Kev & Liz SBD BARC Speed Championship 2010

[kevp]

We have entered the SBD/BARC championship again.

I have just checked the Gurston Down entry list & we have been accepted for the Saturday 17th April. I am the 1st runner, so if its the same as last year I will be on the hill by 8.30am!. Although we are in class 6, at this event we run with the SBD roadgoing cars of any class. The other cars being a BMW Z3M (nearly won the championship last year) & a Honda S2000 (very quick but only did a few events last year, so I hope the same again). So we have some tough components.

My time for last year was 39.98 & the class record 35.79 so a lot to aim for.
Liz has not done a timed run, but did a school day in her Clio.

The cars MOT is up next week. I have had it in for a test but failed on the emissions. For some reason it seems to be out when its cold, & I have trouble getting up to temp. I think the rad is perhaps to big. When the car was set up on the rolling road a few years ago, the guy was well impressed that it could run on the rollers all day with no fan assistance and not overheat. Well its working against me in this cold weather. I think the throttle pot may be out as Iv had the engine out to change the gearbox.

May be able to sneak some time this easter weekend, but chores, work & weather are against me.

Kev

[stylussprinter]

Kev ' , you could change the water temp ' sensor to one a little higher for the MOT if it's the too cool water . Where is the sensor --- in the rad ' or the water rail/if you have a water rail I used my existing sensor in the rad ' as a bung then put a new sensor of lower opening temp ' in the water rail and wired to that .
The original VW rad ' was the full width of the A frame but this one now is 3 inches short of that , hence the lower opening temp ' sensor .
Failing that you could partially cover the rad ' with an alloy thin sheet (cable tied through some holes drilled into it)

Anyway , all good luck to you both at Gurston . I think the S2000 guy comes from my club , Matt Carter / FDMC
Have you got some nice sticky list 1b R888's PM me re- pressure for these

[kevp]

Rob

Im using yok A048. Soft front, Med rear. I will have to use these due to £. Luckily for me Matt is not in my class "Road Going Specialist production Cars" (Kits & replicas inc Exige).

I have put the 180lbs springs back on the rear. I did try 200lbs, but the car jumped & crashed everywhere. A bit like my KTM RC8 (which also needs sorting).

[kevp]

After writing somewhere about how good a mapped injection system was, mine then went wrong. I took the Stylus for an MOT & the emissions where well out. The car was popping & banging like mad. In the knowledge that the lambda sensor would correct this gradually after a few miles I decided to drive the car all weekend. Not so. The fuelling was so far out the lambda didnt cut in. So I thought about it & plugged the laptop in. I had changed the gearbox over the winter so had taken the engine out. Although I reset the throttle pot the ECU did not read this reliably, so the map was looking at the wrong opening settings. Also I have fitted an adjustable fuel regulator. Apparently engine tuners do not like these as they can adjust themselves. Luckily mine has a pressure gauge on it. This was reading low. The final problem was the radiator fan switch was turned to cut in very early. After adjusting all of these the car ran perfectly.

The gear box is very noisy compered to the standard T9. It is a TransX unit. 1st gear is high & the car now leaps away from standstill. It is easy to change down gears now (even into 2nd & 1st) which it never used to. Only thing is 5th must be 1.1 or less as at 70mph in 5th the engine is running at 4k rpm.

Cant wait for Gurston Down on Saturday (have some spare tickets). Then the weekend after its a Sat & Sun at Wiscombe. So 3 events in 9 days.

[stylussprinter]

After writing somewhere about how good a mapped injection system was, mine then went wrong. I took the Stylus for an MOT & the emissions where well out. The car was popping & banging like mad. In the knowledge that the lambda sensor would correct this gradually after a few miles I decided to drive the car all weekend. Not so. The fuelling was so far out the lambda didnt cut in. So I thought about it & plugged the laptop in. I had changed the gearbox over the winter so had taken the engine out. Although I reset the throttle pot the ECU did not read this reliably, so the map was looking at the wrong opening settings. Also I have fitted an adjustable fuel regulator. Apparently engine tuners do not like these as they can adjust themselves. Luckily mine has a pressure gauge on it. This was reading low. The final problem was the radiator fan switch was turned to cut in very early. After adjusting all of these the car ran perfectly.

The gear box is very noisy compered to the standard T9. It is a TransX unit. 1st gear is high & the car now leaps away from standstill. It is easy to change down gears now (even into 2nd & 1st) which it never used to. Only thing is 5th must be 1.1 or less as at 70mph in 5th the engine is running at 4k rpm.

Cant wait for Gurston Down on Saturday (have some spare tickets). Then the weekend after its a Sat & Sun at Wiscombe. So 3 events in 9 days.

That's about right Kev ' , my c/r T9's 2.04 , 1.54 , 1.21 1 & 0.87 then the diff shortens them a bit being 4.4 . I never get more than 133mph at Goodwood but 5th is a working gear. Before , with the 3.89 diff I only ever used 4th ---- what's your diff

Good luck for Gurston , the new box will be good there

[kevp]

Sat 17th @ Gurston. Not Good.
Bad misfire all day. I cant believe it as last weekend it ran great.

I couldnt find the fault. Was convinced it was something to do with the throttle position sensor, as this was the problem last weekend. Also I lost the adjustable bracket for the alternator, so the belt was screaming all the time. It now has a chock of wood wedging it out.

The scrut (same one we normally get) has come up with some additional requests. My times where around 43 seconds on all the runs. Liz improved from 51 to 49 seconds.

I have to sort the problem this week for Wiscombe on Saturday. Not easy as Iv a full week.

Put new plugs & leads on. Idles fine in the garage, but need to get out on a run. I think it was this simple.

[stylussprinter]

That's a real shame Kev ' Engine management's great when it works as I know to my cost ----- at least the 45's were reliable even if the drivability wasn't as smooth That's what steered me towards Paul Dunnell because my electronics knowledge = now't Goes every time without any input from me

[kevp]

Managed to sort my misfire. New plugs, leads & coil-pack. I just couldnt believe it at Gurston when the engine started playing up in such a major way. Especially as the weekend before in ran better than its ever done.

Anyway. Saturday was our 1st time at Wiscombe. What a great event. Good for drivers & spectators. spectators can view the whole circuit at the side of the road. The path is about 3 - 4 foot above the track, right next to it. You can look down into the cockpits.

Its a shame that competitors cant see much of the action. Just not enough spare time, especially if your like us - double driving.

Will definitely go back.

[kevp]

Some pics of the day.

[stylussprinter]

I've never competed there but a guy in our FDMC has nearly written off his Westy 1400 BDJ 200bhp twice in recent years. It's all black with wings/front splitter and HOOSIERS Last time he ended upside down into a pile of logs --- took 20 minutes to get him out

So how did you get on there --- tricky to learn

[kevp]

Rob, may of seen the black Westield if it had mainly carbon bodywork.

My usually dodgy video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N09qi0sjthg

We didnt do to badly for beginners.
We both got a very good time on the 1st split, which is approx half way through the course. The time was so good that Liz thought they had got us both wrong. However I lost so much time on the second part of the course. I tried different lines & gears but no good. My target time was 45.45 seconds. My best run was 50.33 The class winner did 45.42

On Sunday we had a bit of rain on the 2nd timed run. So the 1st timed runs where the best. However I was the fastest in the wet of not just the class but most of the runners. This does not help me in the points table though.

Just as a reminder our points are time based against the class record. Not on class position. So as I was 5 seconds down I lost 5 points out of 20. So bad scoring this weekend to add to my very bad scoring at Gurston.

[kevp]

Forgot to add a bit about Liz.

She did very well. Every run got better. On her last run she came off. Going around the hairpin, she just kept going - round. Had to have the marshals pull her out as the hill is so steep.

Her times where 13% slower than mine against 14% at Gurston.

[stylussprinter]

Looks as though lots of the corners need a ' really ' quick rack , you both look very busy behind the wheel --- what's your rack Kev The scoring system is totally different to ASWMC or ACSMC although the Westfield Champ'p has something similar I think

[kevp]

Im not sure about the steering rack. It was supplied by Pete P. So standard escort I guess. Watching the video does show a lot of winding on the steering wheel, I was surprised myself after viewing it. Still money dictates it will stay for a while.

We may have to miss the Goodwood event on May 15th, due to money and getting the entry in on time. However Im sure we will pop down if you or any other Stylus will be there.

[stylussprinter]

Yes , I've got an entry for that one also Abingdon Carnival sprint. We get two courses at Abingdon with 8 runs overall , through a ' cones ' course in the morning then a long sweeping circuit style course in the afternoon . You can camp free of charge then there's a Rally the next day.