need a little help

[Zodiac]

So I've had the car finished for about 2 months or so now and drive it when I can just havent had a lot of time to unfortunately. Anyways even after I got the alignment done it seems the car can be quit touchy at freeway speeds when I hit a small bump or anything. Is this normal or do the springs need more breaking in (at about 500 miles now) or possibly a bump steer kit?

Also one more concern was after im about 3/8 - 1/4 tank of gas if I make a turn the car seems to start to die for a bit likes it's not getting gas and then it will pick back up again. Could my fuel pump not be angled properly or is this normal also? Any feedback on how others is running is greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Sgt.Gator]

Neither of those are normal.
Springs don't break in. Make sure your toe is not set to toe out. A little toe in will make the car more stable if it seems like it wants to turn on it's own.

You shouldn't be losing fuel pressure until VERY low on fuel if you aren't on a race track. If you have a Cobb Accessport you can run data logging and determine if it's fuel pressure. I would think you'd be getting a CEL to if it's happening. What tank and pump are you using?

[Zodiac]

ahh ok cool I'll check on that to see what it's set for. I had the shop do it with the numbers provided by F5 but they said if I need anything I can go back and have it looked at or changed no charge.

I still got a few CEL codes so I didn't look for anything new but that's a good start. I didn't think it should be normal so I'm leaning towards fuel pump angled wrong or pressure regulator maybe. I have a stock fuel tank with a TRE performance 255lph fuel pump.

[Goldwing]

When you're at that point on the fuel gauge, check the resistance on the fuel level sender and compare it to the actual fuel in the tank. Maybe you're running out?

As far as the highway bump instability. Check out Wayne's thread where he talks about ensuring the rear lower transverse link to upright bolt is parallel to the other end of the transverse links. If they are off there, what you're describing could very much happen. A place to start anyway, good luck.

Any feedback on gas mileage?

[wallace18]

So I've had the car finished for about 2 months or so now and drive it when I can just havent had a lot of time to unfortunately. Anyways even after I got the alignment done it seems the car can be quit touchy at freeway speeds when I hit a small bump or anything. Is this normal or do the springs need more breaking in (at about 500 miles now) or possibly a bump steer kit?

Also one more concern was after im about 3/8 - 1/4 tank of gas if I make a turn the car seems to start to die for a bit likes it's not getting gas and then it will pick back up again. Could my fuel pump not be angled properly or is this normal also? Any feedback on how others is running is greatly appreciated, thanks.
I had the same deal. Once I got the lateral links at the correct angle problem fixed. Though steering is a bit quick in my car compared to other cars I have driven.

[Zodiac]

It's possible. I will have to open it up when I get home tonight and see what's up with the level sender and fuel pump.

As far as the lateral links I can't seem to find it in your thread wallace. I saw mention of the front links that connect to the sway bar but nothing for the rears. What angle should I set them to? Do I need to remove the spindles and do it with no weight on them? And just to clarify we are talking about all 4 lower rear links from frame to spindle right?

[wleehendrick]

It's possible. I will have to open it up when I get home tonight and see what's up with the level sender and fuel pump.

As far as the lateral links I can't seem to find it in your thread wallace. I saw mention of the front links that connect to the sway bar but nothing for the rears. What angle should I set them to? Do I need to remove the spindles and do it with no weight on them? And just to clarify we are talking about all 4 lower rear links from frame to spindle right?

Wayne recently posted a tip on how to align the rear links. This seems to be a common issue, since the 818 rear suspension is under-constrained (there are more degrees of freedom (adjustments) than constraints (alignment specs)) alignment shops always seem to get it wrong! You need the additional info from Wayne's tip to make sure the geometry is correct, otherwise you can end up with excessive roll/bump steer in the rear. Note: I haven't gotten to that point yet, just seen a lot of people struggle with it.

[AZPete]

See Wayne's recent post in the Suspension section. And, this post may help also:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?14084-Do-not-make-the-same-goof-up-I-did

[Goldwing]

You mentioned you were using the FFR tank. I'm not sure of the calibration on that sender. The Boyd tank sender doesn't have a full subaru matching ohm range making the gauge inaccurate at full or empty. It's what made me think there could be a similar issue. Even just a mechanical blockage of the float preventing showing any lower.

For the alignment issue, Keep searching the threads. RM1sepex's thread came up in a quick search, but 20 pages is a lot to sort through. The gist was to imagine a bar going through the each end of the lateral links. Make those bars parallel with respect to level. I'm going off memory, but I believe Wayne talked about laying a bar across the inner lateral link ends and measuring the angle with respect to level. Then he put the bar/rod where the bolt goes through the outer end (at the upright) and matched the angle. He explained the whys when it first came up, but I don't remember those details. If I have more time later, I'll try to find it.

[Jaime]

As far as the lateral links I can't seem to find it in your thread wallace.
The upper trailing arm controls caster, which affects the relative position of the outer lateral link ends.

What angle should I set them to?
Make the laterals parallel to each other.

[Mechie3]

Your car is done...



But you didn't update your build thread.






I call shenanigans. ;)

[Zodiac]

There you go Mechie3 my build thread is all updated now lol

Now as for the wheels I'm assuming this is all done when there is no compression on the shocks right? Also I noticed my springs did settle a bit and now my tires are bumping the rear wheel well. To raise the car height before I would just screw the part that would then compress the spring more. Was I doing it wrong and I actually have to turn the piston instead or what's the deal with that cause my front is still at 4 1/2 inches but the rears dropped to like 3 on one side and 3 1/2 on the other. :eek:


When you're at that point on the fuel gauge, check the resistance on the fuel level sender and compare it to the actual fuel in the tank. Maybe you're running out?

As far as the highway bump instability. Check out Wayne's thread where he talks about ensuring the rear lower transverse link to upright bolt is parallel to the other end of the transverse links. If they are off there, what you're describing could very much happen. A place to start anyway, good luck.

Any feedback on gas mileage?

not yet haven't really paid much attention to it. Also still have some more miles on it before I go in for my tune. After that I'll be sure to start checking and see what I'm averaging

[Jaime]

To raise the car height before I would just screw the part that would then compress the spring more. Was I doing it wrong and I actually have to turn the piston instead or what's the deal with that cause my front is still at 4 1/2 inches but the rears dropped to like 3 on one side and 3 1/2 on the other. :eek:Spring compression can only be caused by putting force on the spring. Nothing pushes a car down other than gravity, so the force is always simply the weight of the car. Adjusting the preload just jacks the car up. If you turn the ring at the end of the spring so that it comes up 1 inch, the shock will get one inch longer, leading to about an inch of additional ground clearance. The "about" comes from the fact that the shocks aren't perfectly vertical.