Tango

They are AP Racing 5000R+ so calipers are OK but discs and pads probably require changing.

They're more than glazed, rough them up and they glaze up again immediately. Think new pads and discs are on the agenda.

It was just a matter of adjusting the coilovers until it stopped hitting the bump stops . The brake pads are not wearing down at all, neither are the discs so something is definitely wrong. It could be the friction material has been baked so often and is too old to be effective but not something I've come across before. They'll slow the car down but at the expense of having to brake earlier than you'd like and the heat build up in the calipers can then be a problem. Obvious answer is new pads, discs, or perhaps a big brake kit, and a valve to set front/rear brake balance would help a lot.

Japfest Donnington last Saturday, split screen vid of the MR2 and S/C Celica (two cars featured in Banzai Magazine July edition). Celica top screen MR2 lower. Tried running the MR2 without the temporary Vee silencers but got pulled off for being too loud so clamped back on for this session. - Cubic capacity versus supercharged - Torque versus BHP ? - RWD versus FWD https://youtu.be/ol2Yx_nZbMA

Not decided but as the new one is definitely not fit for purpose it needs to be rectified so it'll be up to Rogue. If the car fails noise tests at Donnington tomorrow he'll have to run with those clamp ons (which one of the Infinity Exhaust guys managed to fabricate at Castle Combe). Testing at Combe was static whereas Donny is drive by so with any luck it'll scrape through with have to use them. He's back on the learning curve with the extra power, but having to brake a bit earlier because of a lack of confidence in the brakes. Even so the passenger experience with the 'G' force is a bit horrific, my crash hat is taking a beating on the roll cage!

Remap helped but real issue was restrictive intake so put a larger. Intake with a bigger filter and bhp shot up on the dyno by almost 50 bhp. Track day at Combe today but static noise check was 102 dB so not allowed on track. Rigged a temporary fix and managed two sessions which were absolutely manic, faster lap times than he’d done before. However, slowing the thing down is now a problem as the current setup can’t cope...development never stops I guess. Donnington this weekend so silencer and brake improvements will have to wait

Here's the comparison of the original (top one) and the newly modified relieving the stress points. We need to keep the shafts as weak link in the drive chain to protect clutch/gearbox etc. which would be more expensive to replace in time and money, especially as it's heading to Surrey this afternoon for a remap as it's always been set up slightly de-tuned as a 24 hour endurance racer. To help with the bhp improvements Rogue has custom-built a twin pipe exhaust system in stainless steel, which given the limited space is a work of art. However although it's quiet enough to hold a decent conversation at motorway cruising speed, it's absolutely deafening when the foot goes to the floor so will need to find a way to sort that as I'm sure that at most tracks it'll be a problem passing the noise tests.

They had to be modified to fit the V6 installation. Advised Rogue on not repeating the stress raisers but they had already worked that out and machined a new pair of shafts accordingly.

The shafts were modified MR2 Turbo ones. Unfortunately Rogue machined sharp corners instead of radii so there was a stress point, just fortunate it held on the drive back home from Santa Pod..failed completely a few hundred yards from home. XILX3335.MP4

Well I did tell him not to put a circuit car on a drag strip.....completely sheared a driveshaft like snapping a carrot. OK the car doesn't weigh much but holding high revs and dropping the clutch from a standstill with R888 sticky tyres will definitely test the complete drivechain. Just fortunate the weak link was only the shaft. LVEB5740.MP4

Why put a circuit car on a drag strip? Just doesn't make sense. It's all about BHP and getting that power down so the outcome of going up against a car with a lot more BHP over 1/4 mile is fairly predicable. OK the power to weight ratio will make a difference and no doubt that GTR would lose out on the circuit and as for doing it again against a 'lesser' opponent well again what's the point?

Bit unnecessary though, not a lot of skill in running a track car in a straight line just extra wear and tear on the running gear. Had a few words

Don't know why he thought taking on a 500-600 bhp GTR was a good idea though ...David and Goliath springs to mind. WNXY9392.MP4

Give the edge a clout with a lump hammer, if they're copies most likely will fracture, BBS forgings will just distort. Fair bet they're cast replicas of the original forged and heat treated rims looking at those pics.

He took it to a show at Santa Pod today but he said it was just a car meet so wouldn't put it on the strip... yea right. Just sent me a copy of of his three runs.. Only 0.2 seconds slower than a 310bhp MR2 turbo in a straight line, probably because of the extra torque. Hate to think what the car will do when it's correctly mapped and charged. Better sort out the suspension niggles then

Are you certain they're really original forged BBS rims?

There's another 3 pages of write up and pics so yes well pleased especially for him as it wasn't/isn't easy to do with a tight budget, just a lot of effort and time.

The car made the July edition, quite a good review too

It ran fine at the JDM Combe event last Saturday except for the last session where we think the combination of tyre pressures and lack of dampening on the rear caused a couple of problems just riding uneven surfaces on the straights. Unfortunately the car was sent back out on track immediately after the last session for a 'top 25' parade lap which meant cruising around in convoy with press/TV in an open top vehicle so (a) didn't have time to check the pressures while the tyres were hot and (b) unable to top up the tank so only just made it off the track before running out of fuel. With the new rubber the car carries a lot more speed through the corners so exaggerates any instability. Really have got to sort this before getting a remap let alone a charger.

It's a closed unit so possibly its 3 bits that have broken away from the assembly between the face plate and outer steel cover clutch cover. Would have liked to investigate further but the broken bits are in the Rogue scrap bin, 86 miles away. Just very relieved it wasn't the gearbox. Rear springs on the coilovers currently are 10kg x 180mm on softest setting so looking at 8 kg as think 5 kg might be too soft. what do you think?

The clutch called it a day a couple of weeks ago, intermittent problems changing gears so not obvious what the problem was especially as clutch isn't that old. We took it to Rogue to disassemble and they found what appears to be bits of clutch cover broken off and stuck in the clutch fingers. New clutch fitted and all well again so far. Also found something behind the driveshaft seals had completely melted from hot oil temperatures, possibly a slosh guard or similar. The sister car is still racing in the 750 motor club race series (without it's supercharger) and it's completed 3x24 hour races with the same type clutch without any problems or melting parts but it's been fitted with with a gearbox oil cooler. Ordered a Earls cooler which arrived a couple of days ago, too late for JDM at Castle Combe today. Pleased to say the new rear tyres appear to have solved the handling problems although the track temperature was pretty high today and the numpty driver didn't check the pressures before the last session and it was a little tail happy again. So gear oil cooler and softer springs to be fitted before the next track day, and before fitting the Rotrex.

I would load a pic but too embarrassed. Put new rubber on the rear and it's obvious that the original rubber was grossly over inflating due to heat input on track as the wear pattern showed a thin (bicycle tyre width) contact area with the very centre line with no rubber compound at all. Think we'll start the next session at 23 psi and measure the pressure directly after coming off track and adjust accordingly. Also put the car on the dyno and it appears the original map was set for over fueling and timing to minimise heat input for engine reliability during the 24 hour endurance race it was built for. Long learning curve but hopefully steady progress and more horse power could well be available.

Yep, left hand drive and the 'gasoline' sign is a bit of a clue.

They are TTE adjustables Tony . I think I stated earlier in the post that they were Whiteline adjustables as Rogue told us, but they're TTE's. I've attached a few samples from the track vids showing the problem which I think is due to tyre overinflation at track temperatures. Doesn't help that the R888's on the rear are 7 years old so the compound may be a little harder than ideal. New tyres ordered just for the rear as the fronts were changed a couple of months ago. IMG_1551.MP4

Mag will be on sale at Donington Japfest which is 13th July so presume it's in the July edition (there's 13 issues per annum). Digital on-line editions require a subscription. Car performed OK at Silverstone but the long corners showed a strong tendency to oversteer. Underestimated how much the R888's pressures increase as they get up to track temperature and they're also a bit old so need new ones. Could do with a supercharger too...