JamesP1991

My main concern was taking out the key with the pulley as I said above, as apparently they are a bitch to then seat back on to the crank. Plus you then obviously have to line up the pulley correctly to sit in to the key.

Stop saying these kind of things Jeff! You'll get me into a lot of trouble at home haha!

Ahhh so they were unable to get the torque on the bolt because the engine kept rotating with the action Keith? I think that would be an issue as I won't have the hardware at home. If it was simply a case of a stiff bolt I'd be fine, as soon as I got my 16 stone frame hanging off it, it would shift! But yes getting it done at the garage along with my FD will remove any risk on my part I guess. The guy specialises in Subaru's and I've known him a long time so I trust him to do a good job.

To be honest I would probably go for a Castrol livery if I could, but I would have to make sure my car looked and went the part to match, as in race specification! Would be certainly a big draw at shows But yes in general you would feel just a tad out of place!

The ARK is great quality, but at £1100 is quite expensive as a catback.. just depends on how big your budget is for parts really I would contact Chris direct to see where all the other exhaust systems have disappeared to! I am sure he can still source a lot of the US based products.

Thank you Nige it is much appreciated If I find myself stumped when fitting the pulley kit I will be sure to PM you my number, at which point you can give me some of your wisdom! I am more concerned about losing the key that the crank pulley sits in to more than anything. Let's see how I go!

Hmmm given that the 4-1 is a lot cheaper than the 4-2-1 I might have to hold off and wait for the appropriate funds then, as my car has cost me far too much money recently already and the missus will moan at me if I spend even more this month I look forward to seeing some in the UK though, they are only just starting to get vendors in the US.

Just a quick update... I paid for James H's GFB Pulley kit today, so that should be with my by the end of the week. I will be fitting the MCB myself this weekend and will see how easy the pulley kit is to fit, as if I can do it myself I might as well. If not however I will just send that in with the FD to be fitted together at the garage I will be using. I am a bit of a ham fisted oaf, so it might be a better option. Next on the list after that is finished is a lightweight Ali prop and then after that I can get stuck into some proper N/A engine mods again, along with a stoptech brake kit.

Well the F20 VTEC lump from the S2000 held the production engine HP/L record for a long time, with 120HP/L until it was surpassed by the Ferrari F430 I think it was? But still, to think Honda were getting 240hp from a 2L 4 cylinder engine 15 years ago is just incredible!

You are in luck Remal I have just seen this Nice to see you are interested in the Invidia systems, they are fantastic quality and Chris from Tarmac will get you a good deal. The reason you pay more for the Q300 is because of the "backbox" style design instead of the Y pipe of the N1, more material is used, and it also produces a quieter more refined sound. On the other hand, the N1 is designed to be LOUD, it does drone a bit and is incredibly deep in it's tone. Due to it being a less restrictive Y pipe design It is best optimised for flow, outside of a single exit Tomei or Blitz for example. I chose it because I wanted the car to be a bit loud and obnoxious, as it was something I felt it dearly lacked, even though it was a sports car, but also it produced good HP numbers. Quality wise I have had no problems in the year I have had it. The titanium tips look as good polished up now as they did when I first bolted it on. The Invidia plaque at the split of the pipes looks awesome underneath the car, and the welds and joins on the exhaust itself are very solid. Here are a couple of pictures of it on the car: Unfortunately I do not have any videos of the sound of mine at the moment (will get those done), but I do have the identical setup to this YouTube video: The N1 contributes to a lot of the sound along with the Borla UEL. Even before the manifold was installed, and it was on the stock manifold, it was a loud beast. I think you said however that being loud was not your target, but something that sounded a bit fruity instead was more your thing? Well the Q300 is definitely the choice for you in that regard then, as it doesn't produce the drone of the N1, yet is still a bit louder than the stock system. Quality wise they are the same too. Hope that answer helps in your decision process any way buddy

Was looking into this manifold a few weeks back as they are getting good feedback in the US forum. Have emailed them a few times in regards to the 4-1 race manifold requesting some dyno graphs and they are very good. Getting the same numbers on 95 RON fuel as other manifolds are getting on our equivalent of 98 RON fuel. Plus they are all hand made. When you are you looking at doing the group buy Jeff? I keep changing my mind on what I want to do with the blasted car as I want to stay UEL!

Prices for the R version are mental, and an unmolested original example in the UK is rarer than hens teeth. I guess your best bet would be to import one from Japan. A lot of hassle but with the R you get all the lightweight parts, and the gutted interior etc! I have a couple of friends who have gone the Hondata route with their Type R's. Heavily modified, 9300rpm redline and VTEC kicking in extremely early with the software.. I have to say it is intoxicating and I think the FN2 still looks good, but they also lived at the petrol pump as the fuel costs were stupid. If I were to ever own one I'd just use it as a track thing I can thrash I reckon!

You can finally come and join us at shows and events in her then Nige?!

Looks like it's been hit with an RPG judging by what's left of it.. Or lack of haha

Uhhh blasphemy! What's not proportional about this Keith?! haha

My car taste varies quite a bit, but has evolved from being a big motorsport fan. Anything from Radical's like the RXC, to the Caterham R500, 911 GT3's, E46 M3's, the original Godzilla (R32) that dominated Bathurst and touring cars, to classics like the E Type Lightweights, Carrera RS's and Ferrari 246 Dino's. My guilty pleasure has always been to own a screaming highly modified N/A Type R or S2000, I don't care what anyone says, A VTEC engine has it's place in the car world Previously to the 86 I had a bashed up old Punto that I used to get myself around after passing my test. I then went straight to a 325 BMW, was young and stupid and spent far too much money keeping it on the road. I then went sensible for a couple of years and bought myself an Alfa Mito until something interesting came along. This happened to be the 86 which I have never regretted buying since It is quickly turning into my toy and he first car I have properly modified due to having some spare money to actually invest in parts now I am a bit older! Fastest thing I have been in on a track? I have driven an Atom 300 pretty hard around Rockingham 2 years ago, and it still remains the best driving experience I have had.

I will do a few "tests" and get back to you on that Keith Joking aside, with the other mods that are on the car already, I fully expect to get there much quicker. My inspiration to get one, other than talking to Stan at Snetterton was this thread on the US forum: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27647 Some good reading in there

No worries mate yeah the cars are geared to 168mph stock, but with 197hp at the flywheel they obviously never make it there, so at 140mph terminal velocity takes place and they run out of puff haha

Nothing left of those bails! Haha

Yes Keith, as Lauren says, it sits in the diff and shortens all ratios. My top speed with the 4.55 will now be148mph at 7400rpm, whereas the stock 4.10 ratios are geared to 168mph at 7400rpm. As has been said, you will never hit that speed with the long 6th gear in N/A form, so by shortening the FD you are then increasing acceleration across ALL gears, which will mean a much more aggressive car. As Lauren points out, the flip side to the coin however is that because 6th gear is lower due to the shorter FD, it means cruising at 70mph will mean revs will be slightly higher... But that is something I am more than willing to put up with as the car through the gears will accelerate much more quickly now.

Thank you Nige, I still need to get myself a decent set of brakes and also some Bilstein shocks, but I will probably do all of that in one hit after the Summer with the other thing I have planned I didn't get the whole kit out of the box so I will check tomorrow to see if there is a new diff nose seal included amongst all of the other bits and pieces in there. The answer to your other question is.. I simply don't know! The garage I plan to take it to are a very knowledgable bunch, so I will ask the question when I book the car in and get back to you on that fella!

So I had a text message this afternoon from FedEx, just before I finished work to confirm that the parcel had been delivered at home! Was a lovely way to cheer my Monday up and the parts look fantastic! I plan to book the car in to fit the FD within the next week or so, and will look to do the Beatrush MCB myself at the weekend. I can't wait to feel the difference in acceleration with the 4.55 in place. I have always felt the gearing was just slightly too long and the car will now top out at 148mph once it has been installed. I have been told that it'll be around a 3 hour install so it will mean some hefty labour costs, but it is something I could never do myself. For anyone interested in how different it feels, if you are close and fancy a spin just give me a shout I am about to pay James H for his awesome GFB pulley kit later on this week so I will also get them installed complete with pictures next week and the car will start taking shape. I am intrigued to see how a lightweight pulley kit and flywheel combined with a shorter FD and a custom map feels! This is just the start though. After the Summer I have some even bigger plans with the car which I want to keep a secret for the time being, but it will be well worth the wait!

i could never be trusted with a heat gun haha!

Looking very good indeed! Once you catch the modding bug you won't be able to stop!

If they have sorted out the issues then that's good, although that only adds to the confusion of choosing which one to have