2008 Lancer CJ VRX - Build thread

[bumblebee]

The flame proof paint isn't to make it look pretty
It has a few uses
First off
It helps hold everything in place
Next it also acts as extra thermal barrier

Ever seen thermal wrap come off an exhaust on a rear wheel drive car and the wrap get tangled round the drive shaft ?
Ever seen wrap on a front wheel drive come off and get long enough to be trapped under the rear wheel ?

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/274486203796

These is a good reason metal ties like these were invented

[Avenir]

I'm sure the paint was a good idea just never heard of it and nobody told me about it unfortunately.

I have not, but I may end up investing in a few more clamps when I get the rest of the exhaust done just to make sure that won't happen!

Waiting sucks

[bumblebee]

This is why it's a good idea to spend a lot of time reading this forum and go thru old threads , it's also a wise idea to start adding text books to your Library, this way you have them for life and can reference them anytime for any projects and are written by people who have had decades of experience and drawn upon others usually at very high Level of motorsport to assist with the details. We can only help so much at some point you need to help yourself

[Avenir]

Hey Guys,

Quick update for today... A couple things have happened.

My replacement door I still have not gotten yet, as I need to get a courier to pick it up from the bloke off Gumtree, although he hasnt sent me the address and I havent heard back from him.. Probably lost my money at this point, but he seems like he has a lot of business on gumtree so he could be really busy etc. If I don't hear back from him, I'll probably pack up shop one day and go find him in the area. Or disguise myself as a buyer on another one of his products. I am not the person to steal money from I'm afraid.

Next.. After a long weekend I just had, going up far north to Lake Boga, my car whilst driving at 100km randomly swerved left (like my steering went all numb and loose) and I had a fright of my life. After a nearly 4 hour drive I thought maybe I missed something in the road etc or tired... But after driving back to my place I could tell something was very wrong. My car felt like it was on ice skates, and the steering at VERY little feedback. I ended up driving it back about 80km/h to my dads place half way and we hoisted it up... Dad and I found what looks to be a lot of oil leaking from the power steering rack hoses, and some from the rack itself. I think it might have finally given up the ghost, as my dad had a test drive as well and said its pretty shocking to drive. At this point all of my suspension (shocks, struts, bushings, etc ) are all fucked as well, so the car was quite dangerous to continue driving. I have left it at my dads place and have ordered a brand new OEM steering rack through my brother and some new front brake rotors (as when I brake even lightly at high speeds or low speeds I get a fair amount of wobbling..) So those two items are on the way..

At the moment I drive a 1.6l Hyundai Getz 4 door. The engine on this thing is so bloody tiny I am amazed it moves the car, but its actually a little weapon and probably could give a 2.0l lancer a run for its money quite handily. It's the fathers run around and now mine until we get this shit sorted out.

With the advent of this, I have finally brought the XYZ coilovers I wanted today, and getting them shipped to my dads place to hopefully do all of the steering components together and get a wheel alignment at the same time. Funny story actually, the guys at CMA gave me a 150$ discount on my exhaust just cos I spose it doesn't get purchased often... I doubled checked on the shipping for it and they said after holidays they have been getting slammed and I should hear something quite soon about its arrival from the Sales Manager. Then after asking about coilovers and a potential discount or sale of it, I get an email back from the CEO of Car Mods Australia saying they dont have a big margin on the XYZ as they are so affordable but he could take 70$ off for me. I was so amazed I have somehow in one email thread gone from Sales Associate - > Sales Manager -> CEO and I am some chump buying for my 2008 lancer lol. Must admit their customer service in the car industry so far for myself is second to none.

So in conclusion what's coming?:

- Side sequential blacked out indicators (Got into Australia on 31st dec, been waiting so long for aussie post to give me an update omg)
- Magnaflow 2.5inch cat back
- XYZ Coilovers
- Lancer door (which I will probably have to hunt myself)

I have accomplished all of this during the Christmas period whilst moving home again (landlord couldn't hold because of covid) in the last month. I do have one question to ask, I most likely will replace my Front control arms as well as they are pretty worn (especially bushings), I have found a set from superpro that include the bushings all in one with the control arms which I like the sound of I might get those, but what bushings do I need to be concerned with on the rest of the car? Because If I get a complete sway bar kit from whiteline for my car they come with a couple bushings as well so I dont want to double up if I can help it, this is the kit: https://automotivesuperstore.com.au/whiteline-bmk007

So with that and the front control arms (and their bushings) is there any others that are remotely important to atleast inspect?

ANOTHER BIG BUILD UPDATE SOON !

Avenir

[Mars1811]

Far out, that power steering failure is the stuff of nightmares. Glad you survived and made it back alive, let alone without wrecking the car.
Keep the thread running!

[Avenir]

Hahahaha yep sure is, shows that occasionally looking under your car is a good idea, thanks mate I am glad too.

Thanks for reading! The build is closing in on the end now.. But I will continue the love

Avenir

[bumblebee]

Get the door from findapart.com.au
Get it shipped with http://www.e-go.com.au/

As for gumtree , always do your talking via text that way you can screen shot the lot and when someone Rips you off you copy the lot and hand the lot to the police as it is a cyber security fraud https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report/ar ... cybercrime

[Avenir]

Never used find a part, I found this part randomly ad hoc on gumtree and was what I needed. I'll suss out what happens with this first, otherwise I will probably have to resort to another method aha.

I was going to use Couriers please, but ill keep those guys in mind too! thanks!

Yeah I got all the details, I am just hoping I can hear from him soon or find him myself. Once I do I'll just call the cops on him.

So I can get the front control arms and the gripkit from whiteline then and that should cover all the bushings??

[bumblebee]

Keep the bushing in the car to OEM rubber
I have no more then 4 bushing in suspension from memory that are the nylon type bush
No good for a day driver
Stiffen the suspension right up and you fell every single bump and it won't take long for that to get real old real quick

[Avenir]

Another Update:

Just a quick update on my lancer that is currently hoisted away back at my parents.. In my absence my father has installed a new Power steering rack and brand new front brake rotors onto my car, in an effort to fix the glaring handling issues it had. He states the steering is very direct and responsive now and braking is smoother which is good to know! Although still thinks my car is quite floaty on the road.






I have the coilovers coming to their place hopefully soon enough, with the exhaust still trailing behind.


Additionally the black side sequential indicators have arrived at my place and I will install them most likely when I do the coilovers in some time:


And.... when the exhaust manifold was fitted by my brother and I we actually left the hanger for it unbolted, as it would have required a fair bit of force and loosening from the head to get a bolt through and fit to the hanger bracket.. So we left it, this eventually annoyed my dad and he custom fit the bracket to the stock manifold engine mount by drilling it and fitting a bolt of his own.



Initially when I fit the headers I noticed there was a small ticking/winding sound when accelerating, to the untrained its actually quite subtle.. Thought it was bad at first, then thought its the headers just breathing and making more noise... brother also said it could be the valves you can hear opening and closing super fast... Or it could be the hanger banging against the stock manifold mount which my dad just fixed. So interested to see if that noise has been mitigated?..

Nonetheless: New front rotors, steering rack, indicators arrived and the exhaust headers are properly mounted now. Just waiting in time for the coilovers and exhaust to arrive.. oh also: I have finally heard back from the bloke who is selling me my door. Long story short he was definitely trying to sham me, but after a few cunning ideas he was forced to communicate again. Hopefully get this item soon.

Long live the lancer,

Avenir

[Mars1811]

Good stuff!
Unfortunate to hear the scammer was genuinely trying to do so, but it seems like you're on track.
Long live the Lancer!

[Avenir]

Yeah It was a tough pill to swallow. We will see if the proof is in the pudding tomorrow, as the door is being delivered by a courier I organised.... and also see the condition of it.

On track for now, but a bit of a wait until I get all the new parts on!

Stay tuned

[Avenir]

BUILD UPDATE:

Hey lads, bit of an update for you all on the state of the lancer.

MISSING DOOR:
To start off - I finally got the missing door which was proving to be incredibly difficult but it is safe and secure now with a body shop painter that I know personally. He has already cleaned it up, sanded it and sprayed it already for me, and is also going to fit the entire door and everything included as well. That will happen soon once I get the car back to me in melb. Glad this is behind me now and I can worry about the build again.

SIDE INDICATORS:
The side sequential indicators arrived at my place and I took them home over the weekend to fit them onto the lancer. Weird few things about these - they are smaller then the original clear side indicators, and they flash backwards..? So from the headlight then down the car towards the taillights. Which I thought they would flash the opposite way - from the back of the car towards the front. But eh either way they work well and look good.

Pics below...

XYZ COILS:
Finally got my coilovers. Took so long for them to arrive, but in three short days it went from: Not knowing the delivery date - Coming next friday 12/01/2021 - then just arriving on the front door last friday 5th. Removed the old suspension out with dad, fucked part of a tie rod end thread, had to file a new thread into it so that we could get the nut back on, worked out well then got all the new suspension installed with a fairly hard damping setting selected (I'd say 60-65% hard vs 30-35% soft) on all 4 wheels. Then we dropped the lancer roughly 2 inches all the way across. Funnily enough if we kept the vehicle too high we were going to have less of the strut secured, if we lowered the vehicle more then anticipated it actually allowed more of the strut to sit inside the cylinder which would make it more rigid and prevent snapping, slipping etc. So we did this, and got it done in about 4-5 hours provided that we had issues getting old suspension out etc.

Car drives very very well, and we haven't got the wheel alignment done, dad and I flogged the car around a single lane roundabout at about 80km/h without traction control (as its currently off atm, there is a service light on, ECU must be having a fit after going flat in the garage) and we did not lose traction whilst driving around town this hard. Very surprised.

Anyway next items on the list:
- 2.5 Magnaflow Catback - is still on its way and no ETA yet.
- Superpro TRC1023 Front control arms - Gonna pick up these soon. They are new lower control arms for ralliarts that offer better caster as the bearings are slightly off centre compared to stock. $290 for the pack and it also includes all bushings for the arms as well pre installed. This should be the handling mostly covered, without getting into sway bars etc yet.
- High flow cat - Get this at some point, probably a 200cell or 100 cell.

Pictures:







Stay tuned for more updates, lancer is getting more attention real soon!

Avenir.

[bumblebee]

Superpro TRC1023 Front control arms = bloody good stuff, you will enjoy these under the ride, they make quite a difference.
dont go nuts with poly bushes under the car though cos you will feel every bump and it wont take long to get real bored real quick of that

[awood]

Good work and good progress , well done.