J's Intake and RBC

Quick update.

There are quite a few teething problems making the J's induction kit and RBC fit together:

• Inducion hose - You cannot use any off the shelf induction hose to mate up the throttle body and intake pipe. You can modify one and force it to fit but it puts too much stress on the air box. Tom was definitely not happy with this so he's asked one of his contacts to make up a custom one which will hopefully be spun up on Monday. 
• Aircon pipe - when fitting a RBC, you would typically move and remount the aircon pipe to the right. There is absolutely no way you can do this with the J's airbox in the way. A custom pipe will be needed that's more flexible. For the time being, Tom has de-gassed/blocked off the aircon, and taken the pipe off.
• Sensor cables extended - due to lack of room around the airbox and RBC

Note, if we had kept the PRC inlet manifold on, everything would have fitted perfectly. We're breaking new ground here (in terms of fitment) in the UK and I'm glad it's in Tom's hands as he doesn't compromise on quality of work.

Anyway some photos

J's Racing carbon fibre Tsuchinoko intake dominating the engine bay :)

Shiney shiney RBC inlet manifold

Inside the air box of the J's Intake

What I probably haven't mentioned before is that I have gone with full J's Racing breathing mods which would encompass the following:

• J's Racing carbon fibre Tsuchinoko intake (as above)
• J's Racing 4-2 Manifold
• J's Racing 2-1 Decat
• J's Racing C304 60RS exhaust
• And of course the RBC inlet manifold port matched to a true 70mm throttle body (not J's Racing)

The car wasn't on the ramps so I couldn't snap any full on pictures but I could of course take a few :)

J's Racing 4-2 Manifold

J's Racing C304 60RS exhaust

Brembo F50 Calipers and 2 Piece Race Disc Set Up

I might have mentioned that at some point I would upgrade from the Dixcels. Minimum upgrade would be a 2 piece floating disc/bell design but keeping the OEM brembo calipers. If I were to go this route I would most probably go with the DBA 5000 discs possibly mated with Hawk HP Plus pads.

Don't get me wrong, the Dixcel slotted rotors and Z Type pads are an excellent combo and I would recommend them to anyone. BUT, given the direction my car is going, one piece discs with OEM calipers don't really match up to the rest of my mods for example - Nitron NTR Race dampers, CE28's, one piece brake discs and oem calipers.....
You see what I mean? My car will be a show case of top notch components. And of course it will still be tracked!

So with the above in mind, I was having a chin wag with Tom today and it so happened he was thinking the same thing and so mentioned he had the perfect brake kit in mind. It obviously wouldn't be as aggressive as the TGM race car. For example if you just take the calipers, they run full on Brembo race calipers which have no dust seals etc etc. Additionally If I remember correctly they also run Hawk DTC-70 pads.

So what did he suggest?

• Brembo F50 Calipers
• 332x32 fully floating 2 piece race disc set up (FYI, DC5R OEM discs are 300mm)
• Our choice of pad compound to suit (most probably one of the Hawk Ferro-Carbon pad range)

I would probaby have to run spacers at the front but then we are doing that anyway due the wider J's front fenders.
It would take 3 weeks for Brembo to make up the kit (anodizing etc usually takes the majority of this time) and the calipers are only available in black (which I really like!). Anyway, these are exactly what the calipers will look like.

I think very late braking will be quite common for me on track! o_0



It's finally happening!

The day hath finally cometh, my car has been dropped off at TGM for it's transformation. Slowly but surely, it's taken over a year for all the vital parts of my build to be made and shipped to the UK. I realise that I haven't divulged information on all my mods but it will happen :)

I spent a fair bit of time there, mainly because I wanted to seal my wheels before they were put on the car. 1 coat of Werkstat Prime Strong and 3 coats of poorboys wheel sealant (only 2 on the rim face) per wheel. Add the curing time between layers and you see why I was there for a while.

Sealed, with centre cap mocked into position to see what the comb looked like

My Nitrons had been built and delivered to TGM so Tom brought them out for me to take a peek. They were the same as the ones they had ordered for their second race car, albeit the spring rates and valving would of course be different. I know I've said this before but I'm very impressed with the build quality of these coilovers. You really do get what you pay for.

We discussed geo settings where I wanted Umemoto san's 'road' recommendation (haha), -2.5 front and -1.5 rear camber. I had no other value specified settings but I did tell Tom I wanted a faster turn in. Given his vast experience with setups I left it with him (like I did with the Nitron specs) to decide what toe and caster angles to run.

I absolutely can't wait!

Snetterton 300

Another track day with HOT. This time at Snetterton 300. Conditions were excellent and the new track layout was very enjoyable (3 miles a lap). I definitely want to go back again as there's lots for me to work on! :)

Favourite corner of the day had to be Bomb Hole, followed by Coram and Riches - basically the fastest corners hehe.

Least favourite corner was The Esses (Brundle and Nelson) - I was scrubbing off too much speed on the approach to Brundle. However I was told the secret to taking the Esses was to trail brake all the way through Brundle (great instruction!). After this eureka moment the corner was a joy :D
Hairpins are also never a favourite and will always be something for me to work on - I've got a few things lined up to address this though :)

As always with HOT events, there were plenty of quick, track orientated cars and fast drivers with excellent track etiquette. Such a high standard of driving really encourages you to improve as a driver and notice the areas of your car that need addressing. If you're a Honda owner I would thoroughly recommend going with these guys no matter if you're a race driver or a complete beginner.

Snetterton 300 circuit layout (2.99 miles)

Thanks to the guys at HOT for taking some excellent pictures on the day.