Time attack beetle

[SuperRSi]

It will be interesting to see if there is any front tire wear. The parts are headed my way so maybe an update in the next few weeks.

[Humble]

The new STI motor arrived a few days ago and I couldn't leave it well enough alone. It's actually from an 07 STI, which means it has e-throttle so that will have to get replaced. I started stripping it down looking for dirty secrets, but in looks good on the surface and even the belts were in great shape.







I have an 11lb. alu. flywheel and a TY754VBAAA trans on the way, both should be here by next week. I already picked up an OBX diff for the tranny, and even though it's new it still needs to be gone through. With the additional work it's worth the money. I also got a TGV (tumble generator valve) delete kit, so that'll be a weekend project.



In racing news, the 2013 season is finally getting underway. I went to a different series event last weekend that's mainly geared towards muscle cars and they setup a fast course. Unfortunately, my throttle cable snapped 100ft. into my first run and my day was done. I usually have a spare, but didn't have one with me this time. I was pretty bummed until I realized a few things.

1. I trailered the bug there so I didn't need to drive it home.
2. The organizers refunded my entry because I had already done my work assignment and now couldn't drive.
3. If I had to break a part on the car, I'm glad it was one of the cheapest. Earlier in the day, a car lunched it's trans after 3 runs.

Having realized my day could have been a lot worse, I started feeling a lot better. There's another autox with NorcalUFO (my usual group) this weekend, so I really want to get out there now

[DORIGTT]

You don't quit do you Will?

[petevw]

Wicked story.

A lot of nice toys in that lot.

[Humble]

DORIGTT, I'll stop when I'm bored BTW, next time you hit sunnyvale vw you should tell the guys there about your ride in my bug, especially Samer. He's the one I bought the golf through.

Volkdent, Do you usually instruct with HOD? That's one of the few groups I haven't run with and I was wondering what they're like?

=============

Now on to the good stuff! I started tearing into the STI motor some more to see what I bought, but the more I looked, the more I liked. I pulled off the crank pulley and timing cover to take a look at the timing belt and crank trigger wheel. The timing belt was in great shape and didn't have any cracking or defects much like the accessory belts I pulled off. The trigger wheel is a 36-2-2-2 setup which will make setting up the megasquirt nice and easy since it's a supported tooth profile.





While I was at it, I pulled the coils and spark plugs, and checked down the bores with a bore-scope. Cylinders and piston tops look great, and the plugs are all iridium tip gapped to .028". Coloration on the plugs was good and there was no debris or flecks that signal detonation. While the plugs were out I put a squirt of oil down the bores and put the motor through a few rotations and everything is smooth.



Got my new (to me) flywheel in this week. It's a gently used Aasco aluminum 11lbs. flywheel that should be perfect for race duty, purchased off one of the nasioc guys. I had to run down to the subaru dealer to grab some flywheel bolts and I'm hoping I can use the vw flywheel tool to help tighten them.





I spent the day Saturday on this little project. On the newer Subarus they have a small half-butterfly in the intake called the tumble generator valve, or TGV, that helps develop turbulence which keeps fuel droplets suspended in the air and improves low speed driveability. Unfortunately, even when they are wide open they block a lot of airflow, about 50%. I've seen TGV delete manifolds for sale but I figured I could do the work myself and it would be a fun project.

First step, pulled the butterflies and shafts from the TGV bodies. I got excited ( a little frustrated ) and had to drill the screws out of the butterflies which seems to be a common problem, but in the effort I forgot to take pics. Here's the TGV body in the vice, and I already removed the divider on the left side with a hacksaw. The TGV only blocks about 65-70% of the opening and you can see the lip the butterfly rests on in the body.



After a little work with a die grinder to smooth the edges here's a nearly finished TGV body, and then both of them together.





Once they're all cleaned up, you put in some plugs where the throttle shafts were and you're done! All in all it took about 3-4 hours to complete and should make a big difference in flow, especially since I took the time to port match the TGV bodies while I was at it.

================

But wait, there's more! This is like the never ending update. It was also a race weekend! During the week I had replaced the throttle cable, and tweaked the tune to help the cold start a bit. The bug was running much better, and more than a couple folks had noticed at the autox. The course was very tight and technical, which is kind of a bastard thing to do for the first run of the season while folks are rusty. The last few corners were particularly bad with 150 degree turn backs between short sprints. I managed a 50.117 and beat my nemesis by .040 seconds, so close!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDkgARva40Y

[volkdent]

Will, HOD is pretty much all I instruct with now, there is no charge, in fact the last Thunderhill one they paid me $200 to do, so that can't be beat. I'll do Audi and BMW club, but BMW has only a couple of events a year and Audi still has the instructors paying half price, they do have a dedicated instructor run group though, and HOD is kind of a free for all, you get on the track during sessions you're not instructing.

I found this, it happened in your neck of the woods, look out for this one!!!

Wrecked Exotics McLaren MP4-12C

Jason

[Humble]

Once I get the bug finished I'll have to take it out to a HOD event

That's probably the same mp4-12c that was in the supercar group I came across in the mountains, I know right where that pic was taken.

[Humble]

Got some more parts in this week. Finally got my transmission, and TY754VBAAA from a ver 5/6 sti.





After doing some research the flywheel I picked up is for a modern subaru 6spd which has a larger 228mm clutch disk and beefier pressure plate. It'll work with the trans but not without some modification. There's a bunch of webbing in the bellhousing that will need to be clearanced and i'll have to do lots of test fits with the motor off the stand.



I also got my new megasquirt MS3X ecu this week. I opted for a prebuilt unit with a couple mods, the mapdaddy 4bar dual baro sensor, and the real time clock to time stamp logs. I've temporarily turned the dining room table into a lab and started testing and programming the MS3X. I'm looking into a lot of new features I didn't use/have on the ms2.





What I've setup so far:
waste fire ignition
batch fire injection
radiator fan control
tach output
boost control through table blending
water injection pump control
water injection valve control
front axle VSS input
transmission output shaft VSS input
VSS output to drive speedo
traction control with dial-a-slip

That's it so far, I'm still configuring everything. I need to get a couple 3 wire potentiometers to use with the adjustable boost and traction control settings. I have the wiring looms ready to go and once the motor and tranny are ready the fun can begin!

[SuperRSi]

Progress looks great! How nice that the three of you can get together and discuss different ideas in person. Very lucky on that count.

[Humble]

Things have slowed down a bit, but progress continues. Work has been killing me lately so I spent last weekend out camping near Yosemite with a bunch of friends and it was a great way to unwind. I learned a valuable lesson about drinking at 8000', not too much and not too fast.


I got some new parts in that will go on the car soon. Back in March or so I put an order in for these 935-style adjustable spring plates and they finally came in. They are 7075-T6 aluminum, with a burly M20 heim for the pivot, and grade 12.8 hardware throughout. Thanks Alex!





They replace the spring plates forward of the rear disk in this picture.


I bolted up the rear motor mount/adapter from subarugears.com since I was worried it might not clear the mendeola rear suspension brace. It's a tight fit but it works.





Speaking of Mendeola, I saw that they offered their own mounts for the subaru swaps, so I ordered their front mount and shift rod coupler. Top notch parts from great guys!




Racing season is still in full swing but the car is on blocks, what to do? I called my friend (and closest competitor/nemesis) Ian to see if I could co-drive his car. Ian has an OSP '99 miata with the Flyin' Miata catalog thrown at it and it's a fast car, faster and better setup than my beetle. Well, I was able to best Ian in his own car by 1.23 seconds, and drive it to a 7th overall in raw time, and 4th in pax. It's not all bad, I did pay his entry, and he had a datalogger going so he can compare our runs to learn from the whole thing. I learned quite a bit as well, like how wonderful an lsd is and what lack of understeer feels like on turn-in. I'm pretty jealous I have to say, it's a sweet ride.

UFO 2013 Autox #4 07-9-13 - YouTube

[Mr_Zed_ZX20]

Good to see things are coming along, I've been watching your progress for some time as we seem to have the same goals in mind. So when are you gonna bite the bullet and put the Mendeola S2 suspension under your car? I'd say it would probably help reduce if not almost eliminate the understeer you're experiencing now. I can't wait to see how your car does with the new tranny and powerplant, keep up the good work.

[Humble]

Mr_Zed_ZX20: I would love to throw the S2 suspension under the car but it's still a bit cost prohibitive, about the same cost as the entire subaru swap. The front suspension would help a lot but I'm learning that many of my handling issues are mostly setup related. The 1302/1302 suspension is capable of much more than folks give it credit for and I'm still trying to get the most out of it (nevermind the porsche updates, its still struts up front and semi-trailing arm rear).

Now that being said, I may end up with the S2 suspension parts on my street car

[Mr_Zed_ZX20]

Yeah, the S2 setup is a bit spendy. I bought mine last year with the money I had set aside for my ex's engagement ring after she broke up with me, lol. Needless to say, I think the S2 was a better choice (less complaining, etc). Unfortunately, its STILL sitting in my garage waiting for me to install it along with my Boxster S brakes. If all goes well I'll be starting on it in a few weeks.

[Steve C]

Hi

Thanks for the write up. How good is having gearbox split in 1/2 so you can more easily check the bell housing clearance.

Steve

[Humble]

No kidding right? This week the first test fit of motor an transmission should happen, as well as some more clean up on the body, old wiring, and plumbing.