JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 So yesterday was the day I got to visit Fensport for the first time. I had a fantastic day talking to Dave and Adrian about my plans whilst watching the car be pulled apart and then back together again. It was a long day, getting up at 10 to 6 in the morning and not getting home until 6.30pm but well worth it in the end! Arriving at Fensport The morning was spent taking out the gearbox and replacing the clutch and flywheel with the heavy duty ACT version from Nige. I also had a tiny leak in the gasket connecting the overpipe to the manifold so I replaced that whilst we had the exhaust bits off. I was astonished at the difference with the Flywheel and how much weight I have saved. The stock flywheel came in at 9.4kgs whilst the new ACT version only weighed 4.6kgs. After we weighed it, Dave took it back to the workshop and started fitting. It was all assembled back on the car by lunchtime, so I stopped off for some food. After lunch it was time to go out with Adrian to get the car mapped. Obviously this was the most exciting part of the day as I was intrigued to see how the car responded to the new map, after having no cats, a full exhaust system, Borla UEL manifold as well as the intake system optimised. The whole process was mesmerising, after Adrian had a bit of drama with his laptop playing up, he took initial readings of my car and then drove out to his favourite mapping road. After installing the base UEL manifold map, we did 1 3rd gear run and then pulled over into a lay by to see how quickly my car responded. He was surprised how little fettling he needed to do. There was perhaps small improvements to be made in ignition timing later on in the rpm band, but maf sensor readings were good. The biggest thing he was quite surprised by however was the exhaust flow readings. On the first run my car was floating around the 167-169 mark, which apparently according to Adrian is within the top 3-4 86's he's mapped in the country. I guess that is the advantage of having a completely straight through pipe with no cats! We did 4 more runs to improve the ignition readings, along with a 3rd and 4th gear pull. To finish off he also did a pull from low down in the rpm, he did the old trick of getting me to look out the window and guess what gear he was in. I said 4th but it infact was 5th! I was shocked at the difference! With the UEL Borla manifold and the map, the car pulls hard from 3000rpm onwards and dip is nonexistent! Adrian was very satisfied and moved onto explaining and implementing the racerom features. We had a good laugh testing the flat foot shifting and auto blip through a few tight corners. The 4 maps were split into Adrian's typical format. Map 1 being full performance, map 2 adding flat foot shift and launch control, map 3 adding auto blip and map 4 being a low fuel quality map. Once we got back to the workshop, Adrian adjusted the idle speed to 900rpm to cater for the lighter flywheel and gave me a redline of 7800rpm in 1st and 2nd gears, and 7650rpm from 3rd through to 6th. So what are my thoughts from the journey home? Well the ACT 6 puck clutch is quite tricky in traffic, it does judder quite a bit and is quite vicious in its delivery, but once you get going it is incredibly precise and feels so positive. I did purchase a positive shift kit on the day, and combined with the clutch, the gear changes are awesome now. By the time I got home I got a feel for the clutch in traffic and although there is a slight increase in tranny and clutch noise it is well worth it! What about the car then? Well there is no torque dip at all now, car pulls strong from 3k rpm onwards and on the motorway it makes overtaking so much easier! Car has come alive with more power, pulling strong all the way up to 7k rpm even with the UEL manifold installed. Whilst I love to heel and toe myself, auto blip is so handy when you want to get a lick on and be precise with the car under braking and cornering. Flat foot shifting is something else, with the car banging on the limiter in between gears, which combined with my no cat setup makes the car sound like an animal with pops and bangs! Overall I am hugely pleased with the result, I have yet to test launch control, but will find a quiet road this weekend and give it a blast! With all my bolt on mods installed, the map has breathed a new lease of life into the car, making it a raw aggressive beast! Massive thanks to all the gang at Fensport, I had a lovely day and both Dave and Adrian were so helpful and insightful.. A very happy customer indeed! Next on the list is a lightweight prop, shorter final drive, bushes and camber bolts which I'll be going back to Fensport after Japfest and the Summer to get installed! Looking forward to seeing how the car develops 2 Keethos and Ztox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Sounds like your'e having a lot of fun with that car James.. Glad you got to grips with the clutch. Everyone says they're a bit grabby, but as you and Steve have already said, you get used to it. I wonder how grabby my twin plate will be?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Sounds like your'e having a lot of fun with that car James.. Glad you got to grips with the clutch. Everyone says they're a bit grabby, but as you and Steve have already said, you get used to it. I wonder how grabby my twin plate will be?? On the drive home I was beaming from ear to ear Nige! I can't wait to fettle with it again within the next couple of months Yeah I have to say, the first 10-15 minutes on the way home were quite tricky haha! Getting away from junctions and roundabouts was a nightmare, but that was due to getting used to the new feel and weight of it, there really is a lack of travel! But once you are on the move it is sensational, so direct and just allows you to bang the gears in! What clutch did you choose again Nige? Going to have to start bulking up your left leg in preparation to push the pedal down! Haha Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Wow, lots done. Is there a reason you went with a six paddle clutch over a simply uprated one? I've tried the Helix one (IIRC) and though it was heavier it was okay and obviously no juddering, just a heavier pedal. I get that auto blipping is for those who can't heel and toe, but if you can it's surely far more satisfying to do it properly? I experienced flat foot shifting in Jay and Jamie's car and I admit, I just don't like it. Just thought it was too harsh in the car and changing 1st to second gave me a neck injury! Still it all sounds good. Will you just put the cat back in for the MOT then? 1 JamesP1991 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Wow, lots done. Is there a reason you went with a six paddle clutch over a simply uprated one? I've tried the Helix one (IIRC) and though it was heavier it was okay and obviously no juddering, just a heavier pedal. I get that auto blipping is for those who can't heel and toe, but if you can it's surely far more satisfying to do it properly? I experienced flat foot shifting in Jay and Jamie's car and I admit, I just don't like it. Just thought it was too harsh in the car and changing 1st to second gave me a neck injury! Still it all sounds good. Will you just put the cat back in for the MOT then? Yeah I just wanted to make sure it all got bolted on before next weekend I chose such a heavy duty one simply because it was available at the time. Nige had it for sale at £250 for both clutch and flywheel with only a handful of miles put on it. I checked the retail and it was £660, so as value for money goes it was a steal, plus it covers me for any future engine mods I do! It is certainly more satisfying and I won't use it often, but on those days when I'm feeling a bit lazy, I can just switch it to map 3 and get the benefit of it. Plus it is so useful when you just want to concentrate on braking and cornering technique. When it comes to flat foot shifting, I tested it quite a bit on the way home and when you are bolting through the gears I felt it certainly was quicker... Plus it is idiot proof to my mind In regards to the second cat, I will probably just stick it in once a year, its not really a hardship for me.. Especially when I still have 18 months before it's first MOT any way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ztox 230 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Sounds epic James, will be good to see it the flesh/metal. I'm not a fan of auto-blip either but the flat-foot shifting coupled with a nice exhaust setup is pure eargasm material. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Sounds epic James, will be good to see it the flesh/metal. I'm not a fan of auto-blip either but the flat-foot shifting coupled with a nice exhaust setup is pure eargasm material. Yeah when your doing normal driving it does just get in the way. But as I said, it is going to be something I'll use when I'm feeling lazy but want to give the car a bit of a Spanking. When I was out with Adrian, he said the system is so fast and takes away the stress of heel and toe.. He even wants it on the GT86 R but a software issue is stopping it from work! With flat foot shifting though, it certainly has the ability to scare a few people on the road haha! In between shifts the car sounds like a machine gun Not something I'll be doing too much when the five o are about Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ztox 230 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 Probably for the best!! Haha. I think that'd probably get you an insta-pull That's the thing with the auto-blip, I hear those things are VERY good at what they do. If others were using it in a competitive environment I'd probably use it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted May 9, 2015 I experienced flat foot shifting in Jay and Jamie's car and I admit, I just don't like it. Just thought it was too harsh in the car and changing 1st to second gave me a neck injury! I suggested to someone to set the RPM hysteresis so that it will drop the RPM to 5k rather than just bounce at whatever RPM you dip the clutch. No where near as harsh and more like normal shifting whilst still keeping the revs up. Apparently works much better than the base ECUtek setting. I haven't tried it as I'm not a fan either but may give my idea a go too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 10, 2015 Sounds like a good solution to smoothen it out to be honest, I'm not phased by the harshness of it, but obviously plenty of people would welcome the change to make it less "clunky" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Subota Boy 402 Report post Posted May 10, 2015 Great write up James. Bet my car is really quiet in comparison!!! Look forward to sitting next to you in your cabin and shouting!! Epic!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 10, 2015 With a decat manifold I'm sure yours still sounds fairly fruity What I'm interested in is the noise difference between your EL and my UEL, as through videos you can't really gauge it! Looking forward to seeing your car in the flesh Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 So yesterday evening I got my first chance to properly test the Launch Control. There is a quiet road down by the side of a local park so did a couple of practice launches with different RPM down there to see where the sweet spot is... Found that just below 4k on a dry road is when she hooks up best with minimal wheel spin. But what made me smile the most was the sound, I was literally giggling like a 5 year old the entire time. It was quite enclosed down there with bush lines either side of the road, so when I was popping off the launch rpm it reverberated around the entire area. I will make sure I get some footage with my step brother filming or something, as the thing just sounds so raw now with pops and bangs also happening on the overrun and in between shifts! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ124 118 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 James you are not helping my want for a manifold and map! Car is looking great, look forward to some footage soon. 1 JamesP1991 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 James you are not helping my want for a manifold and map! Car is looking great, look forward to some footage soon. DO IT DO IT DO IT! Honestly it transforms the car. I had all my goodies installed weeks before the map obviously, so on the drive up to Fensport and back I could do an almost back to back comparison. I had a lovely drive through a back road afterwards last night and with all bolts ons properly mapped it just brings the car alive! Higher rev limit (7600rpm), soft limiter, pulls hard from 3k rpm with much stronger mid range (no torque dip) and slightly more top end. It all just enhances the driving experience. Whilst at Fensport Adrian persuaded me to also purchase the M Factory shorter final drive and lightweight prop, so after the Summer when I have had the chance to save up some money, I will probably be going back to get all that installed, along with some camber bolts and suspension bushes! I haven't even thought of cosmetics outside of the wheels, however I am starting to like the idea of keeping it stock looking and start transforming it into a bit of a sleeper. Would prefer to spend my money on bits to make it go faster rather than look faster I keep meaning to capture footage, so will attempt it tonight if I can. If you are at the hotel on Friday though mate, I will be more than happy to take you out in it so you can get a feel for the changes and then it can contribute to your decision 2 KevinA and AJ124 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 I haven't even thought of cosmetics outside of the wheels, however I am starting to like the idea of keeping it stock looking and start transforming it into a bit of a sleeper. Would prefer to spend my money on bits to make it go faster rather than look faster It's the best way, mines even still on stock wheels and has a relatively quiet exhaust. 1 JamesP1991 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 It's the best way, mines even still on stock wheels and has a relatively quiet exhaust. I guess that is the beauty of this car.. different strokes for different folks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ124 118 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Oh I will, just need to save up ;(. Annoyingly I was supposed to away on Saturday so did not get a ticket. Would love to hear it in person another time. I am also a fan of subtle styling with a well sorted car lurking beneath. 1 JamesP1991 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 That's a shame fella I will be at a couple of other events this year including Japfest 2 in August hopefully, so might see you there instead? I think you added me on Instagram the other day? I will make sure any sound clips get uploaded there too Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AJ124 118 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 Just checked the date and i'm on holiday .. Hopefully a club meet will pop up that I can actually attend. I think I did, I just followed all the members that added me, will keep my eyes peeled. Will be interested on your experience with the final drive, its on my list of things to look into. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 12, 2015 I can't think of any others I will be attending off the top of my head for the time being! Well I spoke with Stan at Snetterton as he has one fitted on his Sprint Series car, he said it made a massive difference to the in gear acceleration, as obviously all of the ratios shift left. For £400 odd quid it seems like a very cost effective solution to making the car that bit more aggressive, and after Adrian mentioned it to me last Friday I think it is pretty nailed on in the coming months Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 19, 2015 I know I said I would wait 6 or so months to see what other kits come available for N/A tuning, but at this price the HKS Stroker kit is SERIOUSLY tempting me next month, with the view of then getting the HKS cams the following month. http://www.nengun.com/hks/fa20-21l-stroker-kit Never bought from this website before though, can anyone shed some light at all? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 19, 2015 Following on from earlier, I should not have been window shopping at lunch time at work today, as I know I would buy something! And well the inevitable happened, and I bought both a shorter final drive (4.55) from Revolution and a Beatrush Master Cylinder Brace from Japan Parts. https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/44419 https://www.japanparts.com/parts/detail/44283 Only cost me £374 all in including shipping which is crazy! The girlfriend is going to kill me however haha 1 Keethos reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Deacon 1357 Report post Posted May 19, 2015 Dammit James you've just made me browse japan parts. I fear this may be expensive... ;-) 2 rob275 and AJ124 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JamesP1991 222 Report post Posted May 19, 2015 Ohh don't remind me Jeff! The website is dangerous, I was like a kid in a sweet shop I did have a few other things in my basket but decided against them as it would have bankrupted me! Awesome prices though and I will be using them again! Just got that horrid wait for shipping now Let me know what you find Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
