charlie_pank

There's nothing special about these shocks as compared to any others. The adjustment is simply in the height of the platform on which the spring sits. The height of the spring will affect the weight distribution of the car which will affect the compression of each spring and therefore what bump/droop ratio you have. Weight distribution: imagine if 2 people are carrying a piano along the corridor and down the stairs. You'll both be supporting the same weight until you get to the stairs, when you get there the poor sod who goes down the stairs first will carry a lot more of the weight than the one behind. As you raise one platform or lower another you'll change the weight distribution across the 4 corners. Spring compression: Springs are rated in terms of force per unit of compression, so as you increase the weight on a corner you will squash it more and as you decrease it you'll squash it less Bump/droop: Bump is the amount of travel you have until the shock is fully compressed, droop is the amount of travel you have until the shock is fully 'open'. What you're aiming for: James Whiting told me to aim for 1/3 bump to 2/3 droop and ideally to have the front wishbones horizontal. Then the last thing to think about is rake height of rear vs. front. Generally it is recommended that the front is a bit below the rear, I think a difference of about 15mm between the the chassis rails distance from the front of the rear-mudgard to the ground and the front engine mount point to the ground, this needs to be tweaked according to handling/taste.

Heel and toe doesn't have to detract from the braking force. The braking is straight down, the blip is just a little nudge to the right. I agree with everyone else. Heel and toe is not just about blip either, you need to MATCH the revs, you wouldn't be able to do that with a button. Try doing it all the time, by never touching the handbrake, then you'll figure out the best position for you when you're not wringing its neck. Essential 7 driving technique, perhaps you need to play with your pedal positions? My throttle is quite a bit further away from me than the brake, so when I'm pressing on the brake, there it is just to the right.

It turns out I've only got the solenoid: here any use?

I'll just have a quick rummage...

Hmm, it looks like the sort of thing I COULD do, but I'm not sure I can be bothered! I'll get some quotes for doing the swap/rebuild tomorrow...

Hi Giles, I'm quite good at doing stuff myself, what's involved in taking out the ATB? and putting it in the other diff? Charlie

Happy to give you a hand rebuilding/rewiring it Myles. I think I've even got an old/spare at the back of the garage.

Lots of stuff in the archives about this, it can be a number of things combined together to cause the symptoms, fixing any one of them can give results leading people to assert that they've identified the problem and assume it will be the same for everyone else: 1. Battery doesn't have enough charge 2. Alternator isn't charging proplerly 3. Wiring between starter and battery is too hot, or degraded 4. Connections to start are 'dry' 5. Relay is 'cooked' 6. FIA switch has poor contacts 7. Starter solenoid full of gunk 8. Starter solenoid piston scored/sticky

I've got a 3.14 quaife ATB and want to convert it to 3.92. Am I right in thinking I can get any 3.92 crown-wheel and pinion (like this) and get someone who knows what they're doing to put them in my existing diff?

It sounds very much like your alternator is not charging the battery. The smaller pulley will make the alternator turn faster not slower - edited to say: "no it wouldn't, I am an idiot" 😬 Perhaps your alternator is knackered, or perhaps your wiring is not quite right. I would suggest the latter, given that you've just recently been playing with the loom (no offense, I'd think the same if I'd just been playing with the loom on my own car!). Does the charge light on the dashboard go out when the engine has started? Does it come on before the engine is running? Edited by - charlie_pank on 1 Jun 2012 15:18:57

Aaaah I see. Do you know what was wrong with the oil pressure system?

But you said you swapped the ECU out to test it and still had a flickering rev counter?

I'm impressed you can hear anything at all with all that noise going on!

I have a VERY old hot-water tank type boiler. We use very little hot water from the tank as our shower is electric so I'd like to get a combi boiler for central heating and hot-water. Obviously there will be some plumbing involved as the combi boiler will have to receive the mains-water input and the output will have to go to where the tank currently outputs to feed all the taps in the house. I have 2 questions: 1. How much should I expect to pay a plumber for the work? 2. Does anyone have any recommendations for combi-boilers to look at or avoid?

wot he sed

Perfect, I'll go with 5mm as a starting point then. Thanks

www.venhill.co.uk will sell you all you need to make your own cable and retain the old sheath. Deffo need a pedal stop - there are delicate parts in the throttle mechanism that you don't want to damage by overstressing. Pedal stop even more important on clutch cable because you put more force through it. You'll probably get away with a grub-screw nipple, as suggested, on the throttle cable as you don't put a lot of force through it. If the clutch cable goes though, you'll need to fray the cable beyond the nipple then solder it to make it strong enough.

Once you've got it all working, you'll want to re-instate the stop as when you use the clutch in anger you wsnt it to be the stop that stops you rather than the release-arm/bearing components as you stamp on it!

NOTHING bypasses the FIA switch on my car, I built the loom!

Fair enough, it's not a problem I have with my current installation, so I was guessing a bit.

The diff doesn't have to be that hard a job to put in. I've had mine in and out so many times in the last 2 years. Just remember a few things: 1. You can't get the propshaft into the tunnel if one end is blocked by the gearbox and the other end is blocked by the diff, so you have to slide it in before you put them both in place. 2. You can lift the diff up on a trolley jack, then slide a screwdriver through the mountings to hold it in place, then remove them one by one as you replace them with bolts.

I've got a banner. The car probably gets driven every couple of weeks. I don't use a charger. I remove the FIA switch when I leave it in the garage. I've never suffered from a flat battery. Something is draining current when the ignition is off in your car.

...unless anyone near Edinburgh has any spares....?

That's great news - HSS hires them out for 7.50 a week. At that price I'll take 3! We've been given a month window during which we're allowed to do it at home, so I'll hire them from when the month starts...

The thought had crossed my mind. Where do I get the props from?