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Been a bit slack in not updating this for while, partly due to work commitments and partly due to having the car up for sale at the time meaning I totally forgot about it.
In terms of the car nothing really changed between its last outing in rounds 2 and 3 of SLS in May and the next two rounds at the end of July. The car has been pretty much faultless with just one blip of an untimely alternator failure right before the final in round 2 which along with some other errors on my part in later rounds have proven very costly. In reality the problem of not running in the final of round 2 was a bit of a school boy error which would become more poignant in round 5. In reality had I scrutinised the rules more and actually thought about it I should have asked George for a lone of his car for the final and went out and scooped more points than I ended up with - lesson learned there.
In terms of round 4 which was anticlockwise the times were improving all day but I still found myself 0.9 sec off the pace in qualifying and in the final, the margins are very tight and even a missed gear change can be the difference, all the other cars in the class have sequential boxes so its a matter of trying to get the gear changes as quick as possible and trying not to take 5th when going for 3rd, that's the one that always gets you with the 6 speed H pattern box. The difference being able to flat foot shift with an almost instantaneous gear change with virtually no drop in revs cannot be underestimated but that said my times are no where near the capabilities of the car so that at this point is not the problem.
In the end I ended up 2nd in class with as mentioned a 0.9 sec gap from 1st place but more importantly the gap between me in 2nd place in the class overall and 1st place was opening up a bit so in reality I had to pull something back in round 5 which wasn't ideal as I prefer the anticlockwise direction for some reason. So it was back home for the night and look at in car footage and plan how to drive the clockwise circuit. I also spent some time looking for my big boy pants that seem to have vanished.
Few pics from round 4
Well Sunday morning round 5 clockwise and another day and another opportunity.
Weather had been kind on Saturday and was looking ok for Sunday as well.
Had decided that this was pretty much a make or break round and had also decided after some thought and some vodka on Saturday night that I would no longer be selling the car so in reality I had 2 rounds to try and salvage something from a pretty mediocre season so far. Warm up for me was uneventful car was fine grip was there once the tyres had heated up so no drama's at all, gentle work up for the car and me feeling my way back round the clockwise direction. The session was interrupted when John Stevenson and Steven Darley had a fairly big shunt on the back straight before Clark's. That essentially took out both cars for this event and also made winning on the day critical.
Practice was again fine car felt good so knocked the boost up to 1.6 bar lol and had a play again no drama's and times were down a bit so all ready for qualifying. I had at that point assumed that I only had Sam in his new lightweight McLaren LT to beat but then found out that both Steven Darley and John Stevenson had been offered drives in class b cars wasn't an issue but as mentioned previously brought back the error made in round 2 into focus.
Qualifying went well and I finished first in Qualifying and was looking like first place on the day should be there for the taking. I was sat in the que waiting for my batch to set off for the final when it started raining, bollocks that changes things but shouldn't make a difference other than the cars on track which included John Stevenson had a dryish track for their run and the rain was getting heavier. At that point my younger lad Steven came down and said I had a time of 1.00 min to beat, could do that with my eyes shut I thought lol oh how wrong could you be, given the track was now a little wet I knocked the boost down to 1.8 bar as full power just wasn't needed and may be difficult to get down anyway. I set of out the paddock over duffus and down to Scotsman car didn't feal bad car was gripping ok at lowish speed so started to crank it up through the hairpin , no dramas so off I went down the back straight and into the hairpin probably at 90% dry pace, up the straight flat out, braked earlier than normal for Duffus, no need to be a hero just get it round in under a minute. Then took a bit of kerb over Duffus and oops what am I doing spinning bollocks spun 3 times and into the gravel oops. In reality I got out very quickly but had a nagging doubt about the time standing due to exceeding track limits so drove round to the back straight and thought mmm that's nonsense of course the time would stand so booted it down the back straight and round the hairpin, and up the straight but by that time it was too late 1 min 6 secs and 2nd place and the chance to take the fight for 1st in class to the last round had gone :mad-new:
Few pics
If you look at the round up video below at 14 mins 30 secs ish you will see me blowing the season in one error.
Well after the spin in round 5 I thought it would be prudent to see if Graeme would check the alignment in case my trip to the gravel had caused any issues. Before that I had booked the car into Kames for a session so my two lads could drive the car. That turned out to be a right laugh. With both David and Steven starting off very gently getting used to the car, but by the end of the day despite a wee oil leak we had knocked the boost up and they were putting in some decent runs oops what had I started lol
What did show up was the car just didn't feel 100% right to me so it was off through to Whiteline HQ and Graeme checked things out and the toe was out a bit which was probably as a result of the spin and the trip to the gravel so with the car all set up and a wee discussion about some plans for next year it was back home to start sorting things out for the last event. Thanks Graeme really appreciate you squeezing the car in as I know you were really busy.
So round 6 it came round really quickly and in reality there was nothing at stake other than making sure I finished at least 2nd but pride wanted the first place, it was anti clockwise and I was feeling pretty confident that I could get my time down a fair bit and push hard for the 1st place. It would be a lot harder now tho as Colin Dorwood was back after a terrible run of luck with his Evo and Colin would definitely be quick and would force times down.
As normal warm up and practice uneventful times ok not earth shattering both at 56.3 secs. So to qualifying, it turned out to be a bit of a stop start event with quite a few cars spinning off I ended up with a 56.0 which was crap with Coling Dorwood and John Stevenson doing mid 54's so really not good enough but still on course for 2nd in class overall which was in reality the goal after my F*** up in round 5.
The final was a total write off, everything was fine, weather was holding up car was good and I was up for it. The organisers had decided to put us out in batches of 4 which I wasnt sure would or wouldn't cause an issue but in reality it did. I was out last in my batch so sat on the line ready to go Green light off I went wasn't hanging around as I wanted to try and get heat into the tyres by the time I got to Clark's I could see the grey Evo in our group coming donw to wards clarks so I got round clark's and opulled over and let him by, he shot passed and I thought **** he isn't making that chicane and sure enough missed it totally and straight across the grass missing the chicane totally. It didn't cause me any issues as he just kept going so I would the car up into Scotsman and up Duffus in 4th car felt good, took a wee bit Kerb at the top and pushed straight across the track so lap starting well good speed up duffus, into 5th and were off then I see the Evo in front of me so I lift, he sees me and I assume goes back on the power but I have lost speed on the straight and caught him at the hairpin bollocks, never mind passed him round the hairpin and just went for it the rest of the lap felt good the car was right on the edge going down Clark's and I thought this is quick rest also felt good up over duffus and quickly into 5th to get the torque and over the line but it was only a 56.3 which is crap, lost a lot of time on the straight and at the hairpin. With John Stevenson doing a 56.15 and Colin doing a 54.7 that put me 3rd on the day but secured 2nd in class overall. In reality I could have had a rerun nd with the tyres warmed I would have looked to be in the very low 55's or maybe a high 54 but there was nothing to be gained even beating Colin's time would not change the overall outcome so I decided to take the time and live to fight another day.
So all in all a mixed bag of a year, a case of lots of positives in terms of the cars reliability and it really is becoming a quite potent package but negatives although my times are coming down they should be much much lower so lots to think about there over the winter. I need to start getting things consistently right and be far far more aggressive. But all in all I would say a 6/10 in terms of how the year panned out.
So its now looking at what changes need to be made to the car for next year, I have already organised a major change to the suspension so the KW clubsports will be coming off and a much more track specific set up going on. The KW Clubsports are a cracking set up but the car will now be moving beyond what they can give so they will be up for sale soon. I have another wee project on going related to suspension which may be interesting if it comes off but other than that its time to sit down and look at the weight of the car and the power I am sitting in the middle of the SLS class A power band so it may well be that more power is needed as I may have too put a bit of weight back into the car with some of the changes I intend to make so that needs looked at. So yet another busy winter coming up.
Massive thanks as always to Graeme Jeram for all his help over the winter getting the car too where it is this year and continued help, advice and encouragement when I was close to throwing the towel in, in reality I have not done the car justice but next year hopefully things will click into place.
Also massive thanks to Alyn at AS Performance for always being there to solve problems and get parts etc out quicker than any other company could - thanks Alyn.
Also huge thanks to Simon at Chevron for all the help and advice and Lee at Owen Developments for producing an amazing turbo package. Also huge thanks to John Stewart for all the pics etc and always offering encouragement over the years. Big thanks also to Bob always there to help, nothing ever any bother thanks Bob your a true gent plus you rip the **** out of George which to be fair isn't hard. Lastly massive thanks to the missus for putting up with me and my two lads David and Steven for all the help over the winter and during the season and no your not getting the car next year.
TBH Arch I have done nothing with it other than sorting the new Syvecs after I found that the other one had its canbus bridge missing when i wired in the teck2 dash they replaced the syvecs foc and sent me a replacement with all the latest bits and bobs added.Work has been full on so been unable to get time off but as its the back end of the year now so hopefully get some free time to pop up to see john just to sort a wiring job and then andy to finish the mapping then that will be it finished lol.
Well it wasn't the best season but also not the worst car ran without issue but a few bad decisions by me and driving within myself at times resulted in an average report card. Not a bad haul for the year tho.
Lots going on in terms of changes to the car some needed and some purely to try and increase the performance of the car.
One problem I have had especially last year was fuel capacity. I have a 21 Lt tank at present and there just isn't enough fuel to get me through the 15 min sessions even with a combination of quick and cool down laps so I decided to draw up a tank that will give me a 30Lt capacity but is baffled in a similar manner to the old tank allowing me to run right down to 3 or 4 litres with no surge. It will be lower and be mounted forward right against the fire wall which will help a little with weight distribution. I should have that back this week so will get on with getting that plumbed in and making any necessary changes to the pipe work but that should be minimal. I have also went with a VDO sender so I will have a fuel level indication which I have never had but will definitely be handy.
I have the boot floor out at the minute mocking up uprights for a rear wing. This will be a set of vertical uprights mounted to the chassis leg with a platform that mates with the boot right under the wing mounts so the forces will be transferred down onto the chassis leg. This is all designed now and is off to be laser cut. I will also have new wing uprights done which will be taller and give the right adjustability for the new rear wing.
I have started mocking up some canards for the front the plan is to have a double set along with a boxed in section which will pick up onto the splitter.
I will also be redoing the front splitter and rear diffuser to make both more functional. The front splitter will be extended forward slightly and extended further rearwards under the car.
I have taken the front brakes off to be overhauled, I suspect I have sticking pistons as the pad wear is greater on the top than it is at the bottom but just in case I will also be changing the bells and brackets to some lighter ones from Alyn at ASP, the caliper brackets that are on the car are heavy so they are history and the bells don't seem right for the car due to the proximity of the disc to the front track control arm.
Calipers before refurb
The turbo is also off any away to have Lee at Owen Developments do a small tweek on it for next year, huge thanks to Simon at Chevron for organising this. Looking forward to seeing what difference Lee's changes make
I will also be removing the KW's which have not been on the car long and are still like new so if anyone is interested in a set of Classic fitment KW Clubsports with whiteline Max C motorsport front top mounts and Noltec adjustable rear top mounts drop me a PM. I have decided to go for a set of Whiteline 3 way Competion dampers, I really cannot fault the KW's but the Whiteline dampers will be much more track focused.
Last edited by Arch; 19 December 2016 at 12:50 AM.
Thought I would put a quick update on some of the things going on over the winter. Not many massive changes to the car but one thing that did need addressed was the fuel capacity. The tank I had in the car just wasn't sufficient anymore given the fuel flow now so I decided to design one based on the same principals as the old one but with more capacity and the ability to run down to a few litres without surge. I also wanted it further forward in the car and also to be lower. After a fair few quotes I opted for OBP to build it, they understood exactly what I needed and produced an excellent end product at a very competitive price all in all an excellent company too deal with.
Tank after it arrived
Tank during mock up
Final fit
At the end of the year I noticed that the pads on the front were wearing unevenly so decided to get the caliper's overhauled. I sent them off to Brake Caliper Specialists and the results speak for themselves also cant fault the whole process I had emails at every stage and they also pulled the stops out to get them back to me quickly. In the end there were a few sticking pistons so a well worth exercise.
I have decided to try a proper wing this year so opted for one of DJ Engineering's wings as I know they have had excellent results on some of the single seaters in the hill climb circuit. Profile is pretty impressive. Massive thanks to Del at DJ for his help.
I needed to provide a decent platform for the wing which would transfer the load down to the chassis leg but I also wanted to retain the functionality of a normal bootlid so again drew up some drawings for some uprights and had them made by OBP again top work. I did need the top sections welded onto the uprights which was a bit of a nightmare as they were angled fore and aft and side to side . Massive thanks to Graeme Jerame for welding these on, it is pretty thick alloy plus a nightmare to hold in place but in the end what a welding job Graeme done thanks again.
They did still need a bit of fettling to make sure they mate exactly with the underside of the boot but they turned out not too bad. They have been lightened a bit, pics are mock up pics, they have been lightened further since but you get the idea.
I had already done a leak down check, compression check and full boroscope of the piston tops, edges and bores as well as having a look at as much of the valve area as possibleand all appears tip top. Along with this the usual maintenance items have been done engine, gearbox and rear diff oil changes, brake fluid change, plugs etc etc. I have had a weep from the RH rocker cover all last year so new gasket fitted there and that has cured that. I also ran without a thermostat last year and had problems getting the car up to temp so decided to refit a low temp stat.
Small delivery from Alyn one of a few still to come lol
Fair bit still to do including making a new front splitter, finishing off the bigger rear diffuser and addressing the front to attempted to balance the effect of the wing at the rear but pretty much on track for being ready early for once.
Some good changes Archie, putting a support under the boot lid is a good solution, I've seen a few people do similar stuff. But yours is nicely executed.
Out of interest what does your car weigh on proper scales, should be daily light I'm guessing
The 2nd last main piece of the jigsaw was a tweak to the turbo. Have to say a massive thanks to Lee Owen at Owen Developments for all the help with this and also to Simon Stanley at Chevron Motorsports for organising everything, the guys at Owen Developments turned the turbo round quickly to meet the short time frame I had and what a result, made me grin lol
Also massive thanks to Andy Forrest and Duncan at Hypertech for all help with the remap Andy's usual attention to detail always extracts the best possible outcome from the car. Thanks also to Andy Napier and Russ Paton for all the help with the SLS dyno/weight check. Its been a really busy last few months and especially the last few weeks but the main work is done ready for the first track day and a bit of testing.
Arch looks like they have made it a bit lighter inside the dyno cell from last time I was there hopefully be there myself soon good to see you have got all the tweeks sorted out and the car is ready for slf.
Thanks Alyn hadn't got to that bit yet lol
After a chat with Alyn we suspect that the brackets and possibly the bells are not ideal for the car and may be part of the uneven pad wear and the proximity of the disc to the track rod end, so Alyn has designed and had a set of lighter brackets and new bells made for me so just waiting on them arriving along with some new pads and new brake lines ��
29 September 2016, 12:41 AM
