• Hello Guest, welcome to the initial stages of our new platform!
    You can find some additional information about where we are in the process of migrating the board and setting up our new software here

    Thank you for being a part of our community!

Gary's "I'll keep this one stock" 745Ti build

Gary, did you ever root cause that piston skirt wear on the CP (JVAB sourced) pistons? Looks pretty obscene, still running that way?

How much original clearance did you have when you built that shortblock?

Last - don't paint it..... the stealth factor is gone with killer paint.
 
SE kit went onto the stock bumpers, but the SE kit was for a 90 non-fog front end, same as my car came from the factory so the support was the same.

The skirt wear was attributable to the rings butting, causing the pistons to scrub.
 
So, an interesting little update...

Forgot I had a different EZK tune laying around. Swapped that in, definitely a good bit happier, the stumble/surge in boost has gone, still a bit sluggish getting into boost until LH realizes and sends the AFR's down to 12's, then it rips.

Another interesting find. Wandering thru Napa a couple months back, waiting in line, I saw some LiquiMoly Ceratec oil additive. Had some time to wait in line so I did some initial research online (it was a long wait). Solid reviews on legit sites for the stuff, figured I'd give it a shot since it also happened to be on sale. Now, keep in mind I'm a skeptic to additives in general. Put a full bottle in, DEFINITELY noticed a difference. Runs smoother, piston slap is MUCH quieter, some porosity on the cam is filled in, can't scratch the stuff out with a fingernail, oil pressure is up 2-3psi, oil temps dropped a good bit. Overall seems to have made a difference, will see how it does longer-term.

Need to get it on ramps, verify the wastegate tension is right, kinda feels like it's a little under on preload. Also need to remove the external fuel system check valve I added in with the Airtex pump, since the AEM has one in it, one less fuel restriction.

That said, had a blast getting on the freeway with an A5 today that thought he was all that. Ruined his morning. 2nd gear is hilarious. lol
 
So, minor update. Finally got it out to the track, had some serious issues building boost at the line, plus LH was being a PITA, knock enrichment was back, even with 50/50 E85 in the tank. Octane booster resolved that, cam timing was changed a little yesterday, resolved some of those issues. Still a little laggy to build boost but at 5psi it was lighting the tires, so cam timing really did help. Then popped a hose off the turbo today, got that resolved along with another issue that showed up, so it should be good to go.
 
Well done Gary! I always knew this one was a great sleeper. Nice to see the results of all this hard work really come together to a well rounded driver.
 
Thanks Dave. :)

So, a little update from this week.

Tuning kit for the Forge wastegate arrived, red spring installed, 1/2 turn of preload, and it holds 20psi from a roll, may spike to 22 max if you drop down a gear but that's it, and no MBC. Only thing is the boost response is a little different than before, but it still pulls hard enough that it's not an issue.

Just resolved an idle issue as well. Turns out when you start dialing things in and increase the airflow, you need to adjust the base airflow as well. The stock 1/4 turn after contact for the throttle stop is NOT enough at this point, needed 3/4 turn to just barely idle around 450. Fixing that also resolved the issue with dying when coming down to an idle when driving (like speed bumps).

Last but not least, cam timing. Tried 5*, improved things, didn't wind as nice. Dropped it down to 4, let it learn a bit, had to refuel, ended up around 60/40 on this batch, and now it has another issue. A brakestand at 5psi will light the tires, 15psi from a roll in 1st will obliterate the tires, 2nd gear is absolutely awesome.

Cool, doing well finally.

AND...now the next part. Finally found the knock enrichment issue! Haven't confirmed yet, BUT, I finally got my eyes on the EZK base map, then compared that to the MS map I had that was tuned on my car, in the current setup. Turns out the spark timing on the EZK map is WAY hot in the high load bins, so in order to not knock, it's having to pull 6-9* of timing, which is probably why it starts dumping fuel. Got a local that has an ostrich so hopefully in the next couple months we'll get some time to go tune EZK on my car, then address some fuel map issues as well, get a custom tune for it on pump gas, and see what it'll do. Might have to see if there's a way to switch between an E85 map and a 91* map on both EZK and LH, and see how that does. At least now I know the why. Sure, I can just go with MS, but I kinda want to see just how far I can push LH as well.
 
Nice wagon!

What are the dimensions for the spacers you used to fit the 114.3 Subaru wheels? 114.3 opens up a ton of options for nice, relatively inexpensive wheels!
 
I'm running 35mm up front, 30 in the back. Did the math a little wrong, should have done 35's all around. FYI, the STI wheels are ET53, bit on the high side.
 
Well, been a LONG time since my last update, time for a few details.

Over the last year I've been doing some custom tuning, resolved some issues that were tune related, got more power and better driveability from it, and just running it. Until 2 weekends ago. Apparently I was pushing the injectors a bit too far, had one stick closed, destroyed #4 exhaust valve, seat, burned into the port itself, shattered the ceramic around the plug electrode, embedded part of that into the piston. I haven't swapped rod bearings yet, possibly next weekend, but oil pressure has been holding steady. Swapped a bone stock 530 head on since the 531 is hurt and needs a good bit of work once I get a replacement valve. That said, my previous best time was 13.52 @ 104 on the 531 head. Same boost level, a lot of tuning, and a stock 530 I was able to eek out a 13.50 at 101, pretty dang respectable for around 19psi, and fighting traction issues all day.

mrjXxR7l.jpg

FijMnnyl.jpg

Bfixo8nl.jpg

BDEKB4bl.jpg

9RB5Jrrl.jpg

a1fNaDtl.jpg
 
Bad luck man. But i am sure you will make it much better than before!
Hope 2020 gives you much more whp than 2019 :cool:
 
Well folks...time for a little update here.

February 2020 - The poor AW71L finally had enough, started slipping 2nd gear. Tossed in my spare only to find the converter was failing. While installing a new converter I found, the hard way, that there was around 0.090" end play in the crank! Figuring it was just bearings, Ryan and I dropped the pan, pulled the rear cap, and were greeted by a destroyed crank thrust surface. Fortunately, Ryan had a spare crank from a block to be junked, so that went in with new bearings, new converter, car back on the road for another 18 months. Still no idea how or why the thrust failed on it.

Fast forward a few months, and a bunch of parts sales, a killer deal on another block, and the beginnings of a completely fresh engine build came about.
- Traum 96.5mm pistons, full length skirts, offset pins, spec'd for 8.5:1, and long rods to go with them
- BMW squirters (before I found the jig went MIA)
- STS cam gear
- STS stainless water pump pipe
- SPM Stage IV head and Unitek PH1 cam
- ARP head studs
- B230 intake with a Nathaninwa adapter to run a 960 throttle body
- M181 oil pump with IPD B20 spring in it, along with .070" of shims under the spring

Took almost 6 months at the machine shop, due to the pandemic, higher than normal workload, and the loss of his lead machinist. Finally got all the parts back from him, only to find that my wonderful girlfriend went behind my back, and footed the bill for the machine work as my birthday present! So, all the parts are here, machine work looks great, get to building it, everything went together really nice until I got to the aux shaft. Something in the rear bearing wasn't right, ended up having to get another set of bearings and replace the rear. Finally got it all buttoned up, ready to drop in.

Loaded the whole setup into the wagon, rolled down to Ryan's place Friday afternoon. By 11pm we had the motor down to a couple bellhousing bolts away from removal, good enough for the night. Saturday rolled around, 11am in the garage, by noon the old motor was out. Swapping a few parts to the new one, found some crank damage that was fixable, couple other little things, engine back in, oil in, pressure came right up with a drill, so we got everything else mounted, rolled it back into the garage to finish it up. 9pm rolled around, key in, fired up like it had been running for years, no fuss, no weirdness, nothing (other than having the wires backwards on the oil pressure sender). Pressure was good, everything is quiet, burped the coolant, then packed the car up, cleaned up the garage, and rolled out by 11.

As of now, I'm still weirded out with out quiet it is. Loudest things on the motor are the belts and injectors, with just a hint of valve tick from no silencers and wider clearances. No rattle whatsoever, which the old motor had from day one. Power, with the same tune, is notable better, really wants to spool and pull. Soon enough I'll get the nice intake in and along with that will be MS, goal is to have that done and tuned before May.

Definitely glad to get it done, nice having it solid again. I'll post some pics once I get imgur back going again.
 
Back
Top