インストールが完了

Over the past few days, i spent a few hours each day working on the installing the brakes and the coilovers. Since i decided to do both at the same time, it took a little bit longer, especially since it's been a while since i've worked on either, so i needed some extra time to figure it out. Here's a picture of the old set up:



Before i took anything off the car, I started first by measuring the existing ride height so that i can gauge how much to lower the car after i finished installing the coilovers. After that, i began with removing the front brakes. Luckily, all the bolts came out fairly easy with a breaker bar and i didn't brake any bolts or strip any nuts. Here's a comparison between my old stock calipers versus the new Brembo calipers



And the rotors:


After removing all the brake components, i began removing the suspension. Since i had all four wheels off the ground, i decided to just remove everything first then go back and install the new coilovers. Here is the car with all the shocks and front brakes removed



I started with the fronts first then moved on to the rears. The rears were considerably easier to do since it only required removing 6 nuts/bolts to get the shock out.

Front:


Rear:


After i finished installing the coilovers, i readjusted the preload and the rebound according to Ohlins specifications which calls for 2mm of preload front and rear and 10 clicks of rebound. The rebound was easy to set, but when it came to the preload, i found out the previous owner had added nearly 16-18mm of preload on the rear coilovers and about 4mm on the front. The front was a piece of cake to readjust, but because there was so much preload added to the rears, it took a good amount of effort to remove all of that preload because of the compressed spring. It was definitely a workout for my arms. （x_x；）

The brakes were really easy to install. Everything lined up perfectly and didn't require any extra work to fit. The brake lines were a little long, but the bracket and hoses supplied with the lines allowed me to keep the lines from flapping around.

Finally installed!!!


The hardest part of the whole process was probably bleeding the brakes. I originally started out by using a manual vacuum hand pump, but after trying unsuccessfully for about an hour i gave up and started looking for other options. That's when i looked over to the corner of the garage and saw the electric vacuum pump i purchased earlier in the year to service my A/C system. I found some tubing, hooked up the vacuum cup from the MityVac, and connected one end of the hose to the electric pump and the other to my bleeder valve. First i started up the pump then i cracked the valve open and it worked like magic. After filling about 1/4 to 1/3 of the vacuum cup with brake fluid, i tightened the valve and turned off the pump. I redid all 4 corners twice starting with the passenger right side and working my way towards the driver front.



Once that was done, it was time to put the wheels back on the car and get it off the stands so i could remeasure the ride height to see how much it changed and how much adjustment i would need to make. I put tape on each corner so i could write down my measurements and keep track of my changes.



In the end, i lowered the car roughly 20mm. Last night, i took the car out for a test drive so i could make sure everything was in good working condition. I was really surprised to find that the Ohlins suspension was really comfortable but at the same time firm. It allowed you to feel the road and body roll was minimized, however, when i went over the bumps, it didn't feel stiff. The shocks really absorbed the bumps nicely. I still need to get an alignment done on the car, but i'm still trying to decide whether to buy the tools to learn to do it myself or if i should just take it to the local alignment shop. The brakes were equally impressive. I was able to engage the ABS fairly easily. In fact, before the tires warmed up, i even locked the wheels completely a couple of times. The only downside is that there's extra pedal travel compared to stock since the stock master cylinder can't push as much fluid as the Brembo big brake kit requires for a stiffer feel. But still, there was definitely great feel throughout the range of pedal travel and i was confident the brakes could stop the car whenever i needed it to on a dime. Needless to say, i am very happy with both upgrades. I forgot to mention, this was also my first time driving the car with the Bride bucket seat. I was pleasantly surprised to find it very comfortable to sit in. Granted, i could lose a few pounds which would make it even more comfortable, but it was still comfortable, even in comparison to the stock seat. It made you feel one with the car because you really moved together with the car. Now onto the pictures of the finished product!









I really enjoyed the past month or so as i worked on the brake project and also installing the new seat, coilovers, and brakes. It's really projects like these that really make owning an FD so much fun. But alas, i've already spent way over my budget, so it's going to be a long while perform i add anymore upgrades to the car. o(╥﹏╥)o At least i'll get to spend the rest of the year and probably next year to enjoy all the upgrades i've done since i got the car. プロジェクト雨宮FD Phase 2 完了!!!!

(And a random picture of Naomi-chan on her new bike)