Here We Go — Apex Attack

Preamble: I never claimed to be an expert on race car safety, and am actually quite the opposite. I shared my last post on facebook, and got TORN UP about my backing plates. When mounting a harness through OEM firewalls and floors, the SCCA rule requires using 4"x4"x1/8" steel as backing plates. Even though I used the plates Schroth supplied with their kit (and presumably engineered to work), they are not big enough. I'm currently building my own backing plates, update soon.

If you guys knew my last SW20 (duh, that's why you're following my new SW20), you know I won't be keeping the car stock body. I like wide. I like stupid amounts of grip. I like mixing 90s styling with new. I like trying new things.

So with the new build, comes new wheels. If you're following along on instagram (@apex.attack, go ahead, find and follow it), you already know.

EEEEEEK!!! BBS LM! One of my dream wheels. Yes they're authentic. I actually picked these up this summer, but have been keeping them hidden away in the depths of the .75 car garage until the time was right. These were rebuilt in some crazy sizing. 17x9.5 front and 17x11 rear, +6mm offset. I'm pretty psyched to rock a german wheel on a japanese car... mix it up a little bit. They are heavier than my old RPF1s, but not by much. And cmon, they look way better.

Ballin' outta control! This is the average amount of cash I carry on me by the way.

To go with these hot wheels I needed some sticky icky rubber. I ran Federal 595-rs-r on my last setup. They were cheap, and sticky, but didn't like lots of heat. I wanted to step up in tire compound this time. After A TON of research, I went with the Toyo R1-R.

235/40 fronts and 275/40 rears. I'm looking forward to running a 17" front and rear. 18s all around are too big in my opinion, give the SW20 a wagon wheel look. 18" rears work, but 17"s look meatier. "Mike, why didn't you man up to the R888s? You pansy." Well, I deeply considered it, lost sleep over it, but R888s are total garbage in the rain. Since it tends to rain a bit in Seattle, these should be a little better. Also, a lot of R888 reviews noted they become rock hard after 7-8 heat cycles. Since this car will be a 70% street/30% track car, I need something that won't turn into stone after 2000 miles. Maybe for my next set... with dedicated track wheels... All it takes is time and (mostly) money, right?

So, we're running some bonkers sized wheels, with legit sized tires, but how the hell are these gonna fit?! Don't worry, we'll get to that later. First, we gotta adjust the hell out of the suspension to fit!

Yeah, my car has Koni/TRD suspension right now, and it rides fantastically well. BUT, wheels this wide will not jive with a strut/spring setup. They're just too tall and wide. So back to coilover land we go. Luckily my old BC coilovers weren't completely thrashed by the last crash. Let's dig them out of storage.

Ah, crap. Both front shock cartridges were bent. After a couple email exchanges to BC they do sell replacement shock cartridges. Now I remember why I bought these for my first coilovers, USA parts and service. But after putting in an order, I texted my buddy a pic of the bent shock cartridge, and he said he'd sell me some barely used replacements for $50! Score. Done. Deal. Now I just had to get these old cartridges out of the lower mount. Easy right? Nah.

Yes that's a 48" pipe wrench. Yes, that's the biggest wrench I've ever used. No, this pic wasn't a joke. At first I thought it'd be a funny picture... then I realized the 24" wrench wasn't gonna cut it. I had to take these to work, not too many shadetree mechanics keep 48" pipe wrenches in their toolbox. Seriously, these mofos were IN THERE. Each took a good 20 minutes of sweating and swearing. Once I got them off, it wasn't too hard to put them back together with lots of anti-seize.

And installed! Ride height... total guess so far.

So, I know the performance of BC coilovers is basically entry level tawainese crap. I agree. They ride really harsh on the roads on their softest setting, but are pretty decent on the track when turned up to hard-on stiff. I plan on upgrading to real legit coilovers sometime in the next year, but really don't have $2500 sitting around for KWs or Bilsteins.

Wait a minute... I have another sponsor to tell you guys about!

When I purchased my new chassis, I was approached by one of the biggest MR2 suspension gurus, Alex Wilhelm. He liked following my last build, and the fact that I actually drive the car at limit. He offered to give me some deals on his suspension components he builds. If you've ever seriously researched SW20 suspension, you've come across his expertise on many forum threads. He's always spot on, and if he isn't, will figure out the best solution and post the info to the MR2 world for everyone to use. He's developed some awesome products for us SW20 guys out of lack of aftermarket support, and he tracks the crap out of his car whenever it isn't snowing up in Montana. Check out his site, support the small guys: http://wilhelmraceworks.com/

One of his best selling products is his suspension geometry kit. It remedies the negative effects of lowering your car by helping fix your roll center, bump steer, and body roll. This was my first purchase. I WILL be sourcing his knowledge to build me some legit Koni coilovers, and his big brake kit. The BBK looks awesome, probably the best for the SW20 I've seen out there. It's one of the most affordable, and saves considerable weight over the typical supra-rotored BBK's out there.

The kit:

Although it looks like a lot of parts, it really isn't that much when you get into it. Basically the kit adds roll center adjusters on all four corners, new steering tie rod ends, and rear tie rod brackets. The instructions are fairly clear and idiot proof (this idiot did have to contact Alex about one question, and he responded within an hour or so). It does require removing the rear knuckle to press in a steel slug to replace a spherical bearing, but that's probably the hardest part. Overall the kit can easily be installed in a Saturday. 4-6 beers help for mechanic lubrication.

New tie rod ends assembled and in.

Shitty picture of roll center adjusters installed on top of the ball joint. Check out that TRD sway bar. So stiffly.

Rear tie rod drop bracket. Since I'm a fantastic direction follower, I even added FIPG to seal it from water. This is where you have to press out the oem spherical bearing to put this in.

New rear tie rods.

Installed!

Rear roll center adjusters installed. And that's the kit. You can find all of Alex's research and development of the kit here: http://wilhelmraceworks.com/suspension-analysis-links

Seriously, check out his stuff if your serious about the handling or braking of your SW20. Install was pretty painless, and the benefits of the kit seem very worth the price. I haven't driven the car yet obviously, but the research makes sense when my brain wasn't melted by the analysis. My only quib with the kit was some of the hardware is SAE sized, but his reasoning was because he could not source the grade 8 hardware needed in metric. It's not a big deal, just something I noticed during install. I would rather the hardware be grade 8 and SAE instead of metric and grade 5 crap.

OK! Suspension is ready... for now. I know there's a big compromise in the coilover setup, but it's what my budget allows for the time being. At the very least it will help me figure out what I want to change when I go to a new setup.

Let's add something cool, something we can actually see in the car. Mirrors! Get it, "see"?! I love the looks of my carbon APR mirrors. The vision... could be better. But they work well enough, and add major style points. Surprisingly, they save a legit 5-7 pounds per side, the power mirrors are stupid heavy. These also survived the crash, but I lost one of the actual mirror lenses. I ordered another from APR for $24 shipped.

After cleaning up the old epoxy and reapplying, the lens went in without a hitch. Irebuilt both mirrors by restoring the hardware and cleaning up the carbon.

A little before and after with some hand polishing. Elbow grease and beer helped.

Installed! Now my car is a hella F1!

Since I was on a roll, I decided to gut the rest of my A/C system. Which promptly turned out to be a huge pain in the ass. I was trying to save all the lines for a buddy, and almost pulled out the sawzaw/hammer/chainsaw in the process. Luckily, patience prevailed.

Condensor out! Lots of roadkill bees in the radiator.

Front end weight reduction! Mostly clutter reduction. All of this probably weighs 20 pounds (12 pounds being the full windshield washer fluid reservoir, more on that later), but considerably removes a bunch of junk from the front end to work around. Plus my buddy will get his precious AC system back in (what a wuss).

While I was on a weight reduction high, I pulled the front fenders and install the wheels for a hot second. Yes the car was sitting on the rear quarter panels. Here's a tease til next time.

So, things are getting exciting! I have all the parts needed to finish my "vision," I just need time. A lot of time. A lot a lot of time.