Hindsight's build thread

[Hindsight]

Odd, mine doesn't look like either of those. Mine is out of a 2007 donor. I have the fuel filter on top of the pump as shown in the picture to the left, and I have the lower white piece that has the venturi, but I don't have the upper white piece that the filter connects to.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Odd, mine doesn't look like either of those. Mine is out of a 2007 donor. I have the fuel filter on top of the pump as shown in the picture to the left, and I have the lower white piece that has the venturi, but I don't have the upper white piece that the filter connects to.

The left pump
06 NA impreza
in tank filter with internal regulator port
in tank pressure regulator (FPR)
in tank jet pump.
fuel damper in engine bay

The right pump
04 Foreester FXT Turbo
Canister filter in engine bay.
in tank fuel damper (dark green)
Regulator (FPR) on engine
in tank jet pump

I suspect you have the
in tank filter with out regulator port
Regulator (FPR) on engine
in tank jet pump
I'm not sure where your fuel damper (dark green) is.

I think it was in 06 that Subaru went to in tank filters.

Bob

[Hindsight]

This weekend I tried to completely finish off the fuel system but rain out of argon on my last component (welding a bung to the filler neck so the tank will vent properly when filling). Hopefully I will have time to get more gas tomorrow or Tuesday so I can wrap this up:
http://i.imgur.com/GBNpRach.jpg (http://imgur.com/GBNpRac)

All the AN-fuel line stuff is finished now. I ran the lines from the rails to the fuel pressure regulator and corrected my cris-crossed fuel pump lines. I got a little OCD on the left fuel line that goes all the way across the motor. Being a fuel line, I really didn't want it to have abrasion issues on anything so I made some little aluminum brackets and used rubber line clamps to secure the hose in a way that will prevent any rubbing.
http://i.imgur.com/PTTXQPch.jpg (http://imgur.com/PTTXQPc)
http://i.imgur.com/xrGknWXh.jpg (http://imgur.com/xrGknWX)
http://i.imgur.com/G3Wsm9Nh.jpg (http://imgur.com/G3Wsm9N)




I also re-did the coolant hoses where the SS flexible tubes connect to the side coolant pipes. I didn't like the angle that they were forced to bend just before joining the side tubes. I'm sure it would have been fine but for $12, a new Gates 22886 hose gets you two 90 degree elbows which can be used for these joints on each side:
http://i.imgur.com/DbNQnBWh.jpg (http://imgur.com/DbNQnBW)

http://i.imgur.com/7mer48xh.jpg (http://imgur.com/7mer48x)

I started working on the AOS setup. Really hard to find a good place to mount this thing. The bottom-most port (which drains back into the crankcase) has to be high enough that the hose connecting it to the crankcase has a continuous downward slope. The coolant line that goes to it from the turbo, and the line out the other side to the degas tank are tough too. Ultimately I think I have settled on the location shown in the pic below. I had to order some 3/4" and 5/8" PCV hose online since it's tough to find locally. Once the hoses arrive, I just need to connect it all up, cutoff the old mounting bracket, and weld on some new bracket of some sort.
http://i.imgur.com/T63rHPuh.jpg (http://imgur.com/T63rHPu)

[Frank818]

http://i.imgur.com/GBNpRach.jpg (http://imgur.com/GBNpRac)


What size NPT/Barb is that brass fitting? I guess it's for the vent, which side, the filler neck? Probably used the same size on the tank, then?

[Hindsight]

Hey Frank, it's a 1/2" barb and a 1/2" NPT. I probably could have done 1/2" barb with 3/8" NPT as well. I put it on the left side of the filler neck (front side) at about the 10:00 position if you are looking at the gas cap. The barb points downward and the hose then goes over to the side of the tank. I'm not proud of the welding work on the bung! I had really bad shielding issues, partly because my argon tank ran out and it took me a second to figure it out, and partly because I had a large gap to fill where the bung meets the tube and I think that was giving me shielding issues as well. I back purged it and that seemed to resolve the issue.

http://i.imgur.com/MFGmHtNh.jpg (http://imgur.com/MFGmHtN)

[Samiam1017]

does that work as a vent and kick the gas pump off when its full?

[Hindsight]

Sorry samiam, I didn't see your post to now. Yes, the added vent is to ensure air can escape as it is displaced by fuel and also ensures fuel doesn't kick back out the filler neck.

Had some company over the weekend but I was able to knock out a couple items:

1. AOS. I cut off the brackets from it, welded on new ones, had it powder coated, then installed it on the car and hooked up most all the hoses. It's a tight fit to the hump but it works and none of the hoses will rub on anything.
2. I finished the AWIC setup. I ended up using a 1 7/8" to 2" coupler off the compressor, then I got two 30 degree (or 45 degree, I forget) mandrel bent aluminum pipe sections and cut and welded them together, then into a 2" to 2.5" elbow, then into a 2.5" pipe section with a v-band flange for the BOV, then into a 2.5" to 3" elbow to the AWIC core. On the front side is a 30 degree reducer elbow (can't remember diameters off the top of my head). I made the intercooler mounts out of steel. Rear bolts to a trans bolt and the front two bolt to the engine-trans bolts. Very solid.

I still need to roll some beads in the pipes then have them powder coated, and I need to drill and tap the AWIC core for pre and post air temp sensors and also for the bleeder. A buddy is sending me his bead roller to borrow so hopefully I will knock this out. I also met a guy through my wife's co-worker who does coatings for a living so I have a solid powder coating hookup now which is very nice considering the place that I used to take my stuff too saw fit to sandblast the inside of my spindles (yes, where the bearings go).

http://i.imgur.com/pz1X75Vh.jpg (http://imgur.com/pz1X75V)

http://i.imgur.com/AbxVg7uh.jpg (http://imgur.com/AbxVg7u)

http://i.imgur.com/dlRX9Pbh.jpg (http://imgur.com/dlRX9Pb)

http://i.imgur.com/eqEDXw3h.jpg (http://imgur.com/eqEDXw3)

[JeromeS13]

http://i.imgur.com/AbxVg7uh.jpg (http://imgur.com/AbxVg7u)



How are you going to bleed all of the air out of the engine cooling system?

[Hindsight]

Hi Jerome, I'm guessing you are saying I may have an issue bleeding due to the coolant hose going into the AOS being higher than the degas tank or the AOS itself trapping coolant? I was hoping the suction the degas tank creates would be enough to move any air in that piece of hose down into the degas tank but if it isn't, I'm out of ideas because the bottom of the AOS has to be higher than the top of the block, and oriented in such a way that the drain line from the AOS routes down to the block without any bends going upward. This is the only place I could find to mount the AOS that meets that criteria. If I mount it low enough that all parts of the coolant line are below the degas then the oil drain line won't work.

I'm planning on using a vacuum lift system to fill the coolant so that may help, but it's possible any bubbles may find their way into the AOS and become stuck in there or in the line. Maybe I could add a bleeder valve on top of the AOS? But without knowing what the inside looks like, I'd be nervous drilling into it. I'm open to ideas!

I guess I could change the routing to the AOS so that the turbo hose goes directly to the degas per normal, then splice the AOS between the bottom of the degas tank and the metal coolant pipe. It would still trap air if the degas tank ran low for some reason though.

[STiPWRD]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting the picture but is your AOS system connected to your coolant degas tank? The degas tank must be the highest point in the coolant system for the air to be properly bled, as I think Jerome is alluding to.

[CNC_Geek]

What size NPT/Barb is that brass fitting? I guess it's for the vent, which side, the filler neck? Probably used the same size on the tank, then?
Soon as I saw this it made perfect sense. My kit doesn't have any sort of breather. Was this provided by FFR or did you learn about it somewhere else? I have the same fuel tank shape but no breather port in the tank other than the small OEM vent tube.

[Hindsight]

STiPWRD: Yeah it is connected to the degas tank and yes, the degas tank is no longer the highest point.

CNC_Geek: This was not provided by FFR. I bought a steel weld-on NPT bung, drilled a hole in the top of the tank and welded the bung in place. I welded a 2" aluminum extension pipe to the filler cap and added a weld in aluminum bung to that. Then added brass NPT-Barb fittings to the bungs and connected with fuel hose. This is Wayne's idea which I copied.

[STiPWRD]

Why is the AOS connected to the coolant system? I thought an air oil separator system was essentially an oil catch can that instead of collecting oil, it sucked up oil vapors and drained the liquid oil back into the block. Am I way off here? What's the coolant doing, helping condense the oil vapor?

[Hindsight]

What's the coolant doing, helping condense the oil vapor?

You got it right. The older versions didn't have coolant connections. It's a feature of the new model to help it do its job. Worse case scenario is that I just block off the coolant fittings on the AOS and run it without the aid of coolant. I've e-mailed Crawford to see if they have any advice, given the non-standard implementation.

[Tamra]

That's all looking like a very clean install!

How many things are left before the first start?

[Samiam1017]

where did you source the aluminum bung from? thx

[Hindsight]

Thanks Tamra.

Technically all that's left before first start is to wire it and install+plumb the radiator. But being the way I am, I will probably do all that plus exhaust, brake+clutch hydraulics, and AWIC front heat exchanger with plumbing before I do the first start, unless I get impatient.

Samiam1017, I get the bungs generally from either Summit or Amazon. I like Vibrant brand best.

[Tamra]

Just the wiring huh? ;p

Pretty sure we had a straight pipe (no muffler or cat), brake, and clutch hydraulics done, but no AWIC since it wasn't necessary. If it's easily removable, it's easier to fix any leaks you hopefully won't encounter... once it's filled with fluid it's kind of a pain to drain and remove.

[Hindsight]

Yeah, haha, I am being a bit dismissive of the wiring. Only because I've done it before long ago. I swapped a 1990 VW Corrado engine into an '83 Rabbit GTI and did all the wiring on that back around 1997. So I think this shouldn't be too difficult but it will probably take me a month or two due to the limited time I have available to work on it.

Good point about the AWIC system. I do plan on filling it with an air-lift tool so that should hopefully make filling easier.

[Hindsight]

I'm still on the fence about the AOS. Crawford tech support assured me it wouldn't be an issue by my brain still tells me it could trap air. I unmounted the AOS last night and found that I can actually move it low enough but if I do, I will have to re-do the brackets, have it re-powder coated, change-up the hoses, and it won't work if I ever go with a rotated turbo since it will be right in the way. Even if I go with a larger stock-location turbo like a Dom 1.5xtr, the AOS may not fit where I would have to move it to.

I'm open to input.....

[STiPWRD]

Are you dead set on using an AOS? I feel like coolant system function and turbo selection trumps oil ventilation system. I knew there wasn't going to be tons of space in this engine bay so I just went with 2 oil catch cans (one for heads, one for block) feeding off intake vacuum.

[Hindsight]

Yeah, I really want to keep it. I don't want any oil in my intercooler or intake air.

I could just run without coolant flow to it which is how the Gen1 versions of the AOS were built, but I will end up with some sludge buildup (from condensation) inside it that I may have to manually drain. I'm leaning toward lowering the AOS then raising the degas tank a little. I'm already using Mechie's degas tank relocator so it's pretty simple to raise the tank an inch or so which is about all I would need. I guess I can do that now and deal with a bigger turbo when the times comes. Who knows, the dominator 1.5 may fit fine with where I put the AOS.

[JeromeS13]

Just temporarily lower the AOS while you bleed the coolant. Once it's properly bled, just mount it where you want it.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Jerome.

I think I've settled on getting some clear 1/2" silicone hose and using that for the coolant lines to and from the AOS. This will let me see what the air/coolant is doing and tell me if I have an issue with air bubbles or air getting trapped. I'll run like that for a short time during go-kart and dyno testing and if I'm not getting air trapped in those hoses, I'll swap them back out for reinforced opaque hoses.

[Hindsight]

A friend loaned me his bead roller so I was able to finish my intake pipes.

I'm not sure of the year to year differences but my 2007 WRX donor has the clutch slave cylinder in a really bad spot from an intake pipe standpoint. I fiddled around with various sections of bent pipes and elbows and ultimately decided the cleanest install was to cut and weld up a couple mandrel bent pipes. This is what I ended up with and it fits perfectly. The pipe/coupler off the turbo wants to hit the throttle electrical connector but I was able to set things up in such a way that the pipe is pulling away from it and leaves a 1/4" gap.

I'll have this powder coated silver. I'm now on to the ABS pump, radiator, hoses, and brake/clutch lines.
http://i.imgur.com/lC86Oigh.jpg (http://imgur.com/lC86Oig)

[Frank818]

That looks really nice!

[Hindsight]

Thanks Frank.

Still waiting on my friend for the powder coating so I've put the AWIC stuff on hold and instead focused on the hydraulics and the front area.

I fabbed up some brackets for the AWIC pump and the ABS module. For the ABS pump, I cut off the factory bracket so only the portion that the ABS unit itself mounts to was remaining, then I welded some steel bar to it and bolted it to the frame with M8 rivnuts. This way I still have all the rubber isolators for the ABS module.
For the AWIC pump, I used a padded pump mount that I think I got from Summit, and welded it to some 16ga steel then attached it to the frame with M8 rivnuts.

http://i.imgur.com/T9Vzdbjh.jpg (http://imgur.com/T9Vzdbj)


I modified Mike's master cylinder relocator kit because I didn't feel comfortable with the zip tie holding the locking plate to the master. I think someone else did something similar and that's where I got the idea, but I just welded some 1/8" aluminum pieces to both sides of the locking plate so I could re-use the factory spring pin. Very secure now. I then installed the master cylinder and clutch cylinder:

http://i.imgur.com/N7rXStOh.jpg (http://imgur.com/N7rXStO)


Next I need to run all the hydraulic lines. Does anyone see any issue with mounting the Wilwood proportioning valves like shown in the picture below? With the hood up, I should be able to reach them just fine and I won't be adjusting them often. I'm mostly asking to see if there is anything that these will be in the way of later.

http://i.imgur.com/GvK6yh2h.jpg (http://imgur.com/GvK6yh2)

[TouchStone]

Two prop valves?

[Hindsight]

Two prop valves?

Yea, I'm running ABS which means the lines to the front brakes are separated instead of being on a single line with a splitter tee. This requires me to have one prop valve per front caliper line.

There have been others who have changed the routing so the they can put a single prop valve between one of the two lines that runs from the master to the ABS pump, but doing so requires you to run one of your front calipers on one of the rear ports and then change the wheel speed sensor wiring around and that just isn't something I wanted to do.

[bbjones121]

I mounted mine pretty close tho that location, but My knobs are up. I was going to create bezel and put holes in the aluminum block off cover. I can adjust them from inside the car. My abs unit is down where your is.

[Kurk818]

I put ABS on my 818 with full STI running gear with no proportioning valve. ABS pump was used from a WRX to eliminate some of the STI rear differential, steering position and additional G sensor. So far, everything works great as is. Car chirps to an almost instant stop with no rear or front lock up. Im keeping it as is until something tells me otherwise.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Kurk and bbjones for the info.

Kurk, I have thought a bit about not using the prop valves. I feel like the right thing to do is solve it by increasing the rear brake size rather than restricting the fronts but that isn't an upgrade that I have on my radar at the moment. My only reason for not wanting to omit the valves now is that it's going to be hard to go back in and do them later with everything bolted in place. Maybe I'll just leave them out and call it good!

[Kurk818]

The ABS pump itself does a lot of the proportioning already. I went the route of not using the valve and figuring out what needs to be done if breaking was not up to par. So far, i like where its at.

[Tamra]

We are not using ABS, but we are using the provided proportioning valve. We found it very helpful at autocross and were able to dial it in to the point where the front only locked slightly before the rear. With upgraded pads, we didn't have any stopping issues, but I do agree with Hindsight that I don't like the idea of restricting the fronts rather than just adding to the rear. I guess we feel like we have enough braking ability that removing some from the front isn't hurting performance, so we are fine with using the proportioning valve rather than the extra $$ of experimenting with rear brake upgrades.

As of this point we are not planning to add ABS back, although I am glad to hear that you (Kurk) have had good luck using the WRX system. We were worried it would not work properly on such a light car. If we start flat spotting our Hoosiers too much, then maybe we will look into it....

[TouchStone]

The ABS pump itself does a lot of the proportioning already. I went the route of not using the valve and figuring out what needs to be done if breaking was not up to par. So far, i like where its at.

What proportioning is the ABS (I assume you mean module not pump) doing?

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the input Tamra and Kurk. I'm really on the fence. Much more simple plumbing without the valves. For a non-race car that will be tracked on occasion, I'm not sure I need it but I don't want to go back and add it later either.

[Tamra]

I would think it would be easier to add now rather than later. It will give you adjustment options if you decide you need it (and we definitely needed it).

[matteo92065]

I vote for the to proportioning valves. I put them hidden under the dash where I could reach them. I also have ABS. Fronts are STI Brembo's with Yellow stuff pads, rears are WRX red 2 pots, with stock old pads. With the valves screwed in the fronts will lock, and seemed like I was stopping great. With the valves screwed out, nothing wants to lock, but stops MUCH faster. I have pushed hard, but not super hard on the pedal yet. I'm putting on the Wilwood rear kit next week. I will find out how new pads, larger disk, and a little more piston area changes braking.

I'm with Tamra, easy to do now, and adds a lot of adjustment, even for street driving.

As for time it takes; wiring took me months, brake proportioning valves took me 1 day (and I've never done it before).

I like your build and attention to detail!

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the input folks (and the compliment). I agree that adding the valves now is the right thing to do. Worst case is that I don't use them. It's not THAT much hassle to add them in now. I'll just need to make my lines using 3/6" fittings on one end and M10 on the other (I'm ditching the FFR lines and all the wonky adapters and sticking with metric everywhere... also using copper nickel lines).

Hopefully by the end of this weekend I will have completed most if not all the hydraulic lines and can move onto the radiator and front AWIC exchanger. The punch list to first-start keeps getting smaller!

[matteo92065]

I'll just need to make my lines using 3/6" fittings on one end and M10 on the other (I'm ditching the FFR lines and all the wonky adapters and sticking with metric everywhere... also using copper nickel lines).


I did the same think. No adapters and the nickel lines are super easy to flair and bend. I did break the brake rules per the FSM; I reused a few of the original metric fittings. No leaks after 5 months of driving (need to find wood).

[Hindsight]

Wow, never heard that before. Doesn't really make sense to me given that you aren't replacing what they are threading into (master cylinder, ABS body, etc) so why would the fittings need replacing? I'm planning on re-using a few of mine as well and I have pack of new ones to use as needed.

Did you bend all the lines by hand or did you use the plier-shaped bending tools? I have the tool but it seems to kink the lines and a hand-bend looks better.

[bbjones121]

I reused lots of mine.

[matteo92065]

I tried the plier tool. Hated it. Could not get it to work right ended up kinking and denting my tubing. We have a simple pipe with the groove in it that ended up working out the best for us. So unfortunately I have a mix of slightly kinked, hand bent, and perfectly formed mandrel bends.

The factory Subaru manual says never reuse brake fittings, along with a bunch of other rules like never let the ABS pump get empty, never turn it upside down, etc. It made for interesting reading.

[bbjones121]

I tried the plier tool. Hated it. Could not get it to work right ended up kinking and denting my tubing. We have a simple pipe with the groove in it that ended up working out the best for us. So unfortunately I have a mix of slightly kinked, hand bent, and perfectly formed mandrel bends.

The factory Subaru manual says never reuse brake fittings, along with a bunch of other rules like never let the ABS pump get empty, never turn it upside down, etc. It made for interesting reading.

Subaru has probably been sued plenty over the years that everything from their direction is new, new, new. It is CYA. Plus they make all the money on new parts.

[Hindsight]

I tried the plier tool. Hated it. Could not get it to work right ended up kinking and denting my tubing. We have a simple pipe with the groove in it that ended up working out the best for us. So unfortunately I have a mix of slightly kinked, hand bent, and perfectly formed mandrel bends.

Do you have a pic of the tool you liked? Did it work a lot better than hand bending?

[STiPWRD]

One of these worked perfectly for me:
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-8-eighth-inch-to-1-4-quarter-inch-tube-bender-94571.html

[Hindsight]

Thanks. For $10 it's worth a try!

[RM1SepEx]

That's what I use, works great

[Hindsight]

Thanks Dan. I work by a HF so I'll pick one up on the way home tonight.

[insurance guy]

Thanks Dan. I work by a HF so I'll pick one up on the way home tonight.

I am going there also for that, I find the plier type difficult to get just right, those look like exactly what I need

[bbjones121]

I used that also. Worked great.

[Hindsight]

Thanks again everyone for the tips. The front lines are all done. I've learned it isn't hard to do them, but it gets exponentially harder the cleaner you want it to look. Sloppy? Super easy. Clean? Moderately easy. OEM clean? Extremely challenging. I didn't reach my goal of OEM clean but it's functional.

I still need to run the rear lines.

I also got the AWIC brackets and intake pipes I made back from the powder coater and they look great. You can see the front and rear brackets in the pic below. I chose to make them out of steel.

I have some 3" mandrel bent SS pipes coming so I can start fabbing the exhaust soon. I'm trying to set it up so that wiring is the last thing standing in the way of my first start. I feel like it will give me more motivation to complete that tedious job. Still hoping to go-kart it in 2015.

http://i.imgur.com/qev9zIjh.jpg (http://imgur.com/qev9zIj)

http://i.imgur.com/Lc1y9ZDh.jpg (http://imgur.com/Lc1y9ZD)

http://i.imgur.com/r5oMw41h.jpg (http://imgur.com/r5oMw41)

[Tamra]

Looking good! I think go karting in 2015 is doable considering your progress!

[Frank818]

Man those brake lines, it's awesome. :)

[Hindsight]

I haven't posted much to my build thread but I have been spending a lot of time on the car. I'm getting very close to my first start now.

The radiator is in. I used Rori's spacers and fabricated my own upper mounts partially re-using the donor upper mounts. I got stuck here though because I ran out of the flexible steel coolant hose (made a bad cut). Luckily, STiPWRD was nice enough to ship me his extra hose so as soon as I get that, I can connect the hoses to the radiator. Once those are on, I need to fab some brackets for the AWIC heat exchanger. Waiting on 1/2" NPT x 3/4" barb fittings before I can do that.
http://i.imgur.com/ja0u8wvh.jpg (http://imgur.com/ja0u8wv)

The engine is basically completely finished. All that's left is to connect one of the two AWIC lines to the right side of the intercooler and route it up to the front heat exchanger, connect the wiring harness, and fab up an exhaust system. Still haven't fully decided which way to go on the exhaust but I'm either going to do a dual setup with a muffler over the trans, or a single setup with a hidden tip dumping out the bottom of the engine compartment, or coming out the side of the bumper like the blue car but I think that looks a little weird. In the pic below, the clear silicone hoses are so I can test some theories about air bleeding. If everything works the way I want it to, I'll replace them with black heater hose.
http://i.imgur.com/qc9abRdh.jpg (http://imgur.com/qc9abRd)

Yesterday I started on the wiring. I've actually enjoyed working on it a lot because it's the kind of thing you can sit down and just do for hours; you don't get stuck because you ran out of something or need some bracket or bolt from the hardware store. You get a momentum going. Anyway, I'm taking the approach of removing ALL shielding and tape from it first. The connectors are already labeled with blue masking tape from when I pulled them off the donor. The tape stayed on nicely over the last year (I ensured I wraped it around the wires so it was sticky side to sticky side). After all the shielding is off, I used some small velcro straps to keep the wires bundled in their approximate shape to keep them organized. This allows you to pull wires all the way through the harness. Next I figure out what components I won't need and then remove the wires leaving a 4" pigtail behind the connector they went into (just in case I removed something I shouldn't and have to go back in and patch). Next I will lay it in the car and figure out where I'll mount everything, then figure out what needs to be shortened or extended. After that I'll put the wires inside some split braid loom for the interior, and possibly some flexible plastic loom for the exterior (not quite sure yet).
http://i.imgur.com/t6i5jUQh.jpg (http://imgur.com/t6i5jUQ)


These tools have been invaluable. The orange pick I use to insert under tape, then twist to the side which pierces and then splits the tape about 1/2" at a time. Not risky on the wires inside. The seam ripper can be used for the same thing and to split round plastic sheathing but you have to be careful it doesn't touch the wires inside. And lastly, the velcro straps from any hardware store. Very nice to work with and cheap.
http://i.imgur.com/5hQPlGKh.jpg (http://imgur.com/5hQPlGK)

So after plumbing the radiator, fabbing the turbo-back exhaust, and connecting the wiring, it will be time to fire it up.

[Frank818]

So after plumbing the radiator, fabbing the turbo-back exhaust, and connecting the wiring, it will be time to fire it up.

Are you sure? :) There's always something we kind of forget. :)

[Hindsight]

Just gas I think!

[Hindsight]

No more pics, sorry, but the wiring harness has come along faster than I suspected. Of course, given the "body integrated control unit / Immobilizer" and the keyless entry systems, and how tied they are into the various sensors and systems of the car (I found links to the radio, climate control, door switches and door locks among others), it's tough to know for sure if I dieted anything that should not have been. If the immobilizer will allow the engine to start without door switch sensors, door lock sensors, climate control, and a radio, then I should be ok.

One issue I came across is that my donor is an '07 and the Ken Gilbert website that provides free downloads of factory service manuals doesn't have a 2007-specific manual; they have 2006 which is very close, but not exact, as I have unfortunately discovered. One of the biggest changes is the connector and wires on the engine wiring harness. I was able to get the right diagrams by purchasing a subscription to AllDataDIY.com. It's ~ $25 for a year and works in any web browser. The only drawback is that unlike the PDF, you can't search the wiring diagrams (for example, if you want to search for connector "B179", you can't). The wiring diagrams are also organized very poorly and you can't scroll through them exactly, you have to go in page by page, but the info is accurate and it's all there. I would definitely recommend for the price. Contains everything the FSM does.

The reality of how close I am to first start is really setting in. It might happen this weekend or next.

[Aero STI]

I deleted all of those sensors/switches from my '06 harness and had no issues with the immobilizer.

[Hindsight]

Whew, that's a load off. Thanks!

[bbjones121]

You can get a three day subscription to Subaru manuals (downloadable in pdf). Go to the STIS website. Subaru Technical Information System.

[Hindsight]

What is the STIS website? I googled STIS and did not like what came up on my screen ;)

[bbjones121]

Search Subaru Technical Information System

[Hindsight]

Got it, thanks. Much better than the other results.

[bbjones121]

Got it, thanks. Much better than the other results.

Haha, good.

[Hindsight]

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem:

http://i.imgur.com/nr2aY2Zh.jpg (http://imgur.com/nr2aY2Z)

[C.Plavan]

The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem:

http://i.imgur.com/nr2aY2Zh.jpg (http://imgur.com/nr2aY2Z)

Bahahahahahahahahaha

[Hindsight]

The sad part is that this collection of boxes doesn't go back more than a couple weeks. There have been many piles before this and will be many piles after.

Ok, engine coolant system is completed and sealed. All I need to do now is lay the wiring harness in place, plug in the connectors, fill the engine and trans with fluids and start the car. That is, assuming I didn't make any major mistakes on the wiring harness diet.
http://i.imgur.com/279lcxDh.jpg (http://imgur.com/279lcxD)

[Aero STI]

I had a similar pile at one point. Summit, Amazon, Eastwood... Nice work.

[Frank818]

It's cool, you can save the world if you recycle your boxes, you got so many it's gonna save the Amazon forest! :) Not amazon.com, they actually use boxes!

[Hindsight]

Wiring is all hooked up (in a temporary way); enough for a first start anyway. All fluids are in except for the coolant. I wanted to check the fuel system for leaks first. Put 5 gallons of gas in the tank and jumpered the fuel pump directly to the battery then set the FuelLab FPR to 43psi. I started smelling fuel pretty quickly so took a look around and found that the bottom NPT plugs on each fuel rail were leaking. I have IAG fuel rails which have an NPT port on the bottom so you can run a dampener if you wish. I don't need the dampener since the FuelLab FPR acts as one, so I installed their provided NPT plugs and both of them leak. I took one of the rails out, applied some thread paste lubricant and put it back in, cranking down pretty hard. Put it back in and it still leaks. I'm going to take it out one more time and crank HARD on it but I'm worried if I do I will split the rail. I can get the plug 1 full turn past finger tight before it is so tight that I don't want to turn it anymore. Normally I go 1.5 turns past finger tight on NPT fittings but this one just gets really hard to turn before then.

http://i.imgur.com/4nyNY6Rh.jpg (http://imgur.com/4nyNY6R)

[R.Spec]

Wiring is all hooked up (in a temporary way); enough for a first start anyway. All fluids are in except for the coolant. I wanted to check the fuel system for leaks first. Put 5 gallons of gas in the tank and jumpered the fuel pump directly to the battery then set the FuelLab FPR to 43psi. I started smelling fuel pretty quickly so took a look around and found that the bottom NPT plugs on each fuel rail were leaking. I have IAG fuel rails which have an NPT port on the bottom so you can run a dampener if you wish. I don't need the dampener since the FuelLab FPR acts as one, so I installed their provided NPT plugs and both of them leak. I took one of the rails out, applied some thread paste lubricant and put it back in, cranking down pretty hard. Put it back in and it still leaks. I'm going to take it out one more time and crank HARD on it but I'm worried if I do I will split the rail. I can get the plug 1 full turn past finger tight before it is so tight that I don't want to turn it anymore. Normally I go 1.5 turns past finger tight on NPT fittings but this one just gets really hard to turn before then.

The exact reason I don't like the IAG rails. Plus they seem to be proprietary to their fitting and line kit anyways. FIC rails all the way. Way better bang for the buck, and they aren't a direct rip off of the radium engineering design!

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the input. I actually had more trouble with these rails earlier on in the build as well. They have AN straight-cut O-ring boss threads on each end. I'm running them in a dead-end setup so I got an appropriate AN plug fitting. It wouldn't bottom out the o-ring on the rail when I installed it and during installation, the rail was damaged. Turns out, they apparently want you to install very short ORB fittings. The plug fittings I got were too long. I thought all AN o-ring boss plugs would have the same thread length but apparently that isn't the case. Of course, none of this is contained in any instructions or documentation. They were nice enough to sell me another set of rails at cost but still pretty upsetting, especially now that I'm having additional issues.

I took a look at the Radiums but they were just a bit too flashy for my taste. I'll look into the FIC rails, in case I can't get these working.

[Aero STI]

Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket No. 3 has worked to seal up every previously leaky NPT fitting I've had.

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the tip! I'm using loctite 565 and letting it cure overnight. If that fails, I'll give the Permatex a shot.

[metalmaker12]

Honda bond period end of story

Radium rails, ID injectors, custom made AN lines, etc for me

[Hindsight]

Well fortunately the rails don't leak now that I added the Loctite 565 and let it cure overnight, plus cranked down on them while tightening harder than before.

The good news: THE CAR IS RUNNING! I was able to get it started. Took a long time to fill all the oil lines and build pressure (which I did with spark plugs removed).

The bad news: It's running very poorly, barely stays running, and I had to bypass the fuel control circuit and hotwire the fuel pump direct to 12v in order to get it to run at all.

So I have some work cut out for me, to figure out why the stock fuel control circuit isn't working. I do have the fuel pump controller in place and it was working fine in the donor car which ran and drove and had only 63k miles on it. I also have to figure out why it's running like crap when it does start up. I have the FPR set to 43psi while the car is off, which I understand is correct?

I'll post a video later but need to get back out and mess with the wiring more after lunch.

[C.Plavan]

FYI- there is a cool little feature with the WRX. Floor the accelerometer pedal down then crank it over (keeping pedal floored) The ecu will not send a spark to fire up. You can crank the engine to increase the oil pressure without having to disconnect the coils or plugs.

Works for my 2006 WRX ecu, should work for others.

[Hindsight]

Nice, thanks for the tip Chad!

I figured out the fuel pump issue.... had one of the harness connectors crossed. I wasn't paying attention at my labels and there are two male connects and two female connectors that can be crossed.

So the ECU is controlling the pump now but it still runs like crap and won't idle. The only codes coming up are related to the TGVs which is expected.

[Hindsight]

Here's the vid. Sorry about all the background noise. It's just a box fan but sounds like I have a turbo-prop airplane idling in the background.

Tough to tell what's causing the rough running. It could be the MAF is not happy in it's current location, but I put a 2' long pipe on the end of it to ensure nice straight airflow through it but who knows. The MAF is housed in an aftermarket (AEM I think) aluminum intake that I cut down in length to get to fit.

At this point I can either get an Accessport and start trying to figure out what's going on, or just continue on with the wiring until it fits how I want and then take it to the tuner to get sorted out.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsF1K0wpkG4

[matteo92065]

Unplug the MAF sensor. How does it run now?

[Hindsight]

That was it, thank you! For some reason I thought these wouldn't start or run without the MAF connected. I'm planning on running speed density so can't wait to get rid of that sensor and simplify things more.

Thanks again for your help!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSR8fdOyDLk

[R.Spec]

That was it, thank you! For some reason I thought these wouldn't start or run without the MAF connected. I'm planning on running speed density so can't wait to get rid of that sensor and simplify things more.

Thanks again for your help!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSR8fdOyDLk

videos are private. But yeah unplugging maf will put it into a fail safe speed density tune. Problem solved.

[Hindsight]

Doh, thanks I think I fixed the video thing. That was the first time uploading videos to youtube from my new phone. I swear I know how to work the internets!

[Frank818]

Hey cool it's running!
It's funny though that we try to remove as much wires as possible and it still ends up like your picture yesterday at 4.07pm :)

[Hindsight]

Yeah it's now time for a lot of wire cleanup, shortening, and further dieting. I am thinking about replacing the giant awkward shaped fuse/relay blocks with small ISO 280 mini PDMs and relays.

[Rasmus]

Wiring is all hooked up (in a temporary way); enough for a first start anyway.
http://i.imgur.com/4nyNY6Rh.jpg (http://imgur.com/4nyNY6R)

Oh that picture gives me nightmares. It's probably like knowing you're gonna get a whooping from your momma. Anticipating the whooping is way worse than the actual whooping. I promise not to do it again!

[Hindsight]

Yeah, it looks REAL messy but I've spent so much time on the harness that I can look at the mess and I still know where everything is.

I fixed the videos, for good this time. I set them to public on my phone but it didn't seem to accept the save there so had to do it on the PC.

[STiPWRD]

Congrats! glad you got it running!

[matteo92065]

Glad its running better!
Now try reversing the MAF tube. Plug it back in and let me know what happens.
On mine I actually installed the tube backwards the first time. Aftermarket tube, there were no markings to indicate direction.

[Hindsight]

Oh, I hadn't thought of that. I have an aftermarket tube as well that I had to cut in half to make it fit. I may have reversed it. I will give it a shot but I am in the process of pulling all the wiring out of the car so I can finalize the wiring diet and get all the wires in looms, so it could be a while.

Thanks again for the tip though! I'll be much happier working on the car the next several weeks knowing it starts and runs.

[Hindsight]

Kit car problems.....
https://i.imgflip.com/r2rkm.jpg (https://imgflip.com/i/r2rkm)via Imgflip Meme Maker (https://imgflip.com/memegenerator)

[Hindsight]

Glad its running better!
Now try reversing the MAF tube. Plug it back in and let me know what happens.
On mine I actually installed the tube backwards the first time. Aftermarket tube, there were no markings to indicate direction.

Tried reversing the tube last night and that didn't work. Then again, the tube is cut in half so there could be something there. It idles fine but any touch of the throttle makes it choke. I'm not really worried about it. It has a different intake, different exhaust, and a different fuel system than the donor (and possibly running at a different fuel pressure) so I'm not going to sweat it and will just let the tuner deal with it.

Taking tomorrow off to give myself another three day weekend to spend in the garage (mostly). I also decided to fab up a new engine coolant degas tank (similar to what I did for the AWIC) in order to increase it's size and put it in a higher position (higher than the AOS).

[STiPWRD]

Do you have any bends before the MAF? Or is the intake pipe holding the MAF a non-stock diameter? If yes to either, than this is probably causing your AFR to be messed up and choking the engine from revving. I couldn't find any pics of your air filter or MAF.

I'd suggest checking your AFR - the best way is with a wideband o2 and gauge but you could also check your narrow band AFR using a CEL reader.

[Hindsight]

The CAI the donor came with is an aluminum thing that has some bends and snakes in it. I hacked it in half. I have a 2' section of 3" aluminum tubing upstream from the MAF and it's pretty close to the ID of the MAF housing, but possibly a little bigger.

I do have an Innovate wideband that I need to install, but have no bung for it yet unless I put it in the stock o2 port. There isn't much I could do even if I found it to be running rich or lean since I don't have an access port yet and am also not setup for open source etc. I haven't spent any time learning about the tuning of the subaru-specific ECU (though I understand the general tuning concepts from other cars). There would be a bit of a learning curve there for me.

[longislandwrx]

The exact reason I don't like the IAG rails. Plus they seem to be proprietary to their fitting and line kit anyways. FIC rails all the way. Way better bang for the buck, and they aren't a direct rip off of the radium engineering design!

Doesn't FIC rip off everything themselves?



I'm running them in a dead-end setup


In a dead end setup you probably want a damper in each rail. how big are your injectors?


I took a look at the Radiums but they were just a bit too flashy for my taste. I'll look into the FIC rails, in case I can't get these working.

flashy yes, but unmatched quality. you can always hit them with a little spray paint.


glad you got it all sorted out.

[Hindsight]

I'm running stock injectors and the stock turbo for now. I was told by my tuner that I wouldn't need dampers in the rails since I'm running the Fuelab pressure regulator which has a built-in damper. But if you have a different opinion, I'm certainly open to hearing it.

[longislandwrx]

On stock injectors you should be ok. which model Fuelab FPR has a built in dampener?

[Hindsight]

I think I have the 525 series. I should clarify my previous statement: I don't know for sure that it has a built-in damper; I just know the tuner told me specifically, "You won't need dampers if you run the Fuelab FPR." I didn't ask any further details on it since he has a good reputation.

[Hindsight]

Still working on the wiring. Diet it almost complete and now I just need to move on to shortening and lengthening the wires to get the new size and shape I want. I'm going to mount both fuse boxes up front on the frame above the passenger footwell. ECU, traction control computer, and fuel pump controller will be mounted flat on the interior firewall above the fuel tank. I'm planning to mount them on the bottom ledge of the firewall (the new style tank has a new firewall with the ledge) so I can make a panel that will cover them. This will allow me to keep that small cubby behind the passenger seat for storing things like an overnight bag, gym bag, etc.

Now that fuel has been through the fuel lines, the garage smalls like I have an open 5 gallon buck of gas out there. It's BAD. I read that regular AN fuel line allows fuel vapors to escape, but didn't found out until after I purchased and installed mine. I figured maybe it wouldn't be that bad. It was worse. So I made the decision to scrap the AN lines and hose ends, and replace them with AN PTFE lines with their special hose ends. I'd post a pic but it looks exactly the same as the non-PTFE lines.

[Aero STI]

I used special parker push-lok hose to cut down on fumes. My fumes smell like corn.

[Tamra]

Why do I see mention of a first start on CPlavan's thread but no video here?!?

[Hindsight]

Because you and Andrew were gone to the Nats so long that you missed it ;) Video is on previous page. Am now working on finishing the harness diet and installing it permanently in the car.

[Tamra]

I found it! Congrats!!!!

I feel like I missed so much on the forums while we were gone lol. It'll take me awhile to catch back up

[Hindsight]

Thanks! See what happens when you go out of town?

I'm still months away from go-karting. And I probably won't be able to go-kart until after I trailer it to a dyno because it will only idle right now (probably due to different fuel rails, different FPR, different intake, different exhaust, and different EBCS). Need to finish the wiring, fab exhaust, fab the MR2 shifter setup, make some changes to my AOS and degas tank, bleed brakes and clutch and repair any leaking joints, install front AWIC heat exchanger, mount the seat and steering wheel, e-brake, etc. Plenty to do, but getting closer each weekend.

[Tamra]

Our tuner was able to email us an "approximate" tune based on our mod list, which let us bleed the coolant system, go-kart, drive it onto the trailer, etc. Might be worth contacting your tuner to see if that's an option.

Can you even bleed the coolant system with its current tune (/do you want to if it's running that poorly)?

[Hindsight]

I think the coolant system should heat up enough to bleed by just idling..... but I haven't let it idle that long yet. So far have only done it about 5 minutes. In other cars, it seems ~20 minutes of idle is needed to get the coolant fans to kick on, but we'll see on the 818. It idles great though. I just can't rev it or it will choke. Oh, I also filled the coolant system with an air-lift so there may not be much to bleed.

I'll definitely take your advice though, and see if my tuner will e-mail me a starting map.

[R.Spec]

I think the coolant system should heat up enough to bleed by just idling..... but I haven't let it idle that long yet. So far have only done it about 5 minutes. In other cars, it seems ~20 minutes of idle is needed to get the coolant fans to kick on, but we'll see on the 818. It idles great though. I just can't rev it or it will choke. Oh, I also filled the coolant system with an air-lift so there may not be much to bleed.

I'll definitely take your advice though, and see if my tuner will e-mail me a starting map.


I am willing to email you something simple based on your mod list to help it get running properly. Recommendation for bleeding and burping. I jacked up the front of the car way higher than the rest, and used a vacuum filler to fill the system, also I am running no thermostat. Took about 5min for me to burp my system and get all the air out. No issues.

[Hindsight]

Wow thanks! That's a very generous offer I won't pass up. I don't have the AccessPort yet, but only because I've been putting off the purchase until I absolutely need it.

I'll send you a PM.

[Hindsight]

I've mounted both OEM fuse/relay boxes to the dash support tubes over the passenger footwell area. They are mounted upside down so I can access them by looking up from the passenger footwell area. Not super easy to access but one shouldn't need to be messing around with fuses and relays very often. Mounting the two boxes together will allow me to shorten and simplify a lot of wires too. I will post pics this weekend as I get more done.

I removed the relays for the components I don't need, like the A/C, Defrost, Air Pump, etc. I will use the openings to eliminate the secondary stand-alone relay block that hangs out near the fuse box, so all my relays will be in one tidy spot.

The 4ga battery cable from FFR was too short for what I wanted to do, so I bought 2ga black and 2ga red cables. I will run the positive cable through the firewall using a grommet, then to a power distribution block, then to the rear firewall where it will connect to a firewall isolator post. On the back side of that, it will go to the starter and alternator. I plan on grounding the battery to it's frame tray, and then running it back to ground directly on the engine. It's overkill, but Bob made a good point about what happens if you forget to ground the engine to the frame. I haven't done this myself but know someone who did.

This weekend will be all about trying to get the harness wires fully shortened, lengthened, and re-routed as needed. I predict a lot of soldering and heat shrinking.

[Tamra]

This weekend will be all about trying to get the harness wires fully shortened, lengthened, and re-routed as needed. I predict a lot of soldering and heat shrinking.

.... or stuffing and shoving and cursing. :)

[Hindsight]

Haha, is that what you and Andrew did on yours or did you diet it first?

I spent today mostly on battery cables. I made all my own cables with ends and heatshrink. Battery is grounded to the battery tray with 6ga wire, then 2ga wire goes back and grounds to the engine. Battery positive goes to a power distribution module where it then feeds the fusebox and a small bus-bar, and from the same PDM the 2ga wire goes back to the rear firewall, then on to the alternator and starter. For the rear firewall, I used firewall posts because the firewall is two layers: aluminum, then DEI heat shield which has fiberglass and a thin layer of aluminum. You can't really put a firewall grommet with two layers like that, and it's hard to split 2 gauge wire for the Y between the starter and alternator, so the posts work out well. I just have to be careful not to accidentally ground the positive post, or figure out how I can make a protective cap for it (the standard caps like I used on the inside part of the post won't work on the back side due to the 90 degree lugs and the multiple connections).

Pics below showing the setup and how I mounted the fuse boxes up front, and also where I'm mounting the ECU, Traction Control, and Fuel Pump Controller. Tomorrow I can finally get back to working on the main harness.

http://i.imgur.com/exf0EGnh.jpg (http://imgur.com/exf0EGn)

http://i.imgur.com/sKQMQanh.jpg (http://imgur.com/sKQMQan)

http://i.imgur.com/nWxOKf5h.jpg (http://imgur.com/nWxOKf5)

http://i.imgur.com/eXPhU2Yh.jpg (http://imgur.com/eXPhU2Y)

http://i.imgur.com/FMDm0DPh.jpg (http://imgur.com/FMDm0DP)

http://i.imgur.com/5tSXFXHh.jpg (http://imgur.com/5tSXFXH)

http://i.imgur.com/23OGgP6h.jpg (http://imgur.com/23OGgP6)

[Aero STI]

Looking good. I'm going to clean up my wiring substantially this winter. Diet 2.0. Ditch the fuel pump controller. That thing is useless. You just need a relay that turns on when the ignition is on.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Nice wiring hindsight.
I have about 20 wires going through the rear firewall.
Not counting ECU wires, Things like taillights, pumps, battery and fans.
So I just made a single mouse hole in in one of my fire was panels.
Where did you get that splitter that is near your gas pedal?
Bob

Aero
Tells us why the fuel pump controller is useless.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Bob, I got the splitter off e-Bay. There are tons of them for cheap there. Trick was searching until I found one that had the number and gauges for the input and output. I think I paid like $17 for it. It's pretty heavy and decent quality. Question for you though, since I took your approach on the ground wire: I know you ran the ground wire from battery terminal to the block, but did you also run the ground strap between the block and the chassis? I don't know a lot about electronics but am wondering if that would create a ground loop (I have a ground strap going from battery negative to the chassis right next to the battery, then the long 2 gauge wire to the engine block, then a ground strap from the transmission to the frame)? I've been trying to research it this morning.

Andrew, the only reason I'm keeping my fuel pump controller is to cut down on noise and fuel temp increase from having the pump run full force all the time. I'd ditch it and deal with the noise if you thought running full bore wouldn't have much of factor on fuel temps.

[Aero STI]

The fuel pump controller is a voltage regulator that runs the pump at three levels. 33%, 66%, 100%. I can't recall how efficient this regulator is, but there is some voltage drop across the controller (1.5-2 volts?). Therefore, the pump doesn't provide as much fuel at full throttle as it possibly could. The relay allows your pump to see actual vehicle voltage. A trick some companies have used is a boost driver to give pumps more than the 13.8 to 14.4 V that the alternator can produce.

Usually people do this when they're just trying to eek out a little extra fuel, but for our cars where we're trying to reduce complexity I think the relay is a great option. I wonder what Brian at iWire does.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2382384

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Question for you though, since I took your approach on the ground wire: I know you ran the ground wire from battery terminal to the block, but did you also run the ground strap between the block and the chassis? I don't know a lot about electronics but am wondering if that would create a ground loop (I have a ground strap going from battery negative to the chassis right next to the battery, then the long 2 gauge wire to the engine block, then a ground strap from the transmission to the frame)? I've been trying to research it this morning.

Hindsight.
Run ground from Battery to Block. Then block to frame.
Do not run from battery to frame.
Bob

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Andrew, the only reason I'm keeping my fuel pump controller is to cut down on noise and fuel temp increase from having the pump run full force all the time. I'd ditch it and deal with the noise if you thought running full bore wouldn't have much of factor on fuel temps.

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=46020&d=1443370151

I like the fuel pump control. In case the fuel line gets cut, the engine stalls, pump shuts off.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob.

RE the fuel pump controller, that is a good point about the automatic shutoff! Between making nearly 500 HP and running E85, I think Andrew needs a very large pump that draws more amps than the factory controller could handle. But for a 255lph pump all the way down to stock, you could use the controller or go with a relay. I do agree the auto shut-off is nice, if only for emergency situations, or if you for whatever reason find yourself needing to have the key on with the engine not running for extended periods.

[Hindsight]

Bob, another question for you. As I keep researching more on remote mounted batteries, I am curious as to what you have in place for accidental shorting protection? As in, what happens if your large gauge battery wire shorts to ground? I've read about a number of things you can do to protect against this (from fusible links to breakers and large amp fuses), but they are hotly debated and there isn't anything really easy to implement in the 818 setup. In addition to a short to ground, it seems people like to fuse between the alternator and battery in case of alternator spikes.

I'd be curious to get your thoughts on this.

[Mulry]

I just have to be careful not to accidentally ground the positive post, or figure out how I can make a protective cap for it (the standard caps like I used on the inside part of the post won't work on the back side due to the 90 degree lugs and the multiple connections).

There's a product called liquid electrical tape that you can find in the electrics aisle at Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. It is a vinyl brush-on material (in colors) with the cap in the lid (like with liquid cement). If you put it on in a couple of layers, it will do as good a job isolating electrical connections from accidental short as any tape or vinyl cap. It also waterproofs the connection. I use it on battery cable connections in our other race cars and I'd use it on those rear firewall posts on your car too. It's cheap and works great. Cheers.

Now that I've offered some assistance (hopefully) what search term did you use on eBay for that battery cable splitter? I'm trying stuff like "battery cable splitter" without any luck.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Mulry, I may try doing that to make a custom cover, so long as it can be peeled off when I want it to.

The search secret is "Power Distribution Block" or "Automotive power distribution block" or replace automotive with marine. TONS of them on Amazon and eBay. eBay has more selection.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to re-think the whole setup now though. I want to be 100% certain that an accident or broken motor mount or something doesn't cause a giant fire that wrecks what I've spent multiple years building. So I'm trying to research and figure out where I want fuses or fusible links etc. There is just SO much conflicting info out there because it's a hotly debated topic. Example relating to grounding: Some electrical engineers say that a steel body of a vehicle, due to it's cross section, will provide far better ground across 8' or more of distance than even 0-gauge copper wire would. Examples:
http://www.w8ji.com/negative_lead_to_battery.htm
http://www.w8ji.com/battery_wiring.htm#My_trunk_mounted_battery:

So I'm trying to figure out where I need fuses and how large. Seems I definitely need one off the alternator to protect against surges, and I may end up wiring in a starter solenoid to keep the large wire going to the back dead, unless the starter is actually cranking. Then I can run a somewhat smaller wire to the back for the alternator protected by a fuse. But I'm still on the drawing board.

[STiPWRD]

I wired in a battery cut-off switch between the positive terminal and the main fuse box:
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/autocraft-electrical-switches-specialty-battery-cut-off-100-amp-battery-isolator-85988/16320039-P?searchTerm=battery+cut-off+switch&zoneAssigned=1&prefZC=20176
That way if anything happens I can quickly pull out the key and disable power to the vehicle - this is enough of a safeguard for me. The only other wire running off the positive is directly to the starter.

[Mulry]

Thanks. I was looking for the whole wire thing -- that makes more sense.

On the grounding side of things, here's what I've seen in the past. The engine block is grounded to the chassis, and the battery is grounded to the chassis. That's true in both Toyotas and BMW's. I assume that decades of automotive engineering practice says that this is a sufficient method for grounding circuits, and as a result, I've run all sorts of crap to chassis ground on the race cars over the years without a single electrical fire resulting therefrom. I am pretty diligent about using fuses and relays (on bigger fuses) and making sure that nothing gets shorted. I don't know why Bob says not to do it that way, but I'd love to have him enlighten me.

BTW, if you need a supplemental fuse panel, I've really liked using the Blue Sea Systems one that they sell on Amazon. It has both a 12v+ and a ground bus, which makes it really useful for wiring up gauges and other driver area and supplemental systems (cool shirts, additional driving lights, etc).

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Bob, another question for you. As I keep researching more on remote mounted batteries, I am curious as to what you have in place for accidental shorting protection? As in, what happens if your large gauge battery wire shorts to ground? I've read about a number of things you can do to protect against this (from fusible links to breakers and large amp fuses), but they are hotly debated and there isn't anything really easy to implement in the 818 setup. In addition to a short to ground, it seems people like to fuse between the alternator and battery in case of alternator spikes.

I'd be curious to get your thoughts on this.

The Subaru main fuse box has a 100 Amp fuse for the alternator. (SBF-1-100A)

On all cars that I know of, the is NO fuse or fusible link between the battery and starter.
It would be difficult to install a fuse here as the starter can pull a lot of amps (maybe a 1000).
Instead they rely on the current limiting feature of the battery. The battery may have 1000 CCA but it drops quickly as the battery gets hot inside. The goal is to have the battery die before the battery cables catch on fire.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the reply all. Bob, what I'm thinking of doing for the starter cable is to use a solenoid placed near the battery, instead of a fuse. This way the big wire going all the way back to the starter is only live at startup. In an accident, it won't be live.

STiPWRD, good idea on the cutoff switch. In most race cars, they have to go on the very back of the car I think, but having it on the dash or somewhere within reach would be the next best thing in case of an accident (assuming you were still awake). For a front-mounted battery, a rear mounted cutoff switch is very hard to pull off.

[Mulry]

Ah, kill switches. Thanks to the Lemons rules on this, this is a topic with which I have a lot of experience. Lemons requires that the kill switch kill all circuits; it's tested by running the car up to 3-4k and then throwing the switch. It also requires that the switch be within reach of both the driver while belted in and by an outside corner worker. Although none of our cars will be in Lemons, this solution is also NASA-friendly and has passed NASA tech in my most recent NASA-prepped car.

I use a Longacre 4-post killswitch, preferably the weatherproof one (http://www.longacreracing.com/products.aspx?itemid=1643&prodid=7575&pagetitle=Weatherproof+Battery+Disconnect+-+4+Terminal). I put it on the left-hand side of the dash or attached to the a-pillar (in a closed-cockpit car) so that it can be reached by both corner worker and belted-in-driver, although you can achieve the same result with a center-console switch with a remote pull-wire attached through it that runs to a location outside the car (something like this works great (http://www.rennline.com/Rennline-Remote-Pull-Cable-Kit-with-Loop-Handle/productinfo/EL25/RED/) since corner workers are used to seeing it on P-cars and other high-end track rides, although it's easy to fabricate this yourself using about $3 of vinyl-covered aircraft cable and a couple crimp ferrules)

I run the 12v+ from the battery through the main lugs on the Longacre switch so that when the switch is open, no current flows from the battery to anything in the car. All hot leads from battery -- to vehicle main relay, alternate fuse boxes, etc -- come after the kill switch.

I then connect the "on" or "run" circuit from the ignition switch through the other set of contacts on the kill switch. On cars with production wiring harnesses, that circuit will allow the factory protection for the alternator so that you're not killing those too when you flip the kill switch while the car's running. In almost 7 years of running our Lemons cars, we've never set fire to a car or nuked an alternator using this method, and it's the method I'll implement when wiring up my 818 too.

Cheers & hope this helps.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I am pretty diligent about using fuses and relays (on bigger fuses) and making sure that nothing gets shorted. I don't know why Bob says not to do it that way, but I'd love to have him enlighten me.

Hi Mulry,
If everything is a good connection, running all ground through frame works.
But, with heavy loads (head lights and wipers, starter) you will have different reference voltage to different components. so sensor accuracy is compromised.

If your engine to frame strap has bad connection, loose or forgotten during an engine swap. When starting the vehicle. All the starter ground current goes through the little non-fused sensor ground wires and can light up the wiring harness.

On old Chevrolets automatics, I've seen the shifting cable from the column to the transmission smoke a few times.

If you study the Subaru schematic, All the ECU ground are referenced to the engine block.

Bob

[Mulry]

Good to know. Thanks Bob.

[Hindsight]

Ended up catching a bad cold that was making its way around the office so have been out of commission for a couple weeks but back at it this weekend.

Making steady, yet very slow progress on the harness. The two fuse boxes have been mounted and I have consolidated the relays to the single main fuse-relay box, so that is nice and clean. I have completed running all the wires in front of the forward firewall (horn, headlights, radiator fan, and AWIC pump). I will loom them later.

The main harness section I have on my workbench is HUGE. It's going to be a pain to lay in the car and try working with it there so I think I may try to take the approach one or two others have which is to work the entire harness on a 4x8 table outside the car. The idea being to take measurements of where everything is in the car, then lay out lines on the table to represent them. You then need to lengthen and shorten the harness wires to match the lines on table. It is a LOT of cutting and soldering and I think I underestimated the total amount of time I will have to spend on this (I would guess it will end up around 80 hours). The alternative being to just stuff the excess existing wire out of sight and extend any wires that need extending which would be much master but not as clean.

http://i.imgur.com/2hjgfzCh.jpg (http://imgur.com/2hjgfzC)

http://i.imgur.com/7KiQqYjh.jpg (http://imgur.com/7KiQqYj)

[Scargo]

The plywood board loom is an ages old way of doing it. Fast and easy. Finishing nails and clothespins, small clamps, tape and hot melt are all ways of temporarily holding wires and connectors in place. Tilt it up at at a standing working height and it will be easier to work with.
Looks like you are almost 1/3 there!

[Mulry]

You might find this article of interest/help in doing the harness work. These guys have been working on putting a Hayabusa motor in a Miata chassis for a few years (they're not finished yet - lots of clutch issues). This one discusses how they hacked their harness and used a pegboard & rope to get the layout right:

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ID/1706/Project-Miatabusa-Part-6--The-Wiring-Job-From-Heck.aspx

Also, what's that pump next to the battery tray (not the one that's the ABS pump)?

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'm making a small harness from scratch for the transmission connectors and all the aftermarket sensors I added in the engine compartment. I will terminate those with a couple GM weatherpack connectors. After that I get to decide: Stuff & Curse or Slow & Tidy.

Mulry the pump is the air-water intercooler pump. It's in the lowest spot possible. Hoses run through the center tunnel to the rear heat exchanger and on the front to the front heat exchanger which I have yet to mount.

[Frank818]

Yes, wiring is slow and takes time. But unless mechanical parts, wiring requires less design as you can fit wires pretty much anywhere. Well, still funny to say that but you get the point. :) The difference between yours and mine is that i was building mine while I was making connections IN the car, so built on the car entirely. You reuse most of the wires so you have to work it out outside to get a better picture.

Is your pump a 20g/min? Or a 5g/min? I think you already mentioned it...

[Hindsight]

5.3g per minute. Is there a Bosch pump that will flow 20g? I saw an article comparing pumps and they did mention a couple 20g per minute pumps but they didn't say they were Bosch and they actually performed worse than the Bosch 5g if there were any restrictions in the loop.

I'm making the wiring connections in the car now as well. But am at the point where all that awkward positioning when soldering, cutting and crimping may really slow down my progress. So I'm having to decide whether to keep doing it that way or do the whole thing on the bench. The number one thing that makes it very complex are all the junctions inside the harness where 3+ wires are all connected together. It starts to get real confusing there. I've been labeling them numerically with masking tape, both on the junction itself and on each wire I cut from the junction so they can later be spliced back together. Time consuming but I don't know of a better method.

[Frank818]

I don't remember seeing a Bosch at 20g, yeah. The one I know is Meziere, which is the one I'm using.

Awkward positioning, you mean your body in order to solder? Yeah, that I know! lolll For everything actually, not just soldering. :)

Since I used a lot of wires from the harness to build mine (I cut them without needing to know what they were for), I have a lot of those 3+ wires joining with a small metal piece crimped. They weren't just grounds!

[STiPWRD]

The roll of 4 connected wires (white, black , green, yellow) provided by FFR worked great for extending the harness to the transmission. I just extended those wires out without any intermediate connectors in between. Yea, extending the harness did take longer than I anticipated as well - I did all the dieting in the basement (30 hrs) and all of the routing and extending in the car (another 45 hrs). I noticed if I had done the wiring out of the car, it would've been difficult to get some of the connectors through the small openings at the front and rear firewalls.

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the info. I'm planning on routing ALL the front wires through a single 3" hole in the firewall (I will enlarge the existing hole), and then using a two-piece metal+rubber firewall grommet from Summit that seems to get very good reviews. Rear wires are going to route around the firewall instead of through it, since the stock engine harness connectors terminate on the right side of the engine.

[PleiadsMan]

looks amazing! I'm going to be following your Ideas

[Hindsight]

Today I built a harness template out of some wire. The idea was to create a pattern for wire lengths, routes, and connector locations. I used whatever wire I had laying around and taped it to the frame where I wanted the main harness to run, then I taped wires off of that for the runs to the sensors and plugs. I labeled each wire with masking tape.

Once the harness template was complete, I removed it from the car and laid it out on a 4x8 hardyplank sheet from the hardware store set atop two saw horses. I held the harness template down in some places with clothes pins hot-glued to the board (thanks for the tip Glyn!). Then I traced the wires on the board with a sharpie and copied my connector notes from the masking tape on the harness template. Once that was done, I removed the wire harness template and was left with the board.

Now it gets tedious. Will have to start one connector at a time, laying in place on the board then cutting, splicing, lengthening, extended, or whatever is needed to get everything in the right spot. I'm soldering every splice and covering it with dual-wall heat shrink tubing (the kind with heat-activated glue on the inside). While it will be tedious, I think I will enjoy it because there shouldn't be much to get in the way of making progress.

Oh yeah, ABS sensors are in too. I was able to re-use the metal brackets front and rear to help route them properly, but the brackets did require a little modification.

Harness template being made on the car:
http://i.imgur.com/Asxktb2h.jpg (http://imgur.com/Asxktb2)

http://i.imgur.com/l2BBPJah.jpg (http://imgur.com/l2BBPJa)

Laid out on the board:
http://i.imgur.com/wXQVSC2h.jpg (http://imgur.com/wXQVSC2)

Traced:
http://i.imgur.com/zL53YsOh.jpg (http://imgur.com/zL53YsO)

[AZPete]

Ingenious! I wish I had seen this before I "dieted" my harness! I used the do-it-over-and-over method and sometimes the oh-crap-start-over method.

[Scargo]

Most excellent! And thanks.

[Rasmus]

I love this idea!

http://i.imgur.com/eMrNk6R.png
Glad I thought of it! ;)

[Frank818]

I like your big red wire connector.

[Scargo]

Big Red? There's soda-pop involved?

[Hindsight]

I like your big red wire connector.

If you are talking about the one on the rear firewall, it's actually a terminal cover boot. That's the 2 gauge wire that goes out to the starter. I ended up implementing the plan I posted a while back, using a remote starter solenoid on the front firewall so the big 2 gauge wire that goes all the way back to the stater is only hot when cranking. It will make me sleep easier at night. It goes through the rear firewall via one of these http://www.amazon.com/Moroso-74144-Thru-Panel-Connector/dp/B003IK4IZ2

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Great Job Hindsight.
That is how the pro's do it.
46687

What is the pressure tank for on the right side of the car?
How are you going to protect the electronic boxes for rain?
Bob

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob. The little tank is a home made charcoal cannister. Seems to work well so far; there is zero gas smell.

The ECU and other modules will be covered by a carpeted panel that will have a very slight slope to it

[Hindsight]

Started building the harness on the board today. Fun, but slow. The only part I don't like is in-harness junctions, especially the ones with 6+ wires coming out of them.

It's probably going to look like this for several more weeks before it's finished.
http://i.imgur.com/gJjw9wVh.jpg (http://imgur.com/gJjw9wV)

[Hindsight]

Still moving along, slow but steady. Won't have pics worth sharing until the whole thing is done.

If you choose to do your harness like I am, I would strongly suggest ensuring your ENTIRE harness pattern is laid out on the table before you begin. I had already 90% completed the front section (forward of the firewall which is mostly just headlights, horns, radiator, ABS, and AWIC pump) prior to putting it on the board so figured I could leave that part out but I would not suggest doing that. It causes a mess on the table and some other issues.

I also condensed the pattern down to the bottom half of the table so that the top half could be used to hold the donor harness that I would slowly pull wires and connectors from. If I did it again, I would have the harness pattern more spread out so it took up 100% of the table, and then I'd have another table behind me to hold the donor harness I pulled from. That does require a lot of space though.

Another tip is to ensure you know where your harness ground points will be before you make the pattern so you can incorporate those into the pattern and the board. I think you need only two or three harness ground points (given that we aren't running things like defrost, power windows, sunroof, heater, etc). I put one up near the battery for the stuff in front of the forward firewall, one near the pedals on vertical bar in the center of the frame, and one on the passenger side behind the fuel tank, but up high near the engine connectors. All the ground wires on the Subie harness are black so they are very easy to identify.

The process I am using is to wrap the wires coming off of a connector with tape about 3-6" away from the connector, then write the connector info on the tape (B128 or "Immobilizer" etc), then cut all the wires between the connector and the tape label (so the label stays with the harness, not the connector). I then lay the connector with pig-tail on the board where it's supposed to go and clamp it down with a clothes pin or binder clip hot-glued to the table. Then I pick one of the wires from the donor harness where it was cut, and pull it out until I figure out where it connects to at every end (in the case of a multi-way split). Remove the wire, then lengthen/shorten as needed per the new harness pattern on the board and splice it in with solder and heat-shrink. It does make for a fair amount of splices but the only other way is to de-pin each terminal in each connector, and make a new wire of the correct length and crimp on new OEM terminal ends. This would be the best way of doing it but those terminal pins aren't cheap (neither is TXL wire) and I'm not certain all of these terminals can be de-pinned from their connector. I have been able to de-pin a few but not all of the styles. Some of them seem to have a tab that folds over and permanently locks into place and doesn't seem to want to come out without breaking the connector. When lengthening wires, I either re-use wire I pulled out of the harness for components I'm not using (windows, sunroof, wiper, etc), or use new TXL wire that I buy in color assortments off eBay. If you buy TXL wire off eBay, ~80% of what you need will be 20 or 22 gauge. I've been using dual wall heat shrink for the added protection and strength, but the stuff is very thick and bulky so I've been starting to use standard heat-shrink on the thinner wires and using the dual wall for the larger stuff.

Last tip for now.... the wiring diagrams sometimes show a wire going from point A to point B, with no connections along the way, but when you look at point B on your actual harness, you'll see several wires joined there. An example is the OBD2 data link connector. There is a black and green wire that goes to the ECU and the ABS computer that connects there, but no single wiring diagram shows both connecting to it. When you see this, you have to search through the PDF wiring guide document to find the connector name and see what other sections it shows up under to see what other wires connect there. I really don't like that about the Subaru wiring diagrams. The VW ones I am used to show everything as it is.

It's crazy how many small gauge wires are used for things that consume a fair amount of current. The vast majority of wires in the harness are 20 and 22 gauge. I guess it all comes down to distance.

[bbjones121]

Still moving along, slow but steady. Won't have pics worth sharing until the whole thing is done.

If you choose to do your harness like I am, I would strongly suggest ensuring your ENTIRE harness pattern is laid out on the table before you begin. I had already 90% completed the front section (forward of the firewall which is mostly just headlights, horns, radiator, ABS, and AWIC pump) prior to putting it on the board so figured I could leave that part out but I would not suggest doing that. It causes a mess on the table and some other issues.

I also condensed the pattern down to the bottom half of the table so that the top half could be used to hold the donor harness that I would slowly pull wires and connectors from. If I did it again, I would have the harness pattern more spread out so it took up 100% of the table, and then I'd have another table behind me to hold the donor harness I pulled from. That does require a lot of space though.

Another tip is to ensure you know where your harness ground points will be before you make the pattern so you can incorporate those into the pattern and the board. I think you need only two or three harness ground points (given that we aren't running things like defrost, power windows, sunroof, heater, etc). I put one up near the battery for the stuff in front of the forward firewall, one near the pedals on vertical bar in the center of the frame, and one on the passenger side behind the fuel tank, but up high near the engine connectors. All the ground wires on the Subie harness are black so they are very easy to identify.

The process I am using is to wrap the wires coming off of a connector with tape about 3-6" away from the connector, then write the connector info on the tape (B128 or "Immobilizer" etc), then cut all the wires between the connector and the tape label (so the label stays with the harness, not the connector). I then lay the connector with pig-tail on the board where it's supposed to go and clamp it down with a clothes pin or binder clip hot-glued to the table. Then I pick one of the wires from the donor harness where it was cut, and pull it out until I figure out where it connects to at every end (in the case of a multi-way split). Remove the wire, then lengthen/shorten as needed per the new harness pattern on the board and splice it in with solder and heat-shrink. It does make for a fair amount of splices but the only other way is to de-pin each terminal in each connector, and make a new wire of the correct length and crimp on new OEM terminal ends. This would be the best way of doing it but those terminal pins aren't cheap (neither is TXL wire) and I'm not certain all of these terminals can be de-pinned from their connector. I have been able to de-pin a few but not all of the styles. Some of them seem to have a tab that folds over and permanently locks into place and doesn't seem to want to come out without breaking the connector. When lengthening wires, I either re-use wire I pulled out of the harness for components I'm not using (windows, sunroof, wiper, etc), or use new TXL wire that I buy in color assortments off eBay. If you buy TXL wire off eBay, ~80% of what you need will be 20 or 22 gauge. I've been using dual wall heat shrink for the added protection and strength, but the stuff is very thick and bulky so I've been starting to use standard heat-shrink on the thinner wires and using the dual wall for the larger stuff.

Last tip for now.... the wiring diagrams sometimes show a wire going from point A to point B, with no connections along the way, but when you look at point B on your actual harness, you'll see several wires joined there. An example is the OBD2 data link connector. There is a black and green wire that goes to the ECU and the ABS computer that connects there, but no single wiring diagram shows both connecting to it. When you see this, you have to search through the PDF wiring guide document to find the connector name and see what other sections it shows up under to see what other wires connect there. I really don't like that about the Subaru wiring diagrams. The VW ones I am used to show everything as it is.

It's crazy how many small gauge wires are used for things that consume a fair amount of current. The vast majority of wires in the harness are 20 and 22 gauge. I guess it all comes down to distance.

+1 this is almost exactly what I am doing, but I am doing it in the car so I know exact distances. When I am done, I will take photos of where I put things and measure each connector so it could be done by someone else without putting it in the car.

[Scargo]

This is all very helpful and informative. I will do my own from scratch, except I have several engine harnesses to work with. Since mine's an R, I will have fewer wires.
Interesting that you chose to add-in TXL rather than GXL or even lesser wire, when you are mixing it with Subaru's inferior (?) wire. What was your logic in the decision?
I think the board is the way to go. You can have points at the front and back of the tunnel and at common intersections, so that you do not have to measure through the whole length of the car over and over.

[Hindsight]

TXL and GXL have a high temp rating and chemical resistance suitable for engine / automotive use. TXL has the thinnest insulation. Common wire has insulation that is WAY thicker than needed and will make your harness huge and heavy (plus it's usually not very heat and chemical resistant).

[bbjones121]

What are you using for shielded cable?

[Hindsight]

I don't think I will have to lengthen any of those except for maybe the drive by wire cable. Mostly I will shorten. Shorten by cutting, splicing the inside wire, sealing it with heat-shrink, then wrapping outer shield with bare copper wire bridging both pieces together and covering that with a larger piece of heat-shrink. For the drive by wire cable, I was just going to google single conductor shielded wire and pick something that looked good.

[bbjones121]

I cut my drive by wire by accident. I soldered inner wire, then liquid taped lightly, then one and half pass of electric tape. Then I cut thin strip of aluminum foil, wrapped once then spread the outer jacket strands around it, then shrink wrapped over the whole thing. I hope it works.

[Hindsight]

Should be fine. I have done that exact thing on a vw I own and it worked. Better if the heat shrink has some adhesive though.

[AZPete]

Hindsight, bbjones, and others, I have a bunch of shielded wire (Digi-Key P/N T1251-30-ND) because when I needed some I bought the minimum (10 meters?) so now I have of about 9 meters left. If you PM me with a snail mail address I'll send you some for free. I think 10 feet would be more than you'll need for the DBW, right?
Pete

[Hindsight]

Wow that's very generous, thank you Pete! I'll PM you my address.

[bbjones121]

Thank you very much for the offer, I actually just ordered some.

[Hindsight]

Made really good progress on the harness last week and on Halloween day. The harness is basically done except for the ECU-related wires, but obviously there are a lot of those! Another couple weeks and I should be ready to put it back into the car for a fit and function test before adding the loom.

http://i.imgur.com/EenAIIOh.jpg (http://imgur.com/EenAIIO)

[Hindsight]

So close to being done with the wiring I can almost taste it. This took a LOT of time. I've been spending most weekends on it, 10 hours a day. I've had both my heat gun and my soldering station go dead on me... they weren't up to the constant demand.

Nothing is left of the OEM harness - it's all incorporated into my new harness. The traction control is installed as is all the wiring for the gauges and aftermarket sensors. The shielded cable for my Innovate wideband was too short, at 8', so I had to order the next size up which is 18'! I could have just cut my existing 8' one in half and extended it but the wire is shielded and I didn't want to chance it on such a critical sensor. I have a couple odds and ends to do like adding override switches for the fuel pump, AWIC pump, and the radiator fans so I can have full control of them, and I still have to wire the alternator and battery, but I'm very close. Probably one or two more full days will have the harness in the car with all gauges hooked up and everything ready to run (again).

Before I wrap the harness in loom, I'm going to temporarily connect the headlights and tail-lights just to be 100% certain everything is working perfectly with the wiring. That will add some time but better to get out of the way now while the body is off.

[Flamshackle]

Before I wrap the harness in loom, I'm going to temporarily connect the headlights and tail-lights just to be 100% certain everything is working perfectly with the wiring. That will add some time but better to get out of the way now while the body is off.

Wisdom^

I am just going to pay someone else to wire it. Its too much of a headache for my small electrical mind...

[svanlare]

Even though I've bought a harness, I'm still just putting it in temporarily until I know that everything works.

[07FIREBLADE]

Send it to Brian at iWire. We have already sent one down under.


Wisdom^

I am just going to pay someone else to wire it. Its too much of a headache for my small electrical mind...

[Frank818]

10h a day on wiring, yeah I know that. :) And yours eyes get all weird cuz you focus on little things for too long.

I had to cut a shielded wire in 2009 or 2010 when I installed my current ECU. It was and still it for my cam sensor. I think one for the crank sensor as well, can't remember. You don't want to mess it up, no. :)

[Rasmus]

Inspiring work on the harness.

[Hindsight]

Still working on the wiring. I haven't had a lot of time this month due to work/travel. December is going to be a bit tough as well for the same reason but hopefully I will get more time around the Christmas and New Years holidays.

The harness is off the board and in the car. My goal was to get everything connected to ensure the lengths and positions were correct before going any further. So far so good! I made the main run from the front to the back a little long because I was very paranoid it would be too short by just an inch which would cause me to have to extend WAY too many wires (again). So I'm going to have a short 1' loop in the tunnel for the excess but that's fine. Everywhere else fit great.

I have four grounds in total (not counting the ground strap that goes from frame to transmission): Main battery ground to frame (I choice to ground it to the upper brace of the frame above the battery), lower frame near the ABS (for ABS, front lighting, AWIC pump, rad fans, etc), in-cabin, and engine area. I thought about drilling and tapping the frame for the grounding bolt but it wasn't thick enough for my comfort so I ended up welding the ground attachment points to the frame instead.

Harness doesn't look pretty yet since it isn't sleeved and isn't tucked up but I'm not taking it back out and wrapping it until literally everything has been verified as working, right down to the hazards, speedometer, and reverse lights. So that probably means it's going to stay in the car naked for a while. I plan on using the padded line clamps to attach the wiring to the frame once the sleeving is on but for now, I'm just using little velcro straps to hold it in the approximate place. Once everything looks good after the test-drive, I'll go in and wrap the junctions with electrical tape in their exact locations and remote the harness so I can sleeve it and finish it fully. For the sleeving, I will mostly use nylon split corrugated for the engine/radiator areas and inside I will use split braid. I don't think the braided stuff provides a lot of protection from oils, UV, and heat like the nylon stuff does.

I had to notch out the passenger rear firewall to route my wires the way I wanted to. I put some slit hose on the edges to provide protection. I noticed the FFR-supplied e-brake cover panel doesn't fit very well. They appear to be supplying the same part for the old gas tank vs the new gas tank and the firewalls it connects to are very different. I'll probably end up just making my own.

Engine connector area. I have two 10-pin weather pack connectors here. One for all the gauge sensors and another for the transmission and alternator:
http://i.imgur.com/5JOBiI6h.jpg (http://imgur.com/5JOBiI6)

I did loom the home-made transmission wiring harness:
http://i.imgur.com/YZOP9erh.jpg (http://imgur.com/YZOP9er)

Dash area. Still need to route some wires and switches to the power distribution blocks below:
http://i.imgur.com/SW1aUxkh.jpg (http://imgur.com/SW1aUxk)

Starter solenoid and you can see the power distribution blocks on the top right. I feed ground, 12v, ignition, acc, and parking-lamp circuits to them, to make it easier to hook up later add-ons like gauges or whatever.
http://i.imgur.com/NB0AHOUh.jpg (http://imgur.com/NB0AHOU)

Server room (you can see the notch in the firewall I made):
http://i.imgur.com/YjLYyE7h.jpg (http://imgur.com/YjLYyE7)


Welded bolt for battery ground:
http://i.imgur.com/rXTJ16hh.jpg (http://imgur.com/rXTJ16h)

Welded rear ground location:
http://i.imgur.com/h12HBnrh.jpg (http://imgur.com/h12HBnr)

[Mulry]

Looking good! I really like to use rivet-in saddle-style mounts & zip ties for cable mounting, they've worked for many races & nothing gets ruined if you need to cut a zip tie to remove & replace the harness. I use either style F or J on this link:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/121/1545/=100zln1

[Tamra]

I'm so jealous of your wiring harness right now!!! That looks fantastic.

[Hindsight]

Thanks for the kind words Tamra. It sure did take a lot of time.

Mulry, thanks for the mount tip. I tried to find mounts like that but could only find them with adhesive backing. I may give these a shot with rivets as you suggested.

Forgot another pic. This is my alternator fuse. My power circuit is as follows: Battery to remote starter solenoid in the front firewall. Very short 2ga cable. On the same solenoid post, I connected to the main 8ga red wire that goes to the fusebox. The other side of the solenoid goes to a 2ga cable that goes through the rear firewall (via a firewall isolator post) and then to the starter. This is the only long power cable that is not fused (can't fuse the starter cable) and the point of putting it on the solenoid is so it only hot when cranking. I then created a short little jumper wire that connects the main starter-mounted solenoid main post to the trigger post so any time the wire to the starter is energized, it will crank and it saves me from running another wire all the way back. Alternator has a 4ga cable that goes to a 120 fuse as pictures below, and that runs up to the front fusebox, connecting to the two 8ga white wires from the fusebox that originally went to the alternator on the WRX. This setup keeps everything properly fused and is very safe.
http://i.imgur.com/3cj5B7Fh.jpg (http://imgur.com/3cj5B7F)

[Aero STI]

Phenomenal work my friend! I took the approach of getting my car on the road quickly so I could enjoy it, then I go back and tidy things up. There are plenty of things that need correction. At times I envy this methodical approach to building the car.

[Canadian818]

Your harness is giving me anxiety, I'm not looking forward to wiring. Amazing job, your attention to detail is inspiring.

[STiPWRD]

Very nice work! Are you planning on sealing up the server area? I'd be paranoid about getting caught in the rain.

[Hindsight]

Thanks guys.

Yeah I will seal it up once done. The idea I have now is to make a little aluminum panel that creates a slightly slanted false bottom that covers the computers. I will attach it with self-tapping sheet metal screws to the aluminum so it's removable. Then it will get covered with carpet. It should create a nice little pocket behind the passenger seat where a gym-bag sized item can be stored since I won't have room for a trunk due to the exhaust setup I plan on running.

[Hindsight]

I think I have most everything I need for my exhaust now.

My plan is to fab up a collector that looks just like the one pictured below. I bought a blank flange from Kinugawa for about $30 or so. The rest of the collector is just a 3" and a 2.5" pipe. I will weld those to the flange to end up with this collector:
http://i.imgur.com/8d2IYV1h.jpg (http://imgur.com/8d2IYV1)
http://i.imgur.com/zmmGueOh.jpg (http://imgur.com/zmmGueO)
http://i.imgur.com/jLafg6gh.jpg (http://imgur.com/jLafg6g)

Some small fab shop made that collector and was offering it for some time to a dune buggy crowd but they are now defunct so I'm making one myself. I also have a Kinugawa bellmouth flange but it turns down too far for my purposes so I'm going to have to sell it on eBay.

After the collector I will have a very short section of ~30 degree mandrel bent 3" pipe, then it will go into the Kooks 3" straight-through muffler and then another short section of 30 degree bent pipe, followed by the 3" dual tip. This will be top center exit, where the license plate would normally go. The trick is going to fab it up so it's perfectly centered. That's going to be extra challenging due to the short length not allowing for a flex joint.
http://i.imgur.com/S29ZH5ah.jpg (http://imgur.com/S29ZH5a)

[Frank818]

Awesome polish parts!


That's going to be extra challenging due to the short length not allowing for a flex joint.

Yeah! I know that! Watch out my next pic on my thread at some point, I have a lot of trouble with the dump tube (recirc in the exhaust), it's just too short with no clearance.

Remind me where you plan to route the exhaust tip?

[Hindsight]

Tip is going to go straight out the back where the license plate would normally be. So in the middle of the mesh, top center of the back bumper between the tail lights. It's the shortest and most direct path out, so should provide the most power and fastest spool.

We'll see how polished this stuff stays after I'm done working it.... especially the collector. That's going to be quite a job. I may end up just having the whole thing black ceramic coated.

[Mulry]

I'm thinking that ceramic coating is the way to go. I met an owner of an 818S at a Lemons race in Houston a couple weeks ago (& got to drive his 818 - fun!) and he said that when he idles the grille/heat vent on top of the engine is hot enough to fry an egg. Anything to keep the heat from radiating ur of the exhaust seems like a very good idea on this engine.

[Hindsight]

Yeah, I am definitely getting a turbo blanket and was either going to wrap the full length of exhaust (since it's so short), or ceramic coat it. I've heard wrapping is much better than ceramic coating, from a thermal retention standpoint, but it's obviously not pretty and it's a pain to work around (fiber splinters).

[Scargo]

You cannot do without a turbo heat shield or a turbo blanket. I prefer the blanket. Also, coating pipes will help but I think double wrapping with ordinary heat shielding tape or using this economical, thicker version (http://www.amazon.com/WHITE-Temperature-Header-Exhaust-Insulation/dp/B003SZL9FO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8)I found will help a lot more. Also, people may want to use heat shields as are commonly used around a car's exhaust system.
48295

[C.Plavan]

I wrapped my headers and had them ceramic coated..... The wrap already burned off.....

[lennyspecv]

It seems like any possible thing to reduce heat in this car should be done. Thermal coating and wrapping headers and exhaust, coating turbo, turbo blanket, phenolic spacers, composite TGV deletes, larger oil capacity, oil cooler, and then venting/ducting wherever possible.

[Frank818]

Tip is going to go straight out the back where the license plate would normally be. So in the middle of the mesh, top center of the back bumper between the tail lights.

That's just like me!

[Hindsight]

Frank, if you decide you like the tip I'm using, let me know and I'll send you a link on eBay. Comes from Australia. It is the shortest 3" - dual 3" Y pipe I could find anywhere. I needed something super short on account of how little length there is between the turbo and rear bumper.

[Frank818]

Would be cool but I can't use dual, I have VRaptor's grill made for a 3" single tip. But according to my measurement I cannot add more than maybe 0 to 3" of pipe after my last 90-deg before the bumper, it's gonna be very tight already.

[Hindsight]

Very busy month. Just got back at it today. Wrapped up the wiring connections and started the engine. It fired right up which made me very happy after so much wiring modifications. Even more surprising is that it started in spite of my accidentally crossing the AVCS and crankshaft position sensor wires (which I figured out after scanning the ECU for codes). Both wires are red with a white stripe and I must have grabbed the wrong one when splicing things back together. It was a very easy fix to uncross those wires and re-solder them. Aside from that, I am not currently finding any other engine-related issues. All the codes I'm seeing are related to things I no longer have like Evap, PCV, fuel pressure, TGV, etc. Gauge cluster is working and the traction control system is powered up. No oil or water leaks. Still need to test the wiring for the headlights and taillights before declaring my wiring job finished and covering everything with loom, but that's going to have to wait until after my go-kart.

Plenty more to work on over the holiday weekend. Still need shifter, exhaust, custom degas tank, and hydraulics bled. Guessing all that will take me into Feb-March.

[Scargo]

How much would I have to pay you to come to CT and help me wire my car? Nice going!

[AZPete]

What a great Christmas gift to have the engine start up without any leaks, engine codes or . . . . smoke, sparks, flames, 911 calls, ER visits or cuss words! Nice work.

[Hindsight]

Thanks guys, and thanks again Pete for the shielded cable which is working great for the DBW.

[Hindsight]

Fabricated this coolant expansion (degas) tank today out of aluminum. The OEM tank is too small for my liking. I'm used to VWs where they have a larger degas tank and no overflow tank because it isn't required with a decent sized expansion tank. But the main reason I did it is so that I could relocate it up to the frame. I'm going to mount it on the frame directly next to my AOS. It will make the degas tank now the highest point in the system, will allow me to be able to see the coolant level inside it without opening the cap (I'm adding a "sight-glass" to the outside of it - will post pics when it's done and back from the powder coater), will allow me to delete the overflow tank, and has all the barbs I need on it for the various inputs and outputs (input from AOS, input from bleeder hoses from both the radiator and the coolant manifold), and drain down to the water pump).

http://i.imgur.com/L1qRVlsl.jpg (http://imgur.com/L1qRVls)

[Hindsight]

Tank is back from the powder coater and installed. Only issue is that I ordered the wrong size of clear silicone hose for the sight-glass. There will be a piece of 1/4" diameter clear silicone hose connecting the two brass 90 degree fittings you see in the picture (once the new hose arrives). Other than that, it's all mounted up and fits great. Turbo output coolant line goes up into the AOS, then out of the AOS into the top of the expansion tank. Expansion tank has a drain on the bottom which goes to the same pipe the OEM degas tank connects to. I also have an input line on this going to the bleeder barb on the radiator, and a bleeder fitting on top of the coolant manifold near the upper radiator hose.

I also capped off the heater core hose loop with some silicone caps which should cause much more suction to be pulled through the degas tank (since that is the only path coolant will have to flow when the thermostat is closed). Should make auto-bleeding a snap.

http://i.imgur.com/qDr9yMkh.jpg (http://imgur.com/qDr9yMk)

[Aero STI]

Nice work with the TIG torch!

[Hindsight]

Thanks Andrew. I find myself welding a lot more aluminum than steel. It's very different. I had to go back to steel when welding my seat brackets to the frame and I kept welding too cold and cautious for fear of blowing through (since that happens SO fast with aluminum).

So I got my seat layback angle set and welded tabs on the frame to bolt the seat in place. My shoulders are just too high for this seat though; my shoulders completely cover the shoulder harness holes which means the harness straps will be going straight down, then out the back. The harness mfgs want unobstructed path from shoulder to mount point at 0-20 degree downward angle (from shoulder) which I can't do with the current seat. So... Momo makes another seat called the Supercup that's a bit more expensive but appears to have higher shoulder harness holes. I'm going to give them a call on Monday and see if I can get them to provide me with a measurement for the harness holes on that seat and if they are higher, I'll go with it and move this Start seat over to the passenger side. Both have the same bottom width so mounting shouldn't be impacted.

http://i.imgur.com/IgTv6V0l.jpg (http://imgur.com/IgTv6V0)

http://i.imgur.com/17esV85l.jpg (http://imgur.com/17esV85)

http://i.imgur.com/x3IUGAQl.jpg (http://imgur.com/x3IUGAQ)


Aside from that, I installed my windshield frame so I could install Mike's remote reservoir. Everything worked great except for the clutch system. Brakes bled fine but the clutch wouldn't bleed. I ended up "bench bleeding" it on the car (bleed nipple screwed into the output with a tube going from that nipple to the reservoir), then pressurized the reservoir with a motive pressure bleeder while also pulling a vacuum on the output line of the master using a mighty-vac. When pumping the clutch pedal, it would send some fluid out, but it seemed like it would never draw fluid in from the reservoir; for every amount of fluid it would spit out, it would pull it right back in through the output port (even if I blocked the output port off when moving the clutch pedal back up). So it has to be a bad master cylinder. Donor only had 60k on it and was working fine before dis-assembly but I guess having it sit for a year with little or no fluid in it could have caused it to fail. New one is on order.

http://i.imgur.com/QpnHntFl.jpg (http://imgur.com/QpnHntF)

http://i.imgur.com/UAWETS1l.jpg (http://imgur.com/UAWETS1)

Going to work on the MR2 shifter setup now.

[Loring]

So I got my seat layback angle set and welded tabs on the frame to bolt the seat in place. My shoulders are just too high for this seat though; my shoulders completely cover the shoulder harness holes which means the harness straps will be going straight down, then out the back.


Forgive me if you've already mentioned this, but how tall are you?

[svanlare]

Congrats on the first start, and the degas tank looks very nice.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Steve.

Loring, I am about 6' even, but my inseam is 30 which means I have a crazy long torso. That's what is causing the seat issue.

[Frank818]

Thanks Steve.

Loring, I am about 6' even, but my inseam is 30 which means I have a crazy long torso. That's what is causing the seat issue.

You could beat (or almost) Michael Phelps in the Olympics. :)
I mean, in case you didn't know, long torso is great for swimming but bad for running. That's why African people tend to run fast, they have crazy long legs and small torso.

BTW on the remote reservoir, I confirm that if you (someone) use rubber hoses that are not meant for brake fluid, the rubber will break down in small powder and blend in the fluid. Within days the process will start, I saw it when I trashed my remote reservoir and took the fluid out (was brown instead of yellow).

[Hindsight]

Yeah, it'd probably be a pretty close match... me against Phelps ;)

I think the lines Mike supplies in the kit are EPDM which is brake fluid proof. Do you believe otherwise?

I've spent the last couple of days pondering seats. I need the harness slots to be 1" higher than they are on my current Momo Start seat for safety. My current two options are to chop out the plastic bezels on my start seat, then hack up the fiberglass and seat cloth to extend the holes upward, then make a new bezel/trim ring (which would be fairly difficult to do), or get a Momo Supercup seat which is more expensive than the Start but has shoulder holes about 3/4" higher than my Start. The issue with the Supercup is that it has a removable seat cushion. The front of the cushion is REALLY tall, and that won't work for me because I have my seat laid back at a 30 degree angle in order to help my head clear the roll-bar (which means my thighs are already up high and a pad would push them much too far). Even with the seat all the way down against the frame in the back, and then laid back at 30 degrees, my head won't clear the roll bar if I'm wearing a helmet. I am probably going to have to cut the roll-bar out and weld up something like an R roll-hoop. Anyway, I could remove the removable seating pad but I am told by Momo that there really isn't any cushion below it - it's just cloth over fiberglass.

Decisions, decisions.

[metros]

Have you considered other seats with shoulder slots that are higher? I originally started with sparco seats and had to sell them for the same reason. Now using bimarco futura seats which fit me perfectly.

Another alternative is modifying the base cushions to be much thinner. But then you've already bought seats to hack apart.

[Hindsight]

Yeah I have been looking, but just not finding much. The only ones that are really tall are also the "XL" type seats and I have only a 30" waist so an XL seat is going to be too big . I sent Craig a PM about the measurements for the Bimarco shoulder strap slots. I didn't know you had the seats as well. I take it you like them? Comfortable?

I did spend some more time in the garage tonight and experimented with the lay back angle, mounting location, etc. I found that if I make the seat more upright, my weight compresses the lower (non-removable) cushion of Momo seat down far enough that I think my shoulders are close enough to clearing the slots. I guess with the 30 degree layback angle I had, all my weight was on my back. But now my legs are a bit further than I like from the pedals and my head is higher. I may just have to call it good considering that I already know I need to make a custom roll bar, and I may just be able to get used to having my leg nearly fully extended when the clutch pedal is all the way depressed.

[Aero STI]

If I were in the market for new seats I would get Tilletts. B4 or B6 look really nice. They have some large shoulder harness openings too.

https://www.tillett.co.uk/car-racing-seat.asp

[Mulry]

Those Tillett seats are pretty intriguing. You could also look into using a Kirkey and then doing a custom foam insert, which would be a lot more comfortable and safe, but that assumes that you'll be the only driver.

[flynntuna]

Nice but out of my price range...

[Hindsight]

Those seats look REALLY cool Andrew - a bit out of my price range though. But they are works of art.

That's a good idea on the modified Kirkey seats Mulry.

I think at this point, with the additional several hours of tweaking, sitting, testing, and pondering, I decided I can stick with the seat I have, but it will be more upright than before. Now I have to go back and re-weld the seat mount tabs to the frame. That kind of work makes me wish I had a MIG in addition to the TIG. Takes SO long to weld upside down under a car using a TIG setup.

[RetroRacing]

We have two Kirkey seats gathering dust.....

[Aero STI]

I think $1,000 for a pure carbon seat isn't terrible. Plus the weight savings ;)

I originally saw those seats on Youtube in a SL-C. From what I can tell this guy uses them on all his builds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF0ajnQJB-A

[Frank818]

I think the lines Mike supplies in the kit are EPDM which is brake fluid proof. Do you believe otherwise?

Sort of. I believe they work with most brake fluids, but they totally failed with my ATE Racing fluid (have pix of it on my thread). The lines let the fluid go through its pores after a few days.
I changed for hoses I thought were supporting brake fluid, but they started to break down internally and contaminated the fluid (like Adam thought would happend), they probably weren't EPDM.



I understand your seat decisions, it's all about a world of compromises, isn't it? :)

[OAKOS Automotive]

Can't wait to see it with the wheels on!

Cheers Mate and congrats on bringing the project this far!

-Anthony

[Hindsight]

Thanks Anthony!

[Tamra]

How much do those carbon seats weigh? Our Sparco Corsa's come in at 23.8 lbs each including the sliders and seat bolts, which is pretty good imo.

Hindsight, do you intend to install wipers? Just a heads up that they won't work with the remote reservoir you installed.

[Hindsight]

No wipers! This car will never see rain. We get pop-up showers here in the summer so I'll have to be diligent in ensuring there is always a gas station near by to camp out under until the rain passes. Thanks for the heads up though.

Regarding seat weight, my Momo Start seats weight 19.5lbs. I'm not using sliders; the aluminum brackets are very light.... brackets and bolts probably add a half pound at most I would guess, so right at 20lbs. Not sure on the carbon seats Andrew referenced though but I bet they are light!

[Tamra]

Are you not required to have wipers to pass the DMV inspection?

[Aero STI]

How much do those carbon seats weigh? Our Sparco Corsa's come in at 23.8 lbs each including the sliders and seat bolts, which is pretty good imo.

Hindsight, do you intend to install wipers? Just a heads up that they won't work with the remote reservoir you installed.

The Tillet B4 weighs around 7-9 lbs. The B6 weighs around 9-11 lbs. That doesn't include the brackets which add two pounds. So you could save 20 lbs. total if both seats were replaced.

They provide weights of everything in their brochure. https://www.tillett.co.uk/shop/documents/downloads/TILLET_CAR_BROCHURE_2015_LOW.pdf

[Bob_n_Cincy]

No wipers! This car will never see rain. We get pop-up showers here in the summer so I'll have to be diligent in ensuring there is always a gas station near by to camp out under until the rain passes. Thanks for the heads up though.

Regarding seat weight, my Momo Start seats weight 19.5lbs. I'm not using sliders; the aluminum brackets are very light.... brackets and bolts probably add a half pound at most I would guess, so right at 20lbs. Not sure on the carbon seats Andrew referenced though but I bet they are light!

Hindsight,
Our weather isn't that much different than yours.
We have only been street legal for a couple of months. Have had to use our wipers at least 3 or 4 time already.
When I did my wiper test video, that was real rain on the windshield.
I'll probably need it for some snow in a couple of weeks.

Bob

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob - I probably will only drive the car on nice days, and never in the winter unless it's one of those really warm days.

Tamra, no safety inspections here in Georgia. That is an advantage of being in a Southern state I guess. But even Oregon didn't have safety inspections; just smog (same as Georgia).

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Thanks Bob - I probably will only drive the car on nice days, and never in the winter unless it's one of those really warm days.
.

It was 26*F at 9am this morning. Michael threw his bike in the passenger seat of the 818 and went to the park did a 12 mile bike ride. He did get cold as he usually does 24. We built the car like a boat. Everything is waterproof and seats will dry quickly.
Bob

[Frank818]

Andrew I am like you, will never use the wipers, but I do require not only to pass inspections with them but also to keep on the car at all times, including a washer fluid, that one is even more stupid but regulations don't make the difference between a summer car and an all year round car. Oh well, I live in a northern crap place, so.
Indiana also has no inspection at all, I think they even don't look at the car to provide the VIN (Craig would know).

Wish I'd be in the States...

[Hindsight]

New clutch master cylinder showed up the other day and I installed it which fixed my issue of not being able to bleed it. I re-routed the brake reservoir lines so the dual circuit brake master will work properly (thanks to BryceJ for noticing and sending me a PM). I also added spring hose-clamps to all the hoses from the brake reservoir so I can pressure bleed the system without leaks. Did one more bleed of the brakes and clutch to ensure no air was in the system and checked for leaks. I had one where the 90 plastic fittings screw into bushings (parts that come in Mike's remote reservoir kit) but realized it was because they weren't screwed in tight enough. Fixed that and everything appears to be leak free as of now.
http://i.imgur.com/epEPygAh.jpg (http://imgur.com/epEPygA)

The clear silicone hose came in for my sight-glass so I was able to install that on the new coolant reservoir and now the coolant system is finished and sealed and ready to go using only spring clamps for every junction.
http://i.imgur.com/DqzKJwhh.jpg (http://imgur.com/DqzKJwh)

Started putting in a lot of time into the MR2 shifter setup. The main bracket is finished. Made out of 1/2" aluminum. Rear bell crank is done too. I'm going to use the FFR provided cables to test with and will order custom length cables when everything is done and I can take an accurate measurement. I am modifying the shifter to make it fully adjustable. I am doing this by welding on a steel plate to the existing MR2 shift arm and bell-crank, and drilling a number of holes in the added-on steel plate. This will let me adjust front to back and side to side. Another 4 hours or so and the shifter should be done. Rather than recess the shifter as some have done, I want mine a little higher so I bought an extension for it and will be top mounting the shifter to the frame.
http://i.imgur.com/fj0OukSh.jpg (http://imgur.com/fj0OukS)

http://i.imgur.com/4qG7lylh.jpg (http://imgur.com/4qG7lyl)

And my wheels showed up: Enkei RPF1 18x9.5 rear and 17x8 front. I will run Direzza Z2 Star Specs but can't decide on 255/215 or 265/235. Would prefer the latter but am unsure as to how much of a pain it will be making them fit and dealing with rubbing. I need to decide soon. Any input would be welcomed!

[STiPWRD]

And my wheels showed up: Enkei RPF1 18x9.5 rear and 17x8 front. I will run Direzza Z2 Star Specs but can't decide on 255/215 or 265/235. Would prefer the latter but am unsure as to how much of a pain it will be making them fit and dealing with rubbing. I need to decide soon. Any input would be welcomed!
I look at it this way - the rear tires will need to be replaced at some point so why not start out safe, see how it fits and then decide to keep it or go bigger. I've also got 18x9.5 rims in the back (38mm offset + 10mm spacers) running 255/35/18 and there is very little clearance to the lower and upper trailing arms. Extending the wheels any further out will probably cause rubbing against the fiberglass. Who knows, in the future I might go big with some 295s and flare the fenders.

[Hindsight]

That's good advice.... though I am not sure I will drive the 818 enough to wear out a set of tires inside of two or three years but I guess it all depends on how hard I am on them and how many track days I run. But it isn't like I can't go larger before they are worn down anyway.

I know there are a few tricks you can do to get the rear tires to clear. One of them is to use Wayne's trailing arms (which I have). The other is to stack all the spacer sleeves for the trailing links (upper and lower) so they are on the outside, which moves the rods inward and away from the tire. Bob is running 285 Hoosier slicks in the back and I believe those run larger than typical, and they fit, so I know it's possible.

[Frank818]

I don't think you'll have issues with 265s. But remember, from tire to tire the real width varies for the same spec. A Dunlop 265 is not necessarily as large as a Yoko 265. That's what counts.
Up front, 235s we know it's possible (E. Treves #001). Doesn't mean without mods, but it's possible.

For the front, why not start safe with 215s? Wear them out and then change if you think you can take bigger, pretty much what he said ^^^.

[Hindsight]

Shifter is done and working in the car. Feels ok but will feel much better when I have the right length cables in (right now I'm using the FFR provided long cables which have to be looped - lots of drag and extra play). Pretty happy with how it turned out. Only thing I'm not thrilled with is that I cut the bell crank on the MR2 shifter and welded a longer piece of metal on so I could then drill a bunch of holes in it for adjustability. Even though the bell crank is now longer, I had to use the top adjustment hole to get the travel where I wanted. Part of that is because I am using a shift knob extension. I could adjust the rear bell crank a bit too if I wanted to but I'm happy with where things are now.

Just need to trim off some of the excess aluminum from the rear shift linkage bracket then make it look a little nicer. Hopefully can have the new custom length cables by the end of the week. Next, on to the exhaust!

http://i.imgur.com/IDstOQnh.jpg (http://imgur.com/IDstOQn)

http://i.imgur.com/M2lRNgth.jpg (http://imgur.com/M2lRNgt)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPtv6YuC0lw&edit=vd

[Scargo]

More than one way to skin a cat. Glad there are some trailblazers out there which will make life easier for me.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Hey Hindsight,
Take the private tag off your video.
Bob

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob - First time using the youtube video editing system and it apparently made it private by default. Let me know if it still doesn't show up.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Thanks Bob - First time using the youtube video editing system and it apparently made it private by default. Let me know if it still doesn't show up.

video and mechanism works great.
Bob

[STiPWRD]

Looking good, are you going to gusset the cable attachment brackets on the shifter? I noticed the extra support helped after I installed the shorter cables, everything felt more stiff.

[Hindsight]

Hey Slava, thanks. I was thinking about doing that both at the rear bracket, and at the front bracket, but so far, everything seems stiff and not flexing. It would be pretty easy to make a little triangular gusset though, so I just may do it if I notice any flexing at all. The angle bracket I used for the cable bulkheads is 3/16" thick so it's pretty strong but a gusset could definitely increase strength if it is needed.

Looking forward to starting the exhaust. The collector is going to be interesting to fabricate.

[Mechie3]

Have you done your ebrake yet? My cables are in the way of the ebrake and I haven't decided with solution I like best yet.

[Hindsight]

No not yet but I have thought a lot about it while doing the shifter. I will have the same issue as you, however, the solution I have been thinking about going with is routing one cable on each side of the e-brake. Most of the e-brake mounting is in the middle of it, which leaves room on either side for a cable. The exception is the right side of the e-brake which has the support leg that sort of sticks out at an odd angle. I was going to cut that off and weld something a little different to provide support, while allowing room for one cable to pass to the side of it. This is all with the e-brake mounting flush with the top of the tunnel, like I did with my shifter. Have you considered that option?

[Hindsight]

Also, does anyone have as much slop in the internal shifter linkage as I do? I'm talking about the shaft that comes out of the rear of the transmission. For the front to back movement, it seems there is a good 1/8" to 3/16" of play before anything real starts to happen. Makes the shifter feel more sloppy than it is.

[FFRSpec72]

Also, does anyone have as much slop in the internal shifter linkage as I do? I'm talking about the shaft that comes out of the rear of the transmission. For the front to back movement, it seems there is a good 1/8" to 3/16" of play before anything real starts to happen. Makes the shifter feel more sloppy than it is.

I'm still trying to get mine adjusted, not sure why it's soooo hard to shift

[Hindsight]

Tony, what rear bracket are you using? The FFR supplied one? If so, that may be part of it. Could also be the ratios.... the shorter the throw at your shift knob, the more effort will be required. Are you routing your cables over the engine or around it? That may be part of it too... over the engine should work better with less friction and lash.

[Mechie3]

I had an issue with a really short MR2 shifter lever making it feel like I was pulling on the trans by hand without a linkage. I made the lever longer and it feels really nice now without being vague.

[Hindsight]

Craig, here is a pic of how I am planning on routing the shifter cables around the e-brake. There is also enough room to run the left cable through the inside of the e-brake bracket, or even to go under it and back up out the back. So, a few ways to go about it.

http://i.imgur.com/SZwRiCjl.jpg (http://imgur.com/SZwRiCj)

http://i.imgur.com/wokPBqnl.jpg (http://imgur.com/wokPBqn)

[Hindsight]

Decided I am definitely going to mount the ebrake base just below the square frame tubes. Will weld on some steel plates to the bottom of the ebrake base plate, then will bolt those to the frame. That will leave tons of room for the shifter cables to go around and will put the e-brake handle at the right height.

[Mechie3]

I made my cable mounts a little differently. I'll have to go out and play around with a few things as I don't remember exactly where they sit. Thanks.

[FFRSpec72]

Tony, what rear bracket are you using? The FFR supplied one? If so, that may be part of it. Could also be the ratios.... the shorter the throw at your shift knob, the more effort will be required. Are you routing your cables over the engine or around it? That may be part of it too... over the engine should work better with less friction and lash.

I'm using the K-Tuned shifter and bracket from Wayne and have longer cables, these go over the engine

[RM1SepEx]

Also, does anyone have as much slop in the internal shifter linkage as I do? I'm talking about the shaft that comes out of the rear of the transmission. For the front to back movement, it seems there is a good 1/8" to 3/16" of play before anything real starts to happen. Makes the shifter feel more sloppy than it is.

Mine is the same

[Mitch Wright]

Mine go over the engine as well.

[Hindsight]

Thanks Dan, makes me feel better.

Tony, not sure why the shifter is stiff if you have Wayne's setup, since it's doing all the right things to combat stiffness: Cables going straight back, good shifter mechanism up front, and well-designed bracket in the back. The only thing I can think of is that I believe the VCP shifter makes one of the cables do a 90 degree bend into the linkage at the back. It's not a sharp turn by any means but I'm not sure if that may be creating some drag on the cable or not. Most all of us who have gone the MR2 route and made our own linkages have used bell cranks in the back instead so the cables stay as straight as possible, but again, since I haven't compared the two setups, I can't say that the extra bend in the VCP unit is actually causing any drag. Have you contacted him?

[STiPWRD]

Also, does anyone have as much slop in the internal shifter linkage as I do? I'm talking about the shaft that comes out of the rear of the transmission. For the front to back movement, it seems there is a good 1/8" to 3/16" of play before anything real starts to happen. Makes the shifter feel more sloppy than it is.
That kind of slop seems excessive. My shift fork shaft feels like it has not play at all, in fact 3/16 feels like roughly the amount of travel needed to engage the gears.

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Also, does anyone have as much slop in the internal shifter linkage as I do? I'm talking about the shaft that comes out of the rear of the transmission. For the front to back movement, it seems there is a good 1/8" to 3/16" of play before anything real starts to happen. Makes the shifter feel more sloppy than it is.

Hindsight,
My transmission have about 3/4" of travel from 1st to second.
So 3/8" from neutral to 1st.
The first 3/16 is used to engage the synchronizer. The second 3/16 of movement puts it in gear. If the synchronizer is already aligned. It just falls through the syncro. That might be the internal play that you feel.

Tony,
Don't forget that the transmission is full 90w gear glue. Once you get the trans warmed up. I will loosen up a lot.
Bob


https://youtu.be/NLPjJnvYMAM

[Hindsight]

Thanks Bob... good points.

[Hindsight]

Ok, holes drilled in the firewall, grommets installed, and I measured for new cables. 81" and 79". So now I can get those custom length cables ordered. That means the shifter is officially done.

Next up is exhaust. I'm going to fabricate a 3" collector that looks like the picture below. Originally, I had bought a Kinugawa SS collector but it is turned down and I am planning on a high-center exit where most people would put their license plate, so the turn-down wouldn't work for me. I'll have to run my plate down in the lower venting area instead up higher. After the collector, I will have a ~45 degree bend, then a straight-through Kooks muffler (which will sit at an angle over the transmission), then another ~45 bend pointing straight out the back, above the transmission, followed by a SS dual exhaust tip right in the center of the upper rear vent. I haven't fabricated and exhaust before and I think that getting the alignment perfect is going to be tough. I have no room for a flex joint in the setup, but I see I can tweak the turbo mounting brackets a bit to give me a little bit of wiggle room if the tip ends up being close, but not perfectly centered (a small amount of adjustment at the turbo will translate to a big adjust 2.5' down the system). I'm planning on welding 3" V-band clamps to each end of the muffler so I can swap it out as needed. Pics to come.

http://i.imgur.com/8d2IYV1h.jpg (http://imgur.com/8d2IYV1)

[Hindsight]

Got started on the collector and also radiused and cleaned up the shift linkage parts.

http://i.imgur.com/G9clNo9h.jpg (http://imgur.com/G9clNo9)

http://i.imgur.com/1NNRx6wl.jpg (http://imgur.com/1NNRx6w)

[Tamra]

Very nice!

[xxguitarist]

Fair warning, our exhaust exit is as you describe, and we wind up with a bit of exhaust perfume after a drive. It's fine for autox, but we're considering changing things for street use.

[Hindsight]

Interesting thank you for the input! Are you certain it's due to the exhaust exit location? I guess with all the negative pressure the windshield creates, the higher the tip, the more likely the exhaust is to be pulled into that swirl. I wonder if people with lower exits are having the same issue?