Boxkita's wagon
 

As some have asked, here's some details of my wagon.

Current config as of March 2011:
2005 GT Ltd Wagon (Build date: July 2004)
OBP with Black Leather lightly dusted with dog fur

Extra options:
Factory short-shifter
Yakima cross bars (extra long)

Major failures:
- @98k, transmission rebuilt due to noisy 3rd gear, replaced clutch & flywheel with stock units
- @ 101k, #1 piston failed explosively, ejecting parts of #1 rod/piston through out the engine . Rod/Piston/Motor on display at Outback Automotive. More pics of damage.

Upgrades:
Sept 2004:
35% tint on all windows & sunroof

2006/2007:
DRL Delete

April 2011:
rebuild transmission (replace all bearings/bushings, new clutch, flywheel)
Flush brake fluid and change to DOT 4

June 2011:
Cobb Sway bars, rear set on soft setting
Cobb Rear Sway bar reinforcement bracket
Avo Hard Endlinks (rear only, fronts wont fit without moving the mounting tab)

July 2011:
Hawk HPS pads on front
New stock rotors on front
Switched to BFG KDW 2 (235/45/17) on 17x7 et 42 wheels

Sept 2011:
9/2 - Added new undertray
9/3 - At PR, exploded Piston #1 and threw remnants of the unattached rod thru the block then caught fire whereupon firemen put out fire and forcibly removed brand new undertray :rolleyes:

Dec 2011-Mar 2012:
Had Outback Automotive build a new engine using my supplied short block (forged parts) and:
- HTA68 turbo w/Cobb stainless heatshield
- replace stock TMIC w/ process west intercooler TMIC & matching ducting
- full Whiteline bushing replacement, including all LCA pieces
- Grimmspeed AOS install
- KillerB oil pan/windage tray/pickup
- upgraded injectors
- walbro 655 fuel pump
- BC BR coilovers
- Group N engine & transmission mounts
- AVO underchassis brace
- Invidia catted downpipe
- Cobb cast Stainless catless uppipe
- Stainless braided brake lines
- Hawk HPS rear brake pads w/new stock rotor
- JohnJohn tune & dyno run
- change to 10/40 Mobil 1 synthetic oil, will change to something else at next OCI
- New 35% tint to replace failing tint (dogs are destructive)
- rebuild short block, when the main bearings seized after 15 minutes of runtime

Estimated dyno results are 336/366 at the wheels @ 22psi. Torque is flat from ~4k - 7k redline. "Detuned" to 310/330 @ 19.3.

Mar 2012:
- corner-balance , aggressive street alignment, light roll on rear fenders from TC Motorsports
- Michelin Super Sport 225/40/18 installed on RPF1 18x8 for track use

April 2012 - first rotation on super sports - front to rear
April 2012 - replaced HPS with HPS+. HPS in front were almost bare metal on left side (drivers), right side still had some life but not enough for another event.

May 2012 - 2nd rotation on super sports (x-wise) - PR is brutal on the right front tire. Still running max pressure to prevent rollover.
May 2012 - RPF1 18x9.5 +38 wheels w/Michelin Sport Cup in 275...this was a waste of money. As much as I wanted it to fit, there was not without massive fender work. Sold the tires. Sold the wheels. - pics http://legacygt.com/forums/showpost....ostcount=14805

July 3, 2012 - replaced the rear control arms with Whiteline KTA124 - http://www.whiteline.com.au/product_..._number=KTA124
July 5, 2012 - alignment & corner balance to roughly same specs as before (aggressive track with 1 person)
July 5, 2012 - bought a AiM Data Solo2 DL (gps data logger with ECU connection) & GoPro HD with suction cup mount
July 5, 2012 - installed DCT70 & 60 pads front & rear, as well DBA 4000 rotors and Motul 600
July 5, 2012 - bought silver Enkei PF01 17x8 with BFG R1 235/40/17 mounted

Track results:
March 2012 -So far only have one autox event on the new setup (with KDW tires). Even with an under-performing fuel pump (now rebuilt and working fine), it was still very fast.
March 2012 - Ridge Motorsports lapping
- replace HPS pads with HPS+ all around, rotors unchanged
April 2012 - Autox
April 2012 - Ridge Motorsports HPDE
- rotate tires - front to rear
May 2012 - Pacific Raceways - personal best of 1:49 with a 100mph cap on the main straight. Finally exceeded the limits of the brakes coming into turn 3 (access road bailout on successive laps)
- rotate tires - x-wise
May 2012 - Pacific Raceways - lapping (4.5 hours total)
May 2012 - Pacific Raceways HPDE
May 2012 - Bremerton all-day autox (Sat) (10 runs) + all-day lapping (Sun) (1:20 total)
June 2012 - Pacific Raceways - lapping
June 2012 - Pacific Raceways - lapping
June 2012 - Bremerton - PCA Skills day
Install Hawk DTC-70 pads on front
June 2012 - The Ridge - lapping
Install used set of Nitto NT-01 all-around
June 2012 - Pacific Raceways - all-day/evening HPDE
need to buy new tires, as NT-01 lasted one day
July 6, 2012 - The Ridge - Turn 2
July 7, 2012 - The Ridge - PCA HPDE - need to come up with a brake cooling solution & a better AOS solution. Boiled the brake fluid in the last session. And ran out of oil in the first session.

Next events
2013 is my year for a Spec Miata.

Parts list:
HawkPadsDirect - June 4, 2012
Hawk DTC-70 Front Pads - HB533U.668 - $167.08/set
Hawk DTC-60 Rear Pads - HB434G.543 - $137.90/set

Nice! Any thoughts on a race fuel tune for track days? That turbo would be great for that.

This is mildly funny, why does life seem to do that kind of thing too often?


Whats up with this? The whole build initially failed and had to be redone?

Nice build and car!

Fire? Talk about adding insult to injury. :-)

I learned some valuable lessons on this build:
1. There's no such thing as a "small" turbo upgrade
2. Going fast with reliability costs large dollars
3. If you buy a short block off CL, take someone along who's an expert. Not just saw it on youtube. I thought it was a screaming deal, and I did every time something else went wrong. I could have had top-notch new block for what I spent buying & fixing this block. I dont quite have a hand-grenade now, but I did come down in parts quality compared to what I wanted.

I wanted to, however, paying for tuning is expensive (dyno/street tuning is by the hour). Learning to tune may be expensive (no more money for engine parts). At any rate, I dont have any way to flash a new tune at the track. On top of which, the tune would only be useful if you had a whole tank of 108, not just a mix.

On track days, I'll refill with 108 as the day goes on. Which has helped in the past on the stock motor.

At this point, I have so much power on tap that adding more would be a negative benefit. I may turn down the boost even more depending on the results of testing at the Ridge tomorrow. In AutoX, I never got above 4-5k rpm and the torque spike at 3.5k is too late to really do good.

what kind of clutch you running and any pics of the TMIC installed? Do want the process west kit, looks very nice!

boxkita, did you get your wagon new and then just decide to rape it a little less than a year ago? :lol:

Judging by my VIN, I have the 3rd one built. I put money down in late May and took delivery in August 2004.

It was a DD for a few years, then demoted to dog carrier and weekend trips. Finally, just sitting there when the much hated prius arrived. On a whim, I went to a Driver Skills class put on the Porsche club. Then a HPDE day. Passing Porsches in wagon with snow tires had a certain appeal. Then I wanted better lap times. Before I blew up the engine, I had planned on upgrading the suspension a little bit and getting a tune. And buying a Porsche 944 track car.

Looking back on the year (its been a year, give or take a couple of days since the first skills day), I should have sold the wagon and bought a caged 944. I'd have been money ahead.

Then again, a 944 has nothing on a 3rd gear romp thru traffic at 6000rpm.

I think its an Exedy clutch. I forget what was spec'ed and the invoice doesnt have the name. So far, it holds well with no slippage.

The process west kit (including ducting) looks good. And has stayed very cool. It does get heat-soaked if sitting at idle or on the dyno. However a 5 pound bag of ice easily fits on top. :-)

And have fun carrying a dog in a 944.

We often go camping nearby the Packwood autocross site. Wife, 2 toddlers, tent, gear all fit in our sedan. Then I go beat up the street tire class.

When I went shopping for ours in 2006, I wanted a wagon, but settled for a sedan. Excited to see your wagon Sunday.

I bought mine in Sep 2004. Started my first track day on it in Sep 2008.

I thought you had just bought yours recently because you weren't active until fairly recently. Now it all makes sense b/c I would have bought a different car if I had wanted it to be a track toy. LGT wagons are fun to drive on the track but I think the length of the wheel base can be unwieldy especially on T3A/T3B at PR.

Somebody has a OBP LGT limited wagon with 5speed and subwoofer, which is what I ordered. The no subwoofer with factory short shifter showed up first, so I took that.

As a track toy, the wagon would not have been my first choice. However, in its current config, it's amazing on the track. Other than the front straight, 3rd gear was the perfect gear at the Ridge. It pulled from 35 all the way to 90+.

After a day at PR, an LSD is in my future when the transmission finally fails. I used to have issues getting enough power coming out of Turn 3b, now I have too much...it takes a light touch to get power down without pushing the frontend off the track.

Still traction limited. :-)

any signs of transmission troubles?

so far, its been fine. Leaving it "detuned" probably helps a bit, plus I dont thrash it at the track. Each shift is about a 1.5 secs (according to the logs)...that's good enough for now.