Freddy McShreddy: Midlife Crisis FRS thingy

Today a used foldable HF trailer popped up for $100. Wheels and tires in good shape. Wood is decent. Has a swing back jack which should help parking in pits, and also one less thing to purchase. All lights but driver side work, so I'll check the harness and grounds. Fenders are missing and one side the mount is gone. I can figure out fenders cheaply, but I'm contemplating just reducing the trailer footprint by half. I don't want to pull a full 4x8 sized trailer around since I don't need that much space. I can still set it up for hauling motorcycles with just the 4x4. I also hate the folding setup, it's clunky and I think there are some pieces missing or modified by the last couple owners. I feel good about my initial cost since the usual small HF trailer has been priced at $299 for quite some time with no ability to use coupons. Hoping I can keep my total under $299 for a ready to roll setup.

129613634_10215382391947584_1086048035581081978_n by hatchethairy, on Flickr

I'd rather have a 4x8 if I was hauling motorcycles.  4 feet long isn't very long for most bikes...

In reply to docwyte :

For sure. I was thinking of fabbing two channels that the bikes can ride on further up by the tongue but undecided at the moment. I guess the full length isn't that big of a deal, just larger than I wanted to haul.

Well I decided to just stick with my original plan to reduce the parts into 1/2 of a trailer. I can make things modular to haul bikes still, so that will be considered when it's time to make the wheel mounts or parts bin setup.

Because the whole thing is bolted together, it's pretty easy to shorten things up, and still possibly go back to a 4x8. I started at the tongue, and worked my way back. After looking at how things are setup, I decided to use the rearward section as my base. When I slid the axle in the center of the frame, the tongue happened to fall exactly with the front spring mount. It bolts right to it, so one mount is already figured out. The next point happens to fall exactly with the first beam, so I'll be welding in some brackets to bolt it in place. The axle cradle can be bolted to the frame after I drill a few holes. I have a ton of tongue space. Fenders can be sorted easily, but looks like where they originally bolted on rusted really bad and was breaking away. At first I was worried the rest of the trailer would share a similar fate, but it all looks like some surface rust here and there.

So, I only have a little welding to do for the front locating brackets, maybe weld in some repair metal for fender mounts, drill a few holes, rewire, and it's ready to set up for track duty.

Question for those with a tire trailer, do you prefer to stack the tires in twos horizontal or keep them vertical with some nicely shaped lumber to keep from flat spotting? I can see the benefits of both, but if I keep them vertical within a pocket on the trailer it will make the motorcycle setup way easier to deal with.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Spring mount/rearward tongue mount:

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Front tongue mount needed here:

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

And with a board back on there. The wood that came with the trailer isn't the best, but it's not too bad either. Not worth buying a new one for sure.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

The ole crusty trailer got some work done on it over the weekend. The axle cradle is now bolted to the frame, and I welded the brackets for the tongue triangle thingy to bolt like it belongs there. The way it's set up now I can still fold the tongue up and set the trailer up against a wall if I would like. Highly doubtful I'll do that, but good to know it's possible. I spent a few minutes wire wheeling the rust and prepping for paint. Originally I considered a flashy color, but I really like the gray on my boat trailer so that's what I went with.

Wiring, spare wheel/tire, fenders, tool box, wheel mounts should be in the works soon.

Almost forgot, I pulled one leaf but considering pulling another. Anyone have experience pulling both springs leaving only one?

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

PS I bought a wing. It was too cheap to pass up, which could potentially bite me. It's a S209 "style" wing from OLM which looks identical to the BRZ tS wing, only 4 inches wider overall. I found some early tS release pics that don't have the STI skirts, and I like it. Imagine the wing is a couple inches wider on each side with larger end plates.

mas_8585 by hatchethairy, on Flickr

mas_8539 by hatchethairy, on Flickr

I prefer to have the wheels stacked vertically.  They go in the space between the two bars and that center bar goes thru the spot where the center caps go, then there are end plate that hold all the wheels together so they don't bang around.  You can see those on the center support bar along with the plastic bits that go inbetween the wheels to keep them from scratching themselves up

In reply to docwyte :

I like the plastic discs idea, and yours looks similar to what I would like to do. Do you notice any flatspotting on the tires with the angle iron? Also that's a good idea on how to lock them in place, I may steal that idea too. Just need to dig through my scrap pile and see what I can come up with.

I have seen a guy use these style wheel chocks that would kinda help with that, just add in the bar that goes through to hole and be a way to lock them.

Nope, haven't noticed any issues with flat spotting

Still tinkering away on these winter projects. I almost had the tire rack for the trailer wrapped up, but the new intake came in so I had to hurry to install that.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

I knew going into this that there isn't a lot of documentation on installs for these. A fellow enthusiast that had installed one before me gave me a few tips so I could better be prepared. The throttle body itself is quite a bit higher than the stock position. I was hoping a small 15 degree silicone elbow would be enough, but 45 degrees ended up being the hot ticket. I found a used cheap silicone intake tube that I figured could be spliced with the newer elbow.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Unfortunately the post office has been terrible lately, so the 45 degree elbow I ordered was taking too long to get here. I bought the cheapest one I could find on Amazon to get me going. After trimming too much off, I was able to get the general idea of how to trim the new black one that is on it's way. I still need to set up a vent tube, but this is turning out better than I expected. I really wanted to keep the stock airbox, and I think this should do the trick.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

There's an evap solenoid mounted to the bottom of the stock intake. I bent up a little bracket to bolt it near the clutch slave.

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I spent a little time getting all of the various vacuum lines nice and neat.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

There's one fuel line and vent line that normally bolt to the front of the intake on the driver side. They want to share space with the intake and scratch the E36 M3 out of it. So originally I cut the vent tube away from the fuel line since the vent was now directed straight to the back of the manifold. I hated the floppy weird fuel line that was left. I figured a fancy banjo with a quick disconnect would reduce all the connections. I found one with a 3/8 connector so ordered a new modified flex fuel line from Penguin Tech Racing.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

The new fuel line should be here any day. The new elbow as well. I'm really hoping to fire this thing up and start doing some logs for the tuner by the weekend. I'm really really hoping there's some power to be gained. As of right now I have figured out what all is needed to swap back to stock in about 30 minutes or less, so I can dyno both setups. It's kinda fun testing this stuff for once instead of waiting for others to do so. Let's just hope it's not just an expensive piece of aluminum.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Car is now running with the new intake. I'm waiting on my battery bracket for the cute little juice maker from Shorai. I should get that today, so first set of logs will be this evening or tomorrow.

I've been waffling on where/how to place a vent for the crankcase. I ended up using a rubber grommit, 3/8 or so brass coupler and lengthening the stock line to reach. I decided the best place was at the joiner pipe, and I could just trim away material to make it work. Since it's located underneath, you don't see it and there's enough material to clamp for a good seal still. I need to order some more worm drive clamps, the T clamps are overkill for the TB and airbox junction.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

While waitng for the battery bracket I started my version of the rear seat delete. There is a kit out there that I could buy, but it's hundreds of dollars and it's heavier than one would expect. If I'm going to take out the rear seats and belts, it should be a weight savings that makes sense. I'm still uneasy about taking out the back seats for some reason. My kids used to ride with me, but we no longer use the FRS for anything family oriented. It's basically a toy now. I can put it back to stock in about 20 minutes or less.

So out with the old.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Cardboard templates.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

At my work we use foamcore and a similar product called gator board. It's considerably stronger and stiffer than foam core, but I think light enough to do the job. The nice part is it already has a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. I'll peel that off and lay carpet over. Spray adhesive for the back, and I should be good to go. I've still got templates, so if I have to use coroplast instead I will.

Razor blades, straight edge, and a few minutes later.

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

Untitled by hatchethairy, on Flickr

This weekend I'd like to get these all put together with carpet, but like all projects it's never that simple. We shall see if it turns into a pile of ash in a few days or not.

Well the Racer X intake was looking kinda bleak for a minute. After getting some remote tuning done, I packed up tools and stock intake to do some testing on the dyno. I was hoping to see some mid range grunt added to the area under the curve and expecting a slight loss at the top end. I got both of those things, but neither were at an acceptable level.

So this is e85 RacerX vs e85 stock intake:

racer x dyno_1 by hatchethairy, on Flickr

As you can see the new fancy intake won't be doing me any favors compared to stock. After the gut punch and empty wallet I limped back home to plan out my season. Originally I was going to stay at the 200hp range and reduce weight. However, unless I dump a ton of money in aero and sticky tires I'll be outgunned. Maybe next year for that plan.

So I spent a few hours going over what I can do to drop down a class and be closer to the edge of power/weight ratio. Around 185hp would be best but numbers near that would be acceptable with ballast, so I went back to the dyno to run the stock intake on 91 octane.

stock intake 91 dyno_1 by hatchethairy, on Flickr

My number was close to where I needed it at 180hp, but I figured it made sense to go ahead and compare to the RacerX on e85 since they were similar in peak HP.

stock 91 vs racer x dyno_1 by hatchethairy, on Flickr

I'll be damned.

All of the low-mid grunt I wanted and still allows me to run in Production B class. I was excited to not have to haul e85 around, but with this kind of power gain I have no choice. 

The rear seat and trunk junk will need to go back in for weight. Maybe I can use the rear seat delete I made next season? Also need to add a few pounds back to offset the battery swap, but I can add that in the rear where it's needed most.

I need to swap in stock control arms that don't have roll center correction or offset bushings for caster. Those are on the way. Once that's done I'm a 200tw tire set and alignment away from domination. I hope.

Long time, no jibber jabber.

I haven't posted for a handful of reasons on this thread. Kinda glad I didn't, but I think the thread deserves to move on. Prepare for another roller coaster. It's a long one.

So, shortly after my last post I drained the oil for the last bit of check list to be ready for the first event. I noticed a glittery substance. It was gut wrenching. After a few more oil/filter change and checks it was obvious I have a problem as the glittery gloom wasn't disappearing. No knocking, but maybe I caught it in time?

A buddy of mine is a bit of a Subaru guru so he offered to help me split it open and see what's what. Cam bearing damage in both heads were prevalent but rod and crank bearings looked great. We decided it made sense to source some used cams/trays and put it back together. I decided this car will be sold after I get some test miles in. FA20s have skyrocketed in price and if they are this fragile I can't afford to go down this path, or excuse the expense at least.

After pulling the engine, I swapped just about every aftermarket item for stock and sold them to fund the future project. Those funds actually were kinda eye watering, but gave me hope.

Then the car was in limbo for quite some time just sitting in my driveway. Between sourcing multiple heads that had similar damage to my existing, as well as damage in shipping, it took weeks. Months in fact to move forward with progress.

So while waiting on parts and machine work, I took my new part sales money to good use. I bought a turbo NA8 Miata and trailer as a package from a local autocrosser. We also traded in the wife's Santa Fe for an Expedition so we have something to tow with. It was a lot going on at once. The package purchase was in hopes to have a dedicated track and autocross car with somewhat lower consumables cost than the FRS. I mean the Miata is the answer so what could go wrong?

It's been quite a bit more work than expected to get the Miata up to snuff. Little snafus here and there, but we are in business.........  and yet after all that work I'm still kinda so so on it. Essentially the car is a great car for it's intended purpose, but the overall package does nothing for me. I have just kinda decided that's the way it will be, as there isn't an alternative I want to explore. Time to suck it up and just enjoy it for it's intended purpose.

Moving along. As of last weekend we finally got the FA20 engine reinstalled and running in the FRS. Other than the aftermarket steering wheel, headlights, and tail lights it's back to stock. I've never really driven a completely stock Frisbee before, so I was a bit surprised at how much I still loved the car. The first trip was just to check over the system so no aggressive driving. I caught myself falling in love with the shifting and cockpit again. The second trip out I was just grinning ear to ear. The quietness of the car with stock exhaust was awesome. Weird. The torque dip wasn't great, but it honestly wasn't bothersome. In fact I kept thinking why the hell am I keeping a car I don't really like and ditching the one I love? For the sake of possible competitiveness?

So that's where we are now. I almost sold this car. The Miata will be on the block as soon as the title arrives.

Pic uploader looks to be on the fritz and I'm tired of paying the monthly Flickr fees. I'll try again later.

Pic uploader was working, just didn't like the Miata pics. Guess we know why that car has to go...

Hallett meets the Miata:

You're right, that was a ride.  Any idea on what cooked the engine?  Any new thoughts on how to prevent future issues?

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I honestly don't know. I assume starved oil to the cams? Was it damaged before the oil cooler? Was there shmutz in the oil cooler as it was used and I never really flushed it? High G turn carousel at Heartland causing the starvation? Supercharger testing in cold weather without proper warm up? Or any winter abuse without proper warm up?

That's one of the main reasons I wanted to jump ship. I had no clue what caused it, and another failure would be pretty tough to swallow. K swap sounds awesome until you do the math, plus the fact the kits aren't even to market yet.

Current plan is to get a new oil cooler core OR figure out a way to flush without worry the current one. I'm leaning towards replace as the result of more crud would be considerably more costly. Need to look into a baffle for pan or upgraded pick up tube, but honestly not sure if that will fix the problem. I've ran thicker oil so that when it does get to a higher temp I suffer less pressure loss. I've also kept the oil slightly above full level on the dip stick.

As of right now I'm all ears for suggestions.

In reply to captainawesome :

I'm running a Killer B oil pickup on the rally car as a result of reading this thread about restriction on the oil pump.  No idea if it's helping.

In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :

I remember reading that thread at some point. I'll go back through it again, but if I remember correctly he was having rod bearing issues. With mine being in great shape and only starved in the heads I just don't' know what to think. It's certainly worth considering and cost wise reasonable for added peace of mind.

In reply to tremm :

Unfortunately car prices are through the roof for just about everything. As of right now I think the best course of action is to just ride this pony into the ground. I really like the car. I've never been a fan of convertibles, but a MR2 Spyder with a hardtop sounds fun. Then I go down the list of stuff I would need to do to one to be what I want and it just doesn't make sense. Kinda feels like another Miata scenario to play out. If anything I'll wait a year or two for the new GR86 depending on pricing.

Kind of a minor thing considering all that has happened as of late but the seat delete you did looks awesome.

So are you going to track the FRS still?  Rebuy all the aftermarket parts you sold?  I'm not a miata fan, I simply don't fit in them without cutting a hole in the floor and installing a drop floor...

In reply to AxeHealey :

I was happy with it. The foam core material I used probably wouldn't hold up to long term use, but it was a fun project.

In reply to docwyte :

Back to the track for sure. Now I can trailer it to events so if things go tits up I have a way to get home and assess the damage. Plenty of autocross when possible as well but won't have to trailer for that. It would be nice to go on another road rally with the wife as we really enjoyed that. In fact that was the first thing she mentioned when we discussed keeping the car.

I'm still plotting out the new direction, but I've got a short list currently on how I want to move forward.

First and foremost a set of 17x8 or 17x9 wheels so I can fit in STX with possibly running the cheap GT Radial SX2 tires used for the 86 Cup series. I am growing tired of chasing lap times with tires vs just having fun. Also the cost factor. At least for now I feel that way, we will see if that stays true in a couple months.

Eventually I'll need a new set of Centric blanks paired with some G-loc pads. New soft brake lines since the plastic coating on the Goodridge ones are failing and a clean/reseal of the stock calipers.

Maybe add the oil cooler back or build a new setup with a proper sandwich plate at the oil filter.

Then finally a set of CSG Spec TEIN Flex A coilovers with the included camber plates. Potentially a front sway bar?

I'm keeping the stock exhaust system for now and may throw a tune it's way at some point.

In the end I want the car to tell me what it needs and I just do things one step at a time. I wish I had started with a stock car for that reason alone as it's easy to chase each gadget or modification for very little gain or even creating new problems. Gonna go at it this time with a KISS attitude and guard my wallet as much as possible.