RKM Motorsport - Tuned Tuners - May '13

yellomello

Roj on your R34 tune I would like to bump the hp up to 525 will it stay the same?

you missed out on my poor reveiws 2 pages back

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Probably not. More power tends to make R34's understeer more. That said, you're welcome to try as long as you have a way of reducing power if it goes wrong after. 👍

My apologies if I've missed your review. This thread is pretty busy so it's easy to miss posts sometimes. I'll go back and look for it.

Onboy123

quick question, how big should the difference in laptimes between the Integra Type R and the Crimson R be?

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Very, very, very big. The Crimson R is down by 70bhp, lacks downforce and has a lot less grip. The two are hardly in the same league. If they were, I'd be in trouble.

Thanks for your opion mine has 474 or something using every thing you bought

lol you missed my review again

btw, how's the yellowbird coming along? Or will it not be done for a while?

Also, I seemed to have found a car that can beat your NSX, that premium RX7 touring car. It seems to be worth a shot at tuning, don't you think?

yellomello

I tested your R34 and IX tunes Roj What can I say

what can I say The R34 is stable as aound the ring and it was fast great job


the IX is crazy so much grip it is very fast


I will take them around TGTT

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Was it this post? I cant find any other posts from you if it isnt. Anyway yeah, the R34's stability is unmatched by anything I've tuned so far and the EvoIX grips almost too much. It's very different from the IV, which slides a lot more.

yellomello

Thanks for your opion mine has 474 or something using every thing you bought

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Probably needs some breaking in before it hits the same power as mine.

Onboy123

lol you missed my review again

btw, how's the yellowbird coming along? Or will it not be done for a while?

Also, I seemed to have found a car that can beat your NSX, that premium RX7 touring car. It seems to be worth a shot at tuning, don't you think?

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If you're refering to the Camaro review you did, it's up to RJ to reply to that. He replies to his cars and I reply to mine. It just works better that way, since I'm not as familiar with RJ's cars and vice versa.

I'll be starting it this week. I've been dealing with requests every day but I'm afraid I cant do more than 1 per day because of the gift limits.

That's a touring car though. That's cheating, isn't it? Unless you mean the blue RE Amemiya road car? I do want to tune it. Perhaps now is a good time to since our Mazda fans dont have RJ around for a while.

Well, at least that's a measure of how good the NSX is, that a touring car is needed to beat it.
Anyway, I look forward to seeing both my Yellowbird done and the RE RX7 tune, and since I finally got the money for the YH supra, the Supra comparison review will come tomorrow.

No new tune today, but the S15 Silvia Spec V has recieved some revisions to help stability during high speed braking.

Will give it a try tomorrow then 👍 I was looking forward to a tune for the Castrol TOM's Supra as well, so expect a review of that one soon, too

I'm going to do a 3 way reveiwwith LFA the IX and the R34

VTiRoj

Unless you mean the blue RE Amemiya road car? I do want to tune it. Perhaps now is a good time to since our Mazda fans dont have RJ around for a while.

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+1 I am a rotary fan myself and just bought one of these for a photomode comp. I would love to see this car with an "infinite grip" tune.

I do have all those reviews coming up in case you've been waiting to see them. My grandmother passed this last week and everything took a backseat. Running laps and testing tunes was a welcome distraction though. Good to do something repetitious to keep my mind off it, so thanks for having such good tunes for that purpose. 👍

Yellow hat Supra review:
Before:
Well, this car feels special to drive. It feels unlike any other car. It feels sort of mechanical, heavy but with lightning responses. And I swear, every time I even touch the throttle, it will give me 2 or 3 times more power than I want. It feels nervous, edgy yet docile and compliant all at the same time. This is a great car. And with a laptime of 1:06.447, it's quick as well. The only slight issue, and it is only slight, is that the car understeers a bit. For it to really set the fastest lap, the back end needs to slide around a bit more.
After:
Well, there hasn't been any major change. Good. The steering is still razor sharp but forgiving, as is the way the car corners. With the downforce increased, the car is even more planted, but can still slide if you need it to. But really, don't push it into slides, because that's not what this car is about. What this car is about is to be forgiving enough to accommodate bad drivers but fun and fast enough to meet the better driver's needs. It does a lap of 1:05.491. So not as quick as it's dad, the Castrol Supra, but can easily outrun just about everything else.

Laptimes (tested on TGTT)
1:06.447(before)
1:05.491(after)

(The comparison will come later)

Castrol Tom's Supra vs Yellow Hat Supra:

Tom's Supra:
Laptime: 1:03.928
571hp
1150kg

I remember saying that this car was easy to drive in my first review, and that still holds true now. And it's made even easier now that I've bought the chassis reinforcements for it (I was so broke when I did my first review for it, I couldn't afford it). My first lap in this car was over in 1:04.681 seconds. The next lap was even faster, and resulted in a 1:03.928, the fastest car to ever lap this track in my hands.

Yellow Hat Supra:
Laptimes: 1:05.234
517hp
1090kg

Can I say, this car could have gone even faster, but two things held it back. 1) Me, I haven't had a lot of sleep lately, so my reaction times aren't at their best 2) My mum came back early and forced me to turn it off, thus prematurely ending this car's laptime session. Still it was quite easy for me to do the 2 laps I did manage, even with heavy eyelids. This feels more stable than other JGTC cars. It will be back, and next time, I have a feeling it can match, if not beat, the tom's record.

Verdict:
Well, it really is hard to say which I prefer or which is faster, because as I said, the Yellowhat's session was cut short and both cars were driven when I really haven't been on form. But there are 2 things that I can draw from this. 1) although both car's are based on the supra, they are very different. The Castrol feels delicate, but stable and forgiving. The Yellowhat feels more mechanical, heavier, more robust but still be agile and sharp. 2) The Castrol is the easiest car to drive, and doesn't take much effort to make it dance. The Yellowhat is not as easy, but it makes up for that by being more adaptable. It can easily put out over 640hp while retaining its easy to drive nature. I'm sure the Yellowhat can and will be faster, but at the moment, the lap record is with the Castrol, so that will be my winner.

Onboy123

Yellow hat Supra review:
Before:
Well, this car feels special to drive. It feels unlike any other car. It feels sort of mechanical, heavy but with lightning responses. And I swear, every time I even touch the throttle, it will give me 2 or 3 times more power than I want. It feels nervous, edgy yet docile and compliant all at the same time. This is a great car. And with a laptime of 1:06.447, it's quick as well. The only slight issue, and it is only slight, is that the car understeers a bit. For it to really set the fastest lap, the back end needs to slide around a bit more.
After:
Well, there hasn't been any major change. Good. The steering is still razor sharp but forgiving, as is the way the car corners. With the downforce increased, the car is even more planted, but can still slide if you need it to. But really, don't push it into slides, because that's not what this car is about. What this car is about is to be forgiving enough to accommodate bad drivers but fun and fast enough to meet the better driver's needs. It does a lap of 1:05.491. So not as quick as it's dad, the Castrol Supra, but can easily outrun just about everything else.

Laptimes (tested on TGTT)
1:06.447(before)
1:05.491(after)

(The comparison will come later)

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Yeah, when it's difficult to improve upon already good performance, the aim then is to make that performance accessable to everyone. 👍

Onboy123

Castrol Tom's Supra vs Yellow Hat Supra:

Tom's Supra:
Laptime: 1:03.928
571hp
1150kg

I remember saying that this car was easy to drive in my first review, and that still holds true now. And it's made even easier now that I've bought the chassis reinforcements for it (I was so broke when I did my first review for it, I couldn't afford it). My first lap in this car was over in 1:04.681 seconds. The next lap was even faster, and resulted in a 1:03.928, the fastest car to ever lap this track in my hands.

Yellow Hat Supra:
Laptimes: 1:05.234
517hp
1090kg

Can I say, this car could have gone even faster, but two things held it back. 1) Me, I haven't had a lot of sleep lately, so my reaction times aren't at their best 2) My mum came back early and forced me to turn it off, thus prematurely ending this car's laptime session. Still it was quite easy for me to do the 2 laps I did manage, even with heavy eyelids. This feels more stable than other JGTC cars. It will be back, and next time, I have a feeling it can match, if not beat, the tom's record.

Verdict:
Well, it really is hard to say which I prefer or which is faster, because as I said, the Yellowhat's session was cut short and both cars were driven when I really haven't been on form. But there are 2 things that I can draw from this. 1) although both car's are based on the supra, they are very different. The Castrol feels delicate, but stable and forgiving. The Yellowhat feels more mechanical, heavier, more robust but still be agile and sharp. 2) The Castrol is the easiest car to drive, and doesn't take much effort to make it dance. The Yellowhat is not as easy, but it makes up for that by being more adaptable. It can easily put out over 640hp while retaining its easy to drive nature. I'm sure the Yellowhat can and will be faster, but at the moment, the lap record is with the Castrol, so that will be my winner.

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Just goes to show that even if theyr'e both Supra's, changes in regulation turns them both into totally different cars. Add some tuning and the differences stack up some more. Thanks for the Supra shootout! Just wish there was a premium JZA80 road car too. I like the Castrol more myself, it's got more character I think.

Same here, I like the Castrol more as well, better looking somehow. Anyway, which of the RE RX7's are you tuning? The road car or the racer or both?

Tried the S15 with the revised settings. Not to be negative but I feel it is now more difficult to extract the performance out of the car, in spite of it being pretty much equally fast overall. At GVS at least I still find the braking for hte first corner a bit on the wobbly side but the settings have turned the rear much more loose everywhere else. This makes the transition into the 3rd downhill straight (the one ending in a tight U turn) much more difficult, since using the kerbs on the corner there gets the rear out and the car into a 4 wheel drift, not allowing you to accelerate to maximum effect.

The section between the first sector time and the first tunnel also requires much more care now and is harder to nail but again - when you do, the times are comparable to the other setting.

Generally I feel the car does not like kerbs (and probably bumps as well), skipping over them and often losing some composure while doing so - perhaps giving it more suspension travel could help (but then again I know nothing about tuning)

Of the two, I have a preference for the previous setting but perhaps it only makes a difference on GVS (no time yet to have tried it elsewhere)

Onboy123

Same here, I like the Castrol more as well, better looking somehow. Anyway, which of the RE RX7's are you tuning? The road car or the racer or both?

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I'll be tuning the road car, but I cant say when I will be tuning it.

kingmoshoeshoe2

Tried the S15 with the revised settings. Not to be negative but I feel it is now more difficult to extract the performance out of the car, in spite of it being pretty much equally fast overall. At GVS at least I still find the braking for hte first corner a bit on the wobbly side but the settings have turned the rear much more loose everywhere else. This makes the transition into the 3rd downhill straight (the one ending in a tight U turn) much more difficult, since using the kerbs on the corner there gets the rear out and the car into a 4 wheel drift, not allowing you to accelerate to maximum effect.

The section between the first sector time and the first tunnel also requires much more care now and is harder to nail but again - when you do, the times are comparable to the other setting.

Generally I feel the car does not like kerbs (and probably bumps as well), skipping over them and often losing some composure while doing so - perhaps giving it more suspension travel could help (but then again I know nothing about tuning)

Of the two, I have a preference for the previous setting but perhaps it only makes a difference on GVS (no time yet to have tried it elsewhere)

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I see. Thanks for the comments. I think the best thing at this point is for me to completely redo the S15 instead of adjusting little bits here and there. 👍

As promised, I also tried the Castrol TOM's Supra. I took it to the lvl 22 Japanese GT race at Suzuka and managed to bag a session with no rain (the overcast version). I have to admit that my experience with JGTC machinery was limited by that point, with most of the races requiring one being passed in the blue glorified Renault (not sure whether your dislike applies to the race versions, too ). It sufficed out of the box, so I never tried fiddling with the others or trying them out in the first place (apart from the old 93 GT-R).

I did not try the Supra with the parts only and stock setup so a before and after will be absent this time. I have to say I really do not care that much for before though, given how after turned out.

In short I really don't know why I have turned a blind eye to the machinery for so long - driving it is simply sublime. On race softs the SUpra has more grip than the engine can worry, so you have a choice of lines in most situations - it is hardly possible to go fast enough to overpower the tyres. Sure, you still need to drive, it is not a pedal to the metal experience all the way but it is really intuitive, forgiving and really, really fast.

Turn in is sharp and accelerating out of corners is a stress free affair. There are only two corners at Suzuka, where you could potentially lose traction for an instant, namely the Hairpin curve and the Casio Triangle. Even there it is really only a fraction and if you somehow manage to provoke a slide it is caught as easily as in the S13 Silvia

As for times, I am no Suzuka expert but managed 1.55 laps. It is so stupendously faster than the others that I would probably have lapped some cars in a 10 lap race, had I not had a brace of offs Could easily take 10 seconds off the second placed car per lap and that was without me nailing the 130R (I seem to somehow always braked too much).

Overall a splendid car - now I know what I will be driving in the 1000km of Suzuka, if I ever get the time to compete in it

Just for comparison, I did the same race in the '08 Race Renault. This time also dry but sunny (not sure how the temperature affects power in GT5 but anyway). The car had some more power and was easy to drive, too, if not quite as well sorted as the Supra. As with the Supra I was first by Second Corner and could leave the field behind easily. However I never once broke into 1.55 times in spite of nailing the 130R much better with this car - a high 1.56 was the best I managed over the 10 laps of the race. And this with a car a whole generation younger, which only means 👍 to your effort!

kingmoshoeshoe2

As promised, I also tried the Castrol TOM's Supra.

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Yeah, not a fan of anything based on the R35 myself. But to the point, thanks for the review! It's hard to believe sometimes that the Castrol Supra is 14 years old now. But yeah, it's fast and easy to drive, I dont think I could ask more from it without sounding like a small child. IT NEEDS ROCKET GUNS!!! I'm no pro racing driver either, so the fact we can drive it well proves just how easy to drive it is!

Guess it's hatchback day at RKM.

Leo from Mad Finn tuned up my Pug for me, and I should get it today. Smells like a shootout may be in the works...

About halfway done with my nine car hatchback shootout, and we get two new competitors. Sweet

racer39658

About halfway done with my nine car hatchback shootout, and we get two new competitors. Sweet

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Which 9 hatchbacks are in the shootout?

I am a car enthusiast since I was a small child and in my opinion a car or make holds aways a bit of the the nation it came from. The Italians give us emotion and passion, we get style and elegance from France and technical innovation and precision from Germany. If I think of American cars I think of muscle cars. They are loud, powerful, pride and yet simple and sometimes, they are even a bit bonkers. Their engine sounds will make you shiver in joy and the old designs are breathtaking beautiful. Their power demands respect, never put your foot too hard down or you will leave a mile long trail of burned rubber or just go round in circles. By all their greatness they also come with great flaws. The complete inability to bring their power to the street. Soft and mushy suspensions, poor 3-speed automatic transmissions, bad weight distribution all that prevents those beautiful cars from making full use of their potential. Now a complete new generation of muscle cars has arrived, but this time we have someone who makes the connection between the beast and the road, RKM Motorsport



The first impression.
It was on a tuner show that I heard the first time of RKM. I walked through rows and rows of Japanese tuner cars. After a while I arrived a set up of a Ford Mustang GT. I looked a while at it and remembered the bad experiences I had with that car some years before. I turned around and suddenly I saw that beautiful Camaro SC550 standing on a turntable at the RKM booth. I never saw that new Camaro before and I first thought it was a Dodge Challenger. I gazed at it for some time and walked around the car. I looked at the bodywork, checked for gaps between the Car and the bodykit, but everything was ok and well crafted. The Paint scheme was great and with its power it would even be competitive for races. My big question was, how would it handle? I took some information from the Booth and traveled back home.

The test drive and the deal.
After some phone calls I arranged a meeting and visited the RKM Tuning Shop. I've met Kyle and Rojer M. they where very kind and gave me a small tour trough their garage. I was impressed by the quality of their work. It was time to make a deal. But I was still not sure. I asked "Well, it looks good, but what else will I get for my money?" Kyle took a key from the wall behind the counter and smiled. "Wanna try?". They took me to the backyard, were we found an almost finished SC550. "The interior needs still a bit of work, but it will drive great!" Kyle said. I was taking the driver seat and we drove to a small test track owned by RKM. On the track I finally dared to push the pedal down and boy was I impressed, the acceleration was impressive and so was the grip. I could not believe how well it handled, it was so precise and unlike any other muscle car I've driven before. After some laps I stopped and said "Thats it, I need one of these!" and Kyle responded "well, then we have a deal." and right he was.

My own Camaro SC550
I bought a Camaro SS in a friends car dealership and brought it to RKM for the total conversion. I was impressed how fast the conversion was done, considering how small the RKM team actually is.
As the car arrived, I decided the best track to test this car would be, of course, the great Laguna Seca raceway.

Track day at Laguna Seca
The Sky was clear it was sunny and pretty hot, nice day for some driving. The track was well visited, a lot of other muscle cars where also there. Time for them to meet the new kid on the block.

Acceleration
The acceleration is astonishing, I expected wheel spin but I got a kick in the back. The car just starts, I reached 70 mph before the other cars even had grip and started moving. The transmission is well set up, lots of torque trough all revs.

Handling
The car is on its equilibrium between power and handling, it has a lot of grip and feels very precise. It drives stable but never boring. It slightly tends to understeer which is a good thing. But do not get too cocky, it can also bite you really fast, if you slam the accelerator down or brake too hard into corners. Driving trough the corkscrew in this beast is just a awesome feeling.

Power
The tuning of the car concentrates mostly on the handling. The SC550 is not the the peak of what is possible withe the Camaro's engine. So you will probably meet tuned Camaros with more horses under the bonnet. But power isn't everything.

Appearance
I think the Camaro SC550 is the most interesting of the new generation muscle cars. I have chosen a white one with black stripes. Nothing on this car is subtle, it almost screams "I will eat you!" and the bodykit makes it even more evil looking.

Score
Acceleration - 9/10
Handling - 10/10
Power - 8/10
Appearance - 10/10

Final verdict
RKM Motorsport managed to take everything thats right with American engineering, the powerful noisy engine, the great body design and the soul and finally connect it to the street. They created something I thought would never happen, a great handling muscle car.

http://img560.imageshack.us/i/xx8kssefys0o8srjea0.jpg

Schadenfreude13

Which 9 hatchbacks are in the shootout?

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Here's the list for my RKM hatchback shootout:

Civic VTi-R
Civic Type R
Roj's Golf
Kusabi Evil C
R32 Golf-R
C4 VTS
147 RS
March Super Turbo
Swiftly Done (both 2005 and 2007 models, as they are a little different)
Yari Yari

racer39658

Here's the list for my RKM hatchback shootout:

Civic VTi-R
Civic Type R
Roj's Golf
Kusabi Evil C
R32 Golf-R
C4 VTS
147 RS
March Super Turbo
Swiftly Done (both 2005 and 2007 models, as they are a little different)
Yari Yari

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I'm thinking of doing a 350+HP French Hot Hatch shootout, myself. So far the list consists of RKM's C4 VTS, the Puegot 207 Leo of Mad Finn did for me, and I found possible Renault Clio and Puegot 205 Rallye candidates. It would be nice to have a high-HP Renault Megane in there for good measure.

Rotary Junkie

@ZoidFile: Holy review, batman!

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I hope it is readable, as English is not my first language. I used a lot of RKM tunes in the last time so I thought a review is just fair.

Strangely the IMG tags don't seem to work in my post, I had to remove the pictures.

Rotary Junkie

That's worth a tune but sadly I'll have to make Roj do it with my PS3 being down and all.

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Sad to hear that your PS3 is broken, I hope you can fix it soon.
If I had a request where shall I send it?

Rotary Junkie

Also, most musclecars either have 3-speed automatics or 4-speed manuals. 4-speed autoboxes didn't become common until the mid-late 80s.

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Sorry I fixed it.

Schadenfreude13

...a high-HP Renault Megane in there for good measure.

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Its funny, I thought about requesting a Megane as I somehow like that car.

VTiRoj

RKM Motorsport’s C4 VTS

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Thank you, thank you and thank you..!! I'm properly looking forward to driving this car. Glad you guys cast your magic over it, and sorry for making you tinker with such an ugly creature

{Cy}

ZoidFile

Its funny, I thought about requesting a Megane as I somehow like that car.

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The Megane reminds me of Kim Kardashian... It has a big ass!

Alfa 147 RS review:
Before:
I remember Jeremy Clarkson once said in a Alfa 147 GTA review that 'its Alfa-ness can't make up for its rubbish-ness.' And now I know what he means. This 147 ti has nearly as much power as the GTA and is, if I'm honest, rubbish. There is just far too much power for the tyres to cope, the understeer is horrendous, especially if you dive into a turn aggressively and well, it's just not that fast. It did a lap of 1:26.075, which isn't bad, but nothing to shout about either.
After:
Now, this is more like it. A stylish Italian hot hatch that doesn't smoke all that power away and can actually be serious. There is still understeer, a lot of it in fact, and it still doesn't feel that quick for 230hp. It could do with a turbo to help it along, but that somehow feels wrong to do so. But this thing is like the Evo IX in 1 respect, it will maintain the same feel of the car so it doesn't feel like it's changed, but will let the laptimes do the talking. It did a 1:22.415, nearly 4 seconds quicker than stock. And it's also quite fun, although it doesn't feel quick, it seems eager in the turns, ready to play. If you kick the throttle on the downshifts, it'll treat you to the wonderful noise of a engine revved to its 8300rpm redline and the visual flare of all 230 horses spitting flame out the exhaust. I rather like it. It doesn't seem to be too serious when you play, it won't punish you for being an idiot. But when your opponents finally do catch up, it will leave them for dead in the corners.

It's hard to sum this car and tune up, because the logical part of me wants to say that this is rubbish. But the bits of me that actually think up of and write this review say that this is in fact, the best FF car out of the lot. Sure it may be a bit mad and not that fast in a straight line, but for some reason I like it. Before, it feels like it wants to play, and also has an intangible feeling of specialness, but was just a bit lackluster to drive. Now, the tune has rectified that issue, but still maintains this cars special feeling.

Laptimes:
1:26.075(before)
1:22.415(after)

Later on, I'll be trying to prove Roj's claim wrong and try to beat the 147 around the track in a 300hp Focus ST (my substitute for the Focus RS)