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My wheels finally arrived after a long and patient wait. I made a little group buy of 5 sets with a few of my buddies on some CE28N in 18x10+45. We wanted something with a bit of a dish, somewhat concave, must be BBK friendly and individual colours (Rays normally does 20 pieces for one colour). So after many talks and emails with Rays, the order was finalized. Credits to Micky from Tyrepower Hawthorn for being a legend and making it possible
I went with Titanium Silver so here's what they look like
I originally wanted AD08R in 265/35/18 but after speaking to several shops and the Yokohama dealer here in VIC, there were no more stock until Dec/Jan due to WTAC So, I opted for Dunlop Z2 Starspecs which I have heard is just as good as the Yokos.
I couldn't wait so I decided to test fit the wheels on my stock guards to see what they'd look like :P
My guards will be getting sorted this week/next so I can chuck the wheels on, get an alignment and finally drive around on them!
Meanwhile I got the following things fitted...
- Exedy HD Clutch with Toda Flywheel
- J's Racing Front Camber Joint (L2)
- Cusco Front Strut Brace
- Cusco Brake Stopper
- HEL Braided Brake Lines
That's pretty much all that's been happening lately, just keen to get back out there and get more seat time.
Well since my wheels have arrived, I really wanted to slap them on for Circuit Club. The original plan was to get both front and rear original guards flared but Phil Minge had his old front guards that had been cut for sale. So we test fitted one of the wheels at the front on Charbz' car just to see how it sits and if Phil's old guards would work as the guards would be the same once its been welded back.
This is how it looks
Now knowing that it'll work, Phil sent the guards off to be welded just in time for Circuit Club. Meanwhile, I dropped my car off at DT Panels to get the rears sorted. Since I would need to paint the front guards, front lip and plan on shaving the washers I decided to get it all painted at once after track. Yes, my car will look funny for a week but function > form right? :P
On the Friday before Winton, I picked up the guards after work and spent the night swapping them and fit my wheels ready for the alignment the next day. Massive shout out to Phil Aventador and Jett for helping a brother out
After taking it for a quick drive.. Wow. Running 10inch wide wheels with 265 all round makes a huge difference compared to my OEM wheels. I could only drive so hard on the streets so I just had to control my excitement and wait several hours before I make the trip up to Winton early in the morning. Until then, I checked everything, topped up fluids, washed my car and made sure I didn't forget anything.
Met up with a few mates and got here nice and early. The track day was significantly smaller than the previous times, most likely due to the fact that everyone else was at Phillip Island! Anyways, I took everything out of my car, signed in, dropped tyre pressures to 30PSI cold and got ready to head out.
First session was un-timed and passengers were allowed. I re-familiarized myself with the track and progressively pushed the car. The overall feeling of the car was awesome. I could corner much faster and the car felt solid and stable, didn't kick out at all and knew that I could push the car much harder in the sessions to come.
Got back after the first session and checked tyre pressures, they were 37PSI hot so I dropped them to 34PSI.
Second session was timed, so I went out seeing if I could beat my last PB which was 1:46.67 on stock wheels. I went out and pushed the car harder, entered the sweeper at a higher speed and tried to carry the speed through and then hit the power towards the end of the sweeper until the braking point. After getting back to the pits, I tried to look for my time only to find out my transponder wasn't working because I had it inside the car (in the grill area of the drivers seat). Pretty annoying. I used the same spot last track day and it worked fine. But to avoid any problems next timed session, I decided to cable tie it to my front grill.
Tyre pressure was still a little high so I dropped it to 33.5PSI hot.
Third session was untimed, so I went out with a passenger named Andy who HOPEFULLY will be tracking early next year in his CW JDM front DC2R
Fourth session was timed and I made sure the transponder was working. I pushed hard and came back with a 1:44.05 which I was absolutely stoked about but at the same time annoyed that I didn't get into the 43's hahha! I decided to skip on the untimed session and just focus on getting into the 43's in the last timed session for the day.
Fifth and last session for me, I went out on a mission. The car set up remained unchanged. I did my warm up lap and made space for my hot laps. The rear end did get a little loose mid-sweeper and the next couple of turns during some of the laps but I was able to put down a few solid laps in the session. Came back to the pits finding out that I improved by only 0.01 of a second. How does that even happen!? Even though it felt like I went faster, I only just improved marginally. Ah well, can't complain too much, I am still happy with a 1:44.04 nonetheless
I checked the lap times of two timed sessions on Natsoft. It seems like I'm consistently getting in the 1:44s. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing hahah. Would be awesome to know what my optimal is though.
Overall, the day went well, had heaps of fun, really happy with the car and looking forward to getting back out there early next year! Until then, I'll be servicing my car and enjoy the summer weather top down :P
Thanks for reading and any feedback/tips are welcome!
Well done duzzy!!
After looking at my car with 18x10 ce28n makes me want them! So nice
Keep up the good work, your car has a 1.41-1.42 as is in it!!
More seat time and... A good seat!
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