AERO, AVO TURBO, Blitz, Cosworth, DEVELOPMENT, ECUTEK, FA20, Fensport GT86R, FORCED INDUCTION, GT86, GT86 Body Styling, GT86 Racing, GT86 Tuning, GT86R, Japanese Sprint Series, Toyo Tires, TURBO, TURBOCHARGED - June 24, 2020 by Adrian Smith

Fensport GT86R Race Project, Part 7 - 2018

2018 will be a big year for us, we will be competing in the new Japanese Sprint Series and will have very stiff competition form all sorts of Japanese cars including high power 4wd cars.

We knew we needed more grip and here is the story of how we built the revamped aero version of our GT86R.

Fensport GT86R 2018 spec at Cadwell Park

After struggling to control the car with 633bhp in 2017 we wanted to push for more power so we have completely redesigned the aero and grip of the car.

Front splitter design & build.

The front splitter is essentially 3 parts, the honeycomb inner part gives strength and keeps weight down, whilst Buffalo board (plywood) is used for the upper and lower parts. The idea is the lower part is designed to be a "wear" item and is expected to touch the ground on occasion. It has also been hollowed out to reduce weight.

The wire supports have a breaking strain of 515kg each and are designed to allow a little upward movement but no downward movement. And yes you can stand on it :)

Note below the ducting for Intercooler, radiator, oil cooler and turbocharger to increase efficiency. No air is allowed to enter the front unless it is required for cooling.

The splitter is also adjustable for height & rake by using spacers on the honeycomb mounts and by adjusting tension on the support wires.

Below you can see the carbon fibre wing gurneys which help to keep air away from the wheels and straighten the airflow going down the car to the rear wing. Also the 2nd picture shows the carbon fog lamp blanks to stop any air entering the wheel arches.

Also notice we have gone back to the oem bumper skin, the main reason for this is it is flexible and can absorb some shock loadings from the splitter without cracking. It also offers slightly more cooling via the upper cutouts which feed air direct to the engine radiator, it's always nice to have a seperate air feed if possible!

Next up was to balance all the front aero with a new rear wing design. One of the most important parts of the rear wing is what it is bolted to! With this in mind we wanted substantial mounting points and have used the boot hinge points and also added 2 more mountings in to the rear quarter panels. We also wanted a clean install with low drag and no ugly support wires etc.

Big wing :)

The dual element carbon rear wing is now in place, and although it looks massive on the 2nd pic on its "full wet" maximum attack angle, it is 150mm above the roof height which is the regulation height for the Japanese Sprint Series regulations.

Next up was to increase mechanical grip by using the beautiful BC Racing RT53 forged monoblock alloy 10.5 x 18. The wheels are custom made for this exact application and require no spacers on the front.

The same wheel is used on the rear with a 10mm spacer to provide the correct fitment. This is very useful when racing as you can swap wheels and tyres around.

The wheels of course our favourite tyre for UK sprint regs, the Toyo 888R Tyre - 295/30/18. We run the same size front and rear to keep the car balanced and reduce understeer.

BC Racing RT53 forged alloys with Toyo R888R Tyres

With all the extra grip, we though it best to also installed an Accusump system to deal with any oil pressure problems we could encounter on high G cornering.

After all the aero work we wanted a new look to complete the car. Dan Handley from Handlez Creations designed the new look and grahics and the boys from Universal Graphix did a fantastic job of the wrap :)

And the finished new look ....

GT86R - On track 2018

GT86R - On Track 2

So what was it like to drive?

Our first outing of the year was an amazing success and in Adrian's words ....

"I was nervous in the morning of the first event as I was so used to the old car and now it was all changed, I had no time to do any testing so the first drive was an untimed practise and it felt amazing! The very first timed run was faster than last year's record and I knew we had something special. Throughout the day I got braver and pushed to see what would happen and it just stuck like crazy. We managed to lead all day and take 1st overall against some very stiff 4wd opposition. I was so pleased and want to thank all the team and people who have helped over the winter months :) "

The first drive at Cadwell Park - 1st Overall Japanese Sprint Series

This was simply great news and the team knew we knew we could push for more power, so it was now upgrade the turbo time!

We have modified the existing Avo turbo setup to mount a Garret G25-660 turbo and a Tial 44mm remote wastegate, this kit has been developed in house. Now running 2 bar of boost in 5th and 6th gears the car is crazy fast!