Majestic Twelve

MJ-12 & Friends Do Oulton

2009-12-06T16:18:00.000-08:00

A while back now, the Unit200 S2000 got its first track outing at Oulton Park UK. A wide selection of cars made the day from AWD Imprezas and Evolutions, RWD Marcos GT cars to FWD hatches.

The conditions were damp to begin with but throughout the day a nice, definitive dry line appeared.

The S2000 faired well in the damp conditions, with the back stepping out at speed, but the well balanced chassis giving plenty of warning and time for smooth correction; contrary to the usual internet rumour-mill tales
of being snappy.

In the dry the grip was plentiful and the sharp steering made the track a pleasure to drive on.

The day did highlight the issue of brake fade in the S2000 which suffered from overheating brakes quite quickly, despite the cool temperatures. Upgrades and development is forthcoming.

MJ-12: Productivity

2009-09-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend's been a productive one. Firstly the Unit200 Honda AP2 S2000 had it's BC Racing coilover suspension delivered, and on it went.

The S2000 is an absolute joy to work on in this area. The suspension removal is fantastically simple and the BC Racing stuff was just as easy to take it's place. This was the most straight forward suspension change i've ever been party to.

The car has now undergone a drop in ride height and a rise in firmness. The drop is not excessive; there is PLENTY left in them to wind down, however it is not practical to run the car - which is used every day that low - nor is it ideal for performance. So things have been kept sensible.

A full geometry check will take place shortly and should turn the S2000 into perfection in the corners.

Already, initial testing shows the ride to be more than tolerable and the cars eagerness to switch direction is keen. Perfect for the windy roads the car is used on.

Things for the Unit731 Vrs are picking up. A Cupra-R splitter was added and Weitec coilovers ordered. This should bring the ride height down a little and seriously sort out the handling somewhat.

Both cars are looking towards nitrous in the near future.

Unit 731: Emerald Eagle

2009-08-25T16:14:00.000-07:00

MJ-12 Traffic Control Vehicle.

Coming soon...

Unit 200: Driven

2009-08-12T05:46:00.000-07:00

9000rpm plus fantastically smooth and windy country roads makes for a very fun afternoon!

Development is due to start shortly, with BC Racing coilovers first on the list.

Unit 200: Reincarnated

2009-07-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

Coming soon...

Recommended: Sweet Oblivion

2009-07-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sweet Oblivion is the blogsite of Billy and Matt, both keen motorsport - and particularly drift - enthusiasts.

The boys get themselves along to many of the UK events, and their love for old skool japanese cars is prevalent.

The blog is a definate must for the japanese car nuts, and anyone interested in drift culture.

Sweet Oblivion [click]

Unit 200 Golf: Sold!

2009-07-16T09:04:00.000-07:00

The Unit 200 Golf, has now been sold.

A truly fantastic car, especially good for fuelling concerns, but still like a nice looking car that you're able to give a bootful when the mood takes you.

An exercise in understated useability.

Offensively loud: Unit 100

2009-07-15T10:31:00.001-07:00

Majestic Twelve is proud to be able to feature Steve N's recently imported, street legal and drift-orientated Mazda Rx7. Steve knows his stuff with performance tuning, it’s his job to as a writer for a well known magazine, and he most definitely practises what he preaches.

I like Steve’s choice in cars, always have done since I was first aware of him. He has no problem at all with lairy, conspicuous cars. In fact, the more gaudy and generally offensive, the better.

Also, the fact Steve’s cars are generally different to the norm in the choice of model generates keen interest in his projects. Before the Rx-7 arrived, Steve had a monstrously large and purple JZX81 Chaser, complete with RB26 engine transplant, and before that countless performance cars, with Ford Cosworths featuring predominantly.

The car itself is a Mazda FC3S Rx7 originally built and used by “Sexy Knights” in the Japanese D1SL series before being shipped here when it was bought by Steve. Steve subscribes to the same thinking we promote, in that the car should be for using rather than building; so buying a well-proven, ready built car is a very sensible move.

The car wears extremely loud Purple, Pink and Yellow colours over its BN Sports bodywork and wheels, making the sure the car never goes unnoticed. Naturally, you’ll hear this thing coming long before you see it. It is ridiculously loud as all tuned rotaries should be, but with the addition of the HKS T04E Turbo, a fantastically whooshing overlay is added to the aural experience.

Fully adjustable JIC magic suspension allows Steve to dial the car to his own preferences and keep the featherweight Mazda stuck to the deck, as its circa 350bhp rockets it along with ferocious acceleration. Naturally the interior is sparse, with nothing but two seats in the way of comfort and a plethora of gauges to monitor the vitals.

The spec list is far too extensive to mention with any real care here, but safe to say that each area of the car has been honed towards hard circuit usage, whilst remaining in the real world and remaining street legal.

This really is the definitive MJ-12 car, bought to be used, fit for purpose and a mass of fun. Check back to see more from Unit 100 when it attends any events and develops further.

First Look: Unit 200.

2009-06-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

DC is a close friend of mine, and is also the owner of this VolksWagen Golf GTi Anniversary.

The car is a GTi TDi, road mapped to 193bhp peak power, and a fantastically useable 300.lb/fts of torque from the 1.9ltr turbocharged diesel engine.

Many would disregard a car with a power figure as low as this as "slow", but the masses of torque on tap - contained in the relatively small car -, means in-gear acceleration is instant and urgent.

The car wears the standard factory anniversary bodywork additions and 18" BBS wheels. Inside is the anniversary edition Recaro interior. With such a good set of exterior and interior pieces as standard, it is understandable why they have remained untouched.

Together, the powerplant and aesthetics make for a fantastic daily driver with hugely economical fuel consumption, masses of surging acceleration from any engine speed and an understated appearance.

It goes to show that starting with a good base means more time can be spent driving the car, than building it.

Plans are afoot for the Golf to make way for a "Blobeye" shape Impreza or Honda S2000 in the very near future. Of course the car will be featured in depth, with the build being followed closely.