I see my name mentioned.

Just to set the record straight I drove Stephens car for 3 laps of the course (never sat in it before), these produced times of 45.55s then 43.72s then 42.82s at which point i handed the car back to Stephen with a big thankyou for the priveledge of letting me drive his car. I had BIG issues with his gearbox, i found it almost imposible to change down for the last corner. Had we had a few more runs i would have beaten AndyF's time in stephens car, finding an extra second would have been quite straight forward. This was done on normal Toyo T1S tyres, not ideal when up against people on R spec tyres.

My impresions on how the car drove (and this matters most to me, power isnt so important) was that it was laggier than my car with a VF28, it didnt feel as strong until the mid range, at which point it was pulling very well and much better than my VF28. It felt like a great turbo to use on a course like at TOTB and would have been very quick in my car with my gearing.

From my own very brief experience of Stephens setup it would make a great fast road spec, unfortunately this seems to matter little in all these conversations about peak torque and power. I found the setup in AndyF's car when i drove that to be far more agresive. Andy's car was much quicker once fully boosting but it took more effort to get the speed from, the power above 5000rpm was very impresive.

Personally i think i would go for AndyF's setup for competition work, but Stephens for road use. But ignore me, because its all about the big numbers now isnt it.

I would dearly love to have a try of Harveys car, just to see what that feels like to drive, it sounds absolutely incredible if it can pull as low down as harvey states it does, it would be interesting to see how it reacts to throttle modulation mid corner, which is the true test of drivability.

Such a shame my engine failed first run on the handling track as i would have shown how a VF28 and good gearing/suspension could kick all these big power cars ***** in the real world. My first and only lap at TOTB2 in my RA was 43.45s quickly followed by oh bollox, what a bag of ****e.

 

How apropriate, i got a corner when making a point about cornering matering most. I'll get my coat.

and just for a bit more info, my engine at the test day for TOTB2 in July was 100% stock and was producing 265BHP as measured on the rollers at Prosport. My time on the handling course was 37.99s, i knocked 4.82s from my first to last timed run. AndyF set a best time of 37.91s and he knocked 2.95s from his first to last timed run.

Had i knocked off a similar amount of time in my own car first to last run at TOTB2, i would have won outright by 1 second. I had 305BHP at TOTB2, for about 40 seconds anyway. Can anyone say Gutted?

Power isnt that important guys, it's making the whole package work in harmony that really is the key to speed, unless you want to do 1/4mile times of course, then just disregard everything i just wrote. LOL

[Edited by johnfelstead - 12/13/2003 2:23:29 AM]

 

oh, we have the tyre choice now too , well I was running fulda extremo

JF, I think john banks has a MD304 with top mount run at star if you are considering buying stevens turbo. I agree with your non-laggy mods,gearing and taller rev range it may suit your car quite well. I do not think it will improve your peak figures much though , just move them higher up the rev range. not sure if I agree with the MD304 being better on road than a VF28 and would suggest you try one before buying as an all-rounder but hey, we are all allowed our opinions are we not

mark, there is a big difference between someone knowing for a fact that they are a tester or not. I assume that the pistons are now to blame after-all, like suspected in the first place?

 

T-uk,

If someone asks me for a product with specific requirements, and I say I don't have anything, but will for example, supply a new turbo to try and achieve the results, I don't think anyone can be under the illusion that the product is new, and untested !

You are implying that the pistons used in JB's engine were untried, this is NOT TRUE. The identical pistons are running perfectly well in 3 other engines, one of which you have seen, and heard yourself. David Wallis's.

On JB's last build, a new, different spec' piston was used, and this didn't eliminate the problem.

The pistons have been checked by two different people, who I also asked to check the bore clearances. These were checked to within 1 tenth of a thou'. The pistons were not the cause of the problem, but the actual cause has not been identified yet.

I don't think it takes a genius to see the motive behind your posts. Any excuse to push you're own little agenda

Mark.

 

LOL @ JF Lots of people on this BBS went to the "if this and but that" school of motoring
There was not really any point in me pushing my car any harder, 0.08 or 8.8 seconds......winning is winning

Andy

 

You are implying that the pistons used in JB's engine were untried, this is NOT TRUE. The identical pistons are running perfectly well in 3 other engines, one of which you have seen, and heard yourself. David Wallis's.

so can I ask who has the third engine?

 

I feel like this ,

If Your not winning ,it´s the same as to finish second in a boxing match


Ignore just a bit to think off,

Skassa

 

T-uk,

I only supplied the pistons for the engine. The 2.33lt engine was built by Dave Wild, for one of his customers in Ireland.

It's not my place to post the guys details, but you are welcome to email Dave Wild, and ask him.

IIRC, a relatively small T3/4 of some sort was used, running low boost, and it made circa 430bhp/450ftlbs, but spooled up VERY early.

Speak to Dave, he's got all the details.

So we have 3 engines running identical pistons, one of which you've heard, Trouts, and the one in Ireland. JB's was built to the same spec', using the same pistons. It was far too noisy, no question. It was stripped, checked, and rebuilt, and had the same problem.

I then got a different spec' piston, wich was also .5mm over size. The block was rebored, and honed to match the pistons. It was still too noisy.

If it was the piston, how would 3 out of 4 engines be fine ? Let alone a TOTALLY different spec' of pistons were used in the last build.

Mark.

 

John, i havent said anywhere i am considering buying Stephens turbo, i am not, my turbo is staying stock. I was just passsing comment on what i noticed whilst driving the cars.

Andy, very funny. You and I both know what really happened that day, i was way too helpful.

 

And very grateful I was for your input too sir

Would you like to put a little wager on next years result ?

Andy

 

if i design the course, sure, why not. LOL

 

Sh1te! I missed this thread .

And me with a drink an' all.( Know F'All apparently).

LOL!

Steve.