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Finally, I have a good picture of this thing going fast! Photo credit to Johnathan Gohde[/caption]Now that that's out of the way, let's get into what's been going on since that photo was taken.
That picture was taken Sunday at MOWOG 4. Monday after work, put the car back up on the jack stands and went to work.
The first thing to come out was the exhaust. Slip fit joints suck when they've been together for awhile. Some love taps with the dead blow hammer, some heat, and a little more prying than i should have done and that whole mess of a system came out around sundown. So.. many.. fucking.. pipes.
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The Borla True-Dual Exhaust. Final weight, 52 Lbs.[/caption]With that mess out, I had free access to the driveshaft and differential. I started with the ones i knew were going to suck, the halfshaft bolts. I picked up a set of extra-long wrenches to give me more torque, but alas, they were still not enough on their own. Time to bust out the torch. A little heat and i managed to break them free. With the axles now dangling in my face, i moved onto some of the smaller stuff. I had to unhook the vehicle speed sensors and the breather tube. Lastly, it was time for the main driveshaft. This was pretty easy as it had already came out when i did the subframe swap earlier, and used anti-seize on the bolts. a little leaning and they popped right out.
At this point, the diff is only attached to the car by the front two ears and the cover. Unfortunately, I didn't have a hand to help stabilize, so i took a swing at it with my trusty harbor freight floor jack. Held it tight, and freed it.. then tried to gently lower it and... got about about 6" down and free when it rolled off the jack. A quick inspection showed no real damage, so fuck it. it's out. It's now 10:30 PM, and the primal brain has somewhat taken over. I drag the differential out from under the car like so much deer carcass, lay a foot upon it and declare victory and supreme manliness. Before I trudged off to sleep, I snapped a picture of my trophy:
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Gotcha, bitch.[/caption]A Few days later the final bits from Nissan arrived and i had all i needed to get this thing together.
I threw all the pieces in a Rubbermaid container, and headed over to a local transmission re-builder who was all to excited to work on something more interesting than the auto trans out of an F-150 work truck. A few hours later i got the call back that it was done and ready to go, and swung by after work to pick up the assembled product.
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The finished product, and the old open diff in it's coffin.[/caption]Fighting every urge i have to immediately slide back under the car and begin efforts to try to replace said differential, it's time for the office summer party.
The very next day though, i start by running some errands. I know i'll need new gear oil, and Nismo recommends 75-w140 instead of the stock 75-w90 when using this diff.. but wavetrac themselves specifically state to avoid using limited slip additive. Yeah, only one thing i can find that has both of those qualities is Redline NS, which isn't quite stocked locally. I opted for some valvoline non-syn and figured i can run out the season on that before i drain and refill with the really good stuff. I also picked up a transmission jack to help me put the diff in, as this lil' pumpkin is heavy, and that new wavetrac all full of gears didn't make it any lighter. While i was at harbor freight i also grabbed a sawzall, side cutting drill bits, and some chisels/punches. Remember when i did the subframe replacement? i skipped over doing the diff bushings then, knowing it would be coming back out. Well back out it came, and it was time to drive those bastards out.
I think the process of driving the bushings out got the cops called on me. My drill died, so i couldn't get the rubber guts out to give me access to go at them properly with the sawzall. So much chiseling and hammering ensued. The cops rolled by my open garage real slow like, me with new ballpeen hammer over head, lined up to take another death blow at the rubber bastard. Good news is they didn't stop, and I finished the process.
With the bushings replaced, there was nothing left to stop me from putting the diff back in it's home. And i did so.. twice. Damn bushing instructions. Thick and a thin one.. which one goes up. Oh, newer or out of date instructions that don't clearly say which way? thanks. After installing it i realized with the thinner ones on top, the pinion angle was too high. Great. Pull it back out, drive the bushings back out, and install 'em the right way.
Regardless of that idiocy, the diff is now in the car. I went about re attaching the axles, once again applying copious amounts of anti-seize in the reassembly.
After re-attaching all the little bits, i skipped filling the diff to avoid gear oil drips on myself as I installed the new exhaust.
Said new exhaust consisting of a Stillen Y-pipe and a Momentum performance y-pipe back. This basically eliminated any flex joints or unnecessary bends the whole way back on the exhaust. The new system also weighs in at about 27 Lbs, shaving some good weight off the borla. The "Muffler" (muffler is in quotes, because it doesn't muffle shit.) is also very much a straight through. With the right incline, i'm pretty sure you could roll something down my exhaust all the way to the cats.
With all this installed, i took the final steps of the night, and refilled the diff. It was time to get it off the stands and go for a spin.
Immediately upon start up, my initial thoughts are confirmed. Exhaust = Loud as shit. I hope it passes sound, but that's honestly questionable. I back out and head for a drive. Okay, it's loud.. but it does sound pretty cool. Unfortunately, there really isn't anywhere i can give the diff a proper viscous thrashing to see if it's as great as i hope, but from the roll-ons i did getting on the freeway at various points, it is noticeable.
So I spent a few days days tossing around in that until Monday night rolled around, and the next couple of parts showed up.
The driver's seat bracket (Buddy Club Super Low) landed on my doorstep, and it was time to throw the new Corbra Imola 2 seats in.. well.. seat. At that point i was still waiting on the passenger side bracket. That went in with a little bit of fight, as the seat is still slightly too wide to use the lowest mounting points. The next ones up fit, and it feels like it landed at about stock ride height.
At the same time, I installed the Schroth rallye-3 harness I also obtained for the driver's side. I love these harnesses.. the 2" belts are just so much more comfortable than big 3", and are easily enough for autox use.
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New seat and harness[/caption]Once again, it's test drive time.
While it's not the easiest thing to get in and out of, it does hold you in quite well. It's also amazing how much more feedback you get through your ass when you're truly strapped in.
Since then, I've been daily driving the car for the week making sure to put some miles on the diff before the next event, and while it's quickly becoming a bit too obnoxious for regular street use, it's still a riot of a car to drive.
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