R53 Cooper S to tinker with ...
Discussion
So in April i had to grow up & buy a flat, so sold my GP1: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... then in August my gf's brother moved to Dubai and needed rid of the MCS that he had loved & tinkered with for 7 years ... silly offer was accepted and i owned a 2nd car again 
Spec was fairly long when i purchased it, but exterior/looks were not quite to my taste:
First to go was the silver patina dash/chrome trims/pre-facelift doorcards, to be replaced with the anthracite dash/trim from the mini one, some facelifted door cards & the later 3 spoke JCW steering wheel:
Then my attention was turned to the outside, where i fitted the facelifted front xenons/rear lights to freshen it up a little bit outside, & got the Turinis from my GP out the shed:
Also fitted an OMP upper strut brace to go with the lower one already fitted:
Spec is now fairly extensive with (amongst other things) a Newman Cam, 450 injectors, 15% Pulley, Dave.F airbox, GRS 'Motorsport' intercooler, Milltek cat-back, 1320 "Mynes" Tune. R56S front brake Calipers, Nitrac 294mm 12 groove discs, MintexM1144's, GoodridgeSS hoses, Castrol Response Super Dot 4 fluid. MeisterR Coilovers, V-Maxx F.droplinks, OMP upper/lower brace, rear bench brace, Powerflex wishbone bushes. 17" Turinis with Continentals, Black beltline kit, aero front grills, stubby aerial. Scanguage 2, CG Lock and all the other bits & bobs above.
Compared to my M135i it feels pretty slow low down (even with 230+ bhp lol), but once its wound up it goes like stink, also grips to the road like glue!!! Brilliant little 2nd car for me to tinker about with/do track days in. Ill keep the thread updated with any little changes i make - might be helpful for any other mini owners on the site
Spec was fairly long when i purchased it, but exterior/looks were not quite to my taste:
First to go was the silver patina dash/chrome trims/pre-facelift doorcards, to be replaced with the anthracite dash/trim from the mini one, some facelifted door cards & the later 3 spoke JCW steering wheel:
Then my attention was turned to the outside, where i fitted the facelifted front xenons/rear lights to freshen it up a little bit outside, & got the Turinis from my GP out the shed:
Also fitted an OMP upper strut brace to go with the lower one already fitted:
Spec is now fairly extensive with (amongst other things) a Newman Cam, 450 injectors, 15% Pulley, Dave.F airbox, GRS 'Motorsport' intercooler, Milltek cat-back, 1320 "Mynes" Tune. R56S front brake Calipers, Nitrac 294mm 12 groove discs, MintexM1144's, GoodridgeSS hoses, Castrol Response Super Dot 4 fluid. MeisterR Coilovers, V-Maxx F.droplinks, OMP upper/lower brace, rear bench brace, Powerflex wishbone bushes. 17" Turinis with Continentals, Black beltline kit, aero front grills, stubby aerial. Scanguage 2, CG Lock and all the other bits & bobs above.
Compared to my M135i it feels pretty slow low down (even with 230+ bhp lol), but once its wound up it goes like stink, also grips to the road like glue!!! Brilliant little 2nd car for me to tinker about with/do track days in. Ill keep the thread updated with any little changes i make - might be helpful for any other mini owners on the site
nunpuncher said:
Thinking about getting one of these at the moment after ruling out a long list of quicker and subsequently more expensive metal.
I'm wondering how it compares in terms of overall experience and involvement compared to the M135i. I recently got shot of one because I couldn't stand the steering or handling (non adaptive) at speed on any less than perfect B road.
Its ALOT more fun i guess, & the 135i wouldnt know which way it went down a B road, but as a daily, i couldnt be bothered with the rattles, hard ride or lack of comfort compared to the BMW. Im surprised at your reasons for selling the 135i though, yes, its a little floaty, but certainly dont have any issues with the steering (ok its a bit light/lacking feel) or handling at road speeds. Its not an M car though, so i wouldnt expect it to be any better than say my old 330is.I'm wondering how it compares in terms of overall experience and involvement compared to the M135i. I recently got shot of one because I couldn't stand the steering or handling (non adaptive) at speed on any less than perfect B road.
Tiger Tim said:
I just can't believe you still have that Pioneer Dolphin head unit. It must have been in about 20 cars now.. 
Ha ha, you wont believe me, but its actually a different unit, although very similar!!The Dolphin one will naturally be going in shorty however ...
So. Update time.
Went to Goodwood for Hot Hatch Sunday, had a nice drive down there, but definitely missed the diff from the GP ...
Then went to 1320 on Monday 13th for some work to be done.
Strut tops were enlarged to allow easier camber adjustment. Angle grinder FTW!!
From:
To:
Then Whiteline rear ARB fitted:
Unfortunately, on the way home, the brakes failed - not 1320's fault i might add!!
The culprit underneath the fuel tank:
Which meant a trip to Minispeed in West Byfleet for a new brake pipe & hose.
They also fitted a new handbrake cable & the rear Hardace camber arms that i bought a couple of month back:
Before "alignment" - dunno how people drive with it like this lol:
Note the toe on the passenger rear wheel. They didnt sort this in the "alignment" as they couldnt get their equipment on apparently (not sure how they did the camber then ffs), so im going to sort it out myself over the weekend, the rear camber looks more positive than -1.5 as well, so need to check that with my camber gauge ...
Loui said:
You should get yourself on track mini Dave
Ah, might do that!! So, this weekend we dicovered why the rear toe was off so much ... essentially Minispeed hadnt fitted the wheel properly, so the spigot wasnt seated correctly, but they'd gunned it on anyways, albeit only finger tight. So when the wheel turned, it wobbled from side to side, changing the camber/toe with each revolution. Really not happy, could have fallen off & killed me FFS!!
The metal ring that holds the spigot on, & how it was seated:
Damage to my wheel:
The wobble:
With this in mind, we then got the camber gauges out to check the front/rear camber that id asked them to set everything to: -2.5 front/-1.5 rear. Result (it looked off by eye in all seriousness):
[I]Front drivers -2.3
Front passenger -1.2
Rear driver - 1.1
Rear passenger +1.0[/I]
So we re-did it to -2.0 front/-1.5 rear. Need to change the top mount screw holes in order to get more on the front, but as with other things on this car from now on, Ill be doing it myself where possible, not relying on others to do it in my lazyness. If you want a job doing properly etc.
Also changed the K&N air filter. Bit grubby lol:
Oh and fitted some Carbotech XP8 front pads.
Having finally driven it properly now, i can confirm that the Whiteline rear ARB adds a certain level of "steer from the rear", the smaller s/c belt that 1320 fitted (it was approx 1" too long previously) has definitely increased the level of boost at high revs and the XP8 squeak ALOT, seem pretty powerful though. Trackday on Sunday will hopefully be good.
So Donington on the 9th was brilliant, for the 40 mins the car worked 
Unfortunately, most of the day was spent like this:
Because of this: http://www.cliosport.net/threads/melted-spark-plug...
Which needs i need to spend more money.
Moneypit.
Unfortunately, most of the day was spent like this:
Because of this: http://www.cliosport.net/threads/melted-spark-plug...
Which needs i need to spend more money.
Moneypit.
As far as im aware, the mushrooming only affects cars running the standard top mounts/suspension, whereas this has had solid top mounts/coilovers for the past 5 years. I will probably be put some additional reinforcement plates on the top as well though just to be on the safe side. The cutting needed doing though unfortunately, no doubt having full camber adjustment on the front top mounts if you cant adjust it without taking the front coilovers off the car - would make for a rather arduous alignment process.
Getting some advice re: the spark pug problem at the moment, & also considering the benefits of a front mount intercooler instead of a top mount to try & reduce temps further when on track.
Getting some advice re: the spark pug problem at the moment, & also considering the benefits of a front mount intercooler instead of a top mount to try & reduce temps further when on track.
Quite a big one actually as i was at 1320 all day yesterday!!
Since "sparkpluggate" i've compression tested it (160ish across all 4, so perfectly fine), then fitted new OEM ignition leads and some colder NGK BCR8ES spark plugs. Got a coil pack as well, but it wouldnt fit, so will be sending that back instead. So onto yesterday:
Got there at 9.30am, strapped the car to the dyno & Thomas removed the ecu to be read:
Engine bay needs a clean. Meh.
At this point, the ecu didnt want to be updated/read, so Thomas pulled it apart & soldered some things so that he could essentially re-boot it/wipe it/load the last tune back on & start afresh. Note the previous fixing that Richard's dad did to the board (hidden by the tape), things are never easy with this car lol:
By 11.30 ish, after much swearing, the eco was sorted & the car did a base run:
At which point the map tinkering started (took some advance out/more updates/other tinkering):
Once that was done, AFR's were sorted etc, ended up with slightly more power & torque than previously. Happy days:
And compared to my previous GP:
Once the map was sorted, the rattly cam chain tensioner was changed and it got a quick oil change.
Now all ready for Bedford on Feb 28th, just need to bolt the R888's on and go for a play!!
Since "sparkpluggate" i've compression tested it (160ish across all 4, so perfectly fine), then fitted new OEM ignition leads and some colder NGK BCR8ES spark plugs. Got a coil pack as well, but it wouldnt fit, so will be sending that back instead. So onto yesterday:
Got there at 9.30am, strapped the car to the dyno & Thomas removed the ecu to be read:
Engine bay needs a clean. Meh.
At this point, the ecu didnt want to be updated/read, so Thomas pulled it apart & soldered some things so that he could essentially re-boot it/wipe it/load the last tune back on & start afresh. Note the previous fixing that Richard's dad did to the board (hidden by the tape), things are never easy with this car lol:
By 11.30 ish, after much swearing, the eco was sorted & the car did a base run:
At which point the map tinkering started (took some advance out/more updates/other tinkering):
Once that was done, AFR's were sorted etc, ended up with slightly more power & torque than previously. Happy days:
And compared to my previous GP:
Once the map was sorted, the rattly cam chain tensioner was changed and it got a quick oil change.
Now all ready for Bedford on Feb 28th, just need to bolt the R888's on and go for a play!!
So Saturday 28th Feb was the Ford/Renault Bedford trackday on the SEN circuit, & happily, the car was 95% faultless all day long.
Engine pulled like a train, no spark plug/misfire issues (even at over 50IAT) so the new map from 1320 has cured all problems.
Handling wise, in the morning (damp) on the Continentals (Meisters set to 17fr/9r), the car was incredibly playful, good front end turn-in, but the ability to steer on the throttle whenever i wanted, oversteer on demand basically. Perhaps not the quickest way round the circuit, but certainly epic fun!! Myself & Tom were quite simply driving around giggling. Turn-in, lift, oppo, power. Brilliant!! In the afternoon (dry) the R888's went on & the rear dampers were turned up 2 clicks (now at 17f/11r). Compared to the morning, soo much more grip, incredibly turn in, at any speed, similar properties to previously re: LOOS but obviously at much higher grip thresholds. It was genuinely rapid.
Only issue all day was the brake pedal went a bit long (Minispeed didnt use the high temp fluid i gave them), so they need re-bleeding before the next trackday. Actual braking power was superb, there is simply no need for anything more than R56S fronts with XP8's imho, no fade at all, even after some seriously late braking lol.
In conclusion, i think ive now created something better than my beloved Trophy, the handling is the same (if not slightly more direct steering wise) and it has the power to overtake things that would previously have held me up on the straights. The extra bhp is also very useful for straightening the car up when staring out of the side windows :tearsofjoy:
Some pictures, im awaiting the proper MSV ones, so just some iPhone ones for now ..
Hotel the night before:
At Bedford:
What next? More track days. The Mini needs absolutely nothing else doing to it.
Engine pulled like a train, no spark plug/misfire issues (even at over 50IAT) so the new map from 1320 has cured all problems.
Handling wise, in the morning (damp) on the Continentals (Meisters set to 17fr/9r), the car was incredibly playful, good front end turn-in, but the ability to steer on the throttle whenever i wanted, oversteer on demand basically. Perhaps not the quickest way round the circuit, but certainly epic fun!! Myself & Tom were quite simply driving around giggling. Turn-in, lift, oppo, power. Brilliant!! In the afternoon (dry) the R888's went on & the rear dampers were turned up 2 clicks (now at 17f/11r). Compared to the morning, soo much more grip, incredibly turn in, at any speed, similar properties to previously re: LOOS but obviously at much higher grip thresholds. It was genuinely rapid.
Only issue all day was the brake pedal went a bit long (Minispeed didnt use the high temp fluid i gave them), so they need re-bleeding before the next trackday. Actual braking power was superb, there is simply no need for anything more than R56S fronts with XP8's imho, no fade at all, even after some seriously late braking lol.
In conclusion, i think ive now created something better than my beloved Trophy, the handling is the same (if not slightly more direct steering wise) and it has the power to overtake things that would previously have held me up on the straights. The extra bhp is also very useful for straightening the car up when staring out of the side windows :tearsofjoy:
Some pictures, im awaiting the proper MSV ones, so just some iPhone ones for now ..
Hotel the night before:
At Bedford:
What next? More track days. The Mini needs absolutely nothing else doing to it.
Vroom101 said:
Any more updates or pictures?
Yes as it happens So, as i cleaned the M135i yesterday ...
I thought i had better give the mini some love.
After all, ive owned it since last August, done two trackdays and a few thousand miles without it seeing a sponge:
So i went to see these chaps:
And they made it look like this:
Cosmetically, bar a carbon JCW gearknob, the car is finished. I'd like the roof black, but i dont want to pay any money to do it. Mechanically its running very well, i fitted new rear discs/pads after Bedford, but the brakes do need a bleed before the next trackday i think - if only for a bit more pedal feel. Long term plans are simply to enjoy it on road & track, i might fit a Quaife at some point (& possibly a facelift gearbox), if/when it needs a clutch, but that very much depends on how much money gets spent on the car to replace the M135i over the winter.
And so to Donington, finally managed to do it in a car without any problems!!! Wahoo lol.
A couple of friends came up for passenger rides in the morning (Tom was supposed to be doing the day in his clio, but it stiiiiiiilllll isnt finished), then Sarah's parents came up in the afternoon as well. Taking your future mother/father in-law out on track? Brilliant lol.
The day started early with a very happy looking me swopping the tyres over, at 7.30am, argh so early
Then onto sign on & the drivers briefing, where the first giggle of the day occurred, with the instructor saying to Sarah "are you driving as well?" in a kinda of "surprised" voice. Giggles.
All ready:
First time out:
Swarms of clios!! They were literally everywhere!! Although some need reminding that a trackday isnt a race
And then it was Sarah's turn
Nearly there:
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxP-OSMSa-c
Sarah is now addicted to trackdays lol. She genuinely loved it!!! Like proper proper loved it, knew she would, she's been passenger on pretty much every other day ive done (except her driving a little at Haynes). We then came home & looking for the next day to do, must be a weekend/half-term so she's not teaching ...
Roll on the next one
A couple of friends came up for passenger rides in the morning (Tom was supposed to be doing the day in his clio, but it stiiiiiiilllll isnt finished), then Sarah's parents came up in the afternoon as well. Taking your future mother/father in-law out on track? Brilliant lol.
The day started early with a very happy looking me swopping the tyres over, at 7.30am, argh so early
Then onto sign on & the drivers briefing, where the first giggle of the day occurred, with the instructor saying to Sarah "are you driving as well?" in a kinda of "surprised" voice. Giggles.
All ready:
First time out:
Swarms of clios!! They were literally everywhere!! Although some need reminding that a trackday isnt a race
And then it was Sarah's turn
Nearly there:
Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxP-OSMSa-c
Sarah is now addicted to trackdays lol. She genuinely loved it!!! Like proper proper loved it, knew she would, she's been passenger on pretty much every other day ive done (except her driving a little at Haynes). We then came home & looking for the next day to do, must be a weekend/half-term so she's not teaching ...
Roll on the next one
Edited by Sir_Dave on Monday 20th July 09:18
Feirny said:
How did she get on Dave? Knew she was looking forward to it. Was there much traffic for her or was it quiet enough she could coast round?
Bought an Elise yet?
lol, not yet, although she did say last night i could have a Lotus for track/another Golf R32 for daily if i gave her the mini for trackdays Bought an Elise yet?
not sure the money tree stretches that far though!! The neighbours patience certainly wouldnt Was fairly quiet when we went out at about 4ish, probably another 10 cars on track, so she got to have a good hoon without worrying about swarmed around by loonies! Not sure she much coasting though, was certainly testing the limits of the car on occasion ... & my passenger floorpan tbh (as my foot was trying to go through it on occasion) ...
Lgfst said:
Great car there 
Been thinking of one of these when the countryman goes.
Do it, they're brilliant vaue these days, & quite easily turned into something useful for day to day/quick enough on track.Been thinking of one of these when the countryman goes.
Better late than never, but the December track day was awesome!!!
Actually, no in the morning it was awful as Team HARD had 30 billies flying (re: crashing) around doing timed laps in their Golf's (rather naughty), but once they had buggered off in the afternoon i got some decent laps in
My fiance Sarah was supposed to drive, but was a little weary as so many people were using it as a test-day and the driving on occasion (see above) was pretty terrible. Shame really, hopefully things will be better at our next day, Bedford at the end of February.
Apologies for the swearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6XCx_492I
Actually, no in the morning it was awful as Team HARD had 30 billies flying (re: crashing) around doing timed laps in their Golf's (rather naughty), but once they had buggered off in the afternoon i got some decent laps in
My fiance Sarah was supposed to drive, but was a little weary as so many people were using it as a test-day and the driving on occasion (see above) was pretty terrible. Shame really, hopefully things will be better at our next day, Bedford at the end of February.
Apologies for the swearing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ6XCx_492I
Altrezia said:
I am not sure why I hate my r53 so much - it's the same colour as yours, and yours looks great! Ha ha.
Cool thread. I really like the wheels.
Yours looks very standard, so possibly running the sCool thread. I really like the wheels.
tty runflats still?Some decent coilovers and 16's transform the car, so perhaps you need to do a little tinkering
Your name/profile looks familiar btw, i think my fiance worked with your mum at Bishopswood Junior school, Tadley circa '07/'08.
Few major purchases at the weekend, meaning that the mini will be becoming quite "serious" over the coming weeks.
Facelift gearbox (shorter ratios) with Quaife LSD
Safety Devices Roll Cage, to include:
Rear Cage: Rear cage, x diagonal and harness bar (backstay trim requires modification) for single door bars
Door Bars (Nearside): Single door bar nearside (LHS)
Door Bars (Offside): Single door bar offside (RHS)
Front Cage: Front cage, for single door bar
Colour: RAL 9005 MN201D Black Matt Smooth
Diff is being fitted by 1320 on the 9th Feb, then the cage will go in whenever it arrives, hopefully all done in time for Bedford on Sat 27th Feb!
Facelift gearbox (shorter ratios) with Quaife LSD
Safety Devices Roll Cage, to include:
Rear Cage: Rear cage, x diagonal and harness bar (backstay trim requires modification) for single door bars
Door Bars (Nearside): Single door bar nearside (LHS)
Door Bars (Offside): Single door bar offside (RHS)
Front Cage: Front cage, for single door bar
Colour: RAL 9005 MN201D Black Matt Smooth
Diff is being fitted by 1320 on the 9th Feb, then the cage will go in whenever it arrives, hopefully all done in time for Bedford on Sat 27th Feb!
So, big update time!
Last Tuesday I spent the day at 1320 Mini getting a few bits & bobs fitted.
Lots of mini’s, all in various states of brokenness/turbodness:
The turbo’d car that my facelift box/quaife came out of:
Apparently it was in a black turbo’d mini before that as well, so hopefully its not so fussed about my lack of power/torque lol.
Time to pull it apart!
Yeah, wouldn’t have fancied doing this on the driveway!!
Gearbox off, & the clutch release bearing wasn’t where it was supposed to be I don’t think:
Apparently that (or something else) had been rattling around inside the gearbox, making a bit of a mess:
New clutch to go in, old one was fine, but for the sake of £200 in parts, it might as well be changed.
At that point, I lifted up the standard dual mass and was amazed by its weight!! Flipping heavy, so I enquired as to whether 1320 had any single mass lightweight ones floating about, they did … £400. Gave Thomas/Scott’s minis a little rev in the car park, then bought one haha.
All mounted back up
Once that was all put back on, it was time to move onto the subframe to check everything over, steering has been a little wobbly ass of late … and the culprit? Knackered Powerflex wishbone bushes, naturally these aren’t supposed to be rounded on the inside:
They are supposed to be more like this:
So in some Superpro ones (£100 or so) go instead, problem solved.
After that everything was put back together while I kicked around my old bushes with Alan:
Then for a quick test drive. Genuinely its like a different car!! Gearbox ratios are better, the actual change is smoother, the diff is just weird, more power & it drags you towards the apex, cannot wait to try it out on track!! Steering is far better with the new bushes and the engine revs far more cleanly with the new flywheel, I did stall it though when turning around so it’ll take a little time to adjust to it no doubt. The flywheel also rattles a bit at low revs, so i can understand that would be a little irritating on a daily, as a "fun" car though it just adds to the drama/fun of the car i think! Essentially it feels like the GP used to, but with a bit more power, its a lot more extreme, but then again, my GP was standard, this has had £5k chucked at it, & that’s only since Ive owned it, god only knows what Richard put in …
Unfortunately I went to drive it work the next day & I couldnt get any gears FFS. Quick call to Thomas and after much apologising (it was perfectly fine when I lefts theirs, after test drive etc) it seems that the clutch probably needed bleeding, bit of a ball ache, but I said id give it a go on Saturday - which I then did, in the cold/wind/rain!! 2 Litres of Castrol React later I now have gears again, pedal is a little soft for the first half, but engages gears perfectly fine on the 2nd half. Will do the trackday at Bedford then re-bleed it all again after that, will probably be time to flush the brake fluid through as well by then anyways (same fluid/reservoir).
All in all, very happy, Also very poor
Last Tuesday I spent the day at 1320 Mini getting a few bits & bobs fitted.
Lots of mini’s, all in various states of brokenness/turbodness:
The turbo’d car that my facelift box/quaife came out of:
Apparently it was in a black turbo’d mini before that as well, so hopefully its not so fussed about my lack of power/torque lol.
Time to pull it apart!
Yeah, wouldn’t have fancied doing this on the driveway!!
Gearbox off, & the clutch release bearing wasn’t where it was supposed to be I don’t think:
Apparently that (or something else) had been rattling around inside the gearbox, making a bit of a mess:
New clutch to go in, old one was fine, but for the sake of £200 in parts, it might as well be changed.
At that point, I lifted up the standard dual mass and was amazed by its weight!! Flipping heavy, so I enquired as to whether 1320 had any single mass lightweight ones floating about, they did … £400. Gave Thomas/Scott’s minis a little rev in the car park, then bought one haha.
All mounted back up
Once that was all put back on, it was time to move onto the subframe to check everything over, steering has been a little wobbly ass of late … and the culprit? Knackered Powerflex wishbone bushes, naturally these aren’t supposed to be rounded on the inside:
They are supposed to be more like this:
So in some Superpro ones (£100 or so) go instead, problem solved.
After that everything was put back together while I kicked around my old bushes with Alan:
Then for a quick test drive. Genuinely its like a different car!! Gearbox ratios are better, the actual change is smoother, the diff is just weird, more power & it drags you towards the apex, cannot wait to try it out on track!! Steering is far better with the new bushes and the engine revs far more cleanly with the new flywheel, I did stall it though when turning around so it’ll take a little time to adjust to it no doubt. The flywheel also rattles a bit at low revs, so i can understand that would be a little irritating on a daily, as a "fun" car though it just adds to the drama/fun of the car i think! Essentially it feels like the GP used to, but with a bit more power, its a lot more extreme, but then again, my GP was standard, this has had £5k chucked at it, & that’s only since Ive owned it, god only knows what Richard put in …
Unfortunately I went to drive it work the next day & I couldnt get any gears FFS. Quick call to Thomas and after much apologising (it was perfectly fine when I lefts theirs, after test drive etc) it seems that the clutch probably needed bleeding, bit of a ball ache, but I said id give it a go on Saturday - which I then did, in the cold/wind/rain!! 2 Litres of Castrol React later I now have gears again, pedal is a little soft for the first half, but engages gears perfectly fine on the 2nd half. Will do the trackday at Bedford then re-bleed it all again after that, will probably be time to flush the brake fluid through as well by then anyways (same fluid/reservoir).
All in all, very happy, Also very poor
So it was the Bedford Cliosport/Passionford Bedford trackday at the weekend, so i thought id give a quick write up.
Needless to say in the morning the car was an absolute animal compared to before. The gearbox/diff have made an unbelievable difference, i now firmly believe that any high powered FWD car needs a diff, its quite literally night & day the way the car responds now, so much front end grip. Had to reassess my braking points at quite a few corners as i was simply carrying in too much speed, LOOS is now amazing, lift, sideways, plant foot, pull out of corner. Epic!! The way it covers ground was quite something, there is no way it would have caught up with/overtaken the cars it did before, no chance.
The afternoon wasnt so great, but that is covered more here: http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f24/melted-spark-p... I think its mostly fuel related (i filled it up with Bedford's own fuel at lunchtime, instead of the Shell VPower i normally use/its mapped for, so c'est la vie/probably a coincidence etc), but will be checking through everything else as well.
The car also melted the drivers side front CV boot at some point, what a mess!!:
Some pictures of it looking nice:
And some videos of the morning:
Yellow 200 at 6:10, Black R26 at 8:30, Silver 172 at 10:00, Black/Orange 182 at 14:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnobTSjwsko
Various Clios from the start, 130i/172 Cup at 9:30, 13:00 Blue 172 cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBQXNqM60SE
Black megane at 5:00, Red Turbo 172 WTF at 7:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzCHaik1UJg
All in all, an epic morning, with some more teething problems to sort out, it gets driven hard though, so problems are expected.
I now need to replace:
[I]1. Rear pads, & maybe disks. Its gone through the OEM Pagids in 1500 miles/3 track days, so i might upgrade to Carbotech XP6's
2. Drivers front outer CV boot, will probably do both sides as the passenger one was looking a little melted as well (heat from the XP8's is obviously rather high)
3. 4 x plugs, fuel filter, will also get the injectors flow tested i think, & check the coil pack is ok
4. The cage will hopefully arrive at the end of the month, so thats something nice to look forwards to.[/I]
Also need an MOT at some point this month, so 1/2 are priorities really.
Needless to say in the morning the car was an absolute animal compared to before. The gearbox/diff have made an unbelievable difference, i now firmly believe that any high powered FWD car needs a diff, its quite literally night & day the way the car responds now, so much front end grip. Had to reassess my braking points at quite a few corners as i was simply carrying in too much speed, LOOS is now amazing, lift, sideways, plant foot, pull out of corner. Epic!! The way it covers ground was quite something, there is no way it would have caught up with/overtaken the cars it did before, no chance.
The afternoon wasnt so great, but that is covered more here: http://www.minitorque.com/forum/f24/melted-spark-p... I think its mostly fuel related (i filled it up with Bedford's own fuel at lunchtime, instead of the Shell VPower i normally use/its mapped for, so c'est la vie/probably a coincidence etc), but will be checking through everything else as well.
The car also melted the drivers side front CV boot at some point, what a mess!!:
Some pictures of it looking nice:
And some videos of the morning:
Yellow 200 at 6:10, Black R26 at 8:30, Silver 172 at 10:00, Black/Orange 182 at 14:40
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnobTSjwsko
Various Clios from the start, 130i/172 Cup at 9:30, 13:00 Blue 172 cup
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBQXNqM60SE
Black megane at 5:00, Red Turbo 172 WTF at 7:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzCHaik1UJg
All in all, an epic morning, with some more teething problems to sort out, it gets driven hard though, so problems are expected.
I now need to replace:
[I]1. Rear pads, & maybe disks. Its gone through the OEM Pagids in 1500 miles/3 track days, so i might upgrade to Carbotech XP6's
2. Drivers front outer CV boot, will probably do both sides as the passenger one was looking a little melted as well (heat from the XP8's is obviously rather high)
3. 4 x plugs, fuel filter, will also get the injectors flow tested i think, & check the coil pack is ok
4. The cage will hopefully arrive at the end of the month, so thats something nice to look forwards to.[/I]
Also need an MOT at some point this month, so 1/2 are priorities really.
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