31 replies to this topic

[RemKingston]

Some images are now dead.  All content can be found here: http://remkingston.co.uk

 

Most of this is in the intro section but I thought I'd start a thread here as the ball is already rolling on some changes.

So where did it all start?
This was a purchase on a bit of a whim. I've got a Mondeo as a daily driver and am fortunate enough to have secure storage where I work. Whilst at a house party - there was no one else wanting a cigarette at the time - I jumped on my on-line banking and had a very compelling offer for a loan. A quick flick through the Classifieds and the rest is history...


Spec when purchased:
Engine:

● Honda K20 2.0ltr EP3 VTEC engine with throttle bodies setup - a claimed 250bhp.

Suspension:

●Z Cars tubular front subframe, adjustable front camber/caster and tracking
●Adjustable Pro-tech coilover spring damper units
●Z Cars rear suspension setup
●Trailing arms in bespoke subframe
●Adjustable camber toe
●Adjustable Pro-tech coilover spring damper units
●Rear anti-roll bar.

Brakes:

●Wilwood 4 pot big brake kit

Wheels:

●7x13 inch superlites

Interior:

●Carbon fibre bucket seats with trs 4 point harnesses
●Carbon fibre dashboard with ETB digi dash 2 display system incorporating all instrumentation functions
●MOMO mini steering wheel
●Carbon fibre door panels and carbon fibre/alloy and perspex bulkhead

Exterior:

●Mini bodyshell minus rear bulkhead, seat squab, boot floor and parcel shelf
●Z Cars rear subframe
●Roll cage
●Fibreglass front end and bonnet
●Carbon fibre wide arches


Some more photos:


Photo of her upon getting back from Leeds to Essex:




After a quick clean, wax and polish:



















She did come with an additional front splitter which is ridiculous and not for road use...:



 


Photo of damaged Manifold in situ:



Exhaust off:



Just dropped the manifold down to AtSpeed in Rayleigh and should be done by 5pm.
In the meantime while the exhaust is off, going to do an oil change and service due to the extra access.

Potentially, I should be able to make this evening if all goes to plan *fingers crossed*




A day out with PistonHeads:

Edited by RemKingston, 26 February 2015 - 05:40 PM.

[RemKingston]

Had our first proper track day today and a steep learning curve was quick in toe.

So the Mini needs some setting up on the suspension.

I've also found that the braking ratio front to back needs dialling in too. At the moment it is 80-90% front

The front camber at speed (the oversized front splitter may have added to the effect):



Since getting the car, I've attended a couple of mornings with the PistonHeads crowd and met a guy with an Ariel Atom.
It has the same 2.0l VTEC lump but with a supercharger so hits 60mph in 2.7 seconds. Riding as a passenger, it treads the thin line between insane and fun!

Taylor had one thing to do Friday night and that was to stay sober. Picking him up at 6:30am he was still drunk with only 3 hours sleep...

We spent the morning with a Lamborghini on our tail along the A130 before heading up to Woodbridge Airfield. It was an early start so the roads were clear at 7am with our only bottleneck being some roadworks on the A12 near Colchester.

Briefly stopping at a station for a refill and again explaining why we were putting the petrol in the front of the Mini to the staff there; I need to get some info cards printed and put on the dashboard.

The track's main straight used the runway that was present and then the other tight sections were on the taxi sections. Layout as follows:



After about 9 laps and 3 spins we had to get new tyres. My lack of planning resulted in the situation where we were in the middle of no where with no tyres. After ringing around 15 different garages, all came back with "No, we don't have 13" tyres in stock". Rather than panic, I phoned Daryl - he's a life saver and somehow always pulls it out the bag last minute. He called back within 15 minutes having located a set of 4x 175/50R13 tyres but with a catch...

The tyres could only be bought if I took the wheels they were already on with them. This was a bit of a problem as those of you that have seen the Mini, there is no boot. There is no replacement boot in the front. There's no back seats. Basically, there's barely room for a passenger let alone 4 wheels...

Daryl kindly drove up and I met him at The East Anglia Mini Centre. The guy there Ted was very helpful and after fitting the new wheels even helped go the extra mile by grinding part of the brakes mechanism that was fouling the rear. Anyway, here is Taylor providing the most gangster recommendation of a Mini Center this side of the West Coast...



We put the original set of wheels in the boot of Daryl's car and headed back to the track. I think the hour or so break cooling off helped along with the realisation that if we melted these ones then we would be royally shafted plus stuck in Suffolk. A couple of places that we phoned told tales of a ship bringing all the 13" tyres sunk coming over from Japan or something which is why there is such a limited stock in the UK?

Anyway, the tyres were a good deal and these were thrown in for nothing with them:


They aren't as deep dish as my other set so will probably take them off and swap the tyres over and use these as track day wheels for a set of intermediates.


All in all, a fun day. And it's great to know the point of no return when cornering with the current set up which is well beyond any speeds you'd experience on the road.


Now to source new tyres, a brake service and set up the suspension!

Edited by RemKingston, 09 September 2013 - 02:32 PM.

[Birdman]

That's a nice looking car, have fun with it.

[cptkirk]

I know the splitter is great looking but it will be effective on track.

 

Good luck with the motor, if you need anything from us just ask and I am sure someone will chime in eventually....

[RemKingston]

Really noticed the difference with the splitter on the track.  It helped also at Santa Pod to shave some time off but not sure if that was myself becoming comfortable with the car.

 

I'm now in the process of replacing the perishables.

 

I've got 4 pot Wilwood brakes fitted.  

 

Which pads are you guys running?

[cptkirk]

They should be Wilwood Powerlite calipers and I am using the smart pad or polymatrix E (same pad) you can get them from Burton Power or Rally Design.

 

I can recommend Redesign Racing by Brands Hatch to do the 4 wheel align, night and day difference for mine.

[ZCars Steve]

_{The pads we recommend are Wilwood 150-8813k these are available from Zcars}

_{for the alignment we can take care of this for you depending on where you are based it does take a full day to do properly but really makes the difference}

_{if we are too far for you to travel I can supply the correct setting for you once you have found a company to carry out the alignment}

[RemKingston]

Ideally Steve I would like you guys to have a once over from top to bottom on the car.

I feel it just needs a couple of tweaks to be running on top form.

 

Current issues are the

• suspension geometry, as previously discussed in another thread
• idle issues (only when cold but intermittent) - Idle Control Valve maybe? ECU?
• DigiDash sometimes goes bonkers with random readings.
• Strange wiring issues from previous owner.
• Any other areas of concern that you find that I've missed.

I've got a trailer I'm getting back on the road over the next few weekends and I'll try and get the little rascal booked in with you if that's alright?

[cptkirk]

_{The pads we recommend are Wilwood 150-8813k these are available from Zcars}

 

They're the ones I was going about....

 

Got mine today:

 

[RemKingston]

Day out with PistonHeads:

[ZCars Steve]

Ideally Steve I would like you guys to have a once over from top to bottom on the car.

I feel it just needs a couple of tweaks to be running on top form.

 

Current issues are the

• suspension geometry, as previously discussed in another thread
• idle issues (only when cold but intermittent) - Idle Control Valve maybe? ECU?
• DigiDash sometimes goes bonkers with random readings.
• Strange wiring issues from previous owner.
• Any other areas of concern that you find that I've missed.

I've got a trailer I'm getting back on the road over the next few weekends and I'll try and get the little rascal booked in with you if that's alright?

that's not a problem if you wanted to call/email me when your ready to book in 01964 527725 - [email protected]

[RemKingston]

Purchased replacement parts for both hubs, cvs, & bearings purchased.  Just waiting on the phone call that everything is ready then a game of re-attachment.

 

I thought I was having speedo problems but now it's clear that it was the sensors being confused by a wobbly disc!

 

 

 

[RemKingston]

Popped down to Burnham-on-Crouch where Jack with his Clubman took some snaps:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Birdman]

Looking good

[andream88]

car looks good but imo would look much better with:

 

- different wheels (superlites)

- different fenders

- original bumper up front

- original grill

 

nice mini by the way ;)