Beatrush is here!

I've already written about the Beatrush underpanel here. However when it would actually arrive I wasn't sure, Until I woke up this morning :)

3.8kg by the way.

Progress Updates

I went down to TGM this morning to drop off my spare wheel. On approach I noticed this.

My Function7 lower control arms and rear subframe brace were on. However the F7 anti-roll bar brackets were not on yet as the oem bushes are of a different shape. Tom is sourcing aftermarket bushes that will fit though so once he gets those the brackets will be on.

I took a look at the new Koyo radiator and it's lovely even though it's hiding behind the aircon condensor. I really can't wait to see what water temps I will be getting at Snetterton in March. With the oem radiator, my running temperature is 90°C and on track it shoots up to over 110°C easily!

Koyo R-Series Competition Radiator peeking out behind the aircon condensor.

Whilst I was there I found out what brake pads Tom had chosen. I knew they would be Hawk pads but didn't know what Tom had put in. I had told Tom I wanted something aggressive as I don't drive the teg often (or fast) on the road, only fast on track. Additionally I really don't care about squeeling brakes. Squeeling brake pads scream motorsport to me instead of embaressment.

What this meant was I wanted something more than the Hawk HP Plus, which is a fast road/track day pad. I was guessing that it would be something like the HT-10, however Tom had chosen the DTC-70, Hawk's top race compound!

Hawk DTC-70 brake pad. I was surprised the backing came in red but looks awesome (I know that's not the point)

I was secretly very happy about this as I was contemplating running two sets of pads, a low dust street pad for the road and the DTC-70's for track. Afterall, changing brake pads with my calipers is stupidly quick and going halfway house with the pads given this caliper/disc set up is a cop out and was bugging me :)

The DTC-70's operate at 204-871°C (400-1600°F) and  have an extremely high torque. They are designed to have aggressive, controllable initial bite with great release and torque control characteristics. The pads are designed for race cars with high deceleration rates with or without down force.

Spare Wheel

So a while back I was faced with a conundrum. Given the huge calipers under the front wheels, it is almost guaranteed my OEM wheels will not fit over them even with hubcentric spacers. This is because the spacers will be sized for the CE28's which are wider and have a lower offset, thus giving more clearance.
So what happens if I get a front puncture? There are two immediate options for this:

1. Keep the standard spare or an OEM wheel in the boot - swap one of the rear CE28's to the front and put the OEM on the rear. However you never know where (and under what conditions) you might end up having to change a wheel; rather one than two. Additionally I would need OEM wheel nuts for that wheel as the taper seat is different (not that that is an issue).
2. Tyre Weld - I always have a couple of cans in the boot, but to be honest I have seen a friend use this first hand and I wasn't impressed. Maybe he didn't use it correctly but even if this was true, his application of it looked sensible to me and thus I would expect to simliarly fail..

There is of course a third option, which is to keep another CE28 spare wheel in the boot. For me personally, the outlay of a brand new CE28 is not worth it as they are uber expensive. But if you can find one second hand..... ;)

Progress - Nitrons

Nitrons are on. Big thanks to Dotty for the spy photos :)

Progress - Brake Kit, Engine Mounts and Suspension

Today I was sent some build pictures of my car by one of my many spies (F2K) who was down at TGM for something or other.

Front bumper off to accomodate a new Koyo R-Series Competition radiator.

Avid engine mounts on. You can make out the driver's side mount next to the power steering reservoir.

Race brakes are on with some temporary front wheels as the OEM wheels are too small to fit over them. I cannot wait for the CE28's to go on!

And last but not least, my Nitrons were laid out in the workshop waiting to be fitted :)

Very excited!

Thanks again to my dorifto mate Jase a.k.a. F2K for the pictures.

Vision Technica Wide Blue Mirrors

Discontinued and in my possession (although not really that hard to get). Vision's wide blue side mirrors give wider visibility than standard wing mirrors due to their convex shape and have a anti-glare blue coating. They are handy for reducing blind spots, however as they were produced for race use, they shouldn't be a substitute for looking over your shoulder on the road!

I was in two minds whether to get these as although they provide a wider viewing angle, they also present everything reflected as being smaller and thus further away than standard mirrors. However this is not a big issue as it just requires getting used to new judgement distances.

Pictures below.