Race Car

[TRDPWR]

Hi guys. im looking at getting my self a 99 BZR as a race car by the end of the year. ive had alot of ideas thrown at me by mates in regards as to what i should do to get more power and generally make it go harder. i figured i'll ask the experts and get some views from other members as to what i should do. i will have a round 10g to spend on modifications for the car.

[Leon]

Keep It Simple Stupid, is the best advice I can give. The more you fiddle, the more likely it is to break, so try not to build something more high strung than you can afford to fix. Thus why I run a standard 4AGE.

Decide what events you want to do, and develop the car with that in mind.

Probably $6k of your $10k budget will go on safety gear, depending on if you are building a race or rally car (two seats, or one).

Light is good. If you don't need it, take it out.

Suspension and tires will make or break your car. Again, remember that light is good when you go wheel shopping. Plus of course, 15" race rubber is cheaper than 17" race rubber.

Do brakes before you do anything to get more power. Racebrakes can sort you out there immediately, so no need to re-invent the wheel. Just ring them, then do what they tell you. No messing about, they've very good.

[Mr Revhead]

as above....

suspension and brakes will make you faster than an extra 50hp

[pc]

I think first, decide what events you want to do, and how much you will have to spend on the car as running costs etc.
No point building the mega fast track monster and having no money for: entry fees, travel costs to events, new tyres etc, and if something breaks bits to fix it.
Otherwise it will be the mega fast garage monster.... boring.

[Brick]

basically wat they said,
worry about speed and power last, get good handling, stopping power, safety equipment and so forth first

[bad20v]

I will have to go with the four wise men above as well. A standard BZR is a good starting point but with a few well executed modifications in the handling and braking departments, they can be alot more competitive.
Simple mods to the intake and exhaust can be done to improve power a little over standard, such as pod filters, cold air induction and exhaust sizes/ modifications etc. These subjects have been covered thoroughly in other threads, so if you use the 'search' function in this forum you should be able to find the info you need.

Just remember, if you are going to race it: Safety First.

[Mr Revhead]

you may want to think about buying some preface lift front suspension...
s/s on a dedicated track car will give you problems

[bad20v]

you may want to think about buying some preface lift front suspension...
s/s on a dedicated track car will give you problems

I.e: Squawk! Squawk! Squawk! Go the strut joints!

[Emperor]

Handling before anything!!
Our FD is running an NA 13B, only around 190HP, but it handles like a dream with all the upgraded suspension, brakes, etc.

But as the rest of them said, figure out what events you want to do. Enter a few club events, club track days, then go for your license, and move up into national series racing, etc.

[Brick]

after you hav finished doing the handling on your car and you want to make it faster make sure it stays reliable. Simple things like raising the compression, intake, exhaust, ignition, advancing timing, mild cams and running av-gas should keep it reliable and have some good power

[GT4 20]

My advice is to get the best cage you can fitted along with some FIA seats and belts. Proper safety equipment may well save your from serious injury or even being killed if you have a nasty off. A proper cage will also stiffen up the car nicely so will improve handling.



With 10k, I'd leave the motor as standard and spend the money on the chassis, cage, etc. Then, when you have a few events under your belt and some experience, you can start playing with the engine. It'll also give you some time to save some extra $. A decent helmet, race suit, gloves, boots will also need to be budgeted for along with getting the car certed etc.
Do the basics and don't get tempted to get carried away too quickly.
Gary

[TRDPWR]

Roll Cage i get for free through contacts in my club. 80% sure that magwarehouse will sposor me with rims tyres and suspention. seats and blts i can get cheap through carwells racing supplies. also club gets discounts at racebrakes. so thats brakes, suspension, rimes/tyres, seats, belts, helmets, cage. for less than 5k. what are your views on forced induction. the perviously discused items will be implemented first. the car will be used for tarmac racing. ie puke, taupo, manfield, etc

[GT4 20]

There are cages and there are cages. A proper specced one will easily set you back at least 2.5 - 3k. If you can get one of those done for free, then you are very lucky. Make sure it isn't a basic one - wouldn't trust one of those if I had a big off. Look at what happened to Michael Park in the WRC a few weeks ago. FIA standard cage couldn't save his life. You wouldn't stand much chance in a car with a few simple bars
Gary

[pc]

what class/series will it be run in? Do you intend to be competitive to the point of possibly winning or do you just want to partake? If you intend to run in a series where all the top people are spending > $50G then you can't compete with $10G. Just my cynical view on track racing.

[soopachargen]

my mate has a 96 bzg with trd adjusties, gearset and diff, all the bolt on bits (cusco etc) all the TRD bling... oil cap, fuel cap, radiator cap... racepro tarmac, race tires... all stripped ready to be caged that he wants to sell if your interested... its FOB... he's had it round puke once and ran a 1'16 or 1'12 or something...(i know thats a big difference but cant remembera)

[TRDPWR]

clubsport events 2 start untill im used 2 the car. then onto anything entailing a national race licence. the cage is full FIA spec. everything done to rthe car will be to FIA/Motorsport NZ standars as stated in the "New Zealand Motorsport Manual No. 33 Book One, Appendix Two - Sch. A - Driver and vehicle saftey"

[GT4 20]

clubsport events 2 start untill im used 2 the car. then onto anything entailing a national race licence. the cage is full FIA spec. everything done to rthe car will be to FIA/Motorsport NZ standars as stated in the "New Zealand Motorsport Manual No. 33 Book One, Appendix Two - Sch. A - Driver and vehicle saftey"

I'm not saying that you'll have a cage that won't meet the required MSNZ standards. Just that there are 'levels' of cages available - even a basic one will meet the standards. I still wouldn't want a crash in one of those. Mine is, I must admit, overkill, but better safe than sorry.
And your cage will only meed FIA standards if you use chromoly tubing. And that usually doubles the cost of a cage.
Gary

[Distrb]

I'm not saying that you'll have a cage that won't meet the required MSNZ standards. Just that there are 'levels' of cages available - even a basic one will meet the standards. I still wouldn't want a crash in one of those. Mine is, I must admit, overkill, but better safe than sorry.

I agree with Gary on this 100%, theres no compromise for safety.


Heres an instance where a car had a basic spec cage (MSNZ Certified) with minimal bars added and in a local club car sprint in the middle of this year, and had a tangle with a tree and did a couple of pirouettes before coming to rest.

http://www.seabrightmotorsport.co.nz/Ph ... G_7120.jpg

Driver went to hospital with serious injuries (details escape me at this point in time) If there was a passenger in the car they'd be dead

[TRDPWR]

unfortunently i cant view the image. how much do the roll cage guys charge for labour say u got all the bars for the cage from elsewhere? what would they charge to weld it all together in the car?

[Leon]

Prices vary wildly.

A $900 mild steel cage in Wellington, will cost you $1800 in Auckland.

A kitset cage you can buy out of Christchurch for around $400 or so, but then obviously requires welding.

FIA seats are a valuable investment in your own safety. Avoid Autosport seats like the plague. They had ONE seat FIA homologated, and when the FIA random tested them, they had altered the seats and they fell apart during the testing. Autosport then KEPT on selling their seats claiming they were still FIA homologated, despite their homologation being cancelled. Also, I have never seen more seats breaking than Autosports. The pic linked by Disturb is also yet another case of an Autosport seat smashing.