Voltex Front AERO Replica Part I

Well it didn't take long for me to dive straight into this project. I cut the top canards from a thick gauge sheet metal, bent them with my brake, and polished the edges smooth on my bench grinder. I used my drill press to make the mounting holes, and shot them with some self etching primer. They came out super cool if you ask me. Next update I'll make the bottom canards.

Dang these came out really good

Super smooth

Voltex Style Front Splitter

I've been toying with the idea of a splitter and canards for the front end of my Eclipse, but I wanted something a little... Crazier. Voltex from Japan makes an insane combo for the time attack EVOs, made popular from the CyberEVO. So, I got to thinking. Since obviously no one makes one for an aging DSM, why don't I try and build one? That's what I'll do. Below are some sample pics of what I plan to make, sorta.

The massive splitter underneath

Two huge canards on both sides

Even underneath it's a piece of artwork

Enter, Hideki's 300ZX

Hideki has always been a Z car fanboy. My pops bought a Z32 twin turbo new in 1990, and when I turned 16 it was mine. Seriously, how cool was that! My pops is a die-hard Corvette guy, and while he liked the Z32 it just wasn't for him. When I got the car it was already an old car, and needed some work, but c'mon! Although it wasn't meant to be, one night while my mom was driving the car it got into an accident and was gone forever. With the proceeding insurance monies I bought my Eclipse, but I had to have another Z32. So one fateful day my girlfriend spotted this little red 2-seater non-turbo in some used car lot. I was smitten by the machine and had to have it. We used it everyday until a black 350Z waltzed into my life. But now is the time for me to work my magic onto this platform.

It's a clean, low milage, 100% 1992 factory Z32

... Really really needs some coilovers

Under the hood is a 3.0 liter V6 unlike any other, the Z32 even in non-turbo form came from the factory with dual overhead camshafts, dual exhaust, dual throttle bodies, and variable valve timing. This thing was super advanced when you think that it was developed in the late 80's. I plan on seeing how far I can take the NA Z32 platform. ESCORT in Japan has made some wonderful numbers in NA form, so I'm hopeful.

A New (Newish) Intake for the Gurren

For the longest time I made due with a K&N filter clamped onto the end of the C4's throttle body. It sounded great, and probably gave the batterred old Corvette a few extra ponies. But let's face it, it didn't exactly look good at all. So I went about procuring the factory intake setup for the car. When I rescued the Gurren it was still twin turbo'd with its destroyed factory powerplant. So naturally, it didn't have any of the factory intake components, so when I transplanted another L98 in its place I had to be creative. Of course I couldn't just leave well enough alone, so I cut open the lid to the airbox to let more air in. It's not nearly as loud as before, and power delivery is actually a little smoother... I guess GM knew what they were doing.

Looks more complete this way :) of course I can always go back to the loud K&N

You can see the cut airbox lid

Aluminum Radiator for my 2G

Well it's no mystery that my 2G Eclipse gets put through its paces on a daily basis. So naturally, things are bound to break. What broke this time was my factory radiator. The end tanks are made of plastic, and the spout that lets you clamp the upper radiator hose sheared off. So I ordered a Mishimoto aluminum radiator and dual electric fans. The radiator is physically larger than the one it replaced, and with the aluminum end tanks I wont need to worry about the spouts breaking off. And on the plus side the new fans are more powerful than the factory ones, and since they're slimmer, there's more room in the engine bay for a larger turbo.

Not only does the new setup perform better, it looks soo much better.

... and that extra room will come in handy when I find a bigger turbo.

HKS on the Gurren, WTF?

Anyone who knows Hideki, knows that I'm Japanese through and through. And I tune cars in that sort of flair. When I saved the Gurren from destruction, the Flowmaster exhaust had rotted away and needed replacing. No, nothing but HKS would do for the Gurren. You see, back in the 90's you could see tuned Porsches, Ferraris and Corvettes flying down the expressways in Japan battling even more tuned RX7's, Skylines and 300zx's.

It started with a brief thought. Hideki, what machine would you of piloted in Japan to defeat your enemies? Well, the Gurren of course! So how would you of tuned the Gurren? Like a 300ZX of course! So the idea of an HKS exhaust system on my C4 Corvette was born. I managed to aquire two HKS Hiper mufflers, and fabbed up a 3" main pipe that splits into dual 2.5" pipes. The system is larger than the factory, has the distinct look I was going for, and probably picked up a few ponies over the old rotted system.

Hideki

Brembo Brakes on a 2G

I'm not gonna lie, I originally wanted an EVO VIII when they came out. I went to the dealership and tried, it was going to be $400 a month for the car. No big deal, it was going to be another $400 a month for insurance. Big deal... That's what spurred my interest into the world of tuned Mitsubishis, if I couldn't have an EVO I'd have a turbo Eclipse. Because after all, they both have the 4G63 engine under the hood.

That's why when you see my car you can pick off the small EVO styling cues I've subtlely tried to instill into this machine's DNA. Take for example, the EVO VIII shift knob, oil cap and vortex generators. Not enough? How about the EVO III block and cylinder head (as well as special valve cover) Still not enough? Well then how about some EVO VIII Brembo brakes front and rear. Thought so.

For size comparisons, this is before with my GSX brakes

And after, massive Brembo craziness

But it's not as easy as you think. While Mitsubishi was kind enough to make things gently fall into place, for instance the rear EVO 8 brakes literally bolt-on. The front brakes was a little bit trickier (well not really trickier, more like more expensive) The factory 2G front knuckles don't have enough space between caliper mounting bolts to line up for the EVO calipers. But once again Mitsubishi was kind enough to offer us a standard template, so '99 JDM Galant knuckles swap out easily enough, look identical to the 2G's and have enough space for the Brembo calipers. Then all you need is SS brake lines for a GSX, because they have the correct banjo fitting (GST's don't) and they're long enough for use in the Brembos. And, you'll need some washers to space out the caliper bolts because they're just too long (I had to buy EVO caliper bolts from Mitsu to make it work)

The EVO styling cues are starting to come together

Don't mind the wastegate bumper vent :)

Rear brakes bolt-on 100% no fuss

A few other issues to tackle. Obviously your old dust shield won't work, the new EVO parts are MASSIVE compared to the old stuff. The rear shield are spot welded in place and can be pried off, the fronts can be unbolted. For the perfectionist you can buy the EVO shields but you'll have to fab up some way to make them work. And since these brakes are freakin huge you'll need wheels big enough for clearance. To make things simple I just bought EVO 8 wheels.