2014 SIM 1SS/1LE Search & Build Thread

[Pushrod Pete]

Looks awesome! I will be ordering my pair soon(part #'s:22895340/22895341?). I'll make sure to refer to your images when I modify mine.

Thanks again for the help.

[cdb95z28]

Glad to help

[rc330]

Hey Chad! Nice build!

What's the benefit of separating your brake and clutch reservoirs? I've been reading about several people doing this but I don't understand how that chances anything.

Thanks!
Christian

[cdb95z28]

Hi Christian, how's the 1LE treatin' ya?

Here's a good read:

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html

Inaddition to the above article, separating is also a good way to do a clutch hydraulic bleed more often without having to do the brakes. Also, the clutch hydraulics gain more volume which is good for various reasons.

Really, this is more beneficial for the cars that are run hard on a regular basis. At any rate, regular clutch/brake fluid flush is a good thing.

[cdb95z28]

RideTechs on, 1" drop. I made my own front caster locks and gained about 1.5* of positive caster. But I could not get more negative camber, even with the RideTech upper mounts set to max camber. On the lower strut mount the 1LE wheel/tire combo does not allow me to attain more negative camber because the tire will hit the strut, so preliminary check is about -.8 camber. I think the additional positive caster pulls the front knuckle forward which hurts the potential of more negative camber.

I took the car for a quick drive last night and it felt good, but I did not hammer it, insurance not on yet.
-Clutch felt great, first time since new reservoir/bleeder install and flush/bleed.
-Vitasse throttle control is amazing get one!
-Springs did settle a little bit, I may tweak again. EDIT: They settled because lotsa rebound can keep the springs down
-It does look bad ass with the drop.

[cdb95z28]

Brought my ride height down to 7/8" in an attept to gain clearance at the lower strut mount to help the negative camber. Not much help. Looks like I will be going with camber plates, either the Moreno plates or a set from Justice Pete.

I set the RideTechs to full stiff and it is not bad, a little more harsh over sharp bumps, but as easy as it is to adjust I can set them for moderate damping then at the track go stiffer.

[cdb95z28]

OK here's an update after a couple hundred miles with my winter changes:

-I only went 1/2" drop on the front and was able to get -1.7* camber. Good for the street, but for the track I will have to invest in camber plates. Justice Pete has a nice set but I do not think I want to drill into the towers. May go with the Morenos. 1/2" drop is subtle but looks good, I went 3/4" on the rear, I call it the Demon Drop 'cause the ride height in millimeters is 666. Have received many positive comments on the drop.

-So far on the RideTechs, they do have much more dampening at full stiff compared to ther OE 1LE struts. When set at full stiff they can be harsh over some raod imperfections that would be at the threshold for me on harshness. But realistically it happens very infrequently. The solid mounts of the RideTechs are noticable at any strut setting, but I am very sensitive to that kind of change. Again this is noticable over sharp road imperfections. Sacrifices and compromises in the name of speed.

- I lost about 30lbs with the change to the RideTechs. I did other changes too, rear upper control arm (rearward) bushing to a JDP poly bushing, BMR lower control arm knuckle bushing, Prothane rear cradle bushing inserts, Prothane front radius rod inserts,
and my own front radius rod caster locks.

-I have come to the conclusion that my process of self-alignment is off. One variable I have not been able to control is the lack of a level surface, and this can affect my readings.

A local auto repair business that works on all makes and years of vehicles gave me an opportunity to do my own alignment. Lohr Auto in Johnstown. Rob Lohr is a die hard car guy and has been a tech for decades. He currently owns a GTO (do not remember the year, it is of the 04-06 variety), a G8 GT, and many older muscle cars. He also works on older muscle cars for a lot of local guys. His wife has two Mustangs. He gets it, he is a hot rodder and is up to date on the happenings of the industry, past, present and future. His business is highly regarded within the community with high quality work.

So when I came to him looking for an alignment, he understood what I was looking for and realized that I am very particular. He is the same way! So he offered to get the car on the alignment rack, do the setup and let me do my own alignment. He recognized I knew what I was doing and was confident I would do it safely. I basically rented his machine for about 2 hours and what he charged me was very acceptable. Thanks Rob!! My current alignment specs:

Front
Cam: -1.7/-1.8
Cas:+7.1/+7.2
Toe:0
Total Toe:0

Rear
Cam: -.6/-.7
Toe: .10/10
Total Toe: .20

Thrust Angle: 0

I took a bit of Justice Pete's recommendations and went a little more aggressive on the camber.

My caster locks worked good! I made them out of 1/4" thick stainless bar and got the bolts from boltdepot.com. They are 10.9 class 14mmx2x140mm bolts and lock nuts. I also got two 10mmx1.5x30mm stainless set screws installed into the front knuckle for camber fine tuning.





I had intially aligned it with my home alignment tools, and I was close but nothing beats the precision of the industry standard alignment machine. Small movements of eccentrics and tie rod ends show up on the alignmnet machine. I can appreciate this as I perform machine alignments on various forms of power plant equipment down to tenths of a thousanth inch (.0001).

The car drives great and I could notice the difference from my intial home alignment to the alignment rack specs.

-There is an increase in road noise most likely from the install of the cradle bushing inserts and various rear poly bushings.

[cdb95z28]

A quick note about the Vitasse Throttle Control: I initially left it on setting #1 because I had to relearn the clutch with the new throttle rate. I have since gone to #5 and it seems to be easier to apply the clutch! and add the benefits of razor sharp throttle response, winning!

[h018871]

Well thought out & executed build.
Thx for sharing

[cdb95z28]

Thanks h018871.
I was concerned about going with the RideTechs from the great 1LE struts, and decided to take the chance. But getting on the track is the only way I will be able to say it was the right choice.

[Robbs1le]

is that shift light bright enough to see with a helmet on?? I really like how concealed yours is!!

[cdb95z28]

That is a good point, I have not tried it with a helmet. I also have to have the vent arranged in a particular way along with the placement of my left hand on the steering wheel so I do not obstruct it.

[cdb95z28]

A couple of pics I took while @ work. Camera was finicky and died. I know I can do better next time and I have some other ideas also.

[Robbs1le]

Beautiful car!