Modifying the Avantime

I'd have started with the 2.0 Turbo.

Lowered, uprated brakes (just pads, discs and fluid), sticky tyres, free-flow exhaust and a chip.

Reckon I'd have beaten their time on a fraction of the budget.

I think they went about it the right way, but over the top on the brakes, meaning bigger wheels. Uprated standard discs, ceramic pads

For what they were doing, I would have cut the springs to lower the CoG rather than full on coilovers. That would have left plenty left over for a small supercharger install. Nice big boost in performance.

For 10k you could fit a late supercharged corvette motor and drivetrain and made it rear drive, lowered it decent suspension and wide rubber. And have change if you did it yourself. We wont mention a 100 percent power hyke with nitrous for about a hundred...

Worst episode ever? I mean what the hell was that? There wasn't even any new cars on it was there? And that stuff with the Avantime was just uninteresting - they seemed surprised that a standard Avantime didn't need a waste of time, heavy, braking upgrade. The standard brakes are huge - ok it's heavy, but it's never exactly going fast on their track is it... If you really must - pads and fluid would be enough for that shed on that track. I refuse to believe it had misplaced 50bhp and a simple service gave it back - more likely lack of air on the portable rollers, or it had a new engine whilst "James worked all night" - very believeable that...

The Mika bit was good though, he has some car control - although he did keep putting a wheel on the grass, but that didn't seem to matter to him. I didn't really think too much to the teaching and then James losing a race bit - Mika driving like a nutter was more impressive to watch :-)

I enjoyed it immensely, although I'd have swapped the V6 for a turbo nutter one from a Safrane bi-turbo or Venturi - they're good for a decent amount of poke..

Mika is a legend. I enjoyed watching May trying to pretend he wasn't a professional road-tester for 15 or so years, I doubt you could survive in that environment without being able to pedal a bit, but the Captain Slow thing is amusing.

WhoTF "tunes" an Avantime? They should have started with something more mainstream and halfway competent. But not stuff beloved by the Tesco car park bodykit brigade.

With a £10K budget should have used as many S/H parts they could lay their mits on not splurged on £3K of brakes. Like a set of 4 pots off something and adaptor plates to use bigger discs. It really didn't need alloy bells. I think there was a huge brake bias problem, which wouldn't have been helped by the admittedly vital step of taking all the weight out the back. The F1 wing was a pure pisstake on people fitting rear wings to hatchbacks etc. but will be lost on them. Plywood splitters seem to be effective and low enough cost to replace every track day, just needs some black paint. Sad they didn't dyno it straight off and suss they had been given a pup. Anything up to 20% deficit is the norm for most 3+ year N/A petrol engines, the Jag and BMW in the coupe for £1500 challenge had both lost lots of power. Exotic's for £10,000 had all lost huge chunks of power. Only one that came up to scratch was the Starion.

News: May isn't gay this year, JC is. Will it be the Hamsters turn next year? :-J Does the BBC not do Diversity training?

see original post ;)

To be fair they did say they changed the fuel injectors so there could've been a genuine problem there.

I thought it was great actually.

The car ended up having the modifications done in the right order to my mind.

I wouldn't have bothered with spending much on brakes for that circuit. Grip and power is what's needed.

Not for the purposes of the piece. To beat an Evo round *their* track. Basically they made an arse of that - as always. Wouldn't be funny otherwise. Like watching Fifth Gear.

Serious lightening to start with, lose the aircon system, smaller battery, glass roof like they did, lighter seats, lose spare wheel.

Then suspension, tyres, probably not brakes as it only needs to do one lap stints, full service, induction and exhaust for effect, nitrous for power. Surely someone does a turbo kit for the renault V6...

That be Mika in a few Mercs - is he still on contract with Mclaren Mercedes? C63 and a W202 seem like odd choices...

He probably gets them free as he's a hero at Merc for taking the fight Schuey and beating him, twice :-) And of course just for *that* overtake at Spa, with a back marker and all.

Couldn't use N2O, it's been proven to make cars fly off the end of aircraft carriers and they didn't want to lose the new Stig.

It had an exhaust.

Claimed stock 210bhp. Modded with injectors, exhaust and May working on it all night 206bhp.

I'm surprised they didn't put a resistor in the temp sensor circuit. Or just rip the air filter out.

There was a comment that the FWD Renault gearbox won't take much up it. With more power the DMF and clutch could have become issues too.

Wasn't this engine a version of the 287bhp 3.5L V6 Nissan used for the

no. The avantime got the french clio V6 type engine, the Vel Satis got the nissan motor.

I'd have started by getting rid of all the weight first, then sticky tyres followed by brakes that fit.