Road Race Talon Tsi AWD Build

[Black_Cat_DSM]

This is the Build Thread for 1996 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD. Reply below.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Hello Everyone,

I just purchased this chassis about two months ago with the sole purpose of turning it into a time trial/SCCA/GridLife Touring Cup race car.
I have taken some inspiration from AMB, John Freund Racing, and Jess E. with their builds, and hopefully I can join that group of people seriously competing on road courses with their DSM.

This car is a 1996 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD.
It has a complete 6 bolt swap, and from the previous owner (not verified 100% everything just yet) this is my starting point:
- Short block: 6-bolt block, upgraded piston rods, stock 1g pistons, stock basically everything else
- Head: Evo8 beehive springs, stock cams, ARP head studs
- Intake: Ebay FMIC with some custom welded piping, HKS BOV, GM 3.5in MAF
- Exhaust/Turbo: FP Black, cast manifold, eBay ext. wastegate, 3in Apexi-style exhaust, hood dump
- Drivetrain: upgraded 300m input shaft, DSS 900hp rear axles, upgraded LSD (unknown)
- Electronics/Management: DSMLink V3, AFR, Boost, EGT, H20, Oil temp gauges
- Suspension: Tokico adjustable dampers, Eibach lowering springs, stock stab bars, Volk Racing adjustable rear toe links, various poly bushings on FR/RR
- Cooling/Misc.: Mishimoto radiator, fans, shroud - wired to interior switch, 2Gb Eclipse front bumper/headlights, OZ Superleggera 17x8.5in wheels

I am dividing my tasks in the following three categories, with the intention of fulling shaking down the car after each stage in order to solve any potential issues that may come up. All testing/driving will be at local autocrosses or track days - this car will be street driven basically only in neighborhoods or short runs.

Stage 1: Engine Rebuild

- The engine currently leaks a considerable amount of oil from the exhaust valve seals on Cylinders 2 and 4. The car also would start to misfire after hitting boost higher in the RPM range, that I suspect was in part due to the oil leaking. There are likely other causes I will uncover once I can get a good baseline.
- Compression on the engine was reasonable except Cylinder 4 (75-150-150-150) so I will first remove the head to see if there's something obvious like a bent valve or cracked valve guide. I will plan to replace the piston rings and verify all dimensions on the block anyway, but that may help to uncover any other problematic areas.
- Plan is to rebuild the head and block of winter 2022, and replace all other regular maintenance items on the timing side.

- I have purchased an RTM Racing intercooler, so will replace the original eBay unit. Much beeifer at 3.5" and should provide a better cooling factor than the eBay 2.5in cooler
- I also purchased a MHI Small 16g, as I considered that to be properly sized for my goals. Per GLTC rules, I need to maintain a very strict power/weight ratio. I may also get a stock 14b as back-up in case I lighten the chassis enough to warrant the change.

Stage 2: Chassis tuning

- The dampers are all in good condition, although I will start to play with various spring rates. I need to calculate the motion ratios so I can target the correct wheel rate considering the tires/wheel size I have currently, and to leave some head room for future improvements
- I plan on upgrading the AWD calipers to Evo 8/9 front/rear calipers. I'm not a fan of upgrading just the front, so will do the rears to maintain proper braking balance
- Install brake bias valve - for the aforementioned balance control
- Remove ABS and install non-ABS prop valve

Stage 3: Race Preparation

- Roll cage - I intend on designing this myself and then outsourcing the installation. I will 3D scan the interior of the car and then design the cage to be as close as reasonable, and also optimize the shape and location of the attachment points/gussets to give the best balance of weight and stiffness
- Fire system - requirement for racing
- Oil accumulator - knowing the oiling system and configuration of these engines, this will be a bare minimum for sustained competition sessions.
- Racing seat - requirement
- Harnesses - requirement
- Electronics - kill switch, Raspberry Pi dash (JF Racing), rain light, other things I am sure I am not thinking of right now

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 10/17

To date, I have begun removal and disassembly of the car to uncover it's issues and current state.

Intercooler, radiator, front bumper, and old turbo setup have been removed.
I found the GM MAF is no good, as there is a huge hole in the element, so that will need to be replaced in the future.

Removing the valve cover showed the head was actually in very good condition - someone had at least rebuild it relatively recently and used decent quality old.
I cannot identify any issue with the valve train outside of normal wear, so will condition to dig deeper to uncover other issues.
The fuel rail and injectors (FIC 1050), valve cover, and wire harness have been removed and bagged for storage.

Also, found that 3/4 engine mounts have been changed to poly inserts (forgot to mention in intro post).

Interior wise, I removed all the carpet and front and rear seats, center console, and started removing the center dash - radio, gauges, etc.
Unfortunately it looks like someone may have parked this outside a few times with the windows down, as each footwell had some surface rust. It will clean up perfectly fine, but a little disappointed to find this.
--> This is the only rust on the whole car, which is honestly why I bought it in the first place. There's more paint damage on this car than rust, and I will take that any day here in Michigan

More disassembly to come, and plan to have the engine out and disassembled by Christmas.

 

[92Turbski]

Cool car and looks like it's going to be an awesome build, too. Share some pics when you get a chance!

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 3/20/2023

It's been a while and winter in Michigan really isn't motivating to work on things outside, but I have made a little progress recently.

After getting further into the engine, I uncovered some of the unfortunate history and it's not great.
The engine had been running rather poorly when I purchased it - it would start and idle for about five minutes, and then after some gentle driving would develop a severe misfire. It was most prominent on cylinder 2 and 3, but cylinder 4 also presented a bit when I did a simple test by pulling spark on each cylinder with DSMLink.

Issues uncovered:
1) The power steering rack is leaking pretty badly - I will replace that outright with a reman unit for simplicity. It may be changed out for a manual rack at some point in the future but I'd like to keep power steering for racing for now
2) Bottom end showed detonation on 3/4 cylinders, with the pistons having various degrees of dimpling
3) Cylinder head also showed the same dimpling
4) Small oil leaks from the OFH and front case, although it's difficult to tell where all is coming from because of the power steering
5) Clutch plate was literally falling apart when I took that out, so will be replaced

Good Signs:
1) The block is actually virgin and showed ZERO damage on any of the piston walls. I was surprised to find this considering the issues with the pistons, but I lucked out there.
1-a) The cylinder wall dimensions are oblonged in the thrust direction, but I expect that for a virgin 6-bolt. This will be corrected with an engine build
2) Transmission, transfer case all appeared to be a good condition, small shifting/rotating and the fluids were relatively clean. It seems as if the fluid itself had less than 10k miles but I cannot be too sure
3) The suspension components needed a good clean, but overall are quite healthy. Ball joints will be replaced but all other bushings have been replaced with poly already

Game Plan: Engine Rebuild

I was initially planning on doing this myself, but due to time I have elected to have a very good friend and engine builder do this for me. He is in Wisconsin and not as familiar with this platform, but I know his expertise and meticulous nature. The build will only be an OEM+ style, so his skills should be perfectly adequate.
Here are the parts that will be new vs. reused
-New 85.5mm cast pistons
-New ACL Race Bearings +0.001mm oversize for additional oil clearance
-Reused OEM oil pump
-Reused connecting rods, crank
-Reused ARP Main Studs, Rod Bolts, and Head Studs
-New (replaced) cylinder head
--> I bought this second hand, and already had black nitrided and +1mm oversized IN/EX valves, dual valve springs, and a light port job (way overkill for my purposes but you get lucky sometimes when buying on the internet)
-New Felpro composite head gasket
-New timing belt kit, OEM tensioner, water pump, etc.

Will post pictures of the engine build once I get it back in a few weeks.

Pictures:
Engine as it was in the bay. There's a lot that needs to be cleaned up.

The view as I opened up the engine.
Cylinder 3 had the worst of the damage.

The head had the same detonation markings as each cylinder also.

Finally, a few pictures of the new cylinder head.
I had it cleaned after purchasing it, and then reassembled it myself.
Both IN and EXH have been cleaned up to remove the casting flash, which was a nice surprise.
All valves are +1mm oversized and in excellent shape, so I reused everything I could. New valve stem seals and lifters, and this head is ready to go back on

 

[blcktalipse]

Yeah winter really kills the motivation. Seems like every fall I have big plans for the winter off season and then about spring (after not doing any of it) I think I wish I had time to do x, y, & z. Where in MI are you located? West MI here...Muskegon area specifically.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Yeah winter really kills the motivation. Seems like every fall I have big plans for the winter off season and then about spring (after not doing any of it) I think I wish I had time to do x, y, & z. Where in MI are you located? West MI here...Muskegon area specifically.

I am on the East side in Royal Oak. Not too many of us DSM guys left but we are hanging around

 

[blcktalipse]

Were you a member on xceedspeed?

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Were you a member on xceedspeed?

I was not

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Quick update today.
I managed to grab a wing from 9 Lives Racing in their most recent auction.
It’s a 70in wide wing with 30in upright spacing, originally for an E36 BMW but will fit perfectly on the Talon.

I’ve already drawn up some uprights and will have these later cut out of 5mm aluminum plate. Need to also design the mounts to the trunk but that should be simple also.

Engine is getting rebuilt now so will update once it’s back in my hands.

 

[EC17PSE]

5mm will flex unless you add side supporting. If you dont want that then thicken or double up the thickness and then you wont need side support. It might not move much when when you are at speeds the force will flex it.

Perhaps just adding a brace along 1 vertical part will aid a good amount of support for you to keep it smaller and more structure.

The wing looks huge and awesome! I forget but does 70" come past the wing mirrors? Been a while since i had my wing made and sized up

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Yes the 70in width is a bit wider than the car body itself. I believe the 2g width is 68.7in, not including the mirrors.
I'll be running in GridLife Touring Cup, and they don't have a width requirement. I have to make sure the surface area of the wing is below 701sq in, which this is: 70in width x 9.5in chord.

Thanks for the heads up, I can increase the thickness of the mounts to 6.3mm (0.25in). If that isn't enough, I will add some tension rods for more support.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 4/18

I've been tearing into the front and rear suspensions to see what needs to be replaced.
Front suspension has been completely removed from the car, and will be replacing the following:
-LH side compression (curved) arm
-Both straight control arms
-Both upper control arm balljoints with adjustable type
-Both hub bearings, with extended studs

Rear suspension looks to be in good condition relatively speaking, so I don't believe I will be needing to replace anything just yet.

I also went ahead and began purchasing my safety equipment. Pretty excited to get this stuff installed over the next few weeks!
-OMP HTE-R head containment seat
-OMP Targa steering wheel
-OMP First 6-point harness

Finally, I began getting some images back from my engine builder. There were a couple of videos that showed things in greater depth, but I'm not attaching due to size.
Basically, I am glad we are rebuilding at the time we are.
The lower end bearings showed a good amount of wear - not to the point of causing major issues, but certainly good to be replacing.
Crankshaft will get polished very lightly just to clean it up.
All lower end bearings will get replaced with ACL Race bearings with +0.001 additional clearance so I can manage the oil pressure in the engine.
Speaking of, we are cleaning up the oil passages a bit to get rid of the factory casting flash to smooth flow. Seemed like a good option to help with reliability.

 

[gsxitement]

Quick update today.
I managed to grab a wing from 9 Lives Racing in their most recent auction.
It’s a 70in wide wing with 30in upright spacing, originally for an E36 BMW but will fit perfectly on the Talon.

I’ve already drawn up some uprights and will have these later cut out of 5mm aluminum plate. Need to also design the mounts to the trunk but that should be simple also.

Engine is getting rebuilt now so will update once it’s back in my hands.View attachment 691895

View attachment 691896

Just so you know, Nine Lives makes brackets for the 2G. I sent them a trunk lid in 2020, so they have the file to cut the mounts.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Just so you know, Nine Lives makes brackets for the 2G. I sent them a trunk lid in 2020, so they have the file to cut the mounts. View attachment 693335

Right, we had talked about that a bit. I conversed doing that, but I got my wing from them in their most recent auction. When it came in, the mounts on the wing were drilled differently than their standard, so I designed my own.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Small update 4/23:

Installed the OMP HTR-R seat on their mounting brackets. Took some finessing with the mounting holes to get things lined up, but I am happy with it for now.

Also got the new steering wheel bolted on and the first shoulder harnesses bolted in. The Mount positions for those isn’t permanent, but will be fine for now until I get the roll cage installed next winter.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 5/28

Progress has been slow over the last month with work and traveling, but this weekend I was able to make some more progress.

Old and very leaky steering rack has been rebuilt with a reman unit. I thought about going with a manual conversion, but I may leave that decision until I test out the current configuration.

CTS-V brakes have been dry fit to the car. I made my own spacers that sit behind the rotor with some water jet parts. It took a small amount of massaging to chamfer the inside diameter near the hub bore, but that was no issue.
I installed extended lug studs as well which will be absolutely necessary once the wheels are on.
I do not have pads yet, so this is just mock-up at the moment.

I also completely finished removing the interior trim that I intended to remove. No images of that, but it is quite satisfying to have the blank canvas I need to move forward.

Finally, ai designed my out uprights for the wing and had those test fit. Unfortunately one of my key measurements were off slightly, so I’ll need to make a Version 2. Which is fine, because there are a couple other tweaks I will make given the opportunity.
Fortunately the height came out right how I wanted, so this thing should look badass once its permanently mounted.

 

[EC17PSE]

You only put that caliper on for pics right and will be swapping it after!

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

6/30 Update

Started receiving pictures of the engine coming along!
Cant wait to get this back in the car, targeting to install it within July.

Bottom end is just a stock rebuild, with ACL Race Bearings and ARP studs all around. Went with a Fel-Pro head gasket as well. Very excited to actually hear this thing run.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 7/5

Wing is just about final installed. I need to get two longer fasteners for the last trunk mount, but after that it will be good to go.
I am honestly a bit worried about the trunk metal flexing at high load. If that does happen I’ll add some reinforcement plates.

The lateral flex of the mounts is quite minimal which I am happy with. @EC17PSE mentioned to use 0.25in material and it was certainly the right choice!

 

[EC17PSE]

Update 7/5

Wing is just about final installed. I need to get two longer fasteners for the last trunk mount, but after that it will be good to go.
I am honestly a bit worried about the trunk metal flexing at high load. If that does happen I’ll add some reinforcement plates.

The lateral flex of the mounts is quite minimal which I am happy with. @EC17PSE mentioned to use 0.25in material and it was certainly the right choice!

View attachment 701003

View attachment 701004

View attachment 701005

keep an eye on it when cornering. see what it does as the tailgate might be the flex point.

 

[Jacob5se]

keep an eye on it when cornering. see what it does as the tailgate might be the flex point.

I was about to say that I'm wondering if installing such a big wing to tailgate won't make the the surface of it a flex point since it's not super stiff from factory.
Nonetheless it's cool to see more and more road race builds like this.

 

[gsxitement]

That’s what I really liked about the nine lives mount. They added bracing to the rear facing side (the side where the “Mitsubishi” and “GSX” decals go). Definitely add some bracing underneath. I added some aluminum angle to back up the mounts.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 7/20

I got the engine back from my builder last weekend and immediately started getting it prepped for install.

It’s nice to see this engine getting our back together; makes it feel like all the waiting was worth it.

It is mostly dressed now.
I have the accessory belts to install and then a final fitting for the turbo coolant hoses. Once that is completed, it’s just clutch and transmission.
My goal is to get everything assembled and bolted into the chassis this weekend. If possible, I’ll get it ready to start for the first time, but we will see how the first step goes.

 

[Black_Cat_DSM]

Update 7/25

A couple days late, but over the weekend I managed to get the engine and transmission back into the car (with the help of some friends).
Here's a basic run down of what was done to the engine and some of the mating parts:

Engine:
- Disassembled and inspected for abnormal wear
- Piston #4 was found to have a crack in the ring land, resulting in the low compression I found previously
- Engine bearings and hardware otherwise were found to be in good shape
- Engine was hot tanked and exterior blasted to remove the old paint. Internals were also cleaned
- Crankshaft received a very minor polish - not enough to remove the nitriding, but just to clean the surface and remove any burrs/edges from the old bearing wear
- Engine bored +0.030" over due to thrust wear on all cylinders
- All bearings used are ACL Race series with +0.001" clearance
- Pistons are new hypereutectic cast pistons, same compression ratio as original
- Head was rebuilt by me after being cleaned and inspected
- Cams are original
- Lifters are original
- All valves are +1mm oversized (from previous owner)
- All ports have been enlarged and lightly polished
- Springs/retainers are aftermarket, brand unknown - beehive/titanium combo
- Head gasket is FelPro

Turbo:
- Cast factory manifold
- Small 16G turbo
- Stainless oil/water hoses throughout

All other engine accessories:
- Reused intake manifold, coil pack, alternator, PS pump, plug wires, etc.
- New NGK BPR7ES plugs

Clutch/Trans:
- New ACT 6-Plug sprung clutch
- Reused factory flywheel and ACT 2600 pressure plate
- Inspected externally for damage and play; all appeared to be in good order (no leaks, no excessive play, solid gear engagement)

Cooling/Intake/Heat Management:
- VRSF-style front mount intercooler
- GM 3in MAF sensor and wiring
- RTM Racing oil cooler kit - installed directly behind intercooler
- Mishimoto radiator and ducted dual fans

Oil Cooler Install:

Intercooler:

The install was relatively straightforward, although it did take some persuasion to get all of the engine/trans mounts to cooperate. Once the assembly was bolted into the chassis, I went to work with connecting the harness and relevant hoses to their respective locations.
I got to the point that I felt I could prime the engine to check for fluid leaks. It was at that time when I ran into an issue with the car's alarm system.
--> I am getting flashing lights whenever the key is inserted and turned to the ON position. I discovered an aftermarket alarm tucked deep underneath the dash. Without a way to disable that, I don't believe I can turn over the engine.

Commence my least favorite activity of rewiring the harness underneath the dash so that I can actually start the car...

Next things on the list:
1) Remove the mess of an alarm system
2) Install T-case
3) Install driver's side axle (passenger side complete)
4) Install front brake setup - calipers, spacers, hubcentric rings, and pads on both sides
5) Install rear rotors/pads
6) Tighten all suspension joints front/rear