[Chris05STi]

Looks amazing! Got a question Ben, did you feel any difference (before/after) when the cage was installed as far as handling goes? Just curious on how much a difference you can get with the cage.

[BoostJunkie]

that looks so nice. so you are saying that the autopower cages are of a high enough quality that they are just as safe as a weld-in? I have had my eye on their 4-point bolt roll bar for awhile but was hesitant due to so much bashing of bolt-in cages.

[Ben]

Yes, the AutoPower cage is TOP NOTCH, and I too was skeptical at first. Their products are definitely as safe, if not safer, than weld-in designs.

As far as handling goes, my oh my... I haven't taken it to the track yet (because the car has been in pieces), but I could tell just on the street that this is a whole new animal. Everything is connected now, and there is virtually NO flex what so ever. It might make the car harder to drive on the track for less experienced drivers, but for drivers that are not scared of the back stepping out a bit this is the ideal setup. The car is obviously much more rigid, which means your suspension will be doing more of the work sooner.

Basically, whenever you turn in a couple of things happen before your suspension can respond. First, your tire sidewalls flex. Getting R-compound tires with stiff sidewalls improves that. Once the tires take a set they transfer the load and your body flexes. Once the body takes a set and the weight is done transfering, your suspension finally gets loaded and the car turns in. As you can imagine, connecting the rear wheel wells to the center of the frame to almost the front wheel wells, really stiffens the car up and reduces that time needed for the weight transfer to take place and for the car to take a set.

The short answer is, yes, I definitely felt a significant handling increase after installing the cage.

I will have a more specific answer for you after I go do some product testing at the track on December 13th and the 22nd.

P.S. The NRG quick release steering wheel / hub and the schroth hybrid II HANS harnesses just showed up. I'm going to install the quick release wheel and put in the seat right now, so I'll get some pictures up today.

[Deviancekicksin]

sex. that's all... just sex!
Congrats!

[AndrewSS]

amazing, very nice good luck with her

[Ben]

Here are some pics with the steering wheel and seat installed. The lighting is really bad right now so I'll take some different shots later.

[AndrewSS]

man, your STi is amazing, keep us posted, that thing is gonna be so fun at the track! im jealous

[BoostJunkie]

I LOVE that seat. It looks like the position is slightly reclined, do you think it would be comfortable for a daily driver?

[Ben]

It would definitely be comfortable for a daily driver. It's actually very similar to the Porsche GT3 seat and I would say more comfortable than the stock STi seat. That of course asumes that you do not want to recline, but the seat is already somewhat reclined. It is not at a 90 degree angle or anything.

I just got back from driving it for about 15 minutes and the grin on my face was, and is still, HUGE. I can't really express how transformed this car is. On more than one occasion I went to grab 3rd only to realize I was in need of 5th, at which point I would look at the speedo and realize I was going fast enough to get thrown directly in jail. The car is so solid and when combined with the seat, you really lose your sense of speed. I was doing 90 mph on city streets thinking it was 45.

I can't wait to take it to the track! I'll keep you posted.

I still need to install the 6 point hans harnesses that came today and I will be driving down to the brake man tomorrow to install the calipers, new rotors, pads, brake lines, and fluid. I'll definitely snap lots of pics of the new calipers so you can see what they look like on the STi.

[mug23]

Nice cage and steering. This is the same set up I'm about to do for my STi. I'm interested in seeing where and how much did you get the steering and the quick release for the steering wheel?

Looks awsome....

[Ben]

I got the hood dampers, steering wheel, and quick release hub from NRG for free because they are sponsoring the car. Sorry I can't be of much help there.

[esemes]

hey Ben----

have you considered a quick ratio steering column/assembly??

ifso, where'd ya look into it?

-ese

[mug23]

Can you please give me the web site or contact info for NRG about the quick release hub?

Thx

[Ben]

Ese, I haven't yet, but I may soon .

Mug23, www.nrginnovations.com

[Ben]

The Brake Man racing calipers went on yesterday!

My car has been in pieces all day because I had to drill more holes in my floor for the sub straps of the Schroth Hybrid II Hans 6 point harness. I couldn't get any pictures, but when I finish installing the harnesses tomorrow and get the seats back in I'll snap some pics of the harnesses, some better pics of the seats, and some pics of the new calipers.

Some interesting numbers from yesterday:

Stock Brembo + lines = 10.4 lbs
The Brake Man Calipers + stainless steel lines = 5.6 lbs

4.8 lb weight savings per corner.

When combined with The Brake Man rotors, that's a 14.6 lb weight savings per corner. Not bad!

It's also worth noting that The Brake Man calipers are a much more open design and allow you to run pads that are TWICE as thick as the pads that fit in the brembos. Because of the increase in thickness (pad life) I am expecting these pads to last 4 track days where as I would generally kill the pads in the Brembos in 2 track days.

Now, before anyone comes on here telling me that there is something wrong with my car if I'm killing a set of pads in 2 track days, let me explain . I am not talking about a typical track day where you run four or five 20 minute sessions and leave. These track days have no run groups, and the sessions last as long as you want. I generally go out for 40 minutes or so at a time, sometimes longer. Basically, you go out and run until you get tired, come in and rest, and go back out again. This last from 8AM until 5PM.

Now if these new brake man pads last 4 of those kind of days, I will be very impressed. I'll let you know how it goes .

P.S. If anyone is located in Southern California and would be interested in getting on my e-mail list for these private track days, feel free to send me a PM. The track events are limited to 10 to 15 cars and generally cost $300 to $325 depending on the number of cars. Previous track experience is highly recommended, but not required. If you are new to the track scene we can provide instructors (either me, other instructors, or professional drivers).