VAdanno

Just FYI: I had a 16g and sold it and bought an 18g, per my tuners suggestion. The 18g builds strong boost above 2500, and lets the engine rev to 7000. We detuned the setup for reliability in the Texas heat. Ended up at 335 hp and 350 ft lbs at the wheels. It was making more than 350 hp when we bolted it onto the dyno. It's much richer under boost, and caps at 20 psi (all forged motor).

I love my Tomei Equal Length header. GLWTS!

I was driving from Summit Point during a test day when I was on an IMSA team, headed to court to testify on an insurance case (part time job as a private investigator). I borrowed the team principle's 911 Turbo after changing into a suit. Got nailed for 85 in a 55. I was just loafing along, but my brain was used to track speed, I guess. Reckless in Virginia. I don't remember what the fine was. I do remember top ending the 911 later, saying if I was paying for reckless, I was going to enjoy it.

Boxkita, I wasted more than a few hours reading about the race wagon you campaigned...the news that fifth gear was weak on the LGT gearbox was new to me. I don't drag race or autocross the car, nor have I road raced it. I did ten years on the SCCA/IMSA circuit, so I certainly know my way around the road courses in the USA. I was easy on equipment, as expected of a pro endurance racer. This is my street car, and I don't hammer it. My synchros are still in excellent shape, so I expect the rest of the components are also holding up. I LOVE the 450 ft. lbs of torque my motor makes, when I need to pass a car on my beloved Hill Country roads. That happens at 4650, and I'm down to 300 hp and 250 ft lbs at 6500 revs. I'm less nervous having thought about this. A once-a-year run to top end the car isn't likely to shatter fifth gear from the aerodynamic loading. Of course, not doing it at all takes the risk factor down a notch. But what fun is that?

Interesting, Boxkita. Suggestion to remove limiter and keep redline in fifth, then advise doing this might shear off the teeth on that gear... If I lunch the gear box, then I will move on to an STi six speed. I prefer not to chew up the box, of course! But if it happens, call AAA and get the LGT towed back to my garage. I have the Plus membership, which I think covers a 100 mile tow. It might be farther, but that should be sufficient. Most of my WOT is in third gear. How does that affect the box? I've only pushed fifth gear twice...and after this thread...likely never again.

No limiter...GPS shows 157 mph, when AccessPort shows a peak rpm at 6535. A longer stretch of I-10 would probably allow a chance to see if the car could hit the 7000 rpm rev limiter in fifth.

I'm pretty sure my tune does not have a speed limiter, other than the 7000 rpm limit for engine revs. GPS would show a number higher than the speed limit you reference...hypothetically speaking...because of the 245/40x17 tires on the car with the engine spinning at 6535.

I had my dash and the steering wheel airbag pad replaced by the dealer under warranty 13 years after I bought the car. I pulled my car file, and it was July 2017. Time flies while you are having fun!

I've been taking my 2005 LGT out for Texas Hill Country drives well before covid emptied the roads. I do see the change in gas prices ($1.699 costco premium). I took the "main road" home Thursday from a friend's ranch, and think I only got stopped at two lights. Just cruised along at the speed limit for almost two hours. I was thinking about hopping on the interstate for two miles to "clear the pipes". Theoretical 6535 rpm in fifth. Several mph faster than the back straight at COTA. Still looking for an open road to see if the car can redline the engine in top gear...

How did swapping out the Q300 resonator with the Vibrant change the tone and volume of the exhaust system? I'm interested in your experience. I'll also check with a local muffler shop about cost to weld the Vibrant into the system. Thanks.

What are the dimensions on the Vibrant resonator? I'd like to make my Invidia Q300 exhaust a little quieter, but had to "massage" the original resonator to clear the driveshaft. Thanks!

I was explaining that very thing to my neighbor, as I pushed the LGT into the garage Sunday after using the open space to dry out a tent from a backyard campout. I push it in and out, unless I am going to drive it for a half hour or more. Usually more, since I have about a 15 minute warmup drive before I get to the more interesting roads in the Texas Hill Country. Just FYI, I see 200 degrees oil temp and 180 water on a typical drive (now that I have a full set of sensors). I can raise the temps by raising the speed, but short passing events do not seem to have much effect. I love the tattletale on the Accessport, so I can see my peak levels at a glance. I keep water temp, boost, oil pressure, air/fuel ratio, and two "variables" on the display. Right now it's speed and rpms, but sometimes I'm looking to see if the engine is pulling timing, or what's going on with the cam advance. Enjoy your LGT. Cheap gas and free time to enjoy a drive on empty roads. That's the silver lining in all of this nonsense.

Yes, and that's the very hose that came off and cut boost to the 15 psi latent value when there's no boost signal. You could have saved me some time posting that picture in anticipation of my search for the leak!

What is the model number of the trans? Would you add a closeup (macro) picture of the model number? There's a good list of the type of limited slips in front and rear diffs, based on the model. Also, does this have a DCCD controller?

Rainy day Covid-19 update. Car is a blast to drive, and puts a huge grin on my face every time I go to pass a car on a back road. Summer tires on 17x8" rims grip great most of the year; OEM wheels with UHPAS tires can break free in 1st gear at torque peak (4750 rpm's) if it's colder than 60 degrees. That's a bit of a surprise, because the car hits the rev limiter when that happens. Mike said he can tune a lower boost limit for first gear. I'm just not going WOT until second gear. I had to replace the throttle body (bad electrical signal), and fixed a loose vacuum hose at the same time. Tune allows 22 psi, and was driving in a misty rain out near Blanco Texas this week. Perfect engine conditions, and it felt as strong as my C7 Corvette. It puts the power down better, as well. That is one reason the Vette is gone...depreciation on car is another reason!

I'm getting a P0638 code on my 05 LGT. Possible failed parts include throttle body, accelerator assembly, wiring harness, and ECU. Harness is unlikely, and fixable if that's the intermittent failure. How much for the TB, gas pedal, or ECU? Thanks! Danno

Mike and I must have passed 100 emails back and forth. He does tuning nights and weekends. I wished I had talked to him before I started buying parts. It would have saved me some time and $$ backtracking. I ended up selling the 16g and moving to an 18g, and I probably would have bought a Process West intercooler on his recommendation. I tried to shoehorn a TiAL BOV under the hood, but it wouldn't fit on my Grimmspeed TMIC. The TurboSmart Kompact BOV started leaking at 18.5 psi above 4500 rpms, so we dialed it back to keep the power deliver smooth. He gave me a real safe tune (read that as relatively low boost and rich mixtures under boost), and I expect this motor to last a long time. I had a funny stumble/flutter around 2500 rpm with light throttle acceleration on my break in tune. We are guessing some strange resonance due to the head porting. We tweaked the intake cam timing during the road tuning, but that caused a big dip in the curve once it got on the dyno. I need to drive it some more, but the finished tune is very smooth.

I've only gotten on it once, and it puts the power down real nice when accelerating from a secondary road onto a main road. My C7 needed traction control to keep the rear tires hooked up, and the LGT just goes! Revs to 7K, which helps in the lower gears. We just hosted the MotoGP this weekend at COTA, so I should have some time to take the car for another drive this week. I worked COMM and blue flags in the esses. I need to zing the Subie motor a few times to get that "I need a motorcycle" voice out of my head!

OK...it took a little longer than expected to get the car on the Dynojet. I finally got it on there, and Mike McGinnis ran it through its paces. There was a bunch of e-tuning first, and we did five dyno runs. Peak torque was 369 ft lbs, and peak horsepower was 348whp. Final tuning for safety and smoothness netted 360 ft lbs and 335 whp. If you assume 20% driveline loss, that's about 420 bhp. 25% loss would be 447 bhp. It's likely between the two, so call it 430 horsepower at the flywheel. That is right on target. My original 5 speed trans should hold up to that power level, along with the rest of the driveline. I've never launched the car, and don't intend to start doing that now! Now it's time to bolt on the summer tires and enjoy the car on the Texas Hill Country roads.

The Christmas guests have returned home, and I had time to work in the garage today. I finished installation of the VDO oil temperature gauge, using a M18x1.5 temp sensor VDO originally sold for aircooled VW's. Works great for Subaru flat fours, and no adapter required to screw in the back of the oil galley. The front oil galley has an AEM pressure sensor, so we get more detail with operating conditions for the motor. The oil temp gauge was mounted in a cubby pod mount, with the second gauge slot modified with a 17mm ball mount for permanent mounting a Cobb Accessport. An AEM 30-4110 wideband O2 sensor, gauge, and controller was also installed. I mounted the gauge in front of the fuse box, behind the access plate. The 0-5V output signal is being sent to the Accessport, so I don't need to see the gauge. I used the pink/blue wire from the engine harness formerly used by the OEM rear O2 sensor to send the signal to the ECM. Mike McGinnis will set up the Accessport to display oil pressure and AFR from the two new sensors. I need to pay Mike for the dyno tune. As soon as he sends me a Paypal request, I will pay that and get an intial etune from him. We will tweak this before putting the car on the dyno, so we have a good baseline to work with. More to come!

I installed a new OEM fuel tank filter and a Walbro 255 gph pump, so I think I have the fuel volume. Thanks for the explanation on the blast plates. Time for more research!

Longer won't help. The tight clearance will be improved if I move the right muffler forward. Best way to do that is cut the pipe on the muffler and shorten it by 3/4". If I try to bend the pipe that runs sideways on the car, I'm more likely to cock the muffler at an angle. No bueno.

The exhaust hitting is after the flex joint, so stiffening the engine and trans won't address the problem. General OEM flex in the drivetrain is a new area to work on. Is there an option that improves the drivetrain motion without adding noise to a daily driver? I read some of the dogbones increase the sound of the starter into the cabin. I could deal with that, if the other 99.9% of my driving was unaffected in NVH.

I'm a little worried the NVH will jump using the Group N mounts. I pulled the exhaust yesterday, and saw where the center resonator was touching the driveshaft. I clearanced the resonator with a ball peen hammer, and adjusted all the connections to max out clearance. The right muffler is closer to the body, and I pulled the trim strip from the lower quarter panel near the muffler. I might take the muffler to a shop and modify the front mount. If I move the mount inboard, it should keep the rubber mount from touching the inner fender. I'd like to tweak both mounts, so both rubber mounts are leaned as far inboard as they can be. That should keep right to left motion at a minimum and max out clearance. The right tail pipes stick out about 3/4" more than the left, but trying to fix it might cause more problems than it cures. eBay refunded my money from the vendor that never shipped my AEM UEGO. I ordered from another supplier, and I will confirm they get it out in today's FedEx shipment. I'm also doing the OEM BOV modification, tapping the vent hole and drilling a hole to vent to atmosphere.

I am using the stock FPR and lines, and believe they will be sufficient to see 350 WHP. The dyno will tell me if I'm wrong. I added an oil temperature sensor in the back port of the oil galley (VDO sensor used by another flat four - VW - also M18x1.5), and will add an oil cooler if the OEM unit, combined with the Mishimoto aluminum radiator, doesn't keep both fluid temps in a safe range.