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

I've been having problems with my 6 speed tranny running hot. I'd already wrapped and blanketed the exhaust pipe from the Turbo down past the tranny, and installed a tranny pump/cooler, but it wasn't enough.

 

I believe the problem is my EWG dump pipe ended right next to the tranny. So now I've had the EWG pipe extended quite a ways down the side of the main exhaust mid pipe and routed back into it after the O2 sensor. In these pics you can see it coming down from the Tial EWG bending to the outside of the mid pipe, then back a couple of feet and into the mid pipe. Next week I'll wrap the EWG pipe too.

 

An extra benefit is I won't have to hear the weird and loud EWG sound when it's dumping exhaust.

 

While I was at the exhaust shop I had them replace my Cobb SS dual axle back with a single pipe to a Magnaflow muffler which reduced quite a bit of weight.

 

If anybody wants a slightly beat up but great sounding dual exhaust I have the Cobb system posted up in the for sale forum: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/wa-cobb-prototype-dual-axle-back-exhaust-252128.html

Edited April 22, 2016 by Sgt.Gator

No mandrel bends for the racewagon?

 

Also looks like your wrap is backwards.

No mandrel bends for the racewagon?

 

Also looks like your wrap is backwards.

 

No mandrel bends on the rear pipe. Cheap and it works! Given the abuse it takes on occasional off track excursions it's something that cheaper and faster to replace the better.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by wrapped backwards?

Edited April 22, 2016 by Sgt.Gator

He's saying crud will accumulate at the wrap layers. Think of dragging a fish scales backward. Starting at the tail end of the down pipe layers the warp in a way that the leading edge is covered by the next round of wrap.

He's saying crud will accumulate at the wrap layers. Think of dragging a fish scales backward. Starting at the tail end of the down pipe layers the warp in a way that the leading edge is covered by the next round of wrap.

 

#yeahthat

 

start from the rear and work towards the front, so your overlap points backwards. keeps it from wanting to peel off, accumulate crud, and that infinitesimal drag too. i'm anal retentive.

Ahh ok... got it.

^Would cut down on drag too... however slight.

The first race is this weekend at PIR and I've been doing a ton of work to get the Silver Eagle ready.

The above exhaust changes.

New brake pads and flush the fluid.

Oil Change

Radiator flush

Fresh gas, fresh Torco Accelerator

Installed (2) drive shaft safety straps

Repaired dry sump pump pulley

Mounted new APR low drag wing, looks awesome, pics tomorrow when I wash the car. I had to remove the roof rack rails to make it work. The car looks sleeker without the rails anyway.

Removed front and rear sway bars. Discovered both were not setup right. The front had a pre-load, the rear had come loose in it's mounts. All of the urethane bushings were dry as a bone inside. Re-lubed them and reset the end links correctly. The rear was so loose I doubt it was doing much of anything. It will be interesting to see how the handling changes with the sway bars set up right.

Inspected all my tires. Pretty much they are all scrubs now, will have to get some new ones for the next race. $$$$

Cleared the AIM MXL datalogger of all the last year stuff.

 

I haven't gotten around to wrapping the EWG dump pipe, but when I do I'll be sure not to wrap it backwards!

 

I'm down to a doing a thorough inside and outside cleaning, test fit the splitter to make sure I'm not missing any fasteners, and loading up the truck and trailer.

 

I'm hoping to see a couple of ya'll at PIR on Saturday or Sunday.

Edited April 28, 2016 by Sgt.Gator

Free for spectators. My kind of event!

Free for spectators. My kind of event!

 

Absolutely!

And you can enter the paddock to get up close with the cars and teams. I love it when Subaru folks drop by and have motorhead talk!

If the west coast wasn't a 24 hour drive, I'd be there.

If the west coast wasn't a 24 hour drive, I'd be there.

 

Thanks for the update. I continue to live vicariously. ;-)

What time will you be racing sat/sun? Sounds like me and the fam can/will try to come by this weekend

What time will you be racing sat/sun? Sounds like me and the fam can/will try to come by this weekend

 

Most of the day Saturday is Practice and Qualifying. None of them lasts more than 20 minutes.

9:30, 11:00; 12:10; 2:10

 

At 4:00PM is the 1 hour Enduro which I'm splitting the driving with a friend.

 

Sunday is 10:30 Qualifying and 3:00 PM race.

 

My trailer is near the pedestrian overbridge, it's red with Subaru of Bend on the sides. Hope to see you there! If I'm not around it's because I'm also driving my old Acura Integra race car too. It will be paddocked right next to me. Feel free to introduce yourself to whomever is around the cars.

Here's the new wing. No images with wing + splitter until I get to the track.

Hmmm... I know it's totally functional and it's a fricken race car! But it just does not sit right with me, kills the sexy wagon line. Still beats the scaffolding spoiler I saw on a Focus the other day! Good luck out there this weekend. Hope it performs admirably.

Hey all, (especially Finkly!) Just heard from Gator, his phone is on the fritz to post on the forum so he wanted me to give you all an update. Sounds like he's discovered a tick in his dry sump pump and the Silver Eagle won't be racing tomorrow. Possible a bad bearing in the pump he thinks. Either way it would be a bummer to have it go down and cause oiling issues in his motor. He'll be racing the Integra tomorrow and the Legacy will be there but it won't be seeing any track time. Everyone is welcome to still come down but if you had your heart set on seeing the wagon on track, it was just not to be this weekend

Well, the kiddo will still get her first racing experience regardless of the wagon not being on track. Was gonna be a win/lose regardless: see it racing, but not get to see it up close, or vice versa. With kiddo and wife in tow, will probably just be swinging by till naptime.

 

Next time!

The first track-race day of the season was typical, some things worked well, some not at all!

 

The good news:

 

The suspension redo and wing - splitter worked great. The LGT sticks much better to the road. Very happy with the handling. It showed in my lap times.

 

The engine was ran really well. In the SPM qualifying I ran a 1:21 (Non Chicane Course) which I considered excellent on cast off Continental race scrubs. My friend in his NASCAR Monte Carlo was only running 1:19s. With new race tires I should be right up there.

 

The single exhaust with the EWG dumping back in was great! The tranny temps stayed under control, the annoying EWG dump sound is gone, and the car sounds great ripping down the front straight. And my db levels are still very low, in the mid 80s low 90s.

 

The bad:

 

In the Enduro race Saturday afternoon the same turbo hose clamp that blew off in the last race of the 2015 season let go again. I think the problem is a combination of 9 year old silicone hoses getting too hard and using a very short straight silicon coupler at the joint that eventually connects to a FMIC solidly mounted. The hoses are losing their "give" and any movement in the engine strains the boost pipe connections because the FMIC is definitely not moving with the engine.

 

The solution, I'm replacing all the silicone couplers, and in that particular joint I'll use a hump coupler. Also I'm trying new constant tension clamps.

 

The worse: My Aviaid DS pump has developed a knock in it. It's probably my fault, I may have tightened the "fan" belt too tight and now the bearing is gone or the shaft has a wobble.

 

I'm going to remove it from the LGT and go back to a Killer Bee wet sump, I have a spare KB pan from a Spec B I bought last year. My LGT Wagon rarely get's over 1.4 Gs so I'm not as concerned as I would be with an 818. If I were to use this system again I would tighten the belt just barely tight enough to not get slippage. That would take a day of testing at the track because the system has to be really hot to get it set right. My bad.

 

Another reason is there is no place to mount the DS tank in the engine compartment of a Legacy. Having it next to me in the passenger seat area is brutal on a summer day. It radiates heat like having an oven blowing on me. In a LGT Sedan/WRX/STI you could put it in the trunk and wall off the heat, in a wagon I'd have to build an enclosure then hook a powered vent system to blow the hot air out of the interior. Too much to deal with!

 

Having been down the DS road what I would do differently:

 

I would NOT use a system that uses an oem style serpentine belt off an oem style crank pulley. The OEM crank pulley is too large to run the DS pump at the desired 50% of crank speed.

 

I would use the Cosworth if it's still available, otherwise Aviaid, ARE, or Dailey that are entire systems designed for a Subaru that use a belt drive with teeth. They all use a small mandrel off the crank to turn the DS pump at the correct speed. The Cosworth has the advantage of being specifically designed to fit the Subaru engine. There are several small things that at first I didn't appreciate when I was comparing the systems, but now looking back those little things would have made the installation and maintenance easier.

 

The weekend wasn't wasted though. I ran my former Acura Integra in the ITA race and had a great time. Then I watched the Integra's current owner in an epic battle in the Honda Touring class with another Integra. They were nose to tail for 30 straight minutes. It was awesome. Unfortunately my buddy was the tail and never got around the other car, but it was still one of the most entertaining races I've watched in a long time.

 

A a paddock pic:

I decided to stick with the dry sump and give it one more shot. I have an idea for where I can move the oil tank, back behind the driver and halfway thru the floor where the former fuel tank inspection cover is located. That should solve most of the heat blasting me problem.

 

I have a new pump coming with a better pulley. I'll have the old one rebuilt and save it for an 818 build in the future.

 

The new silicone hoses should arrive today. I'll have one hump hose on each side of the FMIC to absorb the slight motion difference between the engine and FMIC.

 

Pics this weekend.

 

Barring unforeseen drama, I will definitely be at Pacific Raceways Fri-Sat-Sun May 13-15. If anyone in the Seattle metro wants to buy my old Cobb axle back dual exhaust let me to bring it up there.

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/wa-cobb-prototype-dual-axle-back-exhaust-252128.html

Oh boy, if you built an 818C I'd be forever jealous.

Oh boy, if you built an 818C I'd be forever jealous.

 

818R. I had one ordered then cancelled 2 years ago waiting to see if they can get the problems figured out. There's been a lot of progress, we have at least three of them that will be racing this year in the PacNW. That will be the real test.

I decided to stick with the dry sump and give it one more shot. I have an idea for where I can move the oil tank, back behind the driver and halfway thru the floor where the former fuel tank inspection cover is located. That should solve most of the heat blasting me problem.

 

what would happen if you built a wall separating you from the tank and insulated it?

Speaking as an interested bystander, not as someone who might have to sign off on it.

what would happen if you built a wall separating you from the tank and insulated it?

Speaking as an interested bystander, not as someone who might have to sign off on it.

 

That would add weight. And we can't allow that.