Well, on Wednesday I went over to Backdraft to drop the car into Alex for the Helix clutch, lightened flywheel and Peloquin diff which he had fitted by Friday
Upon taking the gearbox out he found that one of the bearings on the output shaft to 5th (IIRC) had disintegrated so this put things back a day while waiting for a new one, but other than this it all appeared to go smoothly so big thanks to Alex for his work here
It was also great to see his car close up - very very impressive!
So, my journey home was the first time I was actually able to see what the car now had to offer, though still not to it's full potential as it was absolutely hammering it down with rain
Even so, it was a massive difference over what I was used to before and definitely put some big grins on my face
I absolutely love the quick spool and aggression of this particular turbo, though after seeing Alex's sat in the workshop a small voice in my mind does question whether I should have gone BT. Still, the more you have the more you want I guess and you certainly can't argue with the instant punch of torque the hybrid gives, and holds all the way to the redline
I'm also very impressed with the Helix paddle clutch which feels very OE - not on/off at all which I was somewhat expecting. The LSD is also definitely helping putting the power down but driving in the wet it'll still happily spin up and try to pull you across the road if you don't modulate the throttle. The fun of FWD...
As the wishbone needed moving in order to remove the gearbox I later took the car into a local garage for a full alignment check, which showed everything to be within 1/10th of a mm of where it was set last time - but the steering still felt off. Upon closer inspection it was found that my Vibratechnics rear wishbone bush has dislodged itself upwards slightly, probably accounting for the questionable handling.
As luck would have it the car was due to be dropped back over to Bill yesterday, who says he has seen these bushes move before and hence normally tack welds them into place once pressed in which is what I've now asked him to do with mine. Bill's now got the car for the next 2-3 weeks while he beads my intercooler pipework and fits a nice set of forged IE rods for peace of mind with all this torque.
Once these are fitted he can then see whether the turbo has anything more to give, so watch this space
Then, (hopefully) the car will be near enough "finished" and ready to start enjoying properly next year with some track days and shows.