First test drive of my 818

[michael everson]

Did my first test drive of my 818 yesterday. Other than a complete loss of brakes, it went pretty well. The brakes were bad right from the start. found lots of air in the system when I got it back home. I took it to a large parking lot near my house and just drove it back and forth. The parking lot is large enough for me to get it up to about 45 miles an hour. Seemed to run ad perform pretty good. Never overheated. Turning radius is horrible. Need to work on that. Overall I am pretty happy. Still not the "kick in the pants" of my Z06 but pretty fast.
Mike

[ben1272]

Congrats Mike, that is an achievement! How long have you been working on it? I just bought a donor 2004 WRX and ordered my kit today, so my journey is just beginning.

Is your engine stock or modified? Will you modify it to surpass your Z06 experience.... :) ?

Good luck with your continued build. Do you have a build log? I couldnt find one on the forum.

-Ben

[FFR-ADV]

Congratulations Mike!

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Did my first test drive of my 818 yesterday. Other than a complete loss of brakes, it went pretty well. The brakes were bad right from the start. found lots of air in the system when I got it back home. I took it to a large parking lot near my house and just drove it back and forth. The parking lot is large enough for me to get it up to about 45 miles an hour. Seemed to run ad perform pretty good. Never overheated. Turning radius is horrible. Need to work on that. Overall I am pretty happy. Still not the "kick in the pants" of my Z06 but pretty fast.
Mike

Great news Mike,
Time to start playing with the new toy.

Do you think the air in the brake lines was caused by leaking flare fittings?
Why is your turning radius so bad?
Bob

[michael everson]

Ben. Here is a link to my build site. My engine is stock but could use a tune

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?11400-Replicaparts-com-818-build-thread

I have had the car for about 1.5 years and have been working on it when I have time.
Bob. I didn't find any leaks so I am not sure. Could have been there all along or could have been trapped in the hoses going to the master cylinder.

[Buzz Skyline]

Congratulations! You're right, it's no Z06 but still a fun ride.

The turn radius is truly terrible - even worse than my Evo, which used to be the worst turn radius car I'd ever driven. Is there really anything that can be done to improve it?

[michael everson]

Buzz. Narrower tires is the only way I can see to fix it.
Mike

[longislandwrx]

Congrats! glad you got the brakes worked out before you got it up to speed.

I miss my 87 rx7, it could U-turn even the narrowest of streets.

[wallace18]

Congrats, Mike. The turning radius will always be an issue on the 818 IMO. I think the frame should be modified to allow proper tire clearance. JMO.

[michael everson]

No I just kept pumping them until is stopped. They work good now that they are bled.
mike

[ben1272]

Has anyone measured the turning radius? I'm bummed to hear that! I just bought my donor and paid kit deposit...I hope it is not as bad as you all say! I guess it really is a track car first and street car second.

[STiPWRD]

I remember driving my wife's evo and that thing had a pretty bad turning radius so if the 818 is worse, it's not the best news but at the same time not a deal breaker. I think it's a small sacrifice.

[Ekim7878]

How bad of a turning radius are we talking? I have owned a z06 as well and thought that turning radius was bad. Is it worse than the vette?

[Buzz Skyline]

I have 225's on the front, and it's much worse than my Evo. I hate to go much narrower than that. I will try to measure the turning radius the next time I have the car out.

I have some 175's on my Impreza wagon that I plan to throw on my 818 in a few days just to make moving it around a little easier as I work on it.

[michael everson]

Its way worse than my Z06 but then I never really thought the Vette was that bad. Please understand this not all Factory Fives fault. I have wider than recommended tires on mine.
Mike

[Bob_n_Cincy]

I running 225's in front and have the same turning radius as the OEM 06 Subaru,
Full lock to lock with no rubbing.
Bob

[michael everson]

My front tires are 215/45/17s
Mike

[Buzz Skyline]

Mike, sorry to have hijacked your thread. We should start a new turn radius thread. I'm glad your first drive went well (although 45 mph without brakes sounds pretty scary to me).

[Tamra]

Any video of the first drive? We want to see!

And I really can't imagine turning radius being a deal breaker... at least not imo. I haven't noticed anything particularly weird in our 818's turning radius. We are running 235's for street tires (rub slightly at full lock) and 245's for race tires (don't rub because they are 15's).

And the 818 is no Z06? That's an easy fix with a few upgrades :) Quick google search tells me that the 2015 Z06 weighs 3524lbs and dyno'd at 585 RWHP (i'm using WHP because that's what I can compare to our 818 dyno results), which is a lbs per whp of 6.02. Our 818 dyno'd at 310whp for break in, and assuming 1800lbs, gives it a ratio of 5.8. Plus that's just our break in tune.... :)

[Bob_n_Cincy]

Any video of the first drive? We want to see!

And I really can't imagine turning radius being a deal breaker... at least not imo. I haven't noticed anything particularly weird in our 818's turning radius. We are running 235's for street tires (rub slightly at full lock) and 245's for race tires (don't rub because they are 15's).

And the 818 is no Z06? That's an easy fix with a few upgrades :) Quick google search tells me that the 2015 Z06 weighs 3524lbs and dyno'd at 585 RWHP (i'm using WHP because that's what I can compare to our 818 dyno results), which is a lbs per whp of 6.02. Our 818 dyno'd at 310whp for break in, and assuming 1800lbs, gives it a ratio of 5.8. Plus that's just our break in tune.... :)

Mike, No Video, no happened.

Tamra, You know what the scary comparison is.
Tire patch per lbs of car. Running 245s on 818 is like running 495s on the vet.
This car should eat the vet's lunch in the twisties.
Bob

[michael everson]

I will take video next time. I am hoping there wont be a next time before I get it on the road. Just waiting to hear back from the State police for my inspection.
Mike

[suttonb3]

If the turning radius is too wide for you, just add throttle!! :p

Congrats on the first drive, I hope mine goes so well.