~KnuckleDuster~ Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Same thing 1.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splintercellsz Posted December 23, 2016 Share Posted December 23, 2016 Coming together extremely nicely 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted December 24, 2016 Author Share Posted December 24, 2016 (edited) Came across some issues with this header I'm worried about. For starters I found a couple centimeter gap in the collector that didn't get welded. You can see the light shining through it here. Do you guys think a welder can still reach up inside there? Second issue is the flange isn't straight at all. There's a high spot in the middle so the two ends have a decent gap. Does this thing need to be decked by a machine shop now? The flange is obviously more flexible than cast iron and should still seal is what I'm thinking but I'm not sure, I don't recall having this issue in the past. I would hate to go through all this trouble just to have the ends leaking. Edit: After contacting DEA Performance about the issues I found they were unwilling to do anything about it. They used the excuse that because I modified it they couldn't do anything. They didn't even say sorry. Pathetic really. I would stay away from them and find another source or just have one made locally. Edited January 11, 2017 by ~KnuckleDuster~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seattlejester Posted December 25, 2016 Share Posted December 25, 2016 That is quite a bit of a gap. You might be able to pull it shut especially with a thicker gasket, but it may be better just to have it belt sanded flat (you shouldn't have to pay for the more expensive decking, it is just an exhaust flange). Regarding the hole in the collector. That is a conundrum if you can really see light through it, but from the angle it almost looks like light between the tubes, is it really from the collector? Welding through the collector could possibly be done with a flexible tip mig welder from the collected end, but welds on the inside where exhaust flow in my memory doesn't really seem to do very well. Short of doing that or just basically welding all around it at more reachable level you don't have much of a recourse other then to cut out a hole and weld it and then patch it back up again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted December 25, 2016 Author Share Posted December 25, 2016 I'm thinking I'll cut the exhaust flange in half with a band saw. With a straight edge cylinders 1-3 are level, and the 4-6 side is level. So by separating the header into two pieces they will be nice and flush being that the problem area is the high middle point. This won't put any stress on any of the other welds since I've already got the other connecting points separated and I'll end up with two mini headers so to speak. Looks like the Autech R32 had the exhaust flange separated in the middle. I wonder if it was to avoid warping issues.. The gap in the collector is right where two of the primary's come together, as long as a welder can get up inside it, it should only need a couple little tacks and shouldn't effect the flow. Ill try and snap a pic inside there. I've got to take it somewhere and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winstonusmc Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 The two flanges are a good idea. Mine are also two pieces but it's an RB26 head. The RB26 had two 3cyl manifolds originally so the flanges I have are for two separate manifolds. The autech header is this way because it's also an RB26. I figure your flange is warped because the two collectors would pull on things different on the front and rear. Cutting the flange should relieve the stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 Gotcha, that makes sense now. Cut and smoothed out. Both sides are nice and level now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 (edited) Next step is going to be smoothing the inlets a bit, most of them are a little wonky like this one. Probably won't make any bit of difference but I'll sleep better at night knowing they're all ported nicely. Starting to look like an all motor engine should. It's too bad the intake pipe is going to cover half of it up. I might have something to remedy that coming up here soon. Edited December 31, 2016 by ~KnuckleDuster~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 I decided to change directions with my gauge situation or lack their of. Ordered a custom set (tach & speedo) from Speedhut with a nice black friday discount. 4" versions so I could have them in the stock location. The speedometer is GPS so getting that going will be super easy and it will tell me things like 1/4 mile, 0-60, max mph, and a few other things. It will be nice to have a pinch of technology in the ol girl. Some of you eagle eyed viewers may have noticed the speedo is backwards. I was surprised to see this as an option when ordering the gauges and for some reason intrigued me enough to go for it. I think it will be pretty cool to see both needles rise out from the center, and heck what other Z is running a counter clockwise speedometer? Apparently some older cars such as Cobras ran counter clockwise speedos. Anyway I've talked myself into it enough, hopefully I'll like it because there's going to be no going back! So far I've got the tach retrofitted into the oem housing. Turned out well, the speedo housing is totally different so I'm hoping I'll be able to match the same level of fit & finish. Oh ya and got Akuryo Z put on the tach face.. for $10 why not? The needles are actually much more red than orange but hard to pick that up with the camera apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted December 31, 2016 Share Posted December 31, 2016 Nice......... I have a new set of 8 AutoMeter gauges running now in my Z, but I couldn't pass up the urge to order a new set of SpeedHut's. They will be arriving shortly, and I can't wait for the all new setup ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 Yeah they look great. I waited over a month for mine but well worth the wait! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 Finished smoothing the inlets out and gave them a little beveled edge. Before: After: Bolted up with a new set of locking nuts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted January 1, 2017 Author Share Posted January 1, 2017 (edited) So I found a near complete RB26 ITB / intake manifold set-up from an R33 for only $180 shipped to me. I couldn't pass this up since I see just the intake manifolds going for $150 and the throttle bodies/linkage going for $200. I began pondering on the possibilities of doing this swap on my motor and it just may turn into a future project. I would want to keep the oem plenum in order to retain the maf and therefore use the oem ecu. This would likely hold back some of the power to be made but should keep tuning it much easier. This is my understanding so far at least, feel free to tell me if this is a pipe dream. I would basically be attempting my version of the Autech RB26DE. The advantages I'm after would be a much cleaner engine bay, the sound, throttle response, and the ability to run a strut bar again. I honestly wouldn't be expecting to make much power at all but the other advantages make it worth it in my eyes. Edited March 8, 2018 by ~KnuckleDuster~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) Had the exhaust all welded back up. Pulls very hard from mid to upper rpm. Sounds quite a bit different too, seems quieter at idle and cruising but louder at wot. I'm going to try my best and get a video clip up sometime this weekend. Not my work but I'm very pleased with how it came out. Edited February 4, 2017 by ~KnuckleDuster~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) A lot of progress being made on ol girl. When doing the header swap I noticed cylinder 3 exhaust port was wet with gas. The intake manifold also had some gas blow by in it as well. So prior to me noticing this I was having issues with the ecu not keeping it's memory which I fixed by wiring the memory wire directly to 12v. This made a noticeable difference but I felt the car run faster than it was and I hadn't been able to track down the issue. I went through all the vac routing and sensors to make sure it was all in the proper places but that made things better but didn't bring that power back which I had felt only a hand full of times after the car was good and warmed up. So I assumed no spark was the culprit and installed a new coil pack on cylinder 3 and BAM, shes running on six cylinders now instead of 5! The car still felt good before but now holy crap can it rip around. The power is instant and pulls hard all the way to redline. So for the first time in 5 years everything's running perfectly and strong which is a milestone for this project. Exhaust note is better than ever too, my goal is next weekend for a video clip. I've been chipping away at getting the gauges all finished up and so far I've got everything installed and wired up with the exception of the tach signal which I'll be tackling in the next few days. I'm in love with the GPS speedo. The features it offers are really fun to play with. As far as the counter clockwise option..love it. It feels totally natural and just takes a quick glance to see how fast your going. Really unique feel to it and I'm super happy I took the chance on it. Here's the peak MPH recall feature. Your max mph hit for the drive will be displayed at the bottom and the needle points to the number as well. Did a 0-60 run and came up with a 6.2 not too shabby! I should be able to get that into high 5's with a flatter road and not at 2,000ft elevation. Edited January 30, 2017 by ~KnuckleDuster~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted February 5, 2017 Author Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) Here's the gauges cruising around at night. I wish the info box wasn't as bright but overall quite pleased. Only issue I have is when I shut the car off the tach stays at whatever it was idling at rather than dropping to zero. I also finally re-wired the inspection light. Edited February 5, 2017 by ~KnuckleDuster~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 Got a spare set of valve covers. Not sure if I'll stick with the black or go silver.. Going to try out the Techno Toy Tuning solid steering coupler. Steering should be sharper and Ill feel more of the road through the steering wheel, or that's what I've heard. I'll find out here in a few days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boben Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I was wondering if a solid steering coupler would be available off the shelf. I need to check that out. My exhaust header runs so close to the coupler that the endurance of the standard rubber coupler is questional. I'll be waiting for your comments on how it effects driveability. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 My exhaust header runs so close to the coupler that the endurance of the standard rubber coupler is questional. I'll be waiting for your comments on how it effects driveability. That was my concern as well. I took it out for a quick drive around the block and hit some sweepers. When I researched the solid steering coupler what I heard about them was the car will be to twitchy and you will feel more vibrations through the steering wheel. None of this was the case. Overall the steering just feels a little more responsive, in a good way. I didn't notice any extra vibrations through the wheel. Very pleased, more direct steering feel and I never have to replace it. Also on a side note the steering wheel was easier to turn lock to lock while sitting still, so maneuvering around parking lots and such will be easier. People who complained about the car being "twitchy" may have been running something close to stock tire width. I'm running a 235 so if anything I could use the extra quickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~KnuckleDuster~ Posted February 18, 2017 Author Share Posted February 18, 2017 I should have made this a main focus a while ago. I wired up the check engine light and installed it in the bezel that used to house the glove box light, the hole was a perfect fit. I then wired the check connect from the consult plug with power wire to the switch in order to get the check engine code sequences and also be able to clear them. It's giving me 1-4 Speed Sensor and 1-1-1 Inhibitor Switch. The speed sensor is no big deal, who wants a 180kph limiter anyway? The inhibitor switch seem to be on the transmission somewhere and this I might want to address but not sure how I'm going to go about it yet, must research more. Glad to know everything on the motor is good to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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