Sam's build thread

[seangti]

From what Sean has said the RS RR with that tread cut tyre roars like a mofo if that kind of thing gets to you. Are you just going to run them on the front or get a full set?

Yeah, they make a racket. But got better laps times and felt better than the Kumho V70's I'd ran prior and still gripping later in life. For the price, it just meant I could do silly things on track if I wanted and not care about the tyre damage/longevity. "out for a good time, not a long time"

[simon k]

Yeah, they make a racket. But got better laps times and felt better than the Kumho V70's I'd ran prior and still gripping later in life. For the price, it just meant I could do silly things on track if I wanted and not care about the tyre damage/longevity. "out for a good time, not a long time"

I ended up with a pair of R888Rs and a pair of A050s, then someone offered me some 225/50 A048s so I'll grab them too. Won't need tyres for a while

Some of the locals are building up cars to go in the Hyundai Excel series. The control tyre for the series is 595 RSRR in 195/50 so I'll be able to grab them for the rears as another option.

[sambb]

Got the call that the gearbox is finished so i'll pick that up next week. So now I'm thinking clutches......which will be the best clutch setup considering that:
a) with the Kaaz LSD I'll have a lot more grip off the line and while the ECS stage 1 has been ok with the wavetrac, I'm wondering if clutch slip might creep in.
b) OR is keeping the ECS stage 1 setup advisable given that a weak link isn't such a bad idea. Think Subaru boxes. I have no idea if the stock 5 speed will be able to cope with hard launches when a much more uprated clutch bites fully and both fronts hunker down and grip.

Current setup on a stage 2 tune 230-240hp/300Nm?, 14lb steel flywheel, ECS stage 1 clutch 250 lb ft (338Nm).

From what I can gather the stg 1 clutch lits are just a VR6 plate and cover. They often claim higher clamping force than stock but I don't think this means the pressure plates are anything custom or special, its just that the VR6 pressure plate has a higher clamping force than the stock Polo one.
The Stg 2 clutch kits seem to range from standard VR6 clutch plates and slightly higher clamping force pressure plates to get max torque up to 320 (430Nm) which is heaps and may or may not have hybrid clutch plates eg Kevlar on one side, sintered/organic on the other 340lb (475Nm).
Another option I've heard come up from UK guys and also Brian from GTI Imports is to run a VR6 clutch plate with a VW Transporter pressure plate which is apparently like the more basic Stg 2 kits outlined above but also cost effective.

So if anyone has their (personal experience) opinions on whether the change to the proper LSD alone dictates that I need an uprated clucth OR on the contrary if staying with what I've got will protect the gearbox (that's if it even needs protecting) , I'd like to hear it. Weighing into that is the future possibility of going up moderately in turbo size to a K03 hybrid eg BBT280 or a Garret GT2554R.

[sambb]

PS. other thing to consider is that I'm not going to do the rods. If they go all bendy in my current engine then I'll just swing my spare engine in BUT it is feasible that a good plate diff launch coupled with a solid clutch might just stress the rods a lot more. Given that the stg 1 clutch options are rated to 250lb ft (340Nm), maybe in the interest of rod preservation the existing clutch setup will be fine?

[Sydneykid]

For a combo car I'd be more inclined to go for a higher pressure plate camping force rather than a more bitey friction material. As long as your leg is strong enough you can modulate the heavier pressure plate. Which is something you can't do as easily with a high CoF friction plate. Not just for launch but also gear changes, where the impact loads can be very high.

Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

noice. Thanks Gary. I'll have to get some feedback on what the transporter PP feels like compared to the VR6 PP. The stg 1 was actually a softer pedal than the stock dual mass flywheel/clutch setup, so something back to stock would be easily tolerable. Nothing too brutal though - doing Jiu Jitsu over the years has left my knees in a pretty clicky crunchy state and doing 600 depressions on the way to work on a really heavy pedal doesn't really appeal. Cool - i'll look into the uprated pressure plates with normal full face sprung centre clutches then. thx

[sambb]

For anyone whose interested I'd asked Kaaz if the normal clutch/plate LSD break in procedure was needed given that my diff is fitted with the apparently ready to go "Super Q" plates. They said:
Hi Sam, That is correct. Figure 8 procedure and oil change afterward will not be required with Super Q spec. Although break-in is not necessary, we highly recommend you to put the diff through few heat cycles before putting heavy load on it. Drive normal for about 45 minutes and then cool down at least 30 min. Then repeat couple more times. This will make the plates and the gears inside seat into each other properly and make the diff stronger.

[Sydneykid]

noice. Thanks Gary. I'll have to get some feedback on what the transporter PP feels like compared to the VR6 PP. The stg 1 was actually a softer pedal than the stock dual mass flywheel/clutch setup, so something back to stock would be easily tolerable. Nothing too brutal though - doing Jiu Jitsu over the years has left my knees in a pretty clicky crunchy state and doing 600 depressions on the way to work on a really heavy pedal doesn't really appeal. Cool - i'll look into the uprated pressure plates with normal full face sprung centre clutches then. thx

Depending on the pedal travel you can improve the hydraulic ratio (lessen the pedal effort) by going to a larger master cylinder bore or a smaller bore slave cylinder. Often diesels have a different hydraulic ratio due to their stronger pressure plates, maybe worth checking.

My Skyline has an OS Giken twin plate (rated at 1,000 nm's) and after a couple of track days I broke the clutch pedal bracket. Had to reweld it and then I added some gussets to make sure it doesn't happen again. It happened during a Chase Run at Bathurst, so I did a temp fix with a hundred or so cable ties

Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

reinforcing the clutch release fork had crossed my mind for that reason. Finding out now if that's necessary.
Its possibe that the TDi's had a smaller slave - if so that'd be an easy solution. good thinking.

[Sydneykid]

reinforcing the clutch release fork had crossed my mind for that reason. Finding out now if that's necessary.
Its possibe that the TDi's had a smaller slave - if so that'd be an easy solution. good thinking.

You will just need to make sure that the pedal travel is enough to disengage the clutch. On one car I had to adjust the clutch pedal stop (upwards) to allow for more travel. Maybe an adjustable master cylinder push rod, if it isn't already adjustable.


Cheers
Gary