Tobz

Hey! So I've been swapping my head bolts to arp2000 studs all has been going great till I got to the front of the engine. For noting I am doing this with the cams in the engine and want to confirm there isn't some magical trick to do this without removing the cams. Basically at the front of the engine the gap between the cams and the head is too small to fit a 5/8inch socket. The old head Bolt removed fine, the new stud went in fine, washer and nut all fine. Just can't get the socket in. Just wondering if anyone has any hints or tips, or if I just need to bite the bullet and remove the cam? Cheers for the help Toby

So have decided I want to chase a bit more power, my goal is 450rwhp, nothing rediculous on E85. Am potentially going to use jem for the tuning, have been in touch with them and they recommended some changes to help achieve my goal. I have removed the blitz return flow and got myself a HPI Spec S front mount, which was available at a very good price. Seems like a quality kit so far. Also my ARP 2000 head studs arrived in the mail today and will be changing them one by one to avoid replacing the head gasket sometime in the next few days. Tao from hypergear is also sending me a stock manifold with an external gate to pop on the car with a 45mm turbo smart wastegate. I already have a Mac boost solenoid on the car. Popping the front mount on wasn't too bad, did require me to move my oil cooler though. Wasn't too bad to change and didn't require any changes to hoses or fittings. Hopefully manifold arrives soon and I can book it in to jem (around a 2 month wait for a tune at the moment!)

Isn't that more an issue for rods? I know it may slightly distort a little, but from what I read noone really cares it's that small

yer i can see how u can get carried away! i think ill just change the head bolts one at a time and nothing else.

I kind of agree with you. The guys I'm looking to use to tune the car want me to do the head studs, so I'll do that but will keep the head on and replace them one at a time

also would I be better off ignoring all the above and just replace the head bolts one at the time and leave the head on?

Hey all, Am considering taking the head off the engine to replace the head bolts. am thinking of doing some preventative maintenance while I'm at it. I am planning to make around 450hp and is used as a fun weekend car and also for some track days. i want to replace the head studs, but wondering while I'm there should i add some restrictors and a head drain? I have a catch can and it's empty at the moment, but it's only making 380hp. In regards to the restrictors, ii was thinking of blocking the front and adding a 1mm restrictor to the rear. This is for a Neo motor (is the Neo oil pump considered an N1?) also planning to get billet years for the oil pump and also a head drain. i don't really want to drill the returns though. It's it worth doing the above even if I don't drill the returns? Also what head gasket would be best to replace? Just a new OEM? It's there anything else you guys think would be worth doing while I have the head off?

On a seperate note. Has anyone got flex fuel percentage to show correctly on the dash? In the haltech I can see "flex fuel" and it shows the right ethanol percentage when I check it with a laptop. So my flex tune seems to be working (currently 48%). However on the dash I choose "fuel composition" and it just displays 85%, never changes, seems super random.....

Did u just bake in an oven, pull apart, add new sealant and bob's your uncle? Any hints, tips or learnings?

Crank motorsport on ebay make some good quality reasonably priced seat subframes

You reminded me that earlier this year Honda was considering leaving the aussie market, im guessing if this doesnt work, they are likely to withdraw. May be they only stayed to trial this as a last ditch attempt to be profitable in aus? Update: Honda rules out leaving Australia, but may reduce its dealer network or appoint an independent distributor | CarAdvice

Also, i know this sounds stupid, but make sure the bolts to the timing cover are tight.... if its a little loose it sounds like your big end bearing is gone.... scared the crap out of me the other night

Also if Merc and Honda go to fixed price, i assume they would need to lower their prices so people dont go elsewhere to negotiate a new deal, or they will run a lot of special deals to get people to come to them rather than negotiating a cheaper price at BMW or Mazda. Orrrr they may price their cars competitively, forcing others to also fix their prices at a competitive level. Orr they form a cartel and rip all of us off (probably this option right?)

I use to own a Tesla, there was no negotiation at all, the price is the price, its all done online. I was OK with this as its the same for everyone. However when we went to buy the wifes new car and my ute earlier this year, all gloves were off as I didn't want to be the chump overpaying... I preferred the Tesla model personally.

Here is a video from the weekend. My handbrake cable is super loose and wouldn't lock the rear, so had fun relying on the old clutch kick. Came second in class which was awesome. Super fun night under the lights at smsp VID-20201123-WA0000.mp4

I think that's the way to go. I just don't want to drill the engine bay... do you have any pics of the install? Also I have no idea where I'd move the oil cooler, I guess I can see how the gtrs do it

Off to do a motokhana at smsp on Saturday night, figured its time to get the harness installed. Got the below harness bar welded into the cage

Its interesting as i never had any issues with the rx8, but the skyline I've done this twice to the front left, and my mate with an evo X has done it three times... Also had a mate have a similar issue with the s700 slicks on an 86 I'm wondering if its a weight issue, or a camber issue or just a driving technique or tyre pressure thing.

Be interesting to see if tue oem to dash bounces around more while driving

God damn it.... that would have been helpful when I did mine. At least I can swap it now and free up an avi for the haltech for the oil temp sensor

Go to out to wakefield today. Only got 20 laps in before I realised my tyres started delaminating. Reading up on it, seems to be a common issue for Kumho V70A's at wakefield. Not sure why it happens though. Used the first 5 laps to bed in some new brake rotors (got some 2 piece rotors) did 10 laps with an instructor as I have been struggling with turn 2 since the move to the skyline and then 5 hot laps before the tyre started to go on me. Ended up with a 1.09 but there is plenty left in the car! Can't wait to get out here again with some new tyres.

So recently did the local hillclimb here in Canberra. Car performed amazingly, first time i have really felt the car was doing what I wanted. It was a 2 lap event and managed a 82.91 second time which 5th overall for the day (was beaten by Porsche GT3, Evo X & Westfield Clubman) There was a nicely modified Soarer there as well and we traded times all day, but he pipped me at the end. Overall was a great day! Have a trackday organised with the Gemini car club next week, so started preparing the car for that. Took it to pedders for the cheap suspension check, overall car was good but everything was a bit loose. I let them do a full suspension torque service where they went and torqued all the suspension components to specification. Before i dropped off the car there were a lot of noises coming from everywhere... after i picked it up, it is super silent, its amazing what happens when the nuts and bolts are done up to spec! I also got them to do a quick alignment, as there are not many really good alignment shops in Canberra, the settings I went for are: -3 degrees front camber 6 degrees caster 1.5mm front toe out -1.5 degrees rear camber 0 rear toe Just need to do an oil change, check the gearbox and diff oil and I'm ready for Wakefield! Hopefully there will be more grip out there as when i went earlier in the year we were the first on track after the COVID closure, it was slippery as anything out there.

Ooo the other thing the original dash handles the lights on warning chime for the headlights

Sorry, yes I assumed he had a haltech, especially as an IC7 is useless with the stock ecu (Requires a Haltech or OBD2 to function)

This may help with the wiring http://forums.linkecu.com/topic/3425-speed-sensor-wiring/