R32 Ls1 Conversion

[Victory]

When you consider that this was the first time that the car has been run anywhere in anger apart from on the dyno it was a very successful day.

It ran strong all day and all of the key systems performed perfectly (the only exception was a minor oil leak from the gearbox that was easily fixed when it happened).

Now that it has passed this initial test with flying colours the next step is to make the car more driveable.

Improving the aero with a front splitter and air ducting and a rear wing will improve stability as will some minor suspension tuning. The inclusion of a passengers seat so that Stuart can take an experienced passenger to provide track knowledge and input into setup changes will also help in the development phase.

I could not believe the amount of interest the car created every time it was on the track - as soom as people heard it on full noise they became interested in it because it just sounded that good.

The most amazing thing is that out of the box it is VERY good with development it will only improve - well done Stuart.

[S13Deviat]

Congrats Stu, said it once, said twice, and i will say it many times over... What a car!!!

Now back to the lab so the mad scientist (aka Stu) can do some R&D to keep the yellow donk on the black stuff

[BezerkR32]

thanks guys, my brother has video of me coming off at turn 2 and Ando bipping the horn as he drives past lol.

i think im going to need a lot of help in the set-up department. Guys.......anyone..

Congrats Stu, said it once, said twice, and i will say it many times over... What a car!!!

Now back to the lab so the mad scientist (aka Stu) can do some R&D to keep the yellow donk on the black stuff

[Risking]

Did Garry end up doing the initial set-up??

Was it cornered and how did it balance up??

Watching it go through turn two it was moving far to much weight to the front and becoming light in the arse (obviously) First thing id be doing is raising the front spring rate providing the rest of the set-up is within the normal R32 ball park.

Im planning to take my 32 back out shortly to do some minor spring and sway bar changes.

Ill let you know when and if your free bring it out as well.

I've got a few different bars and springs to your welcome to try.

Also any idea what kind of speed you were trying to enter turn 1 at??

Was it as bad anywhere else around the circuit?

Edited June 14, 2009 by Risking

[BezerkR32]

yeh Gary did the initial set-up, it has not had corner weights done.

turn 1 was more my fault with a bad line, someone pulled me up on it before the last session and talked me through a better line.

car was better then. still loose through 2. the rest was not too bad, but ive got no experience at all and nothing to compare too.

i have no idea on speed, id button off at about 5800rpm in 5th and wash some speed off on the brake before turn 1. so maybe 160 or so. but ten again i dont know how quick it was going before i brake.

yeh love to try some changes, would be great thanks.

This is a bad quality video of session 1 and my first incident lol. sorry about quality.

Did Garry end up doing the initial set-up??

Was it cornered and how did it balance up??

Watching it go through turn two it was moving far to much weight to the front and becoming light in the arse (obviously) First thing id be doing is raising the front spring rate providing the rest of the set-up is within the normal R32 ball park.

Im planning to take my 32 back out shortly to do some minor spring and sway bar changes.

Ill let you know when and if your free bring it out as well.

I've got a few different bars and springs to your welcome to try.

Also any idea what kind of speed you were trying to enter turn 1 at??

Was it as bad anywhere else around the circuit?

[peterw]

that thing sounds great

i'd love to put a v8 in my 34 when im off my p's

[Morten Kiil Finsaas]

I destroyed a bearing at OP GP on Friday...

I'm currently weighing up an LS2 in there instead of rebuilding the RB30 bottom end...

Stu: Got any sources for getting crate LS2s?

I bought my LS3 engine from StreetRodEngines.com, and it came complete with T56 transmission, all accessories, wireharness that was stripped from all unesassary things, brain and clutch.

The price was werry good.

He deliveres LS2, LS3, LS6 and LS7, Manual T56 and Automatic 4L65E. I think he can get other combination if you ask...

[chrissso]

Sounds awesome. Very inspiring. After watching this thread for ages, it's good to finally see the results.

Have you got a rear wing planned for it?? Might help with some rear traction on the high speed corners..

[Sydneykid]

yeh Gary did the initial set-up, it has not had corner weights done.

turn 1 was more my fault with a bad line, someone pulled me up on it before the last session and talked me through a better line.

car was better then. still loose through 2. the rest was not too bad, but ive got no experience at all and nothing to compare too.

i have no idea on speed, id button off at about 5800rpm in 5th and wash some speed off on the brake before turn 1. so maybe 160 or so. but ten again i dont know how quick it was going before i brake.

yeh love to try some changes, would be great thanks.

This is a bad quality video of session 1 and my first incident lol. sorry about quality.

Ah, it goes, finally, wooohooo. Wish I had time on Friday to get out there, so many cars that I have worked on. Nice spin, bit of gearbox oil on the rear tyres perhaps?

It has very much a guess set up in it, spring shocks and bar rates . Plus the corner weight scales were at Mallala with the F3's when I needed them, so I couldn't even confirm the guesses. It's a weight bias versus CoG thing when you do such a drastic mechanical swap, I6 to V8, but with more data it will certainly get better. I wouldn't recommend touching the spring rates until the front bump steer is corrected and we have a play with the anti roll.

The good thing is it goes and so everything from here on is logical development.

Cheers

Gary

[hrd-hr30]

sounds awesome in the vid!

visibly diving under brakes and getting light in the rear end is going to be either too little front shock, front spring, or anti-dive geometry. Or a combination of the three. Shock and spring is where I'd be starting.

[Marlin]

HAHAHA! Sounds farking AWESOME!

Once again, well done my good man

[BezerkR32]

Hey Gary, funny you mention the oil as you see a puff of smoke before it went around.

We fixed it after the second session and the car was better behaved so probably did contribute.

Alot was me also, a bit more time in the seat will help. Ill let you know next time im out.

Ah, it goes, finally, wooohooo. Wish I had time on Friday to get out there, so many cars that I have worked on. Nice spin, bit of gearbox oil on the rear tyres perhaps?

It has very much a guess set up in it, spring shocks and bar rates . Plus the corner weight scales were at Mallala with the F3's when I needed them, so I couldn't even confirm the guesses. It's a weight bias versus CoG thing when you do such a drastic mechanical swap, I6 to V8, but with more data it will certainly get better. I wouldn't recommend touching the spring rates until the front bump steer is corrected and we have a play with the anti roll.

The good thing is it goes and so everything from here on is logical development.

Cheers

Gary

[S13Deviat]

thanks guys, my brother has video of me coming off at turn 2 and Ando bipping the horn as he drives past lol.

i think im going to need a lot of help in the set-up department. Guys.......anyone..

Funny stuff... i remember TRYING to keep up with you down the straight and watching you get a little unsettled thru 1 and into 2... I had Neil in the car as well and we both were like... oh oh oh here he goes... YEP roundy roundy.... Thought it deserved a toot of approval

Now i am not going to get into a huge debate as it has been done time and time again.... BUT... my personal opinion, i feel that the silvia is a lot more stable thru high speed corners (Turn 1 @ OP GP & Wakey) thanks to my wing... it could benefit from sitting a little higher, but it simply sits a lot more stable on the track thanks to the rear downforce... i even fabricated a metal frame that bolts underneath the boot lid to aid the transfer of downforce to the chassis...

Only downfall is it seems to need more OMPH to get up speed down the straight due to extra drag of the wing.... but hey id rather the extra rear grip than loosing the few km/h's down the straight...

Anywho food for thought Stu.... Brad may have some more input.. he runs a decent wing.

EDIT**

Just found a pic of the Silvia from Turn 1 at OP GP... if you look it seems that the wing is actually sitting horizontal to the track in comparison to the 'roll' of the car... not a aerodynamic specialist or betend to know anything, but i would be led to believe that this pic indicates the wing is infact providing downforce.

Hey i could be oh so wrong but many peeps have commented on how 'settled' the car looks thru corners...

[zebra]

Stu,

That sounds so porn!

even the missus wants me to do the conversion now after hearing it hahaha

also are your front brakes the 330mm or 356mm rotors?

[Victory]

Now i am not going to get into a huge debate as it has been done time and time again.... BUT... my personal opinion, i feel that the silvia is a lot more stable thru high speed corners (Turn 1 @ OP GP & Wakey) thanks to my wing... it could benefit from sitting a little higher, but it simply sits a lot more stable on the track thanks to the rear downforce... i even fabricated a metal frame that bolts underneath the boot lid to aid the transfer of downforce to the chassis...

Only downfall is it seems to need more OMPH to get up speed down the straight due to extra drag of the wing.... but hey id rather the extra rear grip than loosing the few km/h's down the straight...

I very much agree with Ando that aero at the back of the car has a lot to do with high speed stability. Just look at a standard R32 GTR rear wing - Nissan has spent some time and money on designing something that is more than just for looks. The approach Ando has taken with the engineering of the boot supports so the downforce is carried through to the chassis has paid off when you watch how stable his car is through turn 1 at OP. Brad has a similar wing on the rear of his car and again it looked more stable.

i have no idea on speed, id button off at about 5800rpm in 5th and wash some speed off on the brake before turn 1. so maybe 160 or so. but ten again i dont know how quick it was going before i brake.

I would suggest that it was going quicker than you think before you hit the brakes approaching turn 1. With the same tyre size, diff ratio and a 1 to 1 ratio in fourth gear my GTR does just under 30 km per 1,000 revs. So if you were turning nearly 7k in fourth before you changed into fifth you would be doing around 200km at that time before accelerating in fifth. We should try mounting my GPS in the car to see just how quick it really is.

Maybe you should look at the aero effort that Sports Sedans use to keep both ends of the car on the ground. Front splitters with undertrays and very serious rear wings generate considerable downforce at the speeds that your car is capable of.

Bring on the development phase........

[Risking]

Id be taking Gary's advice with the bump steer and weights if it has not already been fully set-up.

What bars are actually in it currently Gary??

I do agree that its a guessing game with the spring rates when such a drastic engine change has been made.

From what i seen of it besides being unsettled through the turns (which could be driver as well) it was pretty well planted.

[Neil]

Stuart,,,I'll echo what some of the boys have said,,,I would add a real rear spoiler,,,dual plane adjustable nothing less,,,no gay drift rubbish but a real one. Gary will know where to find one and him corner weighting the car will help heaps,,,you might find you have to transfer or add weight the rear.

What about lowering the fuel tank,,,A9X style.

Turn 2 could be just be you carrying to much speed,,,you won't be the first or the last to mow the grass there. Ando and I were laughing our heads off,,,we both could see what was about to happen,,,Sorry tiger but it was funny. Interestly Ando had time to watch,,,pull another cog,,,laugh and toot the horn.

I'll keep you to that drive mate by the way.

Neil.

[Risking]

wakfield on the 29th private practice day plenty of test and tune time...

Its two weeks away so heaps of time to sort anything out that needs to be done.

Im going down to muck around with the GTR in RWD some more.

[Merli]

Hmmmm... 29th... No chance of my car being ready by then

[Risking]

Its two weeks away. Don't you just need a clutch to make it drivable.