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R1 powered Vortx questions
Ciaran - 6/3/17 at 09:54 PM

Have just bought my first ever kit car having owned 5 Imprezas in a row from 300 up to 600bhp


Have always loved the idea of building a kit car.
My last few Impreza have turned into big projects and taken months and a lot of ££££
So rather than buying a kit and spending several years and a lot of money I decided to buy a kit car first and see if I enjoyed it before building anything
So I bought this


Now having never owned a bike or BEC before I have a few questions
How often do I change the oil?
Which oil?
Is there a certain way best to warm and cool engine?

Is their any way to confirm engine year of manufacture?

Anything else I should be checking regularly?

Ciaran


daniel mason - 6/3/17 at 10:29 PM

Which car and engine is it


Mash - 6/3/17 at 10:30 PM

Very nice


Ciaran - 6/3/17 at 10:42 PM

quote:
Originally posted by daniel mason
Which car and engine is it


Been told it's a 2005 R1 engine but need to confirm this.
It's a Vortx has outboard suspension. That make it an RT, RT+??? It's Vortx 0068
How do I host images? Tried phtobucket link but I can't see it

Ciaran


CosKev3 - 7/3/17 at 08:20 AM

Looks a nice car

A pic of the engine will help someone to ID it.

Ref oil changes,personally I would put fresh in now (unless you have proof it's been done this year)then change it every spring if you take it off the road over winter.
That is overkill really,but for the price of the oil and filter it's not an expensive thing to do.


ReMan - 7/3/17 at 04:20 PM

quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Looks a nice car

A pic of the engine will help someone to ID it.

Ref oil changes,personally I would put fresh in now (unless you have proof it's been done this year)then change it every spring if you take it off the road over winter.
That is overkill really,but for the price of the oil and filter it's not an expensive thing to do.


Ditto, once a year would be good unless your really piling mileage on.

Will be interesting to see how you find it after the high power scoobs.
I expect it wont dissapointQ


Ciaran - 7/3/17 at 08:10 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ReMan
quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Looks a nice car

A pic of the engine will help someone to ID it.

Ref oil changes,personally I would put fresh in now (unless you have proof it's been done this year)then change it every spring if you take it off the road over winter.
That is overkill really,but for the price of the oil and filter it's not an expensive thing to do.


Ditto, once a year would be good unless your really piling mileage on.

Will be interesting to see how you find it after the high power scoobs.
I expect it wont dissapointQ



It's a 3rd car so it's 100% a toy and won't be doing many miles. 1-2k at a guess
Had it out twice now done about 20 miles.
It's very different to anything I have driven. Not sure it's compatible to an Impreza other than they both have 4 wheels.
Steering is so fast and twitchy it's going to take some getting used to.
Not been pushing it till I get used to the car as I don't want to bin it as I recon it could hurt

Here is a pic of the engine for identification



[Edited on 7/3/17 by Ciaran]


CosKev3 - 7/3/17 at 08:21 PM

Yeah be very careful on the slippy roads at this time of the year!


Digimon - 7/3/17 at 09:25 PM

Welcome to the forum

Looks like a 98-01 carbed 4XV or 5JJ engine which would go with the car being an early chassis


Ciaran - 7/3/17 at 11:08 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Digimon
Welcome to the forum

Looks like a 98-01 carbed 4XV or 5JJ engine which would go with the car being an early chassis


Looks like electronic fuel injection to me. That make it a 5JJ ?


Ciaran - 7/3/17 at 11:09 PM

Another question where is the ECU usually put?


CosKev3 - 8/3/17 at 08:09 AM

Looks like a carbed engine to me too.

Carbed are 4XV and 5JJ,first injection is a 5PW which came out in 2003.


CosKev3 - 8/3/17 at 08:13 AM

Carbed engines don't have a ECU as such,they have a CDI.
It's pretty small so could be hidden anywhere as it's a kit car there is no set place to put anything!
I would have a look under where the top of battery is visible


CosKev3 - 8/3/17 at 08:17 AM

Just noticed something that could need changing urgently, looks like they have used silicone pipe for the fuel feed to the carbs?
If so get it replaced,as silicone is not for oil /fuel,unless of course it's flourosilicone lined pipe?


Digimon - 8/3/17 at 02:21 PM

I use Silkolene oil with this Hiflo HF303 filter, my car spends most of its time on track so for peace of mind I change it twice a year

S ilkolene Comp-4 10w 40


This has been a godsend for me, we worth downloading just for the engine related bits

R1 Service Manual 98-99.pdf


Digimon - 8/3/17 at 02:26 PM

This is the best place to be, I have been asking loads of questions over the years with this being my first BEC car


Digimon - 8/3/17 at 02:41 PM

Oh also worth joining the MNR Facebook group


Ciaran - 8/3/17 at 10:22 PM

Will check out the fuel lines. If it is silicone will replace with PTFE braided.

Going to be a bit of a learning curve although I am not a complete dafty as I work with automation and control systems in the oil and gas industry

I have already joined the Facebook group


Ciaran - 9/3/17 at 08:52 PM

quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
Just noticed something that could need changing urgently, looks like they have used silicone pipe for the fuel feed to the carbs?
If so get it replaced,as silicone is not for oil /fuel,unless of course it's flourosilicone lined pipe?


Had a look today.
Looks like the silicone lines are vac lines for the carbs. Would that make sense.
Being a young in I have 0 ideas about carbs. EFI yes but carbs 0 knowledge


wylliezx9r - 9/3/17 at 09:29 PM

If your steering is twitchy make sure the front toe is set correctly these cars are really sensitive to it. The steering should be direct but never twitchy. Probably best to have a full set up.


CosKev3 - 9/3/17 at 10:20 PM

If you look at the pipe just to the left of the mini crank breather that looks like the fuel feed pipe to me,looks like blue silicone?


Ciaran - 20/3/17 at 05:41 AM

quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
If you look at the pipe just to the left of the mini crank breather that looks like the fuel feed pipe to me,looks like blue silicone?


Turns out your correct its some sort of over flow. Have ordered suitable hose which I will fit before driving again.
Back offshore so won't be any time soon.

Also got an electrical issue. New battery but only lasting 3 days before being stone dead. Won't start after 1. Will start by checking earth and where do people reccomend I start looking after that?


CosKev3 - 20/3/17 at 06:54 AM

It will be either a melted/corroded multiplug where the stator wires are connected to the loom,or the regulator has gone.

Bikes have no battery/charging warning light,so you have no idea whether it's charging or not.Mine failed when I was out for a drive and the first time you will notice a problem is when the car starts to misfire,it will last about a mile after that then stop as the battery will be totally dead!
I've fitted a small digital volt gauge into my dash so that you know what's going on.

Get a multimeter and check what the charging system is doing as your first job.

It should be at least 12.8v at idle and rising to circa 14v at circa 5000rpm .

If it's not charging Google R1 charging problems and you will find plenty of pics of the multiplug and what the regulater looks like so you can find it on your car!


Ciaran - 21/3/17 at 09:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by CosKev3
It will be either a melted/corroded multiplug where the stator wires are connected to the loom,or the regulator has gone.

Bikes have no battery/charging warning light,so you have no idea whether it's charging or not.Mine failed when I was out for a drive and the first time you will notice a problem is when the car starts to misfire,it will last about a mile after that then stop as the battery will be totally dead!
I've fitted a small digital volt gauge into my dash so that you know what's going on.

Get a multimeter and check what the charging system is doing as your first job.

It should be at least 12.8v at idle and rising to circa 14v at circa 5000rpm .

If it's not charging Google R1 charging problems and you will find plenty of pics of the multiplug and what the regulater looks like so you can find it on your car!


Perfect.
It's is charging fine.
14v ish on the volt meter.
Out driving and when I stall it starts no probs. the next day it's simply doesn't have enough power and starter turns too slow. Only way it starts is
with jump leads or a starter pack.
Will check it out when I get home


CosKev3 - 21/3/17 at 09:21 PM

You need to measure the battery drain with everything turned off.
A easy tell tale sign of a drain is remove the earth cable from the battery with everything electrical switched off then touch the earth cable onto the battery post and see how much it sparks, you should only get a tiny spark.
If it sparks quite a lot something is drawing current when it shouldn't be.