Another week, another set of projects!
Shorai LFX36L3BS12 Install
This battery arrived from Shorai on the 24th. Installation was not entirely straightforward. It didn't come with SAE posts, and so I had to install a set of brackets (which were included) onto threaded holes at the positive and negative, then remove the regular SAE terminals from my Celica's battery leads. I then screwed them onto the battery.
The battery was so light that I resorted to the simple expedient of using Gorilla adhesive to bond it with the plastic battery tray, with it wedged against the engine compartment fusebox. I cut a piece of wood, rattlecanned it Toyota 202 Black, and stuck it to the battery tray to further brace and isolate the battery from movement. That sounds like shit, I know, but it's secure.
This immediately removed 29 and a half pounds from the front left corner. It started right up. I took the Lorelei on a test drive. There's an onramp that I like to take at WOT. There's a change of curve radius to tighter at the bottom of the ramp, and damn if the 60lbs shed between the cf hood and the lightweight battery didn't make that maneuver
noticeably easier. Ordinarily, it's a little woo-woo, but when I gave it the steering input this time, it just went nicely.
Further, I'd been having some problems sometimes getting the Lorelei started on the first or even second turn of the key, but I think that's over. The discharge rate is such that it just delivers more authoritative power to the starter. In the several times I've started the car since I installed it, I have only had to try a second time once, and that was because I stopped trying a bit early seeing how light I could go on it.
I have a nice wide open space at the front corner of the engine compartment now. Tea boiler? Crock pot? Sous vide? Water-Meth Rig?
BKR7E Spark Plug Install
I got my hands on some BKR7E spark plugs and installed them. These are one step colder than the Denso SK20PR-A8 plugs I installed November 2021.
I was a little alarmed by the dry fouling on the Denso plugs I took out--these were only six months old with 4250 miles on them.
This could be indicative of overly rich conditions or worn piston rings or valve seals, or maybe the valve cover gasket. I've also been running a lot of product through the engine the past six months--SeaFoam through the throttle body, MaxClean in the tank, and Lucas High Viscosity Oil Stabilizer in the engine oil. And I have done a number of WOT pulls with these plugs installed where the air-fuel ratio has been very rich. I'll occasionally look at the new plug that I can access nearest the timing belt occasionally to check its condition.
Engine Bay Touchups
Since I had the intercooler off, I gave the cylinder head cover a good scrubbing with steel wool to knock the dust off then degreased it. Then I degreased, washed, and painted the intercooler with Duplicolor Toyota 202 Black. Then I got after the exhaust heat shield with steel wool and degreaser and painted it Duplicolor Heat Heat Cast Coat Iron. Since I was feeling energetic, I used a microdabber to freshen up the TOYOTA and the 2000 TWIN CAM 16 lettering on the throttle body. And I got after general engine compartment grease with a rag soaked in degreaser and wiped plastics and rubbers with Meguiar's Ultimate Black. Over the past several months I've been slowly evicting the dust and grime that took hold in the engine bay while it was idle all those years in Japan and it's starting to look a lot better.
I could definitely see using that Cast Coat Iron paint on the cylinder head cover, the grey part of the AFM, and the throttle body--if ever it's out or if I were to undertake the complicated masking job that would entail.
I changed out the larger K&N filter with a smaller Spectre filter, and installed a temperature gauge in the engine bay. I started out with the probe just above the intercooler, but then moved the probe to take a reading between the air filter and the air duct from the resonator. My thought was to get a sense for what kind of hot air was getting fed to the motor.
Horn Relay Replace
I ordered a horn relay for like $11 delivered off of eBay and ended up with two, both of which work. Horn function restored--
Beep Beep!
Coilover Adjustment
For the past month I've been lazy and let the rear coilovers be a little higher than I thought they ought to be. I buckled down and got the wheels off and adjusted them down an inch and a quarter in the rear and a half inch in the front. 13" hub center to front fender, 14" hub center to rear fender.
I think that's about the right height and rake, now, unless I want to go a half inch lower. I also cleaned up the lug nuts and gave them a couple of coats of Toyota 202 Black and matte clearcoat.