Ok, I want to shed some light on various options to try and make everything clearer, hopefully then people can have a read before simply jumping to conclusions. Firstly I apologise for my patronizing type comments earlier if they came across that way.
"How on earth can you claim the RS2 is better than ITBS Now"
Because application is everything, a real sticking point when it comes to Clio modification - people throw roll cages & harnesses in road cars - ITBs for me are similar in functionality terms - a product for no compromise balls out performance; but not something you live with every day for the commute. Of course piss poor mapping does not help this reputation, but either way they certainly are not as 'flexible' as a stock type single inlet manifold for day to day use. And this is important, more important than a lot of people realise. In fact I would go as far as saying that 90% of peoples thoughts are simply with the power output the car provides, which is something you have selected as a main point for the comparison - many of the other AS equally important factors are often forgotten. Oh, and let's not forget cost - probably the single most important aspect any clio owner considers!!
The RS2 is designed for every person who owns a Mk2 clio that wants 99% ITB performance without any of the often associated running negatives (for instance fuel economy, maintenance, cold starts, excessive noise etc etc) and the associated installation negatives (loss of electronics assists such as TCS & CC, new wiring, new ECU, in some cases chopping and cutting the car etc etc). It uses the space permitted to achieve maximum gas velocities and volumetric efficiency. The RS2 is an ideal road car product due to the very long, very flat torque curve. In real terms you effectively sacrifice a torque peak, in exchange for a far longer duration of torque - ideal for a road car which actually spends very little of its time banging into the limter. In contrast with a race car you will spend a huge amount of time in the mid to upper RPM - so if makes much more sense in performance terms to place a torque peak where it is accessed frequently; something which an ITB kit can achieve very neatly, however due to the runner lengths and external constraints of the RS2, you would struggle to produce a peak, even if you wanted to.
My next point is future proofing & integration of desired features. My initial thoughts where to run a totally stock loom and dash and RS2 - done. However I want to build this into a race car, not just a stripped out track car. It is more than unlikely that I will ever be in a position to drive a factory prepared race car, with all it's associated toys. So I have decided buggar it; I want a proper dash, a proper loom, a proper ECU, so subsequently in order to simplify the whole build we have chosen to work with TDF and their flexible range of electronics. While I am here I just want to cover Jays point of using other peoples products on my car; why is that a problem? Would you rather I joined the thousands of other tuning businesses that think they can have a crack at mapping cars / building looms / throwing on an Ebay ECU? I can do none of the above to sufficient level to be able to consider charging someone for it. The ITBs are another example. Built by an exceptional business I both respect and work closely with; indeed they will be designing and casting us our own JMS manifold for the RS2 in the coming weeks, instead of composing them from modular parts they already have on the shelf. As a result we have spent a serious sum of money with Jenvey in the last few months, so when I mentioned to Mike Jenvey that I was looking to race my clio he offered me an ITB kit for nothing, literally nothing. The benefit of Matts electronic kit is that as the car develops the electronics will move with it - take your newly acquired pit limiter for instance!
Lastly, the whole promotion aspect to the build. Yes it is beneficial to JMS & partners; I don't understand why out of the excellent selection of specialist across the uk no one actually does any racing? Especially when the brand of car we work is so closely associated with track days! Your all right, potentially it could be used to promote the RS2, it could be used to develop the RS2 - but at the same time I would rather keep plugging away with the development on a dedicated road and track day car (of which I have 3 customer cars that are monitored). This would stop the race car from being pulled apart once a week for new inlet components, dragged up to TDF on a trailer for new mapping etc etc. It would also provide biased figures as it will have next to no auxiliary mass without PAS & AC. The benefit of road car use is that the guys who cover the miles can say, look Tom, I've got a slow throttle response first thing in the morning at the moment - can you take a look at it; and through Paul etc we work the issues.
Anyway, I hope that makes sense, everything else aside; I want a car that I love to drive, something that knocks the wind out of you when you stick it down paddock hill hanging onto its coat tails and something that I can at least keep burpspeed / btm in view with, even if the car has to make up for my poor driving
