Yiannis' Albi Blue R27 - Toning down...

[///M]

Is he? I did speak to him beginning of this week and he told me that he was off the week before hence the lack of progress. I didn't realise he is currently off sick, hope is nothing too bad

@Pav I'm going with my mate who is getting himself ready for the caterham academy 2018 We'll be there on Friday night, nice and rested for Saturday.

He said it felt like tonsillitis. I hope not!

Mate, just making sure you're aware that Oulton is a an hour from the EVO Triangle. Or an hour in the other direction is Buxton, home of (in my opinion) the best brewery in the UK and a superb/bar restaurant. Both directions take in some fantastic roads and scenery. Obviously the Welsh side has the better driving but it doesn't come with some amazing food and booze at the end...

 

[tombate911]

very nice Yiannis..you wont be far from me on the 4th..give us a shout mate..may come watch you

Might also come over for a mooch that weekend too if I've nothing on! Only half hour from me.

 

[Yiannis197]

@TB Rich thanks mate. Luke had his mapped at RS tuning and it made around 200bhp without cams, his must have been a good engine though as mine made this with cams! (same rollers). Anything extra will be greatly received but not expecting anything huge. Target is some quality soundtrack

@///M this is good stuff mate, tempted to join us then and have a long weekend there? That'd be awesome!

@tombate911 Nice one Tom, I'll give you guys a shout a bit closer to the time, hopefully you'll manage to pop by

 

[TB Rich]

I reckon it'll do well, always thought the original manifold looked gash which is why I went r3 on stock engine all those years ago, shame I never got it done with just that!
I'll start the sweepstakes and call 209bhp.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[///M]

@Yiannis197

Ahhh, bugger. Just checked the date, I think we have something on that weekend.

 

[Jimmy]

That diffuser looks so good Yiannis!! Superb.

Good to hear you're doing the Alpine trip again - I always enjoy the videos!

 

[VolumeX]

Alpine 2017! dude thats epic... glad to see the car getting auto love with the new upgrades, going to make you fall in love with the car all over again.

 

[Yiannis197]

ok so got the car back after so long, not that I needed it anyway due to crappy weather etc. Once again I'd have to praise Sean's workmanship. The guy is absolutely great, he is the pure definition of how a great mechanic should be. Sean if you are reading this...thanks!

The car went in for various bits and pieces. Gripper diff, K-tec manifold which Sean wrapped with some heat tape, wishbone bearing conversion, service, VVT solenoid seal, fully engine clean up, new rotors on the PF kit, both front wheel bearings and other small bits and pieces.

I picked it up last Wednesday and I went straight to RS tuning for a remap just to make sure everything works fine.

The car felt very sharp straight away and when it was cold there was a whining from the diff which sounded very...purposeful, because race car and all that. Surprised to hear NO ticking at all from the plated diff which shows that they have done a great job on the updated product. On idling and cruising there is NO droning from chopping the cat and that was a mega relief. I was very anxious re fitting that manifold because even though I don't use the car everyday I just hate droning. Blimey that Akrapovic is seriously well buffled. It stops the whole lot when you are plodding along however, on full chat the car is immense, and that is an understatement. The combination of Akrapovic evo, K-Tec manifold and K-tec induction kit is lethal. I found myself working through the gears, downshifting and revving for no actual reason. The system now pops and bangs but it does it unpredictably which adds to the excitement, not like the stupid crackle maps where you are of the throttle and pop as if they go out of fashion.

So I plodded along to Leeds for a remap nursing the car only to find out that I was 10bhp short on the first run with the only gained thing.....yeap, you guessed right, a flat spot lol. But this is fine right? Because Paul can map it out so no big drama there. Errrr, let me spot you there, he didn't. Which is disappointing. I do not doubt his skills for a second because he did transform my car when I took it there to ditch K-tec's map after fitting the cams and I do appreciate that he is one of the best mappers in the country, however he states that he can map out the flat spot on our cars after chopping the catalyst and on my car he didn't. You can see it on the graph and I know that some people say that you can't really feel it on real life blah blah...Yes you can. At least I can, since I know my car inside out. I felt it even as passenger when we went out for a spin. Do I care? If my car was a daily I would yes because in the city the car spends most of its time around 3k rpm. Now, I couldn't care less since this rev region would be very rarely seen. The seriously enhanced soundtrack more than makes up for it. Is it really worth it? If you pay full price and only do this upgrade NO. Manifold purchase (£600), labour (£300), remap (£350 if no map present) and a tank of fuel (£75) can not justify the sound alone. In my occasion it only made sense. The subframe was down anyway, I got the manifold half price from Luke in here and I had Paul's map so only tweaking was required (£120). Otherwise, £1300 for just the above is CRAZY! And yes, lol to K-tec for advertising this as a power upgrade. That shows how great the OEM manifold is.

I can't wait for the ext track day now! Thanks for reading.

IMG-20170315-WA0005 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
IMG-20170315-WA0008 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
IMG-20170315-WA0011 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
IMG-20170315-WA0009 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
IMG-20170315-WA0012 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
DSC_0176 by YiannisR27, on Flickr
DSC_0177 by YiannisR27, on Flickr

 

[BenAG200]

Need a video of the soundtrack bet it sounds fantastic, especially on full chat.

Interesting comments reference the manifold, Sean is fitting mine at the moment. As you say the K-Tec item is pretty expensive, I only went for it due to getting it cheap from another member.

I had no intention of looking at a diff for mine but I keep hearing good things about gripper, my wallet is going to end up hating this site!

 

[peter]

but you did get the 10bhp back after the remap? disappointing that the ktec mani won't get you more power. was my first option if my stock manifold would cease.

 

[Big Ben]

203bhp on RST rollers none to shabby mate. Are you joining us on April 2nd?

 

[jasonlovesfrench]

Wow this is awesome @Yiannis197

 

[Chris]

Awesome Yiannis

How did I miss your last update I do not know but that carbon diffuser looks immense!!!

 

[TB Rich]

Some nice changes - but I expected more from the manifold. I'd like to see it with a standalone on there tbh.

Did you have the subframe mounts welded? I spoke to Sean about doing solid wishbones on mine but he said not worth it - especially with the stock rubber subframe bushings :\
How much were the wishbone joints, as I have a spare pair now!

 

[Yiannis197]

Thanks guys

Need a video of the soundtrack bet it sounds fantastic, especially on full chat.

Interesting comments reference the manifold, Sean is fitting mine at the moment. As you say the K-Tec item is pretty expensive, I only went for it due to getting it cheap from another member.

I had no intention of looking at a diff for mine but I keep hearing good things about gripper, my wallet is going to end up hating this site!

Same here mate, I would never buy new because I simply couldn't justify the expense. But still, it's not cheap if you just do this job ie remap labour etc..

but you did get the 10bhp back after the remap? disappointing that the ktec mani won't get you more power. was my first option if my stock manifold would cease.

Yes we did Peter, the best run was 203 but the average was around 200 mark. I've uploaded the graphs as well

203bhp on RST rollers none to shabby mate. Are you joining us on April 2nd?

I know Ben, not too fussed re bhp really since I always knew that I'm not doing that for the power, always nice to see benefits though I was kind of disappointed for the flat spot really since I had been told otherwise but hey, no drama.

Some nice changes - but I expected more from the manifold. I'd like to see it with a standalone on there tbh.

Did you have the subframe mounts welded? I spoke to Sean about doing solid wishbones on mine but he said not worth it - especially with the stock rubber subframe bushings :\
How much were the wishbone joints, as I have a spare pair now!

Thanks Rich, as per my post in the past I wasn't expecting anything great but by the same token I wasn't expecting the car to be so bad after fitting it! I didn't have the mounts welded, I did talk with Sean for getting a racer subframe but they retail around £500 used which is pricey. We can weld them though at some point going forwards. Sean is right, and it's the same when you try to fit that racer bar at the bottom, utterly pointless if everything is on bushes. Having said that, I did have a pair of racer wishbones which we used to swap the bearings since everything was in bits and I can honestly report that the steering is sharper than before. Definitely an improvement!

 

[jacool]

How does gripper compare to quaife?

 

[Chris_200CUP]

The manifold has given you better flow in the top end of the rev range. Sometimes have too look at whole graph instead of the final peak figure. I was there Thursday for check up. My car made 198 last time was there and on Thursday made 194.9. The graphs and fueling all Over lapped from pervious time so does show how it's sat in rollers or strapped down can make a slight difference.
Also tyre pressures air temp etc all
Play part. I had been sat in a lot traffic getting there and went straight on rollers so heat soak will play part too. Twoany factors really. On another day could pull 5bhp More peak for example. If feel difference driving that's main thing. Just shame about flat spot

If got all the bits on the car the manifold is worth it. Heat wrap will help from any heat soak for the induction
Kit.

Sounds like happy with the car

 

[Yiannis197]

How does gripper compare to quaife?

Can't tell yet I'm afraid mate, I drove the car on the motorway and parked it in the garage. I was planning on some B-road blast on my way back but that didn't happen as the bearings from the radiator fan went and I didn't want to push prior fixing. I'll be doing a track day soon though and report back.

The manifold has given you better flow in the top end of the rev range. Sometimes have too look at whole graph instead of the final peak figure. I was there Thursday for check up. My car made 198 last time was there and on Thursday made 194.9. The graphs and fueling all Over lapped from pervious time so does show how it's sat in rollers or strapped down can make a slight difference.
Also tyre pressures air temp etc all
Play part. I had been sat in a lot traffic getting there and went straight on rollers so heat soak will play part too. Twoany factors really. On another day could pull 5bhp More peak for example. If feel difference driving that's main thing. Just shame about flat spot

If got all the bits on the car the manifold is worth it. Heat wrap will help from any heat soak for the induction
Kit.

Sounds like happy with the car

Of course, I agree with everything you say Chris and as I've always mentioned it's not the power I was looking for. This upgrade was only for sound enhancements, any gains would just be a bonus. Better airflow at the top end is always nice to look at but honestly you can't feel a thing. What you do feel is the flat spot and ok, it's not bad don't get me wrong, but it's slightly worse than how it was so that in my books is a downgrade.

Also, the fact that the torque peaks on the region of 3k-3.8 have been reversed kind of enhances the flat spot feeling you get. Previously, the dip close to 4k was not even noticeable as the engine would start boiling (and by the time you reached there you would have got the kick at 3k anyway). Now it's the other way around. Losses low down and then kick around 4k which makes it noticeable.

Splitting hair here? Possibly, but as I said, not fussed as the car is being used differently. I'll be driving the car in the Alps this year and see how that will affect the uphill hairpin exits though. Till then, I'll enjoy the soundtrack, have I mentioned that the car sounds great??

 

[Jimmy]

Great write up Yiannis and genuinely interesting to read your thoughts on everything. Would also very much like to see/hear a video of the new soundtrack! Shame about the flat spot, however if you aren't going to have to deal with it a lot as you say, then not the worst outcome.

 

[Chris_200CUP]

Can't tell yet I'm afraid mate, I drove the car on the motorway and parked it in the garage. I was planning on some B-road blast on my way back but that didn't happen as the bearings from the radiator fan went and I didn't want to push prior fixing. I'll be doing a track day soon though and report back.



Of course, I agree with everything you say Chris and as I've always mentioned it's not the power I was looking for. This upgrade was only for sound enhancements, any gains would just be a bonus. Better airflow at the top end is always nice to look at but honestly you can't feel a thing. What you do feel is the flat spot and ok, it's not bad don't get me wrong, but it's slightly worse than how it was so that in my books is a downgrade.

Also, the fact that the torque peaks on the region of 3k-3.8 have been reversed kind of enhances the flat spot feeling you get. Previously, the dip close to 4k was not even noticeable as the engine would start boiling (and by the time you reached there you would have got the kick at 3k anyway). Now it's the other way around. Losses low down and then kick around 4k which makes it noticeable.

Splitting hair here? Possibly, but as I said, not fussed as the car is being used differently. I'll be driving the car in the Alps this year and see how that will affect the uphill hairpin exits though. Till then, I'll enjoy the soundtrack, have I mentioned that the car sounds great??

Yeh see what mean, where gained in one area you've lost in the other.

Just a shame Paul couldn't map it out