new guy questions

[eyeguy]

Hi Folks
I have a few basic questions about the 818.
For those who have finished the build, does the car perform as advertised? 0-60 in 4 secs? etc. Is the 200+ hour build time realistic?
How loud is the car from the driver's position?
I read that the car requires no paint, yet I see that some are having it painted. Does it come in stock colors that require no paint?
Thanks

[Goldwing]

Hi and welcome. So much of what you asked is dependent on your plans and your experience. Sub 4 seconds is likely, but very few are completed to give their numbers with their tune levels to compare. Unlike oem cars, there is going to be a lot of variables on engine power levels, tire selection among other factors. But no question, very fast, shining in the tossability department most.

Noise levels depend on you as well. Could be motorcycle loud with straight pipes and no attention to sound isolation, but very reasonable if catted, muffled, and with a sound insulated hood and firewall. It won't be new Honda quiet, but windows-down WRX noise level should be achieveable. Noise control is not part of the kit, that will be on you.

The design goal was to not need paint using motorcycle fairing like colored plastic panels. They aren't there yet, using only white fiberglass and gel coat. It will need cleaned up and polished to leave it white. It comes in fairly good condition, but not ready to show. Most will likely paint until the colored panels are in production. I plan on trying my hand at wrapping it instead of paint.

Build time will depend on your background. I'd guess 200 for the more proficient builders. I'll likely be closer to 300, but I'm not tracking the time. Just enjoying the process.

[eyeguy]

I like your idea about wrapping the car, but doesn't that require professional equipment, etc? I'll definately want to follow your progress there. As far as performance variables that you mention, I understand the effect of different tire choices, but if we are all using basically the same donor engine (WRX), why would there be much variability in engine contribution between builds?

[metalmaker12]

I think a detailed solid build start to finish (interior paint and body etc) is about a 350-400 hour build for the more experienced builder and about 500-600 for a newbie with some wrenching background. If you minus paint and body and not to detailed than maybe 250-300

[Joseph]

I like your idea about wrapping the car, but doesn't that require professional equipment, etc? I'll definately want to follow your progress there. As far as performance variables that you mention, I understand the effect of different tire choices, but if we are all using basically the same donor engine (WRX), why would there be much variability in engine contribution between builds?

They are not all using the same engine. People are using everything from bone stock 2002 NA engines straight out of a 150,000 mile donor to $20,000+ race engines. Some of us have bone stock transmissions with no positive traction equipment which means I will probibly have no luck at all getting the rear wheels to lock up with the pavement. The front transaxle assembly of the older cars have no stock antislip mechanism. People buld what they want, which is the beauty of this company. Just continue to read the threads, there is so much information here you can learn everything in time.

[Scargo]

Wrapping doesn't require equipment as much as it does skill and finesse. Pretty sure I will wrap mine.
Think about all those with a WRX and how many mess with them. Lots of donor cars have already been modified!
You expect us to resist putting some chrome whiz-bang thing on our kit motor? There's "Stage 1" through Stage "shoot the moon". Changing out the CAI (cold air intake) and filter will change the power level. Some things come broken on donor cars, so excuse or not, it's "hey, it needs some headers!"
It's also an inescapable virus. If you buy a kit you have the bug. None will be by the book/none will perform the same.

Edit: I can and could paint the car but since I will be on the track 100% I hear vinyl's the preferred finish. Gets messed up, just recover the bad area. This will be my first experience at doing near all the car in vinyl. Overall, looks cheaper. No labor-intensive prep work. No smell, overspray and health safety issues.

[Goldwing]

Part of the variability even involves where the power is. I'm aiming for low end grunt for street fun. But there some who want the high end superpower 500 HP etc which trades low end grunt for higher HP reach.. The EJ engine has a lot of tunability from 200 on up. Like Joseph said above, keep looking around here, and you'll see what I mean, lol. That said, I'm guessing a more typical build will involve stage 2 with a downpipe, intake, and tune. A lot will add a little on top of that, resulting in a lot if builds in the high 200 HP or low 300 HP range. The earlier year transmissions have known reliability issues above that power level guiding many decisions. But you'll see, most builds aren't "typical."

On wrapping, yes, experience and finesse will be required, but not so much special equipment. I successfully wrapped the front of my car with tacky clear stuff. Most colored wraps aren't tacky, but respond when pressure is applied. The application will be similar, but the attraction of dirt will be less of an issue. It'll be an experiment regardless. It's a budget decision for me.