Trackday Soarer

A collection of information relating to the setup and running of our Trackday UZZ31 Soarer

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Wednesday, August 7, 2019

New boots

A new set of Dunlop 240 625R17 slicks in D11 compound on OEM Supra 9.5J x 17 +50ET wheels





Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Engine - change of direction

In the interest of future upgrade reliability, out came the 1UZ-FE and in went:

Engine
1.5JZ based on a new Supra 2JZ-GTE block and new 1JZ GTE head
JUN / Cosworth forged piston kit
JUN forged rod kit
HKS GT3040 turbo kit
HKS 50mm wastegate
Apexi GT spec 88mm intercooler
Trust Type R blowoff valve plumbed back
HKS 256/256 camshafts
Adjustable cam pulleys: Jun intake, custom exhaust
Sard 800cc injectors
ATI harmonic balancer
HKS TwinSpark DLI Ignition
Apexi Power FC Programmable EFI ECU
Apexi 3 bar MAP sensor kit
GFB electronic boost controller

Drivetrain
UAS heavy duty clutch

Fuel pump
Walbro 400lph fuel pump

Exhaust:
3.5" single

This engine was originally in the blue/purple "Weekend Soarer" I purchased years ago before parting the car out and returning to stock and selling it. 

No one offered me any serious money for the engine I had, so after sitting in my shed for a few years I decided to keep it and use it in the trackday soarer - when I dropped the sump to check the condition of the bores I found a JUN/Cosworth forged bottom end it it that no one knew about.

This engine made 331 rwkW on a Mainline Dynolog dyno at 19 psi boost on an identical driveline.


Sunday, July 25, 2010

R154 5 Speed "Upgrade"

The W58 5 speed previously fitted has been serving us very well with an excellent shift quality, no fuss reliability with a very nicely weighted and acting clutch.... however our greed for more power which will possibly result in power output almost doubling, has lead us to make the decision to replace the W58 before we break it with an almost indestructable R154.
Conversion kits are now available from Neil at Rush Imports for both the R154 and Tremec T56 gearboxes behind the 1UZ V8 engine for which both boxes have their pros and cons.
Having test driven Neil's silky smooth Tremec T56 backed 1UZ blown Soarer I was seriously tempted to sell all the accumulated R154 parts and switch to it but we ultimately decided to stick to our initial plan of using the Toyota sourced R154 based on previous personal experience using one in a high power JZZ30 Soarer and JZA70 Supra and knowing it will handle the expected power and then some as long as we are reasonable with it in selecting gears which can unfortunately be agricultural at times.
Cost was also a significant factor in our decision as the T56 based kit would have cost a few thousand more based on the custom adapter kit, custom flywheel and clutch combo required for fitment and not to mention the higher cost in sourcing a suitable box.

Components used in this conversion are:

OEM R154 sourced from an xA70 Supra
OEM R154 to JZ bellhousing
OEM JZZ30 R154 mount
OEM JZZ30 R154 crossmember
OEM JZZ30 auto tailshaft lenthened by 65mm
OEM JZA70 R154 shifter - modified
Rush Imports JZ to UZ adapter plate & mounting hardware
Howe 82870 concentric slave cylinder & 5 shims
Round faced throwout bearing
Earls braided slave cylinder supply/bleed lines and fittings
Custom 30mm mild steel spacer for Howe unit
Alloy Race Components billet alloy flywheel with armour plate insert - 5 kgs
Roadrunner high clamp pressure plate and cerametallic cushioned 5 puck clutch plate
Otomoto/OS Giken HT reusable flywheel bolts







Engine Mounts

I recently noticed excessive movement of the engine relative to the engine bay when lightly revved in neutral.
Forceful rocking of the egine resulted in even more movement and some worrying clunks, so the engine mounts were diagnosed as being split.
There was no fear of the actual engine dropping out of place as the mounts are held captive by some safety plates even when completely split.

I had previously used heavy duty aftermarket Japanese made Kazama engine mounts on my high powered JZZ30, so I set about and replicated the Kazama style mounts with some Nolathane bushes, some round tube, flat bar, angle bar, hight tensile bolts and Nyloc nuts.

After a bit of effort with access to the top bolts we removed the old mounts and fitted the new ones without too much fuss for a solidly mounted engine that should not have the same degradation as the silicon filled OEM mounts which are designed for NVH not for longevity.

Old split mounts

New mount vs old mount

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Aero

Other than the standard bodywork, the only aero development has been the addition of a rear GT style alloy spoiler.
Both Jeff and I have found it beneficial in high speed bends/kinks like turn 1 at Wakefield Park when the car feels more stable with the wing than without.
When we have horsepower that justifies it in the future, we have plans to look at a front splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser, but for now the aero is working for us as is.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Trackday outings

A quick run down of some recent trackday results with the trackcar.

Wakefield Park 26th May 2004 - UAS - 1.19.1840 Jeff Stock auto UZZ3x Baseline

Oran Park 31st Jan 2009 - JCCC - best lap - 0:55.5 Jeff

Wakefield Park 20th March 2009 - Toymods - best lap 1:14.71 Jeff

Oran Park GP 13th June 2009 - Circuit Club - best lap 1:27.336 Jeff

Wakefield Park 25th July 2009 - Circuit Club - best lap 1.11.99 Jeff

Wakefield Park 5th September 2009 - Circuit Club - best lap 1.11.18 Jeff

Looking at the times above, we can see that we have dropped about 8 seconds a lap at Wakefield Park by notable weight reduction, improving the braking performance, improving the handling, improving the grip/traction, removing the autobox, helping the engine breathe more and by driver training/refinement.