S13 Update: Nearly Track Ready

The S13 is nearing completion - and not a moment too soon. For this Saturday, I'll be attending a closed track day at the Sepang International Circuit :).

With the engine rebuild completed, I shifted my focus to the car's handling. The S13 was still running stock sway bars. After installing a full set of Hard Race suspension upgrades (pillow ball tension rods, lower rear arms, rear camber kit etc), along with Nismo bushings and solid sub frame collars, the old bars just wouldn't cut it. The rear felt very solid and the front somewhat weak. This might affect turn-in and promote understeer. As such, it needed stiffening and the stock bars were just too skinny. That's why I opted for a full set of front and back Cusco stabiliser bar kit. They arrived from Japan and here is the reason why they are going onto the car:

Cusco Stabiliser bar kit for front - (P)S13. 28mm diameter (Standard is 24mm). 131% stiffness comparison.

Cusco Stabiliser bar kit for rear - (P)S13. 18mm diameter (Standard is 16mm). 114% stiffness comparison.

Along with the Cusco bars, I ordered Nismo Braided Clutch Hoses for both the S13 and the R33 GT-R. Compared to the factory stock rubber hose, stainless steel mesh was adopted by Nismo for a much lower rate of expansion. The Teflon interior of the pipe provides a low pipe frictional coefficient and smooth flow volume characteristics, for more direct clutch operations. So in other words, there is no room for volumetric expansion. Not only will the Nismo braided clutch hose firm up pedal feel but it'll also make the clutch function precisely, by not allowing the hose to swell and lose pressure.

Now all that's left is to upgrade the car's suspensions. It's currently running JIC high lows and as some of you might know, you need fully adjustable suspension for the track. I'm looking at buying a used set of Aragostas but at the sametime, quite keen to see what RCS - Radical Chassis Solutions - can do for my ride. It's headed by Nanda Kumar, who has some 15 years of experience in rallying. According to a review by Tom of Zerotohundred, Nanda was trained by Lotus Engineering and has served as an engineer there for some years. So, he probably knows a thing or two about suspensions, and handling, of the Lotus kind.

More updates to come, so stay tuned :).

New Project: Time Attack Car

With the R33 GT-R rebuild nearing completion, its time to to start a new project. It has always been my intention to purchase, rebuild and track a car. Basically, I'm looking for a road legal track car to carry out time attack runs in Sepang International Circuit (SIC). Now the next question is, what car to get?

Unlike in Australia, the UK or the States, we Malaysians are shafted when it comes to used cars. In Australia for example, you could purchase a decent road legal Nissan S13 or S14 for as little as RM10,000 - RM15,000 ringgit. Due to the high Malaysian import tax on cars (300% import duties on all foreign cars), used car prices are similarly affected. What this means is that a used S13 or S14 will probably cost three times as much in Malaysia a compared to a similar car in Australia. This makes it a challenge for the average person to pursue his or her motoring dream, to build a drift machine or to own a dedicated track car.

We now move on to the question of what make and model would be suitable for a time attack car. I've narrowed it down to a few budget (and not so budget) vehicles, seeing as this should be cost saving exercise. After all, a time attack car would require a further outlay of money in order to make it track ready.

And here are the contenders with their pros and cons:

 

  Nissan S13 Silvia Coupe

Pros

• Good RWD base to build up from
• Easy to get power out of the Nissan SR20 engine
• Option to retro-fit parts from other Nissan models
• Massive amount of aftermarket parts
• Huge supply of halfcuts and spare parts that are already in Malaysia

Cons

• Can be expensive to purchase
• Difficult to find one in good condition and tastefully modified
 

Honda Integra DC2

Pros

• Light weight
• Rigid chassis
• Loads of aftermarket parts available
• Plenty of halfcuts and spare parts that already in Malaysia

Cons

• Its a FWD, meaning the front wheels have to not only steer the car but also slow it down
• A bit expensive to produce big power being an N/A car
• Parts can be expensive

 Mazda MX-5 (First Gen / NA)

Pros

• Extremely capable chassis
• Engine responds well to mods, especially when turbocharged

Cons

• Manual units are rare in Malaysia
• Turbo kit has to be sourced from abroad (costly)
• Not as many halfcuts and spare parts compared to the other cars on this list
• Cars in good condition still command high prices
• Standard 1.6 N/A engine is gutless and seriously lacking in torque

Subaru WRX GC8

Pros

• Great AWD race car platform
• Capable car even in stock form
• Option to retro-fit parts from STI models

Cons

• Expensive to purchase
• Finding one in good condition is difficult
• Parts aren't cheap
• Stock GC8 WRX gearbox is crap
• Full STI conversion costs a lot of money
• Can be expensive to get big power out of the Subaru EJ engine

 Mitsubishi Evo II to VIII

Pros

• Amazing AWD race car platform
• Very capable even in stock form
• Some models are 'race ready' (i.e. Evo VI Tommi Makinen Edition)

Cons

• Very expensive to purchase
• Difficult to find genuine Evos in good condition
• Will be expensive to produce big power after a certain point

So which car to get? Find out in the next blog posting!