Just a few track days mate really
Prawny is a race driver now 
far more serious. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My Belated build thread
- Thread starter S3AMJ
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Just a few track days mate really
Prawny is a race driver now far more serious. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My S3 in the right hands should be a track weapon.... it’ll take me a while to get to grips with real track driving. I’m pretty good on Forza Motorsport though haha 
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Some good and bad news....
Started to strip down my stroker engine to get it all ready for its new phase of life, didn’t take to long.
It also has a Forge baffled sump which is a win, I had bought one of these thinking that’s the way I was going with the build. So sent it back to forge to put my money else where.
All appeared fine so far..... until we looked at the pistons!
This is the piston from cylinder 3, which has seen some detonation, the car might have leaned out at some point. A usual sign of an Emerald ECU apparently, lack of protection. Anyways, because of that I’m going to have to have a new set of JE 83mm 9:25.1 stroker pistons. Fortunately Bill has a spare set so those will be going into my engine.
Onwards and upwards
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Started to strip down my stroker engine to get it all ready for its new phase of life, didn’t take to long.
It also has a Forge baffled sump which is a win, I had bought one of these thinking that’s the way I was going with the build. So sent it back to forge to put my money else where.
All appeared fine so far..... until we looked at the pistons!
This is the piston from cylinder 3, which has seen some detonation, the car might have leaned out at some point. A usual sign of an Emerald ECU apparently, lack of protection. Anyways, because of that I’m going to have to have a new set of JE 83mm 9:25.1 stroker pistons. Fortunately Bill has a spare set so those will be going into my engine.
Onwards and upwards
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#blametheTUNER
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Deffo the Emerald ECU that was on the car, apparently they are inherent to allowing a little bit of det. Very very basic protection with that ECU. Which is where the Ignitron ECU shines
at least we found out now rather than just fitting the engine into my car and learning the hard way.Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Eeeeshhh perhaps that would of prevented what’s happened to one of the pistons or am I totally wrong ?
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Potentially, the injectors were 550cc which were at there limits, the water meth might have shown additional fuel, but the car would have had to be mapped to be water meth dependant. It’s mainly down to the Emerald ECU though really as apparently this is one of the inherent issues. It’s a shame, but at least we found it
the cylinder walls are fine as is the rest of the engine. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ain’t the end of the world.. is interesting what tuning decisions people make, do you know the life expectancy of a forged engine all the gear no idea... obviously tuned correctly I guess it’s down to how much power you’re pushing and how well you look after it ?
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It would have been tuned correctly as it was a Badger5 build originally, that was several years ago mind you! The car did change hands after the original owner, so the chap I bought it from who knew very little about the car hence why I bought it so cheaply could have done something....... either way it’s in the right hands again now at Badger5
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Howdy all, Tapatalk seems to be shitting itself at the moment so I'm gonna try uploading some images via my MacBook. So I’ve no idea how the pictures are gonna turn out!
Nothing massively new to report on the build. Couple of things coming in through the post finally, it's all been a bit slow on suppliers at the moment.
My 3.5" Zinram catback exhaust system came after 7 weeks, there e-mail responses have always been a bit flakey but its here now
I also managed to bag a bargain this week as well! So I was on the fence with bucket seats and under the impression that Recaro Pole Positions generally being uncomfortable..... this might be the case with the FIA certified version of the seat. However the ABE version which is more suit to a daily rather than a all out track car is very comfortable, for the price I couldn’t say no!
So I managed to bag a pair of Genuine Recaro Pole Positions in Half leather and black suede with side mounts, sliding rails and Schroth 4 point harnesses! Such a find, this finalised my decision on my seats.
Nothing massively new to report on the build. Couple of things coming in through the post finally, it's all been a bit slow on suppliers at the moment.
My 3.5" Zinram catback exhaust system came after 7 weeks, there e-mail responses have always been a bit flakey but its here now
I also managed to bag a bargain this week as well! So I was on the fence with bucket seats and under the impression that Recaro Pole Positions generally being uncomfortable..... this might be the case with the FIA certified version of the seat. However the ABE version which is more suit to a daily rather than a all out track car is very comfortable, for the price I couldn’t say no!
So I managed to bag a pair of Genuine Recaro Pole Positions in Half leather and black suede with side mounts, sliding rails and Schroth 4 point harnesses! Such a find, this finalised my decision on my seats.
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I've had my MacBook Pro for over a year now and I'll still trying to work it out! Anyway, managed to suss out the rotation of the pictures! Result.
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You've not seen the Pole Positions in that format before mate? They come in various options, this is probably the most desirable, its full leather is the most expensive option in ABE version, but no one would do that when your tracking a car occasionally. One of the reasons why I'm changing my original seats is so they aren't full leather, that and the weight saving, etc
Yeah they quote 2-6 weeks..... they responded to about 50% of my e-mails regarding updates. once it was finally sent out, a left it a couple days and asked them for a tracking number, they gave me the tracking number straight away. So just a bit inconsistent, that said the quality is there, they obviously use a JIG majority of the welds are fused welds, which isn't the strongest. The difference between the 3" and the 3.5" is the TIPS. On the 3" the tips were 2.5" where as the 3.5" exhaust TIPS are 3" so they'll fill the hole in the rear bumper more.
They’re perfect, look a lot smarter for the build and a hell of a lot lighter than the standard seats, when you throw the car about round corners it feels nice being strapped in and not sliding about like a boat, what’s next on the shopping list HPA controller ??
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You going to try n get a 3.5” downpipe in there aswell? Like the look of the seats think I might be a bit wide for them though seats is one thing on my list once it’s running but looking in to it I’d have to fit in some as they come in different sizes
I will be getting a HPA Controller that's on the list, I know someone who has one that will be parting with it at soon. I'll see how the car reacts with the power on track with the HPA controller and then see if I need to look into getting a LSD for the Haldex later on down the road.
Yeah Alex from Badger5 is gonna make me a 3.5" downpipe as soon as my 1.5" Nortech manifold turns up. Makes a massive difference, very very tight getting it in there though. He has made a few of them now. I'm 5ft 9 and around 78Kgs they hug me well, but anyone much bigger than that would find them tight. The other thing to consider if your using harnesses, then need to go over your shoulders at a max of 20 degrees. So if your quite tall (Top half) then in a crash they could cause damage to your spine. Finding the right size is critical. I scored really lucky with my seats, they are literally a perfect size for me.
I remember the days when I was 78kgs wrong side off a 100kg now 
But will get back there once lockdowns lifted otherwise I’d need a bikini top for my holiday.! Yeah bit of a mine field with 2nd hand seats try to find runners and tilt n slide didn’t think about the wrong side harness causing damage that’s a good point
But will get back there once lockdowns lifted otherwise I’d need a bikini top for my holiday.! Yeah bit of a mine field with 2nd hand seats try to find runners and tilt n slide didn’t think about the wrong side harness causing damage that’s a good point
I used to be 90Kgs in my bodybuilding days, seems like a long time ago. Once work, car, family life is more settled then I'll be back at it again..... I know my limits now though, my pole positions haha. There always seems to be plenty on eBay to buy, bucket seats that is, but it is a minefield. I've been looking probably on and off for 2 years to find the right set. Hours of research helps..... A few people have said about going to GSM Performance, they are apparently a bunch of good guys, lots of seats there for you to try and find the right ones. Then you can either buy new from them or at least you know exactly what your looking for second hand.I remember the days when I was 78kgs wrong side off a 100kg now
I plan to use my harnesses on track days mainly, they can clip out easily enough. Then use the standard seat belt for days out and with the misses, she's already confused on how the harnesses work. Something I will need to look into is a clip in and out buckle to use with the standard seat belts. My side mounts have mounting points for it, should be easy enough to find.
Small update..... Alex from Badger5 very kindly sent me some pictures today. My 1.5” Nortech manifold finally turned up!
Surprisingly looks a lot bigger than the 1.25” Nortech manifold.
He also got it mocked up on there mock-up engine, this is where they build the downpipes to suit.
Once he has built my 3.5” downpipe they will send off the hotside and manifold off to get ceramic coated in “titanium” colour, which is a grey colour, similar to the compressor housing. Nice clean look is what I’m after, I wouldn’t ceramic coat anything white again...... doesn’t stay white for more than 2 seconds haha.
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Surprisingly looks a lot bigger than the 1.25” Nortech manifold.
He also got it mocked up on there mock-up engine, this is where they build the downpipes to suit.
Once he has built my 3.5” downpipe they will send off the hotside and manifold off to get ceramic coated in “titanium” colour, which is a grey colour, similar to the compressor housing. Nice clean look is what I’m after, I wouldn’t ceramic coat anything white again...... doesn’t stay white for more than 2 seconds haha.
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I think in was looking at these manifolds on his bench the other day when I was there. They look well.
Yeah Alex mentioned he had a delivery of 1.25” manifolds in when you were there. Beautiful craftsmanship.
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A lovely set of billet main caps have come in. Alex sent this over to me on Friday, the project is coming together nicely. Now the block and TFSi crank can get sent off with the billet main caps to get line bored.
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Heard from Martin from Gas&Gears today, a little something to “brighten” the future for 2021....
My 02M FEK (Diesel) 6 Speed gearbox, vapour blasted, 4th Gear Support, New Bearings, Seals, Steel Forks, 1st - 2nd FEK gears, 3rd - 6th Monster Performance gears, etc.
Very excited to put it through its paces!
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My 02M FEK (Diesel) 6 Speed gearbox, vapour blasted, 4th Gear Support, New Bearings, Seals, Steel Forks, 1st - 2nd FEK gears, 3rd - 6th Monster Performance gears, etc.
Very excited to put it through its paces!
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That’s look like a impressive set up and is something I need to look into at the minute mine is standard and won’t last but hoping it will do for the bedding in periodHeard from Martin from Gas&Gears today, a little something to “brighten” the future for 2021....
My 02M FEK (Diesel) 6 Speed gearbox, vapour blasted, 4th Gear Support, New Bearings, Seals, Steel Forks, 1st - 2nd FEK gears, 3rd - 6th Monster Performance gears, etc.
Very excited to put it through its paces!
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Well worth the money in my opinion mate, considering our boxes sh1t themselves at high power, this is a sure way to help reduce the garage visits haha. Your standard box will be fine for the bedding in process, it’ll be when your throwing loads of torque through it, it’ll die to death haha.
I’m still waiting on a final cost, but anywhere between £2000-£3000 depending on the level of build.
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I’m still waiting on a final cost, but anywhere between £2000-£3000 depending on the level of build.
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its worth it and that power reliability isn’t cheap, at least you know it’s not going to destroy itself
That’s the main thing I’m after mate, reliability. My last build was faultless, this one is going to be put through its paces on the tracks, I’ll be driving to the tracks, abusing the car on the track and hopefully driving back home after
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That is some cost for the gearbox. I know it will handle most things you will throw at it but it is expensive. Looks quality though.
It is a fair bit of money towards the build mate, it’s a no brainer though. I could be destroying gearboxes every time I go out in the car, some big turbo members on here have done exactly that and cant enjoy there cars, if you weigh up the cost of another secondhand gearbox, being recovered to a garage, fitting cost and time out from enjoying the car. You only need to do that a couple times and you won’t be too far away from the cost of this box built by Martin.
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