Full-Race R14 -> 2010 Modified Tuner Shootout

[full-race geoff]

This is my first post on NICOclub so I figured i'd make it a good one. Many people wonder what the founder of Full-Race drives - I admit that im a total S-chassis addict (I own multiple S14s at the moment). Initially i was a hardcore turbo honda guy, but Ive always dreamed of swapping an AWD RB26 into a 240SX (the hassles of owning a GTR in the USA is a huge turnoff to me). My first S14 started the love affair with nissans 8 years ago, and once i became close friends with Forrest Wang it was on - if you dont know of Forrest look him up on youtube. That old S14 is now my fathers and it has an SR20DET and Full-Race twinscroll 30R turbokit. Since those beginnings, I graduated from Engineering School, Started Full-Race and somehow got a killer deal on an RB26 front clip. Once it arrived i put it up in the air and began to measure the R-chassis suspension and crossmember dimensions. What i discovered was unreal - they are almost IDENTICAL dimensions S-Chassis to R-Chassis. The rear driveline was also a complete bolt-on affair to the nissan engineers for hooking us up like this!! Then i became friends with a few AZ locals with GTRs and ordered every Option/Hyperrev i could find to continue my research. About 1.5 years later the prototype R14 was built and we debuted the car at SEMA and on the Cover of the SEMA issue of Modified Magazine to announce the development of the R14 conversion kit:



After this debut i started working on the car alot and taking it apart-putting it together-taking it apart-putitng it together more times than i can count. We tweaked the initial design, improved the suspension geometry and soon had a ton of customers interested in the R14 conversions. We built a few but the fact of the matter is that this swap takes HOURS upon HOURS of time. And it simply was getting in the way of our turbokit mfg business. So i stopped building R14s and went back to the drawing board, designing a conversion kit that any expereinced mechanic or basic fabricator with a 220V MIG could install - virtually no cutting, only welding.

Since then I have spent all my free time and resources refining what i have always considered the Ultimate "swap" -- AWD RB26, LHD into the sexiest chassis of all time to result in my baby - the R14. this DIY R14 kit will become available later this year and we are using this race as proof-of-concept and ensuring viability in a competition environment. The list of invites to this year's race is no joke and we have to be on top of our game. My R14 had a street car build with a goal of 600whp on pump gas - this was fun for the last year or so, but now that I have decided to use the car for time attack, and will still keep it my street car there is a LOT of work to do.

This post documents my journey that started mid-january as i prep my car to be competitive in the 2010 tuner shootout. We got 2nd place the last 2 years in heavily modified street STIs and we dont want to give that up... however a street subaru wont get us 2nd this year - there will be GST's GC impreza (got 1st the last 2 years), a dedicated track porsche 911 twin turbo awd as well as the sierra sierra cosworth evo and tarzan is driving crawford's STI so we have to be on top of our game to do well. We have 4 weeks before the event. The chassis and engine are VERY solid and have plenty of time on them with no problems. Our driver is Mike Speck - an ace behind the wheel and knows this track extraordinarily well. We'll be getting a set of motons, and they will be used only for the track with the aero package on the car

Specs are:mildly built RB26, stock bottom end (Stock rods/pistons/rings), modified oiling system. Full-Race Twinscroll turbokit Borg Warner Airwerks S300 prototype turbochargerFULLY worked cyl head, portwork, machining and valvejob by Headgames MotorworksCyl Head Assy by Burt @ IMP performance - easily one of the most knowledgable and meticulous builders ive ever met. (I consider myself lucky to know this guy)cooling is getting improved right now (pics below)full roll cage, proper bracing in the right spotsr34 gtr brembos front and rear, raybestos motorsport pads, brake ductingR32GTR front suspension, caster changed to 7degrees through custom upper control arm mounts. Stock swaybar, Stock Upper Arms, Stock lower arms, Stock tierods, Quaife Front LSD, urethane swaybar bushingsR33GTR rear suspension, full adjustable links, R32GTR stock swaybar, nismo LSDTires are Hoosier A6 (Autocross compound for time attack) and BFG R1 (enduro + lapping) 275/35 on a 18x10.5Torque Split is running fixed with ATTESSA eliminated (split adjustable depending on preference and tires/track condition)

I have been working hard to document my build and have tried to take pics all throughout. Some of the pics are on my friend's SLR, others are on my cellphone <sorry for the lack of consistency>. this is a peak inside my life, i hope you guys like it, ive never worked so hard on a car before

Some pics from last year - if you live in AZ you might have seen me in I-10 traffic at 5:30AM or 7:00PM

^^^parked at the 2009 modified tuner shootout, rained like crazy ^^^my buddy's R34

here are some pics of my old engine bay w/ huge 900+whp FMIC and BorgWarner twinscroll S300SX turbo (90 degree compressor housing) ^^the inside of my intake manifold (still retaining ITBs)^^old dyno chart from 91 octane and 19psi

the day i decided to rip my car down and enter the race: ^^trying out this random GT wing i got at a JDM yard

^^r32 gtr transmission and front drivshaft^^TRUST increased capacity oil sump - must be able to TIG weld aluminum to install!
Modified by full-race geoff at 1:40 AM 3/11/2010

[full-race geoff]

time to get to work! The major areas to improve upon were suspension (SPL + Moton), aerodynamics (nascar splitter + sheet metal), cooling (v-mount), chassis stiffness (bracing + eliminating bushings), fueling system (Surgetank + dual 044 bosch pumps), and turbocharger response (prototype twinscroll borgwarner)

FUEL: Needed to beef up the fuel system heavily to make 700whp on E85 and not run out of fuel under hard-G turns when the fuel is away from the pump pickup.^^^this is what motec recommends ^^^hand fabricated, welded by Joey

Rear Suspension:

Subframe:

^^old subframe that i dropped out of the car ^^^added heavy gusseting + support brace

^^^these things are by far the best value of any subframe bushing ever!! i can not stress how badass these things are, and as long as you toss them in the freezer before the install they are UBER_EASY to pop in! Best of all, if you use it with no spacer, your entire subframe will move ~13mm closer to the chassis - raising ALL inner pivots up and dramatically improving suspension geometry

^^^installed, full droop looks like a mini rally car!

Spindles:^^shock mount is perfect, i screwed up the toe rod mount location and will fix that this weekend^^^upper shock mount

and of course i wanted to eliminate the bushing in the upright, so i was lucky enough to find "2fast240us" who had a set sitting around! THANK YOU 2FAST240US!!!!!



RUCA: ^originally i was just planning on adding this heim joint to eliminate the bushing... but then i saw how SICK the SPL RUCAs are, and how much extra strut clearance they provided and i had to swap over - especially since i want to run my shocks inverted, with the spring on the bottom (less unsprung mass = better handling)

^^^ ^^^

^^^showing how much cleareance the SPL RUCA's give and how i can now run my rear shocks inverted



Rear LCA's[img]http://full-race.com/prototype/R14/update4/LCA's.jpg[/img]

Front Suspension:

^^ride height, you can clearly see the SPL toe rods also with adjustable height

Chassis: the car already had a full cage and was fully braced, but the cage did not pierce the firewall and connect to the front strut towers. I wanted to reinforce this area, and simply welding in a pair of braces works wonders. BOLTING THESE IN IS WORTHLESS

COOLING: it is simply unbelievable how well this vmount is functioning. The coolant temps are down about 25 degrees Celsius (E85 helps too) and IAT are the same! very very pleased with the result so far. Will wrap up the final ducting and plumb for the new turbo next week.

Also you will not that i am ready for battle with a 1.5" steel bashbar protecting the front end from any "objects"

here is the integrated bubbler tank/overflow during fabrication, saves space and is very functional - eliminates any air bubbles getting in the system!

AERO:^^^showing the flat front, cutout for the oil pan, and the NASCAR front splitter ^^joey welding in the belly pan mounts/jackpoints ^^^kinda looks like an RC car from this angle

inspiration for the aero comes from:^^borrowing some aero tips from these guys

Modified by full-race geoff at 1:09 AM 3/11/2010
Modified by full-race geoff at 1:14 AM 3/11/2010

[full-race geoff]

^^strapped up on locash racing's 2WD dynapack - FWD turned completely off

^^^The man, the myth, the legend - http://www.evans-tuning.com Jeff Evans is a bad-a** tuner, super conservative, accurate and knowledgeable with all the EMS's out there. great resource. He flew out to AZ, right off the plane straight to the dyno and tuned 4 cars in 1 day. unreal

^^the 88-75. just too much power, and not quite fast enough spool

^^20psi, E85 - 751whp but too laggy




Modified by full-race geoff at 1:10 AM 3/11/2010

[Brandon1605]

Honestly, this car is my hero. Awesome ride! Ive been curious to know what it/you have been up to. Look forward to the article covering the event. Good luck!

[mattblancarte]

I stopped by your shop a few years ago when I lived in AZ, and got a chance to look at your r14.

The parts list on this beast is just out of control. Is the shootout going to be run at Firebird?

Competition does look insane, but I'm excited to see how the r14 holds up!

[SxMachine]

How much 4 the old sub. Nice build btw

[quietkilla6]

You are legendary dude. Ive seriously read that issue of modified 10 times. I love that your in az to. No bs reading this thread made a pretty boring night interesting. I honestly pray to be able to do what youve done with creating fullrace and all. Hope to hear more from ya.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Does your site still say "kit available late 2008"? Nice builds, kept an eye on it over the years.

[impact240sx]

OMG!! I've always thought this car was one of my, if not my most favorite car in the world. And to see that your makin it even better, makes me happy. lol This thread seriously made my day.

About the Shootout, There are deff fierce competitors there, and that GST Subaru Is Crazy fast, but I'm totally rooting for you. Good Luck man.

[94vert]

thats pretty sick. this shows what happens when you have the money and the mid to get something done!

[daconkiftador]

This is awesome.

[nevertheless]

Amazing, Cant wait to see how it does in events.

[jkollerS13 :]]

you should hook a fellow arizonian thats having car troubles. haha jk love the car, one day i want to see it in person.

[hatedinthemind]

I ve loved this car. The whole fact that you did something that people always flamed is just awesome By the way, what ever happened to your 900 or something hp daily driven honda civic?

[discoballer]

this thing is a monster! awesome build!!!!

[simmode1]

GSRacer's car has now been replaced by the new coolest car on these boards...

I had heard rumors of poor performance from this car at past Time Attacks. I'm glad to see that they were greatly exaggerated.

Full Race = GENIUSES

[rumble]

how does it run a fixed torque split? won't the transmission case overheat and burn out? doesn't it over work the ATTESA pump?

[Anime_TuneR]

Awesomeness

Subscribed and please keep us updated daily!

[DMan II-40]

Wow, very very nice stuff.

Also I noticed you brought up the skyline sway bars (R32, R33). I remember reading that Brian H. had a skyline sway bar on his old S14, can't remember if it was front or rear, but he said it was way beefier than the stock S14 one. Would you happen to know which skyline sway bars would be a direct bolt on to the S14?

[sidways13]

F*** Yeah!This Build is Awesome,Nice to see this car from AZ

[Coolwhip]

i told you before and i'll tell you again, i love this car great progress

[HGOTBOOST]

thats one sick r14.

[bllabong89]

+9999999 This thing is sick. I am def. gonna keep an eye on this build.

Im really lovin the bash bar. I've been locking for some pics of one so I can make my own but could never find any good ones till now. Thanks and keep the updates coming

[I WE TODD ED]

Finally some detailed pics on this car. I've waited like three years to see more than the pics on the website.

Awesome drivetrain setup

[Asmar]

More pics of that R34 please... Lol.

[nissan_star]

This is ungodly

[TroubleBound]

So i don't know if any one ever told you this or not, but your 240sx is pretty cool..

[pauliedrft]

i have that ISSUE its an amazing setup glad to see a high roller can join us less funded folk .

[Skilz10179]

Great build!

[mattblancarte]

More pics of that R34 please... Lol.

I was lucky enough to run into Brett Mayes (also from Full-Race) up in North Scottsdale at Safeway one night.

He rolled up in his graphite r34 and I was just like omgwtfbbq. Of course, I had to go bug him about it, tell him I had an rb26, etc. etc. etc.

After exchanging info with Brett, we met up a month or two down the road at the Indian Bend meet in Scottsdale.

It was at that point I got to see both that blue r34 and the graphite r34 side by side, and got to meet Geoff.

The guys from Full-Race are full-win. Super nice, too.

p.s. No matter what engine you have in your s-chassis, when a gtr chassis rolls up you feel like you should be eating at the kids' table.