Spuds' Vroom Machine

[Spuds]

Sooo, I got way distracted this winter and got around to very little of the above lol.

Did:
-Transmission oil, amsoil again.
-Diff oil, same
-Rear swaybar bushings, whiteline
-FLCA front and rear bushings, whiteline.
-Apexi N1 Evolution R catback, single exit 2.5" pass through design.
-Swapped back to stock hangers which better position this catback and actually seem to have slightly less intense drone on this one.

I'll write a follow-up on the flca and catback when I have a minute.

To be done before my first event in April:
-Brake fluid
-Engine oil
-AC refresh
-Corner balance
-Alignment
-Try to flip the exhaust shield upside down to close off the rear bumper hole a bit.
-Design and print a holder for my new Racebox micro

Parts acquired but will probably wait to install next year.
-Whiteline RUCA bushings
-Whiteline toe arm bushings
-STI subframe bolts
-Wheel lugs

[Spuds]

Oil, Brakes, Corner Balance done. Attempted to flip the little under tray, decided it didn't make enough of a difference to warrant the effort it would take to attach strangely and put it back.

Thought I had the CB perfect, literally 50% on the dot, but I forgot to adjust the front end link and when I removed preload wound up at 49.6%. Considering I started at 48.6% it's an improvement at least. Managed to get the rear end link reattached while only changing the weighting by 2lb, I bottomed out the adjustment on the one side, and getting to the left side on the scales is a PITA. Thinking I'll set my garage up again to make one last adjustment and measurement, but I want to look at the numbers a bit more closely to plan that out.

Ride heights are basically within 1mm side to side, using a mathematical compensation for my weight since I forgot to get ballast and I'm not asking my wife to help me in the garage at 1am... Had to make a few front camber adjustments as well to even stuff up.

It's nice having 4 points known to be level in the garage. Had to make a grid out of painters tape on the floor, and measure each point against a single laser level reference. Recommend a good 360° laser level for this btw. Entered into an Excel sheet and did some math with the measurements of the car. Wound up finding one acceptable location that wouldn't be a royal PITA to align the car to, basically sticking the car in the center of the 2-car garage at a 45° angle. Used some commercial floor tiles I got for $5 at a local building materials store to make the final adjustments, result is all 4 corners are within 0.5mm of a horizontal plane. This translates to an error of +-7lb per corner on the standard T2 400 springs, before accounting for motion ratios. Probably closer to +-10lb in reality.

Still need to get alignment done before April. Probably going to have a shop do it, I don't have time to do it myself, I think.

Pics are car on scales and garage measurement grid.

[Spuds]

PS. My homemade ramps worked great, but I might need to use something to make the bottom a bit more sticky. Wound up shooting one out the back when I didn't make it all the way up the first time. Luckily the scale was fine.

[Spuds]

Well, this isn't fun...

Let's see if this can be fixed. Yes I'm stupid to not just get another car. I am emotionally incapable of doing so at the moment.

No leaks, engine, transmission, exhaust, and everything underneath the car seem fine. Every panel except the driver's door and rear bumper will need work/replacing eventually. 3/4 wheels are messed up. Both doors open and close/latch. I think the front left LCA forward mounting point might be warped, but it's hard to tell, otherwise the frame is mostly fine. Bumper and radiator support need to be replaced obviously. Car does drive up my driveway at least and doesn't sound weird doing it. Drivers front and passenger curtain/side airbags deployed.

Oh, me? I'm fine. Airbag burn on one wrist, a bit of sore throat from airbag smoke, and some minor neck soreness. Also very sad.

[villainous_frx]

Oh man. That does not look fun, I hope you're okay.

[spcmafia]

NOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Man that really sucks. I am very happy that you are okay. That is all that matters. I have a few spare parts if you need replacements.

For one, STOCK OEM seat and steering wheel. rear OEM control arms too. Pulleys and what not.

[smackrel]

Fucking hell man. That sucks and I am sorry to see it.

Did it roll over on the side?

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by smackrel

Fucking hell man. That sucks and I am sorry to see it.

Did it roll over on the side?

Nope, nothing nearly as spectacular as that. Over a tall curb, through a fence and about 20-30ft into the woods. Looks like it took out 2 fence posts with the front and door, and the rest of the damage was tree limbs and such.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

NOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Man that really sucks. I am very happy that you are okay. That is all that matters. I have a few spare parts if you need replacements.

For one, STOCK OEM seat and steering wheel. rear OEM control arms too. Pulleys and what not.

Thanks, appreciate the offer. I think all of those are fine on my car, unless your steering wheel has the airbag still in it and the seat is the passenger side. I might wind up doing a seat upgrade anyway though...

[spcmafia]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Thanks, appreciate the offer. I think all of those are fine on my car, unless your steering wheel has the airbag still in it and the seat is the passenger side. I might wind up doing a seat upgrade anyway though...

Steering wheel is just the, I guess frame of it?, it would be a facelift S.W with additional controls. Seat is the driver side as I upgraded.

In addition, come join us on Discord lol. Ichi, Spike, Laz and NoHaveMSG are very active. It was meant to be as a way to continue the forum back when it was going thru a bunch of maintenance. But in general, is just us having a group chat of sorts.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by spcmafia

Steering wheel is just the, I guess frame of it?, it would be a facelift S.W with additional controls. Seat is the driver side as I upgraded.

In addition, come join us on Discord lol. Ichi, Spike, Laz and NoHaveMSG are very active. It was meant to be as a way to continue the forum back when it was going thru a bunch of maintenance. But in general, is just us having a group chat of sorts.

Yeah sure, I'm not on there much but I can hop in to chat sometimes in the evening. Tell me how to find that channel (or whatever it's called on discord) again?

[weederr33]

Ah shit. I finally visit the forums again and this is the first post I see pop up. I'm glad you're fine, but damn I'm sorry about the car.

[villainous_frx]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Yeah sure, I'm not on there much but I can hop in to chat sometimes in the evening. Tell me how to find that channel (or whatever it's called on discord) again?

Sent invite via PM.

[Lantanafrs2]

So sad for you but glad youre ok. It seems the longer we own something the greater the chance of something happening to it. I got scraped in a parking lot last week. First time in over 13 yrs of ownership. Fuckery.