NA Supra - Sprint/Track setup

[Wez]

Great pics matey

[bignum]

Cool pics, hey just noticed your spoiler is back on, for extra downforce;), how many cones did you muller:)

[AlexM]

Great pics matey

 

Thanks Wez, almost looks like I know what I'm doing.

 

Cool pics, hey just noticed your spoiler is back on, for extra downforce;), how many cones did you muller:)

 

I killed one cone, twice (as did several other people), I think it's frequently bullied. Tapped a few but no damage, and came very close to hitting the concrete blocks on the big track several times need a fair bit more practice before I can link that.

[T2 MSW]

Its harder than it looks aint it Alex. So easy to damage the car

 

See you at Rockingham

[JamieP]

Looks like you had fun mate:)

[AlexM]

Its harder than it looks aint it Alex. So easy to damage the car

 

See you at Rockingham

 

Just needs more seat time than Gripping I think, I'll get there. Survived without damage, just need to give the car a clean before Rockingham.

 

Looks like you had fun mate:)

 

I did too, fancy taking a Wednesday off for one of the future DWYBs?

[AlexM]

Who said the Supra wasn't practical?

 

 

[Luxluc]

Looks like a lot of fun Alex.

How are the brakes performing?

[AlexM]

Looks like a lot of fun Alex.

How are the brakes performing?

 

The brakes have had a very easy life so far Luc, having only done a little road driving and drifting since fitting them. They feel pretty solid, but I'll have a better idea after Rockingham this Saturday.

[Luxluc]

The brakes have had a very easy life so far Luc, having only done a little road driving and drifting since fitting them. They feel pretty solid, but I'll have a better idea after Rockingham this Saturday.

 

Have fun then

[AlexM]

How are the brakes performing?

 

Update:

Upgraded brakes + R888s = Awesome.

 

The difference the tyres made was mind blowing, and the brakes held up fantastically all day. I just need to do a little bleeding and I'm ready for the next track day!

[little num]

7th april oulton, you know you wanna.

[Luxluc]

Update:

Upgraded brakes + R888s = Awesome.

 

The difference the tyres made was mind blowing, and the brakes held up fantastically all day. I just need to do a little bleeding and I'm ready for the next track day!

 

[T2 MSW]

Really need to go out in this at the net one Alex. I had that many people to take out I just did not get chance. Thanks for taking Phil out he loved it

[AlexM]

Really need to go out in this at the net one Alex. I had that many people to take out I just did not get chance. Thanks for taking Phil out he loved it

 

No problem, I haven't been in yours either yet. There were quite a few cars I wanted a ride in at Rockingham, but the day finished before I got around to it! I did have a ride out with Chris though.

 

Could Phil be tempted to get a Supra to use alongside his econobox?

 

Got a few shots from one of the northloop members...

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest PaulT]

Car is looking awesome, Alex

 

This is a sort of thread hijack, but it is relevant! I'm also looking at cars for the naturally-aspirated above 1.6-litre class in the sprint series, and the Supra looks like a pretty competitive choice, but I'm struggling a bit to understand the suspension configuration.

 

The word on the net is that a na Supra has a weight distribution of about 51/49, so very slightly heavier on the front than the back. The turbo version goes to 53/47, apparently with the extra weight of the turbo assembly.

 

Either way, it is just about where you want it, really. But if you look at coilovers, eg. from Tein or BC Racing, they seem to put much stronger springs on the front axle than the rear, which is not what I would expect for a 50/50 car. I think we are looking at 16kgf/mm on the front and 9kgf/mm on the back for a circuit set-up.

 

Can anybody tell me why this is? I presume Tein know what they are doing

 

What have I missed?

 

Thanks for any help

 

Paul.

[Wez]

Car is looking awesome, Alex

 

This is a sort of thread hijack, but it is relevant! I'm also looking at cars for the naturally-aspirated above 1.6-litre class in the sprint series, and the Supra looks like a pretty competitive choice, but I'm struggling a bit to understand the suspension configuration.

 

The word on the net is that a na Supra has a weight distribution of about 51/49, so very slightly heavier on the front than the back. The turbo version goes to 53/47, apparently with the extra weight of the turbo assembly.

 

Either way, it is just about where you want it, really. But if you look at coilovers, eg. from Tein or BC Racing, they seem to put much stronger springs on the front axle than the rear, which is not what I would expect for a 50/50 car. I think we are looking at 16kgf/mm on the front and 9kgf/mm on the back for a circuit set-up.

 

Can anybody tell me why this is? I presume Tein know what they are doing

 

What have I missed?

 

Thanks for any help

 

Paul.

 

I would speak to a trader on here called Chris Wilson as he knows a thing or two about suspension setups, he also does some great suspension setups for the MKIV, failing that I would look into Nitrons and Ohlins

[AlexM]

Just gave the car it's third wash of the year (I was feeling generous), so took a few shots..

 

 

Probably the shiniest part of the car (and I didn't even clean it..), I picked the best wheel of the four too.

 

 

Half the sound deadening is out, I need to get the rest out and give the interior a huge tidy up. Currently it's filthy (drifting in the wet with the windows open didn't help!).

 

 

Stuck the nearside headlight in the oven today to get the condensation out.

 

 

Looking just as good as the offside light now (Refurbished by DW Services / SUPRALOOPY).

 

 

Air Con pump has disappeared, and the battery securely clamped down (Done by Silverstone Garage.. I'll move the battery at a later date).

 

 

A shot from the other side to finish up. Doesn't look too bad considering all the war wounds it's collected!

 

 

I've got a few minor things I'd like to do to it this year, but nothing major (that can wait until next Christmas)..

Front bumper needs replacing, this one is bent and I can't properly attach the undertray (and I don't want to lose another one!).

Side plastics need refitting/replacing with the proper clips.

That fog light HAS TO GO (Horrible unsightly thing!).

Various sets of wheels need tidying up / respraying.

Clean the engine bay (It's filthy ).

Fix the heater / get heated windscreen.

Remove rest of sound insulation and clean up / spray the interior.

Possibly try tinting the indicators..

 

First Sprint next Sunday (I'm entering as a reserve, rather than joining the whole series), lets see how I do against those Celica's with some R888s..

[T2 MSW]

Looking good Alex. That tying down the battery clamps is a good idea but only if you have an isolator as its not quick to remove the battery terminals if you need to in a hurry. This may be the next thing on mine as I learned at Rockingham

[AlexM]

Bazza was nice enough to give me one of these today...

 

 

[Gaz6002]

Nice work mate

[Wez]

Wow, well done matey

 

What other metal was in your class?

[AlexM]

What other metal was in your class?

 

Several 2.0l Celicas, a 1.8l Celica, and a 2l MR2. I don't know many specifics of the cars (they're not models I've ever been interested in) but I was happy to beat Jeff in his Celica (he took overall honours last year). Whether I can repeat that at any of the other tracks remains to be seen.

 

Finally got around to scanning my dyno result from SRR last year, completely stock setup so nothing special.

 

 

 

Next 'mod' is likely to be a reclining bucket seat. I need to find one that's relatively comfortable, which sits lower than stock (headroom is an issue at the moment), and allows safe use of both the standard seatbelt and a harness. That could be fun to find!

 

I'll update the first post one day, it's a bit out of date.

[AlexM]

Geometry was partially adjusted by Wheels in Motion last week, who fitted me in at very short notice. Next sprint event was Barkston Heath, which is relatively tight and twisty and definitely not the Supra's strong point - I needed all the help I could get.

 

Unfortunately all the rear adjusters are seized up, that's number 1 on the 'to do' list before event 3 in June. Fronts were adjusted by about a degree, I'll put a scan up when I get near a scanner.

 

Round 2 (Barkston Heath) was Yesterday.

 

Mini event-writeup:

 

Practice 1 was on a very damp track, and I had fresh tyres and a recently adjusted car, which I hadn't yet driven in anger. I had an experimental run, discovering that the front end had surprisingly good grip, and very quickly afterwards that the back did not.

Result: 2 dead tyres and 1 dead pole. Car now in 2 pieces.

 

Practice 2 was again on a very damp track, and I took it slightly easier. Made it around most of the track, only to find a very wet patch on the last corner of the circuit..

Result: 3 dead cones, another dead pole.

 

They were going to love me today.

 

Jeff advised doing a bit of dramatic side to side running up the runway to bed my tyres in, which I gratefully accepted and went on my way. A couple of runs took the shine off the tyres and would hopefully give me a little more grip.

 

I decided to take it easy for the first timed run, last year I filled my timing sheet with 'VOID' (clipping a cone/stick etc will result in a void run) and I didn't want to repeat that. The first run still felt quite fast though, and I thought it'd give a decent time..

Result: 64.51s. That can't be right?

 

It was, unfortunately. Leaving me 5th of 6 Class C contenders.

 

Well I had my banker run in, so I started giving it a little more.

Run 2 result: 61.20s. Up to 2nd in Class!

 

The track was slowly drying out, so I made my aim to go for a 59s run (something I never got anywhere near last year). I didn't expect to win, but that was a result I would be happy with.

 

Run 3 result: 59.85s. Well that didn't take long. Guess I need a new aim! I didn't know at the time, but I'd just overtaken Jeff, who had run 60.00s.

 

The time sheet for the day said lunch after round 3, so I was more focused on food than on run 4 (which was put before lunch, as we were ahead of schedule).

I ran a 59.97s, still close to before. Jeff ran a 60.10s, guess he was hungry too.

 

The rain tried to make an appearance during lunch, and it looked like we were going to be rained off. However it didn't stay, and bolstered by a sausage and egg sandwich it was on to Run 5. Due to an ever-drying track, it was just a case of experimenting on how far I could push..

Run 5: 59.28s (Jeff 59.55s)

Run 6: 58.86s (Jeff 59.32s)

Run 7: 58.57s (Jeff 59.01s)

 

It looked like I had almost half a second in the bag, but Jeff was still improving. So I went for it on Run 8 as I wanted to be sure.. and ran wide. First VOID timed run of the day . I didn't know what Jeff had run, as we're not told the final result until prize giving. There was a bit of a wait until then, so I put the road tyres back on and waited.

 

Result:

 

Jeff had run a 58.70s. Close, but not quite there! Final Results (Class C).

 

Video of my 7th run (apologies about audio)

9Op_LKt7qAw

 

Round 3 is on the 6th June at Sculthorpe.

[Wez]

Wow matey, well done, another great result