Epic Airtrek

[Slinz]

I'm not a member on mmc summarise!

 

[CLuTZ]

I'm not a member on mmc summarise!

Ah I think they recently changed it so you need to be a member to view!

Hi all!!

Im going to have some pics up soon- still waiting for some things to turn up (bloody trademe sellers taking their time lol)

A bit of history. Ive had my 2005 Airtrek Turbo since new and it has been modified the whole time Ive owned it. Started of with bolt-ons then went to TD05 then to a GT35 then to the GT30R I have been using for the last 40,000 KM.
I had my Auto transmission rebuilt last year to be able to handle the power that comes with running 35psi on a GT30R- and up until recently it had been doing fine.... that was until I couldnt reverse anymore lol.

Took the box out (thanks to Kelvin for loaning me the engine stabliser for a couple of weeks!) and had it inspected- I had blown the overdrive planetary gearset and bits of it when into the fluid pump and the box is now dead. The Auto rebuilder said he could rebuild it but mentioned that its very likely that it will happen again, unless I reduce power.

LIKE I was going to do that!!!! Due to my marital status changing, I dont have the restriction of not been allowed to swap in a manual- so thats what Im doing.


A couple of guys I know in Singapore and Brunei have done the conversion and its pretty straight forward. Time to hit Trademe and the WTB Forum HARD

Bits required:

BOUGHT
Evo 8mr ECU (Thanks guys-donation coming soon!!)
5 speed manual gearbox (EVO 4 85ks)
Gearbox mounts (Thanks Napolean)
5 speed Linkage, selector, clips, brackets
Clutch pedal & mount (Evo 4)
Release (slave) Cylinder (Evo 4)
Master cylinder (Evo 4)
Clutch pipe work (EVO 4)
Flywheel bolts (different length on Airtrek)
Clutch Evo7+ (Thanks Hayden Paddon)
Release bearing
Center console from E7+ (Got a Complete Evo 8 one)
Handbrake (from Evo4)

STILL NEED- If anyone can help!!!

Reverse connector plug
The short bit of Adjuster cable at the handbrake
Small bit of hard clutch line from the master cyl to flexible line.
Evo 7 Flywheel
Stock EVO 4+ 5spd gear knob



ECU-
I could have stayed with the auto ecu and everything would work fine, but with all the work that has been done with the late model ecus, I wanted to have all the recent features like:
Launch control (with dedicated launch ignition and fuel maps)
No Lift to Shift NLTS
Switchable maps
Extra big maps 25x30 resolution
PSI based boost control and gear based boost control
Valet mode
AFR safety- wire wideband into etc and if car leans out abnormally it can reduce boost
Knock light- slow for small knock- fast for higher knock. And can reduce Boost if high knock
Will be changing to speed density (MAP sensor) as well, so I can finally get rid of the maf sensor restriction.

big map compared to old ones


The Airtrek Ecu plugs are in the Evo 8mr/9 shape and aside from the extra auto trans plug they are the same, but required extensive pinout changes on the second and third plugs.
As there is no english Service manual for the Airtrek Turbo, I have had to manually trace all the wires from the ecu. Thats two days of my life I wont ever get back :roll:
At this point the ecu is wired in and reflashing.


GEARBOX

Any 5sp gearbox from a Evo 4+ will work but need the gearbox mounts from an Evo 7. I chose 5 sp because of questionable longevity issues and cost with the 6sp

CLUTCH

Scored a very nice used Evo7+ 5puck clutch. Gone for the larger sized Evo7+ clutch for the slight extra power handling of the larger diameter.
Will buy a fancy twin plate in the new year if the one I have got coming isnt suitable.

CLUTCH Pedal etc

I found a mostly complete Evo clutch pedal and master/slave cyl on trademe. Although the Evo 7 one bolts in easier than the Evo 4 (mounts are different) the Evo 4 one still went in quite easily with a couple of extra holes. The evo 4 master cyl has the reservoir with it whereas the 7/8/9 use the brake fluid reservoir for both. I like the idea of a separate reservoir.

CENTER CONSOLE

I originally wanted to get a Center Console for a Euro Outlander Turbo. They come manual from factory, but couldnt get one and there would have been positioning issues because of left hand drive.
I have since bought a Evo 8 Center console. Its a little tricky to fit, but will look good.
Still waiting for it to come, so positioning of the gearshift and handbrake will have to wait.

HANDBRAKE

The Airtrek has a footbrake instead of a handbrake- which sucks as its extra work lol.
I have found a Evo4 one- its a slightly different finish from the later model ones but will fit.
Ive extended the E-brake switch from the footbrake position to the handbrake position.
The Footbrake cables run under the driver seat. A grinder/welder is needed to move it to the normal position under the rear of center console.
I will use Ribnuts to mount the handbrake

GEARSHIFT

The Gearshift lever is mounted on the dash in the Airtrek. Once this was removed and the gearshift linkage was removed, the manual gearshift linkage mounted in the same positon going through the firewall. There is also the mounting template on the tunnel- baut am not necessarily goin to use it, depending on final position of centre console.
Ribnuts will be used again to mount the gearshift unit.

REVERSE SWITCH

Will need extending from the auto position to the manual reverse switch plug.

INHIBITOR

In-line with the starting system is the inhibitor switch that stops you from starting in-gear in the auto. I have soldered/heatshrunk those cables permanently. This also means that I dont have to have the clutch pedal depressed when starting, like the later Evo (8/9) models require.

FLYWHEEL

Obviously a the auto flywheel and flexplate wont fit. So a I need an Evo 7 flywheel and longer flywheel bolts. I also need (and got) the ring gear from the manual flywheel. The auto ring gear needs machining to get to work.





Also have bought a new Methanol pump. The one that I had, had blown the diaphragm as it wasnt made for 100% Methanol use. The new one is 200psi instead of 100psi and is Meth safe.
This means I can run another nozzle at the intercooler exit as well as the one in front of the throttle body without too much pressure loss.

Im also purchasing some Kelford 272s to replace my older profile 264s that I have been using for a long time. With all the nice results that I have seen from people using these cams- Im really looking forward to getting them.

One other advantage of going to manual is the losses through the transmission are less- depending on who you go by, theres prob @10-15% difference in loss.
Also including fluids, theres almost 60kg difference in weight between the setups- thats the same as kicking your girlfriend out so you can go faster lol

Im hoping that with the better Final drive for drag racing (4.527) than the auto had (3.3) and an increase in power from the cams and less losses (and good driving)- should get me close/into the 10sec for the 1/4.


Cheers

Aaron

 

[CLuTZ]

Some more updates:

Somethings missing- lighter now though.



Temp home


Clutch reservoir anyone??



Lots of wires and fuzziness




Fairly stripped interior



Clutch pedal in, waiting for final adjustment and the brake pedal to be ground smaller

A wee update- will add pics later today.

The 8Mr ecu is in and the car is running perfectly without error codes etc.

Shifter, handbrake, clutch are installed and working. And the centre console is installed into position, although the join to the dash will have to be fabricated.

Having a wee bit of a major problem with the clutch engagement tho. Ive correctly bleed and adjusted the clutch pedal, but the clutch wont disengage. The Slave cylinder pushes the fork lever away from it for the first 5mm or so then it stops and the clutch pedal is very very hard.

Anyone have any ideas? Im probably going to have to drop the tranny again this weekend and reinstall (which sux balls ) but if there are any ideas before I do this, it would be great.

I didnt have a spline alignment tool when I put the pressure plate on, but I got the clutch centrered pretty good and the gearbox slid in easily, so I guess I got it right. The only other thing that I can thing of, is that I put the clutch plate on the wrong way- which would be a massive fail, but Im sure that I got that correct too.

Heres are couple of shitty ones from my phone. Will get nicer ones once all the loom is back together and the engine bay/interior is actually tidy lol

 

[Slinz]

Wow that's freaking awesome. You should post that in the thread for the bloke talking about possible Legnum replacements
35psi... That is all.

 

[CLuTZ]

Wow that's freaking awesome. You should post that in the thread for the bloke talking about possible Legnum replacements
35psi... That is all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fiyYVIKNiE

 

[Slinz]

That thing is moving off the line!