Driving review

[Brett Proctor]

First impressions.

I've put some miles on the car now and a few things that stand out to me.

This will be in a 2-part post. (got the grand kids now)

First the bad

Sound. Very noisy while driving. Mostly from the exhaust. I may try to find a muffler that is better than what I got now. Major problem is finding one that fits in the small space.

Ride
Very stiff ride. You feel everything while driving.

I'll post more later (they found me)

 

[Brett Proctor]

Just a short recap on the ride.
I'm using 17 inch wheels and the tires have a 40% tread width to height ratio. and I'm running 32 psi tire pressure.

I've been told tires with a 50 or 60% ratio run at a lower pressure will give a better ride.

Windscreen
In the early mornings when the sun is low in the sky I get a terrible glare off of the windshield that makes seeing the road almost impossible.

Seating
This I think is a gray area.
I've read that taller drivers have a hard time fitting into the car.
If the car is built for a driver with a medium build, then a larger driver tries to fit into the car he will have a hard time getting in and out of the car, but there are things a larger driver can do so they'll fit in the car.
Relocate the seats farther back. put more of a lay back angle on the seats and widen the area around the seats. Widening the area around the seats will give more options for seats.

The intention for this post is for those still in the building process, so they can address these items and not find out latter.


I think that's it for the bad side.

 

[Brett Proctor]

Now things on the positive side or things I like.

First the power plant
The Subaru EJ25D seems to be the perfect power plant upgrade. (I think)
Smooth running, low profile which translates into low center of gravity just like the VW engine, reliability is good, weighs just about 100 pounds more than the VW engine so front to back weight ratio stays about the same, has about 100 more hp in stock form than the VW engine, more than enough power for adding an AC compressor, I've had no issues with it passing smog tests, no issues with it at highway speeds, Once I built an enclosed air duct that directs air into the radiator I've had zero overheating issues with it even when temps got to 110*f. Parts for the engine are readily available.

Driving the car
Aside from the glare on the windscreen and stiff ride as noted in the bad section the car tracks straight going down the road. Even at highway speeds. Had it up to 75mph with no complaints.
Finding comfortable seats was a challenge but once found I have no complaints with the seating position.
Having a tilt, telescopic, power steering column makes driving the car more enjoyable. Love it. Raise the column up to get in or out just like a F1 car and lower it to the desired driving position.
The power assist is nice also.

To be continued

 

[sector]

Thank you. It's good to get such feedback as it provides perspective on what to realistically expect from owning one of these cars.

 

[Brett Proctor]

I was wondering if I was just wasting my time.

Rims
I did a post on this but thought it needed repeating
The rims I got had a 0 offset. I think they were 8" wide. (that too is posted elsewhere on this site) In tight turns the rims would make contact with the front control arms
Adding a 1 inch spacer solved this problem. so getting a rim with a 1 inch offset might be a good idea.

Putting in a 4 inch drop in the floor where the seats are would be highly recommended.

The seal I found for the canopy works great. You do need to make that modification to the back of the canopy. (posted elsewhere on this site)

The HVAC system is working great. Pretty soon I'll have to start using the heater in it. I'll post the performance on that when the temps get colder.

I used the VW transaxle but changed the ring and pinion to (I think) to a 3.88:1 but that didn't help much. Engine tachs 3000 going 75mph.
Didn't know about the Subaru gears mod till it was to late to change over. A 5 speed sure would nice though. If I knew about it sooner, I would have gone with that.

With the added hp from the Subaru engine I thought it would be a good idea to add disk brakes to all 4 wheels. They work OK. I was expecting a little more stopping power from them. Maybe with a little more use they'll get better

I think thats it. Any other mods or changes I made are not relevant to how the drives or handles.
If I left something out and you want to know about it just let me know

 

[Brett Proctor]

Sound. Very noisy while driving. Mostly from the exhaust. I may try to find a muffler that is better than what I got now. Major problem is finding one that fits in the small space.

Just a heads up
I'm in the process of building a better muffler than the one I'm using now. What I have now is a glass pack so I think I can build something that will tone the exhaust down better.
Main thing is building a muffler that will fit in the space that's available. I have coolant lines and exhaust to get a round.

I have searched the web and couldn't find anything that will fit.

I'll post results in my build file

 

[farfegnubbin]

People underestimate how exhausting it is to have a droning muffler. Yeah, it sounds great when revving but no one wants to listen to that on the highway. On the new Sterling I’m tempted to have a diverter to choose between a legal, loud exhaust plus a nice tame muffler. Of course that would require even more space (which I actually should have in the new car but… I’m just not sure I want to use valuable space for that.)

Anyway, yeah, definitely post progress as it happens.

 

[sector]

When are we going to see a press release on the new Sterling?

 

[farfegnubbin]

Not for a while yet (hopefully measured in months not years,) but not for lack of progress. I get to work on it about and hour-and-a-half per day. But I do so somewhat obsessively almost every single day.

This year has been very rewarding, creatively. A lot of the side and front styling is coming together and I’m happy with how it’s harmonizing with previous work on the new roofline and rear (from the year before.)

Tonight I put in two more hours on the rear wheel wells which have consumed most of the last four months. There are a surprising amount of nuances in that area, some due to styling, some due to figuring out how to actually fabricate these sub-areas of the plug, some due to trying to make sure molds and parts can be made from the plug when it’s finished. Just because something can be imagined doesn’t mean it will look the same when mocked up, and just because it’s mocked up doesn’t mean it can be easily fabricated. And just because an area can be fabricated doesn’t mean that it can be practically molded. And in the end I need to be able to pull the part from mold (obviously.) I love trying to solve puzzles like that but man does it take time.

And I’ll be happy to move away from the rear wheel wells and on to other areas for a while. It’s been a loooong four months of working on the same area. Yikes.

Anyhow, yeah, by design, no press release at this time.

There is a certain point I want to get to before officially unveiling things (mainly linked to being imminently ready to pull parts from new molds.)

I’m excited about the prospect of getting the first area to the point it can be molded. It’ll probably be of the side pods/“rocker panels.” They are frustratingly close that stage. I can almost taste it. (It tastes a lot like… fiberglass dust.)

Anyhow, for the two or three of you who know of the project, I can say that there is good, consistent progress.

 

[farfegnubbin]

Brett, whoops, I didn’t mean to hijack your thread. I know my new project should have its own builder’s journal. And it will. All in good time. My answer just happened to fall organically where it did.

 

[Brett Proctor]

No problem Warren
The only reason I don't care about it is that good information will get lost.
Who would think of looking in this post for information on the next gen of the sterling.

So I know you've been working on this for some time, I've been wondering on what the chassis will be for it. Same type 1 or a custom made.

 

[Brett Proctor]

First impressions.

I've put some miles on the car now and a few things that stand out to me.

This will be in a 2-part post. (got the grand kids now)

First the bad

Sound. Very noisy while driving. Mostly from the exhaust. I may try to find a muffler that is better than what I got now. Major problem is finding one that fits in the small space.

Ride
Very stiff ride. You feel everything while driving.

I'll post more later (they found me)

I may have to revise this comment
Had some time to examine the suspension and found out that the bottom out rubber stop was resting on the stop. No wonder it felt like there was no suspension, because there was none.
Also the shock with the car in the lowered position that it is in has about 1 inch of travel left in it.
I think with that rubber bumper removed the car looks like it sits a little lower. May have to adjust the height a little

 

[sector]

That should definitely improve the ride quality. Might want to consider shorter shock for better travel range. Also, some shocks allow for compression and rebound adjustment. That is what I have on my car. Can be adjusted by simply turning a dial located on the side of the shock.

 

[Brett Proctor]

When I got the car, it didn't have that rubber bumper. So in the rebuild I replaced it. Now I know why it wasn't there.

I didn't do a in depth search on shocks but I did find one that when the car is at rest the shock will have 2 inches of travel. Not much but its twice as much when compared to the one I have now.
Its also just an oil filled shock, no gas charged. Read that those types of shocks give a softer ride .

 

[Brett Proctor]

Got the different shocks in (non-gas charged) and after I get them installed I'll take the car out to reevaluate the quality of the ride.
If I do have to adjust the ride height I'll have to remove the side pods to get the torsion bars out. Something I'm not looking forward to doing.

 

[sector]

Easy ride height and camber adjustment was the main reason why I switched to Porsche 944 aluminum trailing arms. It's a direct bolt on to VW chassis. Adjustment is done via eccentric bolt without changing torsion bar preload. And you get Porsche brakes. Also more available shock options since lower mount is fully open. Or can switch to coilovers and remove torsion bars entirely. This would require kafer bars for additional rigidity, but it's good to do regardless of the suspension choices. I hight recommend 944 trailing arm upgrade.

Looking forward to your review of the ride quality after improvements.

 

[Brett Proctor]

Easy ride height and camber adjustment was the main reason why I switched to Porsche 944 aluminum trailing arms. It's a direct bolt on to VW chassis. Adjustment is done via eccentric bolt without changing torsion bar preload. And you get Porsche brakes. Also more available shock options since lower mount is fully open. Or can switch to coilovers and remove torsion bars entirely. This would require kafer bars for additional rigidity, but it's good to do regardless of the suspension choices. I hight recommend 944 trailing arm upgrade.

Looking forward to your review of the ride quality after improvements.

I got the car on the road now and I'm not ready to put it back up on blocks for any kind of modifications right now.

That mod would be nice but right now its not in the cards for me to do. To late in the build.

Cost for me to do that would be more than I would want to spend right now.

Trailing arms
New spring plates
redo the brake system
would need new wheels or adapter plates to match the bolt pattern I have.
shocks
Not sure if the emergency brake will need modifications.

I think the aluminum 944 (turbo model) trailing arms have a wider track width also. Not by much. Not sure how far out the wheels would stick out if I had to use adapter plates also.

OK now to the ride
I lowered the tire pressure to 22psi
Of course the ride was better but still a little on the stiff side. But at least when I go over something now it doesn't jar the crap out of the car.( and me)

Edit
All most forgot, with the car resting on the ground the new shocks have about 1.5" of travel left in them

 

[sector]

What you said about trailing arms mod makes sense. Glad to here that you got some improvement in the ride quality. Are you still going to raise the ride height or just going to enjoy it the way it is for now?

 

[Brett Proctor]

When putting a bubble level on it, the levels shows the back is just a hair low, so I will have to raise the back a little.
Might do that in the summer when the temps are in the 100's.
Depends how much that will bother me, it being to low. Maybe it'll get done sooner
Will have to remove the side pods to get to the torsion bars. Not looking forward to that. Might look into getting those adjustable spring plates. Depends on how much they cost.

 

[Brett Proctor]

Are you still going to raise the ride height or just going to enjoy it the way it is for now?

Well this has started sooner than later
Didn't have the grand daughter today so I figured now is as good a time as any to get started on it.
Got the side pod off the side (drivers side) that will be adjusted. Passengers side will be untouched

I'll post the procedure in a new post for those interested.