Resurrection!

Obviously i’d stopped blogging on WordPress for a while and created a Tumblr, not sure why. Tumblr is pretty good but i’ve been getting pissed off with the same stuff going around over and over again, it’s cool to have stuff you like all in one place, but thats about it.

Anyway, i’ve decided to start using this WordPress again to try and motivate me to do shit on my car and other projects!

The last time I used my Silvia was back at the end of July, at Awesomefest weekender here in the UK. It was set to be the biggest event of the year at probably the best place to drive in the country, I spent a fair amount of time and cash getting my car up together and solid so I could go hard all weekend and have maximum fun. Didnt really work out.

I got food poisoning on the friday and basically spent half of the saturday shitting and puking, while missing 3 track slots that day. Finally got out while feeling rough as, and on the first lap one of my boost hoses popped off, had to sit out the rest of the run until I could get to some tools. Changed some hose clips round and went out for my last run of the day, got to lap two this time before the same hose came off again. Fixed the problem once and for all on the Sunday morning while feeling like death still, but amped to get out for my first session and go at it. Second lap, first corner I came off the track and hit this massive kurb at the edge of this rumble strip, bent my rear lower arm in half and slightly bent a rim. Goes to show, a genuine wheel put up more of a fight than a chunky OEM steel lower arm!

So obviously pissed off with that and generally feeling like I wanted to give up, my good friends kept me going and subbed in cash to buy some adjustable rear lower arms from the Driftworks stand at the track! Amazing! So there was a mad rush to swap out the bent rear LCA in time for my next track session, but I made it out!

Although on the second lap I span at the same fucking corner and coursed-out towards the same kurb, hit my front right wheel, bending the rim again and kinking a tie-rod. So now the car felt like a complete wet turd to drive, with around 4* of camber on one wheel at the back, and some stupid toe-in on the opposite wheel at the front. There was one more session left of my weekend, the last whole session of the weekend in fact.

Went out and gave it absolute shit, and had the best session of the whole weekend. My car was battered, bent and only running .5 bar for some reason, but I drove it foot the the floor and had a blast!

 

Here’s and in car vid from the weekend. Stoked about the uphill ‘esses’, cant wait to go back again and go harder!

 

Also in this video a few times, and in the second video being chased my my friend in his S13 (towards the end).

 

So all in all a massively disappointing weekend, once I got the car home it was left for weeks in a state, didnt want to touch it. I also cracked the diff casing at the track, so after about 2 months I took the diff out to inspect it. I’ve never touched the diff before and was told it was a 2-way when I bought the car. Turns out its a worn-out GTR 2-way with piss weak ramp angles. Hopefully this explains why the car is a stuggle to keep sideways without having my foot nailed down the whole time!

Without wanting to spend big money on a car I was starting to lose interest in, I decided to look for a short final drive 4.3 diff that I could weld. After being messed around by people trying to source one, I finally found one about 2 weeks go, so its been about 5 whole months since I drove my car properly!!

So those have been the main events over the past few months. Other than that I fitted the other rear LCA, so the rear is completely adjustable now, also fitted adjustable front LCA’s as I needed proper lock-stops and less track that the extended S14 LCA’s gave me. Also picked up some kinked GTR caster rods for the front, to give me more clearance on lock, until the roll bar anyway.