Stepping back from the accepted solution (pulley) to look at the root cause of the water pump's lameness opens up some interesting possibilites for a much more effective solution.

Taking this same step-back approach on the frankenmiata's cooling system (which i still need to do a story on...) led us to a cooling system re-route (which is actually already an accepted solution on Miatas) that has made the car totally bombproof. The mods I've done (there is more than you can see in that one photo) to the SR water pump should, I hope, make a much more effective pump that should move more water at all speeds, letting me slow it down with a pulley and still move more water than a stock system.

-Dave

I have also followed project Silvia in the SCC days and now beyond. I have a S13 Hatch I am building for a drift/track day car. A couple questions: I have looked into various intercooler setups and decided V-mount was not that much more effective and created a lot of hassle and work that is unnecessary, but it did have a short and uncomplicated piping route. Normal front mount is ok but has miles of piping, so I was thinkng about doing a setup similar to yours on project silvia, because I liked the idea of very short piping. After all this time are you glad you went that route or would you have just done a well designed front mount kit?

Also on the Nissan Road Racing website, everybody is loving the Koni 8611 or 8610 in custom housings with GC coilover kits and various camber plates and top hats. Im trying to decide on a setup like that or one of the new JIC FLT-TAR (FLT-A2 replacement), comeswth the 7K 5K spring rates you had recommended back in a technobabble a long time ago and I think the website says they have changed the dampning characteristics to suit USA lol for whatever thats worth, but you can special order Japan Spec.

You have been an inspiration and your work is always informative and enjoyable to read. Anyways best of luck and I will definitely will enjoy following the new progress on Project Silvia.

Hmm, cool idea on the water pump. PLEASE write a story on how you did this!!! My pump is undersriven and my car runs warmer than I'd like (my car came with the pulley so I don't have a stock one to swap on). This would be a great solution for balmy DE. Yes it can get up to 100 here and we have really bad humidity in the summer.

what else have you done dave? ive got a fairly beefy radiator setup but it doesnt do much if your not flowing the needed volume. im out by willow and as you know it gets HOT out here. any bit helps

@autox,

Yes, I still think pushing back the radiator to make room for shorter intercooler plumbing is a good idea. I would do it again. Just make sure you seal off any pathways for air to pass around the radiator. This is key in any car, but you have to work harder at it once you've re-located the radiator.

I wish I had an answer on your shock question. Fact is, I haven't driven the new JICs, or 8611s. My woman's S13 has Koni sports in GC strut housings and I'm not totally thrilled with them. The GC stuff is fine, but the damping on the Koni sports is not very sophisticated. Once Project Silvia's engine is back in business I'll need to re-address the suspension, since the JICs are kinda worn out at this pint.

@8695,

I will do a story on the water pump mod, but not until I've done a bit more to the cooling solution. I'm making a lot of tweaks to the cooling system. All educated guesses, but backed up by good solid reasoning mixed in with some other people's experience.

-Dave

First off, I am elated to find Project Silvia, as well as your writing again! I pretty well quit reading SCC after you left. Any chance of reposting some more of the old Technobabble articles?

Not to add more "to-do's" onto your list, but have you considered some ideas for freshening up the 300,000 mile chassis (i.e., seam welding, chassis bracing, etc.)? You could even do comparison testing before and after to see just how effective these tricks are...

I've considered replacing the 300,000 mile chassis with a better one. Even went so far as to buy a 150,000-mile one-owner car in Seattle and drive it down to SoCal, only to find myself too lazy to do the swap. Sold it a few years ago...

Maybe I'll just swap the whole drivetrain, suspension, steering and brakes into a Volvo 145 and be done with all the dirty looks from the po po!

-Dave

A shagin wagon to avoid the po po wagon, huh? A 510 wagon with all the goodies would be sweet but to each their own.

Thanks for the reply. Im looking forward to more updates. I decided to move the radiator back and intercooler as well. Im leaning towards some KW's now that all I read is good things about them.

The KWs don't have enough suspension travel up front IMO, which means it's going to be pretty hard to make them perform well overall. I"m not talking about from a "stanced" setup either. You need a damper that can put the tire into a dented framerail with minimal bumpstop interference to make the front of these cars work well, and a corrected roll center helps as well...

Im not trying to clog up this thread with our bantor, but do you think a Koni setup has more available travel then? Im looking to see what daves next suspension setup is, bc he always does real world testing. Def have you looked at the clubsports? I had teins but sold those off and I am deciding what suspension to order this spring for my car after my engine bay cleanup is done.

Don't worry about clogging this thread as long as we're exchanging useful info. Def, how do you come to this opinion about KW's front travel?

I feel pretty certain you can get just as much wheel travel out of the KW's as the Koni/Ground Control set up. The advantage of the koni is that they have some many off the shelf  inserts you can find something that works just going off length and shock body diamiter requirments.

Def, it sounds like you're having tire clearance problems. If that is the case you may want to try 2.25in perches and springs. I know that's what made the difference on my e36 with 265 street tires on it.

Also, I'm a long time koni fanboi but, the higher end KW are a better damper. The remote reservoir and larger piston diameter give you so much more compression dampening and a more consistent shock as a result. Most koni's (3011/2812 excluded) don't have near the adjustment range or consistency through out the given adjustment range. (Try dynoing a set of Koni yellows or races once for ever click of the adjustment knob and you'll see what I'm talking about.) They also occasionally very from shock to shock Makes quick set-up changes at the track a lot harder when each shock responds differntly to the same input change! The not uber $$$ koni's are also twin tube shocks. Leaving you with very little compression dampening and often a ton of rebound. Not the worse thing ever but not the best. 

I went from pimpy mono tube koni 3011's on my auto-x civic to ultra pimpy Moton Motorsports and the difference is astounding. The ride comfort provided when you hit a pothole and the shock blows off and moves it's fluid to the remote's and the consistent and noticeable changes each adjustment makes has me sold. The increase in pistion diamiter and dampening ability is worth the extra money. 

It's my understanding that the KW V3's (lower end) and the KW CS's (higher end) act very similarly. In short.. I'd make it work with the KW's. The last thing you want to do is spend money on one set-up and then realize you should have spent just a few more bucks the first time and end up buying twice. 

I'd also hate to clog up this thread, but I think Dave needs to ditch the 240 and do something more fun. Go back to your 510 roots, drop in the SR and update the suspension with the 240 units. It's a lot of work, but you'll have a fun car that is emission exempt and could content for the fictional Ultimate Street Car Challenge.
But being lazy like you are (I have no room to talk) you'll also need to account for 40 year old rusted chassis and all the fab work to make it fit and work properly. And that's a lot of work.

Last time i rallied the 510 I seriously started considering swapping in an S13 front subframe and S12 rear subframe (semi-trailing arms like the 510, but track width like the S13 and disc brakes). Then I decided not to bother...

I am doing something more fun, in case you haven't noticed. Its called the Miatabusa. Still, the Silvia sits in the driveway and demands to be driven again.

-Dave

Posted By DRIFT_S13 on 07-13-2011 07:01 AM
Also on the Nissan Road Racing website, everybody is loving the Koni 8611 or 8610 in custom housings with GC coilover kits and various camber plates and top hats. Im trying to decide on a setup like that or one of the new JIC FLT-TAR (FLT-A2 replacement), comeswth the 7K 5K spring rates you had recommended back in a technobabble a long time ago and I think the website says they have changed the dampning characteristics to suit USA lol for whatever thats worth, but you can special order Japan Spec.

You have been an inspiration and your work is always informative and enjoyable to read. Anyways best of luck and I will definitely will enjoy following the new progress on Project Silvia.

   I run off-the-shelf 8611s in custom housings from Richard at NRR and am extremely happy with the results, especially for the money.  I can drive on bumpy roads or I can drive on the bumpy Streets at Willow, and be as quick as my skill allows.  With an increase in front spring rate I feel like the car will be damn near unstoppable at the Streets, even on street tires.  My only real gripe is that I have very little droop travel in the rear and that, coupled with my soft fronts, leads to drivetrain lash under downhill braking as the tires approach lock-up.  Are the Konis the best for the application?  Honestly, I don't know; I do know that I feel like I got value for my money so there's that.

   How much are KW Clubsports?  KW lists $2500 sans hats and $3500 including; with top hats I paid something like $2300 for my setup.

   Jeffball610, I can assure you 240s are much fun.  A 2260lb, smog-legal, ~130whp S13 with a properly set up suspension can really get some people heated as they wonder why their *insert car with either much more horsepower or R-comps or both* cannot keep up on a tight track.  Granted, it's about 150lbs heavier than a 510, but it's stiffer, can fit bigger brakes, and can fit bigger rubber.  For a G-junkie like me, that's enough to make it the winner.

 

How the hell did you get an S13 down to 2260 pounds?

Haha, sounds like my buddy from grad school claiming his TSX cold air intake adds 18whp!

short intercooler piping doesn't automatically assure better throttle response
i've done 420whp Vmounts SR's with terrible terrible response..
and 360whp FMIC SR's with Better than stock response..
the overall equation is likely much more complex than just the distance or volume involved??

as for overheating issues...
starting the battle against heat from the backend is usually a losing proposition..
holding that extra water to cycle thru tends to get heavy!!
ever consider Seriously modding the intercooler to improve its efficiency/capabilities?
i've had GREAT results with doing that!
=)

this video is of another modded Blitz intercooler..
it's basically a clone of custom blitz FMIC i did for a S13 w/S14 SR20DET

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HioxNStTVxg

The turbo itself is VASTLY more important than the plumbing length for boost response. I assume your 420 hp car and 360 hp car were not using the same turbo...

You don't shorten intercooler plumbing just for throttle response, you do it for simplicity, reduced pressure drop, simplicity, and maybe a bit of boost response.

What the hell do you mean "starting the battle against heat from the backend"?

-D