hi, new to the forum and not the most knowledgable of car owners. Coming from a mk7 fiesta st. Before that many vw's. Just got into trackdays so RS seemed the way to go. Can't imagine this being some big build like some of the amazing cars on here. Although I've said that before and got quite carried away. I've found a 2016 275 cup-s with ohlins and akra. Just ironing out the details of buying that. Waiting on advice from RS TUNING on what to do to the car. I'd like to lower it so im looking at the RSC LIGHT kit. It has the Arkamys upgrade. So think I'll just add a small amp and small sub and maybe some lightweight sound insulation. Then I've thought of the RS tuning intercooler and itg intake and a map. Maybe also a Decat. Not sure really yet what to do but these are the ideas. Any recommendations, must do's, or general advice would be great. Rs tuning seem the place to go in the north for most things. Then I need an audio installer in the northwest if anyone has a good recommendation for that. I'll post pics when I get the car....
The RSC kit removes the rear bump stop so I wouldn't be looking at that..... unless they have changed the design since. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Great choice of car! You'll love it out on track. So funny, says doesnt want a big build but talks about stage 2 parts [emoji14] cant imagine what your other builds were like! Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
Haha I know I'm a hopeless case. I even told my wife that i wouldnt be spending money on this one as it's so well sorted as standard. She just rolled her eyes. Haha.
Well the purchase fell through I'm afraid. But I have managed to find a nice 275 trophy that I have put a deposit on. This one has the Akrapovic but no ohlins. I'll probably do coilovers at some point but to start with I'll put some springs and spacers in. Any recommendations for that? Also there's no Arkamys, and no DAB ☹️so I'll look at some audio upgrades as well. Anywhere good in the northwest for that? It will be on track within days, so we will see how the standard brakes hold up, but I imagine I'll be changing pads fluid and lines quite soon. Heard that RS29 pads are good if a bit expensive. After that I'll tune it up a little. 300ish hp with just a few bolt ons. Read that mid box delete gets very loud but a decat alone is very nice. Looking forward to it all. I'll put some pics up asap.
No mention of tyres there. Interesting. Power, great and easy mod to about 300 bhp. Brakes, PF Z Rated pads front, DS2500 rear, Motul RBF 600 type fluid. Nice effective baseline capability. Braided lines not necessary. Adds nothing. Springs, spacers forget, waste of money and time unless you are just into a 'look' and not really serious about trackdays. The Cup suspension is sweet out of the box. Coilovers are a different matter. Can be a decent upgrade. Hopefully you are more into effective track day capability than just image or herd motivated mods.
Hi. Thanks for the reply I appreciate the advice. Well we all have different priorities I guess, nothing wrong with that. I love the trackdays! So much fun. So a well setup track day car is what I'm after. But yes I'm a sucker for a good looking car too. I'm sure I can have both with a little research and investment. But yes certainly no "herd motivated mods". Haha. Which coilovers do you recommend? I've had lots of ideas thrown at me so far about this. B16's, KW clubsports, Nitron R1's. Yes let's talk tyres. I see it was possible to spec cup 2 tyres from the factory. A bit extreme for road use? Maybe I will get some track wheels (TD1.2 maybe) and some tyres specifically for track work. Surprised about the braided lines. Always thought they helped the feel. Those pad suggestions, are they very much a track pad to be swapped out for the road, or are they a do it all kind of pad? Again thanks for the help. Much appreciated.
Welcome aboard. Best advice is probably to get used to the car first and then see how you feel. Mine is totally standard and really capable. I don't think they really need much doing. Nice to get one with the Akra!
Coilovers, Nitrons OK if you like and want to spend but AST are very nice. Work the limits of the Cup suspension first tho. Tyres, well if you are a trackday regular you will know the score and compromises. Cup 2 is a great choice but so are others. Pads were a good well proven baseline start for the track and also OK on the road. Extra wheels? Really? Do you want to cart them to a trackday. What do you want, a set of wets or slicks? Loads of people drag some extra wet/dry wheel/tyre combos to track days because a few seconds a lap is obviously SO important to them in the wet/dry. They obviously think it's F1 and have some of Lewis Hamilton's DNA. Lots to prove. They get all agitated when it's just damp and don't have an intermediate tyre. Best to sit in the paddock..... A daily driver with a spare set of OEM wheels just for track days with some semi slicks works OK. Braided, loads of crap talked about these but for a newish car you won't really get an improved feel. Ignore all the bull. Not needed. Like massiveboobs said, get to know the car first and explore its limits and yours. Basic pad, tyre and fluid mods make it durable. Great car out the box. If you are a real seasoned trackday player then I suspect you know all this anyway, so ignore the advice.
Trophy does have Arkamys - still worth an upgrade if SQ is your thing but I'm happy with mine with the EQ adjusted how I want it. No DAB but the dealer will fit it for a small fortune. I bluetooth 6Music from my phone - to hell with the data, and where there's no data coverage there's no DAB signal either! If you're going to chop the Akrapovic up, you might want to consider selling the whole system and replacing - just a thought, but a decat would be okay with a remap. I won't pretend to offer any advice on track prep. Get some pics up when it arrives
That's good advice. I will do that. Easy to get dragged into mods. It's an epic car as it is. No I won't ignore the advice it's great. Really helps. I'm no great track driver, I just enjoy the odd few now and then. But it's all for fun. I'll start with the brakes and see where I go from there. Thanks. All trophy's have the Arkamys? Excellent. That wasn't listed on the spec sheet. Good to know. I have a nice little sub and amp so maybe I'll just see how it is with those. Good news. Thanks.
I think when you have modified cars, it's very easy to buy a new car and immediately start tinkering again. I know I've done it! I don't doubt that mine will end up with a few changes in time, but going to enjoy it for what it is for a while. Main thing for mine is that it sounds a bit flat but yours probably sounds better with the Akra. Very nice option to have that.
It does sound great. Glad I've got that option on it. Yes I'll try to resist temptation for a while but I love the process of setting out a modifications plan. I like all the research and reading. Sad I know haha. It will get two track days before I have any chance to modify at all so I should know it quite well after that!
Spot on that. Get the brakes sorted and then punt it around to find yours and the cars limits. Work from there. So many think cars mods are the answer when so often it's just driving ability/experience that needs tweaking for trackdays. Let the driving do the talking, leave the fake carbon bonnets etc to the posers.
Haha absolutely! No fake carbon for this car haha. Thanks! I really can't wait to collect it. Got a whole summer of trackdays and long trips planned for it. Super excited!
As said above, get it and just drive it, you wont be disappointed. Once you find your limit, be it car or your own limit then address it if you feel you need to. I have run a standard 275 trophy on quite a few trackdays now and I feel its time to start modding it. I've done fluids and RS29 pads, I also changed the hoses at the same time (no change in pedal feel at all), but decided to do it anyway. The RS29's on track are very very good. I feel mine now is a bit wallowing on track when pushing it so suspension is next at some point, but its a hoot and very capable in standard setup.
Buy mine! If the Bilsteins aren't to your taste I'll take them off and knock money off the asking price lol. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes this is the plan for at least the first few weeks. Do you run the RS29's on the road? And if so how do you find them? Are they a noisy pad? Is a disc upgrade not worth it if doing pads/fluid/lines?
I run the RS29's on the road and they do squeak a little bit, but a couple of spirited braking events sorts them out. Since my tracknight I have not had a peep out of them. I changed my discs from the std ones with the trophy to the grooved ones from the earlier cup cars. My thought is that it may help to clean the pads up a little better when pushing on. Does it work...not sure, but they do look better in the wheel.
I've went the opposite way with mine John, going from grooved to plain haha. I'll see how I get on with them then decide if I'll stick with them
Well a quick update after owning the car for two weeks. It's epic ! I bought, tracked it (cadwell) 3 days later, then tracked it again (Oulton) the following week. I upgraded the pads and fluid after cadwell and the difference was huge at Oulton. I went for PF Z-rated pads. When these are done I will change to two piece discs, some new oem rear discs, braided lines, and RS29's. As for the car on track. Well it's just amazing. I've never driven anything like it. It makes all my previous cars seem slow and dull and unexciting and boring. The handling is just out of this world. I had only done one track day before and that was quite a few months back in my old fiesta st, and here I am playing with the throttle to help rotate the car a little in the corners so I can get a good exit. Haha. Just typing that is bonkers. I never thought I'd be able to even think about those things never mind try and do them. But this car is just made for it. It wants you to push and push and push. But it keeps looking after you and is a million times more capable than my driving skills do it justice. So yeah. I love it! I have developed a little issue though which I'm going to need to do some research on. I had a STOP light and a battery symbol showing in red for a few seconds every now and then out on track, and it's done the same once today on the road. When it clears it says "Start stop Activated" even though it's in Sport Mode. The car runs perfectly but obviously something's a miss.
Thanks. They were both fantastic days. Can't wait for the next which is harewood hill climb later in the summer. No idea if these times are any good but I managed a 1.59 at Cadwell and a 2.12 at Oulton.
What tyres were you running? As a benchmark, that is if times are really important to you on a trackday, then for example on a dry Cadwell with your 275 with decent boots you should be on about 1:48. That is a good flying lap, on the limit in places, with no traffic but not being a complete tit and risking it where you can end up getting your ass bit.
I was on Michelin pilot sport 4 tyres. 1:48. Wow that's impressive. See I told you I was the weak link haha. No the times aren't really important to me but it's interesting to know how much further the car could be pushed and still take it.
Lighten it up a bit, get it up to about 300 bhp, with some decent semi slicks and with a nice clear flying lap you could even get it down to about a 1:44.
Sorry I didn't see you at Oulton Park I was down in Cardiff. Glad it's going well for you. Any plans to go back to Oulton.
No problem. Yes I'll be back soon. No date yet but I'll let you know. Yes lots of plans to improve the car (not that it's anything short of epic already) and I'll see how it goes then...hard to imagine getting anything like those times though. 1:44??!!
1:44 would be lap record territory for FWD at Cadwell, pretty much. It's about what a GTR will do round there.
The criteria that Fastestlaps.com apply. They have the R26 as the current FWD lap record holder at 1:48
A standard R26 then. So a lightened up 300 bhp Ohlins semi slick shod MK3 should crack a 1:44 then. Might even do better.
What's your best time around there then aerofoil? What car did you say you had? A few lads I track with can do 1.41 no problem, you must be faster than that ?
She's a beauty mate. I see you have a camera in the windscreen, any footage? 99% of people will reach they own limit before the cars, spend your money on lessons.
