Build - Details and Issues Encountered
Well. No project that is this far out of the box gets done without a few special tricks and problems along the way... First, here are a few additional shop pictures from the build.
Wiring and Install - Dropping in the engine, engine in the bay, the wiring rat's nest during the AEM install, and the boost controller in center dash.
Exhaust - view of downpipe and headers from underside and fabrication of single 3.5" exhaust.
Radiator and Cooler - Attempt 1...using an end-tank oil cooler from the World Challenge cars.
Problem 1 - Stuffing 10 pounds of turbo in a 2 pound engine bay. This stuff is jammed in here. Really jammed. This required cutting out the shock tower to fit the downpipe (we can still get 4 degrees of front camber) - this was known.
The surprise was the filter/intake that we had decided that we would finish at the end of the project, not during design. The initial track test was with the fast solution - cut a hole in a junk hood! To class it up a little, we did modify the filter assembly and make it work when we winstalled our new carbon hood.
Problem 2 (and 4, and 5) - Cooling
It seems tht efficient or not, this thing produces a lot of heat. Makes sense since it produces a lot of energy - in 8 laps at the track it sucked down 3/4 of a tank of fuel - that is roughly 2 MPG if you are doing the math. So where does this energy go, besides through the spinning rear tires to the ground? Well, apparently not only out the exhaust, but into anything plastic or rubber under the hood, including wiring and hoses. And the cooling system - which is at this point clearly sub-par. We changed the remaining rubber lines to braided stainless, added a larger oil cooler, installed a metal valve cover, shielded roughly everything that we could from the manifold/turbo/downpipe, and added every bit of every type of insulation we could jam in. The result is quite clean.
Problem 3 - It Flies!
Minor but funny... On street tires, we hit 170 at VIR in roughly a 1/2 mile section coming off a tight turn. Which means we were only at about 150 on the front straight where the to-date unnoticed rise and bend at the starter's stand is. However, at 150, this little bend put the wagon pointing about 45 degrees toward the inside wall of the track as it lost grip. Time for a spoiler! This one bolts on under the roof racks for easy removal.
