Vimmy

Well if you're looking for a car to try things out on....

Have you got a boost gauge attached to see what levels of boost you do have, could it been some split/perforated vacuum pipe that leaks only under the highest of pressure perhaps? Do you know what boost levels you have currently? Cheers, Col

Sorry to hear of the issues you have had, sounds like the problems I had initially have now gotten worse after a year of getting mine. Did you pay by caed and if so you should have some protection from the banks?

Are you bringing the refreshments again

Thats a great looking colour of car, methinks a stripe wouldn't do the paintjob a justice, leave it nekked

Hehe thanks yes, it's only now reading it back again I appreciate how much I've written down. I didnt think I wrote that much, I was a bit delerious with back pain tabs and was a bit of a blur I'm going to have to start on another car when these mods are done

Hi Guys, whilst I was not having lots of fun being at the outloaws today, instead of the Japfest event, I thought I'd sit there and compile what would be a short list of mods and upgrades made to the car over the last few years. It took my by surprise as to how much has been done since I got the car in a virginal state in 2006. I have entered the list, so far, below: Drivetrain Graham Goode STI organic clutch Rota Tarmac 17inch Alloy Wheels Goodyear Eagle F1 215/40Z R17 Tyres Whiteline 22mm Adjustable Rear Anti Roll Bar Whiteline Rear Droplinks BC Racing Adjustable Top Mount Coilovers with Adjustable Bound/Rebound Control Rear Suspension Camber Bolt Breaking System Upgraded 4Pot front painted Calipers 80 Groove 294mm front Discs Redstuff Ceramic front Pads 80 Groove 266mm rear Discs Redstuff Ceramic rear Discs HEL front and rear braided hoses Front upper strut brace Rear upper strut brace Breathing - In Drift Blue Cylindrical Filter Foglight fed cold air feed MAF delete Silicone filter intake hose Autobahn88 FMIC Bonnet scoop delete Bonnet reverse vent Breathing - Out Grouppe S exhaust manifold and solid uppipe Afterburner Vortex angled 4.5inch tailpipe backBox Afterburner Decat 3inch downpipe Subaru P1 centre section Turbo cover delete Turbo blanket Forge Twin Piston BOV Electrical Simtec ECU with AntiLag, Launch Control & 2 switchable maps Digital Air Fuel Ratio display External Air Temp display Bright Switch delete Voltage gauge Headlight Level Switch move Wing Mirror Switch move DAB Radio install Lighting Rear driving light LED replacement Crystal Side Repeater replacement Side Repeater Silvatec bulb replacement Crystal Front Indicator replacement Front Indicator Silvatec bulb replacement Crystal Headlight replacement HID Headlight bulb replacement Fog light delete Bodywork - External bling JDM Painted Moulded SplashGuards Fitted rubber mudflaps Painted side skirts Painted rear bumper spats Painted wing mirrors Go faster 'SIDC named' rear passenger window sticker Go faster 'Flat4' rear side window sticker Electric folding wing mirrors STI Radiator grill replacement FMIC Mesh grill covering Twin horn replacement Internal bling Momo Tuner steering wheel Triple gauge A-pillar pod Triple gauge Dash pod Tinted(pimped) Limo Black windows Windscreen sunstrip in Limo Black Scoobyworld blue carpet mat set with drivers heel plate Sparco Pedal set Engine/Engine Warlbro 255l/h fuel pump Earth cable install Air filter heat shroud Air box removal Oil Pressure Sensor & gauge with holding bracket Oil Temp Sensor & gauge Boost pressure gauge Radiator coolant sensor % gauge Exhaust temp sensor & gauge Carbon Canister removal ECU / FMIC Air temp sensor Radiator top panel Radiator side panels Bonnet strut replacement Atmos Pressure Solenoid bracket fix Ongoing Cooling Mods Carl Davey Coolant Tank spacers Coolant tank pipe replacement Coolant tank pipe rerouting Power steering pipe heatwrapped Heater matrix pipe heatwrapped Turbo Intake pipe to IACV piping heatwrapped Throttlebody coolant pipe bypassed Throttlebody heat insulator jacket Air filter heat shroud heat insulated Future Mods - in progress Windscreen wash bottle quick release switch install Windscreen wash pipe equalisation Switchable air intake temp probe/diaplay Catch Can install Carbon Canister partial reinstall Replacement Intake manifold with 440cc Injectors and AB88 Turbo inlet pipe, to be painted, have fuel pipes heat wrapped and fitted with new gasket type Carl Davey manifold spacers. Future Mods - planned Coolant tank heat insulation Clutch/gearbox cooling cold air feed Fan extraction engine bay cooling Engine coolant metal pipe replacement with 6mm hose to move radiator to then move fmic uppipe. Fix FMIC final pipe to TB Bonnet reverse vent fan air extraction Bonnet front mini vent cover removal Bonnet front mini vent ducting install Poly bushes throughout Rear trailing arm replacement Front wishbone replacement Front ARB replacement Front lower H strut brace I was amazed as to how much was done to the car, as everyday when i look at it from the outside, to me, it looks fairly unmodded. It's only when I open the bonnet i realise whats been done since I've had it. Please dont see this as me bigging myself up, that isn't like me but more of a feeling of total shock at the ammount achieved so far, not to mention money and hours epent However there still more tinkering to do to the wee car yet Cheers, Col

Hi Stu, thanks for the comments I'm a big fan of the KISS method, nothing fancy or blingy, just something easy to reproduce that costs little and uses modest tools Now if were talking about heatsoak and engine temps then I'm totally anal Ive got a whole wraft of other stuff planned, it's just getting time to sit down plan and research it all. I'm looking at measuring both above and below bonnet pressures to look at getting more hot air out of the bay, DIY Manometer on its way If it works as planned im looking to remove the front bonnet covers to and vent them properly and possibly aided by an extraction system using a kick ass 4 inch fan to reduce the pressure behind the radiator and suck it under the car, and then also fan extraction on the bigger bonnet vent. Too many things to do, not enough hours in the day. I've still to finish off the 4 way switchable air temp sensing system but this other stuff required doing before it gets done. I'm looking at shiftingthe radiator across about 2 inches to stop the FMIC up pipe hitting the fan blades and then rebuilding the fmic pipework as its hitting the bonnet.... Cheers, Col

In order to keep an eye on my ageing engine I installed an oil pressure sensor in the spare plug on top of cylinder 3. However I am now on sensor numebr 3 as the direct heat from the block is cooking the sensors and blowing them open-circuit. I made a wee bracket from a spare bit of ally sheet I had lying around, gave it a few bends and a few holes and mounted it via one of the earthing studs on the intake manifold. The sensor came with a rubber backed metal bracket, so this is attached to the ally bracket and arranged so that the sensor sits in free air with no direct contact to anything hot and metal like. I have a few piccies below to show my Heath Robinson'ness Original install Bracket attached to the manifold Sensor attached to the bracket Voila finished There are a few more pics here of some dirty engine pron Cheers, Col

Just added my name to the list for the 25th, should be a fun day, maybe I can get Bob to do a wee remap whilst I'm there.

I cant make Japfest (many thanks mother-in-law) so will be attending this one 01. stum450n 02. Vimmy 03. 04. 05. 06. 07. 08. 09. 10.

Hello mate, what medium did you use in the catch can, it's looks a solid bit of kit. I was planning to use some stainless wool i.e. stainless brillo pad as the first piece then a bit of sponge like the spongy things used for washing dishes to catch the finer vapours. Cheers, Col

Hi DaOne, thanks for the info and the piccy makes it easier to picture (pardon the pun). I was planning on venting from the rocker covers, in fact I was already venting them to atmos via a pipe and mini KN type filter. However the info I read about venting the rocker covers as I understood it, to me anyway, was wrong. I have amended a piccy of a spare manifold I have to show my thinking. According to scooby manuals/web sites I have trawled through, it appears that the rockers covers take their feed for fresh air (right hand arrow) from the turbo inlet pipe, this is an input only, there should be no air coming back out from the rocker covers. There as a section metal piping that feeds both rocker covers from this inlet pipe and the final section ends in a short rubber hose to the rocker covers. From here, somehow as yet i dont know how, the air makes it's way through the crank case and back out via an outlet that appears between the turbo impeller and throttle body. Based on the piccy above, the upward facing arrow is the direction of the air flow leaving the crank case. From my readings when the intake manifold is at vacuum pressure ie idleing or partial throttle then the PCV (left facing arrow) draws this blowby/crank case gas into the intake manifold and reburns it. When the intake manifold pressure increases ie at higher throttle opening then the PCV closes and the blowby gas/air is drawn in via the turbo impeller,(right facing arrow) through the turbo and TMIC or like mine leaves gunk in the first FMIC pipe. The pipe that that connects the crank case outlet is effectively a Y shape. The crank case is at the bottom, the PCV branches to the left and the turbo inlet pipe branches to the right. I plan to put my can input feed right onto the crank case outlet, the can return then reconnects back into what would be the bottom of the Y. This now means that the intake/turbo still pulls the air through the rocker covers and backout via the crank case but is now filtered and cleaned (hopefully). If the output of the crank case is vented to atmosphere instead, then there is nothing but the force of the incoming air (from the air filter) to move the air through the crank case and remove the corrosive gases within. As the air coming in from the air filter is sucked in at a great rate by the turbo, then the chances of some of this air being diverted away and making its way to the rocker covers is reduced. With less air coming through the crank case then there is more chance that the blowby gasses remain within the crank case. I have copied an extract from the manual, I'm hoping this explains my ramblings above. I am by no means saying that my idea on the install is correct, I have seen lots on the web/forums with many different variations of setting up the CC to work but to me this gets the best of both worlds.

Here is a wee piccy showing the length and top and bottom diameters.. A quick search on the B+Q site give up two 110mm dia brackets, this one in black the other grey: http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=9272459&fh_view_size=50&fh_start_index=50&fh_location=%2f%2fcatalog01%2fen_GB&fh_search=pipe&fh_eds=%C3%9F&fh_refview=search&isSearch=true It's not very glam or blingy aka fat n furious but it will hold it in place at the top of the can, it would mean a couple of self tappers into the firewall or nut/bolts into another bracket secured to the car, that bit is still to be figured out. Cheers, Col

Thanks Stu, it's been on my list of things to do for a while, whilst getting all the other 'things' done on the car. I have to admit there are a certain ammount of satisfaction gained from 'bodging' something together, and hoping it will work too I like the Blue Peter idea with the rum, bit they'd have to change the name to Blotto Peter

Hello mate, I'll take some measurements when I get home tonight and post them up. I was racking my brains for a bracket but your idea sounds like the way forward, thanks for the inspiration Cheers, Col

Hi Guys, after finding a good bit of oil in both sides of the turbo impeller I was after a catch can to capture it all, save it from my intake. There were oodles about for silly money but looking nice and shiny. Being a tight fisted kind of guy I set about making my own and after a shop on ebay for the parts, which cost in total less than 20 quid, I have come up with a 'temporary/test' unit. The parts consist of 1 microwave proof plastic lockable container, a couple of 1/2inch barbed hose connectors, 1 small piece of aluminium plate for the baffle, a couple of 1/2inch 90 degree plastic elbows, a short length of 1/2inch clear braided hose, a couple of M8 nuts/bolts and a couple super scourers (stainless of course) I know it looks like something from scrapheap challenge, but if it works it will do, and it is still in a project phase, not production Some piccies below... With the feeds to the Turbo Inlet/PCV pipe ready Umm from the side on From the front, I know yes it does look like an alien From the right... Fromn the left... I plan to add some sponge type material (below the S/S wool) as well to remove the finer oily vapours as the stainless steel wool will only attract the larger droplets in the vapour. Anyhoo it is cheap as chips and will be designed to draw the 'cleaned' air back into the system. After doing a good bit of research I know where to plug it into to make a very easy install, however getting to the pipe means taking a lot of exising fmic pipework out, but will be worth the agro. Also being clear plastic, you will be able to see the levels of blowby vapour, as it condenses, that are being captured, I'll give it a lick of paint and place it not far from the turbo close to the firewall (somehow) Cheers, Col

Thanks matey, I like to try and help and not give off 'duff gen' (hmm must be the raf man in me ) I think the GES workshop would be my second home, bits, bobs, engines and gubbins everywhere - heaven

Hi Stu, I'm not too sure where the auctions place is but below in the piccy with the yellow circle is GES. They are on Range Rd just off of Downs Rd on that estate. The white wiring was attached to the probe and not part of the original loom. This runs back into the loom where the old MAF used to connect to, this was then rerouted at the ecu end to match. Bob said that the probe was a resistor based type and resistance/impedance changed with temperature. I believe that the length of wire involved will probably only have a few ohms of resistance so when compared to the higher values given off by the probe will add neligable errors, your not wrong at all, its always good to think along these lines or you may introduce errors without knowing it The only issue is the longer the wire, the more chance (albeit slight) of electrical pickup of rf radiation from the spark plugs/ecu leads running close by. The way around this is to run the cable at right angles to the block ie towards the firewall and perhaps enclose it in a screened foil, but thats me being anal (another job for me now perhaps) For your probe, I dont think it would harm it to use crimp leads/connectors to existing install and if it doesnt break it then extend the wire via another length using crimp connectors again. Its a quick rollback if you see problems with your length, so to speak Ah yes theres always something being done, in fact I've just finished my air filter shield this morning, now onto the rest of it, no rest for the very wicked. Cheers, Col

Hi Guys, I finally managed to get some free time to finish off the ECU and FMIC install (which was started early last year ). The great Bob Rawle provided me with an air temp probe so that the ECU can vary the fueling based on the charge temps when he put in the Simtek box. 'BigD' kindly got hold of a threaded Ali boss to weld on to the FMIC pipe and I popped to GES - Gardias Engine Services in Witney and he chucked it on for a few quid this afternoon, what a very nice chap The workshops at GES had all manner of engines in getting work done on them, I could have stayed there all day lol, my new second home I'm looking forward to a few 'runs' in the car with this air temp probe finally in place and see how it compares. The probe was tucked into the wheel arch, getting some air from the road, but now with the FMIC giving it plenty of the cooler stuff I'm hoping the car will run a bit better Anhyoo I thought I'd put on some piccys, if maked pictures of bare aluminium tubing offends you, look away now The new boss in place.. FMIC pipe back in place awaiting probe.. The all important probe.. All done, happy days...apologies for the glare, I'm not a great photographist

Thanks matey, it does need a clean, I plan to do it in stages. I did make a start in work a few weeks ago, out at lunchtime to start on the right hand suspension strut cleaning off all the crap and gunk that was stuck to it. I'm going to paint a good chunk of the brackets holding things together which should make it easier to clean. The only problem is I never get chance for a lunch break, too much work getting in the way

Hi Dipsy, thanks for the link, very much food for thought I do like that covered airbox design, you get the best of both worlds, direct cold air flow and heat resistant covering from heatsoak Now just for me to not be such a tight arse and buy one

Anytime matey

The day aint over yet.....