Clive's 400 BHP Super GT RX-8 Race Car

[jinx]

Nobody cheats at club level?  They all cheat if they can and can afford to - it\'s called \'gaining a competitive advantage\' until you get caught.  

Production saloon racers used to be forbidden brake balance valves yet they were in every glove box and no scrutineer ever looked because they knew what they would find if they did.  At one extreme there are rules, at the other...an empty grid!  

Back then there were often two supposedly identical cars side by side, one of them running the standard suspension as defined by the rules while the other one was lower and sporting several degrees of negative camber.  The rewards were small so nobody ever said anything and the guys with the standard set up kicked themselves for not having thought of it first or for being unable to afford the different, circuit specific, set ups it took to run at the front of the class.

Motor sport rules have always been a game of cat and mouse and that won\'t change while the bloke behind the wheel wants to win...or just keep up with all the other cheating b*****ds.

The Nippon series used to have access to a mobile dyno for random HP testing if they chose to invoke the rules.  They probably still do.  Whether they ever elected to use it is another matter altogether!

[BlitzBoy]

:Thumbs-up Thanks for the info Jinx, very good insight what goes into circuit racing

[boosted]

AND MONEY....This is at all levels....starts at karting...the kid with the rich dad has the best of everything....the kid with talent and shoestring budget comes 2nd!  
Remember Damon Hill?

[BlitzBoy]

racing = empty wallet lol

[Grant Monkhouse]

racing and women = empty wallet lol

Fixed that for you blitz

[boosted]

racing = empty wallet lol

Oh yes! I\'m working boxing day overtime in fact got xmas day off New Years day and working the rest OT and lieu! To keep the coffers coming in. I\'ll be all right but if i have a big crash its all over!

[BlitzBoy]

Fixed that for you blitz

Thanks I thought I forgot something lol

[re japi]

I agree with Grant and Jinx. In motorsports, everyone allways tryes to "bend" the rules to gain advance. That is just the way it is. No matter if its cheap or expensive...

Dunno about circuit racing, but Ohlins is the best in gravel. Lately Tein has done a good job too. Their coilovers works a little bit differently that old type coilovers, so Tein has a little advantage now. I have understand that KW is good at streets but at the track in racing...

Well, to get good balance for the car, it really is difficult. You have to be a rocket science My opinion is that if its possible, try to get few pro drivers to test it and tell their thoughts about what to do with setup...

[boosted]

:rollin:Dvroom vroom video today?:Tongue1:yes:cool

[clive]

:rollin:Dvroom vroom video today?:Tongue1:yes:cool

Sorry no vid,that will have to wait till Brands where I\'m sure somebody will take somthing.
Just been sorting the wastgate piping out etc, plus fitting seat belts for the passenger so I can get the car mapped.

[exiled-viking]

passenger seat, woo wee :yes:yes:yes don\'t remove it to quickly i could always make a meet for a ride

[clive]

passenger seat, woo wee :yes:yes:yes don\'t remove it to quickly i could always make a meet for a ride

I still intend on coming along to track days with it and will reinstall the passenger seat accordingly:Thumbs-up

[clive]

To answer the suspension question,

Shocks are Tein Mono Flex but with different spring rates, plus Tein wish to be involved in the car and will be sending me one of their new Active Kits FOC for me to test and assess with feed back to them.

They have also offered to re-valve the shocks to my specs if I wish to change the damping characteristics for free.

I also have Racing Beat Roll bars with a lighter MK3 MX-5 rear bar should I wish to soften the rear, somthing I may well try in testing as it takes away oversteer.

Fitted brand new front lower arms to give me hopefully reliability riding those kerbs should I wish to, plus all the arms and link bars are rebushed with Urethane front and rear.  

Then to round off the package, Racing Beat adjustable roll bar end links front and rear.

[BlitzBoy]

That active kit looks the nuts

[clive]

IT\'S FINISHED :driving just needs Mapping and testing, which will start at Brands on the 9th unless some horrendous problem shows up


Over the last week I have finished off the exhaust system, plumbed the wastegate pipe back in which means I should actually get past the noise tests now.


Sorted out various normal wiring issues like the rear indicators not working, wiring up my FIA rain light plus a skid for the sump due to it sitting slightly below the crossmember children and animals being consumed by the dear little Tubo in a cartoonesque fashion .

Also I found yet again, you can\'t believe all that\'s written on the internet!

Sorted out various normal wiring issues like the rear indicators not working, wiring up my FIA rain light plus a skid for the sump due to it sitting slightly below the cross member and fitted a gauze for the Turbo inlet to stop children and small animals being sucked in by the dear little Turbo in a cartoonesque fashion .

Also I found yet again you can\'t believe all that\'s written on the internet!

The RX-8 fuel system is a return-less system with our system we now have a return dumping fuel back to the tank via a union in the top of the fuel pot.

This entailed removing the internal regulator which in theory helps to syphon fuel from the other saddle tank.

Aston was looking around and found that somebody reckoned they had connected the new return to the removed regulator inlet next to the fuel pump!

Sounded right in theory but not in practice as the fuel return just backed up on itself and caused a fuel leak !!!!!!!!!!!!


Now reverted back to just dumping the fuel straight back in the tank and all is well again.



I have had the car started several times over the last week and pleased to say that there are NO error codes appearing now at all:Party.



Another piece of news is that Tein have come through with the Active EDFC system for the car and sent it to me, which adds up to £500 worth of sponsorship.

I joked to Tein “ I hope they didn’t want 10 ft wide stickers” and instead they have just asked that I place these small stickers where they wished them to be (see below)

Looks like a staggering piece of kit with GPS and a G Force meter to calculate when and how to adjust the damping while on-track.

Interestingly they chose to back me rather than something in Time Attack or whatever due to the Nippon series being a “man in the street” formula that does not have 100K + cars competing.

Fingers crossed the mapping and systems checks go ok, then it’s off to Brands for initial testing