So i can finally say im back ! so a little history.
had my last red s14 for about 5years,
I loved this car to death , it wasn't anything too crazy, kouki, ka-t, standalone, suspension,rims brakes blah blah blah.. it was awesome tho..
then in November of 2010 tragedy hit, my car was involved in an accident,
sadly i could not fix her, strut tower was shifted in almost 3".. i had to part her out..
then i dont know what got into me (probably the influence of ex girlfriends..) i decided i will grow up and get a BMW.. i then bought this 4dr 335i 6mt
pretty nice car.. i did usually bmw d-bag stuff, angles eyes, chip/downpipes/intakes.. car was pretty quick but no fun.. I missed the s14 .. Every time i saw one my hear ached.. i went to cali and came back with a clear head and decided its time to sell the bmw..
Just so happened i decided to look for s14 again and i found one.. in long island.. red.. kouki.. ka-t, just like my old car.. it was set i need it!
so finally got the bmw sold! Now im back..
everyone meet Renee
goal for this build : modern day race car in 90 era car.
first set of mods are:
kouki tail lights
fortune auto 500 coilovers
rear multi link arms
re-barrel rims.
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goal with this motor is around 600whp if it blow ( which i dont think it will) 2jz is up next.
specs on the car:
Engine
96 original KA24DE
Bored and plate-honed block
8.8:1 Weisco forged pistons with Weisco file-fit rings
Crower forged rods and rod bolts
Clevite main and rod bearings
Micropolished and balanced crankshaft
Ported head
Cometic Headgasket
ARP Head Studs
ARP Main studs
Koyo radiator
Flex a Lite Fans
relocated battery
Turbo:
Garrett GT35R CHRA, ATP .70AR ported comp housing, ATP .82 turbine housing
ETD turbo mani, wrapped, along with downpipe
Tial 38/40mm wastegate
Oil feed components are custom lines, Function7 flanges, and a Tuner Toys tee.
Brand new stainless steel braided water lines to the turbo
HKS Super Sequential BOV
Fmax FMIC and chromed piping
Apexi Dual N1 Exhuast
Apexi AVCR
Apexi SAFC
new NGK 8mm plug wires and NGK iridium plugs
Fuel:
Nismo 740cc sidefeed injectors
HKS FCON -V
HKS AFK
255 in tank
Transmission:
Competition clutch twin disk
1pc alumium drive shaft
j30 vlsd
Steel braided slave cylinder line
B&M Short throw shifter
Filled with Redline MT90
Front end:
'98 front end, OEM red
NEW kouki headlights
kouki lower front lip
JDM kouki grill
Suspension:
Tein S-tech springs
Tein tie rods
Moog ball joints
Whiteline FLCA bushings
Whiteline tension rod bushings
Energy Suspension swaybar bushings
Greg Dupree subframe spacers
Brakes:
Full 300zx front brake conversion, PDM lines, slotted and x-drilled Brembo rotors
Wheels:
old school Work VSs, powdercoated glossy black
New BFG KDW DRs on the rear.
Nitto 555s on the front
car made 366whp @ 356 ft/lb when previous owner dynoed on 14psi, also did a 12.6@115mph ( shifting really easy not launching)
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With that being said, for summer im focusing on looks and suspension. I just swapped out the zenki tail lights for kouki tail. I plan on ordering Fortune auto coilovers this week.
I'm debating on which company to use for suspension arms, im between powered by max/spl/fortune auto.. i will defiantly order those soon.
then im going to rebarrel the rims: right now the vs-mx's are :
18x8 +34 (1.5" lip/ 18x9 +38 (2" lip),
going to get some 3"/4" lips new size and offsets will be:
18X10 +8 245/35 and 18X11 +17 265/35.
that should hold me down until next year when i get the real rims i want.
i also plan to re tune the fcon and raise the boost up a little, i just want around ~420whp for the summer.
ill keep this build active as i get parts in and progress is made.
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Small ricer update!
Installed led corner bulbs and led cluster bulbs
all bulbs are from super bright leds.com
the corner bulbs are the 16x led 194 bulb,
194 LED Bulb - 15 SMD LED Wedge Base Tower | LED Landscape Lighting | Super Bright LEDs
Cluster bulbs were the 9 led bulbs
194 LED Bulb - 9 SMD LED Wedge Base Tower | Miniature Wedge Base LEDs | LED Car Bulbs | Super Bright LEDs
made a huge difference. With the led their is a spot in the cluster that is washed out, i have to find a way to fix this as it bothers me to death!
stock cluster
new bulb vs old
new sexiness
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these should go really nice with the defi i cant wait to install it!
Also did an oil change as well , the oil was very dark and low, glad i changed it before beating on the car.
Plans for this week:
- install HID 6000k
- install new bumper
- start defi gauge setup
- order new ac trim ( im a clutz and broke the other one at tarmac fail..)
- order new shift knob
- order barrel for rims
hopefully ill have a better update next week
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builds picking up!
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Getting real..
Gotta love impulse buys!
and let the fun times begin, ok ok ill stop slacking and hopefully give a good pic update this weekend.
i didnt do much but install the dmax corners but it looks like poop because i need to change my peeling headlight housing :/ ill be doing so this weekend, and possible fender harness tuck and defi install =0
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ok mini update, i got it my coils and ruca, so install this week .. i really didnt want to start anything major with the car this weekend as i really wanted to driver her..
so i did ricer things.. i finally got around to installing my hids
also my head light housing was fading so i baked them open and swapped out the housing to nice shiny ones i had laying around..
i also cleaned up the engine bay and i drove her around ..
how she looks as of now before the big changes:
cool pic:
some inspiration: Jack from JDM Engine depot s14
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now while driving around sat night, "testing" the car i seen that my tune has some issues...
after a good beating session on the high way with a evox and 370z my car was running super rich 9.8-10.5 off boost, it was struggling to idle and wanted to flood out. Below 50% throttle it would be way to rich, and the wide band would be just toggling between 9.8- 11.5 randomly..
as i stop beating on the car and drove it normal, it began to act normal again, it stopped stalling out when coming to stop and clutch in.. the a/f returned to 12.7-13.5 lo throttle cursing speeds.
the lower drive ability part of my maps sucks! i can see that it needs a retune. So it looks like after this round of mod, im going to have to bite the bullet start the fuel system and cams, and go for a re tune.. goal - 500-550whp...
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update coils are in!
i will go lower once i re lip my rims and get the fenders pulled..
pics of install done @ TARMAC SPL - thanks D!
old vs new
D putting in work
also did pbm ruca
all done!
driving impressions-
Dampening was set 18 clicks form soft all around. I did the full stiff -> full soft as recommended before final adjustment of Damper.
Living in NYC and having experience in a s14 with harsh coils I was nervous in the beginning.. My first impression when driving down the block away from the shop was “wow these feel almost like the tien springs/stock strut combo” they felt more firm and responsive. Taking some dips on the road at fairly low speeds and the car remained stable, it wasn’t bouncy at all. The coils rebounded pretty quickly at local driving speeds ~15-30pmh. Compared to other coilovers they would get pretty bouncy at those speeds on wavy pavement. The joints/cracks in the road I didn’t notice them! That was a huge huge surprise to me. I was so happy that the coils rode so comfortable on local streets. I did purposely go over a few pot holes to see how harsh it was compared to the spring and struts combo. To my surprise it wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t as forgiving as a spring and strut but it didn’t make my back hurt over the bump either.. But needless to say I will be avoiding all pot holes..
On to Highway impressions-
My commute from the shop to my home is around 30miles, nyc high ways are unforgiving, pot holes, uneven pavement, cracks, un level areas that look and feel like some one put a speed bump on the high way for no apparent reason -__-
Cursing around 60mph the car is super responsive, lane change and weaving left to right is super responsive, as soon as I turn the wheel the car moves. It doesn’t lean it just goes with out delay. The ride isn’t bouncy at all. Its not to firm as in low speed testing, it rebounds nicely over uneven pavement. Driving around 60-70mph I didn’t feel the joints in the high way, it felt good not to have the car twitch over every line. I did slightly feel when the asphalt met cement and back to asphalt. But its nothing to complain about, Fortune Auto coilovers are way more forgiving then other coilvovers. The swift springs make the car feel soo composed, honestly it felt stable like my 07 335i on the high way, a nice comfortable ride and handle nicely, its very composed the car isn’t all over the road and it doesn’t tend to pull into the crown of the road like some overly stiff coilovers. The response is crazy, my last s14 had full suspension and arms spl outer tie rods/tension rods/ full rear arms, sub frame bushing ect. And in response this new car feels like this car with just coilovers! Amazing. Fortune auto did a great job with the Digressive valving on this coil.
My only only compliant was that over a big bump on the high way the coilover rebounded pretty hard, but It is expected as they are coilovers.. and the other negative would be on extremely low speed less then 10mph on a wavy piece of road the coils do feel a little bouncy but nothing that is to harsh. Again they are coilover and it’s the nature of them.
Over all im super satisfied with the coilovers and picking Fortune auto, Terry was a big help throughout the whole process of matching spring rate s and taking time to explain to me how the coilovers worked. He predicted them to be just like how they are! The swift springs are amazing defiantly worth the money. Even Damium was surprised at how well these coils rode in comparison to all the other coils hes tired.
I will keep updating this thread as I get more seat time with the coilover and also how it stands up over time. Right now the ride height is 25” from the floor to fender arch. I will be lowering it soo to around 23”. I will give another assessment of the car at that height to compare it at a lower setting. Also I will adjust the dampening to a softer and harder setting to see the difference.
Over all id recommend these coils, its super comfortable, firm and sporty when it needs to be and it fits on the car perfectly.
Thanks to Fortune Auto and terry for the FA510, and thanks to Damium at Tarmac for the install and all the help with adjusting and dialing in the coilovers.
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tested fitted my zeta.. unfortunately i have the wrong rail -__-
fixed my gauge cluster.. one of my bulbs wasnt lighting up
looks so much nicer!
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gauge set up almost complete
zeta goes in this week once my rails come..
also my navan rear valance should also be here and my lips for the rims should finally come in! next few weeks is going to be good!
Put in some "work" today
A little preview, still need to clean up barrels and polish faces and clean bolts.. but you get the basic idea..
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little teaser..
rear set 18x11+12
got some pulling ahead of me :rock:
i can see it coming together..
yes i know moar low! getting my fenders pulled and lowering the car another 1" this week and installing my jdm bumper. Should look decent soon.
btw federal ss595 run big, a 235 isnt even stretched on a 9.5 and a 265 no stretch on a 11" wtf?? i guess now i have to go for the meaty look :/