Ben280

Updated ITB price! It's build season, who wants em!

Oh my! Those brake kits are both amazing, I have a soft spot for the radial mount one though.

As a side note, if anyone wants to support myself and the car, check out this sticker pack from my BFF Jake at Aerowolf https://www.aerowolfusa.com/products/team-stickerpack

PRE uses a Dynojet. Can't remember if those are supposed to read high or low, but it's a good metric if you always use the same one! I'd have liked a bit more power, but I think ~400hp is more than enough to get into trouble. (clearly!) So far the repairs are minor, and the trick has been sourcing panels. A PNW local reached out and had a set of fenders and headlight buckets he sold me for a song, and I'm taking a trek up north on Saturday to pick up a new hood. I think the airdam is mostly savable, but the old headlight covers and flares are toast. Working to get a new set of flares from Japan, and another instagram follower was super kind and sent me some replacement headlight covers! Planning to have the car back out August 19/20 at ORP. We'll have some crazy mis-matched body work and a plywood splitter, but I think we should be in decent shape for continuing to shake the car down!

Ok, mini report! We made it to Global Time Attack!! It was super close, and looking doubtful at some points, but we did it. PRE Racing here in Portland was great and they really pushed to get the tune finalized before heading out. I'm still having issues with the idle, but we think that's the Megasquirts fault. The Idle motor is also probably a piece of junk, but we're leaving it alone for now. Official dyno numbers came in at 395hp/385tq. Not too shabby, but we aren't taking the timing at high RPM that we would expect. I think a ECU refresh is in the cards, but for now we have a safe tune and she RIPS. Fully loaded we are at 2500 with driver. GTA was shaping up to be a shakedown weekend. I knew there would be teething pains, things needed to be reviewed and I was pretty rusty from a year away. First session out the plan was to go out, make a couple hot laps, see how everything felt and then come in and check everything over. The car wanted to get after it! This thing is a rocketship on the straights now, i might need to swap the gears around again to make sure I have the legs! Second session was a similar plan, go out, make sure everything felt ok and then come in. I decided to lean on it a little bit and see what was what. The grip on these tires (Continental ECF) weren't spectacular, but they were solid. I think they need a full and proper heat cycle to get good. I noticed a little bit of locking into T8, which was weird because I have ABS, but didn't think much of it. In retrospect, this was a big mistake. I was able to improve, 1:52.3. 2 seconds slower than my fastest time last year, but really poor driving. I'm carrying so much more speed into the corners, and not fully trusting the car yet, it's challenging to go really fast, but going deep into the 40's at this track is certianly on the cards now. A lunch break and we jacked the car up, checked over some suspect oil leaks, moved a oil line off the header and started to make a plan of what to check over at the end of the day. First semi push lap out and a major lockup over a bump sent me head on into a tire wall. The car looks worse than it really is. The car doesn't pull, frame is still as straight as it was before this, (which is to say still a little kinked) and everything still works! No leaks or anything, which is great. Bad news is all the sheet metal is toast and the very fancy splitter took a mega hit into the wall and is a write off. Definitely a bummer, put an end to the weekend, but the car is making a quick resurgence. A lot of folks have reached out to me and offered parts. Last thing to sort out is the splitter, and I need to make a handful of parts, but overall we are looking to be in really good shape for another event in a few weeks! Onward and upward my friends.

Looking good! When choosing an ECU, I would ask your tuner what they prefer and buy that. Make sure it is compatible with all your bits and bobs. Haltech for example is notorious for keeping their CAN stuff difficult to access, similar to AIM. Tuners can work on just about anything, but what they can do and what they like to do are often different. I saved my megasquirt for the V8 conversion, but I would have been better off buying a Link or a Haltech, purefly from an ease of tuning perspective. Megasquirt idle control is finnikey at best!

Very nice!! Looking A+ flakey

Have any photos of the mustache bar misadventure? Seems odd that T3 would switch to bolts, when a stud is just a backwards bolt! Studs in the diff also REALLY help when mounting the diff by your lonesome. Excited to see some photos of the car out and about!

Instagram is @brokenjawracing (check the link in the sig of the post!) My fab buddy got real stoked about the muffler placement, I'm pretty stoked on it!

Small update, the car is back from my buddy getting the exhaust done, so that's great! pretty stoked how it turned out. We are using spintech mufflers, and going for the IMSA/Cup car dual center exit, while keeping things as tucked as possible. I opted for ovalized tube under the diff, really hope this gets me the clearance I want/need. . Tires also showed up! I need a seat time tire that won't kill me or break the bank. I went with the Conti Extreme Contact Force with is a 200 treadwear tire, but is endurance focused. From what my track friends tell me, it should wear like iron, and be pretty reasonable pace wise. I'm hoping to get about a season and a half out of them. I got 315/30r18 in the rear and 295/30r18 in the front. Planning to narrow up the front wheels at some point, but with the LS, there is way less weight on the front of the car to help warm stuff up. Lots of people who I've talked with say that going smaller tire up front has been real beneficial, so we'll see. Planning to set the car up for these sizes which will let me switch out easily for the Yokohama a052 or the Hoosier A7 in the same sizes.

I have a camshaft and towers that were in my stock of spares that I am including with the head. The towers and camshaft that were in the car when the pump failed are obviously garbage, and are currently on my wall as offerings to the gods of speed. The head casting itself appears to be in good shape. I would recommend you take it to a shop to have it dimensioned and checked over and generally cleaned up. Let me know if you are interested, I'm happy to provide additional pictures or dimensions if you would like!

Looking VERY good! I've been following along on Instagram, glad to see an update here too.

For what it's worth, Jonathan Lugod (Shaftworks) does all the rebuilding/revalving for just about every high end shock available, and has been a household name in SCCA circles for a long time now. If you have a OS Giken product, you've probably talked with him, he was OSG USA for a number of years. I will be using his struts on this version of the car and will report in when I get the car on track!

Summit Line Lock $50 Apply 12v, this will lock the front brakes and make smokey burnouts and staging for drag racing really nice and easy! OEM Alternator bracket and tensioner $20 EMP/Stewart electric water pump $400 Used for testing/fitup, never run on the engine

Powermaster GM 1 Wire 140amp Alternator $150 Custom bracket for OEM position Includes belt x3 and tensioner L28 Timing Cover $100 Welded thermostat housing $30 Includes GM water temp sensor Techno Toy Tuning R200 Short Nose Mustache Bar $100