Originally Posted by Dylan86
Update:
Have had a couple of weeks to fine tune the dampers for my local roads, and am very happy with how it handles the low/high speed bumps. Having the ability to tune the low -speed compression damping really allows you to customize how the car drives on public roads, with all of the imperfections you'll be faced with. Had a spirited mountain drive the other evening and can already feel the confidence in the car at speeds. There is a few fast twisty sections going up a local pass, that I am carrying about 20-30km/h more speed than what I used to, and the car had more in it! Can't wait to get this car back to Area27 race track, I feel like I'll chop 7-10 seconds off between the suspension tuning, brakes, and the tires that I'll be running.
KW EDC Cancel "diodes" - WHAT A FUC**** WASTE OF MONEY!!! Too bad I had these sitting for so long, can't warranty or return these POS's. I'm so mad at myself for not listening to the F8x guys about these being a waste of money. They worked for two weeks, and now everything's gone haywire with regard to my ABS/DSC/FEM modules, ugh. Now I'm stuck in bloody "comfort" mode for the time being, cant go WOT until 4th, lol. Will be removing them and coding the car, as I SHOULD have, to deal with the EDC related error codes/lights. Sometimes I don't mind spending the extra $$ to do something "clean" and "plug & play", even though there is an option to do the same for 75% less. Lesson learned, stay cheap, it doesn't always pay to have the "better" option. Coding can be reversed just the same as unplugging a diode, etc..
Track wheel fitment: Looks like I will have to modify my front calipers slightly in order to allow fitment of the Apex ARC 8's, or most 18" wheels, for that matter. I invested into these wheels prior to acquiring the 380mm BBK, so this was not something I had initially planned, to do. Therefor, I will run with what I have, now, and take off the 1mil or so of material off of the portion of caliper that makes contact with the inner barrel of the wheel. Shitty that I have to do it, but it's not an area that is a cause for concern, both integrity wise and cosmetically. Will be doing this next weekend, when I'm finished a project I'm working on, for work..
The alignment, lol. Man o man, this was time consuming. I had the car set up pretty good on day 1, but then as I started to tune in the optimal ride height, front camber, etc, it altered my initial setup (obviously). I then decided to use the time back on the rack, to make marks on my camber plates for -3.5* for track use and -2.5* for street use. I didn't realize until the 4th or 5th time, adjusting the top hats, that the drivers side shock tower is square, and the passenger side is off center, so every time I'd go to line and measure up on the driver side, to match the passenger, I'd have almost a full extra degree of camber. Was a bit of a mind f***, but once I realized that both sides are not the same, I simply made individual adjustments until I achieved the camber I was after. Alignment now finished for the time being, next time I change it, will be at the track. I also got the rear toe a little bit closer to factory, as opposed to 0, it was a bit much for daily driving..
All said and done, in a couple of weeks the painful setup and changes needed to wrap up my build will be finished, and I'll be able to move forward with my event plans for the spring/summer/fall. I have a shop that I've connected with, in Kelowna BC, who will be doing a corner balance on the car, and once that's done, it's onto the tarmac, for me! Should be 4-5 events this year, not including test/tune days, so I should really have a good understanding of where my skills are at, in relation to the capability of the newly setup car, by the years end. I was over driving this car last year, with street tires and dinan suspension, and feel I've covered all of the areas that showed the weaknesses. Needless to say I'm very excited, and hopefully the car and it's new capabilities are everything I was looking for, when I started acquiring parts and venturing down this path.
I will make sure to keep this journal updated with pics from the build (still haven't had time to upload the 100+ photos of the sway bar job, rear end, etc), and ongoing updates/changes to the car, if any.
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