Moses Build thread

[ryanprins13]

Well, I did a bunch of work on the car and should update my build thread since thats what its for. I wanted to start taking the kids around in it so i needed a quieter exhaust. Also wanted to change the transmission at the same time and it all snowballed into more work. Way more work. I did it at where I work which is an hour drive each way from home and tried to do it on a long weekend. Ended up taking almost a week and over 50 hours since i only had 2 days of the long weekend free... :/

- spent a long time washing the engine bay and under the car. I bought terrible degreaser. Never buy 'gunk' degreaser.
-remove exhaust, broke bolts on catalytic converter, had to find a new used one and spent 1/2 an hour blowing tons of smoke/dust out of it. Installed a different 'downpipe', different cat, old 2 inch pipe i found and welded my stock muffler back on to that. Very quiet now, old exhaust was rotted out and i had no resonator or muffler anymore but I liked the sound.
- installed lap seat belts from an astro van in the back for the carseats. had to modify the brackets a bit.
- remove transmission, Broke off a captive nut on the crossmember and had to remove the bumper and cut a hole in the rad support to get to it. The other 3 took a very long time with lots of penetrating fluid and heat.
-removed flywheel
-took off valve cover, rocker arms and camshaft. cleaned them in varsol and other solvents. Cleaned out the top of the motor. Forgot to measure cam lobes. Was going to now and after my trip to see how much they wore.
-installed new camshaft seal
-new seal on the distributor, old one basically fell off...
-new valve cover gasket
-timing belt area was covered in oil. cleaned all that out and cleaned the belt.
-replaced front crank seal, old one had almost fallen out! I just touched it with my pick and it fell out.
-cleaned up new timing covers and put them on.
-cleaned engine with brake cleaner as best I could since the degreaser sucked.
-removed the oil pan and cleaned it. My magnets had caught quite a bit of metal. forgot to measure crank end play. Installed new gasket.
-replaced rear main crank seal.
-installed a proper washer fluid bottle and tube and glued them together. Before I always had problems with dirt getting in them and killing the motors.
-Installed a mazda thermostat, should have done that years ago... :/
-installed a new heater hose, new bypass hose and replaced the fan sensor in the thermostat housing with a sending unit for a gauge. Fan has been on a switch a long time anyway.
-my flywheel was heated up bad from slipping on that oil so i took one off a parts engine, sanded it and used it. Installed a new pilot bearing.
-Installed my new autocom clutch kit.
-spend 1 1/2hrs cleaning a new transmission, then spent 2 hours trying to remove the cv shafts and couldnt. Had to go pick up more brake cleaner and clean a different transmission. Had to put my old sensors on it since the wires were broken.
- installed new output shaft seals and motor mounts, installed transmission.
-started putting starter in but whoever had it before had crossthreaded one starter bolt hole. tapped the hole. installed starter. couldnt find wire. starter wire pinched between engine and transmission. Had to take starter back out and loosen all trans bolts a long ways to get it out. reinstalled trans bolts and starter...
-new o-ring on speedo cable
-installed a second catch can
-cleaned all the oil out of my intake tubing
-bled coolant then seafoamed probably 1/4 of the oil out of the intake manifold... made a huge difference though!
-removed foglights, wired coolant bottle, played with my clutch cable, seems to be messed up...
- i overtightened a rear wheel bearing a while back. re-greased it and installed it loosish. New drums and bearings coming soon.
-drove it around. I was sure at first that it was slower than before I did all this. But I drove home with an engine in the back, changed my transmission fluid, and then drove 500km with the wife, 2 kids and tons of gear and now i cant be sure of how it used to be. I know louder makes it feel faster but I kinda have this feeling its slower. Going to check my ignition timing. Also weird things happen when I put the car in gear, but ill ask about that later if I cant figure it out. Its about 700km post operation and there seems to be no leaks! Changing my engine oil tomorrow or the day after to get that engine assembly lube out.

[Advancedynamix]

I have a question on tire choice: I cannot find tires locally and 3 different brands of tires are the same price online. I know its been said that nankang, federal and Achilles are the ones to look for, but I haven't heard how they compare. Anyhow, I can get 165/55 14 ACHILLES ATR-K ECONOMIST tires off ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-NEW-165-55...dVJuct&vxp=mtr
or Federal Formoza FD1 165/55R14 off ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Federal-Fo...lVT~qd&vxp=mtr
or Kumho Ecsta PS31 from tire rack for $20 more. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

So out of those which would do the best for this trip? The federal and Achilles are the same price, kumho's a little more but not much. Basically I am looking for good treadware (needs to still be safe after 32,000km), good traction in the rain and not shakey
Do any of those handle better than another? I don't need them to handle like you might want on a track or be super stickey for racing, Just has to pull a trailer well and comfortably for 30k.
I found 14x6 rims with a dual bolt pattern and 35mm offset. Not 100% sure yet but I think they will work.
Thanks for any input

I prefer the Achilles economist Atr-k tires. I've gone on a cross country trip on them with no issues. They get better rain traction than the Federal tires and I think they are a little quieter and more comfortable. I've driven across country on both the federal and the Achilles tires.

[ryanprins13]

and Kumhos are good tires, have the highest load rating, and should be a little better on treadwear. I'd go with them.

I was a little puzzled at first on why all these tires have a lower load rating than the 12in tires on my car. Then i realized that they are rated for their top speed at that load. The 12in ones i have on the car now are good to 908 pounds at 180km/hr and the federal only 780 pounds but at 240km/hr. Speed and weight are combined when determining what a tire can be used for, at a lower speed the federal would have a higher load rating. All 3 of these tires are rated for 240km/hr and my top speed will be half that or less. So i think all 3 would be fine as far as weight but im crossing off the federal from my list because it is a ways lower than the other 2. The kumho and archillis are within 30 pounds of each other.

I prefer the Achilles economist Atr-k tires. I've gone on a cross country trip on them with no issues. They get better rain traction than the Federal tires and I think they are a little quieter and more comfortable. I've driven across country on both the federal and the Achilles tires.

Thanks! Thats the kind of feedback i was hoping to hear i have decided against the federal based on what you said and its lower load rating, so its just between the archilles and kumho that I'm trying to decide now. Ill probably go with the archilles since i haven't heard of anyone actually having used these particular kumhos and its a bunch of money buying 5 of them. Ill probably stick with the more well known. Thanks again!

[Advancedynamix]

Your welcome. I can't comment on how they handle the load you'll be placing on them, but I've put them through extreme side loads, braking loads and temperature loads with no issues. I drove around in hurricane Joaquin last year with them and they were great.



75MPH over the Smokeys right after a really strong downpour.

[ryanprins13]

Your welcome. I can't comment on how they handle the load you'll be placing on them, but I've put them through extreme side loads, braking loads and temperature loads with no issues. I drove around in hurricane Joaquin last year with them and they were great.



75MPH over the Smokeys right after a really strong downpour.

Sounds good, i realize what im doing is different and won't be holding any advice against anyone if things dont work out. its not actually much load until you hit the brakes and i'm hoping trailer brakes set up well will help relieve that. Its 2 small kids and 150-170 pounds tongue weight- no different than 2 adults in the back as far as weight on the axle is concerned until you hit the brakes or a large bump of course. The archilles should work at least as well or better than the others as long as i can find someone to balance them well and i manage to figure out how to do my own alignment and get it set right this fall. I think the traction, cornering and heat loads you put on the tires are greater than what i will do just trying to carefully drive down the highway, lol.

[Advancedynamix]

Yeah, that's for sure. And braking forces on a track are probably more extreme than what you'll see as well. I have been known to melt the brake pads and send flaming chunks of brake pads into the wheels. If your doing that on the highway, with your kids in the car, pull over and call a tow truck. Lol

[ryanprins13]

Moses Build thread

Yeah, that's for sure. And braking forces on a track are probably more extreme than what you'll see as well. I have been known to melt the brake pads and send flaming chunks of brake pads into the wheels. If your doing that on the highway, with your kids in the car, pull over and call a tow truck. Lol

Wow, thats insane! Ya, if my brakes even start to fade im pulling over to let them cool off and then going to the nearest town and getting some sheet metal or dryer ducting to direct air at the brakes all the time. Have you considered doing that? If your goal is trying to save your brakes and have a nice, comefy, safe drive instead of getting around a track faster than possible theres lots of tricks to saving brakes, so Im not too worried.

The other idea i was having was to take the exhaust brake off an unused farm truck here and put it on the festiva. Internet research tells me they arent used on gas engines because the compression is lower and it wouldn't be very effective. However if you have an engine that can handle a decent amount of boost -thats essentially higher compression, so could you get a variable geometry turbo and get an exhaust brake controller that uses the turbo vanes as an exhaust brake? And set it up so any throttle or no throttle its off but as soon as your brake lights activate it turns the exhaust brake on. Would that work? Would it be helpful on the track if it did work? Just another hair brained idea, lol.

[Advancedynamix]

I haven't had brake fade issues, just pad melting ones. I now run PFC pads on the track, but I don't recommend them for street use. They don't work well unless they are hot.

The static compression ratio is lower on turbocharged gasoline engines. You wouldn't be under boost and in the brakes at the same time, so that would not work like your thinking. Also, diesel engines are designed to detonate without harming the engine, gasoline engines are not. If you just rigged up an exhaust brake, you'd risk serious detonation issues. The b3 is not a strong enough engine to withstand that kind of pressure very long.

[ryanprins13]

Moses Build thread

I haven't had brake fade issues, just pad melting ones. I now run PFC pads on the track, but I don't recommend them for street use. They don't work well unless they are hot.

The static compression ratio is lower on turbocharged gasoline engines. You wouldn't be under boost and in the brakes at the same time, so that would not work like your thinking. Also, diesel engines are designed to detonate without harming the engine, gasoline engines are not. If you just rigged up an exhaust brake, you'd risk serious detonation issues. The b3 is not a strong enough engine to withstand that kind of pressure very long.

I see, i guess my ignorance shows there. :p I started out trying to look up if it would damage a gas engine since i figured it might and right away saw someone say the compression ratio is too low and stopped looking.
Anyway, as far as pads go- i received an offer i couldn't refuse on aspire front brakes, so thats what i plan to use on this trip. Any particular brand or type of pads you would recommend? It has new solid rotors. I normally use cheap regular organic pads and solid rotors on my cars after some online research and a bad experience with crossdrilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads years ago. Would that be best for a trip like this? Any particular brands you have found to be better than others?
Thanks.

[Advancedynamix]

Cheap organic pads are what I use for the street and mild track work as well. They have the best initial bite for our ultra lightweight little cars. Cheap ceramic pads are hideous and shouldn't be allowed on the market in my opinion. Every set I've tried felt like it was glazed from the start. I prefer drilled rotors on my cars, and have had no problems. In fact, Tweak has over 100k extremely hard miles on the set of super cheap cross drilled rotors I put on it 5 years ago. They have outlasted 2 sets of cheap organic pads and 1 set of PFC pads. I've had them hot enough to turn the zinc coating on them to powder and they have never warped. They do have lots of tiny surface cracks in them, but I'm used to that on my track cars.


Here are the crossdrilled rotors on Tweak about 60k miles ago. The same rotors are still on the car! Not bad for 60 bucks for the pair brand new.

[ryanprins13]

Moses Build thread

.

[ryanprins13]

Cheap organic pads are what I use for the street and mild track work as well. They have the best initial bite for our ultra lightweight little cars. Cheap ceramic pads are hideous and shouldn't be allowed on the market in my opinion. Every set I've tried felt like it was glazed from the start. I prefer drilled rotors on my cars, and have had no problems. In fact, Tweak has over 100k extremely hard miles on the set of super cheap cross drilled rotors I put on it 5 years ago. They have outlasted 2 sets of cheap organic pads and 1 set of PFC pads. I've had them hot enough to turn the zinc coating on them to powder and they have never warped. They do have lots of tiny surface cracks in them, but I'm used to that on my track cars.


Here are the crossdrilled rotors on Tweak about 60k miles ago. The same rotors are still on the car! Not bad for 60 bucks for the pair brand new.

Ok, i must have had a bad pair of rotors on my civic. Got crossdrilled and slotted rotors with ceramic pads and it didnt really stop and felt weird, so i put the old pads back on and it was way better. Then a month after the install the rotors were warped with no hard braking. Kept them on but every 5,000km or so the crossdrilled holes were plugged with brake dust and i had to use a drillbit on a drill to get the stuff out, couldnt do it by hand with a screwdriver. I got tired of that after a year and just cut my losses and got new solid rotors and organic pads. Brakes amazing now and no shakes! Still not warped. Heard of them warping super easy for others online too but you never really know when you read that kind of stuff online.
Anyhow, the aspire stuff i just picked up came with brand new solid rotors and regular pads, so ill go with that.
Question for you- To reduce torque steer i seem to recall you stiffening the lower rad support, installing thicker cv shafts and setting your alignment proper. Was there anything else or just those 3 things? And if I set my alignment good and did the lower rad support stiffening would that make it better or do you need the thicker cv shafts to make any difference? I just have the stock B3 of course, and its fine normally but when your pulling a heavy trailer and you have it floored in 3rd at 5000rpm going up a hill and hit the clutch to shift to 4th it almost shoots out of the lane. Downshifting isnt quite as bad, but the upshift is quite irritating.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Advancedynamix]

That's all I did. I haven't had TQ steer issues with the B3 axles, but I've never loaded them lIke that. You'll definitely want the lower radiator support mod and a set of Poly sway bar to frame bushings (contact Nonamekid).

[ryanprins13]

Has anyone used smaller diameter tires? How was it? I can buy 165/50R14 archilles tires for the same price as the regular 165/55R14. They are 3% smaller. As comparison 155/80 R12 is 3% bigger than 145/80 R12.*

My plan was to have this trailer done by the end of summer and tow it with the 145/80's that i have and see if the same diameter would work or if i needed smaller tires. However the trailer wont be done before i need to order the tires. So, would 3% smaller be too much? Kill my fuel milage too much? The hope would be that i could spend less time in 4th gear, but i dont know if all the flat driving on the praries would kill any benefit. So, anyone driven on the freeway with smaller tires?

That's all I did. I haven't had TQ steer issues with the B3 axles, but I've never loaded them lIke that. You'll definitely want the lower radiator support mod and a set of Poly sway bar to frame bushings (contact Nonamekid).

I thought i had replied to this, sorry. What you said is the plan, i will get the poly bushings from him and make the rad support stronger.
Thanks.

[ryanprins13]

I am leaning towards 2001 kia rio front struts and springs with 150 pound springs and aspire kyb struts in the rear. I read through the kia rio swap thread and there was conflicting info there about weather the ride was too harsh or ok with the rio stuff up front. However most of that was reported immediately after installing. Any more long term updates on the ride quality? Is it something you would do a road trip with?
Thanks