CHAPTERS: EXTERIOR STYLING BRAKES AND SUSPENSION POWERTRAIN EVENTS
As 2012 came to a close there was a buzz about the upcoming release of the new VF Commodore and Gen-F HSV ranges. Many spoke about the top dog in this upcoming release being the all new, factory supercharged LSA GTS, but not as much attention was given to its little brother, the naturally aspirated LS3 powered Clubsport R8; We were about to change that.
In early 2013 a stream of VF Commodores & Gen-F HSV models began getting the Harrop enhancement treatment through our Performance Centre and Australian dealer network. One of these was a new iteration of HPP-1 in the form of a Red (white was not available for months) Gen-F Clubsport R8 SV.
The new Gen-F Clubsport was a definite step up over the previous Harrop VE E3 R8 and set a new benchmark for Holden and HSV. Refinements to the VF over its VE predecessor provided another excellent platform for upgrades that integrated well with the existing platform.
Posted on 20th April 2016 at 9:32am
In true Harrop style the Gen-F received a nice touch of refinements to the exterior of the vehicle without being too over the top, the standard HSV R8 SV exterior remained untouched besides the black roof, subtle decals and Harrop badges fitted to the vehicle.
Wheels are Forgeline VX3C, with 20” x 9” deep concave on the front and 20” x 10” deep concave rears, red powder coated outer lips with a Satin black centre and inner wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport rubber. The deep concave centres on the Forgeline VX3C’s are only achievable by using our Harrop Ultimate brakes, as the Factory HSV calipers are offset too far outboard of the hub and won’t allow for this wheel combination with the standard brake set-up.
Posted on 20th April 2016 at 9:34am
Increased power output of the motor is what most enthusiasts strive to achieve with a vehicle build, often leaving the brakes and handling of the car forgotten even though they are the most critical components to overall vehicle performance and safety.
In the case of the Harrop Gen-F it would not have been able to leave HPC (Harrop Performance Centre) without a set of our Iconic Harrop Ultimate Big Brakes in the unique Titanium Finish with the Harrop logo painted Red for good measure.
For the spirited driving that the Gen-F R8 was going to see, we needed to make sure the suspension was going to balance the chassis when pushed while still offering compliance around town. The perfect choice was our Harrop by KW Coilovers, with full height and damping adjustment, these are great out of the box for diverse driving conditions.. Along with the Coilovers we installed Whiteline bushes and sway-bars to further enhance the vehicles responsiveness to the driver.
Posted on 20th April 2016 at 9:37am
The reasoning behind purchasing an R8 instead of its bigger brother GTS was so that the latest Harrop (FDFI) Supercharger could be prototyped and validated for the VF platform. The supercharger fitted was the larger FDFI2300 unit which is larger than the VF GTS 1900 factory unit. The supercharger boosted the output from the standard 250 rwhp to 680 rwhp. That’s over 100 hp more than a standard VF GTS! The FDFI supercharger gave a massive increase in power and torque while still having great street manors.
With more power on tap, the manual gearbox required something more to help shift it through the gears, so a Harrop short shifter kit was fitted to get quick gear changes in pace with the new performance levels. Helping to put the power to the ground a Harrop Truetrac was installed, providing greatly approved power down, when the situation calls for it, which with the amount of power this Gen-F produced, was more often than not.
To unleash the potential of our Gen-F R8 we installed the new Harrop Carbon Series Exhaust System, this consisted of 1 7/8” Headers, Hi Flow Cats and a 3” cat-back system. We decided to keep the factory Bi Modal functionality which gave the perfect V8 rumble at full noise and the quietness when needed, especially whilst cruising through the suburbs.
Posted on 22nd April 2016 at 1:35pm
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