did some surfing and found PNs and vendors. I may go shadetree and hit the yards, the blade-style sensors are used in quite a few applications, plus I can snip the connector as well. Found on either LS1tech or HPTuners, can't remember:
RockAuto says ACDELCO Part # 2134222 (GM part #15865791) is the MAF is the same for all these vehicles:

CADILLAC SRX 2008
CADILLAC STS 2008
CHEVROLET COLORADO LS 2008
CHEVROLET COLORADO LT 2008
CHEVROLET COLORADO WT 2008
CHEVROLET CORVETTE 2008
CHEVROLET CORVETTE 427 LIMITED EDITION Z06 2008
CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 2008
CHEVROLET HHR LS (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET HHR LS PANEL 2008
CHEVROLET HHR LT (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET HHR LT PANEL 2008
CHEVROLET MALIBU HYBRID 2008
CHEVROLET MALIBU LS 2008
CHEVROLET MALIBU LT 2008
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER 2008
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER LT 2008
GMC CANYON SL 2008
GMC CANYON SLE 2008
GMC CANYON SLT 2008
GMC CANYON WT 2008
GMC ENVOY SLE 2008
GMC ENVOY SLT 2008
HUMMER H3 2008
HUMMER H3 ALPHA 2008
HUMMER H3 X 2008
ISUZU ASCENDER S 2008
ISUZU I-370 LS 2008
PONTIAC G6 (2006 - 2008)
PONTIAC SOLSTICE (2007 - 2008)
PONTIAC SOLSTICE GXP (2007 - 2008)
SATURN AURA GREEN LINE (2007 - 2008)
SATURN AURA XE 2008
SATURN SKY (2007 - 2008)
SATURN SKY RED LINE (2007 - 2008)

Oddly enough, they list ACDELCO Part # 2133134 (GM part #12576410) as the MAF sensor for the following vehicles below. Perhaps the '06-'07 sensor used in the Z06 is the one that is slightly different afterall?

BUICK RAINIER CXL (2006 - 2007)
CADILLAC SRX 2007
CADILLAC STS (2007 - 2008)
CADILLAC STS V (2006 - 2008)
CADILLAC XLR V (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET COBALT 2005
CHEVROLET COBALT LS (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET COBALT LT (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET COBALT LTZ (2006 - 2007)
CHEVROLET COBALT SPORT 2008
CHEVROLET COBALT SS (2005 - 2007)
CHEVROLET COLORADO LS 2007
CHEVROLET COLORADO LT 2007
CHEVROLET COLORADO WT 2007
CHEVROLET CORVETTE Z06 (2006 - 2007)
CHEVROLET HHR LS (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET HHR LS PANEL 2008
CHEVROLET HHR LT (2006 - 2008)
CHEVROLET HHR LT PANEL 2008
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER EXT LS 2006
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER EXT LT 2006
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER LS (2006 - 2007)
CHEVROLET TRAILBLAZER LT (2006 - 2007)
GMC CANYON SL 2007
GMC CANYON SLE 2007
GMC CANYON SLT 2007
GMC CANYON WT 2007
GMC ENVOY SLE (2006 - 2007)
GMC ENVOY SLT (2006 - 2007)
GMC ENVOY XL SLE 2006
GMC ENVOY XL SLT 2006
HUMMER H3 2007
HUMMER H3 X 2007
ISUZU ASCENDER 2006
ISUZU ASCENDER LS 2006
ISUZU ASCENDER S 2007
ISUZU I-370 LS 2007
PONTIAC G5 (2007 - 2008)
PONTIAC G5 GT (2007 - 2008)
PONTIAC G5 SE 2007
PONTIAC PURSUIT (2005 - 2006)
PONTIAC PURSUIT GT 2006
PONTIAC SOLSTICE (2006 - 2008)
PONTIAC SOLSTICE GXP (2007 - 2008)
SAAB 9-7X 4.2I (2006 - 2007)
SATURN ION-1 2005
SATURN ION-2 (2005 - 2007)
SATURN ION-3 (2005 - 2007)
SATURN SKY (2007 - 2008)
SATURN SKY RED LINE (2007 - 2008)
SATURN VUE GREEN LINE (2007 - 2008)
SATURN VUE XE 2008   

I confirmed my the MAF I used is GM p/n 12576410...  I can't tell you for sure what the difference is but I do know that the Lingenfelter pinout reversed the two pins of the IAT from what I actually had.
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #123 on: June 21, 2010, 04:55:56 PM »
Autocrossing w/ a De-powered Rack
 
Quote from: josh18_2k;540626
its not that bad with 255 street tires.
i ran on 255 a032r's.  it was tough, but doable in all but the tightest stuff.

What do you know?  Josh was right.  Autocross really isn't that bad w/ a de-powered rack.  I ran 16 laps at autocross practice day yesterday with no issues at all.  Parrallel parking still sucks but I think I can live with a depowered rack after all.
 
It was a pretty cool day.  I can't even begin to tell you how much fun this is when the car runs right...  Car got nothing but big thumbs up from the vette guys and a bunch of folks stopped by to check it out.  It was my first time autocrossing and I did pretty OK.
 
68.803
67.022
66.815
64.827
66.019
65.845
64.341
64.397
63.124
63.572
63.304
63.355
62.807 (my FTD)
63.540
64.026
64.886
 
Last couple was me getting on it early, overdriving the car, and mostly getting loose by accident.  :D  It was supposed to rain so all of the above was on street tires.
 
For reference a fast lap seemed to be anything sub 61 seconds.  The fastest gutted civics on Hoosiers seemed to run about a 60.2.  Fastest time of day was a strung out Lotus with serious rubber that put down a 55.191.  There was an unlimited vette that made a bunch of 55.4s.  I?ve got a long way to go but I?m sure having fun out there.
 
A couple vids follow.

Love the flagman's commentary  :yay:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2779479/ls1_v8_rx7_autocross_1/


Bob Endicott was my passenger on this lap and had some nice things to say about the car at the end.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/2780009/ls1_v8_rx7_autocross_2_w_bob_endicott/
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:20:27 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #124 on: June 21, 2010, 04:56:09 PM »
Swaybar Experimentation 1
 
At the Autocross above I spent a bunch of the day experimenting with was swaybars.  I tried three setups:
 
1) Front: RB...  Rear: nothing
2) Front: RB...  Rear: RB
3) Front: RB...  Rear: stock
 
I liked #3 the best by a fairly wide margin.  It can still take throttle inputs in sweepers without getting twitchy but it definitely rotates better than no bar (at least for my driving style in my car).
 
It was a really good day and the car preformed well.  The only thing I think I need to get squared away now is a bit of intermittent clutch feedback where it gets stuck on the floor.  It happened just a couple times on the day.  I'm guess it's blowby on the MC seal but I don't really know.  It seems to get better when you give the car a rest so I only had it show up at the very end of one of the 16 runs.  I don't think it's quite ready for full on road course duty yet... but it's getting pretty close.

 
Final note...  If you're tracking a low slung FC I'd tend to suggest you'd want stiffer springs than I was running.  I've been told by a Tein rep that I could go 8/6 pretty easy on the dampers that I have and that I could go all the way to a 9/7 or 10/8 setup if this was closer to a dedicated racecar.
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #125 on: June 21, 2010, 04:56:20 PM »
A Few Autocross Pics
 
I?m kinda lumping a lot of autocross stuff in here together.  I often invite a couple friends to come along to hang and ride?  At a recent day one of my buddies was a very decent photographer and got a couple good shots of my car.  Props to Addison Weeks for the pics.
 

 

 

 

 
When one of these cars runs right it just puts a stupid grin on your face all day long.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:23:07 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #126 on: June 21, 2010, 04:56:31 PM »
Won Best RX7 or Classic
 
Well I'm pretty damn stoked.  My car just won best "Classic / RX-7" at Mazfest 2009. 
 

 
It was an all Mazda event so cars were lumped into groups by model but all the older RXs, FBs, FCs, and FDs were lumped into a single group.  I don't think I had the prettiest car there (especially given I was competing against FDs with perfect paint).  However, I?m guessing I had more work into the car than most folks, I talked the judges ears off so they knew I did everything, and I even had a portfolio of pics (many of them from this build thread) that no one else did.  Lots of cars with heavy bolt-on type mods.  I guess I should be glad I won here.  I'd never win one at SevenStock.  Too much rotary bias.
 
Folks kept asking me to light it off for them which I was more than happy to do so.  Best comment of the day...  "Your idle makes my dick hard..."  :laugh:
 
I was representing the Seven Not Stock T-shirt too.
 
Got a couple rides in a few fast cars...  I ran into a friend I made two years ago at my very first track event who owns a wicked FD.  I'd say it was the first really quick car I'd ever experienced on track.  Ken was kind enough to give me another lift this year.
 

 
 
Finally meet Ashley in person (LargeOrangeFont on here) and a few of his crew.  He's just waiting for his rotary to let go so he can do the LSx swap, but I give him props for getting a bunch of drive time in with his car as is.  If my ride along is any indication I think 3rd gear on his trans may force him into the swap before the motor does.  He's got a really nice heel and toe so with a big motor and some real tires I suspect he'll be formidable on track...
 
 
Last ride of the day was a lift in on of the reformed All Star spec Miatas (now on steriods) that always make an appearance.  They're running Cosworth motors, extreme weight reduction and were definitely some of the faster guys out there (having a pack of Skip Barber instructors on hand to drive them certainly doesn't hurt). 
 

 
 
Damn good day all in all.  I was pretty jealous that I wasn't running the track day this year but I'm really trying to make sure the car is running truly flawlessly before I get back out there.  Besides autocross seems like a better format for running 10/10ths anyways.
 
A friend of mine had a pretty close call...  Maybe the closest I've seen an FC get to a wall sliding.   [Ed Note: Unfortunately the same friend actually did wreck his car at the same event a year later.]


 
-Joel
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:25:33 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #127 on: June 21, 2010, 04:56:54 PM »
Lingering Gremlins
 
Two persistent gremlins in my car seem are some strange behavior from an ?04 GTO alternator and a sometimes sticky clutch (symptoms seem like blowby at the MC seal but it's intermittent).  I made some progress on the first and I?m certainly curious of folks have thoughts on the later?
 
Since I first installed this motor my alternator has had three bits of misbehavior:
 
1) It originally didn't charge when I first started the car (nothing hooked to the plug)...
2) After taking this in to get tested on a bench and playing with jumpers it suddenly charged (still nothing hooked to the plug) but it did so at a crazy high voltage --> 15.6 V as confirmed on 3 separate meters.  It's been running hot ever since...
3) With the car off it bleeds ~0.20 amp through the alternator to ground.  This is enough to kill a battery in a few days time.
 
After some internet searching I found this thread:
What is Happening...Alternator Voltage Too High? - The Forums at Chevy Talk
 
It's really aimed at old SBC/BBC style three wire GM alternators but the basic theory of operation is remarkably similar to the GTO wiring.  As such, I stopped by Radio Shack on the way home and picked up the recommended 10 ohm, 10 watt resistor to use in place of an indicator lamp.
 
Both Pins A&B hooked up
Trying to mimic the factory connections I found that when I hook pin A up to battery, and B to battery through the resistor (after the car was running to simulate ignition on) I get 14.4 V charging.  That's a big improvement over 15.6 V so now I'm getting hopeful and it definitely switched back and forth between 15.6 and 14.4 depending if B is hooked up or not.  However, when I measure the current bleed with the car off (only pin A connected now because B would drop out with ignition off) I get a huge current draw of 4.54 amp!!!  I pull pin A and it's back to 0.20 amp.
 
Only Pin A, no Pin B
This is kind of a subset of the above testing...  Screaming high voltage and 4.5 amp draw w/ car off.  Definitely not where I want to be.
 
Only Pin B hooked up
Just for giggles I tried Pin B only (using the resistor) but not Pin A.  Result: 14.4 V charging w/ car on and 0.2 A draw with car off (pin B is supposed to go to ignition on so I removed it for the "off" test).  The moral of the story is that Pin A may be labeled voltage reference but pin B sure seems to be the one that controls charging voltage (and yes I triple checked that I didn't reverse them).  I seem to be in a position where I can solve the high voltage problem but not the current draw...  I should also probably pick up a few various resistor values and see if that makes a difference.  My battery had been run down so 14.4 V looked about perfect to me.
 
At this point I'm wondering if I damaged my alternator but running this hot for so long.  Supposedly you can tell if one of the alternator diodes is out by checking for AC voltage (should be zero in a smooth running DC system).  If a diode is out you may pick up flutter that will show itself as AC...  That test turns up negative for me but I think the next step is to get it back on a bench for a post op diagnosis...
 
For reference here's the pin out for the connector (alternator side is the mirror of this):

 
 
Here's the GTO wiring schematic:

 
 
For now I?ll have to live with the improvement made but I?m certainly not satisfied yet.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:36:43 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #128 on: June 21, 2010, 04:57:07 PM »
Clutch Problems Becoming Frustrating
 
Slave cylinders seem to be the bane of my existence.  I'm on my 5th slave in two an half years and they all seem to have hydraulics issues related to clutch dust jamming up the slave. 



I've tried bleeding like crazy and it just doesn't seem to help.  (More discussion here and here). [Ed note: links are broken but I?m leaving them in just in case we ever get the old data back]
 
I started with an LS1 clutch, then ran a three fingered McLeod Street Twin (note: after my initial positive review the engagement started to bug me, supposedly the new design is better), then went back to an LS6 clutch and Fidanza...   All of them seem to have the same issues with clutch stick.  The McLeod I could maybe blame on the three finger height discrepancies but it could just as easily have been hydraulics.
 
That said, I?m starting to look around for a non-organic clutch.
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:38:27 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #129 on: June 21, 2010, 04:57:17 PM »
There's a wee bit of mischief afoot on the car front...  I've been picking up some cool pieces here and there.
 
This is how the my car sat at 11:00 at night when we finally finished wrenching on it.  It's been a while since I had it this far apart, pretty much no driveline, suspension, brakes, etc.
 
 
 
Many thanks to Robert (fc3s91), Ryan (electicalbox), Anthony (v8-rx7) and his father Ed for helping lend a hand.  This was the first time I got to check out Anthony's car: nicely swapped TPI motor from an IROC-Z.  It looks pretty awesome with my old seats mounted in there.  ;)  My Mandeville brakes somehow ended up on Robert's car too.
 

 

 
 
It's going to be a push to make SevenStock now...  I'm studying for a Professional Engineering exam so my nights and weekends are limited these days.
 
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #130 on: June 21, 2010, 04:57:29 PM »
DIY Strut Tower Bar
 
I made my own strut tower bar.  Figured that the plates that capture the top of the shock tower were nothing but added weight (towers and suspension bits are plenty stiff around the bolt pattern) so I did something simpler and just picked up the two inside bolts.  I might triangulate to the firewall someday--if I?m honest, mostly because it looks so bad ass--but the major benefit seemed to be just tying the two sides together.
 

 

 
 
Some good technical discussion on strut tower braces is here... The author makes a pretty good argument why strut tower bars are a great idea on strut setups but not nearly as helpful with dual A-arms.
 
Materials: a single 6' stick of 1" OD 0.062 wall chromoly, some scrape metal and a hole saw for the base of the mount points.  End result weighs 2.6 lbs.  If I could weld aluminum I could have gone lighter yet as the major forces are in tension only.
 
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #131 on: June 21, 2010, 04:57:40 PM »
Steering Wheel Modification
 
Made a small mod that I'm pretty stoked on. 
 
I'm a bit on the tall side and my knees always seemed to get into the steering wheel when I heel and toe.  However, I'm also running a depowered steering rack and it makes it pretty hard to whip the wheel back and forth at low speed (IE autocross).  That second part fairly effective rules out my desire to run an aftermarket steering wheel that comes with a little more dish to it (although the Nardi "Deep Corn" is one of the sexiest wheels of all time).  I just couldn't bring myself to pay top dollar for a 370+mm aftermarket wheel when I may go back to PS some day. Plus I'd already switched out to a leather s5 wheel that's in really good condition so it's not like I really needed another upgrade.
 
Instead I opened up my wheel, took some careful measurements, and then cut the spokes and welded in 1 3/4" spacers (the most that my hands would still allow easy access to my turn signal.)
 
First attempt was just 3 straight extensions at the spokes but I found the wheel to be a bit more flexible than before so I also boxed in the top area with some lighter sheet metal to act as a shear plane. The whole extension part protrudes through the back of the plastic housing so it's pretty subtle if you're not looking for it.
 

 
 
All the stock turn signal cancellation hardware and horn remains (although I got to extend the wire inside the assembly as well).  It'll be cleaner yet if I can find a rubber accordion to hide the extension but for now I just wrapped it in a purple bandana I stole from a friend.  (Thanks Jaime!)
 

 
 
Other than a $4 stick of material, the mod was pretty much free.  Leverage is much improved and I have plenty of room for knees to work the pedals like I want.  No complaints from me.
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #132 on: June 21, 2010, 04:57:56 PM »
Time to start posting up about some of what I've been working on.  Motor and intake have been solid so I've been going back to revisit clutch, suspension, brakes, and seating.  Plus a few other odds and ends...
 
Clutch #4, Monster Stage 4:
 
I finally decided I?m through running organic clutch discs.  A slave cylinder located inside the bellhousing just doesn?t seem happy with lots of clutch dust.  I know some folks have had good success with the LS7 stuff, maybe the added clamping makes all the difference but I?m done trying. 
 
After a lot of debate eyeballing the aluminum pressure plate options from Spec (to go with my existing aluminum fly) I finally broke down, went the other way and bought a Monster clutch.  The overwhelmingly positive reviews on LS1Tech were just too much to ignore.  After some long discussions with Monster's tech support I went for the stage 4, sintered iron version.  It's supposed to shed heat really well and actually have better engagement than the stage 3 (at least once you're through with the break in period).  I went for  the 11" PP instead of the 12", the lightened chromoly fly, a new slave, and a speed bleeder.     
 
This is the first clutch setup I've bought that comes with EVERYTHING.  All hardware, alignment tool, even a new pilot bearing. 
 
However, it was probably the most annoying clutch install I've ever done.  Started off normally enough... 
 
Lay out all the pieces and admire the hog-out work on the backside of the fly.
 

 
 
Lube pilot bearing, install fly, torque ARPs (I kept the TTY hardware and pilot bearing that came with the clutch as spares, since my stuff was still perfect).
 

 
 
Friction disk aligned with tool:
 

 
 
Tighten pressure plate, re-verify alignment tool slips in and out easily, then torque bellhousing.
 

 
 
I'm doing all this from below as I just let the engine roll backwards slightly on its mounts to make some extra space.  (If you do this be sure to pull your intake manifold least you crush the map sensor against the firewall).
 

 
 
Problem was, I just couldn't get the trans to go through both the splines of disk and pilot bearing.  After fighting with this for about a half hour I start to question whether the disk was well aligned to the crankshaft.  There was definitely some slop in the alignment tool so I go find my other one.  Sure enough, not all plastic tools are created equal.  There's about a 0.020" tip diameter difference and the other tools isn't slipping in.  I had tried to center the disk via ensuring I was at the midpoint of the play up and down but it just wasn't enough.
 
Had to pull the bellhousing back off, loosen pressure plate, realign using my better tool (a spare input shaft from a t56 would really be the best tool if you could find one) and try again.
 
SON-OF-A-B%$@&!!!! It's aligned as good as I can get it and I still can't get the thing in.  By this point I've got a buddy helping me (thanks Ryan!) and after about 15 minutes of no progress we pull the trans out of the way so I can take another look.  My eyeball says the disk might be just a HAIR low so we try inserting the trans at an ever so slightly upward angle.  It finally goes through both splines and pilot bearing.
 
BUT WAIT, there's more.  The trans is almost in, but because it's now pointed at a slightly different angle than the bellhousing the trans bolts won't align and the pressure plate is grabbing so damn hard we just can get it to shift into place.  It'd be sweet if we could just release the clutch for a moment but there's nothing good under the car to keep the trans from just pushing itself off the bellhousing.  After another half hour of wiggling, we finally manage to get a single trans bolt threaded but doing so requires the trans be rotated from where it really wants to sit.  We bleed the clutch and pray those few threads hold when Ryan steps on the clutch for the first time.  Low and behold it works.  We're able to shift the trans where it's supposed to be and all is well.    Re-torque the remainder and we're good to go.
 
That might have been the hardest clutch job I've ever done...  The upside is that I have high hopes for the clutch itself.  Car's been up and driving for a couple weeks now.  It's definitely got a bit of chatter if you slip it too long, but that's supposed to go away once it's broken in.
 
The pedal effort is barely harder than stock and the engagement feels decent.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what this can do when it's ready to be flogged.  Worst case I have the speed bleeder available so hopefully that'll make maintenance easier.
« Last Edit: July 18, 2011, 04:22:41 PM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #133 on: June 21, 2010, 04:58:09 PM »
Suspension:
 
I had a friend parting out an FC race car so I picked up some really trick suspension bits. 
 
-AWR needle bearing front control arms
-AWR spherical rear control arms w/ eccentric delete
-Adjustable toe links
-Spare AWR camber links (sold to a rotary buddy) and adjustable center link
-Spare t2 rear (which got sold to LargeOrangeFont)
-Spare Mazda comp front diff mount
-Came with a full set of bushings (DTSS etc)
-ARP wheel studs
-Speedway front swaybar (which will deserve it's own post as it's turned out to be harder than expected.)
 
Rear Suspension: Sphericals and Toe Links
 
Everything was pretty dirty and had some paint over spray so the first step was playing with the pressure washer (shoved axles in place before cleaning both old and new sub-assemblies to keep the wheel bearings clean and dry).
 

 
 
Wanted it cleaner yet so I tore it all the way down and painted it with appliance enamel.
 

 
 
On rebuild I found a few bushings where the sleeves were slightly loose so I used a bit of retaining compound to keep everything nice and snug.
 

 
 
No more eccentrics (plates were a hair oversized and had to be shaved/painted)
 

 
 
Toe links instead (with new washers instead the of the mismatched versions this came with).  I beveled the washers at the sphericals to allow the maximum travel.
 

 
 
Fully assembled and ready to rock.  It's amazing how easily the arms can move now.
 
« Last Edit: June 24, 2010, 06:41:34 AM by frijolee »
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)

Offline frijolee

Re: Joel's LS1 FC parts list/swap thread (remixed)
« Reply #134 on: June 21, 2010, 04:58:17 PM »
AWR Needle Bearing Control Arms (front)
 
AWR sells a of S4 control arms that have been machined and had steel sleeves installed to allow interfacing to needle bearings.  The goal is to take as much friction out of the motion of the arm as possible thereby allowing the assembly to respond faster while making the suspension handle all the damping.
 
Note: AWR only does this with S4 arm that use replaceable ball joints.  They?re slightly heavier because the ball joint housing is steel but the upside is better serviceability of parts.
 
Front arms were rebuilt and packed with grease...  The machining that goes into these to get proper steel running surfaces on both sides is impressive.  Crappy pic unfortunately.

 
While installing these I found that my pivots on the chassis side weren't perfectly eccentric to each other.  However, with a little dremel work these now swing up and down in glassy smooth like fashion as well.  Driving impressions to follow.
LS2 stroker FC, Mandeville big brakes, widebody, etc
Build thread:  http://www.norotors.com/index.php?topic=1274.0
www.roninspeedworks.com

LargeOrangeFont says: "Joel is right, and I love Joel. But his car sounds like the wrath of God."   ;)