Trackday St185

[OMJAN]

Im looking to get a st185 ready for the track , im not looking to make it a works car or anything.... was just wondering if anyone had any advice on any relatively cheap mods. i plan to strip out the interior, keep original front seats for the time being.... ive got a set of 4pt harnesses and was planning on running then to the rear rollbar but have recently been told that this is potentially dangerous, i can trade them for a set of bolt in type harnesses but was looking for advice on mounting points- will i have to fabricate and weld something to the floorpan???? any suggestions?

was also wondering if anyone had a preferance on tyre size and pressure manufacturer? i wont be running low prof's - really dont care about looks on this one!!! handling and performance purely. i recently picked up a rally sump for my 205 which wouldnt fit.... will be going on this. car already has induction kit with custom airbox, fmic, ebc disks & pads fastroad clutch.... springs and shocks are standard and i dont want to pay loads for replacement ones but anyone know a good lowering spring to put on standard shock? cheers guys :D

[Fawbs]

paulgtt has a tasty setup for a decent price, he might be able to help. Whiteline anti roll bar would be brilliant for you, just over hundred quid it would be ideal and works really well. obviously ligten the car, spare wheel, jack etc, maybe some uprated brake pads like ebc yellow i think the track ones are.

[daktari]

You could always get a bolt in harness and utilise the rear belt floor mounting points. I used Spax lowering springs -30mm. They work ok on smooth roads but overwhelm the shocks on bumpy bits (Most UK roads) Should be OK for the track though. Cheap too.

[paulgtt]

Ive got KYB Excel G shocks with TRD springs and TRD top mounts on my st205.

They are brilliant on road and for occassional track use but I find it a bit to soft to do any proper track work. You can get adjustable KYB' aswell, these maybe better for tracktbh.

Don't forget an uprated rear arb too

[OMJAN]

paulgtt has a tasty setup for a decent price, he might be able to help. Whiteline anti roll bar would be brilliant for you, just over hundred quid it would be ideal and works really well. obviously ligten the car, spare wheel, jack etc, maybe some uprated brake pads like ebc yellow i think the track ones are.

cheers mate, u know where i can get it at that price?

[OMJAN]

You could always get a bolt in harness and utilise the rear belt floor mounting points. I used Spax lowering springs -30mm. They work ok on smooth roads but overwhelm the shocks on bumpy bits (Most UK roads) Should be OK for the track though. Cheap too.

yeah, someone said that if i mounted the belts any lower than 4" under shoulder level they could cause harm? dont know about that but a few people have given me the same answer, it would be ideal to use the rear seatbelt points coz theyre already re-inforced..... just wondering do most of you run a 16" or 17" wheel on track???

[Fawbs]

i dont im afraid mate, i havent got one yet but it is on the list, they usually cost about 120 for an adjustable one but its one of the best modifications you can do esp for the money.

[OMJAN]

i dont im afraid mate, i havent got one yet but it is on the list, they usually cost about 120 for an adjustable one but its one of the best modifications you can do esp for the money.

i found one, and you were bang on the money..... 105 delivered ... whiteline adjustable, on eBay item num:180496120955 will fit the 205 aswell.cheers

[Fawbs]

nice one mate, will stiffen up the car and help a lot against under steer, i will try find out how much u need to adjust it to get best results

[GTForbes]

really need to start visiting this forum more often, we are a whiteline dealer and also millers stockest amongst other things lol. (I work in GI Motorsport in Kilmarnock www.gimotorsport.co.uk)

do you know if it's got a metal head gasket or not?

cooling on track is the biggest issue so adding Millers 'extra cool' to the radiator system would help. is it a standard radiator?

also braking is a must, which calipers are on it? single or twin pots? you'll also need to upgrade your brake fluid, again we have a millers option ( i promise this isn't a sales pitch lol) check your brake lines for bulges/weak points, rumour has it the standard lines are braided lines covered in rubber but i don't know for sure, i just went for a set of goodridge lines for peace of mind.

motorsport oil is another must, again we have an option available , motorsport oil handles higher temperatures so won't breakdown degrading essential protection. same goes for gear/diff oils adding in a cooler would be a good thing for both oil and engine oil.

wheel size depends on your brake setup, 17's would be my preferance with a good 45-50 profile 225 wide.

tires depend on track conditions, but for a dry day toyo R888's or yokohama Prada spec 2's are probably the best bet without going full slick.

what boost will you be running?

you'll need management of some kind even if it's a simple Greddy E-Manage blue so that the top end fueling is correct since that'll be where it'll be driven mostly, management would also allow you to increase injector size.

FUEL PUMP! this will need to be an uprated one, walbro being my preferance.

octane booster, millers do a good line in this ;)

is the turbo clocked? having the shortest route with gradual bends increases response and power.

when was the timing belt/oil and water pumps replaced on the car if ever?

plugs, you'll need to go for a colder grade than standard to cope with the heavy abuse and higher running temps of track time.

exhaust/decat. has this been done? minimum of 2.5 inch, we can fabricate these as well as cages ;)

thats all i can think of off the top of my head. there's loads that can be done, if you want to drop us a call or pop in feel free, details on the site lol

[OMJAN]

lol i hope they pay u well with all the P.R work u do!!! ;) . i actually bought the car in a pretty poor state, i knew it needed a head gasket and pads allround. its getting a new steel head gasket, new bottom end gasket set im fitting the big wing sump, new oil/water pump, timing belt, stainless manifold car currently has the cat was gona gut it but i was told that is a no no. fawbs has recommended to get a second oil cooler fitted and swap to the 205 brakes, seriously considering both ..... funds permitting!!!! im still shopping around for my gaskets, oil cooler and arb, il check out ur site.... cheers pal :D

[OMJAN]

forgot to mention that the car (i presume) is running standard boost, was fitted with a boost controller( greddy profec 2), removed before i bought it.standard calipers , upgraded discs all the fluids will be getting refreshed, gona go for the 4life coolant. any recommendation for plugs and oil??? also these oil cooler relocation kits, what sort of work is involved and where would you place the second cooler... fawbsy said use sandwich plate with 80 degree thermostat... what size of cooler? sorry for all the questions but i wanna do this right if im gona bother at all!!!! cheers again

[Fawbs]

Stainless manifold, are you on about one of the stainless steel manifolds off of eBay? If so i would seriously recommend not getting one, i ordered one as i was going to mod the setup so it wouldn't have to hang so much weight off of it. When i received it, one of the flanges wasn't flat, the manifold attaching to the head the stud pattern was completely and utterly messed up that it wouldn't fit. They are prone to cracking usually, sure its a big weight reduction but the cast iron exhaust manifold is nails,its doubtful it will never crack. If you really want to use one then i would recommend using the japspeed manifold as its 3mm thick but it costs 300 quid.

When you are putting the new cooland in before u do it, get ur hose pipe, put it on one of the pipes leading into the block and give the coolant system a damn good flushing, you probably see a load of orange crap come out just keep going till the water turns clear then put it on the lower connection or top on radiator and flush the rad. One or two 185's have started over heating just cause the coolant system hasn't been cleaned out in years and the build ups inside them has started to cause problems.

Plugs you can use either iridiums or platinums, people always prefer one or the other but there is no real evidence which ones work best. Usually as soon as people get a bit of trouble with iridiums they switch to platinums like me haha. So either platinums or iridiums heat rang 6 or 7.

Oil, well basically there is plenty of good makes out there, i used to use millers fully synthetic motorsport oil 10w-40. Silkolene (now called titan) is also a good make http://www.opieoils.co.uk/ click in the right corner for discounts, the toc is listed in there so u will get a discount.

Oil cooler here is mine the blue one, its a 10 row cooler with 16unf fittings and here is a picture of my sandwich plate with build in thermostat Once the air con rad is out etc just place the cooler infron of the radiator, just make some brackets up out of a strip of stainless steel, all u need is a vice to bend it and a drill. Like i told you in pm though, pretty sure the 185 had its oil filter in a daft place right next to the downpipe, so people use relocation plates on it. http://www.thinkauto.com/acatalog/Product_Summary.html these guys may be able to help you as im sure they have dealt with gt4's before and i have got some stuff from them, there is also there, stats, relocation plates etc. They are a bit posh but they a nice guys and know their stuff haha.

[OMJAN]

nice 1 mate those pics really helped, i can see my oil filter sitting right under the manifold(wtf!!!).most people say that their oil boils in the filter??? crazy!!! defo gna get it relocated. i had seen some manifolds on eBay but i was gona get a custom job from a company called rms , theyre local. but to keep costs down might make do for now...... the current parts list is as follows:

steel head gasket set

new bottom end gasket set

fuel pump

oil pump

water pump

boost controller/ fuel management

2nd oil cooler sandwich plate thermostat

all fluids

plugs (has nice new silicone HT leads)

intercooler/ inlet & outlet hoses

whiteline arb

yellow stuff pads

any recommendations for any of the above welcomed. keep in mind that im scottish and always workin with a tight budget. :P

[GIDDLEPIN]

WOW!!!!

Serious stuff guys, I'm impressed ;)

I just drove my car to the two track days I went on and had the time of my life CLICKY :D ......hope to do it again one day ;)

[GTForbes]

are you talkng about RMS down Ayr way? or is there one in Glasgow?

your saying standard calipers but the early JDM models had smaller discs with twin pot calipers, a UK/later spec brake set-up is a straight swap upgrade, then it's just a case of finding uprated disc's and pads.

the ST205 brake set-up requires new brackets etc, i'm not sure if someone has started making a kit for it or not but i do know someone who ran a full ST205 front and rear setup untill he got his hands on a tasty set of AP racing brakes.

for your brake fluid, make sure it's DOT5.1, Toyota do their own line of it, as do Millers ;) but any brand would do as the DOT rating is just how well it holds up under heat.

make sure you use ARP studs when your doing your headgasket, would be a waste of time to use anything else. it might also be worth getting the injectors sent for sonic cleaning, they'll be pretty clogged from the decades of use so a good clean would increase fueling nice and cheaply.

forgot to mention a fuel presure regulator, the standard one can't cope with the extra delivery an uprated pump provides which leads to increased rail pressures and over fueling so before management can be used you'll need to get one, try to avoid cheap crap with these as they are a pretty important part of the system.

if you need any quick advice feel free to give us a ring, the boss will likely just pass you onto me anyways as he's more of a scooby man and i get the GT-Four jobs lol

[Fawbs]

I think you will need a 205 fuel rail too, im sure the 185 isnt up to the job... not 100%

[GTForbes]

The 205 fuel rail doesn't fit the 185 head IIRC, you could fit a 205 head tho, if your heads coming off anyways it's an option, especially since I have a ported one at work ;)

Also a 205 exhaust cam has a longer duration, another cheap mod. I've also got a set lying in the garage lol. Could send them away and get a more agressive profile ground into them.

[OMJAN]

im pretty sure they are single pot , the car is a 92 reg import... was looking at a set of black diamond drilled n grooved for the front , can get them CHEAP. SORRY FAWBS MEANT 80 QUID .... they should fit, they were on a uk widebody???- unless u know otherwise. I think i will stick with the 185 head just now.... might look into that later on.... was looking into the turbo from the caldina gt4 but it wont fit the 185 only change up for the 205, something to do with the design of the exhaust manifold. i doubt that im going to manage to do this all at once, obviously need to do the gaskets,pumps ,pads and intercooler pipes- that much is needed to make it driveable!!! theres so much to do any suggestions on what to do first? im already itching to hit the track also was going to get a full mls gasket set from eBay anyone got an opinion my other option was from nengun performance at nearly 3x the price? forbes... u might well be hearing from me after the bank holiday.... cheers all and have a good 1 :D

[Fawbs]

I must admit im not too gen'd up on the 185 but the 185 is better in respects to the inlet ports being far bigger than the 205's. Im not sure if the valves are the same size but like forbes says that camshafts is a neat and cheap little upgrade.

[GTForbes]

yeah they'll fit, it's the single pots the UK spec got.

first suggestions would be the 'extra cool' from millers ;) DOT 5.1 brake fluid, de-cat, tires, chaging all your oil to motorosport spec stuff will help prevent things from cooking too quickly

[OMJAN]

so i went out today.... thought id take out a few parts have a general look around the car, clamped!!! the b4st4rds!!!! parked on private property, two other cars with no tax beside it, not been abandoned (im out everyday)

bought the car on the 25th of last month, instantly sent off for reg docs and S.O.R.N for the car ( head gasket gone) wouldnt be driving it for a while. call up the clamping company.... they say theres no record of the S.O.R.N ,call up DVLA the first lady says "yes weve received your application" im later told by another advisor no we received your reg doc application. i told them "surely there has to be a period of grace? i cant S.O.R.N the car on the day i buy it?" they reply hmmm. yes ..... maybe.... they were threatening with uplifting the vehicle within 24hrs , charging me £280 to release it (payed £400 for the car!!!!)i spent 4 hours calling back and forth between all involved..... no joy.... so i thought id take things into my own hands..... i managed to drive out of the clamp, no damage caused( to the car) and the DVLA/ clampers can f.uck1ng sing for it!!!! got theyre clamp and they got nuffin.... now i just need to find a council vehicle to put it on!!! b4st4rds, 4r5eh0l3s ,w4nk3r5!!!!!!!! - sorry had to vent it!!!!!

[GTForbes]

Pmsl! They've got a cheek!

Least there was no damage done to the car ;)

[Fawbs]

Great work mate, personally i'd find a rozzers van and stick it on that for a laugh but definitely find a council van and get it stuck on there.

[OMJAN]

alright lads, was wondering if you can help me...... the car was starting no problem, then when i towed it to my mates garage yesterday it wouldnt start to drive it in????? its fitted with the same alarm as my 205(think its a toyota standard one) it seems like the fuel cut off is staying on. the car has plenty of batt. power , turns over , sparks all the leads. theres £50 worth of v power in it so plenty fuel...... sometimes when being turned over the central locking flicks on then off.... im puzzled

ive disconnected the power and left it for a while ..... still wouldnt start any suggestions as to what to do???

thanks again for all your advice.