I seem to remember Steve getting his late spec ST205 Uk Spec weighed and being shocked how much heavier than published it was.

_________________
JP
GT4DC Treasurer

Grey St185 RC
Silver BMW E46 M3
Multicolour yawn Honda VFR400
Silver Honda Civic Type-R

st 165 shell non sunroff type, ABS , aircon/cruse control deleted with heigo full body cell rollcage using a 185 suspension/tuning stuff with all of st205 engine running gear + tuning stuff,
IMHO....




(i dont mind 185 or 205 ) but 165 ist somehow raw-er and nice to look on the track

My UK ST205 with ABS, sunroof, a small sub and 3/4 of a tank was closer to 1540 than 1440 with the GT4 trait of an unpleasant weight distribution

TBH in a genuine track car scenario I don't see very much difference between 205 or 185. They'll both need money thrown at them, the only real difference is where - 185 needs lightweight bodypanels and a definite brake upgrade, 205 needs a superstrut conversion and maybe a brake conversion depending on how light you get it
After that there's not much in it - I personally thing the 205 front and is better suited for the job as there's more potential to get air in than even the CS front end offers - removal of light units gives instant air streams for coolers and airboxes

Personally I think your head is probably right on this

Any model of GT4 is going to need lots of custom kit for real racing. Yes there's a better range of kit for 1x5 suspension when compared to 205 but none of it is really race spec. If you want genuine race spec kit then it's still going to be custom whatever 4 it's for. Contrast this to Scooby/Evil for which there is kit from the likes of Ohlins, Reiger, AVO etc etc up to and including genuine 4 way inverted leg remote resevoir kit for similar prices to what you'd pay for a 205 Tein setup these days. Start talking to these people about one offs for a GT4 and the numbers aren't going to be pleasant
Another requirement for racing - fuel cells. They're readily available for subishi but it'll be bespoke custom work for a GT4
Same for real FIA spec cages (not the round the dash jobs)
Same for proper brake upgrades
etc etc

Then there's things that simply aren't available on the GT4 - variable center diffs, genuine sequential boxes.

Ultimately if you throw enough fabrication/money at the 4 you will end up with a very quick chassis that in reality is no different to an imprevo that will also have had plenty of cash ploughed in but it's going to be fundamentally limited by lack of major mechanical upgrades to the drivetrain.
I don't know if this will be a major issue or not. AFAIK Don is the first person to really try this and until it's been finished/used in anger the fundamental limits of the drivetrain are unknown. If it does prove to be a limitation then short of a very painful trip to Sadev, Quaife, XTRAC or, god forbid, Weavers anal rearranging shop etc etc you're at the end of the road

In reality, as in all things motorsport it comes down to what series you're racing in and what your budget is. For clubman type stuff you could probably pick up a 205/185 for peanuts and spend a few quid to make it into a race car. I'd guess this would probably work out the same or possibly slightly cheaper than an RA/RS base car due to the lower prices on GTFour base cars

with regards to diffs i cant remember the name of the comany, it might be xtrac but i cant say for certain, i know they were wanting to make a custom diff for my friends skyline at a fair price for the trade off of sponsoring vinyl on the car though which i thought a fair deal, maybe worth asking round about what prices people might be willing to do with the deal of sponsorship on the veichle