WillisRR
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posted on 30/3/17 at 09:11 AM |
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Fireblade MK Indy RR // The Devastator
Thought it would be rude not to share my little MK build with you all after this forum has helped me so much over the years ...
Bare with me on the name, it will make sense in a few paragraphs .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0ZWQ_WpuQ8
A few years back I bought an MK Indy RR running a little Zetec motor. Previously driving a Cosworth Powered Westfield with silly power and quite a dog
rough chassis, the car was quick but i wasn't learning a damn thing other than when you spin off at 90mph on a damp Donington you sure feel
alive!
So 160hp and a dream chassis, full inboard suspension, rose joints everywhere (not a rubber bushing in sight), incredibly wide track are just a few
things that make the MK Indy RR nothing short of MIND BLOWING to drive!
My plan was always to drop an F20 s2000 motor in after I had learnt the chassis with less power. I had the manifold and many other parts ready. The
poor zetec had given me nothing but headaches. Type 9 boxes are utter t*ss and eventually when a webber float broke and flooded the engine bay and
surrounding few meters in fuel and nearly set me on fire in the pit lane at Cadwell I had to get rid and start the f20 swap earlier than planned.
That is when everything changed. In April 2014 our whole lives took a massive blow. We lost a very good friend when an unfortunate accident on his CBR
Fireblade while he was out on the Cat & Fiddle (our all time fav road) took him from us. Dev had planned to race at club level the next year but
instead the Bike was left in a sorry state in my workshop and we were faced with an impossible situation to overcome.
Me and Dev at Blyton.
Dev the day we picked the Fireblade up.
It was at this point i knew i needed a focus, something to repel the demons. A reason to get up in the morning and go to work and a vision to aim
towards... The MK needed to become the Devastator.
For months i researched the install and over and over in my head envisioned my first lap of Cadwell park in minuscule detail. The emotions of pulling
out of the pits and hammering the car listening to his bike roar again sure gave me a focus!
It took 18 months to slowly build the car. Research told me that 08/09 blade motors suffered from crank teeth wear and 2011 onwards used fly by wire
throttle so thank you Dev for buying a 2010, the goldilocks of Fireblade motors! An ABP two piece billet sump to give more floor clearance and to stop
any nasty oil surge, reversing the whole throttle body assembly to package neatly in between the cylinder head and gearbox then resulted in using an
ABP fibreglass intake that bonded onto the oem airbox to give one forward facing duct instead of two sideways ones are just a few of the troubles we
overcame.
It was vitally important to keep the oem airbox as it runs dual fuel rails. One housed as usual in the throttle bodies and then a further rail above
the stacks feeding a mist for the higher RPM requirements. Fuelling was taken care of using a low pressure fuel pump feeding a swirl pot with the oem
Fireblade pump in the base. This ensured no nasty fuel surge that many suffer from.
The mech water pump was blanked and an electric water pump added to fully hard piped coolant lines, custom two piece prop and sprocket adapter took
care of transferring power from the motor to the rear differential.
A Woolich racing ECU managed the subtle changes the custom exhaust manifold would bring along with getting the most out of the motor and deleting the
oem exhaust valve, electronics steering damper etc. Along with a full custom loom and map from EFI. The Woolich now including race tools which allows
flat upshifts, launch control and a few other trick options, pub ammo maybe, trick as f@#k? Yes!
A short walk around vid showing the install in more detail...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUwY7VYEQd4
Another gifted item as well as the motor came from a friend Ron when he took me with him to collect his new GSXR 600. We walked in and all i could see
was this Yoshimura MotoGP can sat in a glass display cabinet for a stupid, STUPID price... He had to have it, and i made sure he bought it haha. The
lobster tail, tidy welds and dull finish made me damn drule... A matter of weeks later he fell off and scuffed the damn thing up and the oem can went
back on. So i made a custom bracket, reversed the can and the result visually was wild. Only to be trumped by the noise which you can hear in the
Curborough vid below...
So the Devastator was ready just in time for summer 2016, and what an incredible summer it was! The day i had been dreaming about was here and I
finally got to sample mine and my close friends hard work. Did i find myself overcome with emotion at the shear significance of what I was now
driving? NOT A BLOODY CHANCE! If you think you can drive this thing while even so much as thinking about anything else you are so wrong. What this now
gave me was utter 100% focus. An outlet to switch off from the world and switch on to the most engaging driving tool I could ever want. It is only as
the motor ticks cool and i take my helmet off and step out of the car that i can then smile and truley commemorate my friend.
The year was spent making slight improvements in drivability and temp stability. Below you can find a link to the Blyton, Curborough and Cadwell track
days and some road parties in North Wales, Peak District oh and scaring the crap out of the wife .
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJ06kmO0-r6ndjWT690Cyb0feptFPN_jn
If you got this far thanks for reading and showing interest. This is a car i will keep for life. A few tweaks in time for the summer season including
flat floor and diffuser but really nothing major at all. I just want to drive the thing as much as i can! Full slicks and improved geo settings will
make the days i have planned at Oulton, Curborough, Cadwell and Anglesey and many more over the summer mega fun. I will be sure to keep this thread
updated with all the drama! If you are on instagram search for CT.Willis for much more footage of the car in action along with my other projects
including 350z, MX5 track cars and previous builds.
Thanks, Will
[Edited on 30/3/17 by WillisRR]
[Edited on 30/3/17 by WillisRR]
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Toprivetguns
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posted on 30/3/17 at 11:50 AM |
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Like !
Great write up - The car looks fantastic.
Your mate would be proud.
Only drive as fast as your angel can fly... !
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SJ
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posted on 30/3/17 at 03:33 PM |
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Looks great. I'm interested to get your view on driving the car after the swap to a blade engine from a 160bhp Zetec.
Stu
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nick205
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posted on 30/3/17 at 04:27 PM |
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Good post and a good looking car too.
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FuryRebuild
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posted on 30/3/17 at 04:49 PM |
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wonderful photography as well - really nice use of light.
When all you have is a hammer, everything around you is a nail.
www.furyrebuild.co.uk
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WillisRR
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posted on 31/3/17 at 07:52 AM |
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Thanks guys, I bloody love it and feel so lucky.
Very hard to compare the Zetec set up to the Fireblade but I will give it a go.
One thing I really need to do is get the car fully geod/Corner weighted now the Fireblade is in. Unfortunately I had it booked in for this twice but
work commitments 'surprises' at the last minute both times saw me unable attend. This is something that will be sorted for this year as
the MK has felt much less sweet on the limit and much more rear bias. Still incredibly fun mind!
The bike only being marginally more powerful than the zetec doesn't transfer to a marginal increase in pace... the thing is friken wild now in
comparison. 4 seconds faster round Cadwell without any real effort. It felt brilliant with the Zetec power but now with the Fireblade setup losing us
100kg too, the increase in pace is undeniable. The chassis certainly feels more eager to change direction than before. That coupled with the fact the
bike motor makes good power throughout a larger portion of it's rev range compared to the zetec that was flat as a pancake below 4k and all done
by 7k.
The high final drive really does make the bike pull hard and you really do rip through the gears. Sequential shift being one of the huge advantages
that trumps the agricultural type 9 i had loathed and had many issues with. I am yet to fit the flatshifter and really enjoy throttle matching myself
on downshifts. I like the mechanical sympathy you can have compared to these flatshifters and autoblippers. Maybe if i was racing, but i have much
more lap time to find in my own ability over searching for tenths with the car, basically the car is far better equipped than myself haha. It's
very well suited to tracks with a lower terminal speed, i do wish it had a slightly higher terminal (118mph). Only because Anglesey is pretty much out
of the question and i love it there. But take it to Cadwell and it just feels so well suited!!
I have a lower final drive to put in but haven't bit the bullet yet as i love the super revy characteristics and it gives me a lesser
disadvantage when up against these more powerful Busa powered machines . Every time i think of lowering the final drive by a further .3 i just think
about how much I am dulling things down. As i get faster, with the slicks this year i may find it is totally required.
So it sounds all pros but I can think of a few cons... The Zetec motor was like a Gran Tourer compared with the Fireblade. The Zetec was quiet and
refined in comparison. The Bike set up makes some crazy noises, clunks and vibrates the hell out of you (fixed cradle over rubber engine mounts and
the sequential being the main culprits). It certainly feels very niche now. It does one thing incredibly, whereas before the Zetec was much more
inviting for Sunday drives and 'normal' road use. My wife won't even consider getting in it now the Fireblade is in charge. That
said it was always just a track toy. I have gone out and bought a 350z to scratch the GT/Nurburgring itch and they compliment each other very well.
Sorry for rambling on haha!
[Edited on 31/3/17 by WillisRR]
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SJ
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posted on 31/3/17 at 08:12 AM |
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Thanks - I'm tempted by a bike engine and your description kind of backs up what I thought. I'm surprised the Zetec was flat below 4k
though as mine pulls well from less than this. It is on Mikuni carbs though so maybe that's the difference.
Cheers
Stu
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WillisRR
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posted on 31/3/17 at 08:21 AM |
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Yeah SJ, I really wouldn't take my Zetec setup as an 'ideal' or normal senario. I don't think it ever made the power quoted
and it never ran right. I think the carb issues caused the sluggishness for so long.
I was planning an F20C install at the time. This is perhaps the way i would go still if things hadn't gone the way they did. Not saying i
don't adore the Fireblade and F20C setups are getting mega expensive. But is an extra 60(ish)hp worth the extra weight penalty the car engine
would bring? I'm unsure. On long circuits yes, but then on the tighter short circuits like Cadwell my weight advantage would shine through in
every braking zone and every corner. Horses for courses i guess. Luckily my friend is building an F20C SR2 so I will just have to steal that for
Silverstone, Spa and Donington .
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