BUILD LOG: SR20DET S13 PART 3

Sometimes you just get too excited and crash a little bit.

After the test day at Sonoma, it took an entire year to get the time again to get the car together for another drift session. Brakes were scarily non-existent, the car had a handful of small leaks, and the rear suspension needed to get double checked.

Engine oil and power steering coolers needed to be swapped. After the crash of my first S13, the coolers were salvaged and reused. However the fittings of the oil cooler sustained damage and started to weep.

The intercooler is dented top and bottom, but it holds boost. We'll save that swap for another day. Next swap out required a little bit of minor fabrication. A brand new cooler from Chase Bays with a new reservoir. The old unit on the car had an early revision of the reservoir that did not vent correctly and would spew powersteering fluid everywhere. New reservoir and relocated cooler will hopefully keep the newly painted engine bay nice and tidy.

Last, a small upgrade to the cooling system. From the pages of Drift Tengoku, Mori SR20DET water necks still exist. Sure, ISR makes a better version, but this one is JDM. The larger water neck provides less restriction for the coolant as it enters the radiator. This pinches the area around the power steering pump and makes for a more difficult work area, but the extra cooling potential is a fair trade-off.

Now with a little bit of cleanup, its time for some skids. The tire selection was limited. I had many tires left over from 2015 when I loaded up for All Star Bash. This would be my downfall.

Things didn't go well. While I felt confidence in the donut pad, there definitely still were problems with the car and a huge skill gap that I was blind to. The engine made fantastic power and I felt it, but the throttle wheel was not positioned correctly and made power control difficult. I was mostly unaware of the issue and was pointed out by Alex as soon as he jumped in the car. Most of the top end was uncontrollable and with the turbo lag, it compounded the problem.

The crash put me in my place. I knew I had a lot more to learn and a heaps load more to repair. No one was hurt, no bad vibes; its a learning process and I made a mistake. All I could do was pull out the interference with the rear tire and tow the car home.

Come back for Part 4.

/// Mike
@milktea.co