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What to do with $10k

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:47 am
by 93forestpearl
I'll have it in 2-3 weeks. It doesn't go as far as you'd think.

I already have Eagle rods, Wiseco pistons, a massive intercooler, and the block is being worked on as we speak.

I'm just looking for input as to which directions I should take it. I want a gt2871r .86 turbine. Non-negotiable. All plumbing will be bent and welded by myself. Rotated mount with Garrett flanges that I'll make at school.

EM will be Megasquirt with a Zeitronix wideband with EGT and boost sensors and the display. I can use the boost sensor with the megasquirt. 660 or 720cc sr20 injectors with my NA rails.

I'm looking at cams done by Delta and a five-angle to go with.

The big hang-up is the tranny. I'm not a drag racer, I want to get into open track days and Solo II. So I won't be dropping clutches at 5k. I have to convert to a pull-type clutch either way. I'm seriously considering a STi-RA gearset, standard ratio 5th. The thing is, I dunno if I can use my '93 NA tranny as a base, or If I have to get a WRX or SS tranny to start with. Matching rear end of cource with Phantom Grip.

Brakes will be either Subaru 4-pots or Racing Brake setup. $850-$1k respectively. Racing Brake calipers weigh half.

Looking at STi pinks with KYB AGX's and matching top mounts, group-n style.

Basically, I'm supposed to make a "new" car out of mine, those are the stipulations with the loot.

Oh. I'm gonna seam-weld most if not all of the structure. Polyurathane where ever I can put it. Interior, body have to be figured in unfortunately.

There's lots of little things that I haven't mentioned because it would take too much time and I'm pretty lit. Like I said, $10k doesn't go as far as you would think. A lot of it depends on prices I get on ebay.

There are a bunch of details I left out because they are obvious.

Opinions.............

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 9:38 pm
by FG!!
It'd be much wiser to use it for a downpayment on a house or condo, or even an STI.

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 10:06 pm
by douglas vincent
FG!! wrote:It'd be much wiser to use it for a downpayment on a house or condo, or even an STI.

Yeah, but he would feel horribly if he took his house on the track and totalled it!

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:18 pm
by BAC5.2
Don't waste your money on an RA gearset. And don't waste your money on a Phantom Grip.

Both will break and cost you money down the line.

Setup sounds good otherwise though. Megasquirt will be sweet. I was going to use that, but I'll probably use a utec.

Posted: Thu Nov 24, 2005 11:26 pm
by NICO
10grand, get some dohc heads bigger injectors a computer to run everything, huge turbo and tune that sucker up and pocket 5grand just in case it blows up, you will have one fast crrazy car.

i have the 4pots 2pots but there not on becuse of back order of parts and its driving me nuts, but thats a good brake up grade.

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 5:44 am
by 206er
you goin EDIS with that megasquirt? if so, post up pics of how you are mounting the trigger wheel and sensor.

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 6:42 am
by Subtle
Douglas :smt042

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 7:21 am
by AWD_addict
Sounds like it could be wicked.

How do you have 10k for your car if you're in school?

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 7:24 am
by ferrari494
how do you have 10k period?

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 7:31 am
by NICO
may be hes a p.i.m.p or a hustler hahaha

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 5:08 pm
by Manarius
Buy an SVX.

Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 8:36 pm
by azn2nr
dont waste your time with agx's either. if anything get tien basics or a megan/apex'i n1 setup with pillowballs and caberplates

Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2005 12:25 pm
by 93forestpearl
Sweet. Got some feedback. I haven't been around since I've worked 20 hours out of the last 36.

The whole story is that my "grandparents" place just sold, which is ownd by the the three kids being my mom, aunt and uncle. So she'll have some loot. She wanted to get me a newer car ala 99-2000 sube, but I said yuck, no way. I can build a better Subaru than one that is actually a better car like a WRX for less money. What would a decent rex cost? 14-15k? Plus the added insurance for a 24 y/old with a ticket. I kinda feel guilty but almost everything I have at this point has come out of my pocket so I don't mind so much.

I was originally going to slowly do the same buildup, since I work at a restaurant where servers make really good money, like 100-250 on a decent night, and I should be serving within three months on the long end. So this will accelerate that just little bit :o



Phil, why don't you think I should waste my time and money on the gearset and phantom grip?

I was just thinking in terms of reliability. I'm not into drag racing so there won't be any hard launches. Do you honestly think a stock SS or WRX tranny would hold up to the task with about 400chp and a forgiving driving style? I know I've read about guys that go through them every two to three months and others than make them last 36K miles.

I want the higher final drive since my cruising RPM is about 3400-3500 rpm at 80, gas mileage would be a definate issue. Plus my tranny needs at least bearings and syncros, where the parts for which is about $600, or so I've found. Also, I havn't found a decent street clutch that can handle that power and torque for a push type subaru clutch. The one that sounds good to me is the ACT street one for the SS and the part # ends with 00, off the top of my head.


As far as the Phantom Grip, its just an idea to make my money go further. If I can get an STi or even a viscous WRX rear diff for less, I'm all about it. My 4.111 open rear isn't exactly up to the task. All I know is Quaife's are expensive:shock:





I don't know if I want to go with DOHC heads and all that headache. I like the idea of an improved stock setup especially since I can get the valve and seat work done for a very good price. Also with my power goals, I don't know if the heads are what I should focus on. I'm just looking for a reliable setup.


Its hard to beat the Megasquirt II with what it can do for the price, even fully assembled and tested (with most of the firmware updates for about $400 on ebay). I want to be able to datalog and tune on my own hence the Zeitronix wideband setup. I might have to get a FWD transfercase section(?) since the dyno at Archer is a two wheel and I've heard bad things about RS motors in the twin cities with their four-wheel.

As far as the suspension goes, it all depends on what I do with the driveline and other stuff. Thats the thing. Do I beef up the tranny or get those gram light 57s's I've been eyeing. And same goes for other stuff. I'll replace all bushings with polyurathane or harder rubber. Swaybars of cource. I'm going to machine end links out of a huge block of 7075 T6 aluminum that I have laying around (twice as strong as 6061. a little overkill but why not ;-) )

I could put more into the springs and dampers than the transmission. Should I? Jason talked a good story with his H&R's. Are they worth it over other goodies? Let me hear about it. I've been wrestling with ideas for two months. Its kinda like having a half say in the genes of your child. What building blocks do I want? I should be able to put more into it down the line if I stay working at Old Chicago though.

I really want to seam weld it too. I know its ALOT of work, but she'll be damn near that far apart anyways, and will be repainted. With what I'm putting into the exhaust plumbing and intercooler setup, why the hell not do it how I want it. I just need to find a cheap beater for a couple months and a place to work on the leggy. I wish that was easier done than said.

I appreciate the input. Doing it isn't my problem; its just the experience with various setups that I don't have.

Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:02 pm
by 555BCTurbo
Go drive a new Leggy 2.5 Gt...you will fall in love with it...and then use your $10 g's to put a downpayment on it!!


That's what I'd do anyway...

Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2005 10:41 pm
by Splinter
555BCTurbo wrote:Go drive a new Leggy 2.5 Gt...you will fall in love with it...and then use your $10 g's to put a downpayment on it!!
I can only speak for myself here, but I hate it when people do this.

The guy asked how to spend his money within certain boundaries (i.e. upgrading his BC), why would you even suggest he do something else with it?

He's obviously considered that option, and either isnt interested in it, or wants to look more into this one.

Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:20 am
by napphappy
And like he said insurance would be outrageous.

Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 12:51 am
by dzx
making payments sucks, i only like to buy things i can pay for all at once.

Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 1:48 am
by 555BCTurbo
+1 to not making payments!

Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 3:26 am
by 206er
dzx wrote:making payments sucks, i only like to buy things i can pay for all at once.
definitely. the only things I will ever go into debt for are school and a house.

Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2005 7:12 am
by 93forestpearl
Yeah, the insureance on a 24 y/old with at least one ticket on a WRX is not pretty, like $1500 a year I think.

I feel I can build a better car that does what I want it to do, for less money. Thats the beauty of platform sharing :cool:

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 8:32 am
by 206er
206er wrote:you goin EDIS with that megasquirt? if so, post up pics of how you are mounting the trigger wheel and sensor.
???????

Posted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 9:52 pm
by BAC5.2
A stock SS or WRX transmission will NOT be up to holding 400hp. Not even with the most forgiving driving ever. Shifting doesn't kill transmissions as much as sheer power does. Auto-X isn't forgiving shifting. Not in the least. Auto-X'ers launch as hard as drag racers, AND they go on/off throttle a LOT more. I'd be willing to say that Auto-X is more painful on the transmission than Drag Racing is (until you start flat-shifting, then drag racing is probably worse).

An RA gearset is a waste of money. You'll blow one, have to replace it, and then you will have spent more money than going with one gearset. The price of a Straight Cut Synchro gearbox is around $4300 (helical is the same price, both should hold the power you want to make).

Phantom Grips put lots of stress on parts not designed to handle that kind of stress. It may hold for a while, but not that long.

I've had transmissions blow with far less than 400bhp.


There isn't a FWD transfer case. The FWD transmission is VERY different internally than the AWD transmissions. There also are no beefy gearsets for FWD transmissions. I know, a customer wanted a dogbox in a FWD case for his drag STi. You'd have to swap trannies if you want to tune in FWD and drive in AWD. And even then, it'd be better to tune it how you drive it.

Find a goooooood local tuner or drive/trailer it a ways to get it tuned. It'll be worth it in the long run. I also don't know many tuners willing to mess with a MegaSquirt.

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2005 9:13 am
by azn2nr
4300 for the complete box or just the gear set???

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 11:07 pm
by supernoob
[quote="Manarius"]Buy an SVX.[/quote]

I was thinking the same thing.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 9:03 am
by 93forestpearl
206er wrote:
206er wrote:you goin EDIS with that megasquirt? if so, post up pics of how you are mounting the trigger wheel and sensor.
???????
I can choose whether I want a VF or halleffect. So yeah I have some stuff to work out.

I'm still working on sourcing some stuff, but I have much on the way. Got some 650cc injectors, the 'squirt, zeitronix w/ display, egt, and MAP sensor, 15' of 3" stainless, flex joint for the up pipe, few gauges, my snail (GT2871R, 56 trim compressor, .86 A/R turbine), Walbro, 6MT shifter linkage, and a whole bunch of suspension stuff. Also, I'm waiting on my engine gasket kit, timing belt, timing pullies, water pump, and oil pump.

Sent the cams to delta on sunday, and am still waiting on my block. I brought the heads in for a freshening and a 3-angle. When I get the STi flywheel, I'll bring it and the bottom end in to get balanced.

I need to go to the yard for a slew of other parts, and time is short right now with finals and all that jazz.

I might end up getting a small welder to tack my plumbing together so I can bring it to school to finish with the TIG.

Getting the megasquirt going will be alot of work, but so will the whole project. I've got the wideband to help tune, and I like how I can run it with the megasquirt in mapable closed loop. We'll see how it all plays out.

I'll have updates on how the suspension goes.