Is the S14 the right car to compete in Time Attack races? I don’t know. I am pretty sure that it is a great base for a Drifting car, but… You know, FR layout, turbocharged engine, long and empty boot… this is not exactly the recipe you have in mind when you think to a fast, effective track car… It is a great recipe for a car that is insanely fun to drive, I’m sure about that, having owned one back in the days… but, fast?
My friend Ben Comana instead, is sure that the S14 can be really fast, even more than fun. And he is so sure that he took his UK registered, right hand drive Silvia, and brought it to Italy to compete in the Italian Time Attack Championship (Time Attack Italia). And he scored a great second place in his category at the end of the season, proving that I was wrong! Well, one for you Ben.
We had the occasion to take some shots at “The Great Danton” (this is her name) in the last race of the Time Attack Italia, in Monza, and we had time to chat a little about the car, the past season, and about Ben’s projects for the 2016 season.
So, let’s start with the name. Why the hell is she called The Great Danton??? Did you see the movie “The Prestige”? Well, The Great Danton was the stage name of the character interpreted by Hugh Jackman. This is one of Ben’s favorite movies, and the name just fitted greatly to somebody (the car) who can do magic (believe me guys, she is really fast!) but is never satisfied and always works hard to become better than the rivals.
So to be so fast (remember, second in RWD Club Class in final standings), The Great Danton has been equipped with fully improved suspensions, with a set of HSD Dualtech Coilovers, a front strut brace, Whiteline sway bars, Driftwork camber, thrust and toe arms and poly subframe bushes, in addition to Apex steering rack bushes. For the wheels we have 2 Rota Force 18″x9.5″ ET27 at the front axle, with 15mm spacers, and 2 RAYS GramLights 57C 18″x8.5″ ET30 with 10mm spacers at the rear. For the tires, Ben’s choice is Toyo R888 GG 245/40 all around. The coilovers are adjustable, along with the arms, so the car can be adapted to every different type of track.
Somebody said “...add lightness and you will be faster, so use the Force, Luke!” or something like that, but the important thing is that you remove something from that heavy ass of your car, so The Great Danton (ok, from now I’ll call her just TGD. It sounds good ,no?) lost all the boot carpeting, the spare tire, and the rear seats, and got some nice looking fiberglass front fenders. For the “RWD Club” category, in which TGD races, this is the maximum that can be done, because the car must remain street legal.
One of the most effective addictions to the car, has been a couple of golden Brembo 4 pot front calipers, from a 350Z, along with Tarox F2000 discs, braided hoses and Ferodo DS2500 pads, surely a great improvement over the stock calipers.
So, how an S14 like this handles and what are her strong and weak points? Let’s hear what Ben have to say about it: “The car is quite balanced with a slight tendency to understeer making it very easy to drive. You can comfortably push it to the limit without being surprised by its reactions. Biggest improvement over stock are the brakes, with the 350z Brembo setup you push the large 245s to the limit while experiencing minimal fade. Despite being very hard on the street (because yes, she is still used on street… ) it’s still too soft for hard track driving. The body roll is too high and the tires do rub in various places. The benefit is being able to attack curbs well.”
And there’s space for some more important improvements: “The standard viscous LSD is not suited to hard driving as it does not provide enough locking. Coming out of slow corners can be a challenge and a place where most time is lost again competitors. This has made small tracks like Adria a challenge. A proper LSD is needed.”
In fact Ben told us that despite being able to keep up with his main rivals, the Hondas S2000, in many parts of the track, they were faster in corner exits, counting on a more effective LSD and a smoother power output.
During the season, there has been space for some little aerodynamic upgrade, in the form of 2 carbon fiber canards bolt on the front bumper, although the benefit on the lap time and on the driving feeling is hard to tell. Anyway the aero will receive some special attention for the future.
As I said, TGD is never satisfied, and Ben is already working for the next season:
“Despite the problems, it has a lot of potential and it’s a great fun car to drive. Looking forward to more power and less weight!”
In fact I left the engine compartment at last, because the SR20 (“would pull a premium one week before Time Attack Italia…”) under TGD’s bonnet is the part of the car that received less modifications… for now.
It features a 3.5” catback system, a Japspeed downpipe, a FMIC, an Apexi Power Filter, a Walbro 255 lph fuel pump, a Driftworks Supercool Radiator and the boost pressure is set to 1.0 bar thanks to a Gizzmo MS-IBC V3 Boost Controller.
Ben promised that she will come back with more power, and telling from the result scored in this first season, with minimum engine modifications and with the stock LSD, I am pretty sure that The Great Danton, along with the great driving skills by the owner, will be a contender for the first place in the 2016 season of Time Attack Italia.
Remember to check out Ben's blog: Balang Project
WATCH THE FULL GALLERY HERE