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Chet Rickerman 2017 build thread

29K views 53 replies 24 participants last post by  Kennyjames 
#1 · (Edited)
The day I picked it up over 5 years ago. I bought the car used with less than 20k miles. It came with Cobb intercooler pipes, Perrin FMIC, AMS HFC and a HKS Legamax exhaust. I cant tell you how happy I was that day.



The first thing I did was get rid of the stock aero kit. I didnt like how it looked and preferred the base look more. I also traded the HKS exhaust for a custom dual 3" because I wanted the car to be moar loud.

Here it is on my first autoX with the car. It was fun, but I wanted MORE.


Back then I thought stiffer car = better handling, so I got some awesome (not really) BC BR coilovers. Dropped it low.


Here is what my engine looked like at that time


I added a Harmon motive intake and MAP O2 dump downpipe. That got annoying pretty fast especially being on the stock turbo and the wastegate opening at 11ish psi. I switched that out for a MAP recirculated downpipe and it stayed like that for a couple months. Then I got a smokin deal on a used FP green and some DW1000 injectors. That was a fun setup even though one of the injectors ended up clogging on me and the car sounded like a subaru. I picked up a set of new FIC1100's and a AEM FPR setup. The new sound from the anti-surge porting was glorious.

It was around this time that I started to dive more into the weight loss extravaganza. It started with removing the A/C, replacing the stock front crossmember with the AMS lightweight front crossmember, some Bride seats with buddy club low seat rails (which position you sooo much better than the stock seats). To go along with the seats, I got a Momo steering wheel with a Works Bell hub. One of my favorite mods because it looks awesome and feels better when driving IMO. Once I felt the difference from losing some pounds, the addiction started, lol. Airbags were next (I didnt care since the airbag light was already on from the removal of the passenger seat). By themselves the airbags dont weigh much, but as you add them all up they are a decent amount of weight lost.

Then went the front and rear crash beams, which we all know are pretty heavy. I cut out the door crash bars which are made out of a thicker walled steel tube. I originally made some long brackets that hung from the top radiator support bar to hold the FMIC, but I ended up just getting rid of them as some quality silicone couplers and t-bolt clamps can easily hold up the FMIC. But so the FMIC doesnt move around, I made a very small and simple bracket out of aluminum that basically secures the FMIC to the driver side lower radiator stay. Then I added an aluminum driveshaft from Bills Englewood Driveshaft


I got rid of the horrible riding BC coilovers and upgraded to the Fortune Auto 500's. At first I used the fortune auto springs that came with them, but I replaced them with Swift springs which made a noticeable improvement in the ride. I gutted my stock hood and trunk, and removed all of the sound deadening with dry ice. In hindsight i wish I would have taken my time more instead of just hammering away at the sound deadening and denting the floor panels. Gutting the stock hood and trunk took FOREVER because all I had at the time was a dremel and the small metal cutting discs which only cut a foot before each disc would wear out.


At this point, I traded my rockford radio system and sub for just the base model system along with some cash for new wheels. The tires sucked (Dunlop DZ-101) but I was extremely happy to finally have the wheels flush with the body.


I added a Kozmic surge tank and APR GTC-300 to prepare for my future track days, which actually didnt happen for a couple years because I had 2 babies in a row.





Running that setup, I got bored in a few months and wanted more top end power. My friend was selling his FP red so I picked that up and installed it in couple hours. Around that time MAPerformance came out with their 2000cc injectors, and I wanted a challenge with tuning, so I picked up a set of those and dialed them in as best as I could on E85. Trying to push more power, I said screw it and went for broke with the red and set the boost at almost 40 psi. But at my altitude it would taper off to less than 30 psi.

FP red setup


Car weight with FP red setup


Well I loved the torque that the FP red gave, but it would taper off pretty good up top and I was willing to sacrifice some torque in exchange for more top end, so I called up MAP and ordered their EF4 on black friday. Up until then I was running a MAP short runner exhaust manifold, and knowing that I was going to be tracking my car, I sold the short runner because I know it would eventually crack. I picked up a full race pro-stock manifold which was one of my best purchases at the time. That manifold is WELL worth the cost.

I got my car together around February and the EF4 was extremely fun, but my clutch was giving up. So I picked up a used ACT 6-puck with streetlite flywheel. Some people dont like lighter flywheels for DD'ing, but I loved it. The faster engine response was awesome. While the car was all apart I removed the stock HVAC unit and I was going to rig up some type of heater using the stock heater core, but I ended up just installing a flex-a-lite mojave heater. I also removed some of the unused plugs and wires at this time. I also learned to make sure that the plugs really arent used, lol. Some plugs have a small connector that connects all the pins together so that the systems can communicate. After waiting on the pre-order list for several months, my APR CF mirrors finally arrived and I threw them on. I love how it changed the look of the car.


Not really liking the APR GTC-300 look, I decided to sell it and pick up a Aeromotions R2 Static wing with 17" uprights so that the wing is above the roof line. I also sold my Fortune auto 500's and finally got a set of JRZ RS1 coilovers. The difference in the ride and handling was awesome




Then I sold my 10.5" black RPF1's for a set of gunmetal (RARE!! lol) RPF1's that were only 9.5" and a little lighter but will still fit some pretty wide tires.


Getting tired of rubber hoses cracking and degrading, I replaced all the non fuel hoses in the engine bay with silicone equivalent for better pressure and cracking resistance. I also use hair spray and zip ties to keep the hoses very secure.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
The EF4 was very fun, but I got a killer deal on a BB FP Black turbo, and I wanted to try it out to see how the BB center housing was. I sold the EF4 and put on the Black and had some fun with that for the summer. Winter rolled around again and I took the Black off to send into FP and get refreshed. I always wanted the BW EFR 8374 ever since it was announced, and I figured that if I was going to sell the Black, I might as well sell it while I can get the most for it. So I sold that along with everything else that went along with the stock frame turbo, and called up Full Race to place my order :D

February rolled around and my full race kit arrived. I had sex with the EFR box a couple dozen times. Here is a pic I took of glorious compressor wheel.


Here are a few pics after I wrapped the manifold with titanium wrap and installed the kit. I made a few changes to the intake over the next month. First I cut off some of the intake and added a longer air filter.




Then I decided to go a step further and add a velocity stack with the largest air filter AEM makes, lol. I did notice a small improvement with the addition of the velocity stack.


Getting bored with the stock fuel rail look, I upgraded to the radium fuel rail with the fuel pulse damper. I also redid all my fuel lines to Viton lined braided hose and under the car, I used aluminum fuel line to help reduce the fuel temperature during track days.


Along with the Radium fuel rail, I upgraded to a Radium multi pump fuel surge tank with a walbro 450 pump. I went with the MPFST for the larger fuel capacity. Even though the wally 450 flows a ton of fuel, you would be really surprised at how quiet it is. Here you can see the Radium surge tank along with where I decided to mount my remote reservoirs for the JRZ RS Pros


Ditching the crankcase pressure setup I had before (a couple of hoses routed to the ground), I decided to do it properly and I installed a pair of Saikou Michi catch cans then had two 3/8" bungs welded on my intake to recirculate the crank case vapors. I also installed a ball valve at the bottom of each so I could drain them quickly and very easily.


I got a rare super JDM Ralliart 2 point strut bar since I feel that the car needs one if you intend on taking your car on tracks with turns. This thing is really light as well, only 1.1kgs


I did 2 full track days on this setup and did not have a single issue....... besides becoming addicted to track days.


Well it is winter again (Dec 2014) and my car is back under the knife. I cut off the lower radiator support and welded on a thin wall chromoly tube replacement that weighs less than a pound, and boxed in the frame rails for a cleaner look. Then I will be welding in a "crash bar" made from thin wall chromoly but its only purpose will be to serve as a chassis mounting point for the forward most part of the splitter I am going to install. Once I am done with all this I will paint the new items with the same color paint to avoid corrosion and to get the best look.




Small update (1/21/15), I added a MAF straightener to my intake a few inches before the MAF so the air is more laminar accross the sensor and should idle better and be more consistent at WOT. Very easy thing to add.


I decided to clean up my intake manifold and make it look more aesthetically pleasing, so I cut off everything not used, welded shut any holes, and cleaned it up with a fine sanding disc. I also removed any hose barbs, and tapped the holes for 1/8 npt so I have a variety of choices for hose barbs and other stuff that I can put on. I may get some more fine sand paper and make it look more uniform, or I may paint it.



Then on the water pump tube I cut off the hose barb and welded on a -6 an bung so I can run fancy braided hose to and from the turbo/firewall.


I picked up a Koyo radiator. I was going to get a CBRD, but I got this one brand new for cheap. The quality is very good. The welds look great, it has a tight fin pattern and best of all, it is very light. My old Mishimoto radiator (non x-line) weighed 10.8 pounds dry. This koyo radiator is only 8 pounds, and the core is the same thickness and size, so I dont lose any cooling efficiency :D Before I mount it, I will cut off all the tabs and weld on a bracket that I can mount my single fan to.


On the thermostat housing, I removed all unused barbs, welded shut any open holes, and welded on another -6 an bung. I also cut off the flanged part of the radiator coolant hose tube and welded on a -20 an bung so I can run braided hose to and from the radiator. I did this for looks and because I will be running a 30 psi radiator cap, which is much higher than the factory 16.2 psi radiator cap.


 
#3 · (Edited)
Instead of using zipties to secure my fan to the radiator like I did before, I decided to make a stronger and better looking way to keep the fan attached to the radiator without putting stress on the actual core and causing possible leaks. So I took some aluminum angle and welded them on to the end tanks after I removed all the tabs that were there for attaching the stock radiator fans and A/C condenser. It is so secure now that I can pick up the whole thing just by the fan and it doesnt move at all.



Installed the SRP Grid style pedals. They will really help with heel/toe shifting and the brake/clutch pedals are super grippy. Very happy with these.


Sexy Quartermaster twin race with push conversion


2/22/15

Since I replaced the generic DEI T4 turbo blanket with this Boost Resource EFR turbo blanket (which is gorgeous) I decided to re-wrap my manifold since last time was the first time I ever wrapped a manifold, and now I have wrapped like 17, lol. I cut off the old shit, bought a new pack of 1" x 50' DEI titanium wrap and went at it. I think I did a much better job this time because I wrapped it much tighter and I know it will insulate the heat more this time.



I bought new leather trim door cards to replace my door cards along with a bunch of other new interior pieces. My cards are pretty beat up. I am redoing a lot of my interior to make it look not so shitty.



3/2/15
Here is the first group of parts that I had WPC treated.




I bought a Beatrush rear bulkhead panel to seal off the cabin and the trunk. It weighs 4 pounds and its in the rear, so I can deal with that. Installed pics to come

3/10/15

I finished my rear strut bar. It is welded directly to each strut tower for maximum rigidity. I think it turned out pretty well.



3/17/15
Cylinder head has been sent to Port Flow Design for installation of the beryllium valve seats and a radius valve job for the oversize supertech valves. I did some light porting and polishing of the exhaust ports to get rid of any casting imperfections and smooth out the ports.




I made my own motor mounts. Here is the passenger side. It weighs 1.5 pounds vs the stock one which weighs over 3 pounds. I made it from 14 gauge mild steel sheet and 2.5" stainless tube. The driver side mount weighs 1.25 pounds vs the stock mount which weighs 2.25 pounds. Then the rear mount weighs 1.47 pounds vs the stock rear mount which weighs 3 pounds.

They all use 60a durometer bushings so they will limit engine movement while still being comfortable. I had them powder coated black along with my tubular chomoly subframe that I made which you can see here. It only weighs 12.03 pounds vs the stock subframe which is around 26 pounds.





3/19/15

Instead of having hideous plastidip and tape covering the holes in the tray behind the rear seats, I decided to make it look a little nicer with some black fabric for a more "stock" look (but without the heavy stock plastic tray). So I closed all the holes in the tray up with some gorilla tape, then got some 1/2" foam and secured that to the tray with some spray on adhesive. Then on top of that I did 2 layers of black wool type of fabric, securing the wool to the foam with more spray on adhesive. I think it turned out pretty good looking and should be easy to clean when it gets dusty. I also installed my beatrush rear bulkhead.







3/22/15

Beryllium valve seats installed :D


3/28/15
Here is the chromoly steering column support bar I made to replace the heavy stock one. It weighs 8 pounds vs the stock bar which weighs around 20 pounds. It is much stiffer and even though it will be under the dash and not visible once the car is all back together, I think it looks better than the stock bar.


 
#4 · (Edited)
4/6/15
I got my second group of WPC treated parts back. This time I did my wheel bearings, wheel hubs, crankshaft, synchro sliders, shift forks, all the roller bearings for the transmission and center diff, rod and main bearings, and piston rings. Now all I have left to get WPC treated are my pistons and valve tappets


I assembled the turbo all back together with the turbo blanket installed. She is ready to go :D


4/15/15

Darton Sleeved goodness :D



4/19/15

The worlds first completely WPC treated Evo X transmission is finished and assembled.



4/27/15

Things are running a little behind, but by the end of the week I should have the engine assembled. Here is a shot of the ceramic coated combustion chambers



5/5/15

Bottom end is finished :D It will be completely assembled in a couple hours.



I broke a stud off of the fuel tank where the fuel sending unit bolts in a couple years ago, so while everything else was apart, I decided to drop the fuel tank, cut off the old studs and weld on some new ones. I also sold my radium MPFST and will be making a custom in-tank setup using a walbro 450 and a Holley Hydramat. I have to wait until they actually release the hydramat to find out exactly how I am going to set it all up though.

All my intercooler and intake tubing will be getting powder coated black and I am ditching the t-bolt clamps/silicone couplers in favor of Vibrant Vanjen clamps for a 100% leak proof seal.



I redid my exhaust from the downpipe back. It will be 3" straight back with a 200 cell Mil-spec cat going to a rather large magnaflow muffler then to a center exit tip that will look just like the FQ400 exhaust. That will be for the street because my kids dont need to be smelling the gas fumes when they ride in my car. I will probably make a 3.5" track exhaust from the turbine exit all the way back with no cat and no muffler.

7/9/15
I picked up a set of used Mag blue TE37s for an awesome price. They are my favorite color wheel.


I decided I want to make the car look as good as it deserves to, so in an effort to correct all my mistakes made over the years of owning my car, I placed an order for the Victory function rear fenders, and a set of 2011 OEM side skirts to replace my chipped up 2008 side skirts. I am also ordering a set of 25-30mm wheel spacers so that my TE37's sit flush with the new fenders.

I was going to do the full Varis type D widebody, but knowing how the roads are here in CO, The front diffuser would get messed up real quick, so I am going to keep my stock front bumper and get it repainted while fixing all the chips and imperfections.

8/15/15
The Victory Function rear widebody is en route to me as well as the Seibon dry carbon trunk. I will be test fitting both of them quickly, then they will be off to be painted the factory WW. I am going to rivet the rear wide fenders on to the body, that way I dont have to worry about the bolts coming loose. I got black rivets to add some contrast and enhance the look.

I switched out my 08 style side skirts for the new style non-aero side skirts. I think they will look better with the wide body and they are supposed to defend against rock chips better.


I got rid of all the stock power steering lines for some more aesthetically pleasing braided hose.


I havent had time to do any track days yet this year, and I probably wont due to how busy I have been tuning and building motors (not a bad thing though :)) But to keep my addiction to modding satisfied, I have been slowly replacing all fasteners in the car to 6-al-4v titanium versions. Its expensive, but its fun, and they really are half the weight of the same steel bolts. They look better too.

I have came to the conclusion that the WPC treatment was a total waste of money. Most of the WPC treated surfaces were wore off in the first 100 miles of the build, like the cam lobes, cam journals, transmission gears, transfer case and rear diff gears. If you want to go all out in a crazy build, spend your money else where :)

I have put a lot of miles on this setup and I am extremely happy with it. If I have time, I may completely tear down the car to the chassis, have it soda blasted, then stitch weld the main seams. I would like to get the chassis dipped in primer then painted that way its completely protected from corrosion (since I will have this car the rest of my life) but whether or not I can find that in my area may be tough.

9/7/15
Victory Function Rear fenders and the Seibon Dry carbon trunk have been painted the factory WW and installed. I also ordered Chargespeed front wide fenders and will have those painted factory WW as well.





9/19/15
The 2.4L build is underway. I already have the spare block, custom Wiseco pistons, Darton sleeves, ARP 625+ head studs, ARP main studs, Carrillo Pro H-beam rods, and I just need to pick up the Manley Billet Stroker crank.

The 9174 is on its way to me and I will probably throw it on my current 2.2L just to see how much of a difference it has in response compared to the 8374.

10/01/15
I made a 3.5" downpipe for my 9174. It made a huge difference in spool up and response. The 9174 is now spooling faster than the 8374 ever did, lol. The downpipe mates to my exhaust using a 3.5" V-band, but necks down to 3" about a foot after that. This winter I will make a full 3.5" exhaust that will still be pretty quiet. The first 2 bends are 625 inconel tube for superior strength under high heat, then the rest is 304 stainless.




10/19/15
I sold the aluminum 2 piece driveshaft and picked up a Driveshaft shop carbon driveshaft. I did it both for the bling factor and because of the power Im pushing, it is better to go with the carbon.

The block is at the machine shop getting sleeved. The billet crank is here and it is gorgeous. It is 2 pounds heavier than the OEM crank though :(

I ordered the Varis 09 version front bumper and the V2 rear bumper. Should be here in January or February.

10/21/15
Soon when the car gets torn down for the 2.4L engine to go in, I will be adding a Road Rage Gauge SBT +1 kit. I will be able to monitor EGT's, boost at the compressor housing, boost at the Intake manifold (so I can see if there are any boost leaks at all), and turbo rpm.

I will also be adding a EGT gauge so that I can monitor and tune each cylinder individually for better reliability and power.

I will tear apart the trans again, replace all the synchros and anything else that is worn down, and adding a Sheptrans 4.30 final drive.

Everything has been ordered, so now its just a waiting game.

10/27/15
Well I made a new intake. It uses a 6" velocity stack that goes to a 4" tube, then a reducer that necks down to 3.5" for the MAF housing, then another reducer increasing the tube size back to 4" all the way to the compressor inlet.

 
#5 · (Edited)
My new heaters arrived from England. The heater with the single outlet will be used to defrost the windshield for when it rains here, and the other will be used to heat the cabin if it is cold out. The dual outlet was 3D printed so that I can have a 2" tube going to each side of the cabin for better heating.

Each heater will be using a PWM controller so that I can increase and decrease the speed as much as I want. They look small but they put out as much as air as my old heater. Each heater including the PWM controller is only 1.75 pounds! thats 2 pounds less than my old heater, they take up a lot less room, and both these heaters together cost the same as the single large unit.



I also decided that I am going to run the shorter 5th gear that Shep offers, so I ordered that as well.

11/10/15

The shorter 5th from shep trans is here. It is very nice.

I sold the replica Bride seats that I was running for the past 4 years, and ordered some new ones since I wanted to get some authentic seats. Bride makes a model of the Zeta seat that is called the Sport C. The replica seats weighed 14.5 pounds. The new Sport C seats weigh 12.7 pounds, and they aren't carbon fiber so they weren't outrageously priced. Unfortunately the Sport C seat is just plain black, so wanting to improve the look of my interior, I ordered some authentic Bride Gradation seat cushions. I may get the rear seats re-upholstered with the gradation fabric if I can find someone local to do it.

I am ditching the buddy club seat rails and will be making my own out of 1/4" thick aluminum bar since its light but still very strong. The buddy club rail mounts were made out of 3/16" thick steel, so the aluminum seat rails should be a few pounds lighter.

For the sake of always wanting to better my car and pushing the envelope, I decided to sell my Quartermaster twin and placed an order for an OS Giken Triple plate clutch with the push conversion. Speaking with Sean at OS Giken, it should be the last clutch I ever need.

I have been troubled for a while knowing how low my car is, how steep my driveway is and since I will be putting on the Varis front bumper with the lip, I dont want to mess it up. So for a while I have been looking for an air lift system that wont hinder how well my JRZ RS Pro's handle.

I called several different companies that make the air lift cup systems but most were made for their specific coilover and cant be fitted onto a different brand. I found that Umbrella auto design makes a kit for the Evo 10 and JRZ, but its $2500...... no way. I eventually found a company in Europe that sells just the air cups for different sized coilovers. So I measured my front coilovers and ordered a set for the front.

The rest I will piece together using a lightweight small aluminum air tank, and I will find the lightest, most quiet air pump available. That way I will barely gain any weight, and dont have to worry about smashing my beautiful Varis bumper.

11/16/15

I made the seat rails today, now I just need to find a set of sliders that are really light for the passenger side. Each rail is a little under 3/4 pound, but so far the lightest sliders I have been able to find are 2.5 pounds each (there are 2 per seat). The old rails/sliders are 4.5 pounds each (2 per seat)



I received the new sound insulation for the interior. It is 3M thinsulate which is the same stuff that is used in very high end luxury cars to insulate against sound while being extremely light weight. The whole roll which is 20 feet by 5 feet is 14 pounds. The old crappy sound insulation I put in last year will be coming out and this new stuff will be going in.

I received the DSS Carbon 2 pc driveshaft, unboxed it and weighed it. It is 27.15 pounds which unfortunately is 1 pound heavier than the aluminum shaft I am removing from the car. So with how crazy I am about weight, I removed the CV joint (4.5 pounds by itself) that was on there, and I was able to find one that is 30% lighter, but its coming from Europe, so I have to wait a bit.

Then the DSS shaft comes with a cast steel flange yoke that bolts to the rear diff. I was able to find a forged billet aluminum flange yoke that will fit. It is as strong as the steel yoke, but over 1 pound lighter. The bolt holes on the forged aluminum flange yoke are .5" so I will be drilling out the holes on the rear diff flange to .5" and using M12 6al-4v titanium nuts and bolts instead of steel nuts and bolts. Last, the CV joint is bolted on to the rear part of the shaft by 6 - 60mm long steel allen head bolts. I am replacing those with 6 - 70mm long 6al-4v titanium bolts to reduce the weight a tiny bit more, but still remaining very strong. I will post pics once its all back together.

Since GSC will be out of stock of their S2 cams for several more months, I did not want to get stuck with a 90% completed motor and not being able to find any good cams. I hit up James at MAP and asked if AMS TMP cams were in stock. They only had 2 sets left, so I snatched a set real quick. The only things left that are needed to finish the new motor are supertech valves and a head gasket. I think im going to go with the Cometic 90mm since Cosworth has absolutely none in stock.

11/24/15

The OS Giken triple disc showed up with the push conversion. It is gorgeous. But because I am a meddling kid and the OSG triple is 4 pounds heavier than the Quartermaster twin that it is replacing, I am switching out all the nuts and bolts with Grade 5 titanium bolts. That will drop a half pound from the overall weight of the OSG clutch.



The air cups finally arrived from Europe and they are pretty nice. They fit great onto my coilovers and have a stroke of 2" so that should be enough to clear my front lip from hitting my driveway. Each coilover is 1.5 pounds heavier with the cups, but for the sake of keeping my Varis front bumper safe, I will take it. With the air cup kit, I ordered a 3 way valve so I can easily control raising and lowering of the front end.

I will be mounting a 1 gallon aluminum air tank and a small air pump that is 2 pounds either in my trunk or below it (possibly where the EVAP canister used to be located). The pump will be activated by a pressure switch that when the tank pressure is less than 90 psi and the car is on, the pump will activate, then it will shut off once the tank hits 120 psi.



Here it is installed on my RS Pros



1/4/16

Well I got the whole air compressor system setup in the trunk. Its not the cleanest install, but it works very well. The pump only comes on if the pressure in the tank drops below 90 and the ignition/car is on. The pump automatically shuts off at 120 psi. I used thread seal paste on all the fittings so it holds 120 psi without dropping forever if I dont activate the air cups. The air tank holds 1 gallon of air and only weighs 2 pounds, lol. I may relocate the pump to where the EVAP canister used to be depending on how much the pump noise is audible inside the cabin with the engine running.*



I installed the dual heaters, each with their own PWM controllers that vary the duty cycle from 0% to 100% so I can turn them on and off individually. Even though this setup is more complicated than the single mojave heater, it weighs less. One heater is to defog the windshield and the other is to heat the cabin.*



While I had the dash off, I also took apart the entire cabin wiring harness and removed all the stray wires. Then I rewrapped the harness in electrical tape and organized all the wires. It may look a little crazy, but this way is a thousand times better than how I had it before. Wires were everywhere, all the gauges were daisy chained like crap. Now it is all organized and secured.

*


I removed all the old sound dampening material and in its place will be 3M thinsulate sound dampening. If its not compressed, the material will expand to 1-3/4 to 2 inches thick, it should work better and it is lighter. I am going to double layer the whole floor and rear panel for added effectiveness. I know its not going to be close to how quiet it was from the factory, but it should help a bit and be more comfortable for my passengers.*

Here is the subframe before I send it off to be powder coated matte blue like my wheels. I am really happy with how it turned out, and is only a little over 10 pounds compared to the OEM subframe which is around 30 pounds. Next are the tubular front control arms.*



I received the new aluminum CHRA 9174 and it is totally worth it. It is 6.31 pounds lighter than the steel CHRA 9174, which to me is a lot.*



1/14/16

I made some tubular control arms out of 1.25" .065" wall 4130 chromoly with 3/4" rod ends that have a static end load of 40,000 pounds. They should be more than strong enough for anything I put them through. Each weigh 2.3 pounds less than the OEM aluminum control arms so that is almost 5 pounds of unsprung weight off the front end.


1/21/16

Here are the completed new subframe and front control arms ready to go on my car. I am extremely happy with the way they turned out

 
#6 · (Edited)
1/24/16

I thoroughly cleaned out all the axle CV joints and repacked them with Redline CV2 grease for better lubrication and protection. I also replaced all the boot clamps with stainless steel Oetiker clamps so I don't have to worry about any leaks.



Then to continue with my obsession of titanium and wanting something out in front to showcase that, I made a titanium radiator support bar. It is made completely from 6al-4v TI for ultimate strength (since it secures the two frame rails together)



2/13/16

Since I absolutely love the look of super clean engine bay, I decided to do a full wire tuck, as well as relocate the fuse box, ECU and fuse link to inside the cabin. Doing this I was able to shorten the main power cable several feet as well as the smaller cables that connect to the fuse link. I replaced the fuse link with 5 ANL fuses, each with the same amperage rating as it had on the fuse link. I put heat shrink around each terminal so that it cannot short out or come into contact with any other wires.

I moved fuel pump resistor out of sight and deleted the power steering reservior. I took a razor blade and cleaned off all the seam filler crap on both sides of the engine bay. Im not sure if I am going to paint it with color matched rattle can or just leave it until next winter when I acid dip the chassis.


Next, I welded the large holes in the firewall shut with stainless, as well as the small holes on the strut towers where the brake lines went. I chose to delete the ABS on my car in favor of a wilwood brake proportioning valve that way I can set up the brakes exactly how I like them. I removed all the old brake lines, and replaced them with new stainless brake line so I never have to worry about it rusting.


My new seats are mounted in place. Titanium hardware was of course used.The Driver seat is stationary but the passenger seat does have sliding rails so it is adjustable. Now I am just waiting on the bride gradation seat pads from Japan.

2/20/16

The transfer case has been cleaned inside and out along with all the components then replaced all seals with new ones, and reassembled. Every fastener inside and outside is 6al-4v titanium.


I also started reassembling the transmission. This is the new shep trans final drive with all titanium bolts :) All fasteners inside and outside of the transmission will be 6al-4v titanium as well.


Progress is being made with the wire tuck/ fuse box/ECU relocation. I mounted them upside down on a sheet of aluminum that I riveted to the steering column support bar. As you can imagine its a ton of wiring to extend and shorten, but the engine bay should look a million times better.



3/24/16

Here is the mil-spec engine harness I made from the existing stock wiring harness. I have 40+ hours into this damn thing which includes tearing off all the old sheathing, electrical tape and stupid sticky goo Mitsu uses, de-pinning each and every connector, pulling every wire through Raychem DR-25 heat shrink, numbering each wire, extending all the wires twice (once for the interior harness and again for the engine harness) and crimping every wire into tiny little pins, then inserting the pins into the Mil-spec connectors, and finally sealing each junction with Resintech RT125 epoxy.

It was a PITA, but I wanted to do it, so I had to do it right. It should be completely liquid and dust proof. There were several short cuts I could have done to make it faster (like using self-sealing silicone tape instead of heat shrink), but it would not have looked as clean as I wanted it to, even though you wont see a lot of it since I tried to tuck all the wires I could.




4/1/16

I decided to improve the look of my dash by upholstering it in suede fabric. Its pretty easy to do with some spray on fabric adhesive and time. The suede really makes a large difference and definitely adds a classy look to the car.




4/5/16

Here is my completed head back from Port Flow Design. I didnt port it or anything because I will be getting a CNC ported head from 4 piston as soon as its released. It is a full GSC Valve train using their stainless +1mm Intake valves and the Inconel super alloy +1mm exhaust valves. I then used their Viton Valve seals and of course their beehive valve springs/TI retainers. Both the Intake manifold and Exhaust manifold studs are 6al-4v Titanium




The Varis front and rear bumpers arrived to Bulletproof on the 1st, and they are shipping out to me tomorrow, so in 2-3 days I should have them and will run them down to my painter.

4/8/16

The Varis bumpers arrived and are already down to my painters. I should see them back next week.

The block is done at the machine shop. I already set the oil clearances and the bearings are on their way to to Calico Coatings to be coated with the CT-1 coating for extra protection. I should see the bearings back by next week.

I guess because I like to add even more damn projects, with the help of Joe (Funwad) I decided to delete my power steering pump, and replace it with a Vauxhall Astra Electric hydraulic power steering pump. The electric power steering pump weighs 10 pounds, but it allows me to remove the belt driven power steering pump, the aluminum power steering bracket, all the idler pulleys, the serpentine belt tensioner, the accessory bracket, the power steering reservoir, and run a smaller serpentine belt.

The weight difference comes out to a couple pounds lost by moving to the electric PS pump, but to go a step even further, since the electric power steering pump is a decent size. I cannot mount it anywhere up front in a location that will look "clean". So I am going to mount it in the trunk. It will keep the wiring short and simple, and all I have to do is extend the power steering hoses to the trunk, which I already ordered more hose :) But another benefit of moving the pump to the trunk is 10 pounds off the front of the car and onto the back helping weight distribution.

4/13/16

The car is extremely close to being all put together. The Varis bumpers are done at paint, my misc parts are done being painted, my tappets are ordered and should be here in the next couple days, and my motor is almost completely assembled.



Here is the power steering pump mounted in place. I made some crappy looking brackets out of aluminum then mounted them to rubber isolators to keep the noise to a minimum. These things really do make a difference for reducing noise.

 
#7 · (Edited)
4/18/16
The engine is all assembled and in place, primed with oil, all fluids filled, and ready to go. I was going to start it up today, but I am having an electrical issue. The ignition coils arent getting power, so something is screwed up in the harness I made.



4/22/16
Well I got the electrical issue fixed, and the motor fired up. The 30 minute cam break in/initial startup went great. I drained the oil, cut the filter and the filter looked great.

Since I still had the make the exhaust (the old one wont fit with the Varis rear bumper), I decided to get my intercooler tubes and intake powder coated. I also decided to add a electric exhaust cutout for the track so my cat and muffler dont get burnt up from the hot exhaust.




5/1/16
Well I got the car started up and drove it around for a little bit. I love the 2.4L and how responsive it is even with how large the 9174 is.I really missed this car and the wait was worth everything I did this winter. The OS triple is MUCH smoother than the Quartermaster twin. Its really easy to drive.


Here is the final total weight


5/23/16
Well I made a few more changes. I redid the intake getting rid of the MAF housing on there and using the biggest velocity stack I could find. Its 8.75 inches around at the widest part and it necks down to 5 inch. I then used a 5 inch to 4 inch transition to connect the velocity stack to my 4 inch tubing that goes into the compressor inlet. I LOVE how loud it makes the turbo whine now, lol. Since no one makes a filter large enough for the velocity stack, I had to get a custom one made. It is a prefilter, which is a water repellent screen that filters pretty much everything down to .005"

Since I removed the MAF from the intake tube, I had to place it somewhere else since I want to keep the smooth drivability of the MAF. So I welded it onto my LICP by using a 3" MAF flange. After I welded that onto there, I took off my FMIC and UICP, connected them together, and pressure tested all of it to 60 psi. The only reason my MAF doesnt blow apart is because I carefully popped off the lid and filled the entire inside of the sensor with silicone sealant. Now i have a leak proof system. After 150 load, the MAF will not be used for load calculations so I dont have to worry about the 5 volts peaking and the AFR going lean.

I also redid the thermostat housing since the last one had pinholes leaking water out of them. So this time I went all out and made a swirl pot integrated into there. this way my coolant system should be completely air free and should have optimum efficiency. I pressure tested it to 40 psi (my radiator cap opens at 32 psi) so it should not ever leak.


6/7/16
I found a good price on some Silicon Nitride ball bearings, so I installed those and I used high temperature Super lube grease (that is what Curt Brown uses in his ceramic bearing hubs) to pack the bearings with. I didnt get any pictures since all they are is just black 1/2' and 13/32" balls, but my car definitely rolls easier, with them so I am happy with that. I just wish they made ceramic roller bearings so I could replace all the bearings in the drivetrain with silicon nitride.

Its bittersweet, but now I have run out of things to do to it until I upgrade to the 4 piston racing CNC ported head.

8/26/16

Something I have always wanted to do ever since I saw it was line the door cards with Bride gradation fabric. I ordered some good quality stuff from china and a few weeks later I received it and got to work. It was really pretty easy with spray on fabric adhesive and I am extremely happy with how it came out. Just takes time and patience.



This past winter I lined my dash with suede, but in some spots its "bubbling" and really irritates my OCD. So I ordered some real Ultrasuede (exactly the same thing as Alcantara) and I am going to redo the dash. The cheap suede I used this winter also has a brown'ish tint when in the sun. The real suede should do much better at keeping the true black color for a very long time.

9/23/16

Dry sump is done. It took a week and was a bit of a PITA because a couple of the fittings leaked, but other than that it works great. The 1.5 gallon Peterson tank is mounted in the trunk, but I have to run the breather outside of the trunk because the crank case vapors and oil stink like hell. I plugged the old OEM oil pump inlet using a 3/8 npt plug and high temp thread sealant. I then got a M24x1.5 to -12 an fitting and used the OEM oil thermostat hole as the pressure inlet into the block that way I can still use my same oil cooler and oil filter.

Now it just needs a good wash









 
#8 · (Edited)
10/30/16

I tried to run a Laminova oil cooler, which did help heat the oil up quicker, but it could not keep up with cooling the oil. Even while cruising on the highway at 80 mph and 50-60 degree ambient temps, the oil temp would get over 200, which is not acceptable to me. It just shows that it will not be able to keep up when at the track in 80-90 degree temps.
So back to the Setrab cooler I went. I installed it on the scavenge side of the oil pump before the oil goes back to the tank in the trunk. It has been working MUCH better and the oil temps have not gone over 180 no matter what.

However, since I do miss how quick the oil heated up with the laminova cooler, I have been looking in to ways to get the oil up to temp faster since warming 2 gallons of oil takes a bit. Typical Dry sump tank heaters are run off of 120v which obviously does not help me while im driving my car. So I looked up nitrous bottle heaters. The heaters get over 300 degrees which is plenty hot enough and they run on 12v so that worked for me.

I picked up a NOS bottle heater, then wired it in using a normally closed relay. I then got a Setrab 180 degree switch that turns on when the temp hits 180. This way, when the ignition is on, the bottle heater is on until the oil temp hits 180.

I also sold the TE37's and picked up a set of burning red CE28's which have always been my dream wheels. Here is how the car looks as of 10/30/16


11/7/16
I got this idea from another lightweight evo fanatic, but he has a 8. I removed the factory E-brake drum hardware and lines. I installed a hydraulic E-brake in between the brake master cylinder and the rear brake lines. I will still be using the same OEM E-brake handle so that I can retain the locking function and OEM look.

The brakes will still function the same way, but this way I could get rid of 10 pounds of unsprung weight (each drum brake hardware plus line is a little over 5 pounds) and the drag the drum brakes produce. It works very well, just have to fine tune the cable length from the OEM ebrake the hydraulic lever.



11/10/16
The titanium brake caliper pistons are in! They are made out of 6al-4v TI and are titanium nitride coated for extra durability. I decided to throw these in while I was installing the hydraulic E-brake. I also changed all the bleeder screws to Titanium versions since the OEM bleeders are weak as hell and these TI ones are lighter :)



I also did a compression test just to see how the motor is doing, and all four cylinders came in at 140 psi, which for 6000 ft altitude is very good.

11/28/16

Winter has come, and though the car is not going though a complete rebuild because I am extremely happy with the 2.4L and EFR 9174 turbo, there are a few things that need to be addressed/upgraded.

After trying over and over to get the Road Rage turbo speed gauge working, I decided to give up on it. After a ton of research, I picked up a Garrett turbo speed gauge. Turns out it plugs right into the Borg Warner turbo speed sensor and it works perfect.


The walbro 450 pump isnt pumping enough fuel at my high boost setting, so im getting rid of that in favor of a Bugatti Veyron L5LM fuel pump. I wanted something that was light, single pump, and could go in the fuel tank. I am also upgrading the feed side to -8 ptfe fuel line for better flow.

The transmission is coming apart as 3rd gear is grinding when I shift from second. I will also put in new synchros and synchro slider rings so that I have a smooth shifting trans for next year!

I am sending in the dry sump oil pump to ARE to have the pressure stage upgraded from the current 1.25" wide to a 1.5" wide stage for even more flow at high rpm. Also, one of the scavenge stages is being changed from the gear type to a roots type to help produce even more vacuum in the crankcase.

The inconel/stainless downpipe and exhaust are coming off and I will be building a 3.5" titanium exhaust. It will be full titanium up until the large muffler at the rear of the car to keep the exhaust on the quiet side. I will still have the exhaust cutout so its loud when I want it to and so the high EGT's dont burn up the Cat at the track

I am also making a new intake manifold using velocity stacks at each runner for excellent flow

1/27/17
First update of 2017
I received the new dry sump oil pump. It looks great. I cant wait to get the car running


The titanium downpipe is done. The rest of the titanium tube is ordered and on its way.


Im not sure if the car will be completely repainted as the T-case needs to be rebuilt. I pulled the drain plug and it had several shards of metal the size of rice grains on there so that is coming out as well as the transmission to get rebuilt.

Im not joking when I say I am building the ultimate Evo X. My end goal for summer 2017 is a magazine quality show car that I track and DD :D

Plans for Winter 2016/Spring 2017:
Chromoly Tubular rear subframe
AMS Carbon roof
The car will be going to the same shop that painted my Varis stuff to get ALL the little dings, scratches and imperfections fixed, then repainted the Diamond White that is on the FE's.

My current mod list

2016 2.4L Engine:
Wiseco custom 90mm 10:1 94mm stroke asymmetric pistons with tool steel wrist pins (Swaintech Gold Coat on Top and PC-9 on Skirt)
Darton sleeves
ARP 625+ head studs
ARP main studs
Carrillo Pro H-beam rods with CARR bolts
Manley Billet Stroker crank
King Main and Rod bearings (Calico CT-1 coated)
ARE Dry sump oil pump
ARE Dry sump oil pan
GSC S2 Billet cams
GSC Beehive springs and Titanium retainers
GSC +1mm Intake Valves
GSC +1mm Super Alloy Exhaust Valves
Tomei Phosphorus Bronze Valve Guides
Cometic 90mm Head Gasket
Titanium Intake manifold studs
ARP Exhaust manifold studs
GSC Viton valve seals
AMS Billet main cap
Calico CT-2 coating on combustion chamber
Setrab oil cooler with braided AN lines

Mil-spec 64mm throttle body
Ported Intake manifold
Cosworth Phenolic Intake manfold spacer
Titanium Intake Manifold studs
Titanium Exhaust Manifold studs

Built transmission with WPC treated gears
Shep trans 4.30 Final drive
Shep trans .857 shorter 5th gear
OS Giken Triple disc clutch with push conversion
Evo 9 CMC
Driveshaft shop Carbon Fiber driveshaft
Full Race EFR 9174 IWG kit with custom intake
Custom self made 3.5 Inconel downpipe
Custom self made 3.5" downpipe back stainless exhaust with Magnaflow muffler
DEI titanium wrapped and Full Race ceramic coated manifold welded to EFR Stainless turbine housing and DEI titanium wrapped downpipe
Boost Resource EFR turbo blanket
Plazmaman 3" FMIC
Custom intercooler piping
Custom in-tank fuel system using Holley Hydramats with a Bugatti Veyron fuel pump and Radium Fuel rail
Fuelab Mini FPR
JRZ RS Pro coilovers with Vorshlaq camber/caster plates, Swift Springs and Stance Parts 2" stroke Air cups
Hotchkis front and rear sway bars
Custom brake duct system
Stoptech front BBK with Titanium pistons
Performance Friction Z-rated front pads
Ferodo DS2500 rear pads
Ralliart front strut bar
Koyo radiator with Earls -20 AN braided coolant lines
Bride Zeta 3 Sport C seats with Bride Gradation seat cushions
Momo steering wheel with works bell short hub
NRG V2 Quick release with titanium ring
SRP racing pedals
AMS V2 shift knob
Torque solution short shifter
AEM Digital AFR Gauge
AEM Digital Boost Gauge
AEM Digital Oil pressure and oil temp gauges
AEM Digital Coolant temp gauge
AEM Digital Fuel pressure gauge
Omni 4-bar MAP sensor
Braille Greenlite G20 Lithium battery

Aeromotions R2 Static wing with 17" uprights

Varis 09 version front bumper
Varis V2 rear bumper
Chargespeed wide front fenders
Victory Function Rear wide fenders
Seibon Dry Carbon trunk
Aerocatch locking hood pins on hood and trunk
Rexpeed Duckbill trunk spoiler
Burning Red Volk CE28 18x10.5 +15
Bridgestone Potenza RE-71R 265/35-R18
Silicon Nitride (Si3N4) Wheel bearings
ARP extended wheel studs
Ichiba 20mm front spacer
Ichiba 15mm rear spacer
Ralliart Rear Diff conversion with Weir Performance Maxgrip diff plates

To be continued....
 
#14 ·
WOW Chet. Where to begin lol. What kinda power were you making before you tore it down for this current round of changes? And where the hell do you find the time for your day job, tuning and family time? Have you ever watched tv? hahaha As one of the worlds laziest people, I am in awe of your drive. Rock on sir!
 
#18 ·
YouTube video some stuff! You have this amazing car and do amazing things but only 2 videos on your channel!?
 
#19 ·
I too would like to see more content on chets YouTube page, but he's a busy man. And will be even more busy this spring. Hahaha
 
#23 ·
Hey Chet. I have a few questions about your dry sump setup. My first question is about the stock oil feed in the bottom of the block, the part that you blocked off with the 3/8 plug, that isn't threaded from the factory is it?

Do you have an approximate cost and/or the parts list for what you used?

And finally, is there anything you learned or discovered along the way that would lead you to do anything differently if you had to do it over again?
 
#24 ·
No that is not threaded from the factory. I tapped it using a 3/8 npt thread tap

I did not keep track of the costs as that would leave evidence for my wife to find and then kill me, lmao!!

Yes, I would have not gone with a -12 feed from the tank, I would have went with the -16 feed from the start. I also would have went with the pump that uses the 1.5" pressure stage, not 1.25"
 
#26 ·
Lol, yeah that's smart. No paper-trail, gives you some plausible deniability. Thanks for the info, I'm looking at this and trying to decide if piecing it together is the better option vs the Magnus kit. I'm pretty sure I can come in far enough below the $6k for the Magnus kit to make it worthwhile.

Something else I forgot to ask, what does the mounting bracket look like at the top of the pump, and was there any alternator relocation involved?
 
#30 ·
You get more videos on your youtube channel? I want to see what a high hp low weight evo looks like tearing up a track.
 
#32 ·
Unfortunately this build thread has to come to an end. Here is a pic of what happened. An 82 year old man wasn't paying attention and turned right in front of me. I hit the brakes, but unfortunately wasn't nearly enough time and I smashed right into him.

 
#40 ·
RIP Sucks about the luck! Sure you'll be back up and running in no time. Sick deals on new 15's where I'm from ;)

best of luck on the rebuild!

AV
 
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