AJ124

Not really done much recently due to ongoimg health issues. Last week i had a replacement under body aero panel fitted as the original had got damaged and split.
I've picked these up to try. They are being fitted on Thursday

 

Few updates
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I haven't updated this in a while and a few things have happened since then.
I fitted the Perrin strut brace, some HEL braided brake hoses and fitted a bucket seat for a trackday at Bedford.
After taking advise from a few kind members who messaged me regarding the potential issues with the sump baffle, that has been sat in my garage gathering dust. Although when I had my car serviced by Mark@Abbey he told me about a solution and provided me with some information so I can safely modify and use the sump baffle. Along with a test drive of his awesome Harrop SC car.
While I was there Mark managed to sell me a Superpro front wishbone kit to remove the dead spot in the steering that has always annoyed me. These are also gathering dust to be fitted asap!
I have also purchased some 911 GT3 brake ducts to help with on track cooling of my stock brakes as I glazed my discs at Bedford in February, these will be replaced with Pagid oe until I can afford the BBK I want. 
Lastly for the moment I have ordered some Tein Flex A's and picked up some Cusco lca's in preparation   

I haven't updated this in a while and a few things have happened since then.
I fitted the Perrin strut brace, some HEL braided brake hoses and fitted a bucket seat for a trackday at Bedford.
After taking advise from a few kind members who messaged me regarding the potential issues with the sump baffle, that has been sat in my garage gathering dust. Although when I had my car serviced by Mark@Abbey he told me about a solution and provided me with some information so I can safely modify and use the sump baffle. Along with a test drive of his awesome Harrop SC car.
While I was there Mark managed to sell me a Superpro front wishbone kit to remove the dead spot in the steering that has always annoyed me. These are also gathering dust to be fitted asap!
I have also purchased some 911 GT3 brake ducts to help with on track cooling of my stock brakes as I glazed my discs at Bedford in February, these will be replaced with Pagid oe until I can afford the BBK I want. 
Lastly for the moment I have ordered some Tein Flex A's and picked up some Cusco lca's in preparation   

I'm trying to source a spare wheel myself at the moment, if a few people are interested in the mod then I can get a bit of a group buy going on, it will bring the cost of the machined parts down considerably, 1offs are always expensive!

Another busy day was spent taking out the interior, test fitting the bucket seats, creating a mount for the 5 strap on my harnesses to bolt onto and obviously continuing with the engine

Seat just about fits!

Engine mounts are finished and sent off to the powder-coaters to be made a little prettier.
Gearbox mount is also finished, you can see where we've used the original mounts that we chopped off and welded back into the tunnel a bit further back for the BMW box.

Both the OEM and BMW box have the same mount for the shifter, just needs to be made a little longer due to the BMW box being around 2 inches shorter
So engine block and gearbox are all mounted in position, next was to start drawing up ideas for the location and mounting point of the supercharger, oil reservoir and lines for the charger, inlet and outlet pipes for the supercharger and routing for pipes for air filter and intercooler
Nev and Lee will be continuing to work hard on the car over the next few weeks and I'll be popping in whenever I can to help out and get updates. All coming together nicely! 

Looking good. 
Yes the alcantara does stop the reflection from the binnacle.

See also youtube vids
As I have just got a new phone and new adpator and had to configure it again, I thought I'd add a thread on here for the benefit of others
 
The Torque App
 
Its an app (http://torque-bhp.com/) that can be run on an Android device to monitor the vehicles ECU using a blue tooth adaptor plugged into the ODBII port (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-board_diagnostics#OBD-II)
 
The torque app lets you monitor various data points that the ECU uses and can also display (and if you purchase the paid for version, reset) vehicle fault codes
 
The torque app will also use your devices GPS and accelorometers to allow speed and G to be measured and it can log data against GPS location, producing a map that overlays on Google maps of your speed or oil temp on a journey.
 
The adaptor
 
This plugs into the ODBII port provided by manufacturers for monitoring the ECU and makes data available to another device via bluetooth. This can be anything the ECU monitors examples include rpm, coolant temp, oil temp, inlet temp, air fuel ratio etc. The one you want is an ELM327 one.
 
They come in various shapes but with where its situated on the '86 you either want a short one or some sort of extension or its likely to hit your left leg when driving
 
The one I got was this one from fleabay (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231164930452?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649) you can get cheaper ones but the £8 one I bought last time stopped working after about 6 months so I thought I'd risk a bit more this time
 
Plug in the adaptor
 
You can find the connector for it under the dash, look above where your left knee would be when seated and you should find it. Note the connector is shaped so you have to get it the right way round
 
Pair the ODBII device to your Android device
 
Power on your car to power up the dongle, I did it with the engine running so I knew it would have power. Go into your device settings and make sure bluetooth is on and search for new devices
 
Mine appeared at first as a HEX address a bit like a MAC address ie AA:11:22:33:44:DD but then updated to appear with the name OBDII
 
Select the device and it should ask you enter a pairing code, for mine this was 1234, some use 0000, check with your supplier if neither work
 
Start Torque
 
When you start Torque it will ask you to choose the bluetooth device, select the adaptor you paired above.
 
If you then select Realtime information the Torque App will start displaying data received from your car, rpm is the obvious one to check, press the go pedal and watch it rise !
 
You can configure the display to change what is shown, you can also modify what data is logged on a journey
 
There is also some point where it asks for setting up a profile for your car, it does this when you first use it but as mine is already setup I can't remember what it asked.
 
To reconfigure the display press and hold on any of the dials to get a menu that lets you delete, move, resize, change dial type
 
To add a new display press and hold on an empty area of the screen and you get a add menu
 
Oil Temperature
 
Although Oil Temperature is a normal ODBII PID our car doesn't use the standard one, it uses a bespoke one instead.
 
The Torque App can be configured to monitor this custom PID as follows
 
Open the Torque app and then hit the menu button.
 
Select "Manage extra PIDs/Sensors" (should be second from the bottom).

Hit the menu key again and select "Add custom PID".
 
Enter the following information
 
OBD2 Mode and PID: 2101
Minimum Value: -40
Maximum Value: 215
Scale factor: x1
Unit type: C
Equation: AC-40
OBD Header: 7E0
Hit ok. The oil temp parameter will now be available for logging and real time display.

Interesting parcels on their way from various parts of the world... :-)
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Welcome along, I have changed my gearknob to a team voodoo one, there's a pic in my build thread. I changed it because the stitch line and shape annoyed me. 
 
The other improvement I have made is an arm rest, I made my own and trimmed it in black alcantara to retain use of a cup holder, but Toyota do a genuine one which covers the entire hole in the center console. Makes a huge difference to comfort for daily and distance drives.

Exciting things are happening in my garage at the moment... 

Yesterday involves a 470mile round trip to see the guys in action at TSS and also collect one of my favourite mods for the car so far 
We originally ordered this towards the end of last year, only to be told that the mould wasn't right and it could take up 6 months for it to be rectified! So I got my money back and waited for updates. Gladly, Chris @Tarmac messaged me about 6 weeks ago, money was paid again and the waiting game began...I had to collect it from Chris as we didn't want to send it through the UK parcel network with it being such a large and fragile item - thankfully it's in PERFECT condition
AMS VIS Racing carbon bootlid 


Time for a test fit. Old boot off

New boot on



Absolutely LOVE it! Couple of shots from the same angles to compare before and after




Fitment is basically perfect, just a shame they forgot to cut the whole on the underside of the boot where the wiring grommet goes so I've got to find someone that can cut carbon nicely for me now, as I don't dare touch this with anything sharp!

Does it just clip on? How hard to install?
Looks utterly mint in the photos and I'll be chasing AJ for one if it's easy to install.

It's a doddle. One screw, lift the front & pull. AJ kindly did a quick tutorial for me too. Top man IMO. Wife very pleased too.

@Squadrone Rosso glad your happy.

Received the leather covered binnacle today.
It's a work of art! Thanks to AJ. Lovely chap to deal with.
Will fit tomorrow & post pictures:)

Ordered ours from AJ. Looks amazing in the pictures so can't wait to receive it

Thanks to @Deacon for measuring the stock ARBs so I could finish of my suspension calculation spreadsheet. In a past life I used to design suspension for a living so its been good to refresh my memory on how it all works and generate a tool that hopefully others will find useful. You can download a copy here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/87478421/GT86%20and%20BRZ%20Spring%20and%20ARB%20Rate%20Comparison.xlsx
My main reason for doing this was to decide what replacement springs to order for my HKS dampers that will complement either the stock ARBs or stiffer Whiteline ARBs. My car is a Daily Driver with occasional track use and I drive over some pretty hideous roads on my way to work each day so I was concerned that a 6kg/6kg spring setup would be too much, I also had to consider that HKS only recommend a +/-2kg rate change without re-valving the dampers.
I've gone for 4.8kg F and 5.3kg rear in the end, which should have slightly more oversteer than my stock BRZ with the standard ARBs with consideration of the improved camber control at the front as well (the rear is pretty good already as its multi-link, but McPherson struts aren't great, especially when lowered a lot)  and whatever I choose it to be depending on the setting of the adjustable ARBs. 
There's most of the popular spring combos on there and you can enter data for any aftermarket bars if you've got the rate, %change or just the bar dimensions. Most people neglect to consider the proportional share of the springs and ARB's when it comes to thinking about the change in handling. Looking at the sheet you can see that a 6/6 setup on a GT86 shifts the handling balance towards that of a stock BRZ. I understand why @Lauren went for 5/6, with consideration of the extra grip from the improved camber control at the front I can see why its more playful at the rear though!
One important note is that all of this is best compared for steady-state (i.e. mid corner) balance, damper and alignment settings play a significant part in corner entry and corner exit characteristics. Carroll Smith's "Engineer in your Pocket" is a great read for this. http://www.carrollsmith.com/books/#pocketbook-detail
Feel free to ask if you have any questions about how the spreadsheet works.

At TD today ahead of the big meet tomorrow having rear diff insert bushes, subrame insert bushes, front castor bushes and GT3 front brake ducts fitted.

The car's now back with me for a little bit to receive some much needed TLC
She was picked up from Abbey's this morning and transported back home to spend a few weeks on my driveway. Just want to say a big thank you again to @Mark@Abbey M/S and the team for everything they've done so far. It's been a tough few months but Mark and Scott kept me up to date every step of the way and have really helped me out in so many ways  



It's great to see her again and even better to have her home, but she is looking a bit rough - no engine, no gearbox, rusty brake discs, filthy dirty etc 


Can see through the car from the interior!

And there seems to be some bits missing under the bonnet...

I couldn't help but have a bit of tinkering time with her after so long, so decided to start fitting my aftermarket steering wheel boss and quick release, but didn't get very far when I realised I've got the wrong hub  just 1 character difference in the part number, should hopefully have the correct one soon thanks to @Tarmac

Various boxes of bits also came with the car, still a a few more bits to collect later in the week!

Last thing to do today was to put her up on axle stands and remove the wheels, ready for a deep cleaning session at the weekend (if I get time!)

V8 has been stripped, blasted and painted ready to go. Gearbox is being custom made using a BMW casing as the 1UZ only ever came with an automatic transmission in the Soarer. Hopefully she won't be sitting on the driveway for too long, we're planning to have the V8 conversion completed by the end of April/beginning of May  
 

Update:
Today got wheels, tyres and coilovers fitted!
Lots yet still to be done with changing hardware and dialling in Fitment!
Few pictures for now




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So it's time to start a build thread, for my ginger 86, which has become known as "Max Weapon" since the plate more or less spells that, and I like it in an 80s action hero kind of way.
Previously I'd fitted a K&N drop in air filter, but today he got his first proper mod, a new exhaust manifold and overpipe. I'd like to post pics, but in the excitement of trying to get it done myself before my garage time ran out I forgot to take any. I also forgot to put the undertrays back on, oops. Guess I'll be under the car on axle stands tomorrow for that. I'll try to snap a pic of the manifold while I'm at it.
Also planned for today was a Milltek secondary cat back, but that was stumped as I couldn't get the midpipe to join to the stock front pipe correctly. Any hints from anyone who has fitted one?
Results so far are fairly minimal noise wise. Since I'm running the majority of the stock pipe it's not gotten much louder. There's a definite change in tone from the UEL manifold though. Looking forward to the proper sound when I get the cat back on.
Not noticed a big difference in power either really, but I'm due in for a remap at TD next weekend, so I think that will be when I properly feel it.

After a miserable day weather wise my mood was brightened considerably by the news that the Harrop SC kit has arrived at Abbey Motorsport and is now on its way to me 
I originally had the last weekend of the month scheduled for fitting all the "coming soon" upgrades, I somehow doubt I'll be able to wait until then!

Thank you @Minion
This is now SOLD pending payment.

Thank you @Minion
This is now SOLD pending payment.