Hasbro's Build Journal

[Hasbro]

Does it change the way the lights look... say on the wall in the first pic?

Just the one on the right and a negligable amount.

Finally put the CTR bar (22mm) on the rear and played with lowering and camber all day yesterday. Eight years and no rust! Just a mild drop and -1. camber until doing the front new tires and R lca, which needs to get done soon as the rears are basically slicks. Getting a little klunking but haven't looked into it yet. Sure feels good, though.






Edit;Drove it pretty hard this evening. If I have time I'll pull the wheels off tomorrow but pretty sure I need spacers to clear the inner fender next to the strut. Might just go ahead and get 10mm spacers to also handle 245/45s. We'll see. Currently the dampers are set at full soft and feels pretty sweet. 515 lb. springs (don't forget there's -200 unsprung lbs. off of the rear).

Ran the EP up near the Ritz Carlton on Dove Mtn. Lots of empty development with beautiful smooth roads. Have to be careful of potential cars but pretty safe. Anyway, there are a bunch of tight circles with river rock softly laid into the concrete. Awesome for testing! The Konis handled the rocks beautifully and there was a nice tail slide induced if desired. Fun, fun. Will take some pics up there very soon.

It will be interesting to see if I can get away with these springs as things progress. I think it's possible along with the continued weight loss. Soft as possible and great handling - perfect for the street and track days. We'll see about autox...

Need to find someone to re-design and cnc my camber plate into a caster plate. I figure about 5+* of caster with the plate and some other stuff. Now we're talking!

Playing with electrical tape again.



Edit (2/13);
- Really ready to put the new lcas in but not excited about the heavier R stabilizer bar. The handling is so nice I'm afraid it could spoil some of the feel, just too much. A copy of the R bar could be customed ($) but instead around 16-18 mm with adjustable ends.

- Will try to get lca and R888 245/45s put in within two weeks. So obsessed with finally having suspension to within 95% complete.

- Then get heights where they need to be and then corner weighed.

- Get fenders pulled out (not rolled) to at least get fenders out of the tire's way. Will look rough but sort of in a good way

- Get back to pulling weight.

[Hasbro]

[B]So, this year's Kings of Cornering street tires (so far) are;

BFG Rivals - only 225/50s are available in 16s. Bummage. They sound amazing. Could just go with the 225/50s. Edit; from what I've read, the Rivals will be top dog so all of you with 17s...

Bridgestone RE-11As - 24.7 diameter, 9.1tread. Decent but 25 lbs., which is a no no in my book. Bummage.

Dunlop ZII, replacement for the Star Specs - Excellant all round tire as with the Star Specs but better. 225/45s are about 24" diameter and 8.5 tread, wide for a 225/45, wider than the 225/50. I might go with this one. No 245/45s.

R1Rs aren't held in very high regard comparitively.

Toyo R888s - way more expensive and faster wear but the best measurements to me. 245/45s are 24.4" diameter, 9.4" tread. Sweet. It's either the R888 or the ZIIs. So far.

[Hasbro]

Woo Hoo! Great to have EPHatch up and running again.

New itinerary for next two weeks;

- ordered one Corbeau FX-1 Pro fixed back seat, 20 lbs, black with blue insert, manual pump lumbar, seat cover. weight reduction; 23 lbs. Woohoo!

- ordered a custom Wilwood setup from FastBrakes.com (602 323 2110) and Brian was great. The setup only saves a total of 1 lb. over the regular kit but that's better than nothing. Forget the brake pad name but they are in between Hawk HPs and HP+. Woohoo!

- mount four Dunlop ZII 225/45 16s prior to alignment. Woohoo! Currently dropped about 5/8" on all four corners will drop another 1/4" before alignment. Total drop of 1 1/4" due to tire diameter but will still have close to stock travel. Need the travel due to lighter springs (336/515).

- 5 or 10 mm rear spacers to clear lower lca. It's rubbing slightly.

- going to spend an extra $220.00 to have shop install the R lcas while they are doing an alignment and brake check. I just can't risk having the EP not driveable for more than a day due to being my brother's caregiver.

- start pulling fenders out to get a feel for how to flare. Woohoo! Will look pretty rough for a while! Currently outer sides of all four tires are rubbing on fenders at 2" of compression.

- at this point front unsprung weight will have been reduced by 43 lbs., total weight removal during these two weeks; 92 lbs., all from front half of car. Below the 2400 lb. mark! Woohoo!

Next Items;

- was going to look into a custom adjustable bar that's thinner than the 23 mm Type R bar but am now figuring that with the increasing width of the wheels and lca and track that the heavier R bar should be ok for now, especially with the light springs. We'll see.

- going to look into getting top camber plate re-designed to be purely a caster plate. $ Ouch$ but have to do it! All camber to be adjusted from bottom. This will almost conclude suspension mods for now and will get car corner weighed and aligned. Except for some things from SHG_Easy...

- will next concentrate on getting 150+ lbs. off of the front half of EP. Weight will then be in the correct zone for how suspension was initially designed.

- then comes body work and drivetrain but will be after summer

Constructive feedback welcome!

[Hasbro]

As of 2/26/13

- around 2475 lbs. Starting to handle very well.

[poeticfinesse21]

Absolutely amazing. We need more threads like this. Subscribed.

[sir_2002]

for your caster top plate why don't you get Todd's caster/camber plate on club rsx ?

[Hasbro]

^ I would lose 3/4" of travel.



Thinking of matching the blue cloth of the seat on the door panel. $45.00 for 36x36", ouch. Would probably need 2 yards as the panels would cover almost the whole doors.



http://www.corbeau.com/products/fixe...seats/fx1_pro/

[Hasbro]

Absolutely amazing. We need more threads like this. Subscribed.

Kind words, thanks. All I'm doing is riding on the backs of people like Musty, ZZyzyxx, and SHG_Easy. It's their knowledge. I'm just applying it to my tastes.

[Ba82Ep3]

The blackout on the headlights looks really good!

I wish you could help me with the suspension on my EJ. I just dont have the brain power left to put towards it with everything else going on... but a lot of it is due for replacement and i really dont wanna buy parts twice.

[Hasbro]

The blackout on the headlights looks really good!

I wish you could help me with the suspension on my EJ. I just dont have the brain power left to put towards it with everything else going on... but a lot of it is due for replacement and i really dont wanna buy parts twice.

Hey, was wondering where you were. Thanks, the lights make it look really different, more like it's grown up without the bug eyes. It's amazing how dominant the stock lights are. The rears seem to be working well. also.

I'll help you with your Ej. Kind of like taking a knife to a gun fight. They have that one down, though.

Suspension: after finally playing with the Koni adjustments, things seem to be getting pretty nice. I have one side cambered at -2 front, same in the rear. The other side is -1 and -1. Trying to induce reactions has been so much fun. Comparing the two sides in similar situations. The -2 front is a blast and so different from the -1. I'm just ignoring the rubbing on the fenders and the rear lca. I just paid for some 5mm spacers for the rear - thanks, SHG! Can't wait for your rear lca washer set!

I put the Konis on full soft front and rear today to take my brother to the doctor. He was thrilled to finally ride in comfort. They ride softer than the stock set up. Very pleased.

Lately have been running all kinds of firmness levels while keeping the psi constant at 30.5/32. Tonight I'll go out and run with 80% firm front, 67% firm rear ( 4/5 firm, 2/3 firm). For around town I have enjoyed about 60% firm front and rear. Of course, after the lcas, Dunlops, lowering, etc. are installed, It's time to start fiddling all over again. What I'm really hoping for is to cut back on the front camber a bit (street) when the caster plate goes on but that's a couple of months away. Cool beans.

I may have mentioned initially that I wanted the EP to feel like a mix of a small BMW (1980s and 90s), GTI, and the new Mini with a little bit of track attitude thrown in. It really seems to be headed in that direction.

Body; working on what I call subliminal pinstriping, lol. Charcoal black with a little bit of blue? metalflake to suggest/enhance some lines and alter mass at some points. In my minds eye they fan out towards the back into a wider spray pattern and would probably have to be air brushed at that point.

If this doesn't do anything for you, you're on the wrong page. The first car driven, a Lancia Stratos, is one of my top five favorite cars. Chris comments on how comfortable it is;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXgWWNJVdYA

[Ba82Ep3]

That video is awesome. Freekin drool...

[Hasbro]

Wouldn't it be awesome to drive those P7s on the street?


Here's a different but very good one;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJQ4hQSusjE

[Ba82Ep3]

To have the $ to spend the time on perfecting your car of choice to the level of that Porsche. Perfection!

[Hasbro]

- going a little crazy waiting for parts. Wilwoods should be here end of next week so can then do the lcas and alignment. Corbeau will be three weeks but that will be a fun quick install. That will be 89 lbs. total, including carpet padding and passenger seat. Easilly under 2,400 lbs. Woohoo!

- ...then moon roof, interior door, some firewall insulation, cai, some of dash, sound insulation, etc., should be around 75+lbs. Should hit 2300 lbs., which will satisfy me for a good while. -475 lbs.!

- the more the handling improves and the EP lightens up, the more I like the little K20A3. Keep the revs up and it does the job. I know, calm down, just sayin'.

- going to try using the oem front bumper first when I recede it in1.5" at the center and 2.5" at the corners. Cut the top portion off to slide it back. Lol, not so simple but you get the idea...

- going to look into a different type, not brand, of damper. Not sure if any are made that can adapt to our set up but would think so. Sorry to be mysterious but want to look into it more. edit; was looking into digressive rally dampers but they are too expensive for me right now. A True Choice Koni engineer was very encouraging about my keeping the Koni Sports and developing them over even his double adjustable Race Konis. I'm also interested in the Buddy Clubs (made by a very good manufacturer) that SHG is working with them on but will wait until the Sports have been taken as far as they can go. Feel pretty good about them now.

- while waiting for brakes I'll keep testing the present suspension, then start all over with the new stuff (read; R stabilizer!).


3/4/13; 32.5 rear/33.5 f, Konis 2/3 towards hard front and rear. Really nice place to be for corners. Too much oversteer decellerating in the corners at 30.5r/34f.

Looking at ThaKid's cf fenders and doors - sure would be sweet to have the wider fenders and huge weight reduction from doors. Might be too rich for my blood.



Can you see this?; with the lights toned down the eye is drawn more towards the sides, which will feel lower and accentuate the width and flares;






Spacers recieved, thanks, SHG!

Put the 5 mm spacers on the rears, no more bumping the lca, all is quiet. Really need to get started on pulling the fenders, though, as all four rub like crazy. It's all good, though, rubbing was anticipated.

3/10/13; still going crazy waiting for parts. Actually, a little slowdown is good in this case, gives me a chance to test and review ideas.

- the rear spacers are perfect. Making the suspension work along with the fender rubbing has actually turned out to be a good learning experience. Ttrying to get a faster corner while rubbing has made me concentrate on setting up the line more and helped me corner faster which is great. Steering the wheel is different, too.

- have been running hard with the Konis on full soft, another challenge. Dunno, just have experiment. It all makes me a better driver and more aware and responsive to adjusting suspension.

- all of this playing around has given me more confidence when pushing harder. I haven't had a high performance suspension in 8 years so a lot of experience has to be woken up along with the newer acrued suspension knowledge. I thought I knew a good bit about suspension way back but that just wasn't the case. The EP/RSX forums have taught me so much. Still along way to go.

- ^ the cars I had 8 years ago; a highly modified Miata with track suspension and a Dare TG Sport. The Dare made the Miata look like an old Buick station wagon. The maroon car, #2, is my actual car. Favorite car ever. http://www.dareuk.com/history_tg_sport.php

- the later headlights have to go. They are so visually integrated towards the later bumpers that they just won't work nearly as well with my shortening the bumper as the ealier lights. I believe I need to re-wire, also? Just not something I want to mess with but oh, well.

Edit, 3/12/13;
- been playing with full stiff variations the last couple of days. So much fun.

- in spite of rubbing, front is getting full travel. Rear still has another inch or so of travel after rubbing, which is great. It's rubbing about 3/4" into the tread, lol, instant bumpstops! As hard as I'm hitting the corners the tread is just getting lightly rubbed. No bottoming action. It will be great to pull the fenders and corner after 40 mph at full tilt boogey!

3/14/13; Woohoo! Wilwoods arrived today. Really busy but will try to get them on in the next week, then the R lcas. With the new seat (still waiting) and removing passenger seat the weight removal will be 90 lbs., which should put me at about 2350. Just in case I have subtracted the passenger seat weight before when it was out I'll say 2400 lbs. - just in case. That will be -375. Finally getting there, after seven years...

[Hasbro]

Ep FINALLY goes into the shop tomorrow for; Wilwood kit (11.75"), Type R lcas, basic alignment. Hate to not do it myself but have to have the car finished in one day.

This will subtract 24 lbs. of unsprung from the front including brake shields.

Alignment will be;

front - 0 toe, -1.5 camber
rear - 0 toe, - 1 camber

Just finished lowering another 1/4" all around. Height at the side jack points; front, 6 1/8", rear 6 5/8". Measured at bare metal, sound goop removed. I'm guessing stock heights were about 6 3/4" f and 7" r. Should be within 1/4". Fenders are at 25 1/2" f, 25 7/8 r but will change when pulled out and down. Not very low but looks a bit cleaner. Will stay at this height for a while plus the 1/2" lower Dunlops. Will pull fenders at this height. Then will adjust for final? heights and get corner weighed. Somewhere in there the caster plates will be installed.