Cool Article about the 05 SCCA wagons floating around still.. :)

IMHO: R rated tires + Competition Camber Settings + No Brake Ducts all combine to cook wheel bearings at a rapid rate.

+1

My record for cooking the bearings is 3 laps. From no noise to loud growling noises from front wheels. My ride-along freaked when the noise first showed up and I said the wheel bearings were shot.

Whenever someone says I've done xxx track days and never cooked a wheel bearing, I know a few things: 1) you're not on R-comp tires, 2) your car is not setup for maximum stick, 3) you're not driving fast enough, or 4) you can't tell the difference between cooked and non-cooked.

I kept a front & rear from the last time I ran R-comps. The front can't be turned by hand. That was having the bearings changed, drive home, drive to track, run 1 day, drive to hotel, drive to track, run 1 day, drive home, drive to shop. No questions asked replacement is good for the first set, not the replacement set.

NM+ are you running R tires or street tires? My guess is that the R rated vs street tires has a lot more to do with bearing stress than the weight of the wheel, but I'm certainly no suspension fatigue engineer.

 

IMHO: R rated tires + Competition Camber Settings + No Brake Ducts all combine to cook wheel bearings at a rapid rate.

Streets, so that is possible.

Hope that head I sent u works out

Thanks!

I replaced my dented oil pan from the off road excursion with a new STI pan. Since I was dropping the pan I installed a Cosworth crank scraper - baffle and a Moroso oil pickup. I bought a few Cosworth scraper-baffles from the Subaru Rally Team, Vermont Sports Car, used.

I also discovered that the spare engine I obtained from Drew has a Killer B oil pickup. I was using that engine to mock up the Cosworth scraper and the Moroso pickup, so it gave me a chance to compare the Killer B, Moroso, and OEM oil pickups side by side.

1) The OEM pickup showed no signs of fatigue, cracks, or corroding welds/brazes. It probably didn't need to be replaced.

2) The Moroso pickup is very substantial and high quality zinc plated. Moroso has been making automotive oil stuff a very long time and it shows.

3) The Killer B is also a high quality unit. Where the Moroso has a conventional flat pickup the Killer B has one surrounded by a structure. I'm not sure it has any performance advantage over the conventional flat bottom or not.

4) To use the Cosworth crank scraper with the OEM pickup is plug and play, with the Moroso you have to grind one of the holes larger, with the Killer B you'd have to grind two holes larger.

5) After comparing the Moroso to the Killer B I'd have a hard time justifying the higher price of the Killer B; the Moroso should do the job fine and be much stronger than the OEM.

And as long as I had the engine jacked up I might as well replace the motor mounts! So in went a pair of Perrin mounts. They are VERY nice.

Next up: finishing the fuel cell revamp and installing a new turbo this week.

If you can take a pic of the hole that needs to be modified for the Moroso that would be great. That way I can pass the info on to Cobb before they do the install

Sorry, too late. But you can figure 30 minutes of time with a Dremel cut off wheel + Dremel sanding drum. As soon as they try to put the Moroso thru the hole they will see what needs to be done.

Or just use a new STI pickup.

Subaru WRX STI Isle of Man: Flat Out - The Full Lap

Great video. I love it because the narration is excellent! 162 mph is insane on these roads...at the end my heart rate was right up there with his.

http://youtu.be/t7gmbQ8KxM4

And the lead in to prep you:

http://bit.ly/1jMk5Sf

Subaru WRX STI Isle of Man: Flat Out - The Full Lap

 

Great video. I love it because the narration is excellent! 162 mph is insane on these roads...at the end my heart rate was right up there with his.

 

http://youtu.be/t7gmbQ8KxM4

 

And the lead in to prep you:

http://bit.ly/1jMk5Sf

Awesome!

I stopped by my Subaru dealer at lunch. There is no option on the order form for the "Isle of Man" package. Wonder when that comes off the assembly line?

Awesome!

 

I stopped by my Subaru dealer at lunch. There is no option on the order form for the "Isle of Man" package. Wonder when that comes off the assembly line?

I think Subaru Marketing needs you! They could do like Chevrolet Corvette does and just make it a "Limited Edition" vinyl stripes package with the TT Isle of Man Production Car Lap Record text, and charge $3K more for it.

Like the 2009 GT1 "Limited Edition" Corvette Racing:

..

Personally I think this record is way more meangingful than any of the Nurburgring ones. These are real public roads with all their bad tarmac and changes in traction, jumps.

I have a new bucket list item to go with attending the 24 Hours of Le Mans, I have to watch this in person!

When I saw the Discovery channel video about prepping the Corvette for ALMS, I went looking for a C7R (spelling) to buy. Figured that would make a great track/road car.

An STI with extra vinyl? Meh

Beautiful day at Oregon Raceway Park yesterday!

My first chance to test:

1: Heat extractor hood

2: 6 spd swap

3: Front Splitter

4: Rear Wing

1) You can see the red knitting tufts I used. The results were excellent. Airflow is definitely coming out the front extractor and 2/3 of the front of the rear/side extractors. The very last vent section on the side extractors weren't doing anything useful, they are too close the high pressure area at the base of the windshield.

Notice the tufts right on the base of the windshield.....at speed the center ones were actually pointing to the front of the car. It was weird to "see" the air actually blowing in reverse, towards the front of the car! I've known this for years, since Chevy introduced the Z28 and 454 cowl induction hood intakes in 1970, but knowing and seeing are two different things.

In the pic was the test prior to bolting up the splitter. After I put the splitter on it made it work even better. Coolant temps never went over 185.

2) The 6 speed swap initially caused a problem with my AIM dash. I could barley get going before RPM channel alarms went wild. I finally figured out that when I changed the AIM configuration to account for the 6spd I inadvertently changed the rpm sensor function to read incorrectly. Changing it to read the raw data/2 fixed that issue.

The 6 speed worked great except for a slight leak which probably means new axle seals are needed (I haven't put it on a lift yet to see the exact problem). More troublesome is the Trans Temp alarm that came up 15 mins into my last session. When we installed the 6 speed we didn't hook up the tranny cooler, but I guess I'll need to do that now. I'm also going to wrap the downpipe-exhaust pipe from the turbo to past the tranny. The splitter reduces airflow under the car which adds to the problem. At ORP there is no place to get into 6th, so the real high speed test will have to wait for another track.

The front LSD was very nice!

3) The front splitter made a big difference, even at the slower ORP speeds. The front really has a lot more traction now. Between the front LSD and the splitter I can crank on the power coming out of the apexes. It was also easier to install/uninstall at the track than I expected. I can't trailer the car with it on, so that will be a routine thing each weekend. I should be able to get it down to under 5 minutes...

4) It was hard to tell if the rear wing was effective at ORP, the speeds are too slow. I'll have to do more testing with it on and off at the slower tracks to see if it's worthwhile on them.

We are having a HPDE day at ORP for $130 on April 4th. Newbies/Novices/Experts are welcome to join us! We'll have instructors for first timers: http://www.motorsportreg.com/events/acco-track-day-a4-oregon-raceway-park-autocross-club-of-central-257689#.VP3mZVXF8zd

Sorry a little late to the game I see. I've been meaning to chime in but have been busy.

Regarding the earlier brake cooling discussion can we assume all had first tried Ti shims and two piece rotors? I haven't read of anyone mentioning them. Just curious if that is a common place to start.

After that, well just a great read. I love popping in for updates! I'll just have to get in here a bit more often.

Oh, and Gator...the Spec-B has new front bearings (I think the only thing not relatively new are any rear rubber bushings). Interested to know if those control arm wings will help any.

Quick Update:

The race car is at Cobb/Surgeline in Portland. We ran into a small problem, too MUCH HP!

The new ST rules allow me more more power so I'm upgrading to a Blouch 1.5XTR 10cm. However it comes with a 17psi IWG. Well at 17psi I'm already borderline on the allowed power in my class!

So now we have to go to an EWG Tial controller to be able to tune at 13-14-15-16-17 psi maps. I need the flexibility in maps to balance my HP to Weight ratios.

It should be ready next week then I'll swap the former Drew888 Spec B with them for a tune on it.

First track day for the Spec B will be this Saturday at Oregon Raceway Park.

Next track day for the race car will be Saturday April 4th at Oregon Raceway Park with the Autocross Club of Central Oregon track day. It will be interesting to see how it runs with the new turbo there.

PacNW folks, you won't find a cheaper track day than ORP April 4th!!

ORP- $130!!!!

Autocross Club of Central Oregon

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Oregon Raceway Park, Grass Valley, OR

Registration ends on April 3, 2015 11:59 PM PDT

Registration Fees:

Registration - $130

Lunch - $10

4 run groups – Rookies with Instructors.

Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. 20 minute sessions per group

Up to 2 hours of seat time

Pre-Registration is required

80 entry cap.

Rain or Shine!

April 4, 2015

Gates open - 7:00 am

Drivers Meeting - 8:00 pm

Groups Run

8:30 pm – 5:30 pm

End of Day

6:00 pm-

This is not a race; this event is a driver instruction day for drivers to stretch their legs on a race track.

http://www.motorsportreg.com/events/acco-track-day-a4-oregon-raceway-park-autocross-club-of-central-257689

Curious what made you decide to go with the 10 cm^3 hot side over the 8 cm^3?

That's a great question. Originally I was going with the 8, but Cobb Surgeline convinced me to go with the 10. They are very familiar with my car and it's purpose, I figured since they have done both sizes on multiple cars they knew a lot more about it than me. They said that I would lose a little low end, but more than make up for it at the high end. My car lives between 4,000 and 6,800 rpm during a race, so having more top side is better than more 3200 rpm power.

If it was a street car I can see the 8cm for sure.

It may have been a mistake. But If I ever go to higher class I hope I won't need another turbo. At lease not on this engine build, I think I'm close to the max for an OEM shortblock. In a few years I may change this car to a dedicated endurance race car. In that case because of the way cars are grouped I'll need more power than I have now.

We'll know more when we see the dyno graphs which I'll post up as soon as they send them to me, possibly by Friday.

The race car is still at Cobb Surgeline. They ran into an issue on the dyno today with high rpm misfires, they say it probably needs new sparkplugs. Hopefully it will be ready to pickup next Wednesday. Then it will be at ORP (Oregon Raceway Park) on Saturday for a track day.

Now the bummer... I went to ORP for the Team Continental - ORP instructor training today. The Spec B I bought from Drew a couple of months ago has been running well, so I flushed the brake fluid, put in track pads, topped up the oil and radiator, and headed to ORP.

The car lasted 20 minutes on the track. The first clue something was wrong I noticed the water temp at 245....so I slowed down to let it cool off and the slower quieter speed I heard some strange sounds..., bad strange sounds.

I made it back the pits.....there I heard the dreaded noise of a spun bearing/rod knock. Maybe it's not a spun bearing/rod knock, but it sounds exactly like all the YouTube videos of Subaru spun bearing failures.

Dagnabit!

There was no way I could drive it home. A couple of local Bend Porsche guys gave me a ride home. I'll go tomorrow with my trailer and bring the Spec B back.

I'm not sure yet what I'll do to fix it. The car came with a spare longblock with forged internals but of dubious condition. I will probably take the longblock apart and have it inspected, then use it as a base for the new engine in the Spec B.

Or maybe I'll do a MR Tris OEM #ynansb.

Then I'll see what can be salvaged from the spun bearing longblock. Hopefully the fancy ported heads are fine!

I'm tempted to convert the Spec B motor to as close to a clone of the race car engine as possible to make it an easy swap when the race engine fails. That would mean converting to an OEM shortblock, STI metal intake, 1000cc injectors, composite TGV deletes, a Blouch 1.5XTR...and a lot more stuff. It would also mean having a lot of parts to sell. Probably not worth it.

Lots of possible options...

If you are interested in the engine that seems to be toast here's the build sheet:

Electronics/Tuning

Cobb Tuning AccessPort v2 (AP-SUB-003)

Delicious Stg4 Tune 330whp/336wtq performed at Infamous Performance

GrimmSpeed EBCS

Innovative MTX-L Wideband o2 – This sits in an AVO gauge pod on the dash.

Turbo/Induction/Exhaust

Tomioka 20G /TD05H – Maybe 60k mi and no shaft play as of when the engine went in.

RacerX FMIC Piping w/ Larger Custom Core Tomioka EL Header + Up pipe (DEI Titanium Heat Wrapped)

Turbo XS Catted DP (DEI Titanium Heat Wrapped)

Perrin, Mid-Ypipe, Prodrive Mufflers – The famous Prodrives.

KS-Tech 73mm CAI

AEM Dry Flow Filter

GoFastBits Respons Recirculating BPV (Black)

GrimmSpeed 8mm Phenolic Spacers

Perrin Performance Turbo Inlet Hose (Black)

Infamous Performance Turbo/AVCS Oil Supply Line v2

Crawford AOS- Air Oil Separator V2

Engine/Fueling

Stage 4 – Forged Manley pistons 9.2:1 - Instead of 8.2:1? So there is more torque off boost.

ACL Race Bearings

ARP Head Studs

OEM STI 11mm Oil Pump (shimmed)

Gates Racing Timing Kit

Cosworth “like” Heads – 2007 STI V25B modified and purchased from BallPeenHamr (a Cosworth employee whose job is to build all Cosworth heads) on NASIOC.com. Much more detail is there from pictures to before/after specs.

5 angle valve job

Ported/Polished/Seat/Bowl blend/Ferrea dual valve springs hardened spring seats and locks, titanium retainers, Stock STI cams.

OEM valves and seals

OEM WRX Water Pump

OEM STI Head Gasket

Killer B Motorsports Oil Pick Up

Killer B Motorsports Windage Tray

Killer B Motorsports Oil Pan

Fumoto Oil Drain Plug/Valve

Brisk Silver Spark Plugs

Custom DW 65c fuel pump assembly – With IP&T Pump Housing Bracket

Deatschwerks 850cc Fuel Injectors

The Spare LongBlock:

Manley forged 9.2:1's, ACL Race Bearings, ARP Head Studs, OEM STI 11mm Oil Pump, heads have all new OEM parts except for a 3 angle.

Nothing like a race track to find the weak points in man and machine......

That's a bummer. Nothing like breaking a new to you car.

Everything about that engine reads like it should have been fine. I wonder what the weak link was.

To separate the Spec B rebuild from this thread that needs to stay focused on the race car, I've started a new thread in the Build Forum:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/built-spec-b-rebuild-3rd-time-239147.html

Please feel free to come over there and offer your advice and thoughts.

If temps spiked you probably fried the head gasket grenading the bearings. Was the spec on the stock rad?

It has a Mishimoto radiator. When I started it up to drive up into my trailer it blew a large blue smoke cloud and made awful noises. Now it just needs to run one more time to get into the shop and the tear down will begin.

We'll know more when it comes apart.

From here out the Spec B drama will be in the build thread:

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/built-spec-b-rebuild-3rd-time-239147.html

COBB- Surgeline sent over the new dyno graphs with the Blouch 1.5XTR 10cm.

This is the map I'll use for my ST class racing, it has three pulls on it:

They pushed harder, up to 18 psi and got this one:

They didn't want to push harder then 18 psi given the age of the engine and OEM block. They think it could go higher, but I told them not to push it. I need one car in running condition!

I'll pick the car up tomorrow.

So much usable torque! That wagon is going to be a rocket ship out of corners.

As for the spec did you end up losing a hose or did it just decide it was its time and over heated? Sounds strange it would spike that hard.