The much-anticipated AEM gauge mount:-



This is the item up close:-



Four would fit on the sheet of 2mm thick aluminium used by the water-jet cutters, so we did four:-



Keen-eyed trainspotters will notice that the first three have offset prongs while the one on the right has prongs straight out from the 12 o'clock position. Also, two have speed holes
(easier zip-tie mounts, F1 weight reduction and general awesomeness) while two do not (easier for any future modification or use as a different kind of bracket perhaps).


This picture shows the sharp edge from the water jet cutting. The main pic above shows one after some sanding & de-burring:-



My wife designed the shape with a computer graphics program (with me giving annoying instructions helpful encouragement over her shoulder) and Tobyo was
a great help assisting/refined the design for water jet cutting and vastly increasing my education of such matters.


The "pronged" ring slips over an existing gauge from the back. In this case it is a fairly deep Turbosmart mechanical boost gauge. a more shallow "mounting gauge" would work,
however something a shallow as another AEM X-series gauge would probably need to be positively secured to the back of the gauge cup:-




The gauge cup then slips over the back of the gauge and sandwiches the figure-8 hole against the lip of the gauge:-




That wouldn't be enough to stop the whole thing rotating, so the prongs are designed to nestle into the metal bracket/base of the Saas gauge mount. It looks loose in this photo,
but once the allen screws are tightened it is the correct clearance. The u-shaped hole is so you can fit your finger through and prevent that cylinder from rotating while doing up
the allen screws. It would be a b@stard to assemble without the u-shaped hole:-



The figure-8 is designed to hold the AEM gauge on the far side of the steering wheel (based on my Saas gauge mounting location on the moulded ridge on the left hand side
of the steering column cover). the AEM gauge is visible to the driver from my normal driving position:-




The outer circumference of the figure 8 ring is less than the AEM bezel diameter, so the AEM gauge looks a bit like it is floating in air. the wires run down the back.
They are not visible from the driving position, but this guage mounting solution probably isn't for super-neat people that prefer all that to be totally below the surface.

From my point of view I didn't want to block the factory instrument cluster (including warning lights) OR swap any vents for gauge holders, but keep this gauge in my
eyeline with the other instruments. . There are of course a handful of other "pay to play" gauge mounting options in an SH. The creative challenge of this
project appealed to me however.

After powder coating I'll swap this plain figure-8 for one with the small holes to allow some zip-tie cable securing options:




This picture shows the positioning difference between the "high mount" and "low mount" options for the offset-prongs version. I ended up going with "low mount" for the moment:-



The "high mount" configuration would definitely work without blocking the vent on the opposite side (RHS) of the steering column if I chose to grab another
deep gauge and another AEM gauge.

There is also room on the left for two AEM gauges to hang off one deep gauge. That will probably be my next design project along these lines.

A "triple AEM" version on the left is probably possible, but I'd be keen to check it in mock-up to make sure it doesn't snag fingers working the wipers stalk and/or
look too ugly jamming too much into that space.

MTBTRAIL has some good ideas about mounting AEM gauges further back on the steering column cover, so one of these (hand-modified, computer modified, etc) might
be useful for that configuration also.

---

This week (or "soon" generally) I'll probably drop two or three (of the four) of these to the powder-coaters for a black finish. I'll probably keep one in alloy finish in
case I need to mutilate it into a simpler bracket of some sort later on.

Thanks for reading.

Nice work Yowie. I like the thought put into the design.

Looks like your measurements were spot on. Hopefully this is the start of “Yowie’s fabrications ”.
Very nice work

Thanks very much gents

The measurements were guided by an off-the-shelf gauge holder's internal dimensions and a general sense of allowing some tolerance for every dimension that wasn't critical (i.e everything except the outside diameter of the prongs). it is certainly not "interference fit" but things tighten down nicely with no movement. It's quite fortunate that it turned out first go with no stuff-ups.

With my new-found mad skills the full name of the new venture might have to be "Yowie Fabrications, without bothering Tobyo on a daily basis about how this sort of thing is done for a change" (YFWBTOADBAHTSOFIDFAC for short)

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-03/ ... e/10391712

They'll never catch me!

Im surprised that such a fierce creature drives such a practical vehicle.

Hahaha, yes. For sneaking around bushland to scare idiots there is no more practical vehicle than something loud, red and very thirsty for a type of fuel only sold at b*gger-all petrol stations...

I modified the crank case catch can today.

Full details over in the DIY thread viewtopic.php?f=29&t=55412&p=1095480&sid=f812f1238cd655600537d06d61daae52#p1095480

Just a few summary pictures here:-









It's easy to be clever in hindsight, but why don't these catch cans ship in this configuration in the first place?

Superpro 24mm front swaybar - Installation & initial review


Starting suspension setup.

As a reminder, this was the starting point to which I added the new front swaybar:-

Stock height
Stock wheels
Bridgestone RE003 tyres
WHITELINE Adj Rear Swaybar 22mm (middle setting)
WHITELINE end links (lock nuts added) OEM end links
2009-model rear struts (thicker springs than 2008)
rebuilt upper ball joints on rear control arms
Superpro upper and lower subframe voidfillers (rear)
Superpro replacement front lower control arms (2014+ WRX) for more caster
Pedders front swaybar bushes on stock 21mm front swaybar.


With all of the above I wasn't happy with the way the front end would lean over and get nervous during high-speed sweeping corners.


Superpro 24mm front swaybar - what's in the packet?

The swaybar, some poly bushes, some silicone grease and some destructions.






Despite a very thick coating and being tripled-bagged for shipping (including an inside bag made of bubble wrap), clearly this one had copped a beating at some point as shown in some damage to the powder coat:-




Installation

Overall this is pretty easy from a DIY point of view. It took me a few hours one evening during the week plodding along.

Please note that YOU are responsible for checking this again after 1000kms (including bolt torque). The Gregory's manual notes repeatedly that "the manufacturer recommends using new self-locking mounting nuts when installing the stabiliser bar links"


1. Get the front of the car up on wheel ramps. Installing swaybars with the suspension sitting normally is very important. Also, take off the plastic under-tray.


2. Remove this Crossmember Support Plate. A breaker bar and some WD40 made the job easier.








3. Undo the swaybar ends of the end links. An allen key is essential. a ratcheting ring spanner makes this a lot easier.




4. Undo the bolts on the bracket bushes and remove the old swaybar.




Note the Pedders bushes and brackets on mine. The width difference meant my Pedders brackets wouldn't work with the stock-width Superpro bushes.



Lucky for me, my wife's stock SH was parked right there and it turned out to be a good time to upgrade her front suspension with Pedders bushes and brackets as a thoughtful surprise. There was plenty of silicone grease in the supplied sachet to do both and plenty more.

The bushes are accessible/replaceable by only removing the under-tray, which is handy.

This got me a stock set of bush brackets. Great success.


5. Bolt the end links onto the new swaybar and let it hang there

Install loosely at first.





Before you send letters pointing out that I stuffed up by bolting the driver's side on the back hole and the passenger's side on the front hole - I did this deliberately to get a sense of a genuine 24mm front swaybar (rather than the equivalent of a bit thinner on the outer holes or the equivalent of a bit thicker on the inner holes).

According to a Flatirons Tuning youtube video, you can do this so get an interim/middle setting on swaybars with multiple hole option. Since nothing incorrect would be allowed on the internet, it is a handling fact.

The stock end links are pretty strong-looking and flexible as to how they sit, so it also seems workable to me in practice.


6. Grease up the supplied bushes and install them on the bar

Inside and outside surfaces. Splits facing forward seems to be how my two examples came off, so I repeated that with re-installation.


7. Clean the OEM bush brackets and install them over the bushes and on the bar

Install loosely at first.

Wipe off excess grease that eases through on tightening up.





The above photos are shown after bolt tightening. I'm not 100% happy with the bush distortion shown. It seems to be a result of the bend in the bar occurring quite close to the edge of the bush. Perhaps the bar wasn't 100% central on initial installation either.

Something to check when I next stick my head under the car (to re-check bolts torque) and in general - eg for early bush wear/cracking.


8. Reinstall the Crossmember Support Plate

Install loosely at first.




9. Tighten all bolts per torque specifications

According to the Gregory's manual:-

End Links 38Nm / 28 ft lb
Bush Brackets 40Nm / 29.5 ft lb
Crossmember Support Plate 60Nm / 44.3 ft lb

I used Loctite when re-assembling. The lubrication (while wet) might have affected the apparent torque according to the torque wrench.


10. Re-install plastic under tray.

(self explanatory)


Handling after

In lower-speed tight corners the turn-in is noticeably better, but perhaps with a tiny bit more understeer.

For rapid left-right-left through traffic calming the front of the car is much more decisive.

For high speed sweeping bends the front stays much more level and stays on the intended line rather than understeering. It's much more confidence-inspiring.

Overall the handling envelope seems to be bigger, with the shifting balance from oversteer to understeer in certain circumstances being eclipsed by that overall better handling.

All testing so far has been in the dry.