Paddy McGrath has already talked about the irresistible pull of the Nürburgring 24 Hours and how drivers, teams and fans come back to it year after year. But what’s it like for the first timer? The Nürburgring newbie? The 24-Hour ‘Ring rookie? Well, I’ll try and give you a sense of being introduced to it, this being – shockingly – my first experience of this awesome event. Yes, I hold my hand up: I am green when it comes to the Green Hell. I’ve been to Le Mans regularly since my first visit in 1999, but few things prepared me for the sensory overload that the Nürburgring 24 Hours hits you with. I’ve been to the track before and seen races on the Grand Prix layout, but not during the round-the-clock enduro itself. The 24 Hours transforms this corner of Germany into a different beast entirely.
It’s the well-mannered rowdiness of the sprawling Le Mans campsites, but combined and condensed into the forest that surrounds the entire length of the track and with tanker loads of beer, techno and burning meat thrown in.
It’s the impromptu home-built, multi-level seating of Petit Le Mans, but escalated to unfeasibly efficient architectural levels. It’s the hectic Blancpain Endurance Series Monza pit-lane, but with cars stacked even deeper and the chaos extending through the pit-lane garages and out across the whole of the paddock beyond.
There’s an overwhelming sense of scale to the Nürgburging 24 Hours. This is not a track contained within a nice, safe perimeter and with nice, safe parameters. It’s a seemingly never-ending snake of tarmac winding its way through the forest. The Nordschleife battles nature – and wins. It then leaves nature to get its own back by picking on the drivers who dare to run it.
This year it was time to storm the castle and tackle the 24 Hours head on. With plenty of back-up from Speedhunting veterans…
The Grand Prix track sits on a plateau to the south-west of the Nordschleife, which itself winds its way through the trees just the other side. This gives two very different characteristics to the track: driving the GP track must seem like a stroll in a very big park compared to the claustrophobic confines of the Nordschleife.
This section is a useful adjunct to the Nordschleife, providing the modern pit-lane facility, some very relative R&R for the drivers and a useful escape route if they suffer a problem on the opening five kilometres. A line of cones on the exit of the final chicane allow cars to split right away from the Nordschleife entrance and head back into the pits – it’s a cut-through that’s also heavily used during practice and qualifying as teams bed in parts or test set-ups.
Otherwise, you’re out in the boonies for the next 20 kilometres. The margin for error around the track is nil: at best there’s one car-width of slippery grass before the three-strand armco swallows you up and spits you out in a considerably poorer state than you arrived in. The local roads are wider than the racing track they shadow.
Watching the on-boards from today’s sessions, driving the track looks like a combination of the Star Wars speeder-bike chase and a roller-coaster. During an earthquake. Cars look on the edge at every corner.
There are no safety cars – they just wouldn’t work! The track is too long, so wreckers are placed strategically around the track. That means that they have to make their way round to incidents on the track itself, providing the incongruous sight of trucks and GT cars frequently fighting over the same bit of tarmac.
Earlier in the day, most of the assembled throng in the media room had been pressed up against the glass as the seemingly hundreds of competitors in the 24 Hours Classic event lined up in the pit-lane. Their sprawling paddock had given a false sense of the actually vast number of cars taking part – rather like the main event itself.
The Classic paddock spread out across the newer Arena section of the GP track, meaning the old Porsches, BMWs, Fords, Alfas and more were camped out over kerbs, grasscrete and run-off.
The Classic grid alone would be worth a weekend to themselves, with a list of cars that deserves plenty of attention; the good news is that Paddy will be taking a close look at all these beauties tomorrow.
Any complaints about the reduction in the number of cars in the 24 Hours itself (which should be batted aside – over 170 cars is enough for anyone) were made utterly inconsequential by the fact that there are over 200 in the 24 Hours Classic race. That’s the best part of 400 cars in just two races. It’s difficult to process mathematically, let alone when you see that number of cars filling a pit-lane three-deep along its length.
The pit-lane is defined by bodies rather than lines painted on the floor. Prior to going out, cars housed in the paddock are driven round to find a spot in front of their allocated garage; inside another four, five or six cars are crammed in waiting for the space to exit.
There are over 50 BMWs. 17 Audis. Eight Astons. Countless Porsches. 25 marques in all, with 27 different nationalities of driver taking part. But as Sean Klingelhoefer has just said: think of a car… it’s in this race. Both Sean and Paddy have been out shooting track action today, and too many times I’ve leant across to see yet another car I didn’t even know was in the race. Though to be honest, no one can really claim to know who was in the race up until this afternoon. The starting list was really only finalised today, and up till then the entry list was full of that most popular of racing drivers: the mysterious Tobe Confirmed.
Jaguar have turned up with a hot-looking XF-S (running in the diesel class, but still); there are also Volvos, VWs, a Hyundai…
…a pair of Subarus, an S2000, an Astra, a Focus… The list goes on.
Here’s a typical thing that could only happen here, at the most challenging, most difficult track in the world. The #46 Nissan 370Z has on its crew two circuit commentators from the track. And commentating live, as they drive. Wolfgang Drabiniok and Frank Hufstadt are great examples of the enormous quantity of local drivers who take part; drivers who know the ‘Ring like the back of their hands – and have enough confidence to talk about it as they do it. And probably do crosswords and stuff at the same time.
There’s also an old Opel Manta running round, which I’m sure must have just stayed hidden out in the woods from the Classic race, and then rejoined when the ‘new’ cars came out. Hence the fox’s tail waving around on the aerial.
At the WRT pit the final set-up under the awnings by the team trucks was going on right up to the eve of the track sessions. There’s always another decal to cut or box to open.
Attention was then focussed on the set-up of the car itself. WRT’s eye for detail shows through even on their jack-stands.
There’s some beautiful detailing under the body of the R8 LMS Ultra: even the hubs and brake disks are works of art.
Technical scrutineering passed without a hitch, with the only issue being yesterday’s insane weather.
The drivers had plenty of new things to deal with as well. Edward his Stormtrooper-esque helmet…
…and breaking in his new race suit.
The most important thing for any driver is comfort. That might be a relatively thing in a racecar with rock-solid suspension and a hard carbon seat, but the custom-moulded inserts allow each driver to reach their optimum position in the car – and therefore focus one hundred percent on driving. Edward was getting his new insert formed on the Thursday evening…
…which meant donning a fetching synthetic suit and trying to sit still whilst the foam solidified. Luckily Edward is always happy in a racing car, no matter what the situation.
Final stickers applied, the WRT Speedhunters Audi R8 LMS Ultra was ready for battle. Edward Sandstöm, Oliver Jarvis, Andrea Piccini and Allan Simonsen would now just had to pedal it flat out around the Green Hell as fast as possible.
The new WRT Speedhunters stickers have been going down well: Camille and Julie have been dishing out handfuls at the track and they’re already turning up around the place…
Camille’s petrolhead credentials are impeccable: she looked very much at home in Fangio’s Mercedes.
Not only does the race attract drivers from across the globe (there are a couple of Australian teams, for instance), but also fans: Igor drove all the way from Russia to be here this weekend. Some Speedhunters stickers is small reward for his dedication!
Previous visits by the Speedhunters crew can be spotted around the place… And are apparently impossible to remove.
The #48 Porsche had the honour of being the first car to take to the track at 2.45pm, in the opening Free Practice session for the 24 Hours. Manthey (Porsche 997), Schubert (BMW Z4) and Phoenix (Audi R8 LMS) quickly established themselves at the top of the field, with laps around the mid eight minute mark.
Laps over 25km track would be over 10 minute laps for the smaller-capacity cars – ie, the other 100 cars. Within 30 minutes 140 cars had already set lap times, which gives you some idea of how busy the track was.
The SP9 GT3s dominated as expected, filling 28 of the first 29 positions during the session.
The GT cars passed the slower cars like they were standing still – but that’s not to say that they looked entirely in control. This is no reflection on the drivers or cars, but on the track.
That said, the McLarens looking hugely unstable: the #59 car was battling with the two Phoenix Audis toward the end of the session, bouncing all over the road as it struggled to keep the R8s behind. The MP4-12C held its own in a drag race down Döttinge Höhe before the Audi finally just managed to outbrake it into Tiergarten. And this is before the race even started.
The Speedhunters WRT Audi R8 LMS stuck to its programme, which was to get its new drivers up to speed in the car. Edward didn’t drive – he was saving himself for the evening qualifying session. The team posted the 15th fastest time, well in the mix, and seemed more than happy with the car’s performance.
Leaving everyone behind was the #27 Timbull Porsche 997, which snuck in a lap four seconds faster than anyone else in the dying minutes of the session.
So. Visigoths in the woods, cars on the track, engine noise in my ears. Green Hell? Green paradise, surely.
-
Jonathan Moore
Speedhunters at the 2012 Nürburgring 24 Hours
GPS car-tracker
Live timing of all sessions
Alternate live timing
Latest entry list
Radio Le Mans audio commentary of all sessions
Audi video stream
Subaru video stream
Democracy is a powerful thing, and it’s because of you guys that I present the following car feature.
Late last year when we did our Speedhunters Awards, we included a category for Reader Cars of the Year – a group that included a huge selection vehicles from across the world. We asked our loyal readers to select their favorite, and when the voting finished a 1973 Datsun 240Z out of Northern California had emerged as the winner.
We figured you guys would want to see more on this old Datsun that you had chosen, so I made plans to meet up with its owner Sunny Liang to shoot a full feature.
So that’s how I found myself in Sunny’s hometown of Oakland, California a few weeks ago. We met up near downtown Oakland at a shop called Performance Options. It’s a very cool little garage, and I’ll be sharing more from my visit next week.
For now though, let’s focus on Sunny’s Z. At first glance it’s obvious that this S30 is by no means a show car – and that’s not a bad thing.
Sunny drives the Z nearly every day – and the car shows all the signs of being a real daily driver – from the scrapes and dings to the multiple shades of silver on the body. Sunny actually owns a newer Honda Civic in addition to the Z, but it’s the Z that gets used for the bulk of his driving duties.
After meeting up with Sunny at the shop, I hopped in the shotgun seat and we set out to the shoot location. Even though the Z sits mere inches off the ground, I was very surprised at how civilized the ride was.
It’s not Cadillac smooth of course, and Sunny has to constantly keep his eye out for speed bumps and other obstructions that would hit the frame – but overall the car seemed very adept at cruising the streets of Oakland.
From there it was through the underwater tunnel and on to the island of Alameda. Ah yes, there’s nothing quite like the sound of a floored L-series motor in a long tunnel…
Our destination was the old Alameda Naval Base, which provides some amazing views of the San Francisco Bay and a perfect location to photograph cars.
When I asked Sunny how he acquired the 240Z, he told me that his uncle actually gave him the car around the time he graduated high school. It’s hard to think of a cooler graduation gift than a vintage Datsun. I personally can’t even remember what I got when I graduated high school, probably money that I blew on video games.
Over the past few years since acquiring the car, Sunny has been working hard to transform the Z into his ideal street machine.
The first thing you notice about Sunny’s car is likely the slammed ride height. It’s got a stance makes my own stock 240Z look like Grave Digger or Big Foot. Unlike modern cars, getting proper suspension for a 240Z is a bit more involved than jumping on Ebay, waiting for postman to show up and bolting on some badass coilovers.
To outfit a Z like Sunny’s, you have to piece together a suspension kit which requires both welding and shortening the factory struts. In this case Sunny went with AE86 Tokico HTS short stroke shots along with weld-on Ground Control coilovers from T3. He has also equipped the car with T3 weld-in camber plates.
Sunny rounded out his suspension setup with lower control arms, roll center adjusters, and tension control rods from T3, plus a set of sway bars from Suspension Techniques.
Under the hood of a Sunny’s Z is an original L24 inline six. The motor itself is largely stock with the exception of a ported and polished head.
On the induction side, the stock SU carbs have been replaced with a long cannon intake manifold and a set of triple Weber 45 DCOE side draft carburetors. While the naturally aspirated setup with the screaming Webers makes the Z plenty of fun to drive, Sunny is actually in the process of a building a new motor for the car – a turbocharged L28.
The difficulty of picking the right set of wheels is something every car enthusiast can relate to, and Sunny spent a lot of time trying to figure out what sort of wheels he wanted for his Z. When he saw the special Star Road edition Work Equip 03s in Tokyo Auto Salon coverage online, he knew he had to have them.
Sunny placed an order through Work Wheels, and a couple months later he had his custom-finished set of Equip 03s, 15x9J -16 for the front and 15x10J -28 for the rear.
The custom-ordered black barrels and the aggressive sizes ensure they nobody will mistake his legit Equips for the numerous cheap knockoffs that have flooded the market over the last few years. The wheels didn’t come cheap, and the wait was long, but Sunny can rest assured he did things right the first time.
The interior of the Z is full of functional upgrades for both hard driving and urban cruising.
I’d never seen a set of “Renoma” seatsbefore, but it turns out they are actually a specially branded piece that Recaro made back in the ’80s. Matched with purple Crow Enterprizes four-point harnesses, the retro seats add a very cool look to the Z’s cockpit.
Sunny also added an Autopower roll bar custom painted in candy purple. This is something that comes in handy when Sunny takes the car to Buttonwillow Raceway with his friends.
Sunny also outfitted the car with a fully upgraded audio system with speakers, subs, amps, and a Clarion double DIN head unit.
I’m sure the improved sounds from the stereo are a necessity for Sunny when drives the Z all over the Bay Area.
Going down the road, the slammed Z looks absolutely bitchin’. Just don’t mind the occasional scrape as the frame makes contact with the ground. I’m sure there’s been some serious weight savings with all the metal chips this car has left on the streets of Oakland.
Sunny also likes to take the Z on long road trips, whether it’s to the aforementioned track days at Buttonwillow, or a journey down to Long Beach for the Japanese Classic Car Show.
Is Sunny’s S30 the most immaculate Z around? No. Is it the fastest? No. Regardless of that, Sunny loves his car and and uses it regularly. That’s the important thing.
So, was Sunny’s Z a worthy choice for 2011 Speedhunters Reader Car of the Year?
After spending an afternoon with him and his car I’m, gonna have to go ahead and say yes.
-Mike Garrett
Specs -
1973 Datsun 240z
Engine/Drivetrain:
Stock L24 + Port/Polish Head
3x Weber Carburetors 45 DCOE
“Long” Cannon Manifold
MSA aluminum radiator + Dual electric fans
MSD Ignition box + coil + wires
Pertronix Electronic Igniton
5 speed transmission
R200 welded differential
Suspension:
T3 front + rear weld in camber plates
T3 front + rear LCA
T3 roll center adjusters
T3/ Ground Control full weld on coilovers
Eibach Springs: F – 350lbs / R – 300lbs
T3 tension control rods
Tokico HTS AE86 (HTS112F) cartridge short stroke shocks
Energy Suspension Polyurethane bushings
Suspension Techniques front + rear sway bar
Wheels and Tires:
“StarRoad Replica” Work Equip 03
Front – 15×9 -16 Yokohama S-Drive 195/55R15 -5 Camber
Rear – 15×10 -28 Falken Ziex 912 205/55R15 -6 Camber
Exterior:
Rolled + Pulled fenders
Dapper Lighting Classic Style HID projectors
Front air dam
Rear spoiler
Interior & Audio:
Recaro “Renoma” seats
Crow Enterprizes 4-point harness
Autopower rollbar (custom powdercoated candy purple)
Momo Hub
Works Bell quick release + flipper
Nardi Deepcorn 350mm leather steering wheel
Boston Acoustics SC55 5 1/4″ Speakers
Boston Acoustics SC95 6×9 Speakers
Alpine SWR-1043D 10″Subwoofer
Alpine MRX-M100 Amplifier
Alpine MRX-F30 Amplifier
Clarion VX401 Double-Din Headunit
Monster Cable RCA/Speaker Wires
More Datsun Stories on Speedhunters
More Stories by Mike Garrett
CLICK HERE for the full article by MotorMavens.com
CLICK HERE for the full article from Tram Tran.
CLICK HERE for the full story from FittedLife.com
How do you choose a project? Some might argue that they choose you, I know it’s true of mine. They’ve all been bought when I wasn’t looking, right time, right place kind of thing. The ones that have stayed in the garage longest are also the ones you wouldn’t have expected to have staying power. For example I started a Volvo 245 build over ten years ago, since then I’ve been through amongst many others BMW M-Power, a ’67 Mustang and a ’47 Ford Tudor hot rod. All aspirational vehicles for me before I had them, yet the Volvo is still here and they’ve been sold on.
Which means I understand why we’re looking at Gareth Spiller’s Vento. By the end of this read, I think you will too.
When I first saw Gareth’s Vento at the Early Edition show a few weeks back, I knew this was not only a big project, but a long term one too. Huge amounts of commitment can be seen in every aspect, detail that has been learnt and honed, not observed elsewhere. Plus there’s the fact it’s a Vento, there’s got to be a story there right?
Because I’m sure there’s a lot of you reading this thinking, why go for a saloon, a four door? Why go for the cage and a 300bhp motor in a family car? Of course there’s the old saying that ‘no man with a good car needs to justify himself’. It doesn’t stop us asking though, Gareth? “I had a bad experience with a Renault Clio 16V that I had for about six months, it cost me roughly 2K in that time and I said I’d never buy French again.”
Spotting this Vento for sale meant the swap to VW was an easy choice, as it came nice and low on some Koni suspension with a set of 15s fitted, a brake upgrade and a little tuning work done by AmD on the original 8V lump you can understand the temptation. The first owner was an enthusiast in his 50s, so the four-door was immaculate. That and it was only three years old at the time.
That’s right, Gareth has owned the 1994 MY Vento since 1997. The reasons for staying with it are two fold, as he explains, “I drove it and loved it and thought it would stay as it was but then I met a friend who was in to Mk2 Golf tuning and we went to GTi International.”
He got bitten hard by the tuning bug, quickly changing the wheels to 17s and as he says in an almost apologetic way, “Going down the dark path of fitting body kits, it was the Max Power and Fast and Furious age.”
That’s the thing to remember here is that Gareth has had the Vento so long, where so many would have moved on or followed the herd in another direction. He’s persevered, after all how many people truly finish a project? Unrealistic time scales and budgetary planning can often lead to an ‘unfinished project’ advert.
There are still clues as to the many guises Gareth has worked his way through, such as the Isotta steering wheel that he says will be changed at some stage, although is it really that bad?
The upshot of having spent so long with one project and one scene means Gareth really knows his stuff, the Vento being the rolling demonstration of this knowledge. Combining elements of different treatments, it’s show car, race car mash up works so well for us.
The BBS LMs it wears now are 8×18 at the front and 9.5x18in at the back, coming to him in rough but straight condition, in Porsche 5×130 fitment, Gareth detailed them the only way he knows how. Perfectly.
Maybe, just maybe you can get away with grey centres, but really is there any other colour than Gold that an LM should wear? Linking them are those ultra rare and almost OE looking Lester side skirts, cunningly left black… It just adds to the factory feel.
Although there is stretch on the rear 225x35x18 tyres, as a contact patch goes… It’s still pretty impressive huh? With that much weight removed, you really need to pay attention to rear end grip.
As well as getting the tuning bug, Gareth also fell in love with the Vento shape. Why go for a front end conversion when you can have the whole car huh? As he says, “Not many people tune them, so it’s easy to stand out at car shows. Plus since going for throttle bodies I never get bored of driving the car, I just love the noise and the way it responds to some right foot abuse.”
So right, you’re probably wondering by now what all the fuss is about, stories of long term ownership and different mods throughout the years have led us to here. So let’s have it huh? Those staggered throttle body trumpets usually wear filters, but today they’re on show for us.
Then when the bonnet is raised the game is up.The staggered trumpets are attached to Jenvey 45-42mm individual throttle bodies, which in turn feed a 3.2ltr 24Vsix cylinder motor from a donor 2003 Audi TT. Which is why they’re staggered, when you take in to consideration the rear bank of three cylinders on the engine, it makes sense that the intakes are in fact equal length.
We love the carbon too, “The original front panel was removed and replaced by a new fabrication which kept a similar profile on either side by the centre drops away to form a heat shield made from carbon fibre, this stops hot air getting new the velocity stacks.”
Serving up cool, fresh air for those bodies to suck on. Little items such as gas lifters have been added to make sure there’s no ugly, awkward bonnet prop in the way too… But then it will take you a good few minutes just to take the basics in once you get this far.
One of the first things I noticed at Early Edition are the MSD Ignition 8224 coil packs, which made me step back and take in again that the whole car has a US feel to the build, good reason too, “Most of the engine parts have come from the USA back when the exchange rate was nearly $2/£. I am lucky that my brother Gee lives in NY as many US shops wouldn’t sell to anybody outside the country without a US registered back account or address.”
Note how the wiring has been tucked as well, “As I was not going to run the VVT control or the cam sensor, just the crank sensor, it allowed the head end plate to be welded up to do away with the outlet wiring and let me fabricate a smooth blanking plate to be fitted for the coil packs to be mounted on.”
So you can imagine over the years there has been some random hand baggage going back and forth. Now with just north of 300bhp at the crank (a dyno proven 301bhp and 262WHP), Gareth has the power he needs, this latest stage in the build having taken three years to create.
In no small part because although the days of body kits and big stereo installs were gone, Gareth still knows how to work that show car magic, so take a look to the metalwork surrounding the engine and you notice it is devoid of clutter, but more so it’s smooth, really smooth.
Gareth saying, “I entrusted the engine and bay work to my friend Andy at ACR in Stockton On Tees as I am very cautious of who I trust with it, having been burnt before.”
So not only is Andy good at engine conversions, but metal work too. The inner wings, chassis legs and bulkhead all having been smoothed. Gareth has then fabricated some lovely touches, like the custom made washer bottle that’s been relocated to the scuttle area but left with the original blue plastic VW top.
Then there is the overall detailing, the Aeroquip hose fittings, the polishing, the general cleanliness of it all. The oil breather tank has been made to look like the Billet Specialities power steering reservoir. The hidden wiring theme of the Ignition being continued everywhere you look, yet under it all is power. No wonder Gareth has won trophies pretty much everywhere he goes with the Vento.
Looking up from underneath the bonnet and you’ll see other tell, tell clues as to the projects interesting history and USA inspired touches…
Like the Auto Meter Sport Comp tach, I don’t care how cool you think you are if you think the dash mounted tach is overkill. If you were lucky enough to see this thing bouncing off the top end just to one side of your line of vision, you’d want one. You know it.
A trio of aux gauges taking care of oil and water duties in the top of the dash.
Like we say the stereo days are long gone for Gareth, but his detail nerve got twitchy so look at the shine on the inside of that stripped door panel. The more you look, the more you realise just how hard it must have been to achieve this given the amount of sound deadening and other unwanted items he must have had to deal with. Did you notice the manual window winder conversion?
As he remembers, “I stripped it and prepared it for the body shop…”
“… I cut out the metal shelf and rear seat base then ground off all the metal trim clips.”
Now take a look in your own car under the carpet and try to comprehend just how many man hours are in this build, Gareth has had to have owned the Vento for all these years just to be able to get to this stage.
As with the engine, the best components Gareth could afford have been used, Recaro Proracer SPG drivers seat and Pole position passenger seat for example.
Gareth made the seat mounts himself and when you put the Recaros together with high end harnesses like the Willans four point items he went for, the look is spot on without being over the top.
Again the show nature of Gareth coming through with the Wiechers 6-point polished bolt in cage, it compliments the Tornado red paint perfectly whilst being effective in stiffening the shell. Incredibly, there are six months worth of work in the prep of that interior alone…
Tucked in behind the passenger seat you’ll find a lightweight battery tucked away, and once again the details are here, note the exposed handbrake cable runners but in perfect OE spec.
Sat just in front of the handbrake is the VW Motorsport shifter assembly, Gareth also using an AP lever type brake bias valve.
Maybe like us you’ll have been surprised to see the Vento still wearing the original shade of VW Tornado Red, usually when you get the chance to respray a project a change is on the cards, but not for Gareth, “I spent countless hours searching for new colour options but I couldn’t decide on anything that I preferred. Red is still a strong colour for me, plus I don’t think it’s looked dated in all the time I’ve had the car, and I’ve not grown tired of it either.”
So instead of going for something that would have been bang on trend and dated in six months, Gareth has stuck with what he likes. Which works for us. The bodywork features subtle modifications such as the modified FK de-badged grille, although this will soon be swapped out for a smoothed early style four bar grille.
The washer jets have been smoothed and relocated, this is England after all… But the older single wiper conversion remains.
And some VW Motorsport bonnet pins added. The bodywork itself was taken care of by Ian Ellis at Motor Body Cosmetics in York, Gareth saying, “His shop is a three hour drive from my house, but I chose Ian because he had painted a few cars I know and also has experience of painting British Touring Cars, so I knew he could do the stripped interior work to a great standard.”
So whichever way you look at it, this Vento is a stunningly detailed, brilliantly executed and powerful… Err.
Road racer?
Scene build?
No, Gareth’s Vento transcends labels. This is the result of one man, a whole heap of dedication and the power of staying with a project to see it through to completion.
Gareth puts it perfectly for us, “It gives me so much pleasure driving the Vento, it puts a smile on my face every time I go out in it. It might not have huge power but it makes up for it with instant throttle response and short gearing. The induction noise under full load still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.”
We salute that…
-
Bryn Musselwhite
Tech Spec
Engine
BHE 3.2 24V V6, gas flowed and ported head, Schrick 264/268 cams, DTA P8 Pro engine management system and extended loom, Jenvey 45-42mm throttle bodies, six-branch exhaust manifold and fabricated inlet manifold, Mocal 13 row front mounted oil cooler, VW Motorsport front engine mount, relocated radiator, twin slim line fans, MSD coil packs, black and red anodised aero style fittings throughout
Transmission
02A 5-speed 4.24:1 ring and pinion with 0.76 5th, Quaife ATB diff, ClutchNet stage 3, six paddle clutch, 10lb lightened flywheel
Suspension
Koni Coilovers, Bonrath top mounts, Eibach anti-roll bars, Powerflex bushes
Brakes
325mm AP Racing two piece discs with bells and four pot callipers, stock rear, in-car AP lever type adjustment
Wheels and tyres
Genuine BBS LM 8x18in ET55 5x130PCD, BBS LM 9.5x18in ET55 5x130PCD, 215/35 and 225/35 Toyo T1R tyres
Interior
Recaro Proracer SPG and Pole Position seats, Willans 3in FIA 4-point harnesses, Wiechers six point polished cage with H bar and fabricated rear strut bar, Autometer 5in rev counter, oil pressure/temp gauge, Isotta Vigarano steering wheel with snap-off boss
Exterior
VW Tornado Red, Lester side skirts, smoked FK rear lights, smoked OE front lights, de-badged boot lid, washer jets removed and relocated, front and rear arches flared, single wiper conversion, front brow, plastic welded bumpers to remove swage lines and number plate recess, plus rear tow eye.
Thanks
Paul Horrocks for his assistance with the strip down and rebuild, constant monitoring of the bodywork modifcations and painting, Andy Outhwaite at Andy Leigh @ ACR in Darlington for all the engine bay work – +44 (0) 7976 281 354, my wife Lisa and kids Jack and Evan and not forgetting my brother Gee for his help…
I don’t think I’ve ever driven so many pre-production versions of a car like I have the Toyota 86. Ever since that first short test around the Fuji Speedway short course back in November, and the glorious day thrashing the 86 and FRS around Sodegaura Forest Speedway in December, I’ve always wondered how the affordable entry-level sports car that everyone has been waiting for would feel like out on the street. Track driving is tons of fun yes, and it’s a great way to get to know a car very quickly by pushing it to its limits and beyond, but from an owner’s perspective a daily driven sports car like the 86 and FRS needs to tick a lot of other boxes to really be great all round car.
So when Toyota invited me to the first 86 on-road drive event of the car I jumped at the opportunity. With the scenic roads around the Hakone Turnpike (now called Toyo Tires Turnpike due to a curious tire sponsoring deal) there would be ample scope to put the 86 through its paces and drive it as an owner would.
From the Prince Hotel in Ooiso where Toyota had set up camp for the day we would be able take various versions of the 86 out for a short highway commute and then a mixture of normal roads before ending up at the entrance to the Turnpike, which is a privately owned toll road. With no time to waste I was in a brand spanking new manual “GT” version literally minutes after I had arrived and made my way up towards the mountain roads.
With so many Japanese and international publications participating in the drive event, the Turnpike was alive with the scream of naturally aspirated flat-four engines. As ever, when making my way up what has to be one of Japan’s best driver’s roads…
…I stopped at the little scenic view point about a third up the long climb to the top. Here I spotted a Subaru BRZ and the limited edition, and final version of the RX-8, the Spirit R. One Japanese magazine had brought these two cars along to the event to do a group drive feature along with the 86. This was actually the first time I had seen the BRZ out on the road!
With the clock ticking I got in the car again and climbed up a little bit more, before stopping again to grab some shots of the GT version I was driving, and of course the stunning view of the Odawara coastline.
The GT is the mid-spec version of the 86, sitting in-between the entry level “G” and fully loaded “GT Limited” trim levels. It comes with a few more trim upgrades over the base model G…
…things like silver inserts around the center console and steering wheel, as well as red stitching all over the cabin. There is a slightly higher level of equipment too like dual zone automatic air conditioning, keyless entry and those nice drilled aluminum pedals. On top of these three grades a fourth model is also available, the “RC” a stripped out “ready-to-tune” or ready-to-race” version which comes with 16-inch steel wheels, unpainted front and rear bumpers and no audio or dash trim panels.
The engine however is the same for all, the brilliantly zingy Subaru-derived FA20 2-liter flat-4…
…which of course features Toyota’s D-4S direct injection system to give optimal mid-range and high-rpm performance.
The GT I was driving had been fitted with the optional 17-inch by 7J wheels, which replace the multi-spoke stock 16-inch by 6.5J wheels the car is offered with in Japan. The adequately grippy 215/45R17 Michelin tires are used at each corner.
It was then on to a quick drive up to the top of the Turnpike where I came to a very surprising realization. I must have driven close to 100 cars on this stretch of road over the last decade, and I can positively say I have never enjoyed myself as much in a production car as I did in the 86. It might not be as fast or as accelerative as some rides I have taken out here, but when it comes to driver’s satisfaction and putting a rather big grin on your face, nothing comes quite so close to the 86. But no time to ponder over these initial thoughts…it was straight back down towards…
…the Prince Hotel to drop off the car. There, more excitement followed as I had a chance to put the manual, as well as the automatic version of the car, through the fun little slalom course that Toyota had laid out for us all to enjoy.
Just like back at those initial drives on track it was once again great to feel the superb chassis come alive in your hands, as I pushed over the rear -end grip of the car and steered it on the throttle. It’s a simple and very rewarding exercise that once again proves the outright agility and directness of the 86′s package.
The TRD tuned version was next, which if you recall we have already looked at in one of my car features last month. This was a big eye opener as it perfectly demonstrated how a few simple, yet well thought of modifications, can tap into the 86′s vast potential.
After taking a white manual GT Limited on the Turnpike for a non-stop fast paced drive, I returned back and picked up an automatic, the final car I would sample on the day. You may remember me raving about the auto when I first had the chance to drive it around Sodegaura, the Lexus IS-F derived fast-shifting torque converter was surprisingly well suited to a bit of action out on track. It felt very good on on the road too…
…giving the 86 a calmer and more relaxing character but really coming alive when put into sports mode and asked to machine-gun through the gears via those steering wheel mounted paddles.
There is no doubt the manual will be the most popular with those people lucky enough to be ordering an 86/FRZ/BRZ around the world but it’s great to see that Toyota have put just as much effort in guaranteeing a great driving package for the self-shifting version.
The top of the line GT-Limited comes with alcantara trimmed seat centers…
…which do a better job of holding you in place through the corners than the regular fabric versions.
All test cars were also fitted with a touch-screen navigation system, a must have in Japan! On this particular view you can see all the wiggly lines of other nice roads that snake up to the top of the Hakone mountain range.
Not something you see every day! As I was shooting this picture the red BRZ zoomed by with a couple of other 86s in the background!
The BRZ is a car we will be looking at next in more detail, the last of the 86/FRS/BRZ trio that remains to be driven. After spending as much time as I possibly could driving the 86s…
…it was time to call it a day and return back to the Prince Hotel and grab a drink to relax a little after the fast-paced event. Toyota set up a cool little display area with a ton of 86 merchandise. They are obviously trying very hard to engage the potential customer in a variety of ways and why not, the car itself stands for so much, who wouldn’t want to be seen wearing cool…
…86-branded driving shoes like these!
There is a variety of colors, so you can select one that best matches the body color or interior of your 86!
We will be seeing a lot of that flat-4 logo from now on!
Check out this line up of bags…
…and a limited edition tool set!
This is another model of driving shoe made in collaboration with Asics.
The display included a cross-sectioned FA20 engine where you can see how the direct injection and regular injection systems are laid out on each cylinder. The direct injection actuates in the mid-range through to the 7,000 rpm redline, helping give a smooth and linear power and torque delivery and optimal throttle response.
If you opt for a 6-speed manual this is the gearbox your car will be running…
…but if you prefer the auto, this complex looking unit is what you will get. There is a lot of technology packed into all those complex gears, clutch packs and solenoids!
The seat on the left is what the “G” version of the 86 comes with while the other two are Gazoo Racing versions, the one on the right a full-on race bucket seat. We might be seeing that seat in the 86s that are participating in the Nurbugring 24h race this weekend.
And to finish up it was great to see the progression of the various concept cars that Toyota worked through over the years before settling on the final design. This red version is the car we saw back in 2009 at the Tokyo Motor Show and the one that sparked off the pretty much relentless interest the project has been enjoying for the last 2 and a half years.
The more aggressive and tuned up G’s interpretation…
…sporting lots of carbon fiber, big wheels and brakes, hinting that Toyota was always been interested in appealing to the aftermarket tuning scene.
The third and final concept, and by far the best looking one, was this closer to production styling exercise that gave us all a pretty good idea of what the final car was going to look like.
In little over a month the 86 seems to be doing rather well in Japan, selling just over 3,200 examples since its launch back on April 6th. These initial orders, not counting the Japan-spec BRZ, plus the ramping up of production for the launches in the US (FRS & BRZ), Europe (GT86 & BRZ) as well as Australia (86 & BRZ) has put Subaru’s factory at full production. If you were to order an 86 in Japan right now, in the more popular GT and GT Limited spec, you wouldn’t be able to receive a car until October or later. We just hope Subaru is up to the job of keeping up with production of this sensational little car!
Toyota Japan
Scion
-Dino Dalle Carbonare
New Zealand might be a little country at the bottom of the world, but when it comes to import drag racing Kiwis have had their fair share of big results. Reece McGregor’s Heat Treatments Racing Nissan Skyline GT-R still holds the coveted title of the ‘world’s quickest 4WD’ with a 7.57 ET set back in 2006. Rod Harvey’s Rayglass Boats 2JZ-powered RWD Toyota Celica is still right up there in the hunt for the outright quickest sport compact title (6.38) having run a best ET to date of 6.40. Then there’s Robbie Ward’s RIPS Racing Nissan RB30-powered front-engine-dragster, which recently joined the sub-seven-second ET ranks running a 6.99. But today I’m here to talk about an old school Mazda and its meteoric rise to the top of the Kiwi rotary drag racing ranks.
Although New Zealand has always enjoyed a large and enthusiastic rotary community, when it comes to drag racing, only in recent times have the country’s more serious rotary-powered racers begun catching up with the rest of the world. Today, out of New Zealand’s five top-ranked import drag machines, three are Mazda rotary-powered. Of those, the quickest two bear something in common…
… the Curran Brothers Racing mark.
Thanks to the engine building exploits of its owner and sole full-time employee, Brent Curran, within the space of a few short years CBR went from virtual anonymity to one of New Zealand’s most respected performance rotary workshops.
Although still young, Brent’s craft has been quickly honed by an unrelenting quest to build wilder and more powerful rotary engines for street and competition applications.
There’s nothing more testament to Brent’s talents than CBR’s rolling business card – a ’71 Mazda RX-2. Funnily enough, the Castrol EDGE-sponsored machine wasn’t originally built to fulfill any desire to cut quick ETs on the strip, but rather to serve as an R&D tool. Brent explains: “While I enjoy racing, my real passion is engine building – especially if I’m given the opportunity to push myself and do something really cool. Unlike a lot of other motorsports, drag racing allows a lot of freedoms when it comes to engines, and because so many of the world’s top rotary [engine] builders are involved in the sport, I’m able to draw comparisons with what they’re achieving on the same playing field.”
Even so, consistent performance on the strip has had its rewards, including a national drag racing title…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJz_S7LKg0s
… and a in late 2011 – in its original red guise – a 6.99 @ 195mph time slip! Only one Kiwi-built, rotary-powered machine has ever gone quicker on the quarter mile, and there’s a CBR engine powering Charlie Bates’ 6.93-second Rislone-sponsored dragster, too.
When the RX-2 was first built it was powered by a 13B twin turbo engine that propelled the Mazda to mid seven-second passes, but from the get-go the plan was always to use a three-rotor 20B engine base. “When I was young I dreamed about building a peripheral ported, triple rotor, triple turbo, motor,” says Brent. “The RX-2 gave me the opportunity to see that dream through to reality, and running 6.99 proved to myself that I could make it work.”
Although Brent believes there was another tenth to be had from its final triple turbo set up, chasing a 6.89 was of little interest. In an effort to go even quicker, focus was shifted to an entirely new set-up…
… that after testing three different twin turbo combinations, currently looks like this!
It’s hard to see – even in the flesh – but there’s a CBR-built peripheral-ported Mazda 20B three-rotor block hiding under all that plumbing. Most hardcore rotary turbo drag engines rely on conventional side porting, or semi peripheral porting, over going to the extreme and drilling out the rotor housings with large intake ports above the factory exhaust ports. “I think peripheral porting is more in keeping with the old school style of the car,” said Brent when I questioned him on his thinking behind the porting spec. “But more so, it’s something else working against me, so that makes it a challenge.” The other unusual aspect of the engine is the twin turbo arrangement. Two turbochargers on a 20B aren’t special, but running them in a configuration like this (as opposed to both being positioned on the exhaust port side of the block), absolutely is.
The easy way out would have been to feed one turbo with the exhaust gases from two rotors, and the other turbo with the exhaust gas from the third rotor, with a balance pipe in between to even out the pressure. In Brent’s eyes that sort of design is flawed, so a slightly more technical approach was taken. In this unique exhaust manifold set up, each of the three exhaust ports feeds two pipes. One of those pipe flows into a three-pipe collector that supplies the puff for one turbo, and the other pipe flows into another three-pipe collector that supplies the puff for the other turbo. In other words, each exhaust port feeds both turbochargers.
As you’d expect there’s a fuel system of sizable proportions. Cool-burning Methanol is pumped from a four-gallon (15-liter) tank…
… up to the top of the engine where three fuel rails supplying nine 1650cc injectors and six 2000cc injectors. Three additional 1650cc units are fitted, but are not currently employed. During one full-power pass down the quarter the engine consumes around 2.5 gallons (nine liters) of the alcohol-based fuel.
Spark come courtesy of a MicroTech X6 ignition module and high-power coils…
… with firing orders and fuel delivery overseen by a MicroTech LT-16 engine management system. I was interested to learn that Brent does all his tuning on the fly, at the strip. “If there’s a problem with the tune, I simply note down the RPM, and make the necessary changes afterwards,” he says. “We pull out the [spark] plugs after each run as they’re a good indicator to how the engine’s running, but that’s really about it.”
From every angle the 20B twin turbo package is an impressive looking piece of kit, but because the engine – or the car for that matter – has never been on a dyno, its exact power output is unknown. Given the car’s weight – 2250lb (1020kg) with driver – and its ability to run seven seconds flat at close to 200mph, 1300hp+ is estimated. Ponder that power-to-weight ratio for a moment and then ask yourself: Would you be game enough to get behind the wheel of this thing and point it down the quarter mile?
Of course, having all the power in the world is one thing, but getting it to the ground reliably is something else. During the RX-2′s first couple of seasons Brent had a lot of trouble with the driveline, suffering a multitude of transmission, differential and axle failures in his quest for quicker ETs and higher trap speeds. The gearbox proved to be the real limiting factor, prompting him to put a little cash aside every week until he had enough saved for hardware that was up to task. Two years later a bulletproof Lenco CS3 air-shifted five-speed found its way into the car. Operation is pretty simple: The black lever selects between first gear (forward), neutral (center) and reverse (backwards). A regular McLeod twin-plate clutch is used to get the Mazda off the start line, but from there on out pulling back each lever in succession shifts the ‘box through its four remaining gears.
Out the back 32.0/14.0-15 Mickey Thompson ET Drag slicks running on 14″ wide Max wheels (with bead-lock rings to stop the M/Ts spinning on the rims) feature. What you can’t see behind the wheels are Wilwood disc brakes, Strange Engineering gun-drilled axles and a Mark Williams 40-spline diff head inside a custom Robert Tynan sheet-metal diff housing.
It’s a classic drag combo at the pointy end: 15×4″ Weld Magnum Drag 2.0 wheels with 22.5/4.0-15 Mickey Thompson ET Front radials. The lightweight, motorcycle style, front disc brakes are by Strange.
While the front and rear discs offer a little assistance in hauling the Mazda up, the real stopping power comes via twin Simpson parachutes. The run-off at Brent’s local strip, Fram Autolite Dragway, isn’t any longer than the quarter mile itself, so ‘chutes are mandatory on a missile pushing close 200mph, like this one.
When Brent first picked up the rolling body the idea was to ‘tub’ the rear end to allow it to accommodate large slicks. “It was the chassis builder [Robert Tynan] that talked me into going to a full chassis,” says Brent. “Looking back, I’m pleased we went down that road, even if it meant cutting up what was a mint RX-2.” The Mazda retains a lot of its original metal panels, with only a single-piece fiberglass front clip (complete with printed lights and grille), and a fiberglass trunk lid added. Lexan windows replace the OEM glass.
It’s all business inside Brent’s office. For piece of mind the chromoly tube work was designed and constructed to appropriate SFI safety specifications.
The cockpit is a place where form definitely follows function. It’s also the place where Brent gets to enjoy the fruits of his labor – albeit at just seven seconds a time.
Things get real serious (and really noisy!) when these overhead switches are flipped and the start button is engaged. Auto Meter Pro-Comp gauges keep an eye on the engine’s water and oil temps.
For what has essentially been a budget build, the CBR RX-2 punches well above its weight. “After we ran the six-second pass I received a lot of congratulations from international rotary builders who I had respected and looked up to for a long time, and that really blew me away!” says Brent. “With the current set up in the car I know we can go quicker and faster. We literally run the car on a shoestring budget and I need to buy a data logger [a borrowed unit was only recently fitted], along with a new clutch and a pair of new rear tires. I really like trying out new things, but we have to take small steps because I can’t financially afford to hurt the thing.”
Having a crack at the world rotary drag title in a car built for the task is something Brent would one day like to have a go at. “If we get there, we get there,” he says. “But if we don’t get the opportunity, I’ll be happy with what we’ve already achieved.” In the meantime there’s a workshop full of cars to deal with, including a very serious build that revolves around a CBR-built four-rotor engine and a huge turbo. But we’ll save that story for another day…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJp1mvzkMw
I’ll wrap up this feature with an in-car clip from a recent run down the strip that ended with the parachutes failing to deploy. “Thankfully it happened on a 180mph test pass,” says Brent. “I don’t think it would have ended up so well if we had been back up to 195mph as we are now – but man it was a wild ride!”
CURRAN BROTHERS RACING 1971 MAZDA RX-2
Chassis/Body: Robert Tynan SFI-spec chromoly tube-frame chassis; fiberglass one-piece front clip; fiberglass trunk lid; Lexan windows, custom drag wing
Engine: CBR Mazda 20B three-rotor block; dowelled; three-piece eccentric shaft; lightened 20B rotors; 3mm apex seals; 7.1:1 compression; peripheral intake porting; CBR custom intake; 2x custom turbochargers; 2x TiAL 60mm wastegates; TiAL blow-off valve; CBR custom tubular exhaust manifold; twin 4″ exhausts; 4-gallon fuel cell; Aeromotive belt-driven fuel pump; Aeromotive adjustable fuel pressure regulator; 3x fuel rails; 9x 1650cc injectors; 6x 2000cc injectors, high-power Bosch coils; MicroTech X6; MicroTech LT-16 engine management system
Driveline: Lenco CS3 five-speed air-shifted gearbox; McLeod twin-plate clutch; Driveshaft Specialists steel driveshaft; Robert Tynan sheet-metal diff housing; Mark Williams 40-spline diff head; Strange Engineering gun-drilled axles
Suspension/Brakes: Front – Strange Engineering adjustable coil-overs dampers; Strange Engineering callipers & slotted steel discs; Rear – Koni adjustable coil-over dampers; Wilwood callipers & discs; 2x Simpson parachutes
Wheels/Tires: Front – Weld Magnum Drag 2.0 15×4″ forged wheels, Mickey Thompson ET Front 22.5/4.0-15 radial tires; Rear – Max 15×14″ bead-lock wheels, Mickey Thompson ET Drag 32.0/14.0-15 slicks
Performance: Power Output – 1300hp+ (estimated); Best ET – 6.995 @ 196mph (triple turbo set up)
Curran Brothers Racing
– Brad Lord
In the lead up to the N24, Toyota’s own Gazoo Racing/GRMN has just unveiled the “GRMN Sports FR Concept”. While the typically Japanese sounding name doesn’t explain much, this factory-tuned GT86 is sure to get the enthusiast community buzzing.
For starters the GRMN project 86 is equipped with some very aggressive body work. There are new front and rear bumpers, side skirts – and most dramatically, widened front and rear fenders.
The real story though is under the hood, where the 86′s flat four has been equipped with both a supercharger and a turbocharger. There’s been a lot of debate on whether or not a factory force induction 86 is coming down the line, but this concept definitely hints at that possibility.
With the supercharger and the turbocharger the GRMN 86 makes 320hp, a solid 120hp jump over the stock naturally aspirated version.
The interior features bucket seats, a full roll cage, and a very tiny looking steering wheel among other things.
To help balance out the extra power, the 86 has also been equipped with staggered 18″ wheels and tires with enlarged brakes and a GRMN-tuned suspension.
There’s no word on how much of this stuff will make it to production, but hopefully we’ll be hearing more soon.
-Mike Garrett
Source: FT86Club
