S13 Track Car Rebuild

[SlaterRacingNZ]

We finally got around to painting the body kit, check it out:








One tyre's side wall got pretty scuffed up from guard rubbing & decided to try eject it's self on the north western motorway.
Luckily enough it happened when we were super close to home, so we laughed it off and swapped it over & carried on our way.

[SlaterRacingNZ]

In prep for an up and coming drift day, I've decided to pay a little bit of attention to our steering setup.
While the previous one was reasonably good, the lower control arms where just to long for our application.

Being that this car is predominantly used for circuit racing, we'll need to be able to clear rims larger than 9.5".
The existing s14 lca's were extended by 50mm, which made it a little bit difficult to run lower amounts of camber.
I also opted to go down the route of relocating our rack by 25mm.
As we previously had gktech offset rack mounts, which don't look all that strong at all based on if we sustained a hit.

Luckily enough we came across a good deal on some 555 lca's, and a s13 subframe and steering rack.




So off the subframe went to BNR Engineering for some Fab work, and how it returned totally blew me away.



Based on the above picture, the only welding you can see is ontop of the subframe the rest of it is completely covered.
Removing the old subframe with the motor still in place wasn't really that hard at all either.
Disconnect the inner\outer Rack ends, unbolt the caster rod & sway bar from the lca & then remove the lca it's self.



Unbolt the two 12mm bolts holding in the steering column union and wiggle it loose.
Unbolt the two 10mm bolts holding the power steering line bushes, unbolt 14 & 17mm in\out hose connecting to the rack.
Drain the fluid into a bucket & unbolt the 4 bolts holding in the steering rack, including the one 10mm holding the left mount on.
Slide the rack out the side and use a flat piece of ply the same size as the sump, jack it up till it supports the motor.
Unbolt both engine mounts (14mm nut on each side), unbolt the 4 19mm bolts holding the subframe to the chassis rails.

Due to the rack being 25mm further forward, the lines now need to move that far in order to screw back into the rack.
What I did was just remove the right power steering line bracket, and cable tie the lines to the middle of the subframe to hold it tight.
Other than that, it's the complete reverse of the removal process and should look this this when you're done.



Then it was time to just put it all back together in it's respective manner:



While I didn't get any real decent pictures, or any of the finished result,
I'll have to share them once I've replaced the left inner rack end that is slightly bent.
After a very short drive, I can honestly say it was well worth the effort.

Now if we ever sustain damage, I don't have to get all agro trying to remove inner rack ends fitted with loctite.

Time will tell once it's put to good use :p

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Why'd you choose Xtreme clutch over an Exedy type?
Looks good all coming together. S15 SR20DETs are nuts, capable of so much power and so reliable. I'd way prefer one over an RB for track days to be honest.

Holy crap man, didn't realize you post this.

Only reason I picked xtreme to be honest, was because of it's price.
A friend of mine worked at bnt when we bought it, so managed to get one for a pretty good price.

If I had a choice, I'd probably still not go with an Excedy just due to how heavy they are.
Something more along the lines of a Nismo Twin Plate would better suit most packages.
 

[SlaterRacingNZ]

As promised, some pictures of the completed front suspension setup:






Also a pic of the rear end all finished:



And once again, back in for another alignment.
This time it was worth adjusting it to be exactly spot on, we also managed to get the camber to bang on 3 degree's this time.



Some of you may look at the picture above of Ethel on full lock and say that's not actually all that much.
And you would be 100% correct in saying that, however she's capable of a lot more with the mods it has already.
All we have to do is get some Caster rod rose joints from gktech, which will move the Rod inward by 25mm giving us that much extra wheel clearance.
Because Ethel is predominantly used for circuit racing, there is no massive push for having huge amounts of lock.

With having a little bit of time off last week, it was time to draw attention to electrical gremlins.
My main focus was to try and fix the tach, as we haven't had a working one since owning the car.
Because an s15 sr20det engine conversion isn't very common in an s13, it yields a bit of problem with fixing the tacho issue.
Pre 90 s13's run a pulse tach signal, which is commonly found on ca18de's / dets & ka24de's.
What I've been able to find out is that I need to convert my dash cluster tach to non pulse, which is the same as earlier model silvias.

Apparently the tach guts of an earlier model sil will fit straight in with minor mods.
So I'll do a bit more research just to 100% confirm whats needed to be done, and then get right onto documenting what to do.

For now I have fixed the gauges so they turn on and off with the ignition switch & aren't running all the time. (Including wiring in the lights)




And! also managed to finally fix my brake lights so they actually work, including the right hand light that was only half going.



Then moved onto repainting the rear parcel tray, something which I never though I'd get around to doing.
As you can imagine getting in the back of the car with the cage in the way was no easy task, and I'm honestly sore af today from climbing in and out.
While in the process of prepping I took the time to remove the speaker hole covers, the right one's rivets weren't even holding it in anymore.
Gave the edges of them a tickle with the grinder just to clean them up as the cut on them was rough as guts.

Needless to say after a fair bit of sanding and masking out, the results of painting it really speak for themselves:




At some point I'll get around to finish off painting the rest of the interior, at least for now the hardest part is done.

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Hi Guys.

A bit of content to get through this time, with regards to lack of updates from previously attended events.
If you didn't know already, most of our updates are done via facebook & easy to keep up with.

So head along to https://www.facebook.com/SlaterRacingNZ and give us a like in order to keep up to date.

Now unfortunately we missed out on posting multiple video's to this forum, but we'll make up for it in this post.
Our first test session was unfortunately not recorded, due to our go pro deciding to miraculously flatten it's self..

Hampton Downs Shakedown Session 10/01/15
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On our first un-recorded shakedown session we spent most of our time in the pits with teething issues, mainly surrounding wheel locking & massive under steer. And were unfortunately unable to resolve the issues we had on the day, so we opted to drive around them & slightly tweak the car to compensate.

So we returned back to hamptons again for the second time with all our issues still, some of which we took a good poke at fixing but others not so much. We opted for fresh rubber as our old semis had completely gone off, and also opted to install a fan shroud & new twin electric 12" fans to fix cooling issues. While the new rubber certainly did help a lot, the shroud and electric fans didn't do any where near as good of a job as they did.

Without further or due here is a link to Ethels second shake down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah_t4rNsqGg

So yet again we came away from the second shake down with a whole pile of issues.
With the oil cooler sitting right infront of the radiator blocking flow, it was causing our water temp to rise up to 110 degree's.



Moving the oil cooler to the right front corner fixed the heat soak, which meant we now had a stable 90 degree oil and water temp. With that one issue fixed it was now time to fully focus on why the car was locking up so easily, and why it was mostly the front left.

After spending hours researching online about my lockup issues, it finally clicked why I was having all these issues.
I'm sure if I posted about it, someone would have quickly told me that my factory bm38 bmc was causing bias issues. All simply because I upgraded to r33 gtst 2 pot rear calipers. So I opted to change my brake booster to an r32 gtr unit (not that I needed to), and also fitted up a brand new bm57 bmc. (Sorry no pictures)

Took it for a test drive after a bleed, and found that it still locked up the left front wheel.
The brakes felt amazing though and worked beautifully compared to before, previously I only had to slightly jump on them and they'd lock. After pulling the front calipers off & checked no pistons were seized, I found that there was no shims on the left caliper. Little shims go between the calipers mounting pegs, which slightly offset the caliper from the knuckle.
Because the left one was offset by a minute amount, it provided far greater clamping force than the right caliper.
So a couple of washers of equivalent size to the right caliper shims, were added to the left caliper which seemingly resolved the issue.

Here's a couple of pics from this shakedown:







Pukekohe Shakedown Session 06/02/15
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This session was so much better than all the previous ones.

We changed a few alignment settings on the front and rear, and also fitted up some whiteline sway bars.
For once the car was handing pretty well, with plenty of turn in but not nearly enough back end.
By the end of the day I was settling into a pretty good rhythm, turn one was a bit sketch due to a deep puddle right on the racing line. Which meant we couldn't take the corner at full pace

After punishing the car for a solid 13 laps, the brake fluid boiled which sent me into the pits on the last session a little early. Having the brake peddle completely hit the floor on me at the end of turn one was pretty fun

Here's some short clips of our blat around pukekohe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2wVRl7zcqI

Also a couple of shots from the day:





S13 Hampton Downs Skid Pan 25-04-15
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This event was by far the most fun I've had driving in a long time.

With a completely flogged gearbox lever boot, we had gearbox oil spewing in the cockpit on our first run.
And our diff ratio was miles off for the lack of power we had, perhaps a 4.1/4.5 diff instead of a 3.9 would have skidded much easier. It took a bit of effort to fix the lever boot temporarily, once it was done we got right back into it.

The skid pan layout didn't change all day, which was a bit gutting to put it politely.
But it was still an immense amount of fun once people were game enough for tandems.

For this event we mucked around with the rear toe settings, and also fitted up a bunch of parts.
Replaced our lca's for 555 units, replaced our inner rack ends as one was bent slightly.
Removed the front subframe and moved the rack forward 25mm, so we could get rid of our gktech offset rack spacers.
Doing this meant we wouldn't struggle to replace a inner rack ends that had been fitted with loctite.

Here's a clip of some runs for the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiwmAwIsId0

Also a couple to many shots from the day:









At the moment we're tossing up weather we pull the car apart for the off season, and make a few well deserved changes.
For now we've started with something simple by replacing our d2 struts with some nice New BC Golds.

Out with the old:



In with the new:

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Hi Guys.

I put together a guide on how to remove the front subframe with the engine and rack still in place.
Feel free to view the full guide located here: http://www.skylinesdownunder.co.nz/forums/index.php?topic=68972.0

In preparation from next seasons ACJS race series, I've been making some small but massive changes to the car.
Last weekends list was to replace my modified knuckles and subframe with factory items.

So while my subframe was out I took the liberty in replacing the Rack to column bush with a solid unit.
And also replaced the racks bushes with Super Pro Nolathane bushes.




These replacement items were inexpensive, and by far one of the best things you can do to improve sloppy steering.
I also did some research on Solid Eccentric bushes that parts shop max make, and if you read the fine print it makes a mention of moving the rack up and forward slightly. This is also the same case on various other solid eccentric rack bushes for s chassis / skyline. So unless you plan to drift your car, then this is very bad for handling performance as it slightly modifies your ackerman angle. (You will notice this change)



I didn't take any pictures of fitting the solid steering column bush.
As I thought at the time I was doing the subframe removal guide, that I should solely focus on the subframe.

How ever I can say it's very easy to do:

While the subframe was removed it was a perfect opportunity to replace the column bush.
Unbolt the 12mm bolt that holds the union to the rack, and be careful as the rack will drop even more again.



Slot a medium size flat head screw driver through the union, so it stops the column from spinning freely.
Grab your 12mm spanner, and slowly but surely undo all the nuts holding the bush in.



The union and shaft will completely come off, so you can just remove the old bush.
I put my union / column shaft in the vice, and slotted the solid bush on and tightened the two nuts down.



Then make sure the steering wheel was dead straight, and proceeded to fit the column shaft back up.
On the unions face it's self it has a vertical line, and on the rack spline it has a dot.
Line those two up and slot the union back onto the rack, but only after you slotted the new bush back into the column first.

Tighten the whole assembly back up again and it should look something like this




And of course we can't forget about the new steering rack bushes.




I also swapped my knuckles out for factory ones.

This is where a hammer becomes your best friend

Using a 32mm socket and a power bar, I removed my wheel bearing nuts.
And then using a 19mm ratchet spanner, removed the brake calipers and rested them on the lcas.

Since I'm running spacers up front the whole rotor & wheel hub came off in one unit, just leaving the knuckle exposed.



Next I carefully removed the split pins from both the lca ball joint, and the outer tie rod end.
And proceeded to remove lca ball joint 22mm nut, and the 17mm outer rack end nut.
Using a hammer I knocked around the area that the lca ball joint seats, eventually they brake loose & the lca drops slightly.
Once again using the same method for the outer tie rod end, to release the joint without breaking any boots.
After the two 19mm bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle were removed, it was just a matter of sliding the knuckle out.

It was the complete reverse again to fit the new one, minus the use of the hammer.
 

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Forgot to share the Alloy radiator shroud we fitted up a while back.

It's a pretty nice piece, and really does tidy up the engine bay considerably.

[SlaterRacingNZ]

There's no real limitation to the off season changes.

As such it was about time to refurbish the boot lid, and give it a decent paint.
In the process we filled in the boot lock & spoiler holes properly, and also fitted some flush boot pins.





New holes cut & pins test fitted.




The old pins wiggled loose over the course of one session, and would be pretty embarrassing to have the boot fly up mid race.
Unfortunately because there was holes already drilled,  it meant mounting the pins in the way of the spoiler mounts.
Which meant the catches had to be notched to clear the spoiler, otherwise the spoiler holes needed to be moved forward.






Once it was all test fitted it was time for a fresh coat of paint.



No more boot lock required.



Also saved some paint for the underside as well.




Certainly looks different with the boot lock removed.

Not really sure if I like it with the new pins or without the boot lock, hopefully it grows on me the more it's looked at.





We've also been having issues with mounting the seat in best location due to the cross member.
Contact was made with msnz and lvvta, after some back and forth discussion they advised it's fine to remove it.

If the floor flexed and visibly move around with some force by hand, then it had to re-enforced.
Luckily it doesn't budge at all with running fixed rails on the floor, and now the seat is bang on where it has to be.






Sitting much further forward now:

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Not long now before our first competition race on the 5th of september.

With there being a massive track width difference between the front and rear, a distance difference of 50mm. It was necessary to button the lca off to even up the track width from front to back. As such we now had a gaping +55mm fender gap.

So off with the old +55 origin guards and on with the +20.

The gaps where a little all over the place, and took a lot of adjusting to get them correct.
Then came the bonnet which was another mission on it's own to fit right.

Anyways. After a coat of paint was slapped then it was time to adjust the bonnet, with a lot of work it eventually lined up.
With a quick chomp out of the bonnet with a dremel, in no time at all the flush bonnet pins were fitted up.






Not much left to do now:
-5mm slip on spacers up front & press fit longer gktech wheel studs.
-Some Semi Slicks
-Fit up new Rotors and brakepads with Gktech offset caliper adapters.
-Fix the Tacho & plumb up a surge tank.[/list]

[SlaterRacingNZ]

This mod was a matter of convenience due to having most of the materials already.

Because of selecting the intake pipe breather hose to use for the catch can feed, it required the breather inlet port to be blocked off. This was rather simple as all I did was tap a thread into it and thread in a rather large bolt till it bottomed out, cut the top off it and added a notch for a flathead screw driver.




Then made up the relative intake pipe to suite the stock ones length and angles.
One 90 degree 2.5" hose & Straight 2.5" hose, with a 45 degree 2.5" alloy pipe chopped to suite.
Air flow meters are a bit funny with changing your intake pipes length, so I made sure the new one stayed the same length.



Mounting the catch can & mocking up how I wanted it to look was the time consuming part.
And decided to mount it in the left corner with a couple of brackets, and also made a drainage hole for it.  For some reason the 90 degree press fit rocker fitting from nzkw had to much meat on it, so I had to chop the end of it off by like 10mm before it would knock into the rocker cover.




But yeah anyway, this is a good concept that works well which others are more than welcome to use.
The 2 port 1 ltr bottle was bought from sta parts, along with the  straight fittings and hose all done in -10 an. It also comes with a free blank off bung. All up it probably set me back 200 ish for the complete setup including the intake pipe and pod filter.

[BLKR32]

Awesome work dude, love how this has come out. Changed so much since I saw her many moons ago.

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Awesome work dude, love how this has come out. Changed so much since I saw her many moons ago.

Thx man. Been a little bit stressful, but getting there slowly. Should have done a segment of rebuilding the gearbox 2 weeks ago, including shimming a new diff & changing drive shafts. There's still a lot that has changed that goes unnoticed

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Happy New years and Shiz peoples.

Apologies for the lack of updates, but it's been far to hectic to keep ontop of things.
Predating to acjs round 1 we had a little bit of an incident with some aero catches, which saw the bonnet hit the windscreen at about 220kph.
Needless to say it caused a fair bit of damage to the roof skin, and took us out of competition for the rest of the day including the next round.



We've attended round 3\4 since repairing the roof & implementing other bits and pieces, I'm very pleased to say that the car just keeps getting better and better.
Last weekend (Round 4 Taupo) we came away with a really good result, finishing second over all for the weekend.

Below is the progress shots of repairing the roof:













Also took the time to make some new quarter glass and added a little personal touch to it as well.
Rivnuts and some sleek allen key screws make it look a lot tidier.




And the finished product with all the new decals on:



The weird thing about this experience is it was the second time I've had a bonnet hit the windscreen, except the first time was only at 60kph.
Even at that speed it still did a bit of damage to the roof, and was totally my fault by forgetting to fasten the pins.
So after scavenging cash for months to buy a new bonnet, it was pretty devastating to have the new one smashed to pieces and the roof left in tatters.
Not only was this a big setback funds wise, but was also a big knock to the confidence. 

It was a life changing moment being blinded by the bonnet at that colossal speed, especially the horrendous sound it made when hitting the windscreen\roof.
Having only a small gap to peep out between the bonnet at the firewall at 200+kph, was by far the scariest thing I've ever done.
Trying to pull the car up heading really hot into turn one at hamptons, and trying to avoid hitting anyone at the same time was very difficult.
The thought of the bonnet flying up again is always in the back of my mind every time I drive, and certainly wouldn't wish the experience on anyone.

Part of eliminating this fear while racing, is knowing the current catch system is bullet proof.
So I chucked a factory catch back on and made a pull release for it by the grill, including adding some racetech stainless steel bonnet pins.

This will hopefully keep my anxiety at bay:






During the tidy up I decided to make a new dash cluster & completely rewire the ignition.
Really stoked with how the dash cluster and narva switches have turned out, that will sure sort out any random ignition short outs.




Here's an in car highlights video of round 3 Pukekohe.
Sorry I didn't get any footage of last weekends round 4 at Taupo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIEGGOkHJsY

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Here's a couple of videos that were uploaded earlier in April from our last round of ACJS Round 7.

Practice Session:

Race 1:

Race 2:

Race 3:


I'll update this thread at some point within the next week, with last seasons developments on the car.
This build is on the back burner while I "refurbish" the skyline, and deliberate if I race next season or not.

Unfortunately I didn't have much time to take photos while working on Ethel, so some after photos will have to suffice for now.

[SlaterRacingNZ]

Bit of a late post - Here's a few clips from this season (ACJS Round 3 Pukekohe).
Haven't changed a heck of a lot on the car between seasons, just slightly wider tyres and a bit of an alignment adjustment.

Managed to qualify P1 on our first race back for the season, not a bad effort for being out of the coming up a year.

Qualify Lap:

Race 1:

Race 2:

Race 3: