GravelRash

I had a similar thought as you and had asked Matt@Cosworth and his feedback was as under.
the low temp thermostat in the car, this is worth about 3-4 bhp on its own plus you can then get another 1.5° of spark in there as the heads are colder which results in another 3 bhp
 
Am sure Cosworth did their R&D thoroughly on it and have spent hours on testing the engine on an engine dyno which no one else has done. That is why came up with a LT Thermostat in their package. If it were just a transient gain, they wouldn't recommend it.

It’s been a while since I’ve update this thread, and that’s mostly as the car has been running without fault, the only issue that’s been niggling for the last while is a crunchy shift on 2nd gear, something that becomes audibly worse as gearbox temperatures rise during a session on track.
I was pretty sure the issue was a worn synchro even through the gearbox already had carbon synchros installed by PAR Engineering when the straight cut gearset was originally installed by them. I intended on farming out the job of rebuilding the gearbox but pickings are slim here in Ireland and I couldn’t find anyone that instilled any confidence when I spoke to them so decided I’d just go ahead and do it myself.
The patient on the operating table




 
For the most part the gear sets, shafts and synchros were in good order with the exception of 2nd gear. Unfortunately it appears the carbon synchro had delaminated and in turn the poor alignment had pretty much damaged all the engagement teeth on the gear itself. Its hard to see from the photos but the damage was sufficient to warrant a new 2nd gear from PAR Engineering which took a number of weeks to arrive.
Damaged 2nd Gear

 

Once the new 2nd gear arrived it was time to put it all back together


 

Thankfully with that lot completed and a couple of track-days since reinstall under my belt I can say that 2nd gear changes are now butter smooth 

You don't need to leave it in the OBD2 port. I have the ECuTek dongle permanently in because I use it to monitor the car, but the car runs fine without it attached.

It’s the wire that comes off the handbrake switch.

Is this for a (pioneer) stereo install? You can buy parking brake sensor bypasses for about £15 and save yourself from having to splice in to factory wiring

Two thoughts on this
A.) The engine bay isn't water tight and everything is designed to get wet
B.) My car looks like a steam train when the wraps get wet and they puff.
Personally I put something (usually a flattened piece of cardboard) under the bonnet when the car is outside and parked, and this is more to keep excess moisture off the wraps / air intake. I also have some rain guards, but TBH i found them a PITA to take off when I wanted to drive the car, and I always removed them when driving regardless of weather.
Another factor on the rain-guards was they are excellent funnels for melted ice water when snow rests on them.
My take, I don't worry about, if things break then it's a great excuse to upgrade them.

Suspension bushings adjusting? Might be worth giving the bushes a liberal spray with a lubricant and then see if it continues. This isn't a full fix but more of a diagnostic technique to help identify the cause.

The oil consumption doesn't sound right - have you had it checked out?

Hi,
Last weekend I fitted the Cusco steering rack braces. This week the TRD brace kit arrived and therefore I have the TRD steering rack braces as well. They cannot both be fitted together so I need to make a choice. The car also has new polybushes in the steering rack.
At the moment my drivers side has the TRD brace fitted and the passenger side has the Cusco. I've not driven the car so I have no experience of either at the moment. I have a slight preference but it's based on nothing scientific.
Does anyone have any experience of these and does anyone have an opinion of which might be better? I do have a preference but I'd like to hear what others think.
The set that doesn't get picked will be available for purchase.
The TRD bracket. Sorry about the angle, the car's in the air and I was on my back.

The Cusco Bracket on the car:

 
And what it looks like off the car

A friend in his S2000, getting instructions to improve lap times.
 

From the recent Oulton Park trackday. Taken by a local photographer.

 

People always show washed gleaming cars in scenic locations, so I thought I'd show the darkside.
It's dirty, unwashed, up in the air for some maintenance, getting ready for some hard miles in the summer sun.
Please excuse the mess behind it, I've just moved house.

From the recent Oulton Park trackday. Taken by a local photographer.

 

The FA24 engine overview for the geeks amongst us.

https://motor--fan-jp.translate.goog/mf/article/1636/?_x_tr_sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en-GB&_x_tr_pto=ajax,nv,elem


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Little shot, from prepping the car ahead of a recent Trackday

The length of time is something I was aware of but circumstances was such that I just wasn't able to get the car in the air. Since moving to the new house I can raise and lower the car at will.
My next course of action is to complete the oil change, run the fresh oil for 1000 miles and then flush and pull the system again.

Doesn't look anything serious. And you are right contaminated oil will not give the right result.
For peace of mind if you wish , you could flush the current oil after using using Liqui Moly Engine Flush and put in fresh oil. It will remove any deposits.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001CZSG94/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_RCW2APXVPY1NGWGMWQX5?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

For future I will suggest 6 mth oil changes /3 track day as you have a heavily modified car. Not worth leaving the oil for too long as its small cost to pay.

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Sorry , can't specifically answer the metal question as I don't have a magnetic drain plug.

Do you still have the oil with you? If yes, you can buy an oil analysis kit from Millers Oils for about £50 and send it to them for feedback. You will exactly and scientifically be able to gauge what exactly is happening.



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A fine layer of tiny metallic sludge is ok. If you see anything bigger than the head of a pin then you may have an issue. Anything that starts to look like pencil lead sharpening is not good at all in my opinion.
The FA20 is all Alluminium (which isnt magnetic) so anything you find on the plug must be coming from crank/camshafts, valves, bearings, chains etc

I don't think so. Valet mode stops the car from revving so there's no hoonage. The MOT emission checks are done at idle.
AFAIUI remaps use the stock ECU for idle control and only really do their thing higher up the rev ranges when fueling and ignition need to be adjusted.

Maybe you just tuned into it. I'd been driving mine for months before suddenly becoming aware of a noise whilst cruising on a motorway. Turned out to the air-con clutch.

Yeah, that's my guess as well.

People always show washed gleaming cars in scenic locations, so I thought I'd show the darkside.
It's dirty, unwashed, up in the air for some maintenance, getting ready for some hard miles in the summer sun.
Please excuse the mess behind it, I've just moved house.

Hmm, that's dirty?
After one "track day" on "supposedly ice track" but with still enough gravel & grass ..

People always show washed gleaming cars in scenic locations, so I thought I'd show the darkside.
It's dirty, unwashed, up in the air for some maintenance, getting ready for some hard miles in the summer sun.
Please excuse the mess behind it, I've just moved house.

I'm a fan of black on black