Got the Kw’s fitted, I’m back at the track next week testing some more settings with the paddleshift.

Benny

 

Went back to the track to track to test the new paddleshift settings, which were night & day difference. Wasn’t driving aggressively, just enough to play with the settings and see the results. Video below!

Upshifts were a lot better, a few adjustments to the dog unload times & more fuel cut was used. Down shifts were 100x better, a lot of adjustments were made to all the settings, can comfortably clutchless down shift.

Now I’m clutchless downshifting I can feel major slap in my rear diff from the bushes. Silly me didn’t change them when I took the diff out/in. I’ve ordered some genuine Ralliart & hard race solid bushes for the diff and will get them fitted.

Benny

 

I’m going on a bit of a weight saving mission at the moment. I decided to remove the:

Air con
Heater matrix
blower system
passenger air bag
Interior firewall sound deadening

I made some covers out of 0.2mm sheet aluminium to cover the holes in the firewall from the heater/air con. Put some sealant around them to stop the water getting in.

Total weight removed was 82.4Ib which I’m happy with.

Cars current weight is 2888Ib with half a tank of fuel.

Pretty happy with that considering the extra weight it has in it from the roll cage and all the paddleshift hardware I’ve put in.

My current weight saving plan for 2025 is:

Carbon doors with lexan windows - 183Ib
Tubular north to south bar - 6.6Ib
Front and rear tubular subframes - 48.5Ib
Lexan rear window - 5.5Ib
Titanium o2 housing & downpipe - 8.8Ib

This will take the car down to a nice 2634Ib

Benny

 

Over the holidays I did a bit more work on the front of the car.

I purchased a lightweight north to south bar, some SSB control arms with the solid bushes, solid Ralliart bush for the rear transmission mount, Ralliart bushes for the front sway bar and whiteline bush kit for the steering rack. Every bush on the front end has been replaced now.

Also decided to paint the front subframe green and the front sway bar silver whilst I had everything apart.

Purchased a titanium strut brace which weighs 2.2Ib, so a great weight saving.

Benny

 

I got rid of the stock oil cooler and put a new 25row cooler in front of the radiator. Should help keep oil temps down a bit.

Also done some more weight saving again.

Removed:
Radio
Speakers
Floor sound deadening
Drivers door card
Windscreen washer bottle

Car now weighs 2851Ib with 15L of fuel

Benny

 

Had a blast at the track for the first practise day of the year, it was awesome. After the new finely tuned settings in the gearbox the car was incredible.

Video below of a lap.

Benny

 

Great update!!

 

I love this project. Did you notice any changes in oil temp data or problems with air washing around the cooler vs through it?

 

i wonder if your engine will over heat if the track session was suddenly halted

 

Oil temps were 5° lower from when I last went on track so that’s a bonus. The data was good. I was hesitant about the position but a few other guys are running it like this and haven’t had any problems.

 

I don’t think so, if the track session is halted then I just use that as my cool down lap. Everything has been fine on track so far!

 

This thread went from normal to holyf*ckingsh*t! 🤣 dude i love everything about this build and it’s truly an inspiration to just do more with my own car

 

Thanks a lot mate 😅

 

So decision has been made to de register the car and make it a permanent race car, it’s not nice to drive it to and from the track which is what I currently do.

Also it will create less wear on the gearbox etc…

I’ve taken the bride seat out and put a Sparco circuit carbon in along with a red schroth enduro harness.

Also ditched the headlights and replaced them with some dry carbon blocks offs, drivers is plain and passenger is a vented one. This also shaves off a fair chunk of weight as well.

I have also ordered a full Custom Cages T45 FIA 12 point cage from the uk. The whole turret to turret 12 point cage only weighs 49kg as well.

Ben

 

Got rid of the stock radiator & fan. Upgraded to an ally 4/5/6 setup with a new fan.

Also got some lightweight carbon mirrors which are non electric, these only weigh 0.8Ib each. I matte clear coated them in the booth as well.

I’ve ordered a very lightweight bonnet from a company called sydney composites over here in Australia.

It’s quite an aggressive bonnet but it is extremely light at only 8.5Ib, which means a massive weight saving off 11.3Ib. I’ve got it coming in a wide tow weave. I’ve attached a pic of what the bonnet looks like, and also a pic of the actual bonnet being made with the wide tow weave.

Ben