My '86 GTI build

[Rabbit Farmer]

I have been to a number of forums (including the SCCV) where the max image width is 800. I have been using the setting for years with success. Of course, 15 years from now when our screens are 100,000 pixels wide, the images will look like little thumbnails.

[walterclark]

So my engine bling is good for 7 HP!

As is stated by a few knowledgeable VW enthusiasts and could be predicted by math, the larger diameter runners give up some power (2-3 lb-ft) in the low and midrange for a gain above 5600RPM of as much as 8 lb-ft that continues up to the rev limiter at 7200.

As part of the "more air flow at top RPM" work, also installed a Techtonics "race" downpipe which uses 2 equal length 2" tubes about 30" long into a 2.25" collector, versus the closer-to-stock TT downpipe I have used up to now that uses slightly unequal 15" 1.75" pipe to a 2.5" collector (And into a 55mm cat or "test pipe"). As the outlets of the stock manifold are just under 2" each, the new downpipe matches nicely to the ID of the 2" tube. This would be great except the TT race downpipe has an OEM flex coupling at the front end of the downpipe that has 1.35" ID tubing inside the flex. I am assuming the 4" or so of "restrictor" this creates is significantly hampering the high RPM flow of the downpipe, especially since the transition from the manifold 2" outlets to the donwpipe's 1.35" is abrupt rather than a log taper. When I discovered this I ordered compatible 2" tubing from 2 sources (one source is TT and was "free" so I am not counting on that anytime soon), I have fab'ed the flange to mate to the manifold to correct this and have installed a Vibrant 2.25" flex at the downpipe outlet to replace the flexes at the manifold. I am hoping at least one of the suppliers will deliver the tubing early this week so I can weld up the replacement for the OEM flex and have it installed for Okemo 1.

Once again I want to thank Alex, Matt and everyone at DSG for the help and use of their dyno. While there I was introduced to 3 enthusiasts who expect to be first timers at Okemo! Great stuff!

[walterclark]

With 2 broken lawn mowers and a short 3 days between Okemo and NEFR, I didnt get to update this for Okemo.

The 2" tubing I welded in place of the OEM flex at the top of the TT race downpipe seemed to work out well. I havent been back to DSG to verify its effect yet and will not have time before Okemo 2, but for what its worth, it felt good.

My little "off" at turn 19 produced an added degree of negative camber to both front wheels. I normally set the bolted coupling between the hub carrier and the strut to somewhere near its most positive position and use the camber plates to set the actual camber, at - 2.5 degrees these days. Despite using harder-than-stock bolts and torquing them 10 pounds past the stock bolt points, they both shifted to near their most negative position (this is how camber is adjusted in the stock front end)...hence the added degree of camber. 3.5 degrees is too much with my setup. Poor off the line traction and unnecessary residual negative camber in turns (seems 3 degrees is optimum but at the expense of straight line traction), but the worst was the large toe-in it left. I know I was having to throw the car into turns after that off but it didnt occur to me to look closely at camber and toe. Well at least the shift absorbed some energy that might have otherwise bent the carriers and/or struts (that happened when I went of at Ascutney in '07).

[sciroccohp]

I fixed that problem by welding a tab at the top of the spindle and a collar around the shock. The collar has a threaded hole in it. I have a threaded rod (small not sure the diameter) that passes through the tab on the spindle then I have a nut on the front of the tab and a nut on the back of the tab that act like jam nuts, I usually tighten those to the desired camber then the 2 big ones then I set the camber through the camber plates. I have used this on all three of our cars for the last 6-7 years and never had a camber slip again plus the benefit if I leave the rear jam nut in position when I remove the spindle I can put the spindle right back without changing the camber I have set, so I don't have to reset up the car. hope that helps.

[walterclark]

I fixed that problem by welding a tab at the top of the spindle and a collar around the shock. The collar has a threaded hole in it. I have a threaded rod (small not sure the diameter) that passes through the tab on the spindle then I have a nut on the front of the tab and a nut on the back of the tab that act like jam nuts, I usually tighten those to the desired camber then the 2 big ones then I set the camber through the camber plates. I have used this on all three of our cars for the last 6-7 years and never had a camber slip again plus the benefit if I leave the rear jam nut in position when I remove the spindle I can put the spindle right back without changing the camber I have set, so I don't have to reset up the car. hope that helps.

Thanks. I would like to see that some time if you dont mind.

[sciroccohp]

I don't know if I will do another hillclimb this year but I will try to snap a picture and post it up.

[sciroccohp]

emailed you a couple of pictues to your comcast email

[walterclark]

I am working on the final bits of my improved shifter. My son helped me make this during the summer:


It is the cockpit shift lever and it replaces a plastic ball and socket lever. The rod that goes forward to the tranny from here has a yoke with a spherical bearing that slips around the rod. Here is a pic of that with the stock shift lever still installed:


I havent been able to install the new lever because I needed to create a new reverse lockout and 1-2 gate guide. This is required external to the tranny because there is nothing internal to the it that helps locate the 1-2 shift fork. The 3-4 is at the neutral position of the internal return springs and reverse and 5th are at the ends of the internal shift rod movement. With the stock setup this 1-2 "guide" and reverse lockout is one function is located at the shifter, is made from plastic (the white plate and the white bit below the bearing yoke you can see a little of in the above photo), requires very precise adjustment of the shift assembly and very little free play to work (because 1/16" of uncontrolled movement at the tranny input shaft can keep me from getting to that 1-2 shift fork) and wears or distorts easily. I wanted to improve on both the precision and durability of the guide/lockout and decrease the precision required on the adjustment of the rod going back to the shifter in the cockpit. I decided on a pin block to be mounted on the transmission itself that would provide the guide/stop to the final lever that controls this movement of the tranny input shaft. Again my son and I came up with a design. He did the pin and block machine work and I made the mounting bracket. This is what it looks like installed.


And this is the shifter, actuator, bracket and pin block:


The pin is still waiting on the return coil spring. The lever it stops is shown in neutral (or the 3-4 gate position) and the movement of the lever to the center of 1-2 gate (or the center of where I pick up the 1-2 shift fork) at that point is about 3/8" with about +/- 1/16" either side of that still selecting 1-2. Lifting the pin allows the lever to move another 1/4-3/8" and the reverse gate and fork.

[sdwarf36]

That is beautiful-I hope it works as good as it looks.

[Rabbit Farmer]

I always impresses me the technical wizardry that exists with the NEHA family. Very nice.