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HAYES OFTHUNDER

WORDS: DAN GOODYER PICS: DAN SHERWOOD

BOB HAYES SPENDS HIS WORKING WEEK MODIFYINGAND MAPPING CARS SO THAT, COME THE WEEKEND, HECAN GO AND PLAY IN HIS OWN 547BHP FQ340 EVO IX

BRAKING TRADITIONMOST PEOPLE SELECT A BRAKE PAD AND STICK TO IT. BOB LIKES TO TESTPRODUCTS ONHIS CAR, AND HIS CUSTOMERS BENEFIT FROMHIS FEEDBACK.SO FAR THEMONSTER ALCON STOPPERS HAVE FEATURED FERODODS2500,THEN CARBOTECH XP10 PADS, WHICH BOB FOUND ‘GOOD BUT A BIT HARDFORMY DRIVING STYLE‘. NOWHE USES PERFORMANCE FRICTION .44 PADS,WHICH HE FINDS BITE WELL BUT ARE VERY DUSTY. HIS NEXT TRACKDAY IS AFEWWEEKS AWAYWHERE BOBWILL TRY FERODODS3000S AND REPORTBACK HIS FINDINGS OF HOW THEY FARE

The first time we experienced thebrutality of the Dynotech Evo IX FQ-340 was during a trackday at Brands

Hatch. It was a sunny day in June - one ofthose rare occasions where the noise policeallowed the full Grand Prix circuit to beused. After quickly accepting the offer of apassenger ride from 39-year-old Dynotechboss Bob Hayes, it wasn’t until we lookeddown at the front wheel while getting intothe car, that we noticed the huge Alconbrakes and Yokohama AD08 semi-slicktyres. Then we sat down and felt a set ofTRS harnesses poking into our back. ‘Thisis going to be quick,’ we thought toourselves. And we were right.

Pulling out onto the circuit two thingsbecame immediately clear: Firstly, the trackwas full of racecars doing testing. Theyscreamed past at full-chat as Bob graduallybuilt heat into the brakes and tyres. Therewere several Aston Martins, a Porsche 944Turbo and a Seat Leon Cupra R. All with fullrollcages, slick tyres and sponsor graphics,all being driven to the limit. Secondly, werealised that Bob’s Evo is definitely a roadcar. It has the full original interior, no dials,no rollcage, and all of the trinkets that mightsuggest ‘tuned’ or ‘modified’ car aremissing. Bob drove it to the track, and willdrive the kids to school in it in the morning.We feared that we might be out-gunned.

One lap later, Bob decided that the carwas ready and planted his foot properly forthe first time. The sudden surge of boostwas impressive. A huge wall of torquepushed us into the seat, accompanied by

an aggressive roar from the exhaust andscreamer pipe. It sounded much ‘larger’and more exotic than your typical inlinefour-cylinder engine note. As Bob punchedthrough the gears, we got pushed deeperinto the Recaro seats before the big Alconbrakes came into play to stand the car onits nose and throw our bodies into theharnesses like rag dolls. Back on the gas,he fired us down into Paddock Hill Bendand we were suddenly aware that we weregrinning like loons. Trackdays are seriousfun in the right car, even from thepassenger seat.

We caught many of the racecars thathad overtaken us, starting with the Porsche944 Turbo. It felt like the engine has lots oflow-down torque. The power continued allthe way up the rev range, but it was themidrange grunt that impressed us the most,and the noise. An R35 GT-R had beencatching us during our warm-up, but nowwe were pulling away. There was very littlein it but we were making the biggest gainson the straights. Bob built and mapped theengine himself and the forged 2.0-litreengine produces 547bhp with a punchy530lb/ft of torque. That’ll be why then.

In truth, the lack of cage and slicks washolding us back very slightly against thepure race stuff. You could feel the car rollonto the tyre, and Bob was relatively patienton the throttle. He was driving well thoughand it’s properly quick. It’s worth mentioningthat the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08 tyreshad already done several other trackdaystoo, so he wasn’t ‘cheating’ with super-soft

trick rubber. We felt the RS rear differentialworking as we fired out of corners, makingthe rear end wiggle at corner-exit as itlocked aggressively. With heat in the tyres,retardation was strong enough to makeharness prints in our shoulders. This mightnot be a racecar, but it does a prettyconvincing impression of one.

Returning to the pits, we discussed thecar’s development with Bob and hismechanic Ray. The pair talked us throughan extensive list of modifications, allselected and fitted at Dynotech. This isBob’s personal car, but in many ways it’sthe perfect demo car for his business. Itdemonstrates the performance these guysare capable of providing, while theimmaculate presentation of the carhighlights their attention to detail.

That was a week ago, and now we aremeeting up with Bob again, this time atDynotech’s Erith HQ to record Bob’sstunning car in photos.

Looking at the gleaming black bodywork,complete with carbon spats and lightweightcarbon Kevlar bonnet, you might assumethis lives in a garage and only comes out atweekends, but you couldn’t be more wrong.Bob drives it to work, to pick up the kids(hence the need for a four-door), and ofcourse thrash the nuts off it on varioustrackdays around the country.

In fact, this was the first car Bob everdrove on a trackday. He adds: ‘I bought thecar bog-standard and I’ve upgraded it asand when it’s needed it. Before this I had atuned Focus ST 2.5 turbo. Then I hosted a

dyno shootout for the Mitsubishi LancerRegister and everything changed.’

He continues: ‘It was the Evo IX that Ireally liked. I think it looks better than theearlier Evos, the proportions are better. Plusthe Mivec variable-valve timing system isuseful. You can use it to adjust the camoverlap to spool the turbo up faster, and youcan do that without having to physicallyadjust the cam pulleys. That makes it muchnicer to work on.’

It was only weeks after the MLR eventthat Bob found this FQ-340. It was for salelocally, completely standard and well lookedafter. Plus it was a one-owner car. Bobtraded in his Focus ST and within two weeksthe Evo had 390bhp and 390lb/ft of torquethanks to an uprated fuel pump, GReddyboost controller, de-cat, downpipe and acustom remap by Bob himself. That’s thebenefit of being a tuning specialist withaccess to your own Dyno Dynamicsequipment to play with!

Bob explains that his transition frommechanic to tuning specialist was verynatural: ‘I started working on cars from anearly age, and straight after school I startedworking for my dad, Peter. I’ve always been

into speed and making cars faster and morereliable. We still work in the same premisesnow – he runs Hayes Engineering on oneside, which deals with the more typical MOTtesting and maintenance, while on the otherside, I have Dynotech. We’re lucky that wehave a large building to work from, and itmeans we’ve got a lot of equipment to carryout every kind of job. From changing a setof pads to building an engine.’

That ability has come in handy, as Bobhandbuilt the forged engine that now liesunder the exotic lightweight bonnet. Headds: ‘I wanted to build it up properly so Iknew it would be reliable. The typical wayfor these engines to let go is for aconnecting rod to punch through the block,so I definitely wanted to uprate the bottom-end and concentrate on the valve-train.Basically I’ve kept the capacity andcompression ratio pretty much the same,but the whole engine can take a lot morepunishment now.’

He adds: ‘I considered going for H-beamcon-rods but in the end I spent the extra£100 or so and went for I-beams instead. Inmy experience H-beam rods areapproaching their limit around 500-odd

horsepower, whereas the I-beam design isgood for around 700bhp. Of course, partsdon’t just explode at a certain power level,so there’s an amount of guesswork involvedto give you the margins you need forreliability. At the end of the day, everyonehas their own ways of doing things, andrightly so. It’s like the cylinder head. I portedit myself on top of someone else’s porting,and then skimmed it and used a 1.5mmCosworth head gasket. Many people willsay you can’t skim the head by as much asI have. The only thing I can say is that theengine gets used hard, and after lots of roadmiles and trackdays it’s been faultless.’

Another controversial point is Bob’schoice of aftermarket ECU – he hasn’t fitted

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‘THE EVO HAS TO BEA DAILY DRIVER, AKIDDY CARRIER

AND A BALLS OUTTRACKDAY TOYALL IN ONE’

BALANCE OF POWERBOB’S CAR ISN’T ALL ENGINE. HE’S SPENT A LOTOF TIME ANDMONEYMAKING SURE ITHANDLES TOO. THE SUSPENSION IS TOP-DRAWER ÖHLINS COILOVERS THAT ARE PRICEYBUTWORTH EVER PENNY. THE ÖHLINS AREJOINED BY POWERFLEX POLYBUSHES REDUCINGANY PLAY IN THE LINKS. HE’S ALSO FITTEDBEEFY CAMBER ARMS AT THE REAR, THICKBRACES FRONT AND REAR TO LINK THESUSPENSION TURRETS TOGETHER AND 8-POINTUNDERBODY BRACING. IF YOU TURNED THE CAROVER YOUWOULD SEE THESE BRACING TUBESRUNNING THE FULL LENGTH OF THE CAR ONBOTH SIDES, ADDING STRENGTH TO THE SHELL

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ENGINE2.0-litre, 4-cyl, 16v 4G63 engine rebuiltby Dynotech, OE ECU mapped byDynotech, CP forged pistons, BrianCrower Pro Series I-beam forgedconnecting rods, ACL Race bearings,ARP main studs, L19 ARP head studs,1.5mm Cosworth head gasket, Stage 2ported cylinder head, Brian Crower272° Camshafts, AEM exhaust campulley, JMF cam sensor heatshield,Gates Racing cam belt, Brian Crowertitanium valve springs and retainers,Garret GTX 3076 turbo, Precision46mm external wastegate, Zircotecceramic-coated exhaust manifold,Mongoose 3in downpipe, 3in de-catpipe, 4in intake with K&N air filter, AMSfront-mounted intercooler and hardpipes, S90 throttle body, Black AEMfuel rail, Injector Dynamics 1000cc fuelinjectors, Aeromotive Stealth 340l/h fuelpump, Cusco oil catch tank, Tomeisump baffle, Spec-R alloy powersteering tank, Spec-R alloy coolanttank, engine damper, black TiAL dumpvalve, Odyssey battery, JMF batterycarrier, carbon cooling panel, HKS oilcap, Mishimoto slimline 12in coolingfan, Mishimoto alloy radiator, Zakleeclear cambelt cover, powdercoatedcam cover, braided Spec-R hoses andpipework, Mishimoto silicone hoses,HKS turbo timer

TRANSMISSIONEvo VI GSR 5-speed gearbox, ACT XTStage 2 clutch kit, ACT Street Liteflywheel, RS limited slip reardifferential, Ralliart gearknob,solid shifter bushes

SUSPENSIONÖhlins DFV coilovers, 8-point underbracing, rear lower DD camber arms,Powerflex polybushes and mounts,Cusco 3-point front strut brace, HKSKansai rear strut brace

BRAKESAlcon big brake kit with 6-pot calipers,365mm discs and Performance Frictionpads (front), OE 2-pot Brembo calipers,Stoptech discs, Performance Frictionpads (rear), HEL braided lines, MotulRF600 fluid

WHEELS & TYRES9.5x18in Rota GTR alloy wheels with235/40/18 Yokohama Advan NeovaAD08 tyres (track) Ultralite 18inwheels for road use

INTERIORFull OE Recaro interior, TRS harnesses,carbon-wrapped centre console,Zeitronix LCD air-fuel ratio and boostpressure logger

EXTERIORSeibon carbon Kevlar bonnet, Ralliartfront lip, Rexspeed carbon sideskirts,carbon aerial, carbon spats, Vortexgenerator

THANKSTo my Wife Ria and family, my goodmate Ray the mechanic for his help inthe workshop and at trackdays, LeeBell (Lee5 on MLR) for helping with themapping, my good friend Craig for theadvice, RossSport for the parts

TECHSPEC

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one. ‘I don’t want to sit here and sayaftermarket ECUs are pointless, becausethey can be very useful. I just didn’t needone for my goals, which was to have about500bhp in a road car that is sometimesused on track. The original ECU controls theentire engine, including boost control for theturbo. I do all the Dynotech mapping inconjunction with my friend Lee Bell. We useECU Flash and Evo Scan to talk to thefactory ECU and change all the settings.The version of Evo Scan we use records live

load cell information, so it’s easy to seewhat’s going on. If you get a spot ofdetonation for example – which will damageyour engine – you can locate the cells easilyand change the values to remove it.’

‘The other benefit of using the OE ECU isthat you are guaranteed good cold and hotstarting and a good idle. Plus it can dosome things that customers might not thinkis possible without going aftermarket, likesupport multiple engine maps and launchcontrol. I know some Evo tuners won’t usethe original ECU for this kind of horsepower,but the software has come a long way in thepast few years. As I said, everyone has theirown opinions and their own ways of doingthings. I’m a big believer in trying things outfor yourself, and it’s worked perfectly for meso far at 550bhp. A couple of my customersasked me to do the same on their cars andthey’re pushing out over 600bhp withoutany problems.’

It’s interesting to note how many otherparts Bob hasn’t fitted to his car. The mostobvious area is inside, where there are noextra gauges to monitor the air/fuel ratio orexhaust gas temperature. Bob doesn’tconsider them vital, especially as he can putthe car on the dyno if he suspects aproblem. If that does happen, he canreference his Zeitronix unit that logs air-fuelratios and boost pressure to help him locatethe problem. He has deliberately kept itlooking original inside. He adds: ‘I’mmarried with children so it’s a family car atthe end of the day. The same goes for theexterior. I did consider putting a big carbonwing on the back, but as soon as you dothat you attract attention from the police andpeople who want to race you. That’s notreally what I’m about.’

Having said that, Bob has fitted somevery nice carbon-fibre parts and a set ofRalliart mudflaps that stop stones flicking up and chipping the paintwork. Not something we often

hear from feature car owners, but in many ways Bobisn’t typical. He hasn’t copied anyone else’s idea ofwhat the perfect Evo is. Instead, he’s enhanced thecar for the mix of road and track driving he does.The modifications are bespoke to his lifestyle. Everypart, every piece of tuning, was carried out by Bobat his Dynotech HQ, with assistance from his friendand mechanic Ray when needed.

As aero becomes the buzzword amongstJapanese Performance readers, Bob’s car showsthere is a type of extreme tuning that doesn’t haveto come with huge wings and a stripped-out interior.You don’t ‘have’ to build a full-on racecar to have

fun and obliterate all-comers on trackdays, youcould be like Bob and hide a monster motor underunassuming bodywork that still works as a daily. Asfor doing all the work yourself, well that’s asatisfaction money literally can’t buy. JP

‘I’M A BIG BELIEVER INTRYING THINGS OUT FORYOURSELF AND FINDINGWHATWORKS BEST FORYOU AND YOUR CAR’

BODYBUILDINGFOR A STEALTHY CAR THIS HAS A LOT OF AEROPARTS. BOB HAS USED COMPOSITE PARTS SOTHAT HE ADDS THEMINIMUMAMOUNT OFEXTRAWEIGHT. UP FRONT, THE SEIBON CARBONKEVLAR BONNET IS MUCH LIGHTER THAN THESTANDARD BONNET, WHILE THE REXSPEEDCARBON SIDESKIRTS, CARBON REAR SPATS ANDVORTEX GENERATOR LOOK LIKE THEY HAVEALWAYS BEEN THERE. BOB’S APPROACH IS TOENHANCE THE ORIGINAL BODY LINES, RATHERTHAN CREATE NEWONES, AND UNSURPRISINGLYHE FITTED IT ALL HIMSELF TOP GEAR

HAVING POWER IS GREAT, TRANSFERRING IT TO THEROAD IS VITAL. THEMOST RECENT SET OF UPGRADES FORBOBWAS TO JUNK THE RELATIVELY HEAVY AYC SYSTEMAND REPLACE IT WITH AMECHANICAL RS REARDIFFERENTIAL. HE ALSO SWAPPED THE 6-SPEED EVO IXGEARBOX FOR A 5-SPEED GEARBOX FROMA LOWMILEAGE EVO VI GSR. THE 5-SPEED ‘BOX IS CONSIDEREDTO BEMUCH STRONGER THAN THE 6-SPEED, SO IT WASA PREVENTATIVE MEASURE IN VIEWOF BOB’S REGULARTRACK USE TOMAKE THE SWAP

DYNOTECHERITH, KENTWWW.HAYESDYNOTECH.CO.UK(01322) 430897