Barra Turbo Track Suitability

[Polyal]

Ok, I've been around long enough to see some impressive results if you want to drive a barra turbo for around 10 seconds..bang for buck I don't think there is much better.

But what about circuit racing?

Aside from the sound not being great and the falcon being bit over weight I see the b series xr6t as not a bad way to get some power and have generally speaking cheap parts.

I have my eye on one now and was interested to hear from others who have or know anyone that tracks them?

I've been doing some track days with BMW I6s and note their straight line speed but suspect on reliability and the ability to do more than 3 or 4 laps without something get to hot.

Generally speaking I expect to be able to do 10 hard laps minimum.

Im understanding that most cars need a couple of mods to handle track abuse but im not wanting to have to re engineer the entire car.

[Mechan1k]

Kypez ran a B-series but that was an 8 from memory.
There was someone else that ran an FG I6T ... cant remember their username.
Fair bit of work though to make it run well. I'd say cooling is going to be the biggest battle with these though.

Remove as much weight / lightest wheels and get the suspension right as well.
And a stronger manual in it.

[Polyal]

Yes, I didn't notice a thread for that build?

Current spec on car is t56, coil overs and ap brakes.

Plan would be strip as much as possible but have it street legal for a little while with end goal track only.

Also then possible to v8 swap it in the future. Which then begs the question do you go straight to boss 5.4 until it gives up.

Im not after a perfect car but one that can be developed over time and is reasonable to start with.

Im just an amateur doing some track days and wanting to do a couple of hill climbs. Will not be looking to do actual season racing...maybe once the kids are through school!

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Kypez ran a B-series but that was an 8 from memory.
There was someone else that ran an FG I6T ... cant remember their username.
Fair bit of work though to make it run well. I'd say cooling is going to be the biggest battle with these though.

Remove as much weight / lightest wheels and get the suspension right as well.
And a stronger manual in it.

I did run my Sprint 6 for a while. The transmission was the biggest let down being Auto only. I kept blowing turbo hoses though which was garbage. They haven't changed all that much from B series.

The central weight rather than the V is good for circuit but the engines don't like to rev (but you can drive around that). If you have the budget, forged pistons will reduce piston velocity so you can get them rev a bit better.

I'd run a TR6060 box changing 4 th and 5 th though (I'd make 5 th 1:1 like the TR3160. 6060 can take more torque than the 3160). If you're on a budget, the 3650 works fine and are cheap to replace (BA XR8/GT box). Most tracks don't have a long enough straight to use 6 th. I'd change the 3650 to a 0.8 5 th rather than the much taller 0.6x stock ratio (depending on power, speed requirements).

They're lighter than the V8 too (marginally with all the extra plumbing for turbo/intercoolers). I can't see any reason you'd not want to run it especially in Supersprints. Longer races might need a look at hoses and other components for heat related failures.

[Polyal]

Yeah I gathered all cooling lines would need some attention....not sure if the sump will need some upgrades too.

Current option car comes with the t56 which I would have thought would be strong enough.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Yeah I gathered all cooling lines would need some attention....not sure if the sump will need some upgrades too.

Current option car comes with the t56 which I would have thought would be strong enough.

Depends on how much HP you're going to run. T56 is good but two overdrives is kinda useless.

Run 3.73's or 3.9's as well. First will be useless but it should make it drive better as well.

[Walt Kowalski]

I6 is brilliant for drags
Too heavy for circuit

Nelsonian spent years and megabucks on his. Fully developed.

Got to a 1.06 or 7 at WP for one lap from memory

Paul is a good bloke.

PM him.



Now has M2 i think.

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by Walt Kowalski

I6 is brilliant for drags
Too heavy for circuit

Nelsonian spent years and megabucks on his. Fully developed.

Got to a 1.06 or 7 at WP for one lap from memory

Paul is a good bloke.

PM him.



Now has M2 i think.

Nelsonian is the other user I was thinking of ... thank you for that.

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Walt Kowalski

I6 is brilliant for drags
Too heavy for circuit

Nelsonian spent years and megabucks on his. Fully developed.

Got to a 1.06 or 7 at WP for one lap from memory

Paul is a good bloke.

PM him.

Now has M2 i think.

Yeah and I am doing track days with guys in M cars and they push them but ultimately to worried about binning a 100k car.

Im not in the league of buying a 100k track car so talk of m series cars is out of the question. I really want something im not afraid to break.

[kypez]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Yeah and I am doing track days with guys in M cars and they push them but ultimately to worried about binning a 100k car.



Im not in the league of buying a 100k track car so talk of m series cars is out of the question. I really want something im not afraid to break.

If it's just track days, then forget everything else...

Take the car, Change the brake fluid and pads. Carry a few spare turbo hoses. Get a set of staggered wheels and invest in some good semi slicks (the Dunlop's work great with the weight of the car). Go nuts. Maybe a race pan if you can find one.

Keep sessions to 15 minutes (20 minutes max depending on circuit; longer straights lets things cool, tighter tracks hurt the car more) and have fun.

[FERG_51]

Originally Posted by kypez

If it's just track days, then forget everything else...

Take the car, Change the brake fluid and pads. Carry a few spare turbo hoses. Get a set of staggered wheels and invest in some good semi slicks (the Dunlop's work great with the weight of the car). Go nuts. Maybe a race pan if you can find one.

Keep sessions to 15 minutes (20 minutes max depending on circuit; longer straights lets things cool, tighter tracks hurt the car more) and have fun.

Agree, get some big brakes and lighten off the car as much as possible and go out and enjoy.

[kypez]

And a set of Shockworks if budget allows. If you're not going to drive it on the road, ask Brett to use a more aggressive spring for track only setup and get him the corner weights of the car and weight of the wheels to get the perfect spring rates.

[Walt Kowalski]

Originally Posted by kypez

If it's just track days, then forget everything else...

Take the car, Change the brake fluid and pads. Carry a few spare turbo hoses. Get a set of staggered wheels and invest in some good semi slicks (the Dunlop's work great with the weight of the car). Go nuts. Maybe a race pan if you can find one.

Keep sessions to 15 minutes (20 minutes max depending on circuit; longer straights lets things cool, tighter tracks hurt the car more) and have fun.

This is excellent advice

[FG50T]

I would stick with the BMW’s tbh. Something like a manual (or dct) E87 135i with a tune, coilovers and a pad upgrade would be way ahead of money thrown at a Barra. I remember what Nelsonian went through to stay competitive. You can make it work but it’s always easier driving a better balanced car around the track.

[Polyal]

OK so thought I would update the thread, it just so happens a car popped up semi-locally and I investigated, had the basic layout I wanted RWD, I6, manual and this one has a stock LSD too.

Anyway as per sig (IS200) its also got a sneaky turbo setup that needs some refinement but the basics are there.

Yet to take it to the track but bum-o-meter it feels pretty solid without being a total weapon so it will be enough to keep me in trouble.

Ill start a build thread soon although this year some focus will be back on the fairlane.