Japan Racing JR29

I had a desire for new wheels, nothing wrong with the old ones, but just fancied the change (like you do). 
Long story short, spoke to Driftworks about getting some nice Work wheels. It just was not happening though and there seemed to be a tremendous problem with getting the correct offset. Try a different offset and have all the risk myself? No, I don't think I like the word "risk"!

Que Japan Racing, a budget wheel manufacturer from Poland (not sure where Japan come into it). They have a clever business model manufacturing for many different brands of car with PCD, offsets, and diameters in many different sizes. I went with a spoke design (similar to a Works wheel). Not only could you have the offset machined but you also can have the PCD of your choosing. These were supplied through Auto Extreme. 

The downside to having the bolt holes machined is that Japan Racing machine the wheel blank after it has been finished painted so you end up with bare metal bolt holes. It's okay, but not ideal as in my opinion these will not weather as well as a fully finished wheel. 






















The wheels I ordered were flat black, I used the term 'were' as after attaching one to the car it looked wrong and had zero aesthetic impact, also the exposed bolt holes would eventually drive my OCD into overdrive. 

JR29 fitted to the car, just wasn't working for me

By chance, I spoke to a friend of mine on Facebook who has the Work style wheels. These were in (I can't remember what it is called now) GT Silver (I think). This is a black base with silver overlay. Inspired that the wheel could look good, I decided to change colour.  

Friends Car 

There are various mixes based on this theme with names like Hyper Black which in turn is similar to Shadow Chrome etc. 

I spoke to the Wheel Specialist in Maidenhead and went with Shadow Chrome. They actually turned the wheels around in a couple of days (which took me by surprise!). Their attention to detail is lovely with black weights for balancing etc. The finish is flawless. Basically, my new wheels looked better than new ones (if that makes any sense). 
These were finished off with a set of TGR Motorsport wheel nuts. Did get some internal drive nuts from Japan Racing, which were serviceable, but uninspired.  

 Assorted musings.

The wheels were very tight on the spigots, it was a real wrestling job to get them on with the nuts. 

Use copper slip when fitting wheels, it will help get them off at a later date. 

The PCD holes are tight, especially deep on the front. Internal drive tuner style bolts are a must-have. 

Wheel sizes with a PCD of 114.3
18 x 9.5 et 35 rears 
18 x 8.5 et 30 fronts

Tyres 
Yokohama Advan AD08r 
265/35 R18 Rears
235/40 R18 Fronts

Mishimoto R-Line Intercooler Vs Unbranded Bells Auto Services

Following on from my last post. When my tuner told me that my intercooler was inefficient I admit that I was skeptical. After all, I had a large 4" core intercooler from a respected brand and his proposal to fit something cheaper, unbranded and from China was not sitting well with me at all! 
However, the fact remained that intake temperatures were holding things back and on the dyno, the car was seeing significant rises. This would obviously have a knock-on effect when using the car, especially on hot sunny days.  

The intercooler I had chosen (for no other reason than I have one of their radiators and an intercooler is like a radiator? No?) was a Mishimoto R-Line Universal 100mm core in black. 

Its description reads as follows: 

"The Mishimoto R-Line intercooler provides the perfect cooling capacity needed for supercharged and turbo charged vehicles. Constructed of 6061 aircraft-quality aluminium for extreme durability, the Mishimoto R-Line intercooler will efficiently reduce induction air temperatures, while significantly improving engine output. Mishimoto front-mount intercoolers are precision TIG welded, offering an enhanced level of performance. The R-Line intercooler will provide the ideal cooling capacity, while safely increasing horsepower and giving that extra boost that every driver appreciates."

It sounds like it ticks all the right boxes for the average man on the street! Alas, it turned out not to be quite as advertised. 

Bells Auto Services in Ropley did a dyno run on the Mishimoto and then the replacement intercooler to see how temperatures compared. The results were pretty staggering. 

As you can see above, the blue line (Temp 1) represents the Mishimoto R-Line, The replacement unbranded intercooler is shown in orange (Temp 2). The Mishimoto not only starts out high but keeps climbing at an exponential rate to 43°C so it is massively inefficient and flys in the face of the advertising blurb. It should also be noted that for this test the bumper was off for the Mishimoto and back on for the replacement. So the Mishimoto had every advantage to shine! 

So in short, I brought badly and although it could be said I did not do my research, I can't say I have seen many comparisons on intercooler efficiency, in fact, I don't think that there are that many (probably a bit of a faff to be bolting and unbolting intercoolers). 

The only change I had made to the replacement intercooler was to have it powder coated in black, not that I believe this helps dissipate heat, I just prefer the stealth look.

So, in conclusion, I am not saying don't but a Mishimoto Intercooler product at all. Do research your selection carefully though.   

Intercoolers - Not all are equal

Hi and welcome back!

Referencing back to the last upgrades that were done on the car (Garrett 3076 gen II) I had a problem with intake temperatures rising. This was obviously affecting the map and meant I wasn't running as efficiently as I could be. My tuners suggested the car be upgraded with a larger 4" core intercooler. This left me confused as I already had one, A Mishimoto Type R no less.
Before I could grab my wallet and order up something expensive my tuner suggested that he has had good results with an unbranded intercooler from China. Now, this did put me off a little but it was quite reasonably priced and would be a straight'ish swap.

I decided to also have the intercooler painted black, not because I think for one moment that it helps efficiency but more because it is aesthetically pleasing on the front of a black car.

Although I do not have the data logs yet (the tuner shall post them up later), the results were actually quite surprising. Approaching peak power intake temps of the Mishimoto was around 43 degrees centigrade. Compare this to the unbranded one which only went as high as 25 degrees. This is some difference not only releasing the potential of the car more freely but will be a bonus on particularly hot days (we do have them in the UK) when the car would be forced to hold itself back.

I obviously can't say that I am an expert in these things although in this case it certainly looks as though the Mishimoto is not all it claims to be. Physically the intercoolers may be the same dimensions although the unbranded one appears to have more bar and fin construction. Hence greater cooling. Apart from being able to say, Mishimoto = No! I would advise caution when buying and dearer is not always better! 

As for the outcome? 

I can't complain! 

New Year - Same desire!

I started out this year and am already at the car thing again.

Fancy bonnet prop for shows.

New catch can/water bottle.

Fitted an ATOTO A6 Pro car stereo, Dash Cam and DAB+ receiver.

Fixed an issue with the passenger side headlight where one full-beam refused to turn on. Was actually me at fault as one of my soldered joints (was experimenting at the time with heat solder joints) had come apart.

I am booked in to change the Mishimoto Type R Intercooler for something a bit more efficient.

Lastly am looking towards a minor cosmetic change in wheels with a staggered set from Japan Racing JR11's.

So although been a little silent (busy with house build) I have not been quite idol about keeping the dream alive!

The long shot

Pesky headlights am an expert on fixing hids now! 

Good view of the Garrett 3076R Gen 2 with a carbon inlet fitted. 

Not being one for stickering I couldn't resist Nengun's badge on the fuse box. Will it stay there? Probably not! 

Shipped a DEi turbo blanket in from the USA to the UK. It worked out a lot cheaper than buying here! 

Had to have the throttle body pipe fabricated to fit around the new catch can. 

Will try and put some order back into things and get posting again as much has been done. Some of it is actually of interest! I do have to say that the ATOTO A6 is full of win. It is one of the better Android units from China. It is an irony that I rarely play music in the car but for its sat-nav alone it is worth it to me. The unexpected bonus is that it looks really good (that is my opinion) and fits perfectly with a few cheats to get it 'just right'.

So, I'll be back!