dandan

I see everyone has their own preference, as expected. CW's, HKS, JIC, Kyb etc etc...nobody mentioned anything about Tein pats, any particular reason? Terry I take it the JIC are not double adjustable for damping? On any given setting, how does it ride over typical harsh british roads? Would you be confdent chasing something like a WRX or Boxster round short twisty road sections over rough tarmac and a few potholes to really upset things? I have no problem with a firm ride, but I hate the feeling of one corner (or the rear as a pair!) losing contact with the road purely because of the combination of really high spring rate and bumps and undulations in the road....mid corner! Any news on the HKS setup Paul? What did you have on the car before? How about Ian C's Ohlins setup, any chance of some feedback Ian? I believe Paul Whiffin is a fan of the track day events, Paul if you're reading this any chance of some feedback on current spec and road manners? Cheers all, Dan

Excellent cheers guys. Barney, perhaps we could sort out meeting up again sometime once you're all done and you can take me for a spin so I can see how the car feels? Anyone else, there's lots of you, I know...

All, I am at the point now where I really need to replace my current spring/damper combination. I currently have the Tein HA setup with solid pillowball type top mounts. I do not know whether some of the components are worn now or whether all HA kits ride as mine does. The car is simply way too oversprung. I like a firm, planted setup in my cars and am not a fan of excessive bodyroll. However, my current setup is a little .... embarassing. On anything but the smoothest, flattest of roads the car hops and skips over all road imperfections. I have adjusted the damping to try to compensate but since owning the car I've not come up with a setting I like. Even on A roads or Motorways the ride can be far from ideal, twice yesterday the car nearly took off when accelerating to "motorway speeds" on a newish dual carriageway. Rises and bumps in the road really upset the balance of the car and to be honest I am not at all happy with it. I believe the Tein HA springs are approximately 100% stiffer than stock and obviously the damping curves have been tailored to suit. In a straight line the high spring rate doesn't allow much weight transfer to the rear wheels on acceleration and grip can be a problem even on my Toyo 275-18's on a hot road. Suspension is a very personal thing, so I would appreciate some feedback from as many of you as possible regarding your setup. If you have replaced previous dampers/springs with something different please could you state what you changed to/from and what differences you've noticed. Lots of people have told me how Manufacturer A's kit is so much better than stock, but I am changing from the Tein setup so these comments are hard to relate to. Again as much description as possible would be good. I obviously have many options to choose from but cost is an option, although I am prepared to spend good money on quality components. I am considering CW custom setup on stock type components, Ohlins, HKS Hiper..., and AVO coilovers. After my curent Tein experience I am not really keen to fit Tein again but stand to be corrected. Please can you give as much feedback as possible on any setups you are running. I am especially interested in ride quality over "typical" UK B roads where fast cornering is needed. I am not keen on being outcornered by other cars because I am bouncing around bends due to rock hard spring rates. Feeling like you're about to bounce of the road into a field is a by product of extreme spring rates and harsh bumpy UK roads in a state of disrepair. Nasty. Some compliance in the springs is very necessary. I have not gone into Strut Braces or Uprated anti roll bars here, as my main priority is replacement of the HA kit, initially. Cheers guys...

pm sent to you. anyone else got any input?

I just wrote a massive reply to this and when I went to post it, it all disappeared!!!! I will type it again shortly Dan

I used deionised water and a good antifreeze when I flushed mine through.

I have been at Thor's when two different cars (both stock) made between 280bhp and 292bhp at the hubs. That is why i said yours was probably 30bhp or so down on power. I still say that is way too rich for a stock car, Pete must be able to comment on this after all the mkiv's he's seen on his dyno? If it were me I'd lean towards checking/swapping out a few sensors (MAP, airflow, 02) and checking every single hose for any splits or cracks. Have you checked for any ecu fault codes? Have you considered that if the old ceramic turbine disintegrated then bits of it are likely to be in the top cat? This won't be helping your boost issues. The dip in the boost curve wouldn't be my main concern, I'd look into the fuelling first. Certainly is a shame it's not running quite right though, hopefully not for long...

Definitely running rich there mate. Ideally you wanna be in the region of 11.0-11.5 under boost. Still a little rich but reassuringly safe. More could be gained by going a little leaner but probably not a good idea without a decent ecu and very accut#rate control over boost and afr's. Boost does tend to drop off steady towards the redline anyway, that's normal. There does seem to be a bit of a dip in your boost curve though at about 5000. Are all the vsv's working ok, no leaking hoses or anything you can test/swap out relatively easily? Have you checked all your hoses (big and small), a tiny crack could blow open under high boost and not be noticeable otherwise. If you have a look at Paul E's dyno plots his boost course holds very steady till the redline- something you can achieve with a decent boost controller. Are you running a stock exhaust and cats? 0.93 is high if this is the case. Your power is definately down, in the region of 30bhp or so (if you are stock). Add to that the fact your running slightly higher boost, really you should be making around 295-300 at the hubs. Are you running a stock ecu? If you are (and with no other piggy backs) then I'd say there is a problem somewhere producing such rich afr's - o2 or map sensor maybe? (Airflow also if you are vvti). I think you (and Pete) would have spotted fuel cut very quickly when you were at his so I wouldn't have thought that was your problem.... I think the fuelling needs addressing first, at least trying to find out why it is so rich. Fuel pump, fse or anything similar fitted? Sorry for the long reply but hope some of this helps.... Dan

Got the same problem, non vvti. Does this affedt the stering assistance Pete? From your comment, am i right in assuming you can change the wiring connections rather than replace the actual (and no doubt different between all of us) kph/mph convertors? Dan

How about posting up your old dyno plots from the trip when the ceramics went pop. Should make an interesting comparison (especially to see the shape of the curves and whether the old figure of 397 was just a peak) and be a good ad. for the new hybrids. On the boost curve above (hybrids) they certainly seem to hold boost to the redline, which is obviously a good thing. (Provided egt's and fuelling are ok) Nice one, congrats... Dan

Cheers Oxy, Yeh it was good to see you all there and put some faces to names. Only sorry I couldn't stay longer and have a good chat to everyone but it was only ever gonna be a flying visit for me. Sounds like a good idea to meet up a bit more often, possibly even an evening in the week when the weather warms up and the nights draw out a bit? See you all again Dan

Oxy your inbox is full (sent you an email, please read)

Hi all, I'll do my best to come over and say hi. However I'm moving away that weekend to start a new job so am not sure yet if I'll be around. Cheers Dan ps Thanks for the pm Will.

Thanks Chris, I appreciate totally your point on hybrids with regard to the extreme restriction in the turbine area and the fight against high exh manifold pressures and reversion. As you say the initial design aim of a highly driveable performance car (via the seq system) is a cracking design. We are all pushing the performance envelope and forcing this system to cope with power outputs never envisaged to begin with. The results will of course be high egt's and diminishinig returns in performance gains. Personally I think I'm approaching the limit of the system and bar a few reliability modifications (FMIC, oil cooler, new clutch, egt gauge and fuel pump) I'm done for now and more than happy with the performance. Again, interesting reading Chris

Thanks Chris, makes interesting reading. With regard to many of our cars on here (typically: full decat, exhaust, 1.2-1.3bar etc with around 360-380 at the hubs) with max power of say 400-420 at the crank, are we likely to be losing out slightly with a 2.5" top decat pipe? I know there are many issues with accurate boost control from the wastegate in our particular turbo setup resulting in the need for restrictor rings. Hence the line of thinking that 2.5" is more than large enough as boost spikes are already occuring and causing problems. However, are we losing out here at all? Do you think that a 3" top pipe combined with a reliable wastegate (eg enlarged orifice and button as on many hybrids) would yield any gains on its own over a 2.5" pipe, at these higher power levels? This is purely out of interest as I'm well aware of many other areas where my £££ is better invested, performance wise, at these relatively moderate power levels. Thanks Dan

To be honest I don't know if this prespool pipe makes any difference to spool time, response, boost creep or outright power. Also I do not know if a set of jdm vs uk hybrids (of equivalent spec) will produce different results. This is something I have always wondered about, whether to source a full uk assembly to "hybridize" or just use my J specs. Any idea if one manifold is better suited to mild porting? Anyone have any good info regarding this? I guess you're hoping there's no real difference (which is probably true).

The pipe i was talking about is visible on the sixth picture on the US assembly. I don't think this is present on the jdm type is it? Edit: Look at 4th pic...no pipe on jdm. Dan

I'll have a look around see if i can find anything useful. Someone may come along who's had the two side by side and can explain the real differnces. I think that once you've got the hybrids, boost control will be fine on a J spec manifold anyway as the wastegate will no doubt be enlarged slightly.

Isn't there some sort of bypass pipe or something on the Uk that is not present on the jap one? Relates to the better boost control issue of the uk wastegate design. Not seen one in person but that's what i thought?? Dan

Hi Adam, Welcome to the board. Love the car, totally awesome all round. The Racing Medallion is the exhaust I'll get next I think as it's just that little bit different and I've always fancied one. What bov were you running at the time of those vids? Thanks Dan

I had these on my last car and was very impressed. Fairly soft with plenty of grip in the dry and fairly respectable in the wet too. Not sure if they're available for 18's though. Dan

Seen as you had your plugs changed at the service and the problem has appeared since then (and bearing in mind everything else you've already checked/swapped) I would strongly suspect it's an ignition problem related to the coils. The wiring in that area is not the strongest, maybe a wire was fractured when the coils were taken out to do the plugs. Maybe one of the coils is breaking down? As eyefi said though, it runs ok in the higher revs which makes things less clear. What about the cam phase sensor or even the crank sensor, I don't know how difficult they are to get at or whether a diagnostic check would highlight a malfunction or not. Just my thoughts on the matter..... really hope you sort it soon mate. Regards Dan

I paid £1.76 each for these plugs from Partco. As far as I can remember they're ok for upto about 6,000 miles but am not sure for definite. Dan

Very nice indeed, both cars Anyone know what wheels they are or what front bumper it is? -on the top car?

Ian, aren't the discs handed for reason- they are different? I thought the "vented" area of the disc had a certain pattern to it to aid airflow (ie not straight radial ribs in centre of disc). Admittedly, even if this is true it is probably marginal as to how critical it is. I may be popping down to Partco in the very near future, any idea of a part no. for the rears? Cheers Dan