Mcalvert

Hello All, I am planning on having my gearbox upgraded by BGH over the winter and on going to the Quaife Alloy case as a weight saving measure at the same time. AMMO managed to get a good deal on a bulk buy of the Quaife alloy cases last year. Is there anyone else interested in clubbing together and going for another bulk buy? I would be happy to arrange this if there is the interest. Regards, Michael.

Mike Riley (Metal Mickey) is a master craftsman who has made the ali wings and nose on his car (and restores some SERIOUS historic machinery). He could be a good person to talk to. Michael.

Norman, I am also hoping to buy an Ali gearbox case from Quaife in the next couple of months. I was considering seeing if anyone else was interested to get a bulk buy going as AMMO had some considerable success last year doing the same. What are your timescales? Regards - Michael.

If you don;t mind my asking, did they give you a price? Michael.

Paul, If you did get them to make you a taller one and you didn;t want your standard one, I'd be interested in buying it from you... Michael.

Pop rivetted to the front of the passenger footwell is the classis place. Is that not available for you? Regards Michael.

We're all hailing the ale Wot no Stella?!!

You didn't leave the handbrake on did you? [ahem] a "friend" I know did that and had LOTS of smoke :-) Michael.

Dear All, I would appreciate your help in choosing the best options for gearbox ratios when I have the gearbox hopefully rebuilt by BGH at the end of the year. This is a long message but please read on as I would really appreciate some input to help me make the right decisions. The car is a 1700 Crossflow on a 244 cam with approx 155 BHP – It is rev-limited at 7300 and gives peak power around 7000 (I believe). It only really comes on cam at 4000 revs. I have the standard 3.92 diff and run 185/60R13 tyres. I have the standard 5 speed box, which I believe has the following ratios; 1st 3.360 2nd 1.810 3rd 1.260 4th 1:1 5th 0.825 Playing with Gearcalc gives the following results for the set-up as it is today: Gear Mph per 1000 RPM Mph @7000 RPM Mph @7300 RPM -------------------------------------------------------- 1 4.91 34 36 2 9.12 64 67 3 13.09 92 96 4 16.50 115 120 5 20.00 140 146 Mph RPM (in Gears) ------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 ------------------------------------------------- 5 1018 549 382 303 250 10 2036 1097 764 606 500 15 3055 1646 1146 909 750 20 4073 2194 1527 1212 1000 25 5091 2743 1909 1515 1250 30 6109 3291 2291 1818 1500 35 7128 3840 2673 2121 1750 40 4388 3055 2424 2000 45 4937 3437 2727 2250 50 5485 3818 3030 2500 55 6034 4200 3334 2750 60 6582 4582 3637 3000 65 7131 4964 3940 3250 70 5346 4243 3500 75 5728 4546 3750 80 6109 4849 4000 85 6491 5152 4250 90 6873 5455 4500 95 7255 5758 4750 100 6061 5000 105 6364 5250 110 6667 5500 115 6970 5750 120 7273 6000 125 6250 130 6500 135 6750 140 7000 145 7250 Gear Change RPM drop (change @7000) RPM drop (change @7300) ------------------------------------------------------------- 1 -> 2 -3229 (to 3771) -3368 (to 3932) 2 -> 3 -2127 (to 4873) -2218 (to 5082) 3 -> 4 -1444 (to 5556) -1506 (to 5794) 4 -> 5 -1225 (to 5775) -1277 (to 6023) What I am looking for is a better spread of gears low down (car gets used for sprinting) but still to maintain reasonable road manners for touring as we do 8-10K miles a year. Is the RMP drop the best figure to monitor when choosing the ratios? I guess that I am looking for each drop to put me back in the power band? Assuming that this is the correct approach, what is the logic behind the number of revs dropped decreasing at each step as you move through the gears? I am sure that this is for a good reason, but I am having trouble getting my head around it! The best option seems to be what BGH calls the E7 box which gives me the following choices: 1st 2.66 or 2.75 2nd 1.750 3rd 1.260 4th 1:1 5th 0.82, 0.84, 0.86. 0.89 My best guess for a choice would be as below which would give the following figures. 1st 2.75 2nd 1.750 3rd 1.260 4th 1:1 5th 0.86 However, this is built on gut feel rather than real logic so any comments and things to consider in making this choice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks – Michael. Gear Mph per 1000 RPM Mph @7000 RPM Mph @7300 RPM -------------------------------------------------------- 1 6.00 42 44 2 9.43 66 69 3 13.09 92 96 4 16.50 115 120 5 19.18 134 140 Mph RPM (in Gears) ------------------------------------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 ------------------------------------------------- 5 833 530 382 303 261 10 1667 1061 764 606 521 15 2500 1591 1146 909 782 20 3334 2121 1527 1212 1042 25 4167 2652 1909 1515 1303 30 5000 3182 2291 1818 1564 35 5834 3712 2673 2121 1824 40 6667 4243 3055 2424 2085 45 4773 3437 2727 2346 50 5303 3818 3030 2606 55 5834 4200 3334 2867 60 6364 4582 3637 3127 65 6894 4964 3940 3388 70 5346 4243 3649 75 5728 4546 3909 80 6109 4849 4170 85 6491 5152 4431 90 6873 5455 4691 95 7255 5758 4952 100 6061 5212 105 6364 5473 110 6667 5734 115 6970 5994 120 7273 6255 125 6516 130 6776 135 7037 140 7297 Gear Change RPM drop (change @7000) RPM drop (change @7300) ------------------------------------------------------------- 1 -> 2 -2545 (to 4455) -2655 (to 4645) 2 -> 3 -1960 (to 5040) -2044 (to 5256) 3 -> 4 -1444 (to 5556) -1506 (to 5794) 4 -> 5 -980 (to 6020) -1022 (to 6278)

How do you overfill the diff please? I thought that you just filled it through the bolt hole until it would not take any more and peed out everywhere? I'm not sure that I have a breather pipe - do I? BTW car is a 1992 De Dion. Thanks! Michael.

Paul, I have exactly the same problem - I'd really like to go lower than higher but cannot because the mirror would foul the Brooklands. I was considering cutting the existing sten in two places at an angle so that it came backwards so that it would go behind the screens. I just need to find someone who can weld to join it back together again. Has anyone tried this? Out of interest, how much did SPA quote you for the sten if you don;t mind my asking? Michael.

I find that pushing the seat forward by a couple of notches makes a significant (and not unfcomfortable) change to the seating positionthat results in a lower seating position. Might be worth a try first? Michael.

Can anyone recommend someone who could check and adjust the camber/caster/toe-in of my 1700 Xflow in the Bucks/Berks area? Although there is nothing greatly amiss with the car, after 6 years of ownership I realise that I have no idea how the geometry is set, and there may well be improvements available. Any suggestions appreciated - Thanks! Michael.

Thanks Alan - uNfortunately I cannot make Penn this weekend, but perhaps next time? Michael.

Hmm, An Accusump was something that I had originally thought about, but having seen that dry-sumping a, XFlow is not that expensive, I had discounted it. Nevertheless, it is still a consideration. My main concerns are protecting an engine that does 7-8 track days a year plus a few sprints. I have fitted an oil pressure light and the combination of this, and a James Whiting cast and properly baffled sump have done me well so far. What do you estimate the additional weight of a dry sump system (including additional oil volume) to be? Michael. Edited by - Mcalvert on 23 Jun 2004 13:58:18

Highly, highly recommended. Quietens the exhaust note down such that I have not had any noise limit problems at tracks since fitted. It also sounds very nice with it, and you can hear the induction doing its bit too. Beautifully made and looks great in my opinion. Can;t exactly put my finger on it, but from the moment it was fitted, the car seemed more eager to pull, particularly from lower revs. Go for it! Michael.

Thanks. Is an oil cooler more important with a dry sump setup than it is with a wet sump? I am not aware of having had particularly high oil temps even on track with a wet sump. Thanks - Michael.

Thanks. Is an oil cooler more important with a dry sump setup than it is with a wet sump? I am not aware of having had particularly high oil temps even on track with a wet sump. Thanks - Michael.

(And how much approx will it cost?) I am considering having my engine dry-sumped overthe winter. Does anyone have a list of parts needed, suppliers and costs please? Thanks - Michael.

Cracking day at a cracking venue. Can't believe that it could possibly have been undersubscribed! Thanks for all the hard work organising a great day. Michael.

The Stoneleigh kit car show seems to be the place to find SVA covers of exactly the right size. Michael.

I'm interested in this too. Rather than us all contacting him, if you do speak to him, could you please share the information? Thanks - Michael.

Yes, caterham do offer it on its own - I bought one a couple of years ago but it wasn't cheap. A couple of weeks later at the Stoneleigh kit car show, a stand was selling them for about a tenner. Sorry, don't know who though ☹️ Michael.

Tam and I should be there around 9:00. Hope there's room on the BBQ for a couple of steaks! Michael.

Hi Tipo Have a looc at Vulcan Engines web site. It breaks down some of the kits which they build and shows power graphs for several of these.here Good luck! Michael.