Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - 09:58 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Paul Kalie wrote on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 - 11:09 am:
Ok so you ve had long enough to settle in, Time for updates !! plus I want to see pics of the New shed's
Yeah, it has been a week...
Update: I have tried everything, but the battery is kaput. Another couple of hundred bucks down the drain. I still have not been able to start the car, either with jumper cables or the charger/starter. I really want to hear it run. Frustrating.
I ordered a new Odyssey PC680MJT tonight from batteries direct online. Seems to be the best price I can find without going overseas. It is the closest to the Pulse PHB400 dimensions (current battery) so I should be able to get away without making a new mount.
We are experiencing technical difficulties with a lot of our computer/electrical equipment. I did take some pics- I'll see if they download tonight.
Aiden- the gear came down by rail, so it would have been rocking side ways for over 3000km. I just reckon it was not packed well. Claim was submitted today. Hopefully we get some good news in the coming days. The computer was checked and is terminal. Lap top is working at least.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 - 10:24 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Photo of the 'garage' part of the shed(s). Through the door you can see a clean work space, guest room, and a store room. Out the back is the workshed proper and a room for the garden stuff.
There is still a bit of work to do to get it all set up. I took the red car into the city today and was reminded of the fact that I really need to fit those new bushes.
Hoping the new battery arrives soon so I can fire up the track car.
Thursday, December 23, 2010 - 02:40 am, by: Paul Kalie(Ajzs)
Good stuff mate, My new Fullriver battery and bracket arrived today. Its the same size even though the spec's say different as the odyssey PC680 (I have both batteries). Fullriver and Bracket was $245 Delivered.
Friday, December 24, 2010 - 12:49 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Great pic, LOL. I can't quite make it out- does the Fullriver have a metal jacket?
Hmmm. I paid $300 delivered for the Odyssey. Hopefully it is 15% better...
I picked up a Supra passenger seat and seat belt last week so I can take a passenger if and when I want to. I fiddled around with it and it fits neatly around the roll cage with a little bit of fiddling around. I need to find a way to convert it to 'clip in' spec or just buy another 4 point clip in harness and be done with it.
My research for a turbo upgrade is coming to an end with Costas help. I have decided on a GT3582r with a Tial V band rear housing and custom manifold, gate and accessories to suit. The issue now is to fund it all.
Also need to decide on and budget for a management system and supporting fuel system. I have been told I can keep most of the stock fuel system and just add pumps and injectors which is nice to know. I really want to get rid of the huge tank between the rear towers and move to a smaller tank mounted lower in the boot so I will no doubt need to consider all this before buying stuff to suit the stock tank setup.
I still haven't joined a club down here but I know there is a practice day at Mallala towards the end of January I would like to get up to.
Friday, December 24, 2010 - 09:19 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
I have not yet put much thought into it Allan. All I know is it is going to be a full stand alone (and then the digital dash is gooooone!). Something popular with tuners across Australia is a must. I don't want to have to call some bloke in whoop whoop ville (or Melbourne) everytime I need to make a change.
As for updates, I am waiting to hear back from Lew about some old fibreglass parts he has for sale. It may have a lighter front end if all goes to plan. Dont hold your breath for turbo fitment pictures though. It might take all year to buy all the bits to put it together. In the meantime I really need to run some laps to set a new baseline. And wind the suspension back down and redo the alignment. Never fun but very rewarding.
The new Odyssey arrived not long after I last posted. In line with what Paul was saying, it too is exactly the same dimensions as the Pulse, but the terminals sit higher. This necessitated me reversing the battery so the terminals would not foul on the cage. This also meant I needed to reroute the earth and power cable.
I also 'test fitted' the supra seat, got distracted and bolted the whole thing in. Works a treat and is very comfortable. Just need to sought out the seat belt thing.
Saturday, December 25, 2010 - 04:29 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
I'd love a motec if for no other reason that everyone who see it knows exactly what it is, and that you're serious.
Money wise, and being realistic, I will have to settle for something cheaper that can do the job. At the end of the day it just needs to run fuel, ignition, boost etc. Data logging would be nice, and there are obviously a bunch of other stuff various ECUs have on offer.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Sunday, December 26, 2010 - 02:01 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Have come across a problem on the new oil cooler. It has AN-6 male fittings, and my oil hose is fitted with female AN-10 fittings. This poses two questions: 1. Will this cooler present too much of a restriction on the oil system? and 2. Can I get reducers/expanders to fit up my existing oil lines to the cooler?
Having a quick google you can get -10male to -6male reducers, but I cant find a -10 male to -6 female reducer. I guess I could cobble together a couple of different fittings but then I will start to run out of space and have relatively fragile connections to deal with.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Tuesday, December 28, 2010 - 08:29 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Was unable to make any headway on the track car due to SA holiday trading so I decided to fit the bushes to a spare set of Lower control arms I had put away. Clearly I forgot how difficult that job is. It took me 2 hours to get all four bushes and sleeves out of the two LCAs. Tomorrow I'll attempt putting the new bushes in. Plan is to see if it can be done in a vice. If not, I'll introduce myself to one of the local suspension/mechanics shops.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Wednesday, December 29, 2010 - 09:43 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
So I finished replacing the upper and lower control arms and bushes. I can say this job has not got any more fun. New bushes went in using a bench vice and some pieces of wood with no problems.
Had the usual fun getting the ball joints undone. That ball joint separator has well and truly paid for itself. Did a quick and dirty alignment before tightening the bushes up. With all the adjustments zeroed (set to center) it came out with 1.25 deg neg camber, and the toe is a little off to the right. I'll sort it all tomorrow or whenever I get the ride height of the track car back down to something more useful.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Friday, December 31, 2010 - 01:38 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Pics first: Current Splitter and air dam
Current mount
redesigned mount
Whole thing on the ground
Went out to the shed with the intention of lowering the suspension and doing an alignment on both cars but really didn't want to given it is over 40 deg here.
I ended up deciding the front splitter and undertray really needs replacing after more than a year of service. The rain and humidity in Darwin did it's best to warp the plywood, and the vertical stays have been hit that many times that one of them looks like some sort of weird art sculpture.
Whilst I am at it I figured I would redesign the mounts and method of adjustment. This should offer a wider range of adjustment (old one had 'up' and 'down') whilst being a little more sturdy. As always there will be stuff to sort out along the way- plywood and garden edging again? Fibreglass? Do I want brake ducts? Do I want a ramp up to the cooler or just an airdam?
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Monday, January 03, 2011 - 10:10 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Spent some time on this and the suspension over the weekend. I cut out an entirely new splitter and undertray from 9mm plywood. The basic shape is the same, however I experimented with a much longer (100mm longer!) front splitter. The problem of getting onto and off the trailer caused a few redesigns and trial and error. The finished shape protrudes about 90mm from the centre of the bumper(in the vertical plane) and then tapers back to about 40mm in the areas in front of the tyres where it was hitting the loading ramps.
I decided to put a layer of fibre glass over the lot. After fiddling around with fibreglass kits from bunnings I decided I really hate chopped mat and bought some woven mat. This was much easier to work with and gives a cool finished look. Still heaps of work to do on it, but initial impressions are good. I can stand on the centre with very little defection. Next time I will use a much thinner plywood as I don't need the strength when combined with the fibreglass.
I decided to retain the garden edging albeit modified in the centre area. I couldn't think of anything else robust enough to cop all the crap flung up by preceding cars, yet flexible enough to slide up over the bumper when it is raised in the 'transport' position.
Reading up on various forums some bloke has come up with the ingenious idea to use aero catch bonnet pins to secure his splitter- of and on in seconds! Dammit, I wish I had thought of that. Next time...
Next time, I will also make it two piece- so I can change the splitter without the undertray. The old undertray was essentially undamaged. It also supports very little weight so could be made of much thinner materials. Thinking about it more the logical over lap location would be the bottom radiator support.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 09:57 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Good question Spencer. It comes down to weight versus stiffness also considering cost and workability.
I was going to make the very first one out of a sheet of aluminium until I was told to think about it by some much more experienced blokes. I have seen some made from 1.6mm ally with reinforcing welded/bonded/riveted on, also with folds etc to increase the rigidity of the splitter. If it was just a small lip protruding a few cm it would work well.
Clearly carbon fibre, kevlar and other composites would be strong, stiff and light but very expensive and very likely to shatter. I also have no experience in that medium ( but that has never put me off).
In the US alumalite, a panel used widely in sign making is popular, but I couldn't find any in Australia when I last looked. Alumalite is likely a product name more than type. It is (I believe) a coreflute core sandwiched between two thin pieces of aluminium.
Others have suggested using lexan, but it flexes waaay to much in the thinner sizes and gets heavy as you go thicker.
In the end, and in a lot of forums and websites the informed opinion kept coming back to plywood.
I would love to find some good quality foam and do something very light weight with that and fibreglass one day.
Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 10:50 pm, by: Spencer Cameron(Switchio)
hmm, makes sense. I guess wood is just naturally occurring composite when you think about it.
I've got a big sheet of ally that I was planning to use with a fibreglass bar I bought (cheap) to more or less replicate your setup.
After what you've said, I'm kind of having second thoughts. That said, since I already have the ally, bar, rivets and thicker ally for reinforcing I'll probably just go ahead with my plan and see how I works out. Hopefully the fibreglass bar will provide enough rigidity to allow for only a small amount or reinforcing.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Tuesday, January 04, 2011 - 11:12 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
All you can do is try it. If it works, cool. If you find it is too flimsy or whatever, then you have a great template for cutting out any future versions.
It all depends on how you are going to mount it, and how it is reinforced. I found with my ally diffuser if I added a 10mm fold on the sides and end it became hugely more rigid.
If you were to put a bend (upwards) in the rear side of the splitter the strength across the front would be very good, and you would only need to brace it on the front to rear access (I used aluminium angle). PLus you would create a small wing chord profile increasing the low pressure area just behind the splitter, right where you want it near the front axle. A small downwards lip (10mm or less- depends how good you are at bending the metal) across the front would further stiffen the design, but may have some affect on the airflow under the car.
I would not rely on the fibreglass bar as the only support. When you get under the car there are a few good spots to make mounts: the chassis rails; radiator supports (they even have threaded holes for the factory undertray); and the subframe all are well strong enough.
I'd like to hear how it goes. I have posted another thread purely on making aero parts to see if someone else has some ideas and expertise to share.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Friday, January 07, 2011 - 10:24 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Splitter finished and ready for fitting
fitted up, but need to fill the gap under the intercooler in the lowest setting
gap filled with scrap ally
and the car- needs a clean
It might not look all that different to the last one, but believe me it is. A lot stronger, more adjustment and different mounts, fibreglassed and reinforced, and lower.
It is a bit too heavy but. I am considering ideas for something else. Whilst I hate fibreglassing, I like what can be done with it.
Saturday, January 08, 2011 - 04:52 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
I am tempted to go through the whole process of making a mould and doing something completely out of fibreglass. Andrew suggested if I am covering my plywood in fibreglass, why use plywood. He has a point. His sports sedan should get up and boogey at higher speeds than mine, and his is straight 'glass.
That way I could look at including venturis that duct air away from the front and up to the brakes, increase downforce etc.
What I have really come to understand is that the 'engine cover' part does not need to be anywhere as strong as I have made it.
Monday, January 10, 2011 - 03:35 pm, by: Carl Mccormack(Eville)
hey ben if your getting comfortable with the fibreglasing maybe add some front canards like the vertex ridge kit has ie:
if you fix them to the front lip thing you have made and made with a bolt up high so its adjustable that would help with front down force i would think?? of corse the other option is forced induction pump one of those opening up into your Intake cheap mod if you get a some black garden flexi pipe, simple and in budget i would think.
Also if possible can i grab any photos or info you took for the wiring harnes when you cut out the extra?? if possible.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Monday, January 10, 2011 - 08:27 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
The photos (If I have any) will not show much. I basically disconnected whole looms with the schematics to guide me. Once I had the whole looms out (eg stereo etc) I started removing wires from the remaining looms that I wouldn't need. I made a few mistakes along the way but these weren't too hard to track down with the use of the schematics. There were heaps of clingon messages initially, but the computer seems to 'learn' these components are not there and this is now normal.
Looking back I reckon it may have been easier to rip everything out and reinstall the bits I needed. This would certainly be the go if you were getting rid of the factory dash and computer straight up.
As for the fibreglassing, yeah I am keen to make something small from a mould to get a handle on the process. I was thinking NACA ducts because there is a good tutorial on how to do it on youtube. I have a carbon fibre canard from a West race car to use as a guide if I decide to do it.
On the canards, I have read they should not be relied on to generate bulk downforce. They should be used to trim the car- and in a lot of cases they are more beneficial for cleaning up the airflow along the side of the car (ie directing airflow away from the very messy wheel area etc).
I have little winglets made of sheet metal that were on one of the earlier splitters. No idea if hey did anything or not, but Paul convinced me they looked gay so they were removed, LOL.
Friday, January 14, 2011 - 09:31 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Cheers mate, I'll have to check their site out. I had a look on natsoft and there are no results from previous years for the time attack, so I am curious on it's "series" status. I have joined the Sporting Car Club of SA, and joined the SASupra forum as well.
I should have the car at the practice day on 22 Jan. Still messing about with the damn supra passenger seat belt. From there I should figure out what sort of times the Soarer will pull and what the track is like. It sounds like mid to low 1min 20s is a goood time to aim for. That seems to be what the evos are doing.
Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 11:54 am, by: Antonio Hunt(Carajo)
just read your email you sent to Performance Imports Ben, it is in issue 130 with a couple of pics too. congrats for being in the mag! and your progress with the track car
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 03:51 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
What? Haven't seen it. I'll have to have a look when my copy gets delivered.
I sent an email to the editor of HPI about the time attack Soarer (the black one they featured, not mine!) mid last year. He asked about the stuff Andrew, me and others were doing. I told him and sent some pics with a link to this section. I assumed that was the end of it when it wasn't in the issue we talked about.
January must have been a slow month...
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 04:12 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Anyway, what I was getting on her for was to say I have fabricated up some bits and pieces to fit the stock Supra seat belt into the car. The main hoop feet cover the area the stock seat belt rail goes, so I made up a buckle out of 3mm steel based of one of the buckles on my harness and bolted it into the floor/sill area.
I also got out the stock plastic computer cover and modified it to fit around the front leg and hit it with the holesaw. It is now in the passenger footwell so no one tries to brake and bugger up my wiring etc.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Saturday, January 15, 2011 - 09:49 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Drama
I have no electricity in the race car, and the oil light came on when the missus was driving the red one on the freeway. It went out so she kept driving. I discovered all this because I went for a drive (after the missus had got home from her drive) and noticed the suspension had a rattle and thought I'd better go over all the nuts and bolts from when I replaced the bushes.
Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 12:47 am, by: Aaron Casey(Blownminiturbo)
i have replied in your other thread too but check and run another earth from battery to body you may have bumped something but sounds like bad earth by multimeter readings.
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Sunday, January 16, 2011 - 04:25 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
The splitter only just clears the headboard of the trailer, by 2mm. I went and got some fuel and when I got back there was a witness mark where it had contacted the ally strip under the splitter.
Looks like it has to be raised up a notch or two to give it enough room to move on the suspension.
Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 03:10 pm, by: Carl Mccormack(Eville)
hey ben,
looks like its your inital email plus some photos, in the mag, them commenting on the soarer as a race car. should send a copy of the mag and photos to your sponsers so they can see there money at work
Hey i noticed in another thread somewhere i cant find again you have ordered the new supra front and rear brakes from a Toyota Company in Nz somewhere i was wondering if you tell me the company and if u had the part numbers, and if it was for the rotars and calipers??
thanks again,
Ben Lipman Goo Roo SA Soarer TT manual, plus TT track car
Sunday, January 23, 2011 - 10:43 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Had my first hit out at Mallala yesterday.
I managed to string together some 1min23sec laps with a best of 1min23.35 according to the racechrono.
Having some real issues using and editing the GOPRO HD footage. It is awesome quality, but Windows Movie Maker struggles with it. This is the best I could come up with after struggling with codecs and various patches and downloads.
Peter Nitschke Junk Filterer South Australia UZZ30 UZZ31