Fireblade Seven // The Devastator

Fireblade Seven // The Devastator

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WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Sunday 5th March 2017
quotequote all
Bare with me on the name, it will make sense in a few paragraphs smile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ZWQ_WpuQ8

A few years back I bought an MK Indy RR running a little Zetec motor. Previously driving a Cosworth Powered Westfield with silly power and quite a dog rough chassis, the car was quick but i wasn't learning a damn thing other than when you spin off at 90mph on a damp Donington you sure feel alive!



So 160hp and a dream chassis, full inboard suspension, rose joints everywhere (not a rubber bushing in sight), incredibly wide track are just a few things that make the MK Indy RR nothing short of MIND BLOWING to drive!

My plan was always to drop an F20 s2000 motor in after I had learnt the chassis with less power. I had the manifold and many other parts ready. The poor zetec had given me nothing but headaches. Type 9 boxes are utter t*ss and eventually when a webber float broke and flooded the engine bay and surrounding few meters in fuel and nearly set me on fire in the pit lane at Cadwell I had to get rid and start the f20 swap earlier than planned.

That is when everything changed. In April 2014 our whole lives took a massive blow. We lost a very good friend when an unfortunate accident on his CBR Fireblade while he was out on the Cat & Fiddle (our all time fav road) took him from us. Dev had planned to race at club level the next year but instead the Bike was left in a sorry state in my workshop and we were faced with an impossible situation to overcome.


Me and Dev at Blyton.



Dev the day we picked the Fireblade up.

It was at this point i knew i needed a focus, something to repel the demons. A reason to get up in the morning and go to work and a vision to aim towards... The MK needed to become the Devastator.

For months i researched the install and over and over in my head envisioned my first lap of Cadwell park in minuscule detail. The emotions of pulling out of the pits and hammering the car listening to his bike roar again sure gave me a focus!

It took 18 months to slowly build the car. As you can imagine it is a bit of a mission getting a bike motor to run in a seven. Research told me that 08/09 blade motors suffered from crank teeth wear and 2011 onwards used fly by wire throttle so thank you Dev for buying a 2010, the goldilocks of Fireblade motors! A custom made two piece billet sump to give more floor clearance and to stop any nasty oil surge, reversing the whole throttle body assembly to package neatly in between the cylinder head and gearbox then resulted in us making a fibreglass intake that bonded onto the oem airbox to give one forward facing duct instead of two sideways ones are just a few of the troubles we overcame.

It was vitally important to keep the oem airbox as it runs dual fuel rails. One housed as usual in the throttle bodies and then a further rail above the stacks feeding a mist for the higher RPM requirements. Fuelling was taken care of using a low pressure fuel pump feeding a swirl pot with the oem Fireblade pump in the base. This ensured no nasty fuel surge that many suffer from.

The mech water pump was blanked and an electric water pump added to fully hard piped coolant lines, custom two piece prop and sprocket adapter took care of transferring power from the motor to the rear differential.

A Woolich racing ECU managed the subtle changes the custom exhaust manifold would bring along with getting the most out of the motor and deleting the oem exhaust valve, electronics steering damper etc. Along with a full custom loom and map from EFI. The Woolich now including race tools which allows flat upshifts, launch control and a few other trick options, pub ammo maybe, trick as f@#k? Yes!


A short walk around vid showing the install in more detail...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUwY7VYEQd4


Another gifted item as well as the motor came from a friend Ron when he took me with him to collect his new GSXR 600. We walked in and all i could see was this Yoshimura MotoGP can sat in a glass display cabinet for a stupid, STUPID price... He had to have it, and i made sure he bought it haha. The lobster tail, tidy welds and dull finish made me damn drule... A matter of weeks later he fell off and scuffed the damn thing up and the oem can went back on. So i made a custom bracket, reversed the can and the result visually was wild. Only to be trumped by the noise which you can hear in the Curborough vid below...















So the Devastator was ready just in time for summer 2016, and what an incredible summer it was! The day i had been dreaming about was here and I finally got to sample mine and my close friends hard work. Did i find myself overcome with emotion at the shear significance of what I was now driving? NOT A BLOODY CHANCE! If you think you can drive this thing while even so much as thinking about anything else you are so wrong. What this now gave me was utter 100% focus. An outlet to switch off from the world and switch on to the most engaging driving tool I could ever want. It is only as the motor ticks cool and i take my helmet off and step out of the car that i can then smile and truley commemorate my friend.





The year was spent making slight improvements in drivability and temp stability. Below you can find a link to the Blyton, Curborough and Cadwell track days and some road parties in North Wales, Peak District oh and scaring the crap out of the wife smile.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ06kmO0-r6...

If you got this far thanks for reading and showing interest. This is a car i will keep for life. A few tweaks in time for the summer season including flat floor and diffuser but really nothing major at all. I just want to drive the thing as much as i can! Full slicks and improved geo settings will make the days i have planned at Oulton, Curborough, Cadwell and Anglesey and many more over the summer mega fun. I will be sure to keep this thread updated with all the drama! If you are on instagram search for CT.Willis for much more footage of the car in action along with my other projects including 350z, MX5 track cars and previous builds.

Thanks, Will

Edited by WillisRR on Friday 10th March 20:32

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Sunday 5th March 2017
quotequote all
Thanks mate. Yeah, it sure is intense but almost over before it begins in terms of grunt! I have such a short final drive that it really does whip through the gears. Tops out at 125mph so only good for the shorter circuits at the moment. I have a longer FD to put in it but there's something I love about the way it feels as it is! I have the 350z for the longer circuits if required anyways.

Will be getting out in it at Oulton in May to start of the summer dates in the MK but until then I will be doing Cadwell and a rally day in the MX5, and then in the 350z i have April 12 at Anglesey and a 10 day trip to Nurburgring booked! Busy but i love it!

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Tuesday 7th March 2017
quotequote all
Thanks Jon, mega happy with the result! I was very shocked at how smoothly everything went together. A few of my friends have had such bad luck with kit cars, including one that still isn't ready after 5 years and another I think has been 8 years + now!! I kept the zetec ln for as long as possible while collecting the expensive parts of the install limiting the amount of time the car was unusable. I sold the zetec setup in Sept 2015 and the instal was complete by late Spring 2016 smile.

Came in well within projected budged to everyones surprise too! As a rule i always thought double the cost and time you think a project will take haha!

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Tuesday 7th March 2017
quotequote all
Hehe! Thanks gents!

Yes I sure did! That is Devs motor out of the bike now powering the MK smile. 185hp and 480kg with half a tank of fuel smile.



Edited by WillisRR on Tuesday 7th March 12:10

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Wednesday 8th March 2017
quotequote all
Thanks guys, it sure is! Incredibly user friendly too for what it is. Very lively at the moment but with improved geo and corner wieghts properly adjusted it should tame things down a little! That said i do love drivingg a little lairy haha!

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Friday 10th March 2017
quotequote all
Thanks for the kind word gents, means loads!

Cant wait to get out in it again! Luckily the weather seems to be picking up at the moment so hope to have a few road parties soon!

Edited by WillisRR on Friday 10th March 22:01

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Saturday 11th March 2017
quotequote all
800hp per tonne jeeeez!!!

The Cosworth Westfield belonged to my friend Ron (mentioned in original post) but i was lucky enough to drive it smile.

It was a YAB motor converted to run higher comp NA setup on Jenveys, dry sump, quaife straight cut box etc. Think it was around 250hp. It was brilliant but we soon realised the drivetrain/motor setup was worth so much for a relativley average amount of power. Not only that but the thing kept breaking! We both agreed he should break the car for parts (which he did) to fund an f20c powered kit car that would be built from new.

Unfortunately the build of the s2000 powered Road Runner Racing SR2 has been riddled with problems and still in process. I cant wait for it to be ready so we can have some friendly battles!

Me, Ron and Dev removing the motor back in 2011! Was a regular ocurance!!




Edited by WillisRR on Saturday 11th March 08:49

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Tuesday 14th March 2017
quotequote all
Bloody hell Jonty, that is one well spect bit of kit! You will have to let me know when it is complete so we can get to a trackday together smile.

Thanks guys, really itching to get out in it now. The 350z and MX5 have been keeping me entertained over winter. Had a very close call this weekend at Anglesey in the 350! Stopped a few foot from the wall! Wouldn't of been fun! I have probably spent too much time and money on the Nissan when really i should of been pampering the MK in all honesty!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3plxNuVztc

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Thursday 13th April 2017
quotequote all

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Thursday 13th April 2017
quotequote all
From Winsford?

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Thursday 13th April 2017
quotequote all
Ahh fair, maybe the original builder. Was an odd build. Lovely expensive parts but not very focussed.

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Thursday 15th June 2017
quotequote all
Now the 350Z has served me well over the colder months with lot's of prep, track days and the annual Nur trip it's time to get cracking with the MK again! Great shakedown up the Cat and Fiddle last night, just got to get it in for Geo/Corner weight and have the slicks (off a Formula Renault) mounted before Oulton on 30th Jun and Cadwell 20th July. Aiming to get to Anglesey and Blyton soon too.

Thought I would share a few of last nights pics>>









WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Thursday 27th July 2017
quotequote all




Fantastic Track day at Cadwell on Thursday with Circuit Days.

A horrifically wet track for most of the day and the first time I have driven the MK in the rain. A021s proved to be excellent after I had my doubts that the car would just be too hard and too unsuited!

Was lucky enough to get an hour of dry right at the end of the day so I rushed to get the Formula Renault slicks on and headed out for a session. Extremely grippy!!!

I was buzzing the limiter in 6th down both straights so a 3.38 final drive has been sourced to combat this along with refreshed oil cooler, rear diffuser, some wider rear wheels, wider rear arches (to fit the wheels) and a few other bits in time for Oulton in a few weeks time.

Hope you enjoy the footage...

Wet Laps...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gcFXWue9Q4&t

Dry Laps...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMgj65TKCQc&t

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Tuesday 26th September 2017
quotequote all




Been a busy few months since Cadwell! Found some wider rear Compomotive wheels and ended up having to buy some extended sooper wide rear arches to fit them haha! Fitted a new mocal oil cooler kit with proper lines after having issues with my previous system and found a nice rear diffuser...




















Bit of an upgrade for the MK Passenger seat too. Always wanted a Tillet seat!









Have felt that the MK is being neglected yet again so booked on to the chequered flag / Track Addict Curborough Sprint day.

Was a fantastic event, brilliant selection of cars and great to meet so many like minded and chilled out people. really was a very sociable atmosphere and we all had a great laugh. The MK ran great all day, shame i couldn't get the slicks on but had fun skidding it about on the skinny wet tyres!














Tiny bit of onboard footage too smile

www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD0Krlu1sk0






Edited by WillisRR on Tuesday 26th September 14:55

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Tuesday 26th September 2017
quotequote all
So I have been getting a bit itchy since the 350z went for a pretty boring e92 3 Series daily. The 350z was probably one of the best all rounders I have owned, Tein mono sports, sticky tyres, uprated brakes and seats/harnesses made the car amazing to drive every day, on GTs, Nurburgring trips and track days all year round but with our baby girl Lucy on the way I needed a car with 4 seats.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNxEfCTbivs&in...



Decided I needed a more practical track toy to compliment the MK since the Kit car is a little bit crap in the winter months and not inviting to drive on the road in the slightest so i set about looking for something for a bit of fun during the colder months and something I have wanted to build for a while now...


Mx5 Turbo time smile


Found this pretty mint base with just 60k miles and 2 previous owners and jumped on it. Being a sport version meant it already had the LSD and the MeisterRs and Roll bar/harness bar had just been fitted before sale.

Really like the moulded in ducktail spoiler and quickly got about putting the JR wheels with semis on.

Been busy fitting the Motordrive seats and Turnone harnesses amongst other things too and started researching/buying parts for the Turbo install.

So far I have...

T25/28 Hybrid turbo freshly rebuilt
stavaro manifold and downpipe
inconel studs and stage 8 locking hardware
alloy rad
megasquirt Enhanced ECU and wideband o2
upgraded injectors, jackson racing leads and plugs
Fast5 intercooler
Mocal Oil cooler
Stack mechanical boost gauge
nrg boss and quick release
side steps
aftermarket system
relocated washer fluid bottle
silicone hose kit
painted inlet and rocker cover
coolant reroute kit as the oem system does a double pass through the motor (not great for turbo track cars)
Skunk2 Throttle Body (as the oem throttle body butterfy bars are prone to cracking and firing the screws down your inlet)
Flyin Miata Clutch and 10lbs flywheel

few bits I have probably forgotten but ahh well. Just can't wait to get it built up and mapped in the next few months.

Still a few bits to get like the wilwood front brake kit, upgrade rear pads, braided lines and fluids, Geo and corner weight. Will be making a brace to take the weight of the turbo too as manifolds are often prone to cracking on these.

I wasn't after a mental monster power build. More of a responsive peppy install which i hope i will get from this setup. The install should see me around 240hp and the turbo should spool very quickly making it very drivable on track.... that is all in theory anyways! Nice to know the motors are so cheap i could pick up another and build it up with forged rods/pistons, change turbo and get remapped for 300hp smile. I am getting ahead of myself there mind!









Edited by WillisRR on Tuesday 26th September 15:21

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Wednesday 29th November 2017
quotequote all
Been a friken hectic few months but luckily as of last weekend well worth it!

The Turbo MX5 has been built up and was ready just in time for the first shakedown at Cadwell this Saturday.

It has been so enjoyable building this little car. Everything has been so methodical, I cant stress enough how much easier it was due to taking the motor out to prep everything rather than working in a tight engine bay.

Few unseen issues such as the turbo being too close to the chassis leg, which meant stiffer mounts had to be bought to reduce lateral movement.

Exhaust is a 2.5inch system all the way through but then backbox reduces to a tiny exit which bottlenecked the system like mad so a new Spoon N1 style backbox was welded on and flow vastly improved.

The throttle body and coolant reroute wouldn’t work together so I had to make my own section of coolant pipe to combat this.

Other than that I didn’t really appreciate how tightly packaged everything is! Managing coolant lines, turbo coolant lines, vac lines, oil drain, power steering unit/lines, air filter and intercooler is friken tight and has taken some thought to tackle heat transfer/management. Enjoyable task none the less. Lot's of fire sleeve and shielding. Same at the rear with coolant lines, brake pipes and downpipe!

The end result has really surprised me. It’s given the motor so much character! It reminds me of a little condensed 200sx!

IMG_5151 by Will O, on Flickr

IMG_5178 by Will O, on Flickr

Inconel studs and stage 8 fasteners help prevent the turbo falling off>

IMG_5228 by Will O, on Flickr

Coolant reroute stops the coolant doing a double pass through the head and over cooking>>

IMG_5215 by Will O, on Flickr

Sump removed, tapped and refitted with fresh gaskets. Having the motor on a stand made things easy as pie>>

IMG_5384 by Will O, on Flickr

IMG_5237 by Will O, on Flickr
FlyinMiata clutch and lightweight flywheel on>>

IMG_5388 by Will O, on Flickr


Coolant reroute pipe made with tighter 90deg sections to help clear the throttlebody. I used the Skunk2 throttlebody as the oem ones are known to snap and ingest the butterfly bar on boost/heavily used applications>>

IMG_4862 by Will O, on Flickr

OPHB0059 by Will O, on Flickr

I made a bar that bolts across the front slam panel to hang the intercooler, oil cooler and PAS cooler lines>>

IMG_5678 by Will O, on Flickr


To give the manifold a fighting chance (until I upgrade to a cast blackcat kraken manifold) I took it to a friend Iain at retrospeedshop and we brace the turbo to head and downpipe to gearbox>>

IMG_6518 by Will O, on Flickr


IMG_5695 by Will O, on Flickr


New OMP wheel, extension and Nexus using Bluetooth to talk to ecu>>

IMG_5727 by Will O, on Flickr


RZGM9595 by Will O, on Flickr


IMG_5859 by Will O, on Flickr

Mapping at Blink Motorsport>>

IMG_6115 by Will O, on Flickr






Edited by WillisRR on Wednesday 29th November 10:09

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Wednesday 29th November 2017
quotequote all
Yussss!!! I didn't crash and it didn't blow up haha!

After a pretty hectic 8 weeks getting the car sorted we were greeted to a very cold, damp and icy Cadwell Park on Saturday morning.

IMG_6724 by Will O, on Flickr

IMG_6723 by Will O, on Flickr

IMG_6714 by Will O, on Flickr

Must have been one of the quietest Cadwell days I have done and the driving standards/etiquette was so great. No real issues to report other than the ONE thing I had to get a local garage to do was a brake fluid swap. The dark/cold evenings just left me unable/unwilling to do this myself so i got them to take care of this for me..... The pedal was so spongey and system clearly had air trapped which was gutting, easily fixed though for next time and with the conditions i wasn't really braking aggressively anyways.

The downpipe to exhaust was blowing a tad so had to tighten up the bolts at one point but other than that everything just kept working! Temps stayed steady although the fuel gauge kept plummeting yes

Conditions were sketchy which just made me dick around. I know sideways is slow.... but it's just sooo fun for a child like me haha.

300mm wheel is probably a touch too small, tyres are now toast so will be getting the appropriate AD08Rs fitted and have bought some foam tape to try and seal the hardtop to windscreen a little better.

Also EVOs are rapid. I had no hope haha. Bring on Oulton!

Vid from the day>>
https://youtu.be/VR5k1bzuz4s


IMG_6769 by Will O, on Flickr

IMG_6764 by Will O, on Flickr

IMG_6772 by Will O, on Flickr

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Friday 1st December 2017
quotequote all
Cheers bud, for the complete cost it really is a brilliant little package!

Only time will tell if it is reliable and hardy though!! Like everything these things escalate.... I am already looking at forged rods to build a motor that can take a bit more power. Luckily motors are so cheap it makes it viable. 300hp seems to be the limit the 6spd gearboxes can comfortably take so that will be the limit i guess!

WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
quotequote all
Long time no update but glad to say the winter has been full of successful track days in the mx5 Turbo!

Full vids of the last few track days below>>

Dec Oulton Highlights>>
https://youtu.be/jo7YPqCf6xM

How to Budget Turbo Mx5 vid>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayO3pX1uuTc

Donington Park>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p7oOojtQnU

One Clear lap of Dony>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50f5XHFUznY

Oulton Park February>>
https://youtu.be/9Yo9jpUflGE




Went to Oulton in December and basically just skidded about for the day in horrid icy wet conditions...

Luckily I had got some AD08Rs on just in time.





Turbo Glow smile





Then on to Donington in Jan for the first dry outing! Put some real heat in the tyres and felt the brakes starting to struggle>>




Then decided to take things a little further with an APR Carbon wing and little front splitter after the great results we had doing similar on Matts mx5>>







Then Off to Oulton again for another dry and sunny track day! Result! Brakes really struggled here though and by 4:30 it was metal on metal. Pretty much perfect timing though really after an amazing full day of laps and a few tanks of fuel burnt!










WillisRR

Original Poster:

79 posts

129 months

Wednesday 28th February 2018
quotequote all
So a bit of a splurge on the MX5 and a few more track days booked. Will be back at Oulton on 27th March and Anglesey April 16th although weather permitting that will be in the MK.



- Freaky parts 280mm F and 276mm R disc and caliper spacers ordered along with braided lines.
- Carbotech RP2 pads ordered (Originally went for XP10s but changed last minute hoping for better economy/life out of the RP2s)
- 10kg springs for the front MeisterRs and will transfer 6kgs to rear
- Brake ducting and mounting rings too


Ohh and some 8j Enke(ish) JRs so I can run some wider R888R/AR-1s moving forward

(Crappy pics, but all I could get before light faded!)