My "Blue Devil" matchbox racer build 2.0

[65imp]

Actually, if any Ronin Speedworks folks can chime in - do I need to swap my pan for steering correction? What would be the best for the geometry with the new subframe, lowered ride height and bump steer?

You rang?

You want the most shallow pan you can get.  The vertical pinch in the FD is the throttlebody to front of the oil pan.  F-body is about as shallow as we have seen.  1st get the engine in, and then shim the rack up until you have ~1/8 inch clearance to the rack.  You want to tuck it as close as possible, so shim it to win it.  If you have a power rack, rotate it as best you can to minimze that one fitting from contacting the pan. 
Then you dial in your bumpsteer.  You need less bumpsteer correction the higher you place the rack.  You are gonna love this new subframe, so much betta.

[tai-lun]

Thanks for the info, looking forward to all the final suspension work when the new subframe goes in! Going to be positives in all aspects for the car, and I may have one more fancy chassis component in the works to add to the over the top track fun already on the car.

I was invited to the local R35 celebration/cruise not long ago and some of the media team got some snaps, and I ran into some other local 90's legends. For more pics from the event, I'll be posting them over on my IG: www.instagram.com/tylerhiggs

[tai-lun]

I was finally able to get my passenger seat rails and single plant intake/4150 as they have been locked across the border since lockdown. It's nice to not have a lose passenger seat in the car again and I can finally get around to making use of that giant reverse cowl lol. Also, I will do a post on my rear wing design and build when the uprights are done and coated.



Before I pull the trigger on what I think is the correct brackets and linkage for adapting our FD throttle cable to the Accufab, does any here have some experience and recommendations for linkage to a single plane intake throttle body? Or any tips and tricks, I'm very much going on what I've found creeping on LS1tech boards hehe, which is also where I found the intake.

I'm looking at this Lokar bracket at the moment - https://www.jegs.com/i/Lokar/625/SRK-4000/10002/-1
But have a feeling I'll likely go through a few brackets trying to get something that fits and works with the factory cable. I am toying with the idea of just getting a fab guy locally to make something instead too. I have a design sketched out already for the airbox, it will have to be custom to fit under the cowl and clear that Accufab linkage (why is it so freaking tall?...) but the goal is to fully seal it with the hood cowl so it pulls air from the pressure area at the base of the window only NASCAR style. It has worked for them all this time, it will work for the FD. Perhaps some fresh air ducts from the front bumper would be good additions though...brake duct hoses along the frame rails to the box...thoughts? 

Going to do some preventive maintenance as well with the install - heat wrapping fuel/clutch lines, tucking harness away from hotter areas, cleaning up some wiring, welding the leaky seam on the coolant tank, attaching a FPR for safety and of course a bit more reflective gooooooold.... but at the very end.

[digitalsolo]

I'd think you could just use a carb style bracket, right?

That's a sharp looking intake/TB setup.

[tai-lun]

I'd think you could just use a carb style bracket, right?

That's a sharp looking intake/TB setup.

Thanks, the TB flows 1215CFM which is far more than I need... but one thing at a time heh. The bracket I'm looking at is a carb style one and I think it will work, fortunately it is not too pricey so if I needs to be cut/modified it will be no big deal. Very much looking forward to a cleaner engine bay, if there is room some ducting from the rad to the hood vents may even be possible!

[tai-lun]

Some progress on my intake, I finally understand how these intakes and filters work with sprint car setups. I am glad I held off ordering any kind of filter as to fit into the FD the bottom plate that bolts onto the intake between the throttle will need to be in a different position from the typical layout. Most likely the bottom tray will have to be fabbed locally and I'll get one of the K&N carbon top boxes to seal everything. There is a way to get a MAF to work and mount directly above the 4150, this does create a sort of restrictor on the opening as our MAF's are not as large. Advantage is well.. MAF and the pcm manages things based on air going through not much different from factory. Cons are that it increases height, is a bit of a restrictor and I am not absolutely sure it the pcm will be happy.

Thoughts anyone?

I do have a HP tuners unit, one of their newer ones that I could use with my OBD2 and do a simple MAF delete tun for the single plane intake.

Brackets, gaskets, and fittings tested out with everything looking good so far. I also picked up a bunch of fire proof wraps for the clutch and fuel lines as I'll be cleaning up those a bit now that there is a bit of a cleaner fuel line routing.



All new sensors on there too, my current ones are fine but the IAC for some reason looks really oxidized. I don't have that many miles on the car, is anyone else seeing the same odd white spots on their IAC?

I also finally got rid of the motor sticking out from my rear wiper, it was pretty offensive sticking out there being a massive eyesore. $2 plug and some sealant, good enough for me. The rubber sticking out of the hatch is stuck on there good and I don't feel like risking paint chipping off removing something that I don't care that much about. Also a quick shot of the rarely seen and sort of peeling LRB panels. Please excuse my extremely dusty car, my workload as of late has not been kind to time for tinkering with the car or any of my other hobbies.


Hover mode! - I was adding a fitting to my tire deflector so they don't come out if the car hits a pothole or extreme rub in a low corner.

 

[tai-lun]

GT wing build next, a quick look though first of the last time it was shot out in the open with no wing. I do really like the wingless look, but since adding the cowl hood it needs something back there both for visual balance and because the rear can get a bit light (also due to stretched tires I know... they will go soon too). I took an existing wing element that had some actual data, though how much of the data is really applicable from a 3D element is hard to really say. It will be better than no wing, but this was a good opportunity to design something different in the uprights, end plates and keep adjustability without the restrictions of a chassis mount. I saw some chassis mounts (Battle Aero and some other one that looks like a giant X), and was promptly disgusted in the quality and crazy wobble of the parts... some concerning stuff if you plan to put things to the test.



And then full party mode preview here before the full wing build journey breakdown. It takes cues from watching probably too much on aero talk from AJ Hartman, Kyle Engineers, WTAC, consulting track friends locally who are running large rear wing elements, and going over all the latest designs coming out for FD's in Japan in street aero to full on time attack FD builds thanks to The Narita Dogfight.

[spacevomit]

Ho ho ho! What is that about 2 meter across?

[tai-lun]

Ho ho ho! What is that about 2 meter across?

Almost! The APR GTC300 wing element I am using is 67" and they do make one more larger standard unit that is right at that size. This one was the right place right time kind of deal and while not as wide as the FD (74" wheel to wheel with the widebody), it is wide enough to do the job and cut the air in a clean manner.

[digitalsolo]

I love where this project is going.   Freaking gnarly man.

[tai-lun]

I love where this project is going.   Freaking gnarly man.

Thanks dude, it's slowly becoming more where I think it should be with the cage, engine, body and styling all together.



Onto the build of the wing, it started life as a APR GTC300 67" full carbon element off a friends NSX that he has since put back to stock. The wing actually looked a bit small on the NSX but it really came down to the uprights and end plates as another NSX owner I know has a GT500 with tall uprights and the wing looked way better. So I got it at a good price, and most importantly the wing could bolt into the hatch in ideal areas. Initially I wanted something that had the uprights more in the center of the hatch, but options are pretty scarce and shelling out 4K or so for a Esprit wing with uprights and everything from Japan plus a 6 month wait at least... no, also this is a weekend streetable track toy and the whole car cost less than that wing when I bought it originally heh.

Some CAD haha, showing the evolution from the standard upright from APR to multiple iterations figuring out height, distance to align the wing with the rear bumper and not too far from the hatch and how to get the angle to work. Also going down to less material for weight savings and strength still. The paper sketch is the APR outline to carboard, to ABS, and ultimately CNC aluminum.


Before powder coating you can see the knife edging, this took quite a bit of time and delicacy at the machinist, but it came out great. The cutouts were for weight and to have the wing mounting more flush with the uprights themselves. I also designed flat mounting plates for rigidity in the mount surface and the uprights are bolted into the plates first. Here you can see all the parts including the new endplates I designed based on the same layout AJ Hartman has been testing with his fulcrum wing endplates for smaller wings. I know the wing is pretty big, but a full size wing element would be a APR 1000 or some kind of 2D wing which are a bit better at the end of the day. For me, this wing is more than enough.



I like that a bit of the machining is still visible after powder coating.


View of the wing element itself in comparison to the front end size and splitter, not 1:1 but a good ratio still.


Just the uprights mounted here, you can get an idea of how far back the rear edge of the wing is. Aligned with the bumper with the front still over the hatch and spoiler lip, this is supposed to give the same downforce with less angle of attack in this further back placement. The hatch.... does not like to stay up on it's own now after 5min or so though hahaha. The cutouts showing the more flush mounting, I will likely be changing to some titanium hardware that is shorter for the adjustment bolts in time. Full adjustability as well in the wing just like it should be. A gurney flap is on it's way still.



Mounted. APR hardware on the endplates, and I used rubber weather seals around the mounting plate to keep water out of the mounting area. Everything in nyloc which is what APR uses anyways on the wing adjusters.




Now to fix the wonky mounts on my rear diffuser, maybe see if I can add spacers to my suspension tophats to get a bit more ground clearance, and work on that intake.

[tai-lun]

I've been browsing single turbo builds and kits too much... was time to get back to work putting parts on I already have lol.

A bit of progress starting with some new (no pictured) brackets I made for the diffuser to raise it up a bit in a slight delusional hope of less scraping every time I go up/down the ramp, but they should keep things stable and are infinitely improved over the zipties that preceded them. With the intake, I installed the Olson Kustom Works adaptor plates on my heads to mate up to the LS3 intake, I will need a few longer bolts to make up for the increased spacing and also will have to make some spacers for the fuel rails as I am running LS2 injectors which are 15mm longer than LS3.

TPS and IAC wires will need to be extended which is not too big a deal, and a few fittings should be here in the next day or so for the MAP and hooking up the brake booster. I had planned on trying to run a MAF on top of the 4150 via some kind of adaptor plate. At best it would be a 1/4" but more likely a 1/2" on top of the MAF which I have cut down to 2" from OEM, I have no idea if the MAF can honestly handle the flow of a single plane intake but I have seen some (expensive) adaptors out there so maybe?




I have the clearance with the hood, but it really cuts down on space above the MAF to draw in air. Right now with the 1/4" OKW spacers and 4150, the throttle body is flush with the firewall height in case anyone is every wondering about clearance with any kind of raised/cut hood. I know I can, and some recommend even running no MAF and letting the computer run SD off the VE tables using the MAP which is connected to the side of the intake. I understand it is safe and I can clean the tables up with the HP Tuners MVP12, but something to decide once I get closer to sorting the throttle cable itself. There is this "shorty" FD throttle cable I have been looking at but I'll still need a fitting of some kind to mate the end of the FD cable to the 4150 - https://jp3motorsports.com/products/mazda-rx7-fd3s-13b-rew-shorty-throttle-cable-kit

The breathers from each valve cover will need a catch can of some kind, hopefully something small that can be out of the way. I am really digging the clean layout now with no intake and filter (did not like my temp filter), and once I can find a way to build or buy some kind of drop base filter to maximize air cleaner spacing for a sprint car filter it will look much meaner with the added intake performance/sound. I like the big K&N box style with full outside and top filter, they have a few options that should be a possible fit under that cowl.



I'll hopefully have my Howe radiator PN - 34328RNF sorted this week to arrive in the new year to replace the ever leaking Mishimoto unit, it served it's purpose for a time but has no place keeping temps down at the track or autocross. Perhaps can clean up the lines and will get the surge tank top welded up in case of leaks some have been having. It also reminds me I should get onto installing my KRC power steering pump with remote filler too sometime here, I have the one with the quick fit fittings for changing the amount of assist.

Ducting the radiator out the hood is the next bigger plan, I'd like to have something like the C6-R dropdown "waterfall hood vent" to really keep temps reasonable... and to confuse folks even more when looking at the car on the outside haha. Duct to both side vents and the middle which would mean cutting a hole in the hood.

Also, I may have my Ronin carbon sunroof up for grabs soon. Adding more lightness. 

[tai-lun]

Some time has passed, a few more track days and a lot of broken parts later heh.

The single plane intake plan worked and didn't work for a few reasons, long story short I have a pile of parts now for sale. At least stationary, there was some cool factor looking at this giant gold and carbon intake box and at idle it sounded like a jet sucking in air... but unless it works, it's only good for hard parkers which I'm not into.

- The new motor height after the subframe swap didn't allow the hood to close even after spacing it out, about a half an inch or so difference.
- This is not an issue with the new subframe because damn it is better in every aspect, I hadn't accounted for a change in height after the change.
- The single plane 4150 Victor Jr to Accufab 4150 sounds killer and pulls air like nothing else... until your clearance suffocates it.
- The path under the hood to the rear cowl was okay, but not enough for how much pull the intake is making.
- The carbon cover cracked purely from intake suction  and my hood was showing some vibrations too, anything past 4000rpms was no go
- It got hot enough to burn some sensors too. Crazy stuff
- I had a 12hr window (always down to the last min...how it goes isn't it?) before a 5hr drive to Area27, the big track this side of Canada for back to back day sessions.
- I was not going to track under 4K rpms so we made a quick/expensive call to fab up an elbow to a MAF to run more oem for safety.... burnt the MAF in the first hour or driving.
- I suspect the wires we used to extend the MAF connector may be the culprit (anyone have experience with this?) as they were slightly heavier gauge.
- The hood has 3 stress fractures from the intake elbow rubbing and HEAT, so much heat!




Lessons learned both in the intake construction and from the track day/long driving. I raised the car .5" up front and .5" in the rear which was a must as I was bottoming out on really bad roads, switching to R888r's and metal rubbing is a no go as they are so soft. Still low, just a little less low. I went from 255 fronts to 265 as these tires do not stretch at all, but I had to do some major fender cutting to clear the much wider rubber. They still rub unfortunately so more clearancing will be coming, I de-beaded the 255 which I did not want to repeat so far away and on track/at speed again. In the rear, 285 (way too stretched) to 315 but 30 profile. When they are hot, they grip!.... until they don't haha. Swapped out all bushings for SuperPro, made such a difference in tightness on the road and steering.



Since returning I dropped the front another .25 which is much nicer, a bit less rub. The goal of all this intake business was to take advantage of the cowl, which is now.... just empty so I need to either sell it or I will slice that thing off and open duct the hell out of the rad.


Open to ideas.    

Hoods are huge, hard to pack and not cheap to ship... so outside of local which is a no go as the scene for FD's is hard OEM purists.... yawn to that, searching for a 25yr old OEM washer type crap, cutting and making it functional is the next option it looks like. More on the track day in a bit, with photos!

[kinger]

I love that you're actually driving the wee out of it and finding all the weak spots, normally cars like this none of the aero is functional and it never gets driven hard. 

I know you tried the ITB's but are you giving up on them because the filters were killing all the gains? 

[tai-lun]

I love that you're actually driving the wee out of it and finding all the weak spots, normally cars like this none of the aero is functional and it never gets driven hard. 

I know you tried the ITB's but are you giving up on them because the filters were killing all the gains? 

Yes... and no, I almost pulled the trigger on the ones from RHD in Australia but it came down to cost/time/tuning vs seat time. Also, ITB's is near the same price as going boost which did very much temp me for a while when Zak posted his twin setup and then single setup, for effort and cost the boost is more logical until the last track day showed just how much heat has become a more important thing to address. Harrop has the most ideal ITB setup but it also is wicked expensive, right up there with Kinsler, the Borla units are okay but if going ITB the linkage is such a MASSIVE issue - expect at worst monthly to at best a few times a year adjustments to the linkage if you are driving the car a decent amount which can mean re-tuning if things go off a bit. The RHD, Borla, Kinsler and Harrop ones all can fit. You can make them breathe a decent amount with a cowl like I have, but the FD engine bay is really small and gets hot, there is no way around it and eventually that heat is going to get sucked in. Maybe some more ideal option will come up in time.

Aero though, yes. You notice it and it makes a difference if you're on a track where downforce is your friend. I have WAY more downforce in the rear now, far more than expected but more on that in a bit.

Heat wise, my car did okay considering the weather and conditions. I switched to a new baffled pan, very large Earls oil cooler (a must), new synthetic oil that runs cooler, flushed rad, have a vented hood - oil temps solid and no starvation/blow by, water temps hit 248F after about 20min on track. No oil accumulator yet, but that may be sometime in the future I think. My regular driving water temps are between 190F-200F. The temps those two days were up there, as we were near the top part of desert here it was about 96F which is not something we're used to heh (I have no AC... bleh, it got gross) and tarmac alone was 141F - not bad though, held together. But can be much better for longer track times, also my PS fluid was wicked boiled over after every session. 

However, every FK8 Civic Type R also there (there was a lot of them, very popular and capable track toy) along with many others, also had major coolant and oil temp issues. The brand new 765LT which came even had an oil line failure, two people burnt through their brakes with one unfortunately going off into the gravel and into the wall bursting into flames. Was a rough scene, but they got out alright.

A hard few days on a lot of cars, but the FD made the 4hr drive there, two days back to back punishment and 4hr drive back. Definitely a lot learned, I'll follow this up with a more detailed post on cooling, aero, tires, and why I'm rethinking the cowl and what I'll be trying out next. Pretty busted up, the FD still had a crowd when driving around and in the pits, some lingering track folks wandering around it which is not bad considering an over half-million dollar McLaren was not far away along with a plethora of GT3 RS' and similar cars.