I like mega squirt I used it a lot for tuning with my fox bodies. They were simple enough tho that a idle air spacer with adjustable screws would solve most idle issues. The cars themselves had great computers and would compensate for a ton. If you went real extreme that is when you need mega squirt. Its a really good system. I just cruised their site and wow they have come out with a lot.

 

I believe part of the reason that Dodge switch to the Castrol is because people complained about the idle rattle. I got mine already swapped to the Castrol 75W90 (I think that's the weight?), I had no idle rattle, but it was definitely rough shifting when cold. To the point where I basically just double clutch everything for the first two minutes.

I'm running Motul Multi-ATF now and my T56 (OE Viper Spec) has a bit of idle rattle, but shifts a ton smoother, especially cold. I believe the only thing you have to worry about is the year of your T56... early versions (like mine) have carbon fiber synchros or synchro blocker rings (not sure if that's a Viper spec only thing - I wouldn't think so).

I'm considering MS for my GTI next year. I've looked at others as well though. Haltech, AEM, etc.

 

In the LS community there was something called Viper specing a T56 so I am assuming switching to carbon fiber synchros. It was a real popular upgrade 10+ years ago. Dodges like Castrol. Thats what is in my motor and redline in the transmission. You will like MS its really easy to work with and lots of updates since I last used it.

 

Just did some light looking. Carbon rings are one of the perks, along with a steel 3-4 fork. It looks like the main feature of the Viper spec is that the 4615 output shaft is bigger and stronger... allegedly. GM T56's were rated for 350-450 ft-lbs... Viper was 550 ft-lbs, but are known to survive 1000 hp on slicks.

 

You are correct with the HP numbers. I mean the GM T56s were tough I know buddies that got over 500 hp out of them. The Viper ones I knew could get close to 1k hp which is crazy and my kind of transmission. Autos bore me.

 

the biggest difference on the viper spec trans was the 30 spline output shaft and the steel 3-4 shift fork. the shift fork is a common upgrade in the c5 and f-body t56. tremec and gm revised the t56 for the c5z and c6 (through 2007), gto, ctsv and ssr with triple cone carbon fiber blocking rings and the steel 3-4 shift fork, along with a couple other small things. the chevy ssr pickup also got the viper spec output shaft, and the 06-07 corvette got the larger spline output shaft as well (although still different from the viper one), and 08+ gm changed everything over to the "new" tremec tr6060.

the castrol syntorq oil is said to be a 75w85, however its the additive package thats important. its actually the same fluid spec as Pennzoil synchromesh, just different manufacturers. it was common to see dodges with a sticker on the nv3500 and nv4500 that said to use castrol syntorq or acdelco synchromesh (at the time pennzoil didnt sell it retail, however they produced it for gm).

back to my transmission, its a 2005, it for sure has the carbon fiber blocking rings. up till about 2001 gm used paper lined blocking rings that didnt get along with any synthetic oils apparently. i have found some people saying they have gone years without issues with synthetic oil and paper rings, so im not sure the real truth to it. i dont have to worry about it though.

the megasquirt is a great ecm setup, they have come a long way. ive used the pro version in some customer cars, they work well. the only downside is the price point, its not that the pro versions are expensive, its that other stuff can do more for the same money. i really like the versatility of the megasquirt product line, and the ability to use 3rd party add ons. you also can make it as simple or complex as you want it, from running a microsquirt with batchfire and wasted spark and minimal inputs to running 4 cam vvt, sequential fueling, etc.

 

been a while, figured it was time for a little update. ive havent gotten to drive the car as much as i wanted this year, but i have put enough miles on to work out most of the bugs with the driveline swap. the worst of it was sorting out some of the electronic side of things, something im usually pretty good with. the speedometer took the longest, i had issues with the converter i was using and it turned out to be dead out of the box, so i moved to another setup using the can bus box i use for data logging, and while i got it to work it was real glitchy, but i finally got it sorted. my other electrical glitch is going to be a winter fix, and thats the fuel gauge. with my new tank i used the oem sender, figured that would be fine. i never clued in that the shape of the original tank would present a problem, but the gauge is calibrated for the oddly shaped tank. i managed to find an autometer fuel gauge conversion box that can be programed for the gauge and the sender, but i have to pull the sender out and move it manually for calibration.

with the new ring and pinion as well as the new clutch driven enough to break it in i decided to have a little fun. after fixing my line lock ive screwed around doing some burnouts and trying to launch it on the street (in mexico, the street was in mexico lol). i was all set to go out to the last friday night street legal drags of the year, but it got canceled due to covid restrictions being put back in place. i guess it saved me a little disappointment, ive been trying to find a pair of 16" wheels to put some drag radials on, turns out thats not an easy thing to come up with. i knew the car wasnt going to do much on street tires, but it would have at least been fun to try.

i decided since i wasnt getting down the track this year i may as well at least turn it up and see what it would do. it was a cool day, im on 300 treadwear tires, and ive come to the conclusion that 20 psi is about all i can do. ive run 22-23 psi before, but the car feels faster at 20 psi now than it ever has. i turned it up to 24 psi and it will spin right through 1st and 2nd like nothing. so if some more boost doesnt work, more must fix it, right? 28 psi and it will spin right through 3rd and go sideways in 4th. its just violent. i think next year im going to sort out just how wide a tire i can get on the back of the car, i think if i have the backside of the wheel machined i can fit a 275, and then go with something softer, 200 treadwear or less.

the car is still insured for a few weeks, but the rain seems to be settling in, ive started cleaning my garage to put the car in, and planning out this winters projects. with how violent the car has gotten now, im going to pull the trigger on building a full 10 point cage that will be legal to 10.00. i didnt want a full cage in the car, the roof bars and halo are a concern when driving on the street without a helmet, but its something im going to have to deal with. im going to work real hard to make sure i get the cage tucked up as tight as i can to the roof and a-pillars. going this route also means i can just build the whole cage out of the 1 5/8" chromoly i wanted to. doing this will mean i have to get some upholstery taken care of before it goes in, as once the cage is welded in the headliner can never be removed. aside from that, im planning to do some exterior stuff. im sick of the problems that come with having a hole in my hood, so im gonna bite the bullet and order the fiberglass cowl hood. i need to do some fiberglassing on the rear diffuser to be able to get it back on the car, and im tossing around the idea of doing the bumper mods i had planned since im gonna be painting parts already. ive actually thought of just getting some fiberglass bumpers and doing the mods i want to them, might be worth the weight savings.

 

Sounds like it's making some awesome power!

 

cars been tucked away for nearly a month now, i managed to make room in my own garage for it this winter. ive made some decent progress already on my winter projects, so far ive got the interior completely gutted again and im getting ready to put the cage in it. ive decided to just pull the trigger and put a full 8 point nhra roll cage in, this will allow me to run down to 10.00, and by adding a couple bars later it would be able to be certified as an 8.50 cage. im planning to tuck the cage in as tight as i can, so out came everything, including the dash.



doing the cage means its time to do some upholstery work that will be impossible to do once the cage is installed, mainly the head liner. while my headliner wasnt terrible it did have some flaws, so out it came. ive got some porsche vinyl on the way for that. also, while the dash is out and im having to trim it for the front cage bars ill be reupholstering it as well, its got typical 80s car cracking. i had always planned to stick with the 2 tone black and tan (called grey-beige, or greige), however seeing as im unable to get all the upholstery from one place and i cant confirm it will match with the original parts im not redoing, i decided im going all black. i really did like the 2 tone, but going with black carpet and the black kirkey seat covers left so little grey-beige it just wasnt worth the effort.

one thing i have gotten done is sorting out my rear hatch supports. these cars use typical gas supports to hold the hatches up, and like most the wear out when they are 30+ years old. against the advice of other 944 owners i got tired of the hatch falling on me, so i replaced mine. within 3 months i had the dreaded glass separation, where the frame and glass separate and your left searching for a new hatch. essentially what happens is when the hatch is closed is the new struts end up pushing the frame and glass apart. so after putting a new hatch on i was left with a hatch falling on me, so i devised a different plan



these are race car folding supports from five star race cars. they do the job, and look kinda sweet.

my biggest problem right now is getting parts. my headliner vinyl is taking forever to get to me, my upholstery is gonna be a few more weeks till it ships, my metal supplier just told me it could be 12 weeks to get chromoly tubing, and my carpet kit is sitting at my shops shipping box in the states that we cant get to currently. i was really hoping id be able to get the headliner in the car, tow it up to my shop and bend the roll cage up in a weekend, have my welder come in and weld it and have the car home before christmas. looks like it could be march before that happens.



so going through my album i ran across this picture i took not quite a month ago, the day i put the car away. the pic was taken in an area known as sumas prairie, fairly close to my house. this exact spot has been a place ive taken pics of all of my cars, and this general area is where i typically cruise around as its fairly quiet farmland. 2 weeks ago we had the most rain ive ever seen, somewhere around 9" in a 48 hour period, that caused a river just across the usa border in sumas washington to breach its banks, and all that water came into canada, and overflowed the river thats just behind my car in the picture. this river ended up rising to the top of the dykes and washing out a 350' section, causing the entire prairie to flood. the spot my car was sitting had 10' of water in it. the devastation is in the billions. the flooding had our main highway under 10' of water in places for a couple weeks, but to the north and east in the mountains all of our major transportation routes had major mudslides and washouts. effectively the area im in is cut off from the rest of canada, and right now we are bracing for 2 more major rain storms in the next few days. im lucky. the worst part for me is the carpet kit ive waited for for a full year for was sitting at my shops shipping address in sumas washington, and that place was under 5' of water, so that carpet kit is likely destroyed.

 

been a while again. we went from flooding and within a couple weeks of that we had a crapload of snow (for south western bc), combined with christmas and new years, i havent had time to post. or had anything much to post.

it took nearly 3 months to get my chromoly tubing for my roll cage, but after a couple weekends and evenings of work, i got my cage built.





once i get the car back home ill get the cage painted and then start putting the interior back together. i did get my carpet kit finally, it was under water in the flooding, however it came out mostly unscathed. i also have new vinyl for the dash, once i get it trimmed to go around the cage i'll be sending it and the console out to be redone.

after much searching for a suitable wheel i could use for drag radials i finally came across something that would work. i wanted a 15x8 or 15x9, but thats a tall ask for my car. the offset and bolt pattern only fits 83-86 944s, some 911 wheels will fit however caliper clearance is always an issue with them. thought about getting some stock wheels and having them widened but the costs of doing that are nearly the same as a custom made wheel. i was about to give up and go with a 16" (that would have limited me to one tire option) and i found an aftermarket road race 15" wheel specifically designed to fit over the 944 turbo brakes. i ended up ordering a pair in 15x9, im still waiting to get them but ill have pics once they are here. im planning to run a 275/50r15 hoosier drag radial, however i need to get the wheels on the car to measure and make sure they will fit. i have a number of slightly narrower tire options as well, but id really like to run the bigger tire.

 

Nice work!

 

Nice work. All Porsches wheel to caliper clearance is awful.

 

its sort of a wierd thing for this era of porsche. the 911 up to the 964 era and the 944 up to 86 used between a 0 and +23mm offset wheel, depending on width. the big problem on interchange here is the 911 used a hub that put the caliper way inboard, the big 4 piston calipers were close to an inch behind the wheel mounting surface, where the 944 like most cars has the caliper sticking slightly out from the wheel mounting surface. the problem here is all 911 factory wheels were designed with a near flat spoke because caliper clearance wasnt an issue, and all the repop and aftermarket wheels are based off the 911 design. some 911 wheels and the repops fit in certain sizes, but its a real crapshoot. of coarse the 964 changed to a normal caliper mounting position, but also changed to high positive offset wheels (50-75mm range) because of the wider suspension just like the 87+ 944, so any porsche wheels 87+ wont fit work.

 

Looking good!

 

That has got to be annoying... We have a 07 GT3-RS



in the shop currently.

 

thought it was time for a little update on the car. it took me quite a bit of time to get things done, but the car is driveable again. ive actually had plates on it since may 1 but the weather has been so bad this year ive only had a few chances to drive it.

so picking up where i left off, the entire floor pan got a layer of DEI underpad lite before getting carpeted. the stuff isnt very heavy, which is a bonus, and it helps quite a bit with some of the noises this car seems to produce. was quite the learning curve putting the carpet in, the carpet kit i had was a multi piece (27 piece to be exact) and not molded, so it takes a bit of screwing around to get everything to fit. i did have to do some custom pieces over the tunnel, as well as my own rs kit (porsche speak for rear seat delete). overall i had fun doing it, something outside my norm.






now doing the rest of the upholstery, not as fun. i had help from my boss on this one, it did turn out pretty decent. i bought kits to wrap my dash and console. i first had to grind out all the cracks in the dash and fill them with foam. the whole process was pretty tedious and i didnt get many pics till the car was back together









i also changed out the door panels with some good condition black originals i found online. i do like having the entire interior black, initially i wanted to keep the 2 tone, but with no reproduction door panels available matching the beige would be impossible. the only thing i might change down the road is the seat covers, kirkey makes them in black tweed, i think they would look better than shiny vinyl.

today i finally got my drag radials mounted on the wheels, ive had the stuff for a few months now with no time to deal with it. i ended up with a hoosier dr2 275/50r15 radial. i really wanted a true bias slick as they are easier on the drivetrain than a radial, my problem is i havent been able to come up with a wheel for the front for a pair of bias front tires (never mix radials and bias ply on a car). custom is an option, a weld wheel is gonna be $1200+, my other option would be to get a 17" wheel and have it cut and narrowed, i just havent had time to sort that out, so ill give the radials a shot. the hoosiers are a very soft sidewall for a drag radial.

 

it only took all summer but i got the car to the track finally. i did set a new quickest and fastest runs for the car, but im not anywhere near what i think its capable of yet.

i only got 3 runs due to the amount of oil downs and track cleanup. my first run was a complete mess, it bogged hard off the line, hit the afr safety in 2nd and 3rd gear. i at least got a bunch of data and got the tune corrected for the next pass. the 2nd pass i was able to modulate the clutch better, unfortunately i didnt have enough brake pressure on the line lock and i rolled out of the beams well before i started letting the clutch go. it did launch and go fairly well, but the roll out caused a horrid 2.36 60', combined that with hitting the limiter in 2nd and short shifting 4th i managed to run the quickest i have in the car, a 12.33 at 118.9 mph. i made some changes for the 3rd run that i thought might push me to the 11s, unfortunately i bogged it pretty hard on the launch, was a 2.28 60', ran a 12.400 at 121.5mph. i decided to turn the 2 step up another 500 rpm for a 4th run, however i waited over 1 1/2 hours from my last run and decided to call it a night when a car dumped 10 quarts of synthetic oil from 400' right to the end of the shutdown (would have been an hour long cleanup).

the evening didnt go without issues, the biggest being after the 3rd pass i had a pile of noise going through the top end. i figured it was in the back of the car, an axle, or maybe a tire rubbing real bad, although i couldnt find anything wrong. driving home over 40mph the same noise started, and if i slowed down it stopped, and it was in the front. turns out the mounts on my front splitter didnt like 121.5 mph and they broke, and the splitter was flapping real fast. luckily i didnt make another pass, it likely would have broken off the car.

the launch is going to be something im going to have to sort out. im having trouble modulating the clutch and keeping it from bogging. i did discover after the fact that my clutch switch is adjusted too high, i had set it up at the bite point of the clutch, however that was with the old trans/clutch setup and the new one bites significantly lower, meaning the car starts moving before launch control shuts off. adjusting it should help the problem, however im debating on going to a clutch launch controller called a bangshift billy. its an advance version of a clutch slipper valve, instead of a dial used to adjust slip it uses a solenoid controlled by a controller thats set using a phone app. instead of just slowing the clutch release it allows the clutch to release to the bite point as soon as you let the pedal go, then it releases it slowly from there. its a pretty cool piece, ill likely end up with one eventually, im just on the fence weather to try adjusting the clutch switch first.

bench racing the numbers out, the car should easily be capable of 1.8 60' times. the rule of thumb is a tenth quicker at the 60' is worth 2 tenths at the top end. if i can in fact knock half a second off the 60' that puts the car into the 11.30s. the mph is there for a run that quick. im going to try and get these issues sorted out and run again on the 16th.

 

dont know if anyone still follow this thread, but i figured id post a little update.

a couple weeks ago i got it out to the track for the final street legal drags of the year. leading up to it i played around with the clutch switch and got it to shut the 2 step off at the exact time the clutch starts to grab. i also spent some time working out a clutch slipper valve using a line lock solenoid and a hydraulic control valve. this allows me to dump the clutch and have it grab slowly for more consistent launches.

i planned to take it easy on the first pass and just try to sort out the launch before banging it through the gears using flat shift. it was out of the hole a lot quicker, still bogged a bit but i shaved 3 tenths off my previous best 60' with a 1.977 (better, still not great). it felt pretty good and i ended up flat shifting anyways and went through with an 11.975 @ 121.39. i made some changes in the tune on the next pass (little more boost) and tried tightening up the slipper valve another 1/4 turn. the 2nd run, well when the clutch came out it didnt hardly flinch. end result was a broken axle stub shaft. the dew came in early, 2 rounds was all that they ran before shutting down, and my night ended being the last car out of the track, on the back of a tow truck.

i still see it as a win. ive been chasing an 11 second pass for a while now, and now i can finally say ive got an 11 second car (not that it means much these days). my goal for the year was to run fast enough to require the cage, i failed at that but only being able to get out to the track twice this season, i did pretty good.

onto the carnage




the stub axles are the last porsche drivetrain part in the entire car. off the shelf upgrades arent a thing, ive run across a couple others that have broken them, a drift car in norway with a 900hp twin turbo ls, and a 500 hp ls swapped car that runs one lap of america. the drift guy had chromoly ones custom made, and the other guy just packs spares. im trying to sort out an upgrade using some sand rail parts, but thats going to be a winter project.

i managed to track down a couple more stock stubs, im going to put the car back together this weekend and was planning to drive it a bit more. it does look like our weather has turned though, we have had unseasonably beautiful weather through september and october, right when i get my stuff to put the car together we have rain in the forecast. guess thats what i get for living in the pacific northwest.

 

Of course there aren't too many people around, but the fact you're still working on this (and oof on the damage, but worth it! lol) is great.

 

I'm still following this thread, always look forward to seeing the updates, but this one was a happy and sad update.

 

Ya ur getting banned as soon as I get home. No spam bs on this forum

 

had a busy winter sorting out how to prevent the carnage from last year. with no off the shelf options i had to engineer and machine my own stuff.

i based my upgrade around an off the shelf sand buggy piece, a 33 spline microstub axle with a 930 cv joint flange. in order to accommodate the larger stub shaft i had to go with a larger wheel hub, that started with a front wheel bearing from a 1/2 ton dodge truck and every dimension of it was machined in some way. i had to change wheel bearing setup completely from a double roller bearing style to a pair of taper bearings. tons of lathe work later and i ended up with this





ive signed up for a drag and drive event somewhat close to me. its called bc dragit challenge. its a 5 day event, 4 1/8 mile "tracks" (3 airstrips and one dragstrip), driving 1000km combined between tracks all while packing everything i need. biggest thing i had to sort out is hauling my tires and fuel. im racing on e60, but ill drive on pump gas, but there is no ethanol available in the area on the race. ill be packing 13 gallons of e99 to mix.




the last pic was last night, first time out this year. my first and only run was a mess, i missed my call, got in the lanes at the tail end of the class, was rushing to get ready. crappy burnout, and then i missed 3rd gear and ran a 12.3. the 60' though was the highlight ive struggled with the car bogging and having inconsistent launches, i built a clutch slipper very similar to a magnus delay valve. i did run this last year when i broke the stub shaft, but i was sorting out how to set it and got it wrong. i guess i got it somewhat right, cause it went a 1.665 60'. it did still pull the motor down more than i wanted it to, i tweaked it a little for the second run, but unfortunately my o2 sensor died and that was the end of that for the night.

looking forward to getting back to the track in a couple weeks, my goals of running a 10 with my current combination are seeming a little more realistic.