PS13 Silvia drift car
Thread revival - the car is still here
Well. i might not have been the best at updating this project thread at all last year, but the car made it to various Norfolk Arena runs and Silverstone for a few drift events. After a winter off, the jealousy of everyone going to Marham this weekend meant i tried to ignor the Amazon and spend some well deserved time on this car with a few updates.
There is quite a long job list but a decent start has been made after a good wash and cleanup ( it gets a little dusty in the workshop).
No1- The front bumper was as good a place as any, as it took some damage at the last event. Stu kindly helped out filling the holes and getting it back into 1 piece, before I did anything with nasty fiberglass resin and finished it off.
Some of the damage before:
Back together:
Then i decided the car could have better aero and cooling so cut a really big chunk out of my expensive body kit:
I have now started filling it with a fabricated aluminium wing section that ducts into the intercooler. Before a big chunk of the intercooler and radiator were covered up rather than fed air. I even straightened lots of bend intercooler fins whilst doing it. Not quite finished yet, but part way done:
I have made one of the end pieces with is the complex part of the fabrication, but forgot to take a picture. I will hopefully post a pic of the completed duct soon anyway
Inbetween that job I got around to a few smaller jobs.
No2 - The fire extinguisher was checked and a new tie down fitted.
No3 - I also fitted a real washer bottle finally, to replace the "1 use only JDM coke can" that came with the car. Didn't take long at all but did need pulling out, modifying and refitting after I got it in and it only managed to dribble like a old man. After some investigation it turns out the part came with a 0.5mm hole to feed the pump, but once that was drilled out and refitted it worked much better and I only needed to make a bracket to mount the new bottle. A scrap of metal and 15minutes later I had it all in and working for good. (surprising how often you need this on some drift tracks)
No4 - A new battery was bought and fitted
No5- more wiring was done, fitting in a thermostat to engage the fans, rather than the manual switch i had before. (basically whenever drifting). It isn't pretty, as it still needs tidying and the manual override soldering in, but it works and i can finish it off next weekend. This car isn't used as transport so no worries leaving it unfinished until next weekend:
No6 - The job that took the longest though was trying to change from my Bride drivers seat ( I dont have a passenger seat) to the fancy carbon Kevlar one i bought over a year ago. Over 12 hours were spent this weekend trying to get it in and located in the perfect position. The bride seat had special low mount runners, but they were still to high for me, and offset. With some sparco side seat mounts as a starting point i ended up modifying both the floor of the car and remaking the sidemounts into a single new seat subframe that finally got it in a decent position with no offset to the steering wheel. I even had to "modify" the chassis crossmember in front of the seat and some wiring before it was lined up. A really big hammer did most of the modification. It was finally in by 5pm today. I was very fed up and with a few battlescars, when i realized the seat was going to have to come out again to start on the 6-point harness mounts sp i gave up on them for this weekend. They can wait until next time, and i still have the working 3-point belts in place anyway.
I wanted to fit a passenger seat this year to scare people, but after all that effort the idea of making yet more mounts to try and get the old Bride drivers seat in the passenger side is definitely getting put back a while. These nissans have very strange asymmetric mounts, and the seats I have will all need something custom making to fit.
And there was some general tidying i.e.- The wiper arms were repainted and refitted (thanks to Stu again)
There is quite a long job list but a decent start has been made after a good wash and cleanup ( it gets a little dusty in the workshop).
No1- The front bumper was as good a place as any, as it took some damage at the last event. Stu kindly helped out filling the holes and getting it back into 1 piece, before I did anything with nasty fiberglass resin and finished it off.
Some of the damage before:
Back together:
Then i decided the car could have better aero and cooling so cut a really big chunk out of my expensive body kit:
I have now started filling it with a fabricated aluminium wing section that ducts into the intercooler. Before a big chunk of the intercooler and radiator were covered up rather than fed air. I even straightened lots of bend intercooler fins whilst doing it. Not quite finished yet, but part way done:
I have made one of the end pieces with is the complex part of the fabrication, but forgot to take a picture. I will hopefully post a pic of the completed duct soon anyway
Inbetween that job I got around to a few smaller jobs.
No2 - The fire extinguisher was checked and a new tie down fitted.
No3 - I also fitted a real washer bottle finally, to replace the "1 use only JDM coke can" that came with the car. Didn't take long at all but did need pulling out, modifying and refitting after I got it in and it only managed to dribble like a old man. After some investigation it turns out the part came with a 0.5mm hole to feed the pump, but once that was drilled out and refitted it worked much better and I only needed to make a bracket to mount the new bottle. A scrap of metal and 15minutes later I had it all in and working for good. (surprising how often you need this on some drift tracks)
No4 - A new battery was bought and fitted
No5- more wiring was done, fitting in a thermostat to engage the fans, rather than the manual switch i had before. (basically whenever drifting). It isn't pretty, as it still needs tidying and the manual override soldering in, but it works and i can finish it off next weekend. This car isn't used as transport so no worries leaving it unfinished until next weekend:
No6 - The job that took the longest though was trying to change from my Bride drivers seat ( I dont have a passenger seat) to the fancy carbon Kevlar one i bought over a year ago. Over 12 hours were spent this weekend trying to get it in and located in the perfect position. The bride seat had special low mount runners, but they were still to high for me, and offset. With some sparco side seat mounts as a starting point i ended up modifying both the floor of the car and remaking the sidemounts into a single new seat subframe that finally got it in a decent position with no offset to the steering wheel. I even had to "modify" the chassis crossmember in front of the seat and some wiring before it was lined up. A really big hammer did most of the modification. It was finally in by 5pm today. I was very fed up and with a few battlescars, when i realized the seat was going to have to come out again to start on the 6-point harness mounts sp i gave up on them for this weekend. They can wait until next time, and i still have the working 3-point belts in place anyway.
I wanted to fit a passenger seat this year to scare people, but after all that effort the idea of making yet more mounts to try and get the old Bride drivers seat in the passenger side is definitely getting put back a while. These nissans have very strange asymmetric mounts, and the seats I have will all need something custom making to fit.
And there was some general tidying i.e.- The wiper arms were repainted and refitted (thanks to Stu again)
You and me both Ben
This photo gives you no idea how mean it looks from the front.
The stance is pure pumped up, cambered evil and the battle scars help to show that this car gets used first, polished second
Keep up the good if infuriating work Rob, you'll soon be out on track and the memories of 12 hours to fit a seat will be behind you. I have to say that chasing you around Snetterton in Betty could be quite a lot of fun. An automotive conga :lol:
This photo gives you no idea how mean it looks from the front.
The stance is pure pumped up, cambered evil and the battle scars help to show that this car gets used first, polished second
Keep up the good if infuriating work Rob, you'll soon be out on track and the memories of 12 hours to fit a seat will be behind you. I have to say that chasing you around Snetterton in Betty could be quite a lot of fun. An automotive conga :lol:
http://www.auto-genie.co.uk
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
I am glad the car is liked. It does look damn gorgeous to me, but that is one fo the reasons why i spent a fortune getting it over from Japan.
Maybe I should try and get it over to a bigpower snet meet soon? I haven't really been yet ,but this car would need to be trailered to get it there as a track only car at the moment.
Maybe I should try and get it over to a bigpower snet meet soon? I haven't really been yet ,but this car would need to be trailered to get it there as a track only car at the moment.
Are you coming to the drift (occasionally sniff oversteer) event at Norfolk Arena on the 4th?
There is rumoured to be a slow moving understeery POS36 attending [-o<
There is rumoured to be a slow moving understeery POS36 attending [-o<
http://www.auto-genie.co.uk
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
07733 527430
stuart@auto-genie.co.uk
Valeting, detailing and undersealing
Hopefully someone is reading this as I am after suggestions again.
I got myself some trade insurance for the car fleet, I have the chance to put the Silvia on the road to make local events a little lazier, and after the Sneterton track day it is also some time for a few upgrades. There was a little work done before Snet, but since most people have seen it there or the pics then i wont bore with details. After the last event I need to upgrade the front brakes ( in progress with some R32 alluminium GTR callipers to replace the S14 4 pots as a start) and a new gearbox. Temptations of straight cut boxs or even a sequential will have to be put on hold whilst I gt a few more upgrades in and a few fix-ups for MOT.
So... must fix list:
Dampers - The RH front is still knackered and stupid Teins cant be rebuilt or repaired. Playing around with the idea of some driftworks jobs as i have no idea what will work on the car, or having an expensive discussion with Ohlins for some custom dampers that I know i can rebuild and revalve ( therefore possibly cheaper in the long run if i make more use of the car)
Fans, again - replace thermostat that i shorted out.
Exhaust - super low running, and an incident with the ramps has caused a little damage. It is a nice size system but not the highest quality so I am thinking about a replacement rather than repair. The uneducated choice again is Japspeed from a basic web search. Has anyone used these and rate them for quality and durability? or have a better suggestion? I have too many jobs on and want this done soon, so am trying to rule out making a custom one for once.
After that fit a front number plate and get an MOT on it.
The more enthusiastic plans in a vague order of priority:
- Replace gearbox with another stock unit - 2nd hand (Strip old one and rebuild as new for a spare if recoverable. )
- Geometry again, and corner weight the car.
- mounts for my camera
- beef up the cage at the back (trying not to think about a new welded in one)
- Fit the 6 point harness i have waiting
- Flat undertray, splitter and diffuser for track. (the back end was rather lively but I don't want to ruin the look of the car with a big gay wing yet.)
- Actually look at the engine and see what is possible. I don't want to spend a fortune getting more power out of it with a big turbo etc, but a tune up an finding the weak points before they break would be nice. If there is an easy gain for some more grunt then I am sure i wont be able to resist the temptation.
And if i need inspiration then this is a good start:
(thanks RX7)
I got myself some trade insurance for the car fleet, I have the chance to put the Silvia on the road to make local events a little lazier, and after the Sneterton track day it is also some time for a few upgrades. There was a little work done before Snet, but since most people have seen it there or the pics then i wont bore with details. After the last event I need to upgrade the front brakes ( in progress with some R32 alluminium GTR callipers to replace the S14 4 pots as a start) and a new gearbox. Temptations of straight cut boxs or even a sequential will have to be put on hold whilst I gt a few more upgrades in and a few fix-ups for MOT.
So... must fix list:
Dampers - The RH front is still knackered and stupid Teins cant be rebuilt or repaired. Playing around with the idea of some driftworks jobs as i have no idea what will work on the car, or having an expensive discussion with Ohlins for some custom dampers that I know i can rebuild and revalve ( therefore possibly cheaper in the long run if i make more use of the car)
Fans, again - replace thermostat that i shorted out.
Exhaust - super low running, and an incident with the ramps has caused a little damage. It is a nice size system but not the highest quality so I am thinking about a replacement rather than repair. The uneducated choice again is Japspeed from a basic web search. Has anyone used these and rate them for quality and durability? or have a better suggestion? I have too many jobs on and want this done soon, so am trying to rule out making a custom one for once.
After that fit a front number plate and get an MOT on it.
The more enthusiastic plans in a vague order of priority:
- Replace gearbox with another stock unit - 2nd hand (Strip old one and rebuild as new for a spare if recoverable. )
- Geometry again, and corner weight the car.
- mounts for my camera
- beef up the cage at the back (trying not to think about a new welded in one)
- Fit the 6 point harness i have waiting
- Flat undertray, splitter and diffuser for track. (the back end was rather lively but I don't want to ruin the look of the car with a big gay wing yet.)
- Actually look at the engine and see what is possible. I don't want to spend a fortune getting more power out of it with a big turbo etc, but a tune up an finding the weak points before they break would be nice. If there is an easy gain for some more grunt then I am sure i wont be able to resist the temptation.
And if i need inspiration then this is a good start:
(thanks RX7)
As with the FC project, I still have to find the camera, so will update this post when i get the pictures. But...
On friday I have replaced all the front brakes and upgraded for S14 4-pots to R32 GTR 4 - pots. The alluminium callipers are a lot lighter, disks are a little larger (c10mm dia), but more importnantly they have a much better venting design. Pads are now red too! (didnt think to check what they were until after it was all back together, but the backing pads are red). I cant get any brake ducting in there easily thanks to the silly lock and wide wheels, but if it is needed then i have worked out a a few dificult methods of getting it there.
Also contacted Ohlins about dampers, if only to find out how expensive it is going to be before resorting to an alternative, and picked up a 2nd hand box from Rob_B, so I can swap that over one evenning.
Exhaust - still undecided having no real advice from anyone else, other than if i was designing my own again. Will work it out in the week.
On friday I have replaced all the front brakes and upgraded for S14 4-pots to R32 GTR 4 - pots. The alluminium callipers are a lot lighter, disks are a little larger (c10mm dia), but more importnantly they have a much better venting design. Pads are now red too! (didnt think to check what they were until after it was all back together, but the backing pads are red). I cant get any brake ducting in there easily thanks to the silly lock and wide wheels, but if it is needed then i have worked out a a few dificult methods of getting it there.
Also contacted Ohlins about dampers, if only to find out how expensive it is going to be before resorting to an alternative, and picked up a 2nd hand box from Rob_B, so I can swap that over one evenning.
Exhaust - still undecided having no real advice from anyone else, other than if i was designing my own again. Will work it out in the week.