Yiannis' Albi Blue R27 - Toning down...

Quite some time since I updated this, not much done this period apart from some bits and pieces.

Megane rearview mirror fitted, yet to be wired though. It wasn't a simple job tbh because the boss of the new mirror was not compatible to the base of the old one which made me look for the relative part. However I stood quite lucky because the guys from autoglass managed to dig out an old one from the skip outside their workshop which used to live in a Peugeot. Fully compatible so boom, on it went:wink:

Another problem was that my car - not being equipped with the mirror with the surrounding trim - didn't have that section blacked off and as a result you could see the inside of the mirror's surrounding trim if you stood from the outside. Not good so off I went to a window tinting shop to have the aforementioned section tinted. Another tenner spent there which i hadn't foreseen...

Moreover, it was time to fit the 197 exhaust tips I got from @gaz on my Akrapovic, achieving the original looks. Pretty happy with the outcome even though that wasn't plug and play either. The akrapovic ends being designed for the 200 diffuser are further down than the 197 ones so we somehow had to tilt the tips otherwise it'd look poo. No chance bending them so we tried something different.

14401374728_a7f91e7df9_h.jpgUntitled by YiannisR27, on Flickr



And obviously we welded it after achieving the right angle.


And here is how it looks;

14608102733_aa69a3dd84_h.jpgDSC05767_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14401357770_0ab535119d_h.jpgDSC05771_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14401594947_fe63f24a59_h.jpgDSC05768_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14588005195_75d5242802_h.jpgDSC05772_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14587308602_e0aa89139d_h.jpgDSC05769_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr



And some pics of the mirror


14401441699_4f7208218a_h.jpgDSC05756_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14586167794_8cf99675f3_h.jpgDSC05760_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14401438549_dbaf5ac0c0_h.jpgDSC05761_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14564972856_1e2c99f804_h.jpgDSC05762_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14564971356_131e515732_h.jpgDSC05764_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14564970106_fa1a2b2860_h.jpgDSC05765_resize by YiannisR27, on Flickr



On a different note, another project is on the go, something that hasn't ever been done on our cars (as far as I know anyway) but pics after it finishes:wink:
 
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Excellent! I've been regretting selling this exhaust over the last few weeks

did you have to cut any off the back box tips??
 
Yes mate I chopped the Akra tips, about 8-10cm more or less. It looks absolutely spot on IMO and something I wanted to do for a long time.

And yes I'm sure you miss your Akra!
 
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Very nice car, love the front end with the really back plastics.

Think some black lights at the rear would look really nice!


Not too fond on the mirror sorry :worried:
 
Yes mate I chopped the Akra tips, about 8-10cm more or less. It looks absolutely spot on IMO and something I wanted to do for a long time.

And yes I'm sure you miss your Akra!

Perfect. I hated the 200 diffuser on mine


Im 90% sure I'm going to get another. I'm twitching over "buy it now" as we speak ..........

Buy these tips (again) and do what you've done :smile:
 
ok this project has been going on for quite some time, this is a prototype and the fact that the operations take place in Greece didn't help to speed things up, not that it's something urgent anyway.

The story started from the Greek forum where I met a machinist who really knows his stuff. And I mean really does. He is on late 50s early 60s, his knowledge and skills are second to none, used to design and built huge machinery for industry (automation purposes) but the financial crisis and his huge love for cars ''forced'' him to focus purely in tuning and motorsport. The guy is an open encyclopedia in regards to anything that is work related and his knowledge on automotive is simply vast. He is driving a Renault 21 quadra:wink:

After seeing his work I approached and asked him what he thinks about making a rear 2 piece brake disc setup for our cars. He suggested to send him a disc to examine and see how we can achieve this. Off I went for a hunt for a used set of brake discs and I was extremely lucky because Rob had a set of brand new ones but with damaged spigot rings which didn't need (courier had damaged them). So much win there so I purchased them and sent them to Greece for the guy to have a look at. He was initially worried about the ABS rings and whether he could remove the rings without damaging them but after receiving them he removed them in 2 minutes without problems at all.

Here are the discs I got from Rob

IMG_18261_zpsd533af36.jpg
IMG_1827_zps9b545f8a.jpg

After that it was designing time and figuring out the best plan. Here is the plot

14465862889_b276295502_h.jpgPICT4946 by YiannisR27, on Flickr


So what he had to do it cut the rotor from the bell and clean it, that rotor - and given that it was brand new - would be then used for the new 2 piece ones. He never uses old rotors for his brakes because he doesn't know what kind of stress the parts on question are exposed to and because we talk about brakes and safety he doesn't cut any corners neither tries to do anything cheap.

The other problem is the bearing and the fact that you can not remove it from the bell without damaging it. So the plan was to start machining the old bell (eating it alive basically) to free up the disclosed bearing, then buy a solid piece of motorsport grade aluminium and make it an exact copy of the original one which then the rotor would be attached on to.

Here is the original brake disc in pieces.

14652482985_569b545764_h.jpgPICT4956 by YiannisR27, on Flickr



It's in Greek but what Panagiotis is basically saying is that the original bell which will go straight to the bin weighs 4.674 kg, the bearing with the lock pin 668 gr and the rotor 3.782 without that having been cleaned completely. The brake disc weigh 9.3 as received, brand new.


Here is the cleaned rotor, 3.4kg from 3.782.


14466066787_cf2af31e97_h.jpgPICT4957 by YiannisR27, on Flickr


And here is the aluminium piece which is ready to be machined.

14652089022_3118afb20a_h.jpgPICT4975 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14672393813_d15d442f36_o.jpgPICT4976 by YiannisR27, on Flickr


It's taking its shape:wink:

14649238191_4245453456_o.jpgPICT4978 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
14466060407_1e459e9acb_o.jpgPICT4979 by YiannisR27, on Flickr



For safety purposes and durability Panagiotis also designed and built steel inserts to go inside the bell where the wheel bolts are going. He believes that even though the aluminium used is of motorsport grade, it is still aluminium and not as solid as steel, steel can withstand the abuse of the wheel/tyre shops so steel it is:wink: M20 x 2.5 are the inserts with the inside thread to be M14 x 1.5 (obviously)

14649237921_cfd1e00389_o.jpgPICT4987 by YiannisR27, on Flickr


And here is the bell finished, 2.522 Kg without the bearing

14465872468_cdf58cfc3a_o.jpgPICT4992 by YiannisR27, on Flickr


Finished product

14650262854_503385fda7_o.jpgPICT4995 by YiannisR27, on Flickr



As you can see the difference in weight is immense and the attention to detail is superb, the rear suspension is going to love me for this! I'm in two minds whether I should have the bells painted black so as to match my front PF ones but they look so good as they are and I really don't know. The rotor is going to be grooved with a pattern identical to the fronts.

Can't wait to have them fitted and get rid of the old, heavy, rusty OEM ones!!
 
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Yiannis' Albi Blue R27. Project; 2 piece discs for the rear:wink:

@Fernandez lol I'll speak numbers with the guy and I'll get back to you, I can't see it being a competitive product pricing wise though having to source the aluminium, bearings, rotors, rings + labour on top.

@Rogue it's about tackling the unsprung weight mate, 3kg+ less per corner makes a big difference to how the suspension works, not so much on a smooth track but on a bumpy b-road it will make a big difference. On top of that I won't have to buy the whole disc next time needed, I'll only replace the rotor. Also it looks the business! If the bearing goes (big if, bear in mind the rear discs have never been replaced on my car) I'll just replace it. My guy can source an identical part for about 80 euros.

@dajones cheers mate, I did think of that tbh and therefore dropping the weight even more, however all the aluminium brembo calipers do not feature handbrake, unless there is a caliper that does? I would be interested in something like this for a future upgrade:wink:
 
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So that's what I was getting at I guess. Good as a one off...but no real advantage.

Kudos for the originality of the idea tho
 
Cheers foxy.

I wouldn't put 4pots at the back no way, I was thinking the 2 pots like the subarus/evos/350z etc but these as you know do not accommodate a handbrake.My fronts are upgraded anyway so I don't think the balance would be affected that much if any. Obviously the overall braking power would be better with Brembos and as a bonus I'd have less unsprung weight (don't know how much they weigh though so clearly I'm making assumptions here). That was just an idea anyway, much more costs would be involved therefore I didn't go through with the idea at all.

@Jonesy thanks mate. I'm intrigued to see that megane's setup. Any links?

@Rogue there is a real advantage mate, my car is driven hard on bumpy B-roads, I should see a nice improvement on how the rear end behaves:wink: Stopping power will also be affected to the better.