Is it Spring yet?
## MCS Rebuild
I mentioned in my last post that the MCS dampers were due for a rebuild based on the MCS recommendation of 5yrs/15k intervals. I had concerns about the dampers as the car would feel underdamped on certain large freeway bumps. I wanted the car dampers to perform like it was critically damped not under dampened.
So in the middle of December, I removed my 2WNR dampers from the car, slapped on the stock dampers, and shipped them off to MCS for a rebuild.
After talks about the way the car behaved after bumps, Wyatt@MCS recommended I update to the latest 2021 piston design to achieve a more linear rebound. Since it was already in for service rebuild, this would be the time to do it. MCS service also discovered the front right damper shaft was slightly bent. Good thing I sent them in so that could be replaced! I also purchased bump stops as well since I found it odd that MCS never included them to begin with. Black bump stops look pretty cool!
The rebuilt dampers arrived back in my possession around late Jan after they started servicing it after the New Year's holidays. Before I had time to install the dampers, I digressed into a side project.
Exhaust time
I really can't stop fiddling, huh? While the M Performance exhaust is nothing short of fun for the street, I knew my track experience was too quiet. I stumbled on a "Supersprint" xpipe on the classifieds forum in late Jan and decided to buy it. Digging a little deeper, the xpipe is an evolve pre-production piece. I asked Evolve for more info if they have any more fun details about the xpipe. I do know it has exchanged a few hands here on the forums. Either way, I was stoked to have a supersprint made xpipe to pair with the F1 Race exhaust. It almost felt like the budget full Supersprint exhaust setup as well and it suited my needs better. It used OEM connectors so I could put a stock rear exhaust if needed, and it had 200cpsi cats to reduce the smell more than the Supersprint 100-cell race versions. For me, this seemed like the Goldilocks exhaust setup.
## Installation
Install was pretty straightforward and glad I was able to use a lift to do this! It would've been a pain if it wasn't. I previously was running Alpine stage 1 tune and the benefit was that Alex charges for the initial tune, and additional tuning file requests were free of charge even if it is stage 2. This was the most financial way to prevent a CEL while gaining a bit of power from the xpipe. This reduced the cost overhead to move on to a stage 2 setup.
And before anyone asks, the diff heatsink is indeed damaged. It will be replaced when I upgrade to a 4.1 FD setup.
MCS Damper Impressions
I had one real goal in mind: to ensure large bumps at high vehicle speeds would be critically damped and not underdamped. After setting the dampers to the recommended starting point of 8 rebound, 4 compression, I immediately noticed the car was more compliant but also stiffer. I believe this is due to the more linear damper curve but I don't know enough to make that conclusion. Overall, I am very happy on how the car behaves at high vehicle speeds and working on fine-tuning low vehicle speed, high damper speed bumps. It is in a much better position that it was before the rebuild.
Exhaust Impressions
I can definitely say the BARK is there! The additional volume in the cabin is louder than I would like under 2000RPM but above that, it sounds amazing. I love it so far. Laguna Seca is coming up soon and I hope to get a sound check to see where it is at T5. It's probably one of the quieter xpipe setups but louder than Akra EVO setup.
I added a small soundclip to my instagram. It sounds so good. Couldn't be happier.
I always have pending items and I still haven't done solid subframe or 4.1 Final drive with ZF LSD yet. I'll also look into selling the MPE V2 in the near future.