smudge

Orrrrr I could have a word with a friend of mine that works at Let's Race in Horley?
 
http://www.letsrace.co.uk/

Got bored this afternoon so started playing around with the new brakes
  1st up was seeing how big these were over the standard ones, so I just placed the disc on the studs to take a look   Standard setup     362mm disc covers the old caliper and disc!     Then I decided to clean them up a bit and split the discs from the bells to get everything looking good again   Dirty carrier compared to a cleaned up one     2 cleaned up carriers     Discs and bells split apart     Clear that they've lost some colour, so thinking about painting them black along with the carriers too so that the new calipers stand out more     And finally checked the condition of the discs a bit more closely, everything seems to be spot on. Still 32mm thick, no sign of wear whatsoever really!     Plan is to spray the bells and carriers black, clean up all the bolts that hold the discs together and get the calipers looking smart in a special colour

As mentioned after TSS at Snetterton, brakes have been on the shopping list for some time
 
I'm not a fan of K Sport or D2 after seeing a few friends with them have issues over the years, so my only options were Brembo or AP but I really couldn't justify the £2000 price tag that they come with
 
So I started looking at some old Scooby conversions that a few people have done, and came across some AP's off an 05 Blob-eyed Scooby...just couldn't say no!
 
6 pot calipers with 362mm discs! That should do the trick! need to be smartened up a bit and I'll be putting my own custom touch on them as I have done with everything else on the car
 

 

 
Unfortunately it does mean I need some bigger track wheels...my 17's barely fit the discs let alone the calipers!
 

 
Doubt I'll get them fitted before Rockingham on 1st November but updates will be over the next few weeks 

As per the title. I'm trying to decide whether or not i want to make a long term plan for FI etc or if i want to start saving a deposit for a new car. The new Civic type R looks like it's going to be an animal, M235i looks like an absolute beaut, C63 AMG for ~20k next year i'd imagine. Decisions decisions!

Nice little purchase to smarten up the heated seat buttons

In my opinion its stance has been ruined, something more subtle like Smudges car is perfect.

It's like 1/4 oval but the rest is all twists and turns inside the oval

Hotel booked Saturday night, £52 for a double room
 
And entry fee for Rockingham all paid up too!

Yea it leaks air, but it doesn't stay at the temperature you turned it off at

Over 200miles on them today, nothing really too testing though. Very quiet in the motorway cruise and very comfortable
 
I went for 255/35/18
 
Awesome sunny day at Trax, car got a LOT of attention
 
 

Quick video of the startup sequence from the gauges as well
 

Bit of an update, midway through my 3 day prep for Trax on Sunday   1st off was some front-end work including new grills, chrome indicator bulbs and removal of front fog lights   Front bumper as fairly simple to take off       All out     Bulbs changed       Comparison of the grills     Before     After       Note the front badge has gone too, only to be changed though as it looks weird without one. Glue is a BIATCH to get off!!!     Then it was time for a full wash, polish and wax         And new badges on, front and back         So she's all shiny and ready to go!   But wait, there's more!!!   Today was a bit more gruelling than just a clean and some small swaps. Today was fitting of the gauges, lowering the coilovers and fitting the new wheels!   1st off, sealed the wheels up and got some Hankook rubber fitted       And then fitted the oil filter sandwich plate so that the sensors for the gauges could be added     And after an age of having to CUT my dashboard to get everything to fit, we have a boost gauge, oil temp and oil pressure gauge fitted       Oil pressure doesn't want to see to register for some reason, so will look at that tomorrow...   Next up was lowering the coilovers by just under an inch all round to get her sitting how I wanted     Got a bit stuck with the ARB links being a bit of a bitch, so ran out of time after she was lowered. Ending up with this         All ready for a final wash and new wheels to be put on tomorrow before heading up to Trax     Stay tuned to see the wheels, which will TRANSFORM the car!

Just looking back on yesterday, I spent 2 hours cruising up to Snetterton, a few little sprints out of roundabouts here and there, a full day of sprinting round the track and then a 3 hour drive home (stuck in traffic). The car really had a full day on it's hands, and she didn't miss a beat. Love her more than ever right now
  Couple of videos from yesterday   My 2nd run when the track was very greasy in the morning and I was still getting used to the new setup that I'd changed a little bit     Then my 7th run which was my 2nd fastest run of the day (can tell I was pushing a bit harder than the 1st video) Didn't get to record my fastest as the battery in the GoPro went     Really annoying that into Hamilton's (fast left hander) and then Oggy's (tight right hander) I was hitting the limiter about 200 yards too early, so couldn't shift up and had to coast into the corner. But main thing to take away is that I need some better brakes! The OEM ones do NOT like being stamped on with FI power going through the wheels!

Was at Snetterton today for my 1st session of the Toyota Sprint Series. 6 races throughout the year where Toyota's of all shapes and sizes compete together   Started by leaving my place at 4.30am, had to get a cheeky photo when I stopped at Thurrock Services     Of all the entrants, the GT86 is a popular car     Which are split into 3 classes:   N2 - Naturally aspirated street class F2 - Forced induction street class F1 - Forced induction pro class   I was in class F2 with 3 others today. Played around with the HKS suspension a fair bit and managed to settle her down a lot more after the 1st run was very twitchy on the tight circuit. Was getting faster and faster throughout the day, and the car was really coming together, if not a bit hot     So glad I'm not in the F1 class, I'd be up against this 400bhp beast!     A fantastic day, great to meet some new faces - really enjoyed it and even came away with a trophy for finishing 2nd in the F2 class! Mas in the HKS GT86 was 2 seconds quicker, and after a few laps on the open track afterwards, we put it down to not being confident enough on the OEM brakes. Mas is able to stamp on his Brembo setup a lot harder and later than I can, making you a lot more confident going into a corner. Looks like brakes are next on my shopping list!     Eyes on 1st place at the next stage in Croft in September   Videos will be posted tomorrow

Was at Snetterton today for my 1st session of the Toyota Sprint Series. 6 races throughout the year where Toyota's of all shapes and sizes compete together   Started by leaving my place at 4.30am, had to get a cheeky photo when I stopped at Thurrock Services     Of all the entrants, the GT86 is a popular car     Which are split into 3 classes:   N2 - Naturally aspirated street class F2 - Forced induction street class F1 - Forced induction pro class   I was in class F2 with 3 others today. Played around with the HKS suspension a fair bit and managed to settle her down a lot more after the 1st run was very twitchy on the tight circuit. Was getting faster and faster throughout the day, and the car was really coming together, if not a bit hot     So glad I'm not in the F1 class, I'd be up against this 400bhp beast!     A fantastic day, great to meet some new faces - really enjoyed it and even came away with a trophy for finishing 2nd in the F2 class! Mas in the HKS GT86 was 2 seconds quicker, and after a few laps on the open track afterwards, we put it down to not being confident enough on the OEM brakes. Mas is able to stamp on his Brembo setup a lot harder and later than I can, making you a lot more confident going into a corner. Looks like brakes are next on my shopping list!     Eyes on 1st place at the next stage in Croft in September   Videos will be posted tomorrow

Today was awesome, picked up my new wheels and interior bits being sprayed in my custom colour
  We went for the grey from the Toyota (61K) as a basecoat, with my custom blend of purple pearl over the top. The result - oh WOW! Unfortunately it's very hard to take a decent picture of and really needs to be seen in the flesh           Got all the pieces home     And started to fit them             Loving the look, getting rid of all the cheap looking silver in the interior. Just got to modify some of the dash to fit the gauge pod in the passenger side of the dash to finish it off   Last but not least, the wheels! These are SEXY MOFOS!         Wheels will be fitted in a week or so, just waiting for tyres to come through   Prepared the car for TSS (Toyota Sprint Series) at Snetterton tomorrow, heading up in the morning for some more thrashing around a track got my own GoPro this time so will upload some more videos at the weekend

Today was awesome, picked up my new wheels and interior bits being sprayed in my custom colour
  We went for the grey from the Toyota (61K) as a basecoat, with my custom blend of purple pearl over the top. The result - oh WOW! Unfortunately it's very hard to take a decent picture of and really needs to be seen in the flesh           Got all the pieces home     And started to fit them             Loving the look, getting rid of all the cheap looking silver in the interior. Just got to modify some of the dash to fit the gauge pod in the passenger side of the dash to finish it off   Last but not least, the wheels! These are SEXY MOFOS!         Wheels will be fitted in a week or so, just waiting for tyres to come through   Prepared the car for TSS (Toyota Sprint Series) at Snetterton tomorrow, heading up in the morning for some more thrashing around a track got my own GoPro this time so will upload some more videos at the weekend

Today was awesome, picked up my new wheels and interior bits being sprayed in my custom colour
  We went for the grey from the Toyota (61K) as a basecoat, with my custom blend of purple pearl over the top. The result - oh WOW! Unfortunately it's very hard to take a decent picture of and really needs to be seen in the flesh           Got all the pieces home     And started to fit them             Loving the look, getting rid of all the cheap looking silver in the interior. Just got to modify some of the dash to fit the gauge pod in the passenger side of the dash to finish it off   Last but not least, the wheels! These are SEXY MOFOS!         Wheels will be fitted in a week or so, just waiting for tyres to come through   Prepared the car for TSS (Toyota Sprint Series) at Snetterton tomorrow, heading up in the morning for some more thrashing around a track got my own GoPro this time so will upload some more videos at the weekend

One of the guys put all our videos together instead of uploading them separately (idiot!) so I've used a site to chop my 2 videos:   2nd run out I think, had a press guy videoing me in the car. Awkward when he sticks the camera IN MY FACE! lol   http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3444857   And then 6th run out I think, BIG drift on the way out of the "pit" area lol plus you can just about hear some supercharger whine too   http://www.tubechop.com/watch/3444884

So was up early this morning to get the alignment and tracking done. Woke up to this! Bit of toe in me thinks!     Seems we weren't as accurate as we thought yesterday...so the drive to get the alignment done was fun! Jumping all over the place   Up on the ramps to get some Federal 595's fitted to my track wheels       And then onto the Hawkeye system to get the alignment done   I went for -2degrees camber on the front and -2degrees on the rear with toe at 0 degrees front and back. Front end probably needs to go a little lower so depending on how we got on at Dunsfold on Tuesday, I'll be back to tweak before Snetterton on Saturday     Before and after     And the finished article     Still getting used to it, but such a difference over stock. Cornering is flat, braking is sharper due to less diving at the front, everything is tighter but still perfectly comfortable

Rob see's my setup pull away from him at Grasshopper meet, decides not to participate in any more TSS
 
Coincidence? I think not
 
Shame to hear that, would've been a good showdown matey

Let's throw this into the battle for TSS
 
Today was a good day, HKS coilovers, Summit rear camber arms, Summit rear toe arms and Work CR Kai alloys went on. Just my track wheels for now in preparation for Dunsfold (Top Gear Test Track) on Tuesday and TSS at Snetterton on Saturday next week   Started off with getting her up in the air and all 4 wheels off     And a quick snap of the shiney bits going on     Old suspension struts and camber arms next to the new ones     And after a few hours with only 1 bolt giving me any trouble, we had the rear struts, camber and toe arms in       Front took us literally 20mins each side, so quick that I forgot to get any pictures!   So the track wheels went on, getting new rubber fitted to these tomorrow morning     With some shiney new wheel nuts        And a quickie of the new rear setup     End result       Looks so much better, haven't been out for a drive yet but will report back after my trip to get alignment and new tyres on tomorrow morning

Adjustable camber and toe arms turned up today, ready for fitting with the coilovers at the weekend    

Liking the badges Ian!

New Grazio&Co front & rear badges turned up from japan today in black chrome.

Japanparts No : 492-003-003