In part two of the build I will be focusing on some smaller jobs that are needed to allow the mounting of the ECU on one of the frame rails in the engine bay. This is possible because the Vi-Pec ECU is fully weather sealed and the location chosen has
Continue readingR53 Turbo Build – Engine Specification
Before Turbo Stock Crank Shaft Stock Connecting Rods ARP Rod Bolts Mahle Motorsport Bearings ARP Head Studs 1320 MINI Big Valve Head with Ferrea Valves, Crower Springs, Titanium Retainers CatCam 1302469 Camshaft Bosch 550cc injectors Home made CAI with ITG GP Filter CAVS 17% Supercharger Pulley JCW GP Intercooler Janspeed
Continue readingR53 Turbo Build – Part One
Preparing the car for conversion to turbocharging requires removing all of the engine ancillaries, inlet and exhaust manifolds. Luckily this can be done with the engine in place, this does save a lot of time but having a lift available does make life a lot easier. The first stage is
Continue readingR53 Turbo Build – Introduction
Performance cars are currently undergoing a bit of a turbocharged revolution with every significant carmaker adopting the technology for its blend of performance and economy. Even cars that previously were considered pinnacles of naturally aspirated technology are being forced down the turbo charger route. With advances in the design and
Continue reading2015 Update and Bedford Autodrome GT
Early in March my car took it’s annual trip to 1320 Mini for the “final” stage of it’s engine power upgrade. Since late last year 1320 had been working on my spare cylinder head to convert it to their top specification Big Valve Head (Ferrea valves, Crower springs and titanium retainers)
Continue readingPorsche Centre Colchester – Cars and Coffee (March 2015)
A few photos from the second cars and coffee event hosted by the Porsche Centre Colchester, an really good collection of cars and superb spring weather.
Continue readingExhausting
Regardless of how you feel about it track day noise limits are with us and only likely to get more restrictive as time goes on. Despite the benefits to the local economies located close to racing circuits it seems a common trend that pressure from residents and local authorities mean
Continue readingOrranje Brake Ducts
In addition to swapping the original master cylinder for the uprated version from an E46 M3 (you can read the blog post here) the other area of the brakes I knew needed attention is the cooling. On longer circuits the brakes have a bit of time to recover between heavy
Continue readingE46 M3 Master Cylinder Swap
Please Note: this doesn’t work unless you have someone who can make a new rod to connect between the pedal and the master cylinder, the stock one isn’t long enough. I gave up and decided to concentrate on something else, maybe I’ll revisit some day… One of the areas of my car I’d
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