# My Silvia S12 road racing project



## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Hi, a newbie here, greetings from Finland! I've got an S12 under heavy construction, going to race her in 2006. The engine is SR20DET with a massive turbo coming, HKS wastegates, huge fmic, forged internals and stuff, aiming for 500hp+. Also complete aerodynamic, chassis and suspension modifications will take place during the year. It's just starting to take off, have been cleaning the chassis and soon I'll begin to make the roll cage and aerodynamics. For pics, my project site is HERE :thumbup:


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

Holy crap those brakes are beautiful. Best of luck on the project, and keep us updated...I always like to read up on what others are doing for roadrace cars since I'm working on one too. :thumbup:


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## Loki (Jan 12, 2004)

nice......a friend of mine has a s12 as well but here in mexico they named it HIKARI..i was like WTF? but still its the 1.8 Turbo....bastard.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> Holy crap those brakes are beautiful. Best of luck on the project, and keep us updated...I always like to read up on what others are doing for roadrace cars since I'm working on one too. :thumbup:


Thanks, I'll try and report of the progress here too!



Loki said:


> nice......a friend of mine has a s12 as well but here in mexico they named it HIKARI..i was like WTF? but still its the 1.8 Turbo....bastard.


That's a funny name for a car, it almost has a meaning in Finnish too


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## Loki (Jan 12, 2004)

race-silveR said:


> Thanks, I'll try and report of the progress here too!
> 
> 
> That's a funny name for a car, it almost has a meaning in Finnish too




Hikari in japanese means LIGHT


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Loki said:


> Hikari in japanese means LIGHT


Okay, now I'm a lot wiser again  Was a good day working with the Silvia today, made some progress with the bodywork. Soon I'll have to start making all the fiberglass body parts...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Some new pics of the Silvia in the homepage since yesterday, check them out! Also looking forward to publish our team website in the near future, it's going to be something really nice


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

What are you doing in these two pictures?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> What are you doing in these two pictures?


Just grinding off the paint in the lower one and smoothing the edges of the plates in the upper one. Both are preparations for welding the door and window edges... Was quite a slow job and I had metal dust all over, in my nose for example after that =)


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

race-silveR said:


> Both are preparations for welding the door and window edges...


For what reason? Chassis stiffness? Sorry, I don't follow.

-Andy


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> For what reason? Chassis stiffness? Sorry, I don't follow.
> 
> -Andy


Yeah, my bad for not explaining properly. Stiffnes is the thing in mind with the welding-stuff. Of course the roll cage will stiffen the chassis even more but it's all good.


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

race-silveR said:


> Yeah, my bad for not explaining properly. Stiffnes is the thing in mind with the welding-stuff. Of course the roll cage will stiffen the chassis even more but it's all good.


Gotcha...this is what I figured.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Hello again, Nissan people! It's been a while and lots of stuff has happened since the last time I found my way into this forum. For starters, there's a new website: http://www.as-god-intended.com with a write up and a big picture gallery of the project. 

The car's almost ready to be flipepd on it's wheels again, as I'm expecting the custom made Bilstein coil overs to be finished soon. Then it's time for the roll cage and inventing the engine mounts. The whole rear subframe was adapted from an S13, hopefully the handling will match the amount of work put into the operation. Lots of stuff has been done, you'll get a better picture of it from the story and picture gallery.


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

Great pictures...I really enjoy seeing the progress. :cheers: 

Makes me want a chassis stand terribly...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> Great pictures...I really enjoy seeing the progress. :cheers:
> 
> Makes me want a chassis stand terribly...


Glad you liked the pics, it's true that a good picture tells more than a 1000 word story. The chassis stand isn't that hard to make, if you have the welding equipment. There are some more sophisticated ones for sale (at least in Finland) for quite affordable prices, too.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Very nice build up. Do you know if the diff is an upgraded one already? What is the power range your looking at? 500whp still?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Nismo14-180 said:


> Very nice build up. Do you know if the diff is an upgraded one already? What is the power range your looking at? 500whp still?


Thanks! I'm using the European market S13 open diff with a clutch/friction plate type aftermarket LSD. If the OS Giken LSD fits the open case, I'll propably have one of those.

My turbo is a Turbonetics T3/T4 hybrid unit with ceramic ball bearings and stage 3 turbine wheel, so it's propably around 500whp or little less what the turbo is capable of ([email protected] I think). It's a matter of testing and the size of the driver's (=my) balls, on what kind of boost will be used in the races  Street tires on a road course do have their limits, after all...


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Im pretty sure it'll fit. I've been wondering that myself. I think I'll give Enovativ Force a call....

How much did the coilovers cost you? I've never heard of the bilstein coilovers...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Actually I haven't received the coil overs yet, since they make me new adjustable front control arms, too. Bilstein is quite a big brand over here in Europe, very high quality items for racing. A company called Rallysystems make coil-overs for racing use after the original items. So I sent them my original S12 front shocks and some S13 rear shocks (using the S13 rear systems...) and receive custom made ones from Bilstein parts. They just asked me the corner weights and for what use (rally, track etc) the shocks should be made for, so the performance is as good as possible. Long story for a simple question, hopefully u get something out of it :crazy: :thumbup:


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## Joel (Jun 11, 2003)

bilstein = awesome


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

I knew about Bilstein shocks, I just didnt know they had coilovers as well. Got a link to where I can check em out?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Nismo14-180 said:


> I knew about Bilstein shocks, I just didnt know they had coilovers as well. Got a link to where I can check em out?


There's a little something in their own website: http://www2.bilstein.de/en/motorsport/produkte.php3#4 and you can also check out the Rallysystems' site from the link in my earlier post. These custom made racing systems are a bit difficult to find information about from the Internet.

Some news about the project, I've got the quick steering gear and the original steering parts for an Opel Ascona, which is a popular rally car in the amateur series over here, and also ordered a full electric power steering unit from an Opel Corsa. Will require some work to make those fit the Silvia, but I think it's not that big a job after all... The benefits of the specific power steering is that it can easily be made adjustable from the cabin, via a gadget simulating the wheel sensor signals. Just got to make the damn gadged myself...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Okay.. Just got the quick steering gear in place yesterday, now just got to get the Opel steering fit my crossmember. I've also got a feeling that something about my engine spec can be reveiled soon... Expect to see a lot of a three-letter Jap brand in that sector


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

JUN....? :thumbup: 
HKS....? :thumbup: 
ARC....? :thumbup:


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## S&S-Ralli (Oct 31, 2005)

race-silveR said:


> Hi, a newbie here, greetings from Finland! I've got an S12 under heavy construction, going to race her in 2006. The engine is SR20DET with a massive turbo coming, HKS wastegates, huge fmic, forged internals and stuff, aiming for 500hp+. Also complete aerodynamic, chassis and suspension modifications will take place during the year. It's just starting to take off, have been cleaning the chassis and soon I'll begin to make the roll cage and aerodynamics. For pics, my project site is HERE :thumbup:


Mita Kuuluu...suomalainen poikaa. Great pics. :cheers: (lapin kulta) Happy independance day.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

S&S-Ralli said:


> Mita Kuuluu...suomalainen poikaa. Great pics. :cheers: (lapin kulta) Happy independance day.


Kiitos paljon, hyvää kuuluu!  Lapin Kulta ei oikein maistu, Karhu on parempaa :cheers: :thumbup: 

Nismo14-180: Just wait and see


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Did a little update on the Silvia write up on the website, I think it's time to start chapter 4 on the next update already :cheers:


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

I was busy with the project in the weekend, had my old man helping out with the roll cage. Check out the new pics: Direct link to pictures. Look forward to an update for the write up very soon, too.

The engine matter is now in order, the order is in at JUN Auto :cheers: I'm having:
JUN camshaft kit stage 2+R, solid type
JUN dual valve springs
JUN valve guides
JUN titanium retainers
JUN lash killer kit

JUN forged pistons
JUN con rods

The main reason for choosing this brand was JUN having built some of the most amazing SR20DET engines for high rpm use, I just need to be able to rely on the parts' durability. Someone with loads of experience on that was a safe choice.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Yes! I called it! 

How many points are you gonna have with the cage?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Nismo14-180 said:


> Yes! I called it!
> 
> How many points are you gonna have with the cage?


It's a 12-point structure, with rear diagonal supports and door shields. The rules are very strict on the cage matter so it has to be strong.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Sounds like the SCCA rules we have on the upper class cars. Strick, but for your protection.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Nismo14-180 said:


> Sounds like the SCCA rules we have on the upper class cars. Strick, but for your protection.


Yep, and I don't mind having a proper stiff chassis either. My car's underweighted anyways so there's no problems with having a few extra kilos because of the cage either. 

Another aspect is that we race on Ahvenisto track, that hasn't got the best safety areas. I'm not afraid of driving there, it's just a small piece of thought in the back of my head every once in a while. If someone's interested, here's an in-car video of me driving on Ahvenisto with a 1.5 litre N/A Civic, very slippery wet conditions: CLICK, 31MB. I've also been a passenger in an MR2 Turbo when the brake fluids boiled and we went straight into the wall from the fastest place of the track, in the brakes to the long asymmetric right turn.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Update! Got the suspension:




Got the front control arms ready too, they're being galvanized at the moment so no pics. The rear control arms are almost ready, too. All liners are milled and it's just a matter of a little welding.

The roll cage is almost ready, only missing the rear diagonal supports. When the rear shock towers are installed, it'll be together in no time. 

The steering is ready, the steering axle with electric power steering motor from an Opel Corsa is installed. It's big, but does fit somehow... 

The wide body panels are ennobled from a BMW M3 kit, expecting them to arrive any time soon.

The car should be standing on it's own four in a couple of weeks if no problems occure on the way. Got an update to my web write up almost ready, expect it to be online in a couple of hours. The site works with a now URL, too: RaceSilvia.com


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Those are awsome. :thumbup: . Im really liking the way this car is coming together. Cant wait to see track footage of it.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

A couple of weeks ago I picked up another SR20DET to be my spare engine in case the no. 1 block might get some unexpected ventilation at some point (hope not)...


The suspension starts to look like something, all control arms are finished now. Some pics:


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:


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## Joel (Jun 11, 2003)

awesome! replace those hubs with 5 stud!


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Expecting some goodies from Japan any time soon... Can't wait!



Joel said:


> awesome! replace those hubs with 5 stud!


Already got custom made wheels with 4-bolt battern, plus it doesn't add to the car's performance, so won't bother...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Dropped her to the ground from the stands yesterday:


The SR is feeling like at home in the engine compartment, there's quite well room in there as you can see. Even the tranny's attached without any real issues.


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

the car is looking fucking awsome, man. I cant wait to see a vid of it running.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Update from this weekend:

The S14 cardan shaft was shortened and balanced for me, looks like a new one.


The support needed a little bit floor modification.




I made the base adjustments for the front control arms so, that the wheel would have enough room to turn. Got it to nearly 40 degrees, which I think is enough.


Also started to work on the front fender. Just wait and see what I've got in mind for that... 



She's also lost 8.3 kilos from changing to the polycarbonate rear window. That's around 20lbs if I'm correct. No pics of it yet, as it won't be attached to the car before paint.

More pics in the gallery at racesilvia.com, if anyone's interested.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Oops, double post. Someone please delete this one...


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

race-silveR said:


> Already got custom made wheels with 4-bolt battern, plus it doesn't add to the car's performance, so won't bother...


Exactly. Given the availability and low cost of these, you'd have no reason to switch at this point.

Out of curiosity, how much does your driveshaft weigh? It would seem that going with a 1-piece (aluminum or steel) would have been a better idea than going to those lengths to fit a standard driveshaft. I know, hindsight is 20/20. Just thought I'd throw that in, as I recently made the decision to go with a 1-piece Al unit.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> Exactly. Given the availability and low cost of these, you'd have no reason to switch at this point.
> 
> Out of curiosity, how much does your driveshaft weigh? It would seem that going with a 1-piece (aluminum or steel) would have been a better idea than going to those lengths to fit a standard driveshaft. I know, hindsight is 20/20. Just thought I'd throw that in, as I recently made the decision to go with a 1-piece Al unit.


Yup, heard the same thing before. Haven't measured the weight on that one, but at this point I thought it'd be smarter to use the existing unit as it was practically free. The transmission might change to a stronger one later on, so I'll look at making a new one at that time. Right now I'm on such a tight schedule that I've got to use what I have.


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

race-silveR said:


> Yup, heard the same thing before. Haven't measured the weight on that one, but at this point I thought it'd be smarter to use the existing unit as it was practically free. The transmission might change to a stronger one later on, so I'll look at making a new one at that time. Right now I'm on such a tight schedule that I've got to use what I have.


Understandable. Best of luck, and please keep us posted.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

A couple of pics of this weekend:
Some inspiration pics and safety equipment

A rear view

From the top

And a general view


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

This car is getting more and more extreme..... I cant wait to watch a video of it in action.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Some new stuff plus updates on the bodywork:

Went for the Hestec engine management system, got lots of nice features like anti-lag, dual boost maps controlled via a switch etc. They've done SR-engines before so all sensors and stuff are available from them.


A Jaz competition fuel cell:


Sarlin Race Team flywheel and Alcon clutch:


The desired style is coming more visible on the rear fenders, didn't just settle with the 80's look this time  


The pipes seem to be desperately looking for a turbo in there...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Some updates about this weekend's work:

The front mask looked a bit harsh with the chipped off gray paint, so I painted it flat black for now.


The front overfender had to be made from scratch, I like to use the perforated steel sheet for this kind of stuff.






As the left rear corner started to look quite good, it was painted black to see if any reflections of errors would still be found. It turned out quite nice, just a couple of spots to cover.


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## '91 240sx (Feb 17, 2003)

nice, s12s are sex


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

God.... that manifold is insane....


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Starts to look pretty good


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Finished the final product for right rear corner, after taking moulds of both front fenders. The spots are just mould wax, need to wash the parts some day...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)




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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

The engine runs now! We worked like madmen for a couple of days to make it to the mapping session. After Monday morning I had slept 3 hours untill last night. We were still 2.5 hours late from the tuning, so the final mapping was postponed till the next Tuesday. Main thing is that it runs, sounds like an animal and I have driven it for the first time! I love it sooooo much. 

Some pics from Monday to yesterday:

Designing intercooler pipes:


A clutch pressing spacer, the new cluth is not as thick as the standard:


Clutch and flywheel attached:


Exhaust manifold almost ready, only needs the wastegate pipe:


The first start:


Engine bay overview, the filter is only a temporary solution:


There are 21 new pics at http://www.racesilvia.com gallery, check them out too if you want. 

Also made a video of a little test drive without brakes  It's located here: http://www.racesilvia.com/videos/koeajo.wmv


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

Looking great! I assume the car will be that brilliant red color?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> Looking great! I assume the car will be that brilliant red color?


Yeah, that's the color


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

Rockin. You run into any big issues with the mapping?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Nismo14-180 said:


> Rockin. You run into any big issues with the mapping?


Not mapped yet, the water pump had a bad leak at 5.30 AM, we had worked the whole night without sleeping in order to hit the road at 6 AM. So we were late from the mapping in the first place, plus had a fuel leak there too... So it's back to the dyno on tuesday to get the real mapping done. Now we're running a map borrowed from a 550fwhp S14, since it only has a little less power mods than my engine


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Video from the dyno session: http://www.racesilvia.com/videos/dyno.wmv


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## Nismo14-180 (Mar 31, 2004)

I got a hard on after watching that video.... I want it...


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Here are the graphs (click for bigger resolution):





A couple of other pics updated to the racesilvia.com gallery as well.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

The under-bonnet supports:


The bumper just taken out of the mould:


And a couple pics of the just painted body


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)




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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

Awesome! Looking forward to more.

-Andy


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Loads of new stuff since I last updated, check out http://www.racesilvia.com/en/galleria.htm for picture galleries and videos. A small teaser pic from my first race last weekend, came 7th and 6th in the overall results btw, which I'm hugely satisfied with. The car IS fast


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## bridrive55 (Aug 26, 2004)

Holy balls

Does anyone have a clean pair of shorts


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## 2Fass240us (Aug 2, 2004)

Awesome. I watched a few of your videos and am very impressed. Any plans to do the 1/4 mile for giggles?


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

2Fass240us said:


> Awesome. I watched a few of your videos and am very impressed. Any plans to do the 1/4 mile for giggles?


I quess it's got to be done at some point, I don't care too much about the straight line stuff though. 12's could be possible in my opinion, the suspension is everything but drag spec.

The transmission's missing fifth and reverse already since the Saturday's first practice last weekend, plus a rear shock is leaking oil so the car's back in project condition again.


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

Hi all! 

The car has seen it's stage 1 and stage 1.5 since the last update. You can find pics of races, videos and other goodies at Racesilvia.com. The whole season was raced with good success, every race was better than the previous and I ended 5th in the final points. That and the fourth place in the season finals are so unbelievably good results that it can only be described as a perfect first season! The car is very fast and still has lots of unused potential.

Stage 2 will see improvements in cornering speeds and reliability. Being sick of changing broken gear boxes after every race, I've ordered a Tremec TKO-600 for the car. Hopefully it's the last transmission I will ever buy for her 

I've also added some new Racesilvia videos to YouTube: YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.

Hope you enjoy them!

Markus


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## positron (Oct 16, 2006)

More pics please..I'm a big fan of the S12. Great looking car!


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## race-silveR (Apr 8, 2005)

positron said:


> More pics please..I'm a big fan of the S12. Great looking car!


Here you go sir:


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