Just a bit of fun - my track day car

[daveyboydave]

Long overdue update:

Only a bit of work on the car. Got an old BMC stopper off a member here (cheers Alex) and decided it needed a spruce up. Also, I wanted a toe strop on the front (also 2nd hand on here, unused from Rob) and couldn't see an easy way to mount it that wouldn't lead to the bumper being ripped off, so out came the hacksaw and a bit of 3mm angle iron.

Also, I'd previously mounted the AVCR pressure sensor on the suspension turret where the stopper needs to go. It seemed to work there so I made a little ally plate that allows the sensor to mount below the stopper.




Ghetto paint booth:




Much nicer:




Bumper off for mountage. Suprisingly easy (much easier than a Lotus front clam removal!) and, pleasingly, everything was nice and tidy, and rust-free, underneath.




IC pipework out the way to fit the toe strop bracket to the chasis rail. It's the same bit the chunky toe points underneath are mounted to so it should be strong. Used a couple of holes that were already there for M10 mounting bolts.




BMC stopper and AVCR sensor mount bolted on. Tidy. Annoyingly, however, the luminous green Plastikote stuff I have isn't the same green as the rest of the engine bay 'highlights' done by the previous owner. Also looks funny in the pic, it's greener in real life. Perhaps it'll fade. Oh well!




Looking stroppy:



Should do the job in the case of any backwards gravel-trap excursions!

Also changed the LED bulbs in the sidelights as one was flickering and both were a bit chav blue for my liking.

Next up will be stripping out the front seats and carpet ready from some internal painting, prior to Apex full cage arrival in a week or two! Will be fitting harnesses and Cobra Suzukas in their place, provided I can work out how to mount them.

Also, Ben at Rarerims recently let me know that my elusive matt black Rota Grid Drifts are due to arrive in a few weeks, so I'm looking forward to getting these on the beast.

That's all for now folks.

[daveyboydave]

Still no wheels or cage, the former on a container ship somewhere and the latter still with Fabricage, now being powder coated. Seem to have been waiting forever for both.

But there's been some progress: gave the car a service (oil & filter, fuel filter, plugs - got some gearbox oil to go in at some point as well). At the same time I fitted a Japspeed baffled sump and crappy eGay sandwich plate for my Stack oil press and temp senders. I plan to fit a thermostatically controlled oil cooler at some point, but I'ss see what the temps do on track with the bigger sump first.

No leaks yet!

Oh, and all the above was made easier by my DIY car ramps:





All the reasonably priced ramps I could find online seemed to be shite tack-welded Chinese rubbish, and all too low and too steep. The really decent ones seemed to be about £200. So I knocked these up out of 7x1" planks and uprights, 70mm x 30mm beams and plywood sides, all screwed and glued together. Not a mm of movement with the car on them, I've massively over-engineered them so they'd probably take the weight of a truck! Will give them a lick of paint at some point so they're weather proof. Cost me about £35 of materials.

Also have the passenger seat out and have had a go at the sound deadening, which has come out suprisingly easy so far. Next job is to test fit my Cobra Suzukas and decide want I want to do with rails / mounts etc.

[daveyboydave]

An eventful week for S896 FWL:

Had an MOT at FCM Motorsport here in Bristol (highly recommended) on Tuesday, which is passed. Bit of a relief, first MOT this car has had in my ownership. Also got complements on the condition of the car underneath (all thanks to the previous owner I must say).

The MOT did highlight that my front pads were not going to last another trackday, which was a worry because I had a trackday booked for today! Fortunately John at FCM managed to get me some DS2500s ordered in and I fitted them and bedded them in yesterday night.

Castle Combe today, and the car was a lot of fun. There were a lot of fast cars and FWL was one of the sloweest, mainly due, I suspect, to most of the competition being on slicks/cut slicks and me being on some decidedly old road rubber. Fitting the exhaust bung didn't help, but did reduce sound to a whisper-quiet 83dB. Wish I tried the noise test without it fitted now.

The new DS2500 pads were very good (noting I have R33 GTR Brembos up front), no fade whatsover, and I didn't end up with the rears almost on fire like at Llandow. I guess the front are doing more work now with the better pads, maybe.

The achilles heel today was that, on a hot day and at a power circuit, my new gauges showed I have cooling issues. By the end of a 15 minute session I once had water at 120degC and oil above 130degC. I managed it by short-shifting and generally backing off for the rest of the day, but it was a bit frustrating.

So, as expected, an oil cooler is required. Not sure if this will negate the requirement for an uprated rad too; I will try the oil cooler first and see how I get on.

In other news, my Fabricage is finally due to turn up on Monday, halle-bloody-lujah. (Took 7 weeks, not the 2-3 as promised.) I'm also working on a way to mount my Cobra Suzukas and Schroth harnesses and stripping the sound deadening. Going to be a busy couple of weeks.

[Clouder_sx]

Liking the updates mate, glad it's being used properly! I used to have issues at japfest doing just 20 mins at combe, got hot very quick and used to cook the brakes, at least you don't have that issue

Will look awesome with the cage in. Keep the updates coming

[BLAKTOOTH]

I'd fit an updated rad before the oil cooler. My car runs 400bhp and water temps never go above 83 deg on track. After a punishing 20 mins at Snetterton on a hot day oil temps were getting up to 130+ but at Blighton park they were fine. I've since fitted an oil cooler but I'm running more power than you. Definitely get the rad first.

[daveyboydave]

I'd fit an updated rad before the oil cooler. My car runs 400bhp and water temps never go above 83 deg on track. After a punishing 20 mins at Snetterton on a hot day oil temps were getting up to 130+ but at Blighton park they were fine. I've since fitted an oil cooler but I'm running more power than you. Definitely get the rad first.

Thanks for the info. Swapping the rad is certainly less hassel than plumbing in an oil cooler so maybe I'll try the easy option first! How do you rate your Apex rad? It looks like it fits with the standard shroud from a picture on the website. Is it a straight swap with all the hoses etc?

[daveyboydave]

Double postage

[BLAKTOOTH]

I've had my Apex rad for years and am very happy with it. Only issue I had was with the silicone hose leaking. I replaced with the old stock hoses and problem solved.

[daveyboydave]

What do we think - anything to worry about?

[joetheeskimo]

Good to see the updates looking forward to seeing the cage go in. What colour did you go for.

[daveyboydave]

Good to see the updates looking forward to seeing the cage go in. What colour did you go for.

Just black. I thought about getting a snazzy colour, like luminous green to match the other highlights. But I figured it would reflect in the windows, and also scream out that I think myself some sort of driftoo racing legend - which is a cheque my driving skillz cannot cash! Maybe I'll get some funky pads to liven things up a bit.

The cage arrived this morning in fact, not *too* bashed about by the Coco the Clown delivery company. Won't be fitting for a while because I've still got sound deadening to strip and, byt the looks of the above photo, some rust to treat. Gonna get the interior all striped, rust converted, etch primed and painted satin black, ready for buckets, harnesses and cage.

[Sidewaysfun]

I can't recommend one of the new type koto n-flow rads enough mate! At my last track day at Bedford autodrome, the car stayed cool on every outing! That's coupled with the oem shroud and also an uprated viscous fan

[daveyboydave]

So this turned up on Monday:



Gotta somehow fit it in the car. Any tips, let me know!

Also, my Rota Grids have arrived in the UK, hopefully get them delivered and fitted soon.

[Sidewaysfun]

Did you go for a Fabricage bolt in? If so, do you know if you have to weld the front legs in or not? This is exactly what I want for my S13

[joetheeskimo]

Glad you got the cage in black. I hate colour cages. You dont need to weld in the front legs. This might start a bit convo, but will a cage that style I cannot see any improvmwnt in safety between welding and bolt in.

[Chriscooke]

I can't recommend one of the new type koto n-flow rads enough mate! At my last track day at Bedford autodrome, the car stayed cool on every outing! That's coupled with the oem shroud and also an uprated viscous fan

As above pick your rads wisely. The apex ones have a good rep as do some others such as the db power ones. I had a japspeed rad before it failed which I wouldn't reccomend to anyone. Koyo rads are expensive but definately worth the money

What is this uprated viscous you talk of paul?

[Sidewaysfun]

I got it from GKTech from Australia. It's basically a viscous with an extra couple of blades. Supposed to increase efficiency a hell of a lot. I literally can't get my water temps hot with my new setup

[daveyboydave]

Well look what the postman brought today! Finally! Thanks Dan off of Rarerims.



The Mrs will be happy as the 17" tyres can finally vacate the spare room now.

[daveyboydave]

Did you go for a Fabricage bolt in? If so, do you know if you have to weld the front legs in or not? This is exactly what I want for my S13

Yep, tis a Fabricage. I'm told that you don't have to weld the legs in, but it's better if you do. Can't decide whether I'm going to bother, it's a bit of hassle finding someone nearby to do the work.

[daveyboydave]

As above pick your rads wisely. The apex ones have a good rep as do some others such as the db power ones. I had a japspeed rad before it failed which I wouldn't reccomend to anyone. Koyo rads are expensive but definately worth the money

Noted, thanks.

Where can you get Koyos in the UK? Can't seem to find them?

Are they really worth double the price of the Apex or Driftworks equivalent? Seems like a hell of a lot of money for a radiator.