Sunday 11 September 2011

Introductory Quasi Ceremonial Explanatory Welcome Post

Welcome to all that are viewing this, however it is that you came across my blog.
The majority of my posts will be about my track day project i'm in the very early stages of building.
Aside from that any other posts will likely just be my general ramblings about motorsport,sport,music or what ever else feels topical to me at the time.

So to introduce you to my project to all.
I have a 1990 R32 Nissan Skyline GTS-t which i've now owned for just short of six years.
I had always intened to modify it to a fairly considerable extent, but for the first 3-4years or so it remaned virtualy standard(mainly due to a lack of funds) and was my daily driver to and from work and everywhere else.

The only modifications it had at this point were a larger intercooler, the rear wing was removed, and a new set of coils were fitted after 2 of the standard ones burnt out( it sounded like a truck lol)

It was about at this point that i got a second car(mr levin) allowing me to virtualy take the skyline off the road and get more serious with it.
The timing of this also coincided with going out to watch a work mate of mine (Daryl) race his V8 powered Ford Escort at Queensland Raceway and Lakeside Park Raceway(below)

It was around this time i decided the skyline would eventualy be taken off the road for good and become a dedicated track car.
So i began getting as many track focused parts as i could when i could afford them.
This began with a new set of brake discs and performance pads.Which i fitted with the help of my mate Allan.

DBA Discs and Project Mu HC+ Pads


A set of Coil-over Suspension, Swaybars,Strutt Braces,a Lock Bar to cancel out the rear steering, and Alloy Bushes for the rear sub-frame.Which i fitted with the help of my mates Lama and Stick

Strutt Braces,Lock Bar,and Bushes


Whiteline Swaybars




ISC Coil-overs
Then i got a new set of wider wheels and some better tyres, which took some custom rolling of the gaurds(read dodgey) in order to fit properly.


It was in this spec that i took it out for it's first(and so far only) track day at Lakeside Park Raceway where i was joined by another work mate dean in his turbo charged Toyota Hilux.

Me in the Skyline at Lakeside


Dean in his Hilux at Lakeside

It was a very enjoyable day for us both and all the mods i'd done to the car at that point felt to be working very well indeed.
However the day was not without dramas, it seamed the factory cooling system of the skyline was not entirely up to the task after a number of consecutive hot laps, and once up to these slightly higher tempuritures only encounered on the track the old radiator hoses were no longer to seal properly and i ended up with a few coolant leaks.
Once cooled down and with the clamps tightened up some more i was able to drive home from the track with no dramas at all.
It did however prove a valuable lesson for the future. As everyone always says(myself included) the track brings any weakness to the surface!

So after that day at the track i orederd some new radiator hoses, a new alluminium radiator, and a couple of thermo fans to go with it. The car has also recently be de-registered and taken off the road for good.

That day at Lakeside was June 2010, and to be honest not a lot has happened to it since then.
Pretty much all i have done since is accumulating parts for the real build the car was always eventualy going to recieve. Unfortunately like so many other people finances always seem to be the problem on projects like this.
But the parts i've since been able to get include a new turbo, a fixed back racing seat, valves, valve springs and retainers, and valve guides(which are currently on the way)

Borg Warner S300SX-60 Turbo




My Seat




Supertech Oversized Valves




Supertech Valve Springs And Retainers

And that's where the build currently stands.
But here in lies the start of the interesting part.
You see i've just decided to set myself the target(deadline if you prefer) of getting the car finished in time to compete at the World Time Attack Challange at Sydneys Eastern Creek Raceway next year which should be around august.
For anyone who hasn't heard of time attack it's best to think of it as very highly modified road cars competing to run the fastest lap they can on street legal tyres.
So think of it as a 2 day qualifying session.
This year saw the fastest time attack cars from australia, japan, new zealand, and the usa.

The winner of both of the World Time Attack Challanges so far held.(2010 and 2011)
Cyber Evo out of japan.


First of all i know i will be no where near the pace of the fastest cars, where as this year the winning lap time was 1min 28.8seconds my goals are a little bit down to earth.
My goal is to run just under the 1min 40second mark.

However even to achieve this time will require a very serious car.
So to even have a chance i need to build a motor suitable for this( about 500hp at the wheels),
i 'll need to get a clutch,gearbox,and differential that can handle that amount of power.
I'll need to remove a considerable amount of weight from the car, my goal is to get the wieght down to about 1100kg.
I'll need a considerable amount of downforce, for which i'll be making an entire body kit of my own design(with a large emphasis put on the undertray)
And most importanly i'll need a lot of practice to get comfortable with the car/track and get my skill level to the point where i'm able to run such a lap time.


So if you have any interest in this story please feel free to follow this blog and make any comments you wish to make.
It isn't the kind of project where there'll always be much new progress to post about i'll try to keep up to date with progress,photos,and eventualy videos as much as possible.
If anyone finds it an interesting,helpfull,or enjoyable read then i'll be happy!

Thank you all.

1 comment:

Bec said...

Happy first post and welcome to the world of blogging, babe :)

I didn't realise how many parts you have already aquired! I know there are still a lot left you need. But you've made a start!

This was definitely a good read, I think you should do a post about Mr Levin next :D lol

xo