NA Supra - Sprint/Track setup

[SteveR]

While I think of it, have you given any more thought of doing a follow up day there?

Yes and no, it's difficult to work out what would be best: a more detailed day perhaps focussing on track/drift/sprint/drag setups for those of us with interests in that, or a re-run of the one we went to for those that missed out.

 

...no bull$#@! on the way home from the geo setup they flew out the window at speed.

THe place you went to should have them on file, ask for a reprint. Mine are on this forum somewhere, and I don't have any issue with them. My car grips & grips, but it can tramline on very poorly maintained surfaces. Bumps don't generally bother it.

[AlexM]

I'm trying to work out a way of sharing info, but I have a feeling the drift car and your requirements aren't exactly going to be compatible

 

I think the main difference is going to be your need for extra lock, there shouldn't be that much difference in the other areas? I still want to skid too!

 

When do you next plan on going to a DWYB day? It's pretty local to me, I just need to bleed my brakes first..

[AlexM]

First early christmas present has arrived (thanks santa num).

 

I have a sprint (Teeside) and a track day (Anglesey) to go this year, hopefully my jspecs will hold out - then these will be fitted over Christmas.

 

Who's handy with an angle grinder? I have some dust sheilds to remove.

 

[Kirk]

i see you jumped a step ahead of me again on the other hand.... im good with a grinder

[AlexM]

i see you jumped a step ahead of me again on the other hand.... im good with a grinder

 

No sabotage please! It's a pity you're so far up north, we'll see how you're situated for working space when the time comes.

 

I'll be letting you know when I have a spare set of lights for some refurbishment. The ability to see where I'm going in the dark would be brilliant, plus it would really tidy up the look of the car..

[AlexM]

Well, that's the Toyota Sprint Series finished for the year.

 

Last event was at Teesside circuit, in the dark (Results).

 

 

There were 3 practice runs in the light, however it was raining and the track was VERY slippy - I span on at least one of those runs while taking it very easy.

 

 

The rain stopped before it got completely dark, and gave some hope that the track would dry out before the day was over. We had a thirty minute stop before the timed runs would start.

 

Darkness showed up just how bad my headlights were. Full beam was roughly equivalent to dipped beam on Craig's Celica.

 

Run times were -

1. 62.93 - Very wet track, and my first run in the dark

2. 62.07 - Still finding my way around, but an improvement

3. 62.56 - Got a little bit sketchy exiting the last chicane

4. 59.98 - Under a minute!

5. 60.53 - Made a mistake somewhere..

6. 64.78 - Span on entering the last chicane, which was actually the grippy part

 

Somewhere around here a Celica ended up in the tyre wall just after the last chicane, so we had quite a long break..

 

 

Celica was rescued, luckily with minimal damage, and runs continued -

 

7. 59.00 - The track was finally starting to dry up, and I could actually feel what the car was doing. Coming out of the last corner sideways was.. interesting.. but I was really glad with the 59s run! Aim for the last run was to hit the 58's.

 

8. 57.87 - I decided it was time to do some trailbraking (which I'm not used to yet), and entered several corners a fair bit faster than before. It paid off! I was almost in disbelief at seeing such a huge improvement..

 

Unfortunately 57.87 was only good enough for 4th in class (out of 4). However as I was running road tyres, and my car is essentially stock (bar the stripped interior), I was very happy just to be within a few seconds of the others. Sprinting in the dark was excellent fun, and I can't wait to do it again!

 

Aim for 2010 is to get closer to Jeff Lotts, who was the class winner, and to take a win at one event.

Edited October 28, 2009 by AlexM (see edit history)

[bignum]

Good result alex.

[Guest FLZ_Boy]

Congrats on your lap times.

 

A few things to give your SZ an extra edge (I did not read the series regulations, but I figure you can decide if they are allowed):

 

1. If you plan on changing out your locked differential to a LSD, get ring gear (the pinion gear should be the same) from a USDM NA Supra 1993.5 - 1995 to up your final drive to 4.27. OR you can just get a whole differential pumpkin to save yourself the hassle of finding a ring gear and just change out the differential.

 

2. You can remove the windshield wiper fluid tank to save a couple of kg.

 

3. If you plan on body work later, you can remove the antenna and rear wiper motor and it sealed off.

Edited November 27, 2009 by FLZ_Boy (see edit history)

[Luxluc]

Very nice Alex

[AlexM]

Congrats on your lap times.

 

A few things to give your SZ an extra edge (I did not read the series regulations, but I figure you can decide if they are allowed):

 

1. If you plan on changing out your locked differential to a LSD, get ring gear (the pinion gear should be the same) from a USDM NA Supra 1993.5 - 1995 to up your final drive to 4.27. OR you can just get a whole differential pumpkin to save yourself the hassle of finding a ring gear and just change out the differential.

 

2. You can remove the windshield wiper fluid tank to save a couple of kg.

 

3. If you plan on body work later, you can remove the antenna and rear wiper motor and it sealed off.

 

Thanks FLZ_boy.

 

I'm hoping to get the diff off soon and find out what's actually in there, after speaking to Chris Wilson I have a suspicion it may be a 2-way of some sort. Are you sure the USDM NA final drive is 4.27? Seems strange that it would be different from the JPN one.

 

I think windscreen wash is required for an MOT, plus I'd like to keep the ability to clean the windows on the move (it is still a road car) - I'm looking to put a small alternative container somewhere in the passenger side of the car but I'm not overly sure what to look for.

 

Body work.. don't even want to think about that. If I find a suitable bung I'll pull the aerial out, not so sure I want to remove the wiper.

 

Very nice Alex

 

Thanks Luc. I'll take another shot when I actually get your brakes on, if the weather is good this weekend hopefully I can get it done.

[Guest FLZ_Boy]

Only certain years the USDM NA Supra has the final drive ratio of 4.272: 1993.5 to 1996. I reread the pinon gear for the SZ versus USDM; unfortunately, you will need to also get the pinion and ring gear of a USDM NA Supra to get the 4.272 ratio (SZ pinion gear is 12 teeth versus the USDM one is 11 teeth). Note also the ring gear for the SZ is 49 tooth versus the USDM one is 47 tooth. Again, to save yourself a hassle and just plucking out gears, you can just buy a complete used USDM NA rear differential and just take out the open differential and drop in a LSD (with new carrier bearings and oil seals). A used NA rear differential sells in the US for about $200 USD. Be aware that it must be 1993.5 to 1996.

 

Here is a link showing the differential/LSD information of the USDM (aka 2JZ-GE) Supra. Also note that we only received the 5-Speed Manual (W58 for the NA): http://mkiv.com/specifications/ncf/ncf97/ncf026.jpg

 

The NA rear differential should be a bolt on as the JDM Supra Twin Turbo (3.266) can directly bolt on the USDM Supra Twin Turbo differential (3.133). I cannot see why a USDM and JDM NA differential cannot get a dirrect swap. As a personal experience, when I bought my USDM Supra the prior owner swaped out to a JDM differential-not sure if it's from a Supra (4.08) into my NA. I switched it back to the original 4.27.

 

I am from the US and do track my NA Supra (dedicated for track fun only). I spent countless hours trying to re-building to swaping out suspension parts trying to make the NA competitive. The NA Supra is in the same class as a Mazda Miata (MX-5) in performance (lap times).

 

Hope this helps.

Edited November 27, 2009 by FLZ_Boy (see edit history)

[Wez]

Interesting

[Luxluc]

I'll take another shot when I actually get your brakes on, if the weather is good this weekend hopefully I can get it done.

 

[AlexM]

One down, three to go..

 

 

 

 

The dust shield is currently a horrible jaggy mess, as soon as I get my hands on a file I'll be back in there to tidy it up.

[Kirk]

happy to see the studs arrived

[AlexM]

They did, though they had escaped from the jiffy bag they were sent in. Thanks.

[Kirk]

knew i should of boxed them instead... ah well least non were lost

[pedrosixfour]

You can remove the front dust shields altogether mate, it makes for a much tidier job. Simply unbolt them from the stub axle, nip them at their narrowest point and pull them out from behind the hub and Robert is your father's brother.

 

The rear guards are not as accomodating and can only really be trimmed to suit but can still be pared right back out of sight with the right tool.

[AlexM]

Thanks, but too late. I trimmed them all back, made a much tidier job of the other three. Bled the brakes off yesterday (in the dark) and had a quick test run - all seems fine.

 

Hopefully I'll have the car down to SRR next Sunday, then if the engine is fine I'll be looking into battery relocation (not sure on battery or holder yet).

[danwhite]

Nice job , sorry only just found your thread .

 

Thinking of entering the TSS this year would love to find a manual supra in time but may settle for fwd celica 205 instead .

 

Any tips ?.

 

Regards

 

Dan

[AlexM]

Any tips ?

 

Try not to get tempted by a turbo (again, in your case), when you have a non-turbo 5spd it's a confusing and potentially expensive experience!

 

In terms of sprinting.. nothing really shoots to mind. Make sure you have good tyres and brakes, a car that isn't going to fall apart, and do your best to have fun! I ran last year on road tyres, wasn't particularly competitive (except at Rockingham), had to have an engine replaced.. and still enjoyed it.

[AlexM]

I've been unsure for a little while, but have now decided to continue with the Sprint Series this year.

 

First event will be at Rockingham on the 21st March, anyone who'd like to come and watch please let me know (I believe there is a small charge for spectating).

 

I'm also going to attend as many DWYB days at Santa Pod as I can now the car is back on the road, really enjoyed it at Supra Pod last year. I've got a fair few sets of tyres in the shed that need burning up.

 

There hasn't been a massive amount of progress on the car, left it at Silverstone Garage for a month while they tried to find some pieces I'm after and I only picked it up a week or so ago.

 

The following has been done:

Sound deadening partially removed (I'll carry on sometime soon)

Air conditioning system removed

Front undertray replaced (last one got destroyed on the motorway)

Missing piece of air intake replaced

Headlights refurbished (by SUPRALOOPY)

R888s ordered

 

My passenger seat is currently sitting out in the snow, not entirely sure how to dry that out. Unfortunately it's nothing to do with weight saving, I picked up an R154 on Saturday and needed somewhere to put it. I'm sure I'll find a use for that soon.

 

First track day of the year will be at Rockingham on the 6th March, if anyone wishes to come along for some PAX laps you're more than welcome. Show an interest and I'll make an effort to dry the passenger seat out.

[SteveR]

Sounds good mate. I'd be at Rockingham if I weren't out of the country that weekend.

[AlexM]

Went along to DWYB yesterday, first time I've driven the car in anger this year - brilliant fun.

 

 

 

 

[AlexM]

 

 

 

 

Next session unfortunately clashes with Rockingham, but hopefully I'll be back for more at the end of March.