98 GSX Time Trial build

[TSiAWD666]

You would have to change the cross member to one that attaches perpendicular to the radiator support rather than under it, but that's not that hard if you already have a tubular crossmember. If not make one of those too, you can save more weight.

Do it right once!

 

[gsxitement]

You would have to change the cross member to one that attaches perpendicular to the radiator support rather than under it, but that's not that hard if you already have a tubular crossmember. If not make one of those too, you can save more weight.

Do it right once!

Oh snap! Yeah definitely not on the list for this off-season. It'll get done, but with the house, baby and Lord knows what else, I have to manage my time in a manner that I won't get hung out to dry next season.

 

[gsxitement]

Just about done with the rad support. A couple little odds and ends and I'll clean it up and paint it. But got a ton more room and very easy to remove it. Just gotta make a passenger side tie down. Also add a little more bracing and some type of anti-wear setup on the bottom brace to keep the wear down on the rad.

 

[gsxitement]

Did a little bit more work yesterday. Started working on ducting and the bumper mount.

 

[gsxitement]

Been crazy busy lately what with the holidays and all, but I have been able to spend some time here and there working on the car. Here's some pics of the progress on the rad ducting I'm doing. Next off-season, I plan on pushing the intercooler back a few inches and making a more aerodynamic inlet for everything. While it looks cool AF to have a big intercooler hanging out the front of the car, it really hurts aero and front drag/efficiency. But I have so much to do, it'll have to wait. Still have to finish this up, mount the other coolers, finish the wiring inside the car, change the springs over to the Swift's, and set the bump steer up and a couple other odds and ends like getting the walbro 450 in. My wife is going to Miami with the baby for a week in February so that'll give me a real good chance to get a ton of work done on the car. Hopefully I can get in there tonight and do a little more work.

A couple other bits of good news. Global Time Attack is going to recognize my EMRA TT license and experience and give me the SCCA TT license so I can compete in GTA Road Atlanta and NJMP. Also, EMRA has decided that Snell 2010 helmets are still valid to use this year, which saves me the expense on the budget for getting a new helmet. Now when the 2020's come out in October, I can get a current helmet that will last me a good long time. Also, got the budget from my sponsor Early Bird Capital and while it's not as much as I had hoped for, it's still gonna help me go racing and keep my butt in the seat. Ok ok....pics.

 

[gsxitement]

Got out to the garage for a little bit this evening. Just made up a little cross brace for the ducting to make sure it's not just flopping around. But just about done. It's a real shame how much of the radiator is taken up by the headlights. Someday, I'll make or get headlight covers and do something.

 

[gsxitement]

Got some stuff done on the car on Monday. Just about finished up with everything upfront as far as ducting and the radiator setup. Also, had the turbine and exhaust manifold flanges milled. Machinist said that there were low spots the correlated with where we were having the blowouts. So hopefully we'll have this figured out finally. Welded the studs into the manifold, and got a little more work done on the wiring. Slowly but surely making progress.

 

[silvreclips]

What are the specs on those wheels? Do you have any issues fitting the 255 tires on there?

 

[gsxitement]

What are the specs on those wheels? Do you have any issues fitting the 255 tires on there?

The wheels are 17×8.5 +30 I think? They're essentially what tire rack had for an '06 Evo. The offset might be wrong though. I'll double check. Nope. No problem fitting them at all. I had been getting a little bit of rub in the back here and there depending on the track, but nothing serious. I've only had the federals on for two events, and I'm pretty impressed with them. GTA is going to a spec Yokohama tire this year, so I'll have to buy a set, but whatever. Gotta try GTA.

 

[gsxitement]

Got the turbo back together over weekend. Much more satisfied with how tight the stage 8's are up against the turbine housing. Confident they're not gonna move at all. The CHRA is safety wired. Got everything mocked up for now. Waiting on the new manifold studs and nuts to show up today. Once I get those, I can put everything back together up front and start working on the wiring. Set a goal to fire the car up on the 12th. My wife and son are gone that whole week, and I'm off on the 12th, so I'm confident I can get everything done that I need to by then. Crossing my fingers . Gotta order oil, and still have to order a couple bits and pieces for the new fuel pump setup. But completing tasks everyday will get things done.

 

[gsxitement]

Got the manifold, turbo, O2 housing, downpipe, wastegate, recirc tube, and exhaust under the car back in this afternoon. Also pre-registered for the GTA Road Atlanta event. Starting to get pretty crazy.

 

[BLACK'98DSM]

Also pre-registered for the GTA Road Atlanta event. Starting to get pretty crazy.

You should compete in the night drifting section . Seriously though, good luck out there. I hope that both you and the car can hold up.

 

[gsxitement]

You should compete in the night drifting section . Seriously though, good luck out there. I hope that both you and the car can hold up.

Lol!! Thank you. We're not gonna be wildly competitive at road Atlanta...but hopefully at NJMP come August we'll be better since I know that place.

 

[gsxitement]

Although it will probably have to come out again. The dash is in with the new switch panel installed. Time to start wiring.

 

[gsxitement]

Big day yesterday. Fully registered for GTA at Road Atlanta. There's practice on Thursday which I won't be able to make cause we're traveling from NY all day Thursday. Literally, leaving Thursday morning at midnight. Hopefully we can get a track walk in when we get there. Also, my wife and son are away all this week, and I'm off on Wednesday, so looking to get a ton of work done on the car. The plan is to get the car fired up on Wednesday. Really excited about the 2020 season. I really appreciate everyone that has been following along on this build thread for the last few years. Really means a lot to me to have so much support from the community. Here's to hoping we can keep the DSMs in the conversation when it comes to road racing. There's not a whole lot of guys out there doing the road racing thing, but the guys out there doing it are doing it right and are a real inspiration to me.

n

o

 

[turbosax2]

Here's to hoping we can keep the DSMs in the conversation when it comes to road racing. There's not a whole lot of guys out there doing the road racing thing, but the guys out there doing it are doing it right and are a real inspiration to me. View attachment 590614 View attachment 590615 nView attachment 590616 o

Ain't that the truth. Literally every track day I attend, at least one person comes up to chat and comments how they never see DSM's anymore but either they or a friend/family member had one back in the day and loved it.

 

[gsxitement]

So I got the 450 swap done last night. Pretty straight forward. It's pretty incredible how much work you can get done and how nice it is to not rush when the wife and kid are away . I actually miss them a ton to be honest, but I digress. I didn't really take any pics of the change over since the swap has been well documented. But what I DID do was make my own bracket to hold the pump. More on that in a second. If you guys have been following along for a little while, you may remember we were having fuel issues at NJMP in August. At first it was losing fuel on right hand corners and then it was doing it with no rhyme or reason. Would do it on one corner one lap, then the next lap on the same corner it was fine. Figured the pump was going bad. Well, I think I figured it out.

It appears the fuel sock is so bad that it won't even let fuel leave. I've been working on cars professionally for a little over 20 years, and I can confidently say I've never seen this before. I pulled the pump out of the tank, and instead of the fuel in the sock draining out, it just stayed in the sock. Even had a little air bubble in there. I had to squeeze the sock to get the fuel out. Pretty confident that was my fueling issue. Anyone ever see anything like this? Pretty crazy.

Anyway, I made a nice little bracket out of one of those brackets that come with coilovers if you want to mount your brake line to them or something. Given the abuse the car sees on track and G loading, I didn't like the idea of a screw clamp holding it in place. Also made up a nice -6 hose to go from the tank to the steel line under the car. All in all a good day. Just gotta work on the electrical to get the car running tomorrow. Hoping I can make that happen.

 

[Black95TSIawd]

Ain't that the truth. Literally every track day I attend, at least one person comes up to chat and comments how they never see DSM's anymore but either they or a friend/family member had one back in the day and loved it.

Its funny that you say this. When I first started to autocross, I couldn't begin to tell you the amount of attention my car received. Even those in neighboring regions would tell me about that "green talon" when I mentioned I had a DSM. Its amazing how many people love these cars, yet won't give them the time of day. I try to tell my friends how great these cars are, but it doesn't help when mine has been broken for 2 years.

Off topic, sorry. Nice work, Sir. Keep it up!

 

[gsxitement]

Its funny that you say this. When I first started to autocross, I couldn't begin to tell you the amount of attention my car received. Even those in neighboring regions would tell me about that "green talon" when I mentioned I had a DSM. Its amazing how many people love these cars, yet won't give them the time of day. I try to tell my friends how great these cars are, but it doesn't help when mine has been broken for 2 years.

Off topic, sorry. Nice work, Sir. Keep it up!

Lol! Totally on topic.

 

[gsxitement]

IT'S ALIVE!!!!!!!!!

 

[gsxitement]

So got the car running. Tune needs a little help. But we'll get it taken care of. Turbo was also leaking oil. We picked up another sponsor, so with their help, I ordered a Xona Rotor 5757S and a new Vband manifold from Archer. So I had to take all the turbo stuff out. Got some other things to figure out while I wait for that stuff to come in. Gotta mount the oil cooler and power steering cooler somewhere. Got a couple other things in the works that I'll share as it comes out.

 

[rival]

That's awesome that you got into GTA!!! what is the date for the event? I may have to try to come and watch. I am using this season to dial mine in with all the new aero and what not, as well as sort some fuel and handling issues out. looking to hit next season at full speed ...

 

[gsxitement]

That's awesome that you got into GTA!!! what is the date for the event? I may have to try to come and watch. I am using this season to dial mine in with all the new aero and what not, as well as sort some fuel and handling issues out. looking to hit next season at full speed ...

Hell yeah!! Come down! May 8th-9th. Working on some bits that should help with the cars handling. We'll see what happens. My first event is April 4th at Lime Rock, got a bit of work to do before then, so crossing my fingers I can get everything done that I need too. Hopefully gonna start working on a splitter design soon.

 

[gsxitement]

Also a little update on the wiring. Since everything works, just have to wire up the fan relay to make sure those come on. Still trying to figure out if I want the ECU to turn them on, or run them off a switch. I like the idea of having a switch, but part if me is like "you're gonna forget to turn them on" . So we'll see the direction I go in. Also have to mount the plate to the floor properly. And neaten up the harness. Lengthen some wiring, shorten some others. Want it to be as neat as possible.

 

[gsxitement]

Updates: wired up the fan relay. Fans work well. When they're on, I can put a piece of paper on the intercooler and it'll get stuck there. So ducting is working well also. Changed over to the softer rear Swift springs and went to the same 14K rate up front, but also from Swift. The perches were a little too big, so I brought them to work and cut them down on the little lathe we have here. Working on the splitter mounts now. Not crucial at this point since I only have a chincy little eBay wing in back. Working on getting some real aero back there. 3 weeks till the season opener at Lime Rock, so definitely have to keep plugging away. So we'll see what happens. Hopefully it all works out. Also, I got a driver coach and am getting some sim time before Road Atlanta. So that should help with learning the place. I'll post pics of the updates in a little bit.