Dan's R33 Gts-t Budget Circuit Racer

[dan.1337]

Bought my '96 GTS-T around April 2013 with the intention of separating my track and daily cars.

It was near standard when I bought it so it didn't take too much work to get it up to a RWC condition. It did come with underbody neons and a crap stereo which was quickly ripped out, and a cat back exhaust and no-name pod filter. This was taken on the day I got the RWC:

First time out on track was at very wet Haunted Hills hill climb in May 2013.

Being completely stock, the car rolled around a lot. I was also thrown around from side to side in the stock seat which was a real pain.

Final lap time was 70.64s on a wet track.

Took it to the RTR dyno and it came out at 136.2rwkw

Took it to Winton in June 2013 and achieved a pretty mediocre 1.48.70. Car was still stock at this stage and run on street tyres.

More Haunted Hills in its stock form in October 2013

At this stage, I was just trying to learn how the car drove.

Unfortunately I started to get some massive exhaust manifold leaks, boost leaks, the 17 year old radiator cracked, and stock turbo was dying. Decided that since a fair amount of its guts would be out, I'd do some basic modifications to the engine.

I wanted this car to be as reliable as possible as I don't have a tow car and would have to drive it to and from all the tracks. I've also gone in with a "do it once, do it right" mentality as I've had too many issues in the past with going half assed and having things break.

Chucked in a big Mishimoto radiator, 3" dump pipe, high flow cat, fuel pump, 480cc injectors, Blitz return flow intercooler, Power FC, and a small Kinugawa turbo.

Got a healthy 244.9rwkw at 17psi

Chucked in a proper seat just before my next track day

Track day at Winton in November 2013 and ran it at 11psi (~200rwkw). Still standard suspension (check out the body roll below), street tyres, and brakes. Found that when hot, car was misfiring like crazy and realised that my coil packs had given way.

Day ended with a 1:45.03

Replaced the coil packs with Yellow Jackets which unfortunately continued misfiring (but much less than the broken ones), so I ended up getting a set of OEMs which has been great ever since.

Mid 2014 I chucked in a set of BC Racing ER series coilovers in 12/10 kg f/r. Found a cheap second hand Kaaz 1.5 way diff which went in as the stock viscous was as good as an open diff. Also put in a dog bone to fit GTR rotors.

Did a bunch more events like DECA, HH, Winton, and PI to build up more track time in the car. Times were slowly improving with experience.

Had a weld in half cage installed for the harness bar and some ROPS

PI day with a 2:02 on wet track with street tyres:

In 2015 I went to E85 with a small bump in power to 257rwkw and more torque still at 17psi. Again, reliability was key here and I think E85 is best for boosted engines living their lives at the top of their rev range.

Chucked on a circa 2010 set of 235/45/17 RE55S semis in SR2 compound for my first foray into semis. Times started to come down to 1:37.89 before my brakes blew up. Had a theoretical in the 1:36 range, but that's for next time.

Rotor failed coming into turn 1 on my first hot lap. Lucky nobody was in front of me so I was able to just roll off the track and drive back to the pits.

PB lap:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nPKGlBA21lk (not sure how to embed)

Will need to improve air flow around brakes for the next track day.

My aim is to drop into the 1:34 region with no aero at Winton in its current setup and newer semis.

Thanks for reading. That's nearly 3 years in one post!

[Dale FZ1]

Good start and update on your path to modification/track car preparation.

Aside from the BC shocks, how have you setup suspension?

[dan.1337]

Good start and update on your path to modification/track car preparation.

Aside from the BC shocks, how have you setup suspension?

Thanks!

I have Cusco camber arms and an ebay HICAS lock bar.

Fronts are running -3 camber, rears around -1. Toe slightly out and slightly in on the rear. Standard caster adjustments.

I don't actually remember the exact settings as it was done manually by my tyre guy who doesn't use a printer.

[k_d]

Wow thats an impressive rotor failure!!!! Glad no harm came of it.

[V28VX37]

Great thread Dan!

Have you been down to Sandown as yet?

[admS15]

Well done. Great times considering the mods. You definitely know how to steer. It maybe time for something more serious in the brake department by the look of that rotor;)

[ssxRicho]

More 33 love, will we see the car at Sandown 30th Jan next year.

[Burger]

That's an interesting rotor failure. It's good that there wasn't anyone in front of you, or you weren't going too fast. Could have ended a lot worse.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Burger

[dan.1337]

Wow thats an impressive rotor failure!!!! Glad no harm came of it.

What was interesting was that the passenger side also cracked in the same session. Was pretty lucky to not have anyone in front of me on full brakes at the time!

Great thread Dan!

Have you been down to Sandown as yet?

Yup, I went in mid 2014 and got a time of 1:30.1862. Car was on street tyres at the time.

Well done. Great times considering the mods. You definitely know how to steer. It maybe time for something more serious in the brake department by the look of that rotor;)

Looking into a brake upgrade now along with venting. I have a photo somewhere of my pads which were completely burnt on a different occasion.

More 33 love, will we see the car at Sandown 30th Jan next year.

Will look into this! I'd like to get back to Sandown after not going for 18 months to see how I go with a bit more seat time under my belt.

That's an interesting rotor failure. It's good that there wasn't anyone in front of you, or you weren't going too fast. Could have ended a lot worse.

That's probably what I'm most glad for. Single car accidents are bad, but taking out someone else is much worse!

[dan.1337]

Headed back to Winton this weekend and managed a time of 1:35.74.  Was unfortunately held up in some traffic on a couple of faster laps, so my 1:34 goal will be for my next outing there.

Currently my car still has:

• 257rwkw on E85
• BC Racing coilovers
• Front camber arms
• Hankook z221 semi slicks in 255 width

Forgot to press record for my PB session, so now I don't have any video of that lap =(

Here's one from Sept 2015 with a time of 1:37.89.  Same setup but with 5 year old RS55S tyres in 235 width:

https://youtu.be/nPKGlBA21lk

[dan.1337]

Also changed my rotors to a cheapo RDA blank setup with some ducting.

Pads are Project Mu HC+ with Super ATE brake fluid

[Dale FZ1]

Heading towards 1 sec/km faster is significant. Sounds like things are stepping forward for you.  Good work!

Nothing inherently wrong with the OEM spec brakes with decent pads and fluid.  There's a lot more performance in them than most people understand.

How does ~1.35 go for clubman runners, especially anything that's going to push its front end around on those tighter corners?

[dan.1337]

I think the trick to getting the standard brakes to work is to make sure they're well vented and plenty of air flows over them.  Otherwise, good pads and fluid is enough for now.

What do you mean by "clubman runners"?  I'm running a square tyre setup to prevent understeer.  Also thinking a lot about how I drive to make sure that weight is transferred properly so I can get the car rotated around the tighter stuff.

-------------

For my future self looking back at this:  Carry more speed through the sweeper, take a wider line around the boobs to maintain speed, and there's about 10kmh more speed in 11/12

[Dale FZ1]

Clubmen equates (in terms of competition driving experience & ability) to those average Joes (most of us) who aren't experts, but have progressed beyond first-time novice.  Nothing to do with Lotus 7 type or similar cars.

 

[V28VX37]

11 hours ago, dan.1337 said:

Also changed my rotors to a cheapo RDA blank setup with some ducting.

Pads are Project Mu HC+ with Super ATE brake fluid

Great progress! Any photos of the ducting, how did you mount the rotor ends? Very keen to do something similar on my R34.

[dan.1337]

On 9/12/2016 at 1:44 PM, Dale FZ1 said:

Clubmen equates (in terms of competition driving experience & ability) to those average Joes (most of us) who aren't experts, but have progressed beyond first-time novice.  Nothing to do with Lotus 7 type or similar cars.

 

Good question.  I just had a look at the lap times some pro drivers have set in exotic production machinery and have provided the top 10 times below.  

Rank	Vehicle	Driver	Time	PS / KG
1.	Porsche 911 GT2 (997)	Warren Luff	1:32.10	530 / 1440
2.	Gallardo Superleggera	Warren Luff	1:32.80	530 / 1520
3.	Nissan GT-R (R35)	Warren Luff	1:33.70	480 / 1740
4.	Lotus Exige S (V6)	unknown	1:33.90	350 / 1080
5.	Porsche 911 GT3 (997)	Warren Luff	1:34.20	415 / 1395
6.	Lotus Exige S (V6)	Harry Zhao	1:34.37	350 / 1080
7.	Audi R8 4.2 FSI Quattro (Mk I)	Warren Luff	1:35.20	420 / 1560
8.	Porsche 911 GT2 (996)	Cameron McConville	1:36.35	462 / 1430
9.	Porsche 911 Turbo (997)	Warren Luff	1:36.38	480 / 1585
10.	BMW M3 CSL (E46)	Cameron McConville	1:37.06	360 / 1385

 

http://fastestlaps.com/tracks/winton-national-circuit

257 rwkw is 345 rwhp, so maybe around 410-420 engine hp?  My car weighs 1370kg (Phillip Island weighbridge).  Looking at this, I guess I'm not doing too badly in what's basically a powered up 1996 car with basic suspension updates.

20 hours ago, V28VX37 said:

Great progress! Any photos of the ducting, how did you mount the rotor ends? Very keen to do something similar on my R34.

I'm actually just using the UAS brake air deflectors on my front rotors and nothing on the rears.

http://www.uniqueautosports.com.au/Parts-Shop/uas-motorsport-brake-air-deflectors-681.aspx

 

[admS15]

So right between an Audi r8 quatro and porche 911 gt2. Geez R33 's must be the hidden supercars of the 90's. Well done man, awesome driving [emoji106]

[V28VX37]

3 hours ago, dan.1337 said:

...

I'm actually just using the UAS brake air deflectors on my front rotors and nothing on the rears.

http://www.uniqueautosports.com.au/Parts-Shop/uas-motorsport-brake-air-deflectors-681.aspx

Thanks mate! I didn't find that on the UAS site previously either so thanks for the link too.

I've just mocked up a copy using some thin sheet, the same overall shape but with some minor tweaks for my application

[dan.1337]

15 hours ago, V28VX37 said:

Thanks mate! I didn't find that on the UAS site previously either so thanks for the link too.

I've just mocked up a copy using some thin sheet, the same overall shape but with some minor tweaks for my application

After the test fit from the phone, I had to bend and modify the UAS one anyway and it still doesn't clear my wheels properly at full lock.

[Dale FZ1]

On ‎9‎/‎13‎/‎2016 at 9:06 PM, admS15 said:

right between an Audi r8 quatro and porche 911 gt2.  .

The real deal is who was driving them, and what rubber they were using.  Checking the list over, that's quite an achievement to be happy with.  Keep plugging away, no doubt there's more speed in the car and yourself