Jump to content
SAU Community

Adam's Stagea Drift Car ... Wait What?


Recommended Posts

PLAYING CATCH UP

Slammed-Stagea.jpg

So it’s time for an update on the Stagea. As always I’ve been tinkering with it one way or another.

I was in need of a boost gauge and I happened to find one when hanging out at Khoa’s joint. It was exactly what I needed (Racetech 52mm white back light). So I nabbed it off him and tried to figure out where to put it.

boost-gauge-install.jpg

After toying around with many ideas I glanced at the cluster cover and thought it would be a perfect spot. Visibility isn’t the best but its hidden which is what I wanted.

bent-stagea-tie-rods.jpg

I discovered both tierods were bent (one worse than the other). I think the right one (drivers side) has been bent since EC, and the left was done at Wakefield. I made some S14/R33 tie rods work by cutting down the adjustment thread by 15mm. They happen to be thicker than the Stagea rods too so hopefully they’ll last a little longer.

bumpstop-replacement.jpg

The Stagea had a heavy knocking sound on big bumps so I figured the bumpstops weren’t doing their job. They weren’t as bad as I thought and I later realised that my shocks weren’t causing the sound. In fact it is my upper control arm hitting the chassis.

The bumpstops I bought were to suit the ol’ Ford Falcon and they were a perfect fit, who would have thought?!

boxed-up-traction-arm.jpg

After braking a traction rod at Wakefield. I decided to go back to OEM with the bottom boxed up. I had a look at all my spares and noticed that I had a few that are already boxed. I didn’t know they came like this OEM. I only had two so I’m guessing they came off the Stagea in the first place.

Kando-10cm-turbine-housing.jpg

After finding out I had some cash in my Paypal account, I placed an order on a 10cm turbine housing for my TD06. It’ll probably arrive mid January and it should change the cars power delivery dramatically.

sideswiped.jpg

Last but not least, the Stagea got sideswiped last night. I was on my way home from work and they were doing road works on a 3 lane road. Anyway it merged into two and I happened to be in the middle lane. I was sitting in between a Semi and another big truck and the semi decided to cut me off … which resulted in me locking up.

The Truck in the left lane was weaving in and out (of his own lane) and had come into my lane for a split second, while I locked up. He ended up taking out my mirror, my indicator, rashed the shit out of the front wheel and left some nice lines in the paint work .

In a sence I’m lucky that it wasn’t a worse accident, but still I copped it for someone elses negligence, and it sucks!

On that note, drive safe! Seems like all the morons come out on the roads when it’s holiday season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was suprised that the Stagea had thinner tie rods than an S14 though, wierd.

6d6377504b0611e2917422000a1fb30b_7.jpg

Sourced a mirror for $150, so I slapped that shit on my car before work.

6e0913724b0611e29f3f22000a1f978e_7.jpg

Found quite a bit of cancer under the mirror too. It's a common problem for Stageas to rust aroudn the mirror due to the foam behind it trapping water. I wasn't expecting this much. So I might have to get around to fixing it. Drivers side looks alright though.

Got some indicators coming from overseas too, and I'll try buff some of the scratches out. I might even go to the meet this weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

REFINEMENT - VIEW ON BLOG

Turbo-install-Collage.jpg

First off I hope you all had a good XMAS and New Years bash! I got wrecked, it was awesometown.

As you may recall, I ordered a smaller rear housing for my TD06, well it ended up arriving to my door on XMAS eve. Considering I didn’t have much on this XMAS, I decided to tackle the rear housing swap head on!

Everything was nice and cruisy for once turbo came off easily, swapping the housings were a breeze. It was up until it was time to put the turbo back on the car. Little did I know, the 10cm needs atleast a 10mm spacer off the turbo manifold, otherwise the front cover fouls. So everything came to a grinding halt until some auto stores were open.

Stagea-RB25.jpg

Due to running a spacer, the studs needed to go for extended items (FYI RB studs are M10x1.25). I managed to get some from my local Peps that worked out to be the perfect length (roughly 50mm … 10mm longer than OEM) … only cost me $8 too.

29c713dc50a911e299a722000a9d0ee0_7.jpg

While I was at it, I changed my intercooler piping set up slightly. I blew off pipes four times between the Wakie and EC event, and once on the street. So I pissed off the plastic OEM joiners and hose clamps and replaced them with silicone and T bolts.

I also bought some more pipe for the intake. As I’m not too happy with the current setup,.

You might notice in the second picture, but after the turbo swap, the dump/screamer pipe combo doesn’t fit. So once Anthony gets back from his long awaited holidays, the Stagea will be making a trip to Dahtone Racing.

Surge-tank-Bosch-044-1024x1024.jpg

Along with the pipe work getting modified, the Stagea will have a surge tank installed on the undercarriage along with a Bosch 044 fuel pump. I have experienced fuel surge in the wagon quite a few times (even on the skidpan). So before I go hard out I figured now is the best time to rectify the problem before something goes ka-boom! It’ll also mean more track time as it’ll save me from filling up every so often.

I’m hanging to drive the LOLVO with the new rear housing, can’t wait for a drift day to pop up either!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It made around 230kw on 14psi. Full boost was 5750RPM. It other words it was a bag of dicks to drive.

If any mods happen to view this thread, can you please change the thread title to "Adam's Stagea drift car ... wait what?"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you changed to an rb20 cross over pipe you would remove the issue of the AAC pipe melting as the aac pipe comes out closer to the throttlebody. It would still look stock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Surge-tank-Bosch-044-1024x1024.jpg

Along with the pipe work getting modified, the Stagea will have a surge tank installed on the undercarriage along with a Bosch 044 fuel pump. I have experienced fuel surge in the wagon quite a few times (even on the skidpan). So before I go hard out I figured now is the best time to rectify the problem before something goes ka-boom! It’ll also mean more track time as it’ll save me from filling up every so often.

I’m hanging to drive the LOLVO with the new rear housing, can’t wait for a drift day to pop up either!

Where about are you going to mount the tank???

Edited by mattye
Link to comment
Share on other sites

SECOND TIME COMING - PUT YOUR GUESS ON THE BLOG

TD06-12cm-tune-RB25-dyno-sheet.jpg

Way back in November, I did a little competition to guess what kinda power the Stagea will put down. Seeing that the setup was mass fail (lag city!) I’ve changed it up and it is going for another re-tune. Which means the guesses can continue to flow!

The previous tune was only done at a measly 14psi too, it would have been unfair to use this graph as a decider after I stated it would be tuned at roughly 20psi.

Here’s a quick re-cap on the specs:

•Standard RB25DET

•Kando TD06-20G 10cm

•Turbosmart comp gate

•3 inch exhaust

•return flow intercooler

•High flow injectors

•Walbro lift pump

•1 litre surge tank

•Bosch 044 fuel pump

•Haltech E11 ECU

•Boost will be set between 18-20psi

•Tuned for 98 octane

•RWD

This time it will be tuned near the 20psi mark, and will have a more impressive boost curve than the 12cm rear housing on it previously.

The closest three guesses to the final power output will win Run It Hard merchandise!

1st place – Run It Hard! T-Shirt + sticker pack 2nd & 3rd place – Sticker pack

To be eligible, you must put your guess on the blog’s comment section, either on this post or the previous one.

Please be sure to enter your email address so I can contact you, if you’re one of the lucky three to guess closest.

Fire away!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GETTING STUFF DONE - VIEW ON THE BLOG

Stagea-stanced.jpg

The past week has been quite productive for the Stagea, it went into Dahtone to get some work done, some parts arrived and I’ve found some that will make their way onto the wagon.

When I did the rear housing swap on the Kando TD06 turbo, the dump pipe and wastegate pipe no longer fit. So it went Anthony to get modified. While it was there I decided it was a good time to get a surge tank installed too.

Surge-tank-and-bosch-044.jpg

The surge tank has been installed under the driver’s side back seat. Anth modded a Aeroflow fuel pump bracket so the Bosch 044 was sitting in an ideal spot.

Under car is great, you can barely hear the constant buzz from the pump in the cabin, you don’t get that fuel smell and if the 5-0 are on the hunt for defects, it’s going to be difficult to see.

GKtech-V2-toe-arms.jpg

After snapping a traction arm at Wakefield, I’ve decided to change all of my rear arms. The traction rod is back to OEM but the mid section has been boxed up. The toe arms are the new GKtech V2 items …

GKtech-V2-camber-arms.jpg

As are the camber arms. The GKtech arms are a great bit of kit, they are one piece (no welds) and are made out of billet. Which makes them lighter than your conventional arms. Comparing them to my old items (think Just Jap, Driftworks etc) they are nearly double the thickness.

The camber arms have a 30 degree kink in them which is designed to help clearance issues of the subframe.

Best of all, they don’t break the bank. Check out GKtech for more info.

manual-shifter-surround.jpg

During my manual conversion, I sourced a manual console from Japan that was ment to be complete, but when it arrived I got jipped, it was missing the shifter surround. After many attempts to chase the original seller, Jesse had no luck getting in touch with him.

Ever since I’ve been looking for a shifter surround. The console alone is rare let alone individual pieces. So I started searching for a part number to get one through Nissan. Anyway Benny is like “I’ll find one” and well, he did.

Once he linked it to me I snapped it up quicker than Jim blowing his load over Nadia. I finally had the missing piece of the puzzle.

IMG_20120722_135104.jpg

You might have noticed that the Stagea has quite a bit of body roll when it’s getting the tail out. Although the 6kg Tein springs are comfy for every day, they aren’t up to the task of keeping the wagon flat on the limits.

So I’ve ordered a set of Swift Racing springs from Japan, these are a hefty 12/10kg combo which should be the remedy of my body roll issue. It was a hard choice on whether to go a lower or higher spring rate. But the Swift springs have a tendency to feel softer then they actually are.

Swift say it’s due to their exclusive material and fewer coils than conventional springs. Either way I plan to run a Tein EDFC so it’s easier (and more comfortable) for street/track damping set ups.

There is just under a month until the next drift day, so I’m hoping the springs will arrive in time for a wheel alignment

The Stagea still needs a re-tune too, but that won’t happen till a few days before event. Cutting it close, as always!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

CURSED SUNDAYS DRIFT DAY - VIEW ON THE BLOG

drift-train.jpg

Wollongong based drift club “Cursed Sundays” have organised their first drift day at Wakefield park raceway.

The finer details:

•February 7 2013

•$250 entry fee

•Passengers free

•Track time 9-4

•Short and long track

Spots are limited, which means there will be stacks of track time. To secure your spot contact Dominic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

SHIT GO BRO - VIEW ON THE BLOG

worst-luck-collage.jpg

The past fortnight I’ve been a pretty unlucky guy. A few components installed on the Stagea failed, My back pains had come back and I managed to get pulled over.

Last week on the way home from work, cruising the M4 I noticed smoke exiting from the back of the Stag, glancing through my rear view. At first I thought I could be tyre rubbing the guards as I played with the suspension arms previously, and it wasn’t constant. However when I came to a stop there was that distinctive burnt oil smell. Puzzled I pulled over and went over the car. The whole car was covered in oil, it was everywhere!

After ripping the intake snorkel off, I had a look around the turbo, and to my surprise the oil drain hose had split in multiple places. After letting the car cool down I checked the dip-stick and it was bone dry, awesome. Strandard, Julie came to my rescue. We went home got some supplies and dodged it up so we could get the Stagea home.

I went over the car again once it was home and removed the oil drain hose, yep it was screwed. The same morning a reoccurring back injury had come back to haunt me which made things even more “fun” for me.

new-turbo-return-hose.jpg

The plan of attack was to borrow Julie’s Lancer at the crack of dawn, and find a suitable replacement for the damaged hose. I went to Repco and Autoexcel and both stores didn’t have anything sufficient. Before I knew it was time for Julie to go to work so I was boned. My back was giving me grief too so I just let the car stay the way it was. Anyways I gave Paulie a ring to see what he was up to, other than ”fapping” he had nothing on so he came around and we went for a hunt for a hose suitable for oil.

We headed to MTQ/Sonic performance in Wetherill park but as usual they had nothing in stock. So I then thought we’d try Pirtek as their products are mainly for industrial use (i.e higher grade etc). I ended up getting an offcut of a high pressure industrial hose for a measly $5. This bad boy will never split, look at the wall thickness! I bought some new heavy-duty T bolt clamps too.

Paulie installed the hose for me, I would have had no chance of getting it on if it wasn’t for him. Amazing how pain can make you feel so useless, mind is willing body isn’t etc.

NTS: If I’m ever-changing a turbo, either get a braided oil return hose, or a new rubber item.

pulled-over.jpg

All was well for a few days until on my travel to work I had an encounter with Highway patrol. I was stopped at a set of lights as were they facing the opposite way. Their disco lights came on and I knew I was in for a world of pain, Anyway by the time they did a U-turn and cut through traffic I was near the M4 turnoff which I take to get to work. The lights turned amber and I hit the gas and went on the turn off. Shortly after the Po-po were in my rear view and I pulled to the side on the M4.

Long story short, They pinged me for running a red light (I could have sworn it was amber when I was through it). However they didn’t bother looking at the car. I told them I was late for work and they said “ok we’ll let you go and we’ll send you a fine in the mail”. So it’s a double-edged sword I suppose, I’d rather suck it up and deal with the fine then getting defected, and being sent to an emissions station. Let’s just hope I don’t get a “surprise” in the mail huh?

damaged-R33-brake-caliper.jpg

48 hours later, I’m on my way to work again you know the usual daily grind rubbish. I attempt to pull up at a set of lights and some funky shit starts happening to the front of the Stag. Next thing I know the car won’t move! I spot a driveway up, I go for it attempting to move the 2 tonne car whilst getting across 2 lanes. I was basically dropping a fat skid just trying to get into a safe place.

I have a look around to see what the f**k happened and then I see it. Drivers side brake caliper has fallen off! I just couldn’t believe my luck. So I sat around all angry and shit and had a tow truck organised to come grab the car.

2 hours pass, multiple calls made and this tow truck is no where in sight. Frustrated to say the least I decide to dodge it up and get it driveable. So I run around to Repco, grab all the shit I need and get to work in the scorching heat.

I was so pissed, I just dumped the car at Dahtone Racing. The next day Anth informed me that the caliper mount has been bent too so I needed a replacement. Luckily I found one close by and managed to fix it all up on the Saturday.

Best of all, I had a fresh pair of tyres put on the front prior to the caliper falling off, and now they are flat spotted!

With all that junk that happened, I hope some luck comes my way and the Stagea behaves for a while.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah just bolts came loose over time =/

LETS TALK LIPS - VIEW ON THE BLOG

lip-fitted.jpg

There aren’t many aftermarket front lips available for the Stagea, let alone the DAYZ front bar. Personally, all the ones out there don’t look the greatest either.

For quite a while now I wanted to add a stuble lip but over all the other things that went on it had passed my mind. That was until a guy from WA happened to post a photo of his silver DAYZ Stagea with an awesome looking lip.

Liams-stagea.jpg

I was intrigued to say the least, I needed to know what kind of lip it was. After getting in touch with Liam I discovered it is off the Subaru WRX. Who would have thought?

So I looked around and found a supplier in the states called Bayson R Motorsports that sell various front lips at great prices. I opted for the 03-05 WRX V-Limited front lip (which I think is slightly different from Liam’s).

Slammed-stagea.jpg

Installation was a breeze, because the lip is urethane it’s quite forgiving in terms of flexibility. It also moulds to shape with heat applied (i.e heat gun). However I literally put it against the bar, drilled some holes and used 9 tack screws to secure the lip to the bumper.

It has quite a similar shape to the under-side of the DAYZ front bumper, but there is one downer. The WRX lip has a big mid-section and grooves on the sides that are noticeable when it’s installed on a Stagea. When I get a chance, I’m thinking of cleaning this area up by removing the small exposed mounting tabs and putting mesh to cover the hole (so it looks like its ment to be there I guess).

custom-front-lip.jpg

So there you have it, a cheap alternative for a front lip on the DAYZ kitted Stagea. Benny is pretty keen on trying this on his S2 Stagea so hopefully they work for both models. You could possibly get a better fit than I have by spending some time on it like cutting the mid section down, but for a lip off another car that has literally been bolted on to the Stagea … I think it looks pretty damn good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...