Mike Bees
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Everything posted by Mike Bees
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Andy - I guess a brief low reading wouldn't be too surprising if the starter motor stalled. Also it will depend to some extent on where in the loom the Stack is measuring the voltage. If the starter is drawing 300 amps via the master switch then there is quite a long cable run which will probably result in some extra voltage drop. Mike
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No such thing as a 195/60x13 A032R (or any other tyre that I'm aware of). At 13in the choices are 175/60, 185/60 or 205/60. Why doesn't anyone make a 205/50x13? Mike
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I'm 99% certain that the "Edge Products" alternators which Cambridge Motorsport supply are a rebadged version of these (or vice versa): http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/Racing/Denso_Alternators/denso_alternators.html - scroll down to the heading "True One Wire Units" (CM do them in 1 and 3 wire variants). The 50 amp one is something like 125ukp+vat from CM, and apparently fits the latest K-series alternator brackets (whatever that means) - it's used on the Elise race cars. When my current alternator packs up I'll go to one of these - it's lighter on both the car and the wallet. Mike
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Either he has a faulty battery or some duff connections (or the Stack is reporting the wrong voltage...). Only a sick or almost-flat battery would go as low as 9.2v, although I've never come across a battery that never dips below 11.5v whilst cranking. Even the new (big) battery on my tin-top goes down to around 10.5 whilst cranking a cold engine (and will be lower still on an icy morning). Mike
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Most ECUs have a 'cranking advance' setting. On a high CR engine this needs to be a low number (a few degrees) to prevent 'kick-back' - when it occurs it tends to stop the starter motor dead in it's tracks momentarily. It could be that it's just too rich for a hot start and is wetting the plugs, this would be easy to check for (take a plug out and have a look) - maybe the coolant temp sensor isn't playing the game (the one the ECU uses, not the one the gauge uses - hmm, except that you've got a Stack dash not a gauge, dunno if it still uses a separate sensor or whether it shares with the ECU). Mike
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"It takes ages to fill, unlike if you use a Rover plastic cap" Unlike??? I have the standard Rover setup and it takes forever to fill. Mike
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If Andrew's car is still on it's '96 exhaust then it's not surprising the figures are high. Even at 50% rpm it's close to the 98db limit for Donnington, and is relying on the fact that the circuit's noise meter will read within 1% or so of the one he tested with. Mike
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There's a thread elsewhere on this, the opinion is that they won't sell you just a chassis. The live axle chassis is different to the DD chassis. Given enough materials, equipment and expertise you probably could do the conversion (e.g. chop the back off and start again) but I guess it would a a substantially non-trivial exercise. Mike
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Stewart - the car's weight *isn't* supported by the preload in the bush if you torque it up with the wheels on the ground. It'd have to be one hell of a bush to take the weight of the car via the leverage of the radius arm anyway, even if you torqued it up at full droop! All of the suspension mounting points (inner ends of front wishbones, outer ends of A-frame, both ends of radius arms, both ends of all dampers) use rubber bushes which become loaded/unloaded as the suspension moves. Yes you could replace them all with rose joints (non-bushed pivots) but the point of the bushes are to add compliance and reduce NVH. Mike Edited by - Mike Bees on 28 Mar 2001 09:39:57
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Stewart - the point is that the thing should be tightened up with the bush preloaded, all versions have the bush so all versions should be done the same way (i.e. with the car's weight being taken by the suspension). Mike
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Wilco (motor factors chain) are a Comma stockist. Mike
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The other favourite is the idle air control valve playing up. Assuming it's a 1.6 or 1.8K, when the engine is idling happily at a sensible rpm unplug the IACV. If the problem never occurs with the IACV unplugged then chances are that's the culprit. If you run the engine from cold with the IACV unplugged then it might need a tickle of the throttle to start it, and will probably need a bit of throttle to keep it running until it's got some warmth into it. Mike
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"I wonder if you can claim loss of earnings from the guilty party?". You might have some fun proving who that is first. Most track days only allow passing on straights. Even when passing in corners is allowed the responsibility is on the overtaker to be sure that the overtaken is aware of their presence. And even in a race situation if the overtaker isn't fully alongside then they don't "own" the corner. Mike
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* How much was the std. flywheel before lightening? * Can you see where the weight has come off? Mike
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The airbox is made by: www.reverie.ltd.uk IMO the 'ram effect' is mostly BS (remember the F1 airbox saga), but the cool air effect is important. Mike
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This has B-all to do with bolt failures though, it's just about how the bush should be loaded. Mike
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James - if you 5sp has the standard ratios then your biggest problem will the the low 1st gear. Going to a lower diff ratio will only make this worse, and 4.1 & 4.4 Sierra diff CWPs are expensive (like over 400quid just for the CWP). There is no 'cheap' fix, best bet is to either get the ratios modified in your 'box or keep your eyes peeled for a secondhand box (e.g. Motorsport (ex-Motoring) News. Mike
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It would certainly help - anything to reduce my level of ignorance... Mike
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I have waffer thin shims in mine to get to ~2.25 degrees, maybe I'll check them more often. I know other folks who have run shims for years. There's no reason why having the ears reground to a different angle should be bad as long as it's done properly. I'm sure they all start out as a parallel-sided block. Mike
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Torque is specified in the build manual (don't have it here with me). There is a sleeve, the compliance in the bush is what allows the arm to move (just like the other suspension bushes). Mike
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The "Apollo" tank is Caterhams's oil/air separator, often mistakenly referred to as an "anti cavitation" tank. Rather than increasing the oil capacity why not just change the oil more often? Mike
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There are quite a few competition cars running ali-block QED Vxs, so they can be made to work. Mike
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Apparently not - I've been nagging for one of these for ages! Mike
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Whoa, I didn't say Jim's was unreliable - I think his was a nat. asp. I've seen 400bhp blown versions in competition cars behaving pretty unreliably though. Mike
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Most modern cars are engineered to have a soft response to steering input. They call it the "sneeze factor" - so a sudden sneeze doesn't cause you to involuntarily explore edges of your lane on the motorway. Mike