Gollum

Yea, it's been kinda creepy in my researching to see how easily people have put sti suspension parts on other subie's, RS's included! I don't think I've seen any other company with that kind of part compatability.

Touche, I shold be more careful with my words. I'd most certainly use something like chromoly tubing. Not sure what grade for sure. That'd most certainly interesting. I hadn't heard that before. I'll get some measurements soon to see if I can confirm that.

As always I enjoy your constructive criticism john. I personally don't see where you get a 5k figure, unless you're calculating one's own personal time for engineering it. This definitely isn't something someone will do in their spare time in the driveway, but from what I see it's just time, some cheap metal, and tools. I'm short on the first thing there, but the other two I'm not. Oh, and I never thought this would be a good "go fast cheap" or even "go fast" option. I merely like the idea of the ease of swapping in the bulletproof rear diff and axles, and combined with much easier to find rims. The brake size is an added bonus, especially since many people spend well over 1k getting comparable wilwoods on their Z.

So I've been under quite a few STI's lately. One of my friends has gotten really into them in the last few years, and now he's tuning at a very well respected shop with cars that come in from around the country. So as he was giving me a tour of the shop the other day, showing the 4 wheel dyno etc, something dawned on me that I'd somehow overlooked for quite some time.... So looking under the rear side, it's an R180... And R180 that's proven to hold TONS of power, and torque. Even the guys that convert to RWD only for drifting and still put out absurd amounts of power don't seem to blow these things. And the rear hub design has almost the identical mount design as the S30. The main different is that instead of a lower control arm it uses two lateral links that basically work like a lower control arm, allowing toe adjustment. The strut mounting is close in design, just on the wrong side. But I can't see any reason you couldn't just flip sides, using the right as left and vice versa, and make it work. Then I started looking at the front.... The front uses a lower control arm that acts as our lower control arm AND TC rod in one. It only has one mount point on the front hub, so one could design a custom control arm with the mount point for a TC rod. The front hubs are also front steer like our Z cars. The main obstacle I see on the front is that the strut angle is facing a bit towards the back of the car. Not a huge issue though as new top hats will be needed all around anyways. Some welding and camber plates should fix that problem. I'd say overall the biggest issue is just making lower control arms, but it's not like that hasn't been done before. You obviously want it done by a competent welder, and probably TIG welded as well. But here's what I see you GAINING: HUGE brakes Suspension allowing a bit more offset 5x114.3 Lug pattern for common wheels Easy access to adjustable spring perches TONS of strut options TONS of spring options Might as well swap to their R180 while you're at it so you can USE THEIR AXLES. Get rid of those stub axles, yay! Some of the obvious downsides: Lots of work (but so is any hub swap) HEAVY brakes (worth it?) Expensive brake pads Having to trust your welding/welder with your life Backwards compatibility I'd like to get some feedback and see what you all are thinking? Worth the effort? Totally stupid? Etc. With my friend being so engulfed in the STI world, I'm just dumb enough to ask him to keep a lookout for a car being parted out that I could snag the suspension from. I think all in all it's an interesting idea worth looking into. I'll try to get some pics and measurements next time I'm under one of these beasts. Oh, and I should note I'm talking about the 2005 STI. I think the 2004 is almost identical, but STI's do change A LOT from year to year. The newer "wagon" STI's are completely different animals when it comes to the suspension.

I should clarify, it's not that he has TOO much persay, it's that until he converted to a dual controller setup (adding a manual controller) he had too little control at the low end. In stock form (but much higher than stock boost, stock turbo) the turbo would create boost at even the lightest of throttle levels. So driving around town the car was a handful, and you had to be really careful with the throttle. It basically drove like a BIG displacement engine. With the manual added in, bleeding off a little bit of pressure until it hits it's max PSI, the car became much more manageable. We both gladly admit though, the biggest problem is that the stock turbo is just too small for the application. Going to a larger turbo helped immensely.

Note that I have the money, but I'd say the tail panel would be huge on this board. I personally have a hard time with the thought door skins, but that's me. I also wouldn't but a CF hood unless it was a TRUE CF hood, not just fiberglass with a couple thin layers of CF on top. I'd really like to see a headlight bucket and fender single piece combo that actually FITS.... That'd be awesome. So many people blend the bucket and fender together anyways, and most people agree it looks better. Why not make a CF piece for the whole job? I think those would sell like hot-cakes if it was proven to fit well, making it an afternoon install.

Wow, very nice find indeed. So now you have no excuse to not make it out to my car meets right? Just don't go making a project out of this one like we all tend to do.

No no no, not THAT high CFM. I'm talking about the silvestone I posted about, 110cfm 120mm, should roughly at max speed be as loud as a 80mm fan that flows about 75cfm. And it comes with a 3.5" bay controller. Easy to mount in a car I'm also considering the stock location, just not stock orientation. It's probably best to leave it in the middle, I'm just going to lie it on it's back so that the fan's are blowing upwards, not sideways. Should be quite a bit lighter than that Bonneville core. But I wouldn't even split the air. I'd funnel it all down to a good .5" gap behind the dash (which doesn't exist, I plan on making an aluminum dash). I don't plan on having much else there to take up the space really so I should be able to just make a triangle box, maybe with some directional fins to help the air move to the outsides a bit. Some of us have contacts, and the defog drys my eyes out enough as it is. That's the main reason I wouldn't want to do that.

Actually reading up on the eaton, some of the newer ones are solenoid actuated, which in theory could be managed by the ECU instead of a basic vacuum actuator. But do remember, even 7hp in loss is a ton for cruising. It only takes roughly 8-10hp to move the average small civic at 55mph. Now, aero losses are exponential, so at 80mph that's a while different ball game. But still, I'm thinking that ideally I'd like to see losses drop to lower than 1hp, much like how an AC pump that's off shows almost unmeasurable loss in power. But assuming that graph is under load, with the supercharger on, I'd guess that at around 2,000rpm you're only loosing 1-1.5hp, which isn't bad. If the losses really drop that much off load, then the eaton sure looks like the best way to go about this on a budget, since it's already ready. So does anyone know of a twin screw with a designed in bypass? EDIT: Nevermind. I'm an idiot. It makes sense now, that any positive displacement supercharge HAS to have a bypass. So really I just want to control the bypass via ECU, which has probably already been pioneered in the aftermarket. So yea, umm.... case closed? Unless we want to further discuss a pulley clutch to accompany the bypass activation. But that does beg the question, if you had a clutch on the pulley, couldn't you get away without needing the bypass valve? Assuming air flowed through the supercharger I'd assume this to be true, but with a roots, and even a twin screw I don't think air will move easily on it's own. It makes me wonder how much those Mercedes really gain by having a clutch on their supercharger...

Designing it as a defogger only wouldn't be hard to do at like, like shown. For my personal setup I want mount the core with the fan blowing upwards, with a simple box made connected to the outlet, with a manually operated flapper door. I've included my own piece of wonderful mspaint art to showcase my marvelous design... The main loss/benefit, is that there's no outlet for the leg area, but also the air only moves ONE direction to defog, no mucking about trying to get the air to turn on go where you want, thus less velocity should be lost. Besides, you don't need VELOCITY to defog, you need HOT air. Or dry cold air. One or the other. Oh, and that 80mm 200CFM fan is CRAZY!!! Worst I've actually put into a case was one of the older thermaltake 90cfm 80mm case fan (the old version of the smart case fan ll). That think was LOUD at full blast. Sounded like a hair dryer for sure. Two variable 120mm fans would be ideal, but that gets to be a lot of copper. Most of the weight in the system is in the core, another reason I want it lying down as low as I can get it.

Which is fine, like I said. Not picking on anyone. I'm betting those local guys have soft suspension, or not nearly enough anti-roll, either via stiff springs or stiff bars. Which would explain why lots of camber would help them so much. Could also be that they're running their car low without improving their suspension geometry, thus the've lost all their camber gain (most likely problem now that I think about it). All the more reason a GOOD setup is important, and understanding suspension geometry, at least slightly, is of the utmost importance. Alas, people will do what they will. At least they're out there doing something though, not just hiding their cars in a garage.

Just so you know, I'm not trying to pick on you. You're allowed to do whatever you want with your car. And I don't think you're wrong for doing what you've done. My only issue is misinformation, that's all. I'm kinda sick of people that think by fitting the widest rim imaginable they're helping the performance of their car. It's becoming disturbingly popular, and to me it's as bad as all the huge wings on the back of civics that only have 90-150hp. To give you an example though, this is a 9.5" rim with a 275 wide tire, and this car is lowered quite a bit (for track use, not show car slammed I admit). This is Yasin's car.

I think that's a bit of a myth though to be honest. A couple degrees yes, but the absurd amounts that the guys in forumla D run is for looks, and some of the teams even admit it. Drifting is a judged sport, and looks and style are a huge part of it. It's not a true "race" in the sense of the word. People have been driving sideways since at least the 20's, so almost a hundred years. Absurd camber is NEW, and I think a phad. Does it look cool? Sure. My only issue is misinformation that it's "fast" or for "mad drift yo!". If it were really fast, then WRC would have caught on by now. But yes, 1-3 degrees of camber can help immensely, but beyond that the loss of contact patch isn't worth it.

Judging by the stretched tire, I'm betting he LIKES that camber... Speaking of which, how wide IS That tire stretched on there purepontiackid? I only ask because I know that a 275 will fit under the stock wheel well just fine, and I'm betting you're having trouble tucking a mere 225 under there. But I understand, it's as much about looks as anything else.

Oh my goodess! He replaced a battery and an alternator!!!!..... That must have REALLY set him back some dough... $300 tops. Much less if he did both himself. Sorry, I just couldn't help but laugh at the notion that he's using a battery and alternator as a bartering tool. Two items that are nearly worthless.

Actually yes, I've heard (or read rather) you mention it before, and the idea DOES intrigue me. The irony is when I mentioned the idea to my friend (who's a respected subie tuner), he kinda laughed and said "I have a manual and electric boost controlled setup because I have TOO MUCH boost at low engine speed. I don't need MORE!!!" I find myself quite envious of his "problem" but it definitely shows that a good modern turbo works fine in street application. Where I think this idea works best, is in all out racing. And there's nothing wrong with that.

If you're referring to the newegg link I posted, that thing can flow some serious CFM! I don't doubt the claim of the manufacture of 110.3CFM. With the restriction of the core, I'd bet it'd be able to push at least a solid 80 CFM through, which should be more than enough to heat up our little cars. But the issue with all the older OEM units isn't that they don't flow enough air, but that their air system is too complicated, and the air never gets where it's going with any force left over. 80CFM of quality heat is more than enough if you're just shotting it out of the center of the dash. But if you're trying to rout it to 8 different places then of course that's not enough airflow. Besides, I LIKE the DIY ness of that heater core posted. I'd even like it uncovered if at all possible. (I don't have a dash...)

And here's a fan to go with it: http://www.newegg.co...N82E16835220014 Even comes with a good speed control. Case fans might get a little melty with that kind of heat though. Might be wise to mount them with an aluminum washer on the core side, and a hard plastic washer on the fan side, to keep the heat from transferring to the fan. Then you'll need some sticky foam tape to seal the edges of the fan so the air goes THROUGH the core. Another reason I didn't want to keep the stock S30 heater is that I hate the line placement. It's terribly in the way for most engine swaps. Oh, and despite my 280ZX having a working heater, I still have to drive with the windows cracked in the rain. Now, I know that modern cars use the A/C to pump cold air at the windshield to defog the windshield, but many older cars did just fine with a good heater. Point being, even a functioning heater in a ZX (which I consider better engineered than the S30 unit) doesn't really do a good job. So that being said, it wasn't hard for me in my climate (totally a different story if I lived elsewhere) to decide that I could do better by simplifying the system and making it do JUST what I want it to do. Give me basic heat, and allow me to defog at least part of my window. I'm actually considering an electric element heater for the windshield if I can find a suitable product. Still working on that though.

I ripped mine out. Such a waste of weight and space imo. Then again I live in a place where when it gets bellow 40 degrees at night people are complaining. I gutted my heater core and I'm going to reinstall it and use my own custom fan setup. That way I have a manual valve control so it doesn't radiate heat when not in use, and I don't have a bulky control console that's useless. I just need one setting - ON.

Depends. The L28ET just 5 years ago I considered only worth a couple hundred bucks, but since then there's been a huge trend towards classic japanese cars, and many of the young kids getting into Z cars want to keep it "strickly datsun" so the demand for the L28ET has gone up. I've seen some setups that were just relatively stock going for near 1k for just a drivetrain... That being said, my last L28ET I bought I got for $250 minus the EFI and turbo. That's still slightly higher than I wish, especially considering I had to pull it MYSELF, but that's the market right now. Luckily the sluggish economy has helped a little, in that there are so many people trying to sell off projects. But most of those aren't those couple hundred bucks deals. They're the "I spent over 10k, take it all for 6" kind of deals. I'd say offer them $1,200 and see if they bite. If not just move along. But at that price you'll have a running, driving car. You can then start to tear into it and see if there is any structural rust worth noting, and see what kind of shape the engine is really in. Worst case scenario you sell it for the same or a small loss, but you got a car to drive around for next to nothing.

After reading WAY too much useless information, it seems like the guy running that company has tried to engineer a kit for several cars with little success. I think the problem is that the kit costs ends up being too high to be competitive for what the performance is on paper. He also doesn't seem to want to sell them bare, as he doesn't want to be "at fault" for peopling blowing up their engines with bad tunes. I really wish he'd just sell them bare and work on building them in quantity, then let others design kits for their market of choice and sell them.

Well tony, you HAVE seen that there's a company continuing the Latham design haven't you? Quick google came up with: http://www.axialflow.com/products.htm definitely looks interesting, but it also looks kinda "mom and pop", which isn't always bad. But I have no idea of the capabilities versus price.

Now this is a better price! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/TOYOTA-PREVIA-91-97-2TZFZE-OEM-SUPERCHARGER-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2eafa98842QQitemZ200515618882QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories#ht_1678wt_1165

That was only a LITTLE random Tony. Still loved it though. Thank you for the info!!! Will definitely be looking into it. The Merc stuff I've seen is outrageously expensive for old used parts. I guess that'd be fine as long as you could convert it to a better pulley. You don't want to run 60%+ more power than NA on a standard V-Belt. I wouldn't even shoot for 30% actually.

I'm not sure you read the sarcasm in my post...