Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

As a few of you on here know, one of the main reasons I got my skyline was to participate in some track events. And the first of those is coming up on Feb 15 at Phillip Island as part of the MSCA (Marque Sports Car Association) sprint events.

This will be my first ever time on a track (in any car) and consequently Im damn excited by it. So if there are any people interested in coming down to check out the event feel free to do so.

To give you a quick run down - the MSCA is comprised of an alliance between the following clubs:

Alfa Romeo Owners' Club of Australia

Austin Healey Owners Club

Austin Healey Sprite Drivers' Club

Bolwell Car Club of Australia

Club Lotus Australia

Fiat Car Club

Nissan Datsun Sports Owners Club

Sports Owners Club of Victoria

Triumph Sports Owners Association

All manner of cars enter the event (there are 14 seperate classes in the competition) so there is a lot of interesting varity to look at. The sprint series themselves is basically 2 lots of 4 laps with the combined total of your best 2 lap times given as your result. (I think there are max 4 cars on track at any time). there are 11 events held this year at various tracks around Victoria - including the hillclimb at Morewell, and a 2 day event at Winton that includes one day of driver training. (in the yearly comp you drop your worst 2 results)

For those out there that might find this kind of thing of interest in the future this is what I have had to do in order to participate.

1. Memeber of a CAMS affiliated Club (In this case also MSCA affiliated - for me its NDSOC - cost $50pa)

2. CAMS L2S Licence (Requirement is that you are a member of a CAMS affiliated Club - cost $91pa)

3. Flagging Marshal permit (applied through CAMS - no cost)

4. Steel Valve Caps - $9

5. Approved Helmet - mine cost $120

6. Fire Extinguisher - $40

Total Cost $310. (Brakes and tyres must also be considered but with only 2 lots of 4 laps it wont be as taxing as full track day events so should last a number of days).

If all this goes according to plan then stay tuned for Snowmans attack on the Dutton Rally.

(Btw - I have no intention of trying to win any of these events - Im doing it totally to have some fun and to be allowed to drive faster than I can on the roads and improve my driving skills!)

:headspin:

15th...

Nah, i wont have my brakes done. I'd rather attack a track with a reasonable set of brakes first.

But definately keep posting things like this.

I'm defintately going to be doing a lot of track work this year

Hoping to see you out there Snowman. Currently getting the machine work done with forgies, GTR rods, balance and O ring with a new monster FMIC, waterspray and water injection.

Got the adjustable caster rods in, a GTR fuel pump that has produced 314rwkw, about to dump the rear steering and contemplating whether or not to buy food or spend it on bushes for adjusting camber, pineapples and maybe adjustable sway bars. Soon will get the Apexi PFC and tune for extra redline and toulene mix.

Hell...I better perform now.

Last hit out I replaced all of the discs with slots on the front and plain rear, racebrakes.com pads, motul brake fluid to prevent fade....god the list just goes on but the rush is enormous.

  SteveL said:
Hope you've got your entry in and accepted....MSCA PI events are always over-subscribed.

As far as I know everything is sweet. Was in contact with the events secretary before the registrations were available and had my application in the first available week. So.....

skylinegeoff - it will be good to see you out there man. Sounds like you have a great plan ahead of you! I just had the new clutch, power fc and oil cooler installed yesterday and the new pads from racebrakes go in next week.

Ash.... I won't even bother. :zap:

  Snowman said:
...This will be my first ever time on a track (in any car)...
You're a brave man, Snowman, picking The Island for your first excursion. It is damn fast. Take it easy, you don't want to end up in Tassie after you come off Turn 1 at high speed. :D

FYI, they will run 12 cars (3 lots of 4) on the track at a time.

Don't worry - Im taking it damn slow. Images like this are firmly imprinted in my head!

http://www.directimported.com.au/down/570000.htm

Also - I actually think going to the Island first up is better. I think if I went to something small and technical like Winton first up I might be over confident the first time I tackle the Island. However - with this being my first time I think Im going to be so tentative that my biggest risk will be getting hit from behind due to me going too slow! Especially through turns 1 & 2. They are going to be interesting! :D

Sounds great!

Will want to do my brakes and handling b4 coming along :D. Also i will need to buy a cheap set of light 17" rims and good tyres, as my 19's are too heavy and would reduce the handling in more ways than one. I am keen to do this type of racing as i prefer it to drags.

How much is it to enter? (you mentioned "set-up" costs " approx. $310, but did not mention any fees to Phillip Island race track).

If ya want a "cheer squad / pit crew" i will be interested in coming down :(

Al,

entry forms, dates for each event, event results and individual event costs can all be found on the MSCA web-site. The $310 was just a figure on how much it cost and what was involved to get started. And feel free to come down (I have no idea if there is a spectator fee. Blind Elk??) The more familiar faces there are around the more relaxed I will feel!

cheers

http://www.cm510.com/msca/

hmmmm this sounds like a great event.... i'll bring the gf down for it and we'll be cheering yas on in our SAU tops :D

doubt i'll have the skyline on the rd by then but will definately be there!

will have to put in for the day off.

Thanks for the site.

Am getting a different performance clutch put into my car, and a ballanced, lightened flywheel. After that i am booking it in to get the Whiteline or Pedders handling kit installed, then come the slotted rotors with Endless pads and ADR approved braided brake lines. This will all be done within the next few months.

Then i will be joining ya :worship:!

Bad news.

The engine bits won't be complete until next week (early) so there will be no time to build, install, tune suspension, run in and race.

BUGGER

Great to meet Snowman at the NDSOC meeting last night tho. Can't wait to see his GTR34.

No mate thats good news - it means I get to have a "practise" run before you hit the track. Couldn't go getting beaten by no rwd car now could I? :(

Was good to meet you and a few others from here last night (although some of you need to say a bit more on here! You know who you are!) Last night they also handed out the trophies from last years competitions and I was damn impressed that one of the class winners had to be close to 80 years old. (Geoff or BlindElk can you confirm that age guess for me?) Regardless - in my eyes this bloke is the ultimate speed racer!

One real piece of advice. Pull the fuse for the ABS before you hit the track. Not to make me look better but it will help stopping once you run off onto sand/grass etc.

Seriously, CAMS headlined a porsche last year that crumped in at wakefield and the wheels didn't stop turning until he hit the tyres and shortened the car by 3 feet.

Old John owns the tank museum down south and is in his eighties. Has a GTiR (was outside-red) with R tyres and no fear. Seriously quick and only started racing in the last ten years.

He and his wife are lovely people and entertained me on my first meeting at the club. Old and young, all types of Nissan/Datsun/Prince skyline it is a great club. I recommend joining.

In a few weeks the club has a Targa Tassie tour for 4 days and will be awesome, even car stickers. Wish I was going.

Don't think John's quite reached the big eight O yet (from memory he's something like 72 or 73). He used to race bikes mmaannnyyyy years ago, and he still has a bit of the style - so funny watching him through a fast right-hander with his head hanging out the driver's window as he leans into the corner.

Only a few years ago, John was the club's rookie champion lol

John's Tank Museum is in Narre Warren North. He's currently looking for a buyer for the business. Got some great stuff there. Big mother V6 Detroit diesels that are flat out at 2000 rpm, and make the most magnificent noise.

The Tassie tour is this weekend, and I'm in "Big Kev" mode about it; that's why I haven't mentioned being at the Island - bit hard to just pop back for the day.



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • From there, it is really just test and assemble. Plug the adapter cables from the unit into the back of the screen, then the other side to the car harness. Don't forget all the other plugs too! Run the cables behind the unit and screw it back into place (4 screws) and you should now have 3 cables to run from the top screen to the android unit. I ran them along the DS of the other AV units in the gap between their backets and the console, and used some corrugated tubing on the sharp edges of the bracket so the wires were safe. Plug the centre console and lower screen in temporarily and turn the car to ACC, the AV should fire up as normal. Hold the back button for 3 sec and Android should appear on the top screen. You need to set the input to Aux for audio (more on that later). I put the unit under the AC duct in the centre console, with the wifi antenna on top of the AC duct near the shifter, the bluetooth antenna on the AC duct under the centre console The GPS unit on top of the DS to AC duct; they all seem to work OK there are are out of the way. Neat cable routing is a pain. For the drive recorder I mounted it near the rear view mirror and run the cable in the headlining, across the a pillar and then down the inside of the a pillar seal to the DS lower dash. From there it goes across and to one USB input for the unit. The second USB input is attached to the ECUtec OBD dongle and the 3rd goes to the USB bulkhead connected I added in the centre console. This is how the centre console looks "tidied" up Note I didn't install the provided speaker, didn't use the 2.5mm IPod in line or the piggyback loom for the Ipod or change any DIP switches; they seem to only be required if you need to use the Ipod input rather than the AUX input. That's it, install done, I'll follow up with a separate post on how the unit works, but in summary it retains all factory functions and inputs (so I still use my phone to the car for calls), reverse still works like factory etc.
    • Place the new daughterboard in the case and mount it using the 3 small black rivets provided, and reconnect the 3 factory ribbon cables to the new board Then, use the 3 piggyback cables from the daughterboard into the factory board on top (there are stand offs in the case to keep them apart. and remember to reconnect the antenna and rear cover fan wires. 1 screw to hold the motherboard in place. Before closing the case, make a hole in the sticker covering a hole in the case and run the cable for the android unit into the plug there. The video forgot this step, so did I, so will you probably. Then redo the 4 screws on back, 2 each top and bottom, 3 each side and put the 2 brackets back on.....all ready to go and not that tricky really.      
    • Onto the android unit. You need to remove the top screen because there is a daughterboard to put inside the case. Each side vent pops out from clips; start at the bottom and carefully remove upwards (use a trim remover tool to avoid breaking anything). Then the lower screen and controls come out, 4 screws, a couple of clips (including 3 flimsy ones at the top) and 3 plugs on the rear. Then the upper screen, 4 screws and a bunch of plugs and she is out. From there, remove the mounting brackets (2 screws each), 4 screws on the rear, 2 screws top and bottom and 3 screws holding in the small plates on each side. When you remove the back cover (tight fit), watch out for the power cable for the fan, I removed it so I could put the back aside. The mainboard is held in by 1 screw in the middle, 1 aerial at the top and 3 ribbon cables. If you've ever done any laptop stuff the ribbon cables are OK to work with, just pop up the retainer and they slide out. If you are not familiar just grab a 12 year old from an iphone factory, they will know how it works The case should now look like this:
    • Switching the console was tricky. First there were 6 screws to remove, and also the little adapter loom and its screws had to come out. Also don't forget to remove the 2 screws holding the central locking receiver. Then there are 4 clips on either side....these were very tight in this case and needed careful persuading with a long flat screw driver....some force required but not enough to break them...this was probably the fiddliest part of the whole job. In my case I needed both the wiring loom and the central locking receiver module to swap across to the new one. That was it for the console, so "assembly is the reverse of disassembly"
    • But first....while I was there, I also swapped across the centre console box for the other style where the AV inputs don't intrude into the (very limited !) space.  Part# was 96926-4GA0A, 284H3-4GA0B, 284H3-4GA0A. (I've already swapped the top 12v socket for a USB bulkhead in this pic, it fit the hole without modification:) Comparison of the 2: Basically to do the console you need to remove the DS and PS side console trim (they slide up and back, held in by clips only) Then remove the back half of the console top trim with the cupholders, pops up, all clips again but be careful at the front as it is pretty flimsy. Then slide the shifter boot down, remove the spring clip, loose it forever somewhere in the car the pull the shift knob off. Remove the tiny plastic piece on DS near "P" and use something thin and long (most screwdrivers won't fit) to push down the interlock and put the shifter down in D for space. There is one screw at the front, then the shifter surround and ashtray lift up. There are 3 or 4 plugs underneath and it is off. Next is the rear cover of the centre console; you need to open the console lid, pop off the trim covering the lid hinge and undo the 2rd screw from the driver's side (the rest all need to come out later so you can do them all now and remove the lid) Then the rear cover unclips (6 clips), start at the top with a trim tool pulling backwards. Once it is off there are 2 screws facing rearwards to remove (need a short phillips for these) and you are done with the rear of the console. There are 4 plugs at the A/V box to unclip Then there are 2 screws at the front of the console, and 2 clips (pull up and back) and the console will come out.
×
×
  • Create New...