97 GSX: 2.3 Stroker with a T4 FF TS HTA3076

[rvaughn]

Did a little powder coating to update the look a bit. Got a couple goodies coming for some extra control / protection. Should be setup with my Hal vented oil cap, ebc, and hopefully flex fuel in the next couple weeks.

 

[rvaughn]

Been a while, haven't had time to play with the car much since my career change. I purchased a 2007 5.9 Cummins and have been putting all my time into it. Small things have happened on the car, it is now flex tuned and I have completed my Hal vented oil cap setup. We are beginning to produce rear diffusers for the 2g now, see here for some pics: http://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/2g-rear-diffuser.484035/#post-153457104

I also picked up a new freshly repainted bumper with some small curb rash that I will be working on transferring over to the car when I get some spare time. I suspect with the summer coming to a close that I will have her apart soon for some much needed love in the suspension department. Thanks for looking!

 

[We're on Boost]

Did you do the flex tune with an EMS series 2?

 

[rvaughn]

Nah, I used ECMLink for tuning, seems to work well other than not having the boost scale-able with the tune.

 

[We're on Boost]

Ok, well that's good to know because guess what, the AEM EMS is not even made anymore for 1g like my car!
Did English Racing set up your flex fuel tune?

 

[rvaughn]

Yeah man it was all English!

 

[We're on Boost]

Cool. Well, I keep saying I'm going to take my car there for major stuff. I think next year will be it!

 

[rvaughn]

You can't go wrong with English man, they do good work. Their shop rates are high and they are extremely busy so you are better showing up in person / doing any small things yourself but for tuning and big projects they are great! They stand behind their products as well which is really important to me.

 

[We're on Boost]

What I'm thinking right now is, drive down there with my car sometime later this year, let them look it over, we can figure out what's going to be done, and who's going to do what. Then get my car back to them next year in about February which as near as I can tell is the least busy part of the year for them. Do you think Feb is about right for least busy time?

 

[rvaughn]

Id say mid winter is a good bet. The waiting line is getting pretty serious there because of some big name clientele and the shear number of people hitting them up now that they have blown up so many records but I think you have the right approach!

 

[rvaughn]

Time to bring her back to life, she has been down for a few months with a failing alternator and problems with the half rad not keeping up in hot conditions. Ive sat her just because I haven't wanted to deal with it but its time to fix it so here we go:

Currently installing a new saturn alt with the jays racing relocation kit and a coil pack relocation bracket from JMF. New 51r battery tray being built, until then Ill run the stock one modified to hold the new battery. Also doing some ducting work on the radiator/IC setup to try and correct the heating issue. Im also going to go to a straight water/water wetter setup since she is kept in the garage and doesn't see freezing temps. I relocated some lines, deleted some more wiring, and found a partial kink in my return line running from my ethanol sensor to the stock return line so I cleaned that all up. We will see how she does once she is all back together.

 

[rvaughn]

Well finally got her fired up after a huge push last night to get it all sorted out. Alt relocation is done and saturn alt shows a drop at the battery of .5 volts with heater on full blast and all the lights I could possibly have on, on. Not sure if this is good or bad but considering that it is still sitting at 14V with all that on I think it is pretty decent.

The E85 stations in Portland have been trimmed down to one, I'm considering moving to a different turbo setup to make up for lost power if we loose the last station. It might be time to step up to a 35r variant with a top mount manifold but we will see, for now I have one station 7 miles away.

Im going to get her buttoned up and run a regular tank through her and then start hitting the track again.

 

[We're on Boost]

The E85 stations in Portland have been trimmed down to one, I'm considering moving to a different turbo setup to make up for lost power if we loose the last station. It might be time to step up to a 35r variant with a top mount manifold but we will see, for now I have one station 7 miles away.

Interesting that the E85 situation is that bad there, just as bad as where I live (Seattle east side). What's different I guess is that the E85 situation was always bad here. Where you are, I'm thinking it was much better at one time.

There is one station about 18 miles from me - it is near Snoqualmie Falls. I called and talked to the station manager to ask if they had any plans to quit having E85. She said she thinks they will continue for as long as they can get it, because there is a "race track" nearby, and the racers come there in the summer to gas up. But she said she doesn't know for sure what the station owner is thinking, and they have already taken out their bio-diesel.

On the up side - the 18 miles of roads between me and them are the choicest sports car driving back roads around, so a very fun drive. The station itself is very nice for my lowered car, that is, gentle driveways, and lots of room to manuever around the pumps (welded center diff).

Have you talked to the station manager or owner of the station near you, to see what they are thinking?

 

[rvaughn]

Yeah I talked to the station right next to the house a few times, just usually the attendants about whether or not they had heard they might be getting rid of the E85. The car has been down for a while and I just found out through a friend up the street that it was gone. I still have a location within ~10 miles of the house but its the last one in Portland. Im not sure why E85 is so tough to get ahold of but god damn I hope this last place hangs onto it!

 

[We're on Boost]

Yeah I talked to the station right next to the house a few times, just usually the attendants about whether or not they had heard they might be getting rid of the E85. The car has been down for a while and I just found out through a friend up the street that it was gone. I still have a location within ~10 miles of the house but its the last one in Portland. Im not sure why E85 is so tough to get ahold of but god damn I hope this last place hangs onto it!

I think it is only because gas got so cheap all of a sudden. That of course could go back the other way. As far as I know the agricultural subsidies for the production of ethanol for fuel are still in place, but that is another thing that could change. If those subsidies were removed, then ethanol would be more expensive than it is now. The station manager at Snoqualmie told me that the people who drive flex fuel cars, who used to fill up with E85, now don't, they fill up with gasoline now, because it is so much cheaper. So she said their E85 pump mostly just sits there all winter, until race season starts up, then they get the racers!

One more interesting thing she told me. When I asked if they know whether the deliveries they get are "winter" (~E70) or "summer" (~E85), she said, "no". Haha. So, ok if you have a flex fuel setup with a sensor like the way English Racing does it. Otherwise not so good.

 

[rvaughn]

Well cleaned up the man cave with a new tool box which greatly improved my work space! During the process I pulled the car out of the garage and she spun the P/S belt. I ignored the directions on the jays racing alt relocation and didn't bend the P/S bracket hoping I wouldn't have to, guess thats outta the question! Once I clean that little detail up she will be road worthy again! Anyway, here is the current state of affairs:

Next we will be tackling the lighting and the lack of plug ins in my work space. I have a new tabletop CNC on the way and I need to get ready for it. Also have this to install:

 

[rvaughn]

Some of the latest fun shown in the enclosed pictures. Got the diffuser on and painted and I have started designing parts for the table top CNC I ordered which is due for arrival the end of this month if the schedule holds! Enjoy!

 

[We're on Boost]

Is your CNC machine going to be a milling machine?
When you had ER build your engine, back a couple years ago, how long did it take them to build your engine?

 

[rvaughn]

Check out the shapeoko 3 for details on the CNC, its precision is supposed to be .001 so I should be able to do some pretty clean finishing. Sorry, its kinda a new area for me so i dont speak the lingo well Boost. As for the engine from English, it was probably 7 months, but a fair portion of that was because of me ordering parts from an outside vendor which was a mistake.

 

[We're on Boost]

Check out the shapeoko 3 for details on the CNC, its precision is supposed to be .001 so I should be able to do some pretty clean finishing. Sorry, its kinda a new area for me so i dont speak the lingo well Boost. As for the engine from English, it was probably 7 months, but a fair portion of that was because of me ordering parts from an outside vendor which was a mistake.

The shapeoko looks pretty cool. I would say it's like a CNC router, but with control of the plunge depth, and the tool they are using in the demo video looks like an end mill, like you would use in a milling machine. If you are going to cut aluminum sheet with it, you will probably have to experiment with various cutters, speeds and feeds, to do it without chatter. And figure out whether to do "climb" cutting or "conventional" cutting (direction). Hopefully the guys who make the machine will know exactly how to do it, given the material and thickness you are interested in.
My engine build with them started 3 months ago and I have no idea how much longer it might take. Most of that is from ER ordering parts from an outside vendor. It was the R&R rods which had to be made. There could be waits for other stuff too, as we go along. Meanwhile my car is here with me and running better than ever as I gradually get various issues sorted out.
When they built your engine, did they take the engine out of your car to use for the build, or did they get an engine from somewhere else to start from so you could keep your car?

 

[rvaughn]

That's good that your car is getting sorted! I'm sorry the wait is rough! As for the engine, I brought them a used 6 bolt block to build. I would highly suggest you do not take them your car until the engine is 100 percent ready to go in. They have had my car there twice and let it bake in the sun for far too long IMO. Good guys but Dsms aren't well protected while waiting since they have higher cost vehicles as the majority.

 

[rvaughn]

Well time to actually make her fun again. Doing away with the FF setup and going for hobbyist autocross setup. Some pics for an idea of whats coming.

 

[Airsign89]

Hey @rvaughn, I see you're also from the 50tree(haha). I've followed this build for years - with great enthusiasm, you have built a monster!
If there is ever a time you need help wrenching, I'm down! I'm currently looking for a shell to build, but it's tough because I live in the "numbers"(se 122nd and powell) at an apartment complex...
Anyway, hit me up if you need any help, or you wanna take me out for drive, haha!
Matty

 

[rvaughn]

Thanks Matty, I work a normal 8 to 5 and wrenching is a spare hobby, I appreciate the kind words. She hasn't ran much over the last few years but I'm hoping to change that with this latest update. She won't be setup for DDing or street use but you are welcome to come look sometime. Just hit me up in a PM, I live in the Milwaukie area.

Rafe

 

[Airsign89]

Hey Rafe, I actually used to live out that way(before rent hikes, ugh). I'm glad you're getting it back up and running. I work from home, and mostly make my own hours, so usually have A LOT of random free time. I'll definitely hit you up to check it out sometime. Any events you're looking to attend this year?

Matty