I can't tell if this comment is serious - are those really that bad? If it's any consolation I parked pretty much in the back corner of the lot and there was no one around for at least another 25 mQuote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
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I can't tell if this comment is serious - are those really that bad? If it's any consolation I parked pretty much in the back corner of the lot and there was no one around for at least another 25 mQuote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
Lol halfQuote:
Originally Posted by t.er
Those things are terrifying. There's an old mafia bro up in your area that was using those and took a coil spring to the safety glasses. Damn near lost an eye/face. Doubt he'll see this but @slater
I picked up this contraption a while back and it is significantly better for the user's health
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DP2CDJU..._eL9tFb465WYTM
I don’t know if that’s any better.. yikesQuote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1f7a504e6e.jpg
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
oh shitQuote:
Originally Posted by d-rod
Yeah, I know slater, I talked with him extensively about the Vincebar back when I found my crack in the RACP. Too bad it doesn't seem he's on here lately (or other peeps from around South Ontario). After seeing your comment I did some snooping around, and count my blessings that I'm totally done with spring compressors. There is enough droop and the springs are so short that I can swap springs without needing to use a compressor.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
fffffffffffffffQuote:
Originally Posted by d-rod
On a negative note, I trimmed flaps into the trunk liner, and as I was testing out how easy one of the rear shocks was to adjust I found myself with oily fingers. I went ahead and checked the rest of the adjusters, one of the fronts has a light coating of oil after cycling through the entire range of the knob, the other front and other rear are bone dry. However the adjusters don't leak when driving, only while turning them. Really, really hoping this isn't a major issue, and perhaps I'm able to replace the adjuster seals on my own
Update: Called GC and they said if the adjusters haven't been touched in some time, some weepage is normal, once they have been used a bit and are broken in they shouldn't continue to weep. This is the case for all but the LR shock, weepage has definitely gone down but there is still a light coating of oil that forms whenever the knob is turned. Not much I can do other than keep an eye on it for now
Looks like death is the only option when working on the front struts.Quote:
Originally Posted by ZHPizza
I mean, you could technically use the car as the compressor too. I like the wall spring compressors that some shops have. Those are the best.
To easily gain access to the rear rebound adjusters, I went ahead and trimmed the rear trunk liners. I was debating on whether or not to cut actual holes out and use edge trim, or potentially use large plastic plugs that could be easily removed. However, after some looking around online I decided trim flaps on each side, which just fold back when adjusting – definitely the most stealthy way to do it. The right side is slightly rearwards but is still fine, but damn I should've cut the left side higher. I could still get to the adjuster but it was pretty tight so I had to make 2 relief cuts for a 2nd flap on top. All in all, not the end of the world since it's still pretty stealth, but I'd definitely recommend taking multiple measurements before cutting.
https://i.imgur.com/GoyDD6Vl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/re7El08l.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/7JWqM6Tl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vwAYBpXl.jpg
The first outing with my coilovers was another autox with OMSC. Obviously I have no time to tune the damping settings, so compression was left at 2/12 clicks from soft (mainly because I forgot to change them when I swapped the track wheels on), front rebound set to 1.25/2.5 turns, and rear rebound set to 0.5/2.5 turns from firm. I would say the car feels similar to how it did before, but it’s a whole lot more responsive in transients (such as the quick left-right-left in a box, or a slalom), and doesn’t understeer as much. However, I also felt quite a bit of pitching, the rear end was bouncing around from mid-corner to corner exit on one or two of the corners, which enforces my theory that the ride frequencies are not where they should be. Unfortunately it’s really hard to gauge if my car was actually faster as a result of installing the coilovers since the track was too much of a variable – let’s just say that you know your course design is… less than ideal when this is the result after the first run from the first run group:
https://i.imgur.com/fu1ZTQBl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dl1erXgl.jpg
And also, since I have had more seat time than just my quick jaunt around some smooth roads by my house, the coilovers have definitely had a detrimental impact on ride and NVH. Certain bumps such as going over expansion joints, or cracks in the pavement produce a bang that is much more audible than stock, and you definitely feel more of the bump transmitted to the seat of your pants through the chassis and the seat. Regardless, these statements make it seem worse than it really is – ride and NVH levels are still well within what’s considered reasonable IMO for a daily. I’ve only extensively driven 2 cars with coilovers, the other being a 2016 Camaro with BC Racing coils, and that thing is slightly worse with NVH, and much worse with ride.
Another thing that’s annoying, is that for track I will be increasing negative camber, since adjustments are a whole lot quicker and repeatable with these Hybrid caster-camber plates (separate SHCSs for camber) than the street plates I previously had (relying on the 3 strut-top nuts). Unfortunately the positive jump post terminal on the right side of the car is in the way of the knob, I’m going to see if I can machine a new knob (preferable) or relocate the jump post (not as preferable).
https://i.imgur.com/JIIjurbl.jpg
As an aside, I’m constantly in awe of the FRS/BRZ/86 platform, I knew from the get-go they designed it to be easily modified, but my friend and I were at autox and we were comparing camber plates. Not only does he have camber bolts, but the strut tower hole is much larger than ours, there’s so much more room than the E46 for their camber plates:
https://www.grimmspeed.com/content/i...y/figure12.jpg
2 weeks later I had yet again, the next autox with OMSC. This time course layout was much more straightforward, and I was able to drive to what I felt was the best of what I could do. I also decided to run softer damping, having the front at 0.5 turns from soft, and rears 1 turn from soft. This time, there was no “bucking like a horse” of the back end – I was thinking it could’ve been that my damping was too high the last time around, and my pitching was due to jacking down. Or it could’ve just been the course, who knows.
Regardless, based off relative times with some of the other guys there my car seems to be faster – there is an E36 328i on BC BR coils, LSD, Yoko Advan AD08R, who was consistently 2-3 seconds ahead of me with stock suspension, and I was able to edge him out by a few hundredths this time.
https://imgur.com/iXJFq1jl.jpg
… and 2 days later, I had the true test: back to TMP for my first track day with coilovers. My plan was to also tune damping, since seat time is minimal with autox, thus making it hard to do so.
Within the first half-hour of arriving there, I was able to eek out a 1:27.5 – 1.6 seconds quicker than my previous PB of 1:29.1. I then started playing with the damping, and eventually settled on rebound settings identical to that from my previous autox, which is as soft as I can run without being underdamped and having the balance the way I like it. I brought my jack, intending on tuning compression as well, but getting to the compression adjusters on the bottoms of the front struts proved to be too big of a PITA without lying on the ground, and I wasn’t about to get my clothes dirty. Next time around I’ll bring some kind of mat to lay on.
https://imgur.com/J47BQMAl.jpg
As the day progressed times dropped – down to a mid 1:26, a 1:26.1, then ended the day with a 1:25.9. Suffice it to say I was quite pleased with that, but I got too greedy in the end, stayed out a bit too long, and rode the curbs a bit too hard:
https://i.imgur.com/greygmxl.jpg
Aside from coilovers, there were 2 other contributing factors to improving my PB by so much:
- Track conditions, temps were a bit cooler so not as much heat soak
- My driving is getting better, however I still feel I'm too aggressive and have too much steering input for the given speed (so too much tire slip angle). I honestly don't see how you can't though, if I was to drive less aggressively and smoother with less tire noise, my times would be slower
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VROSXGyQ4Z4
According to sector times, at one point I was 0.8-0.9 seconds faster than the 1:26.1 I had earlier in the day, and optimized lap time is a 1:23.9. The car definitely has more in it, I'm just not a consistent enough driver to replicate the perfect lap. Had I not had that oversteer-y moment right after T8 (due to a bad downshift, gotta work on my heel-toe), I definitely would've been in the low to mid 1:25s.
As the day progressed I was noticing tons of grooving and pad deposit on the front rotors. Got home and found this:
https://imgur.com/xt1rKhyl.jpg
https://imgur.com/RdbCHy7l.jpg
My ambient temp sensor also ripped out, so I just pulled the fender liner and found a good place behind the bumper to zip-tie it:
https://i.imgur.com/sQgxeAfl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/EUTuwfsl.jpg
Stopping power isn’t what it used to be when the parts were new, but it’s not horrible. However there’s some vibration and quite a bit of noise. I was hoping to do 1 more TMP session before I store my car for the winter, but given the condition of the brakes, it’ll constrain the times that I can lay down. That, coupled with the fact that if I put my car away end of September instead of end of October, I’ll save money on 1 month of parking and 1 month of insurance, so I decided to do just that.
What was done Saturday:
- Vacuum and shampoo floor mats
- Vacuum carpets
- Wipe down of dash, centre console, door cards (on non-leather surfaces)
- Leather clean and condition seats and door cars (on leather surfaces)
- Clean all windows
- Wash and remove the caked-on bugs
What was done Sunday:
- Locally polish scuffs out (from cones)
- Apply paint sealant
- Fill gas, put fuel stabilizer
- Pump tires to ~50 psi
- Disconnect battery
- Throw the car cover on
https://i.imgur.com/4Yn3jHWl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vlwvHKpl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/OqAYcehl.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/m0l0V7vl.jpg
The last fill-up:
https://i.imgur.com/IIIKfBvl.jpg
And, put away until next April:
https://i.imgur.com/v0hWNl7l.jpg
Great update! Glad it was driving better, be it softer or whatever reason!