Current State:
Current Power level: 157 @ 4086rpm
Current Torque Level: 267 @ 2561rpm
Current mods:
| Engine | Brakes and Suspension |
| None | 282 mm front discs Mintex 1166 front pads EBC Greenstuff rear pads Front brake ducting Gaz GHA Coilovers Poly BushingsGoodyear F1s GSDI Tyres |
| Air | Fuel |
| ITG Open Cone FilterFront Mounted IntercoolerOil Catch Tank Boost Controller Wingy Backbox and De Cat | SDI Injectors (Rebuilt and calibrated) Reidy Remap |
| Drivetrain | Other |
| LuK clutch (standard replacement) Torsen Type B Limited Slip Differential Selected Steel Caged Bearings | Boost Gauge |
Owner’s comments:
The car was modified to be fun for daily driving and suitable for the occasional track day. On paper, this aspiration appeared fairly straight forward, but in practice it really need to take the modification a couple steps further to get it right.
The principle problem was simply adding more power above 140 bhp had a negative effect on the handling characteristics of the car, particularly in the areas of front end grip and torque steer. Most of the car modifications are focused around delivering the power to the road, particularly through the corners. This required lowering, stiffening and pitching the car using custom coilovers and polybushings along with a Limited Slip Differential. However, simply buying parts won’t make the car track worthy; it takes a lot of fine tuning targeting the fuelling with the remap and suspension adjustments. Currently, the car is competitive on the track against higher end petrol and low powered kit cars.
The other problem with modifying the car was eliminating smoke. I have yet achieved the standard that I am aiming for, because the car does smoke at the top end while on the track. On normal roads and motorway, it only spurts out a little while accelerating and again “off boost”. The air intake system has been extensively modified to combat smoke as well as focusing on fuel atomization with the injectors. The combination of these efforts enabled breaking rolling road records using standard turbo.
Finally, this car is pretty much a finished project. There are only a few more modifications that go that are solely directed towards monitoring and reducing temperatures while on the track, as this appears to be the limiting factor for how much track time it does in one day.
Special Thanks
Lastly, the build of this car really took a lot of peoples’ skills and efforts to get it right.
The diesel crew at www.mg-rover.org
Mark at AA Silencers (suspension and track preparations)
Matt at Reidy Reidy (remap)
Phil at PMR (fuel injection, diagnosis and servicing)