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The K24 has been thoroughly gone over and built. In many respects the bottom end build is not too different from the build discussed in the 2014 write up: Attacking Time. CP Pistons and Carrillo Rods make up the bottom end. Over the winter the bearings in the bottom end were replaced, but everything else was left untouched. In mid summer, when there was time between races and the intensity of the racing was increasing, a completely reworked head was obtained from 4 Piston Racing. This Pro TSX port provides for much better flow. James shipped a spare head to them to work on so that the car had minimal downtime. When the reworked head came back to R-Division, the bottom end was also refreshed so that the entire engine was ready for the CSCS finale but also trips to GridLife and GTA SuperLap Battle. The refresh included new bearings, piston rings and having the cylinders rehoned. R-Division was working diligently to ensure there were not going to be any engine surprises as they entered the home stretch.
One of the mechanical changes that James' appreciates the most is the addition of an MR2 electric streering pump. Eric fabricated all of the necessary components required to fit this unit into the Type R. James notes that this is such an improvement over the manual steering from a driving perspective. The car had been manual steering since 2011 but was becoming too much work at the high cornering forces generated with the car's increased speed, grip and downforce.
May 2016 and the car looked great and the aero/suspension combination was working well.
Buttonwillow 2016 and, when you compare the car to the above May 2016 photo, you can see some significant differences in the aero package. James started talks with Professional Awesome in the early spring and their ideas were implemented throughout the season. The effectiveness of their input is evident in the results of the K-Tuned Type R! You'll note that in 2013 and 2015 Jimmy went full off-road at Buttonwillow. In 2016 he did check out the sand to see if more speed was available there, but found the pavement faster. (Actually, James had pulled off the track to avoid slowing any competitors on a hot lap. After some transmission repairs, a sensor had disengaged and the car was not running properly.)
