Aaron's Festiva Build Thread

[leapin]

Leapin Racetech might have to oversee some of this development.

[sasquatch]

top secret :evil4:

[festyfreak39]

is this the kind of gathering where you mugen + spoon power = spogen power.

i need my own name for the heaps of garbage i build:

"bubba's fabrication emporium".

[Aaronbrook37]

pretty gangster, excited to see how everything works out,

hopefully its just the turbo seals that are leaking,

have you ever done a compression/leakdown on the engine?

Yes. That's why we're changing out for a 9.4:1 compression bottom end along with ported everything. The rings didn't seat properly on this build for some reason. Maxed out at 145-150 in the cylinders when factory spec is 157. It raised with oil in the cylinders across all four. The bump in compression is mainly for off-boost performance and fuel economy, but it's also to get a motor with proper rings.

[Aaronbrook37]

Leapin Racetech might have to oversee some of this development.

I'd like that. We have a very long list of things to do! And I'll have some spares to give away if you ever decide to build up a B6T!

[Aaronbrook37]

So I'm doing a little research and development on improving airflow through my radiator and intercooler, particularly at medium speeds (30-40mph/40-60kph). With no cooling plates or block-off units available, I picked up $5 worth of lawn edging as a beta test for cheap and quick engineering. If my testing proves successful, then I'll formulate something a bit more permanent and metal rather than cheap plastic. The idea is to shroud and block off the intercooler cores and the gaps for air to creep through the bumper and grill and pass by the difficult-to-pass-through intercooler and radiator. Let the testing begin.


Here you can see the 4" edging on the sides of the intercooler. It spans the entire length of the core, fused against the endtanks on both sides. I trimmed it to fit the grill screw and guide as you can see also. It runs to the bottom aperture of the bumper also. Down there is a small lip I cut to block the gap between the bottom of the intercooler and the bottom chunk of the bumper.


Here's the beta test cooling plate. Very easy to make, whether out of metal or plastic. Conveniently, I was able to use the radiator hold-down clamp on the right hand side to secure it properly. I've opted for white duct tape for a seal... but the effect of that is you can see how messy my grill is now as a result. It has been manhandled over and over and needs a good paint job when I find the time and warm weather to do it. This piece stops air from creeping up from below and passing over the radiator and intercooler through the thin gap created by the hood.


The completed project. Cost... $5. The power difference will likely be impossible to measure, but I'll keep an eye on my radiator temperature gauge and see what that churns out the next few days. If I can source some thin and cheap material to make a permanent cover (whether metal or plexiglass or something) then I'll make something a bit less crude. For now, it does the trick!

[festyfreak39]

what you need now, is to write "arc super induction plate blockoff"!

that stuff helps alot

[DriverOne]

Re: Aaron's Festiva Build Thread

AB, I suggest you do the open grille mod. There looks to me to be very little airflow going to the intercooler even though there's a shroud around it.

[Aaronbrook37]

what you need now, is to write "arc super induction plate blockoff"!

that stuff helps alot

Haha yeah we'll see what I end up doing once I make up one out of thin metal. There's a larger gap than I thought between the grill and the radiator subframe! A lot of air could be getting through there depending on the aerodynamics and pressure on the front end.

AB, I suggest you do the open grille mod. There looks to me to be very little airflow going to the intercooler even though there's a shroud around it.

I would but I'm trying to keep the appearance as OEM and low profile as possible. My muffler is painted black, my side moldings and bumpers are all OEM, and I'm abstaining from window tint as well. Tell the idiot (me) who did the hood vents that he's stupid for making things aggressive even though they work wonders in the summer heat at idle and stoplights. That (hood vents) is the only exterior indication other than the suspension lowering that something's fishy about my car. When it overheated on me and I popped the hood waiting for the tow truck, the cops had a look all over the car because they were interested in it. They didn't see anything unusual or suspicious despite the fact that I'm not running much for emissions components, have an XL turbo in there, and expensive intercooler piping everywhere.

As for what's up with the car, I'm waiting on about ten packages at the moment... all of which I need by February 9th for my visit to Sasquatch Racing and Development:

1) Kaowool for turbo heat shield insulation.
2) DEI Cool Tape for wrapping the intercooler and turbo heat shields.
3) A new aluminum manual boost controller.
4) Kia Rio strut mounts.
5) A spare turbo manifold and o2 housing for porting and polishing.
6) 26mm swaybar to chassis bushings.
7) VJ11 turbo gasket set
8) 80/320 grit sanding rolls for aforementioned porting and polishing.
9) Ball seat lug nuts for the Honda VX rims about to go on.
10) Oil pressure and fuel pressure sensors for my wideband gauge.

[Aaronbrook37]

Spare VJ11 O2 Housing arrived today from Shorestiva. Went to work cleaning it up, porting, and polishing. Lots of fun and made quick work of it from all the practice I've had on old parts. Should flow really nicely... removed a few bumps and sharp corners to increase the airflow a bit. No gasket matching was required... it fit perfectly, so I left it OEM size on the inlet and outlet. Sleeper modifications rock! Will shred the exhaust manifold spare I have to bits next... just need an exhaust manifold gasket to port-match first.

[jjk1224]

Aaron's Festiva Build Thread

Looks great! Makes me want to mess around with the spare head laying on the floor of my garage.

[Aaronbrook37]

Alright, so the manifold is done. Surprisingly there was no lip to cut off and no port opening needed on this manifold at all compared to the gasket. That works for me... less cutting required. Took my carbide burr to it with my electric die grinder, and finished it off with some 80/320 grit sanding rolls and a flap wheel. I'm no pro at this stuff of course, and I don't want to put the hours in to get a mirror-like finish. But it's hogged out and should be a considerable flow improvement on the far side of the motor. We'll be switching over to a ported exhaust manifold, ported O2 housing, and 2.5" downpipe all of which will be heat-wrapped and treated of course. Should be a fair bit of power, fun, and economy if all goes well.

[sasquatch]

nice job

[Aaronbrook37]

A taste of what's to come this weekend.



This is my JDM (yes, it's actually from Japan) Asus EEEPC 901. I'm going to be running some software called Winlog, with a USB connectivity to my LSU and power supply on the wideband datalogger. The gauges read: AFR, RPM, Boost/Vac, EGT, Fluid Temp, AIT, Fuel Pressure, and Oil Pressure. I have sensors and hookups for all of those except for fluid temp. On the right are readouts for the unit's temperature, the battery voltage, cornering G's, and acceleration G's. On the bottom is the datalogger, up to which I have hooked AFR/RPM/Boost/EGT/AIT for monitoring purposes.

Gonna leave this mini-pc chilling on my dashboard or in my lap in the passenger seat while Sasquatch helps me test things out. Should have it all hooked up and ready to rock and roll by Monday. The actual display unit itself with the 4-digit readout is going in the dash clock bezel for that sleeper approach!

[Damkid]

Aaron's Festiva Build Thread

Awesome!!