Tracking a AE86?

[Zissou]

Maybe I'm not using the right keywords, but I wasn't able to find any good info or tech on tracking an AE86.

I'm not too interested in alignments, I can figure that out myself and it will likely change as I modify the car.

What I'm really interested in the car specific tech. I remember a bit from back when club4ag had some decent tech. My questions for now would be.
-the oem oil cooler setup isn't very affective because of how it's routed right? I remember some debate about it.
-because of the small oil capacity it's easy to overheat the oil? Or get most of the oil sucked up into the motor with little remaining in the pan, possibly causing starvation?
-I've seen some mention of correctly setting the pinion angle, what would this be? And the procedure for setting it? I know I'd need adjustable 4 links. If a car is lowered a moderate amount without adjustment of the pinion angle will this cause damage?
-I've obviously heard of melting the distributor, any options beyond the oem heat shield?

Are there any other car or motor specific issues I should be aware of? I'd prefer to do as little trial and error this season. First track day is at the end of April so I want to start getting things sorted in case I get bored with the Miata.

[joel26]

^^^ yeah since club4ag went down i lots of info got lost... wonder if any one backed it up... well good luck on what u are looking for..

[ga_goosh]

-the oem oil cooler setup isn't very affective because of how it's routed right? I remember some debate about it.
-because of the small oil capacity it's easy to overheat the oil? Or get most of the oil sucked up into the motor with little remaining in the pan, possibly causing starvation?

I think what you are referring to is that the oem oil cooler is not thermosaticaly controlled. it is pressure fed but with a restriction to prevent the loss of oil pressure. a thermostatic oil cooler is a lot better.

-I've seen some mention of correctly setting the pinion angle, what would this be? And the procedure for setting it? I know I'd need adjustable 4 links. If a car is lowered a moderate amount without adjustment of the pinion angle will this cause damage?

if it is a moderate drop then you can probably get away with out adjusting but if you go LOWWWW and you leave your pinion angle unchanged you can damage the ring and pinion gears

-I've obviously heard of melting the distributor, any options beyond the oem heat shield?

I have the aw11 heat sheild the ae86 exhaust manifold heat shield and I have the rubber boot dist cap cover. i have never melted a cap

[McKenney]

oil cooler and anti starvation oil pan: http://www.aeu86.org/viewtopic/ae86/t/1 ... w=previous" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; there's a few ideas of pans in here...

pinion angle: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3408" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

distributor solution: viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3374" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[joel26]

lots of great info....

[dr.occa]

Again, thermostatic oil cooler is a better option over the factory oil cooler. And even better; a 2qt accusump added to maintain optimal oil pressure and piece-of-mind oiling. You can have your oil pan "winged" with hinged directional doors and custom baffling for extra capacity.

Pinion angle is very important with a one-piece shaft. It's still important on 2 piece setups but the adjustment is different. Pinion angle for two-piece setups should be determined with all four wheels on the ground at the desired ride height. The pinion angle of the first u-joint at the transfer case end should be set where the shaft is from 1°-1.5° from level. Then the axle should be set at the same angle as the front half of the two-piece driveshaft. Here's a really helpful manual by . Check page 13.

You can always fab up your own heatshield for your distributor. This is a real concern for turbo'd 4AG setups and high-rise header buffs. Materials can range from vulcan mesh to insulated heatshields from your hardware store.