S13 Project Part 3
In Part 1 I covered the initial stages of this S13 Project, in Part 2 we went all in on the NA setup. Here in Part 3 we hit the track and then start to develop an understanding of how to extract the most from this S13 Chassis.
Winton Raceway test and tune days are the perfect way to get out on track and enjoy your race car.
With the car unloaded out of the trailer I can check everything over, set tyre pressures refit and torque wheel nuts and prepare to head out for a session.
Suited up and ready to head out on track for the first NA outing in this car.
The car went great but suffered from some oil starvation due to the pickup in the rear sump design.
Overall it was a great first trackday in NA mode, I needed to sort out the oil problems though.
The engine came out after the trackday and I had few things to work out.
I’m running the 6 speed S15 transmission and using a Nismo clutch which is required to reach the S15’s input shaft.
Without power steering the only requirement for the pulley system is the alternator and water pump.
For this I ran a HTD 8M belt with CV products pulleys which were used items from a Nascar.
I was itching to get back out on track.
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The car sat for a while before an invite to WTAC came into my inbox.
Before we get into that i’ll give you a chance to understand the car a little better.
The answer to my oiling issues was this dry sump setup, originally designed for a Mitsubishi Evo I bought it second hand and went about adapting it to the SR20.
This involved adding the pickups into the sump, adding a snout drive onto the crank pulley, mounting the pump onto the motor and cleaning and assembling the oil tank.
While all of this was happening I built up the bottom end with some 12.5:1 high compression custom made JE pistons.
I redesigned the cam trigger systems to be lighter than my first design.
Then filled the oil tank with fresh oil, turned the motor over with a drill and tested oil pressure and cam lubrication. It worked perfectly and this is a huge bonus with external oil systems as they give you the ability to prime the sytem for oil pressure prior to running the engine.
With that done I selead up the engine and fitted the Hilux’s clutch and Quaife QBE69G 6 speed sequential transmission.
With that complete it could all back in the car.
Watch this 4 part video series on the engine build, the tuning and the WTAC event.
As you will see in the 4th video the WTAC event went off without too many issues and I returned home with a running car.
Getting back to the track was my number one priority when I arrived home and Phillip Island was the place i’d be longing to drive at ever since I drove the Hilux here.
The wing is a little (a lot) overkill and I have since removed it.
Jump in and lets go for a spin.
This car at 7,500rpm in the flickering afternoon light with no one else on the Phillip Island GP track might have reset my all time favorite motorsport moment.
I’ll leave it here for now but this project isn’t over, it’s been in my possession for 20 years and I’m not done with it yet.
Stay tuned
Thanks for reading/ watching.