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Shaun_E

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Posts posted by Shaun_E

  1. I run a 6 speed + 3.92 diff for sprinting and racing. I'm on 235/45R13 Kumho V70A so even lower geared than you. Max speed is 131@8500 rpm in 6th but the only place this is a major problem is Goodwood where I'm on the limiter before Fordwater and likewise before the kink on Lavant straight. I can see that at Combe you'd be on the limiter through Folly as well although not for as long (I've not done a track day or race there, only a sprint with this engine and car set-up so don't know for sure). At Brands Hatch Indy I can just hit the limiter before Paddock Hill.

    If you fitted the 3.62 diff you'd not reach the limiter in 6th with 230bhp. I've got a 260bhp Duratec and at the top end of 6th, even though power is still climbing, the rate of acceleration has dropped hugely and any gains in top speed with a higher diff ratio would likely be offset by the loss of acceleration on all the other parts of the circuit.

    I have to confess to hardly using the car on the road these days but ear-plugs have always been the best solution *ears* - my bigger problem is fuel range - about 100 miles *eek* - due to thirsty engine and low gearing.

  2. Interesting :-)

    I'd not thought of adding a pdf as an image but as a link. Nicer to see an image rather than another click to download I guess. If I get a minute, I'll try to find a solution for you

    Shaun

  3. The lack of email notifications was due to an automated job not running. NDP are investigating but I've asked them to delete the queue before restarting the job as there are 10k+ waiting to go and that might cause some issues!

    Hopefully we'll have a resolution this week.

    Your picture can be re-added. In fixing a problem a while back related to user profiles, some avatars were lost. If you re-add the picture it should stay.

  4. I thought I'd just post an update on my 2016 racing activities. Although the hillclimb/sprint calendar has been pretty, busy I managed to fit some more race events in.

    The first was an MSVR Allcomers (open race) at Snetterton on Sunday 4th September. This was part of the Supercar Challenge weekend so the paddock was full of huge race transporters and Ferraris. There was a 15 minute practice session available on Saturday evening and given that I had never driven the new "300" circuit I thought that was a good idea. We got there Saturday afternoon to be greeted by pouring rain and a drenched circuit - practice is practice and at least I could work out where the circuit went. There was just me and a Radical out there (the driver of which had also never driven that configuration) and it was all I could do to keep the car in a straight line. *eek* Sunday was dry but the circuit was still damp. Qualifying was early and there was a mix of cars from Caterhams and Radicals to a monster TVR Sagaris GT car. I set off on the first lap and immediately had some problems with gear selection which seemed to improve but by the second or third lap it was clear I had a major problem. With the gear-lever in neutral the car was still moving forwards! Got back to the pits under my own steam but that was game over *weeping* We were home by lunchtime, engine/gearbox out by the evening and off to Phil at R&R Monday morning. Phil did an amazing job to turn the gearbox around and I collected it Tuesday evening, back in the car by end of Thursday and out on the Wiscombe park hill on Saturday!!! *wobble*

    The next outing was an HSCC event at Brands Hatch Saturday 17th September (2 days before we were off on holiday to Majorca!!). This was another "Allcomers" event but when I saw the entry list I felt like I'd brought a gun to a knife fight! It was mostly 70s classics - Mustangs, Mini Cooper, TVR, etc although there was one other Caterham (an R300 race car with a 2.4L Duratec and about 320 bhp!). I qualified 2nd behind the other 7. The race was good fun though and we lapped everything up to 3rd place and some cars twice. Dealing with all the traffic while still keeping the other 7 in my sights was a good learning experience and I finished 2nd - it was great to stand on the podium at Brands. *woohoo* After race 1 the organisers asked us if we would mind starting at the back "to make it more interesting" and we both agreed. We also got a 10s penalty so the rest of the field was at Druids by the time we got to start. Fighting through the field was another great learning experience and fun too. By lap 6 we were back in the lead and I kept on the tail of the other 7 to finish just 1s behind for another 2nd place and fastest lap. Video of Race 2: 

    My final outing was back at Brands again on Saturday 19th October for another MSVR Allcomers.The full 32 car entry was a bit more challenging this time including 2 Radicals and 5 Caterhams who were all sporting slick tyres - I only had my Kumho V70A road legal tyres! There was also a mixed bag of other cars and that proved to make qualifying tricky as it was hard to get a clean lap. In the end I managed to qualify 12th with a best lap of 52.380s. The races were rolling starts - a first for me - and coming round Clearways towards the start the cars started to bunch up and then the red lights went out followed by a manic charge towards Paddock Hill. I dropped a couple of places but by Druids had relaxed enough to start picking off the slower cars that had got past me at the start. The Radicals and slick shod Caterhams were quickly building up a big lead so I settled into a largely un-eventful race working my way up to 10th place and eventually crossing the line neck and neck with a Ginetta G50 which just pipped me to 9th by 0.018s. Starting 10th in the second race, I got a much better start and hung on to the Ginetta which I managed to pass halfway through the first lap. I also quickly caught and passed a Clio Cup car that got the jump on me at the start. Ahead of me now was a Mercedes SL spaceframe Silhouette racer on slicks which I had been lapping more quickly than in Race 1. I soon caught it and after a short battle swapping places at Paddock Hill and Druids and I finally got clearly past at Clearways. I managed to keep ahead and eventually caught a supercharged Caterham CSR on slicks. Trying to get past that, I also had to make sure I didn't lose the place I'd fought so hard to gain. At the chequered flag I had hung onto 8th place *woohoo* Video of Race 2: 

     This was my best race yet and I now had my 6 signatures I need for next year *smile* 
  5. I treated myself to one of these a couple of years ago: http://products.dewalt.co.uk/powertools/productdetails/catno/DCF880M2/ which I suspect is the one Roger has. It's plenty powerful enough for Caterham wheel nuts , is light weight and quite small which is great if you carry it around in your tool box. Nice and light to use which is more than can be said of the cheap Clarke one (NiCad) that I had before. I've got a 4.0Ah battery but if you really wanted to keep the weight down, a smaller battery would be ample for taking to trackdays/race meets.

  6. H Phil - you have a couple of choices

    1. Swap to wasted spark ignition with a single coil pack which will require some minor rewiring - preferred option in my opinion. You might need custom plug leads depending on where you mount the coil pack (when I had a K, I mounted my coil pack on the bulkhead and had Magnecor make up suitable plug leads). If I remember correctly we used the GM coil pack supplied by SBD along with the matching connector.
    2. Drill and tap the back of the block to accept a distributor (requires a drive shaft adding to the end of the camshaft) - Dave Andrews did this for my first modified K.

    If you are going to a programmable ECU then an Emerald accepts the EU2 plug - other ECUs might need some rewiring and a new ECU plug. You don't need to rewire much else as the connections to the engine are more or less the same.

    Dry sump fitting should be straightforward although the "instructions" require some interpretation :-)

    Shaun

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