STI Project

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sdwarf36
Posts: 822
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2004 6:06 pm

Re: STI Project

Post by sdwarf36 »

AC?? Real race cars don't have windows! :lol:

Looks real good! Keep it that way... ;)
Translating road racing to hillclimbing:
Proper tire selection== nothing hooks up on moss or wet leaves.
Staying on the racing line==anything paved is considered good.
W.Vaillancourt
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2009 2:04 pm

Re: STI Project

Post by W.Vaillancourt »

Looks really good Nick! Joey does fantastic work for sure. Looks much better then it did the last time I saw it when it was clear cutting the Forrest.
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STI NICK
Posts: 187
Joined: Thu Mar 25, 2004 7:33 pm
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Location: Colchester VT
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Re: STI Project

Post by STI NICK »

So I guess I should update this since a lot as happened since I last updated this. During Okemo 2 2010 I was doing quite well with the car and thought most of the problems had been solved( Had some issues with the car wanting to overheat when racing). The car was heating up on each run but not like it had been. Then on the last run before lunch on Sunday the lower radiator hose decided it didn't want to stay on. (Make note never rush when it comes to the hoses. I didnt double check the hose clamp when I was putting it back on.) As I was passing check 3 which I think is like turn 8 of 30 or so turns the hose comes off. Now I had Mo-cool in it which is like water wetter, and apparently the stuff doesn't smoke like coolant, and I didn't know The little puff of smoke coming out of the back of the car was the cooling system draining. I thought it was tire smoke since it wasnt uncommon to get the tires spinning around that corner. Needless to say I made it to the top of the mountain with no coolant in the car, and I got my fastest time ever, but as I let off the gas across finish everything let go. The block split heads warped, turbo melted.....etc. Well back to square one I guess.

So over the next few months we planned and saved, and I talked to Joey at Kales Custom a lot. Then the rebuilding began. Then we heard about Mount Washington Climb to the Clouds Hillclimb was coming back. So the plans changed again.

Since Washington has a road with lots of bumps, changes in elevation, off camber corners, and dirt I figured a road race suspension was not the ideal was to go. So off comes the Tein coilovers. Now with everything else going on with the car I needed a cheaper solution than a 4k+ suspension. The best thing we could come up with was the factory 04 STI struts with some racecomp engineering track springs, and whiteline camber plates. It gave me the extra added travel, and all the camber I needed, and there isnt a lot of body role when tossed into a corner. I also found out its pretty easy to get the struts revalved which is what will probably happen next year.

So Joey rebuilt the engine, and we came up with some ideas to improve the cooling of the car and lighten it up a little without getting to drastic. The front bumper beam was taken out as well as the front sub frame, and a tube frame front bumper beam, and sub frame were constructed.
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at the same time the intercooler was moved forward, and tilted slightly to give the radiator some more breathing room and direct the air.
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The bumper was then trimmed not that the bumper beam wasnt in the way and some duct work was added to force all that new found air through the radiator.
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The Turbo was changed to a factory 2010 STI VF48 Turbo for Mount Washington because in order to run a 40mm restrictor in the H4 class you had to run a factory turbo. So the car was brought down to EFI Logics again for some tuning. I wanted to get it tuned for 93 octane and VP MS109 race fuel. Come to find out the gas station where I filled the STI up at wasnt my normal place, and apparently then dont always have 93 in their 93 tanks. So I wasnt able to get a good tune on 93. We pumped out the suppose to be 93 and dumped in some MS109. She liked that much better. On the EFI dyno which from what they say the car stock would put down 220 or so WHP we were now putting out 330WHP and 370 ft tq. on a stock turbo, and its all low and mid range power. The restrictor really chokes the car past 5800rpms. There is still power, but nothing like down low.

We also had to add a couple bars, and gussets to the cage to make it legal for Mount Washington. So Kales Custom went back to work adding sil bars and a few gussets to the cage. Since everything was apart and the cage needed some repainting I painted the floor as well.
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We then tested the car at SLMP and at the Burke Hill climb just before Mount Washington, and the car did great. Burke I ended up finishing first in class and second overall. Now as far as cooling issues go. everything that was done seems to have fixed all the cooling issues. We added a coolant temp gauge to monitor the temps a little more accurately. The car on the track runs a constant 180. soon as the air flow stops the car gets up to around 195-200 and the fans cool everything down.

At Mount Washington the car worked and ran flawless. The only problem the car had was the driver, and we had a small off road excursion in the fog near the top, but was able to get the car back on the road. I ended up bending a wheel, denting the oil plan, and denting part of the exhaust. Oh and I got to test the lower part of the new tube frame front bumper as I bounced the car off a couple rock. The bumper holds up really well as it didn't move at all. This was on my first run on race day. The second run I could see most of the way up, and managed to get first in class and 9th overall. The car is definitely capable of going much faster, but I was still a little rattled from the fog experience, and was definitely being a little cautious which is fine for me cause I brought the car home and still finished in a good place.
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Nick
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