hey all

 

i bought another car and was considering selling my Ke30

but now i'm not sure i could bring myself to do it and was thinking maybe a minor race conversion for the occasional track day (or mountain road)

 

i was thinking 7K-ET to start off with in the power department.

then brakes and suspension upgrades of course.

 

 

any thoughts?

Go the other way around - Do brakes and suspension first (with stock engine) and then do your engine conversion once all thats done. :wink:

well first off work out what sort of racing you want to do, as if you want to join a particular class they might have restrictions on what you can change.

 

other than that go for your life, but i would be inclined in keeping it as simple as possible (5k, cam, compression, webber, perhaps)...a simple car is a reliable car, you don't want it to be always broken...then you can't go racing!

 

oh and yeah agreed wiht mr tax, brakes/suspension > POWA

Edited October 3, 201016 yr by ke70dave

well i was thinkin brakes and suspension first after i posted.

 

coilovers in the rear would be nice :hmm:

don't be hating on the leaf springs :P

 

Can be made to work very well by people who know the tricks...

Can be made to work very well by people who know the tricks

 

Yep.. slap a couple of control arms onto the springs or add a reversed leaf or any of the tricks to hold it in place.

i know theres plenty of people who do just fine with leafs, but i'm a person who swings more towards the "amatuer" side of things and coilovers would be more manageable.

on the other hand, keeping the leafs would be much cheaper.

 

i'e seen various kits here and there so just need to figure out what i want.

not to sure what sort of races i want to be doing at this point, will probably just be hitting some tracks with some friends to start with.

 

i have a 5K in the car already, just need to get some parts i suppose.

i like the idea of a 7K more torque and power but bolts straight in.

 

would an EFI setup work allright on the 5K or should i stick with carbys?

 

without to many power upgrades i think a standard gear box would be ok, but i would like a better diff option.

i was thinking maybe cut down a hilux diff. lsd would be nice. plus its good for thos "i wanna go do something stupid" moments.

 

i have a pretty good idea about what i want with brakes, so i'll leave that for now.

 

i've never enjoyed the fact that the fuel tank sits behind the seats either so i was also thinking fuel cell in the boot

or maybe drop tank because i like the look.

 

the more i write, the more i realise i need to consider more things.

any help with this is appreciated though.

Rear coilover - The thing everybody is thinking but not saying is mounting. Currently your diff spread its load accross the leaf packs (maybe 80 odd %) and the shocks. If you converted to coilovers you would have to keep at least 1x leaf there (unless you completely redisign the under side of the car with trailing arms, panhard rods etc etc) to keep things in place, and then mount the coilover springs around the rear shocks..... and what did you just do - pretty much swap the loading percentages from leafs to shocks/coilovers. Question - do you think the shock mounts on both the diff and in the bottom of the body were designed to bare maybe 80% of the rear weight!?

 

Also - yes a 7K will have more torque over 5k, but the 5k will kick its arse rev wise any day of the week because of its shorter stroke.Really depends were you want your torque AND POWER curves.

yeah, getting way ahead of myself on thatone.

i think that was more of a "if i had a ton of money and wanted a whole new chassis design"

 

i need to fix it either way, the guy who owned the car before me put in 1 inch lowering blocks and cut an inch out of the front springs.

it is not very nice to drive down slightly bumpy roads to say the least.

 

so now i'm thinking new coilovers at the front, and a new leaf setup behind. (simplest choice is usually the best)

 

maybe time to start researching :yes:

your prolly going to want to put a panhard rod in the car anyway, tighten the rear end up.

 

there is a guy on here, thread is called "budget racecar" or something, hes just done a sweet panhard rod setup in his ke20 i think it is.

 

maybe check out his thread ke20/ke30 pretty simliar suspension wise.

thanks, i'll look that up

Leaf spring wise, go for a new pair with an extra leaf and half rebound leaf.

 

Myself and Greenmac80 run this combination with reversed eyes and a 20mm overall drop.

 

Whilst i havent had a chance to run mine yet, They perform outstandingly when coupled with new shock and a well setup front end.

 

Whilst not Cheap Cheap at around $600, probably end up cheaper than what you would spend converting the rear to coilovers.

20mm lower wouldn't improve the centre of gravity and body roll by much

For us, it keeps it legal....

 

Considering its a 35mm drop over standard height for my wagon, its got to be an improvement.

 

You would also be suprised how little body there actually is. Brand new leaves with an extra leaf keep things pretty level. All it took with Luc's car was a rear swaybar to pretty much eliminate bodyroll.

Don't go thinking a 7k will bolt straight in, it will only end in tears!

 

You need to modify the sump, engine mounts and decide efi or carbs, the STD k box's all bolt up but you won't have them in one piece for long :D

 

Talk to some local racers in your area, most are willing to help and will know what works with leaf rears and the like. They can be made to handle very well for minimal coin, especially in such a little car.

 

A really good set of shocks and sway bars should be on your list, they will help no end. Don't forget Tyres too!

Make it go round corners and stop and you will have a ball, then get into the grunt side of things.

 

JP