It's pretty obvious that progress has been very limited over the past 2 years....however, other projects I've been working on during this period are having a positive influence on the build of this car. I just that I don't have a lot to show for my efforts at the moment.
Firstly, development of the RX-8 supercharger kit hit a bit of a stumbling block about this time last year when the product designer/manufacturer announced that he was unable to continue to support the product at the level that was necessary to ensure its longevity. Of course due to my own workload I was unable to proceed with the further road testing that was required. There were two main issues (one was electrical/electronic and the other mechanical/lubrication). On the positive note, initial performance results for the supercharger kit were very encouraging with torque increased by 40 to 55% in a fair spread of the engines rev range (2500-6750). Even at 7,750rpm there is just under 40% more torque available. Peak horsepower of 232rwhp was at 8,000rpm where the boost was a very mild 7 psi. Bear in mind that this is with standard headers and catalytic convertors. So things are looking very promising for the race car engine where I'll be running 14-15 psi, no cat convertors, and a Motec M800 ECU. I did take my RX-8 out to Queensland Raceway in early July last year but only completed 3 laps before an oil leak spectacularly presented itself....although, IIRC I did extract a low 62 sec lap time on the Clubman Circuit on cold tyres and the Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) left on (as I was too busy watching all the gauges for issues)!
Fast forward 5 months to December 2010....the Xmas to New Year break to be exact....I dusted of the ol' girl with a view to getting the roll cage wrapped up. Here's a sequence of photos capturing the fabrication, Bear in mind that this is not a CAMS compliant cage as it has members that they don't have documented in Schedule J. But it does exceed FIA's performance requirements which is far more important. The structure significantly increases the standard chassis' beaming and torsional stiffness.
.....then on New Years Eve at 3:15pm to be exact....this happened!!!!
This is what happens when 8 piston Brembos and Enkei RPF1's crunch fingers! The project was on-hold once more! 
New Years 2011 was spent in the Holy Spirit Hospital...luckily an exceptional surgeon wasn't on leave and was able to reattach them. Best part is that they stuck!
This is how the damage looked after 5 weeks....much better than both fingers being an inch shorter!!!
This is how they look today almost 9 and a half months later after 6 months of intensive remedial therapy to get motion and strength back in them....We didn't think I'd have a nail regrow on my middle finger...so I'm very, very lucky...the dodgy part is slowly growing out. Should be gone by New Year's 2012!
Beside's the dodgy finger nail...you really wouldn't know the extent of damage they experienced.
Anyhow, enough blood and guts.....In mid-March this year we got stuck into finishing the roll cage fabrication and welding it out. I'm still to run the member behind the dash.
Now before anyone says anything about the weight of the cage and that it is overkill....simply, I don't care!!! I don't feel comfortable with anything less in an open top car!
More to come......
Cheers,
Danny
After numerous phone calls and weighty discussions and agreement was reached and the parts became available...we just had to live with the lessor quality and poor execution of some aspects. The final 6 days leading up to when the R35 had to be loaded into a transporter was and still is a blur. The team worked from 7am to midnight each of those 6 days to meet the deadline. Here's a few photos from the final stages. As you would have realised by now...we never got to a race track for any testing...guess we're gonna have to do it at WTAC! 
