Joined
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5,523 Posts
Still over due posting videos but a few things to update.
1st, Hawks helped me re-weld the exhaust for the NB, or rather the cat for it as the car was given back to me with it being an inch too short and about 3 degrees out in angle. We noticed the resonated pipe that's been in there in the mean time also was done badly and strained the header to fit. We managed a far better job, in a warehouse, using stands, not in a workshop, with a lift and band saw like when it was originally fabricated
. So big thanks to Hawks for that, the car is much quieter now and I can sort of pass an MOT.
2nd. Got married. The NB supercharger pulley shat itself the weekend before ofc as it was meant to be our wedding car. The Celica stepped in to replace it (getting the dress in the NBFL without her in was impossible by itself). This still isn't resolved. The pulley won't bind up no matter how many or few shims I use so I can't work out the min/max specs and shim it correctly in the middle. On the plus side, the Celica now has the GT body kit and spoiler.
![Wheel Vehicle Tire Car Plant]()
3rd. Just got back from a day at Donnington GP circuit. It's sooo much fun, definitely my new favourite track. The car was great, super fast and barely any issues. Got asked 3 times whether it was turbo or supercharged. This is the first time I've done the circuit with the 6 speed and as I said would likely be the case in a previous post way back the 6 speed is a game changer for Donnington. More choice of gear and better able to keep it in the power which makes all the difference in the uphill sections. Granted the GP circuit has hairpins in it but I was able to use 2nd-5th, unlike with the 5 speed where it was just 3rd or 4th. If I didn't already have the turbo I'd be happy to leave the car as it is, it's not the fastest thing on track, but it's quick (quicker than a k-swap mk1, 2 turbo mk2s, a DC5, R53, etc thanks to silly tyres and brakes), I can do 30 mins sessions at a time, and drive it home.
AR1s once again did great in the dry and the wet, really worth the money. I think they've got about 1-2 more track days left in them but not looking forward to forking out the money for more. I did struggle with understeer in the dry though and I duno why. I let the pressures down a bit in the front and then tried to soften the front suspension a bit but I couldn't dial it out. I'm not entirely sure whether it's in part due to too much rear grip, but I'd rather not get a stiffer rear ARB and sacrifice rear grip just to change the balance. I think a decent front splitter would work well so might try that, I'm just worried about it going the other way and ending up too tail happy. It might also be that I'm just asking way too much of the tyres.
Now on EBC Blues in the rear as my stock pads were low enough they'd likely die during the day and I didn't want to be swapping them at the track. A lot of dust but otherwise no issues. I am starting to find I'm not that happy with the DS2500, they're a good pad sure, wear and feel are good, but I feel I would like something more aggressive and better. I've a set of RP1s I'm looking forward to trying, or might put the Blues in the front as well so there's some balance with temps and friction coefficients.
The pilot and throw out bearings are both beyond fucked now. Totalmx5repair are going to sort it out at some point soon for me so should be fine. It's odd they didn't even last the drive home from when they were put in. Clutch judder is still bad, still unsure why, the old exedy was fine and had no issues so it's also unlikely to be the flywheel, will get them to have a look when we do the bearings.
I fixed the previously mentioned issue with the 6 speed getting into 3rd gear, the nylon cup was pretty worn and with the short shifter I have it can't have any play as it's so precise.
1st, Hawks helped me re-weld the exhaust for the NB, or rather the cat for it as the car was given back to me with it being an inch too short and about 3 degrees out in angle. We noticed the resonated pipe that's been in there in the mean time also was done badly and strained the header to fit. We managed a far better job, in a warehouse, using stands, not in a workshop, with a lift and band saw like when it was originally fabricated
. So big thanks to Hawks for that, the car is much quieter now and I can sort of pass an MOT.2nd. Got married. The NB supercharger pulley shat itself the weekend before ofc as it was meant to be our wedding car. The Celica stepped in to replace it (getting the dress in the NBFL without her in was impossible by itself). This still isn't resolved. The pulley won't bind up no matter how many or few shims I use so I can't work out the min/max specs and shim it correctly in the middle. On the plus side, the Celica now has the GT body kit and spoiler.
3rd. Just got back from a day at Donnington GP circuit. It's sooo much fun, definitely my new favourite track. The car was great, super fast and barely any issues. Got asked 3 times whether it was turbo or supercharged
. This is the first time I've done the circuit with the 6 speed and as I said would likely be the case in a previous post way back the 6 speed is a game changer for Donnington. More choice of gear and better able to keep it in the power which makes all the difference in the uphill sections. Granted the GP circuit has hairpins in it but I was able to use 2nd-5th, unlike with the 5 speed where it was just 3rd or 4th. If I didn't already have the turbo I'd be happy to leave the car as it is, it's not the fastest thing on track, but it's quick (quicker than a k-swap mk1, 2 turbo mk2s, a DC5, R53, etc thanks to silly tyres and brakes), I can do 30 mins sessions at a time, and drive it home.AR1s once again did great in the dry and the wet, really worth the money. I think they've got about 1-2 more track days left in them but not looking forward to forking out the money for more. I did struggle with understeer in the dry though and I duno why. I let the pressures down a bit in the front and then tried to soften the front suspension a bit but I couldn't dial it out. I'm not entirely sure whether it's in part due to too much rear grip, but I'd rather not get a stiffer rear ARB and sacrifice rear grip just to change the balance. I think a decent front splitter would work well so might try that, I'm just worried about it going the other way and ending up too tail happy. It might also be that I'm just asking way too much of the tyres.
Now on EBC Blues in the rear as my stock pads were low enough they'd likely die during the day and I didn't want to be swapping them at the track. A lot of dust but otherwise no issues. I am starting to find I'm not that happy with the DS2500, they're a good pad sure, wear and feel are good, but I feel I would like something more aggressive and better. I've a set of RP1s I'm looking forward to trying, or might put the Blues in the front as well so there's some balance with temps and friction coefficients.
The pilot and throw out bearings are both beyond fucked now. Totalmx5repair are going to sort it out at some point soon for me so should be fine. It's odd they didn't even last the drive home from when they were put in. Clutch judder is still bad, still unsure why, the old exedy was fine and had no issues so it's also unlikely to be the flywheel, will get them to have a look when we do the bearings.
I fixed the previously mentioned issue with the 6 speed getting into 3rd gear, the nylon cup was pretty worn and with the short shifter I have it can't have any play as it's so precise.
