A Look Inside the Mackin Industries/Turn 14 Distribution FR-S Pikes Peak Car
Previously we have covered the Evasive Motorsports Pikes Peak FR-S in MotoIQ as we helped with the suspension set up, the car piloted by Rob Walker did pretty well in its inaugural run up the mountain in the Unlimited Time Attack Class. We had hoped to be involved with that car again this year. Due to time conflicts with Formula D, we have not been able to help at the actual event but we have worked on Evasive's FR-S efforts in testing and during Super Lap Battle.
The Evasive FR-S with its wild aero and wide body had been shipped to Japan for a time attack battle at Tskuba Circuit leaving the team without a car to compete in. Instead, for this years Pikes Peak Effort, Evasive teamed up the Mackin Industries to run their FR-S up the mountain in the Time Attack 1 class. We had previously worked with Evasive and Mackin on setting up this car at Super Lap Battle so it was reasonably dialed in. However, it needed another round of upgrades to tackle Pikes Peak. The work was done on a super low budget in quick order. Turn 14 Distribution was an essential part of the effort donating many parts and helping with the budget.
Lets take a look at what was done to the car prior to the event!
The FA20 has been fortified with JE forged pistons and features a Greddy Turbo system. The engine runs on a MoTeC M800 and has been tuned to run at a maximum of 1.5 bar on Ignite 114 E98 fuel. It produces power in the low 400 range. Previously in Time Attack the stock transmission had been the car's Achilles heel, breaking easily after just a few laps of high boost. To prevent this Evasive modified a Nissan Z33 transmission to fit. Fitted with an OS Giken quick ratio gear set, the transmission was a lot cheaper than a Hewland or Hollnger and is now bulletproof.
One of the modifications done to the car before the event was to make the intercooler and radiator V mounted and to install a huge radiator and oil cooler on the car. The air at Pikes Peak is thin and cooling is very poor. This requires that the cooling system be upgraded considerably. The ethanol fuel really helps keep temperatures under control and we were impressed by the engine's cool running during testing even though it was a 100 degree at at Willow Springs. You can see the GT Spec brace that completely triangulates the front end in this picture as well. 
The V-Mounting allowed for the use of a huge Koyo Radiator and a larger Greddy intercooler. The intercooler exit air is ducted up and over the hood into a low pressure zone created by the car's nose. The intercooler, radiator and air management are the major differences in the car from its street class time attack configuration.
Here is a closer look at the front heat exchangers. Look at the size of the Koyo radiator. It was originally speced for a GT-R. The intercooler uses Greddy's R type core which has a lot of internal turbulators. We feel that Greddy's Tube and Fin R core is perhaps the best commonly available intercooler core on the market.
The low V mount radiator requires a full functioning recirculating swirl pot and surge tank to keep all the air out of the system. Swirl pots are often forgotten details when building a car that make a huge difference in cooling system performance. Note the schrader valve on the swirl pot that allows pre pressurization of the cooling system.
