Debut Autocross

After a full day in the garage yesterday, D and I got the 240 all buttoned back up and running last night.  In spite of looming rain in the afternoon, I needed to see how it could handle some spirited driving.  An autocross was in order.  I only got 1 run in before the rain started coming down, but I've got a good idea of how it handles and what needs to be improved now.

First impressions?  The suspension feels VERY stiff.  Any kind of bump in the road feels pretty unsettling.  I need to check the damper adjusters and turn them to full soft.  If that doesn't help, then I'll have to come up with another solution.  Also, the turbo power transition is really smooth.  Not anything like the on-off of a big turbo.  However, I'm only running about 0.6 bar right now, which is below stock boost (due to no boost control solenoid valve).  I'm going to toss the HKS adjustable wastegate actuator arm on, so I can up the boost.

Fall Photo Shoot

W shot some hot pics of the 240 and his S2000 today.  It's good to finally have it back on the road.

Complete Interior

Some tasty interior shots, since it's now all put back together.  Note the legit harness bar holding the Sabelt belts in place.  (Picked up cheap on Zilvia and perfect since I'm not 100% sure what I want to do about an actual cage yet.)  Also, excellent condition black dash and door panels that I found here in Columbus.  Finally, the Master Switch and fan switches mounted on a real carbon radio-delete panel by Kognition Design.  Enjoy.

Nismo Key and Fuel Filler Cap

A little birthday present to myself.  Rare and discontinued Nismo goodness...mmmmmm.

Wilwood Superlite Front Brakes

As I mentioned before, there were some issues with the Evo Brembo calipers rubbing on the rotors.  Long story short, I wasn't going to be trusting the brackets I had any longer.  So, I went with a proven, legitimate setup: Wilwood Superlite front brake kit.  This kit includes brackets, 2-piece rotors (aluminum centers for weight down), lightweight 4 piston calipers (roughly half the weight of the Brembos), plus all the required hardware.  Installation was a breeze, they bolted up like OEM components.

Now, that's a real bracket.

I also got to brush up on my safety-wiring skills.  That's how a rotor should look.

Rotor mounted on hub.

Caliper in place.  Just to reiterate, these are SO MUCH lighter than the Evo Brembos.

Wheel on, ready to roll. 

The best part?  There is plenty of clearance between the caliper and wheel, so I don't need to run any ghetto wheel spacers.  I absolutely love these new brakes.  Unfortunately, Wilwood doesn't make a rear kit, but I'm planning on tossing something together.  I should be able to spec out the calipers and rotors from Wilwood, and CNC up a bracket to mount them.

To finish up the brakes, I need to replace my leaky master cylinder.  That will be done after vacation.

Alignment and Corner Weighting

Today, I took the 240 over to Auto Assets for alignment and corner weighting.  I had previous experience with the shop, as the Audi Avant is a regular visitor - so I knew they were legit.  Although, they were a little hesitant to work on a Japanese car.

First up, corner weighting.  This process was done with me in the driver's seat, for optimum setup.  I was quite pleased with the results:

LF: 673lb (26.5%)
RF: 657lb (25.8%)
LR: 610lb (24.0%)
RR: 602lb (23.7%)
F: 1330lb (52.3%)
R: 1212lb (47.7%)
Total: 2544lb (wet, with 170lb driver)

Second, alignment.  Dennis helped out with setting the specifications, pretty much as much negative camber as possible....just kidding.

Driving back to Dublin, the overall feel was MUCH improved.  The vehicle was stable and confident as higher speeds.  Unfortunately, we identified a front brake clearance issue (rotor to caliper) and a leaky master cylinder - both of which need to be fixed before drivable again.