Review of spray here.

Got comped some thermo-tec hi-heat thermal wrap spray and 1" lava wrap :banana:.

So, to give an honest review, I undid half the GS XP wrap and re-did it with the TT wrap. Then painted the DEI, TT wraps and UP with PTP lava wrap. :derp:







XP:

 

Pipe work continues…just need to tape up the wrapped/sprayed crucial collectors and we're set to launch.

Got a GS master cylinder brace BNIB pretty cheap so put that on today while I had the fuel filter out for replacement. Haven't been able yet to put it to the test, but feel certainly is better; needs a bleed of the system, regardless.

One quibble was with the brace install: the brace went on the shock tower OK, but my MC body was way far out and I couldn't get the lock nut and red "foot" between the brace and MC. Had to grind the red "foot" piece down a few mm and slip it in. It barely fit. Noticed some vibration in the pedals, too. Meh, will live with it. Gonna ping GS on the fitment, tho. Have a happy 4th, people.

 

Pics below now...


Flange ends painted with permatex copper gasket spray. Nothing but life, work, wife and kid preventing install now lol!

 

 

I'm in the process of porting my headers (way longer project than I thought lol). I'd love to see an update once everything is installed, how long things are holding up and what-not. Still researching about heat protection

 

Hah! I'd love to see an update, too! Criminal how long it takes me to do ish on this car.

For heat protection, a good read is here, porting stuff here , and here.

I have a set of 02 OEM cast iron collectors that have the stock heat shield tabs cut off and some light porting on one port, if you'd like to go that route; could sell cheap, LMK.

 

pm'd. And thanks for those links! I try to make time for my car, but it NEVER feels like enough haha. gl getting it all finished!

 

Awwww yiiiisssss...

ebay pitchstop is on when the ported/polished TB, Mishi Y-pipe, ported TMIC elbows, and PCV valve replaced. Shifts like a honda now with the PS...so crisp and sure, slop is gone (I'm sure that the tranny mount and other upgrades help a lot, too). Bit of NVH, but not bad and the wife even liked the gear whine (WTF?!?). Starter sounds like it's behind the radio, now, lol. Throttle on when at a roll is very nice, power delivery is direct with the better driveline and throttle/air flow. Very pleased to find almost NO oil in the TMIC, not even a drop fell out.

I had to re-use the worm drive clamps on the Mishi TB hose - the ones included in the kit would not fit when on the TMIC/TB....grrrr. Guess I can sell the ones I didn't use - FAIL. Did not do the BPV hose - not worth the struggle at the turbo inlet end. Will do it when I do the inlet.

Also did a partial ground Mod while waiting for it to cool off; between this and the IACV cleaning, it idles so smoothly that its almost hard to tell its on. Amazeballs.

Finally, I replaced the dried out turbo boost vac lines from the turbo, to WG and boost solenoid; fixed a janky repair I made loong ago. More fun there as the line connected to the boost solenoid (dark black hose) was soooo dried out that when pushing the new connector in, it cracked the black hose. Cut it back and...cracked again! Had to cut about 2" of this dark hose to get to a point where it was still flexible enough to take it like a good girl should :devil:. I'll re-do this entire line from BCS to the Tee when I do the UP work next.

eBay pitch stop mount - prothane inserts and custom machined bracket. Fits perfectly.



Thermal wrapped y-pipe and TMIC elbows...b/c racecar :banana:


The Mishimoto (yeah, I know...) y-pipe fit was just so-so, but it went on enough to get the t-band clamp on the turbo outlet with no leaks. The IACV on the used-TB I had was pretty damn clean, I thought, but it threw the P1507 code and idled to like 2500 RPM, then went into limp mode. Had to clean my old, known-good IACV and swap - ran perfectly. Whew.

More fun was to be had when removing the PCV valve's hose - poor ol' beeotch was cooked hard and cracked at the PCV end. Decided not to half-*** it and off to the store I went. Only to find that ~3/4" ID PCV hose is damned hard to locate on the shelf. Got lucky at AZ when an employee with a brain (****, I know, right?) found a pre-formed Dorman PCV hose for a Ford that was a perfect fit right out of the box! Best $13 I ever spent.

Pro-tip: Dorman P/N 46025 is a perfect fit for the block to PCV valve on EJ20x motors and replaces OEM P/N 99071AB550 without trimming.

 

They really should come from the factory with the aluminum pitch stop, even with rubber bushings.

And I was gonna PnP and thermal coat my elbows haha.

 

Certainly port/knife-edge the elbows' entry...thermal coat seems like a bit much (says the guy who insulated and foil wrapped his Y-pipe: ). I went with foil on the elbows, figuring that most of the heat transfer was infrared (radiated), not convective where thermal coat makes more sense IMHO.

I don't think that the PS being metal or not makes a huge difference over plastic - it's all pretty rigid along the lengthwise dimension. It's the bushings that make the improvements. If I get tired of this PS, I have an OEM unit with the big end all window-weld'ed up to take out the slop. Makes it similar to the Whiteline hard rubber inserts for the OEM PS.

 

It's a while-they're-in-there kinda thing. Big cost of getting coating is the setup and cure/cook time, so it's negligible to spray some extra tiny parts. I'd like to coat the AWIC I wana run as well, get a fully covered intake path, but that's a ways down the road lol.

 

Feeling kinda dumb…

So, I got the BTSSM android app (highly recommended) and an OBDLink LX BT adapter to pair to my tablet. Not the speediest of wireless links, but I think it is good enough. So, since I didn't have a boost gauge (yeah, yeah I know), at least I can see Manifold pressure that the ECU is using for fueling, etc. First, I see peak boost of ~16 psi - ****, I think, must be a bad BCS, according to some forums.

Then I add in the boost target to the logging and gauge - max. target is 15.8 psi!! She's not a virgin! Looks to be an older (I've had it since late 2011) Cobb stage 1 map, probably 93 octane since it came from the east coast. It's still stock, mechanically. Does not appear to have been put back to stock; hardware looks OEM and untouched. According to old map notes, you can still have the stock DP on these maps. This may explain why my mileage was always crummy (at best 24 on summer gas, 90% hiway; further going to hell on E10 in winter:20-21). Hopefully the impending STI UP and ported ext bits and 3" CBE (HUSH!) will bring things more into line with the map parameters.

At least it's not knocking (usually just once at onset of WOT) and timing and fuel in the LV look normal.

 

Well, apparently, it is knocking, far more than healthy upon review of the logs by others better versed than I. Currently running a tank of Sunol Super Stop (Sunoco? VP fuels?) 94 oct supah-juice. Reset ECU and MUCH less knock and LV timing is all zeros. Might still be battling a vac/boost leak, as FT1 is +10% and FT4 is -3%, or its a cr@p tune .

So, it's most likely a 93 oct tune (car came from FL)...good thing I've been running CA 91 for 4+ yrs! So, time to reflash to stock so I can stop using octane booster or blowing a $6 gallon of 94 just getting to and from Sunol from work every 7 days. Several nice folks have responded to my request for help. Can only cross-fingers that the ECU's tune is not locked (Cobb and ecutek did this starting in '08 and '06, apparently; pray it was OS). Also looking for used, stock ECUs, just in case...pray for viktimz. Will prolly go Cobb AP with OTS stg 1 tune at first, then dyno tuned when she's better mechanically.

Before I found the improvement with 94 oct fuel, a 3rd gear WOT pull (below) showed a nice estimated 214 HP (and low-ish TQ, and laaaate RPM pk.), but something seems off - not reaching even stock boost level till 3800 RPM, and 15.8 psi is ~4200 RPM. With the ported bits and catless UP, I should be at full boost in the low 3k's. Perhaps a 3-port EBCS, or at least a new OEM 2-port, mine may be dying. Or the turbo is just done...

from BTSSM android app (so much win...)



91 oct, 3rd WOT pull:

 

Now it's exhibiting signs of either an exh leak or the belt tensioner is going. Lord, it never ends. Wife's gonna love this one...

 

Cusco lower H-brace installed. Def improved steering feel and straight line driving; maybe even feels better under braking.