So it received a bit of a workout. Yearning for an update or two, I decided to be a bit more productive with my weekend, and so it had turned out - it started with me getting my car weighed on Thursday, a tally of 880kg with 3/4 tank of Petrol (compared to 920kg with 1/2 tank of petrol 1.5years ago), the weight difference almost totally attributed to by the changing of the seats (and lack of the passenger side), the rest added up by the replacement of the seatbelts with harnesses, removal of the HID ballasts and componentry and (temporary) removal of the stereo and rear speakers...so, that's pretty great considering all panels are stock, and windows aren't plastic!
Next are the brakes - First off I had a spare pair of Glanza hubs which I needed to disassemble in order to test fit the AE111 brake setup (which are for sale), and try as I could, nothing would separate the disc from hub. So, I thought I'd just have a barbeque:
And what do you know, the barbeque helped! Tapped right off! I also came across a bit of a bargain and bought these:
They are 4 piston Prodrive by Alcon brake calipers for a WRC Subaru Impreza WRX I believe...perhaps a bit overkill, but evidently lighter than the AE111 calipers that were to go on, obviously far more capable, and they are also radial mount (for a stiffer mounting and hence a better pedal feel) with unequal sized pistons. These will combine with a different setup on the back, based on these:
Rev3 SW20 MR2 Rear brake calipers (using the 22mm thick disc), they require a custom disc/bearing setup, which is quite clever and gives a lot of flexibility. The brake setup is definitely overkill, but at least it will take anything I can throw at it, ever. The person that sold me the Front pair of calipers also turned to be a great person, being an engineer at Brawn GP, and he had convinced me to make another purchase, for something that has no place on my car...quite rare for me:
Note, only one of those is mine, and note, they are all authentic...Super Aguri though, but hopefully my one came flying off of Kamikaze Sato's car during some race, any race. As long as it flew off! Back to the car, things are getting worse and worse, or rather, I believe they are - oil consumption is still very high, and I just can't seem to figure out what it is. The PCV valve works fine, there are no visible leaks, hot or cold, no smoke...it's just baffling the mind. I will carry out a compression when possible just to see if it could be a ring-related issue. Saying that, the vibration through the clutch/accelerator pedal is ever present. Great. Other than that, nothing much else is new - I DID finally get my wind deflectors, which, are by far one of my favourite modifications, ever. They are very subtle, but suit the car extremely well:
Whilst I was picking up the brakes and Formula one wheels, I also took it upon myself to visit around some fabrication companies in the vicinity, which was a great ordeal in itself, talking to some of the biggest and proliferate fabricators in the country, talking over details of product projects (like the upcoming uprated headbolts/studs I'm getting developed), and generally just making new friends that'll help open gateways to new products. A great day. I also finally bought a Commander to allow me to use my god forsaken HRF PowerFC ECU....trouble is, it doesn't arrive till after I leave to Saudi Arabia. Again, great. Also, still waiting for the loom for my boost controller.
So yeah, things are going slow, be it for delays with others, and just general elays, but hopefully there'll be more serious updates!
A full sump of oil has disappeared in the space of a week...and, there are no discernible leaks, no visible burning (i.e. no smoke), nothing...where's it gone?!! No idea....joy!
Well...what an eventful Saturday that was, the plan was just to bring my CT9b core, swap on my old CT9a exhaust housing onto it, and be done, maybe do a few other things. So, I drive 120mi again to Bournemouth, set about removing the old CT9a core...and, it won't budge. After about an hour of cracking on it with a hammer, we gave up, removed it, then blasted it with a torch for a bit (the smoking from the turbo that ensued was hilarious...to think it was making that much smoke WITHOUT a direct flow of oil, and it just came apart, and in what stirling condition it was in [/sarcasm]
That's the oil left after having heated it for a good 5 minutes! Wonder how much life was left in that thing...Anyway, tried fitting my pristine exhaust section from my CT9a onto the CT9b, only to find that it wouldn't fit - the CT9b expeller is slightly bigger in diameter. Balls. So instead, we found a spare CT9a to put on as a temporary measure, and went ahead with putting that on. In the meantime, I also installed the passenger side seat Harnesses, as the stock seatbelt had seized in the clip. We also removed my steering wheel to center it, no more driving at straight ahead with hands at "10 past 8", woo! Finally, I also asked Harvey to fabricate me a mounting plate for the Apex-i Boost Solenoid, and after a lot of cursing and angry grinding, we had a rudimentary, but totally befitting of the car, mounting plate!
However, my glee was short-lived - set off from Bournemouth to go back home, and initially, I'm impressed, the boost came on much stronger and much quicker, but the intake sound was VERY loud, worryingly so....then, it also became apparent that the engine was vibrating VERY harshly at about 4250rpm, worryingly so! Then all of a sudden, about 30mi out, the car ceases to boost and the vibration is gone. Strange. Then I heard a sound akin to tools falling inside the car, but, nothing was falling, though I was getting people behind me flashing their lights. Huh? Then again, I hear another clanging on the floor of the car...So, I stop at the nearest service station, and as I pull in, another clanging sound. Hmmm. Stop, check under the hood, and, what do you know - two of the maifold-turbo bolts had come undone!! But not only that, the vacuum hose from actuator-turbi had also split! Hmmm, check the oil, and its at the e-marker. Hah...90mi to go to get home.
So, bought 2 liters of oil, filled up the car, and drove an increasingly tractor-sounding car back home, albeit, slowly. Turns out, I had loosened the manifold bolts when still in Bournemouth in order to...well, I can't remember now, but to fit something in place, and never did them up. Oh, and I didn't fit the downpipe brace bolts either. Negligence is a terrible thing! So anyway, fast forward to Sunday, and I just tightened up the bolts and braced the downpipe, whilst I was there though, I test fitted my air filter and figured, I could actually make it fit with some persuasive techniques! So, using a spare t-bolt clamp, and shoving an extra piece of silicone hosing around the silicone hose in order to apply more pressure to the hose (the hose and clamp were too big for the turbo inlet!), and tweaking something on the ABS pump out of the way, air filter back in place! It's also pretty nifty, as it fits right behind the headlight housing - remove the cover, and rudimentary cold air, feed...type, thing. Behold!
Also, was trying to find options of fitting the boost solenoid as it seems all the screw holes on the strut tower side are rusted and wouldn't allow for a bolt to screw in, then found a hole there, so, bolt through the wheelwell side, rubber grommet from the shifter assembly, a small nut, tighten, and I have a damped boost solenoid mounting! 
So yeah, all seems good, for now, I even found some silicone vacuum hosing for the actuator, but its FAR too close to the manifold, which could prove an issue...otherwise, car feels much livelier, and quieter too! Oh, whilst in Bournemouth, took these pictures too:
Particularly like this one, with a bit of added saturation and contrast:
So yeah, that's it for this past weekend, hold on tight, because hopefully the next updates, are big updates :)
