Mike Bees

Black helmet - bad idea in this weather! White or silver has got to be best... Mike

I wear a balaclava because, apart from the safety aspect, it's a lot easier to wash than the helmet lining. I guess on a really hot day that doesn't solve the problem. Mike

"Interesting" is certainly how I'd describe the way my car handles on it's ACB10s... Flip a coin to decide whether it's going to understeer or oversteer, then flip it again to see if it's going to switch suddenly from one to the other etc. Checked all the obvious things, but it's very and a fair bit . Only 2s (80 vs. 82) faster than my best time on List 1A tyres at Lydden last week, which can't be right at all... Mike

Blimey, these things are like buses - you wait all week and then get offered 3 sets in the space of a few hours! I've agreed to buy a pair from the first respondent, but thanks anyway! Mike

P-clips? Didn't have those in '97, the copper pipe was just secured to the DD tube with cable ties. I guess it's an SVA thing? The braided flexi-hose is considerably larger in diameter than the copper pipe, so it might not fit (or might be squashed by) the clips. Mike

Nearly 1% towards your next set of ACB10s 😬

If you join Tunbridge Wells MC (www.twmc.org.uk) (£15) then you get sent regs for a whole pile of events at Lydden, Goodwood, Silverstone & Brands Hatch. Which is good if you live in the SE! You're also then eligible for any of the SE-invited events (e.g. Longcross). Mike

As Dave says, with an R500 engine you could just de-cam & remap it. It would benefit from a 4-2-1 exhaust as well. Mike

I've just done this using the Goodridge flexi-hoses supplied by Caterham for the purpose, and would like to confirm that I've got it right... Each flexi-hose has a male fitting at one end (with a very long thread) and a female fitting at the other. The threaded part of the female end can be turned without the whole hose turning. Also in each bag (one bag per hose, so 2 bags, 1 left, 1 right) is a male-to-male connector and a 'free' nut which fits onto any of the male ends. One bag also had a copper washer in it... I've put the 'free' nut on the long-threaded male end of the hose and screwed this end of the hose into the T-piece on the DD tube. When tight in the T-piece I've done up the nut to lock the whole assembly together. I've screwed the male-to-male connector into the caliper, and then attached the female end of the hose to the male-to-male connector. I haven't found a use for the lone copper washer... Is this right? Mike

My brake system holds around half a litre - maybe you meant that you'd need a couple of (half-litre) bottles? If I'm parsimonious (which I usually am) I can do a complete fill & bleed on one half litre bottle. Mike

😬

Bargain! Be prepared for a stampede (or stick it on Ebay and get quite a bit more for it...).

All together now... Performance Braking in Monmouth. 01600 713117. Contact is John Freeth (sp?) Or www.fluke-motorsport.co.uk (prices on the site). Mike

But you can't run in a roadgoing class with crossply tyres... Mike

Was that for the pair or each Mark? I guess it's each... Are the std. front & rear really the same? The rears look tiny (I've got AP fronts so nothing to compare with). Mike

Pair of radius arms for 97+ De Dion. Must have the 'dished' area to give tyre clearance as required by 8.5" MB rims & ACB10s. I believe these would have been introduced sometime around MY 2000. Anyone converted to Watts linkage got a pair of these lying around? Mike

Thinking of temporarily putting some 3mm spacers on the rear wheels to keep the tyres clear of the radius arms. This will prevent the wheel from locating on the 'ring' on the hub, which seems truly horrible to me. Anyone else done this? Anyone got any comments on wheel location/centralisation with/without spacers? Mike

My guess is: Handling (dry) is an average lap speed (km/h) - Toyo beats Yoko by 110.8kph to 109.7kph. Braking (dry) is distance to stop (metres) from 100kph - Toyo beats Yoko by 34.5m to 35.7m. Aquaplaning is speed at which aquaplaning starts - Yoko beats Toyo by 70.3kph to 64.9kph (big difference!) Handling (wet) is an average lap speed - Toyo beats Yoko by 73.6kph to 72.6kph 'Kreisbahn' (wet) - hmm, I'm guessing this is the time around a circle in seconds, Yoko beats Toyo by 20.15 to 20.22s. BUT (a) this test is on a big heavy car, and (b) they'll be medium-compound A048Rs, not the new soft compound, in which case I'd expect the soft compound A048R to whup the 888 in the dry. Mike

Tor - I would have thought that the ring on the hub is the primary location for the wheel, to ensure that it's centred correctly. Which is why I'm a bit confused about these 3mm spacers... A 2mm spacer between the ear and the DD tube would solve my problem - especially if it were ground to convert the 1.5deg. ear to 0.5deg! Mike

R888 has considerably worse aquaplaning performance than A048R according to this test here. Mike

Thanks chaps. I don't really want to spend any more £££ at the moment, so maybe some 3mm spacers will have to do for the time being (they're cheap). Mike

I do know someone who managed to grind through the block pretty much where you're talking about Myles, so be careful! Mike

Nope... Maybe I should bash 'em wiv an 'ammer... Mike

Strange. I've got stock 8.5" rims with 8" ACB10s and they're slightly rubbing the radius arms both sides (only when cornering I think). I could get some 3mm wheel spacers, but then there's nothing for the wheel to locate on (other than the studs) which is a bit horrible. Mike