Zetsaz Posted July 27 Author Share Posted July 27 3 hours ago, Ben280 said: Really jealous of that diff. I probably need to do a similar thing shortly out here! It's going to be good! I had to wait months for it, but it once it was ready to go shopping was very fast. Even with tariffs on entry it cost me much less than it would have from a vendor here in the US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted July 27 Author Share Posted July 27 Final update before road tripping tomorrow. I was so bothered by the vibrations last night come back home from my niece's birthday that I decided to pull off the front diff mount and inspect. It looks like the bolt through the bushing was either loose or the upper piece of the mount was warped and didn't let the side squeeze right on the bushing. Bottom was rattling back and forth when I moved it after taking off the cross member. 3 hours worth of work later and putting the RT top mount on instead I tested and the vibrations are gone! I had to grind part of the bolt going through the bushing to pull it out because I couldn't get any leverage on the bolts going through the diff and they block each other. For a moment I thought it was placebo, so I kept finding multiple loads and speeds that it would vibrate the most at last night and got nothing. The biggest difference is the lock mechanism on the seatbelts is never rattling anymore which was a huge annoyance. TL;DR - the T3 diff mount (not the cross member itself) is probably needlessly complicated and is just too many parts stuffed into a tiny space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted July 30 Author Share Posted July 30 About 800 miles later. Running smooth. Temps with the new e fans were steady all the way. Only time they climbed a *little* was on very long uphill stretches. But it's to be expected when the turbo is getting loaded more and the return coolant line from the turbo goes straight to the thermostat. Overall very smooth, and as usual the long trip gave me a variety of small things to start looking at. Definitely want to update the mounting on the exhaust, just a bit too much movement and occasionally tapping the back and making some noise. New mounting method and the bigger muffler will make it downright comfortable on long drives. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted 23 hours ago Author Share Posted 23 hours ago Not much to update on the car. Slowly thinking of the next batch of improvements. The struggle now is it's mostly in a really good place, so short of spending huge money on something like a change over to a Haltech R3 to control everything there's not too much. Current "smaller" considerations are the following: -Cam swap to a "small" Steve Bonk turbo cam - the lobe center/lobe separation on mine is just too wide for what I want. Bonk cam would get me more responsive in the low to mid range, with probably only a small sacrifice at higher rpm where I spend almost no time anyway. -Swap to my 3.57 r200 and rebuild with the OEM kit and OS Giken LSD I have waiting. Should give me better cruising rpm and supposedly better loading on the turbo for improved boost -New tires (and new wheels?) My tire options are just so limited for tires or something a bit more street friendly than 200tw that moving to 16" wheels might be the best solution. I'm now thinking that most of my road noise complaints are actually the current tires being near the end of their life. They've been on for years now and I think it's time to finally switch them out no matter what. -Switching back to the OEM style front diff mount with a Kameari piece, and possibly even the OEM mustache bar. There's a small chance the T3 bar is fouling against the spare tire compartment and adding to drivetrain noise, but it also just feels like unnecessary bling. Looks great from underneath, but might be wasted money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted 4 hours ago Author Share Posted 4 hours ago Update - The Kumho tires I was using as a street option are no longer available. It looks like the only tire options in 225/50 are all 200 treadwear or under, so basically track only. I'd be interested in a couple of the 200tw options, but it seems like a lot of wear and expensive for a cruiser, so it looks like moving up to 16" wheels is the only option now 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhm Posted 4 hours ago Share Posted 4 hours ago All my wheels are 15" and 16", so I can definitely feel your pain. Have you looked at the Yoko Advan 052? They make it in a 245/45-16 size, and it's pretty high performance. I'll probably get myself a set, once I talk myself into the that high pricetag. 😜 I've been running the Bridgestone Potenza Sports (300tw) in that same size the last couple years; and have been fairly impressed with them. Great street tire, wear like iron, and can even put in decent trackday lap times with them once they've got some heat in them. Your car's looking great....I love seeing the updates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zetsaz Posted 2 hours ago Author Share Posted 2 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, jhm said: All my wheels are 15" and 16", so I can definitely feel your pain. Have you looked at the Yoko Advan 052? They make it in a 245/45-16 size, and it's pretty high performance. I'll probably get myself a set, once I talk myself into the that high pricetag. 😜 I've been running the Bridgestone Potenza Sports (300tw) in that same size the last couple years; and have been fairly impressed with them. Great street tire, wear like iron, and can even put in decent trackday lap times with them once they've got some heat in them. Your car's looking great....I love seeing the updates! Feels like the options for smaller wheels are just becoming impossible to find, at least in the US. Europe and Japan still have lots of small new cars, so I think they have a couple more options. Even the more popular size Miatas use in 225/45/15 I can only find in 200tw, but they're so much shorter than stock, I think they always look terrible and out of proportion on the Z Potenza sport looks okay. I think the 052 is out of the question as a 200tw, but moreso because of the cost. I'm trying to keep it under $200 per tire so I can spare some change for the wheels. Right now I'm thinking of the Continental Extreme Contact Sport 02. They're 340tw, but supposedly slightly better on the comfort than most other options, which I have started to care more about now that the car is much nicer haha. Know the Toyo Proxes R1R are popular for some guys running 16s, but they're only in a 225/45 profile. I appreciate the support! I know many posts have nothing people can really respond to, so sometimes it feels like you're just typing into the wind, so I appreciate that people have been enjoying the build all these years. Edited 2 hours ago by Zetsaz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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