The car has come back from RaceTorque after it's tune-up, this time not just looking at the fuelling but also at the cam timing. And boy, what a difference.
The original run had 139rwp and 191Nm - with the changes, it's now 160rwhp and 219Nm, and increase of 15% across both figures. What's more interesting is that the average power is now higher than the maximum power from the previous runs.
To get this, the tuner made some fairly significant changes, retarding the exhaust by 4 degrees, and advancing the inlet by 6 degrees. This is where the fly-cut pistons came in - they gave confidence that the valves would clear, even with this fairly significant move. The tuner stopped increasing the offset only because we were now risking having the inlet and outlet valves touch.
It's also cured the stalling at part-throttle, smoothed out the power delivery and stopped all the popping and crackling on overrun. All that was missing was the pine-scented little tree hanging from the rear vision mirror.
Sets me up nicely for this weekend anyway - but it's one less excuse if I get pummeled by everyone else ;-)
The Birkin
The finished article
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Getting ready for Fabcar
Now it's time to get ready for the Fabcar 1-Day Challenge. Actually there's not a lot to do, as most of the stuff that gets scrutineered on the superkhana day is the same for the 1 day event. The major difference is the requirement for fire extinguishers.
The requirement is for 1 x 2kg, or 2x1kg, as long as one is accessible to the driver. The trick with clubmans is finding a suitable location, and a suitable extinguisher that fits. Unfortunately, Australia has been inundated with squat, fat things instead of the previous long, thin versions that fit so nicely under the drivers or passengers legs.
So I now have two extinguishers fitted - one sits between the driver and passenger seats bolted to the rear bulkhead with a reinforcing bracket, and the other is in the boot boot bolted to the roll-bar anchorage. Neither should move in the event of a 25-G impact, which is apparently the standard.
Also, this week the car is going back to the dyno for a retune. The car is idling OK, but it hates part throttle (keeps want to stall, missing etc), makes a hell of a lot of noise on over-run, and doesn't like 3000rpm, so I think a quick retune is in order before the event. Not that part throttle or 3000rpm is likely to occur much in the event, but it would be good to know that it's all running as it should.
Also - it will make taking off at lights less conspicuous. I was sitting next to a police car the other day, which is common for me given I live next to police HQ in Perth. My car gets attention, but if you have to rev the hell out of it to stop it stalling, it gets more attention. So I'd rather it was tuned to be a little more tractable at part throttle ;-) He's also going to play with the cam timings this time around, which might also help.
I'll post the results as they come in - again, also hoping for something a little better that 108rwhp. Frank had his checked out, and it came back significantly better than this, so I need to have a lot more if I'm ever going to think of keeping up.
Actually, that's a point. Frank had his out the other day for a quick shakedown run - he had no oil pressure, was keeping the revs really low - and still he pulled comfortably away. And he wasn't even trying.
Hmmmmm.....time for an upgrade, perhaps? No, no, mustn't think that way. Especially now the Aussie dollar has achieved parity with the Mexican peso.
The requirement is for 1 x 2kg, or 2x1kg, as long as one is accessible to the driver. The trick with clubmans is finding a suitable location, and a suitable extinguisher that fits. Unfortunately, Australia has been inundated with squat, fat things instead of the previous long, thin versions that fit so nicely under the drivers or passengers legs.
So I now have two extinguishers fitted - one sits between the driver and passenger seats bolted to the rear bulkhead with a reinforcing bracket, and the other is in the boot boot bolted to the roll-bar anchorage. Neither should move in the event of a 25-G impact, which is apparently the standard.
Also, this week the car is going back to the dyno for a retune. The car is idling OK, but it hates part throttle (keeps want to stall, missing etc), makes a hell of a lot of noise on over-run, and doesn't like 3000rpm, so I think a quick retune is in order before the event. Not that part throttle or 3000rpm is likely to occur much in the event, but it would be good to know that it's all running as it should.
Also - it will make taking off at lights less conspicuous. I was sitting next to a police car the other day, which is common for me given I live next to police HQ in Perth. My car gets attention, but if you have to rev the hell out of it to stop it stalling, it gets more attention. So I'd rather it was tuned to be a little more tractable at part throttle ;-) He's also going to play with the cam timings this time around, which might also help.
I'll post the results as they come in - again, also hoping for something a little better that 108rwhp. Frank had his checked out, and it came back significantly better than this, so I need to have a lot more if I'm ever going to think of keeping up.
Actually, that's a point. Frank had his out the other day for a quick shakedown run - he had no oil pressure, was keeping the revs really low - and still he pulled comfortably away. And he wasn't even trying.
Hmmmmm.....time for an upgrade, perhaps? No, no, mustn't think that way. Especially now the Aussie dollar has achieved parity with the Mexican peso.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
The Results
The results are up from the Superkhana - I came 26th out of 44. Mind you, looking at my times, if I had just taken it easier, I would have ended up top 10 (coulda, woulda, shoulda, but didn't.....).
Oh, and I won the dubious 'spin of the day' which I think was a bit much given:
Oh, and I won the dubious 'spin of the day' which I think was a bit much given:
- the RX-7 that also went up a bank, but one with a proper curb on it that threw the car into a nice spin - he recovered it well and finished with a grin on his face....
- the Ford that slalomed its way around the circuit, dropped a wheel into a ditch and ripped a tyre from the rim - again he was back on track the next round.....
I think I won because they got a photo of it, which they've kindly published online. See, I'm famous. Now whenever someone Googles my name, its going to be in relation to falling off the track with a photo to boot.
So anyway, a lot of positives came out of that, and I really enjoyed it.
Monday, October 20, 2008
First time trial
This Sunday, I took the Birkin out for its first set of timed runs. The day is run by AEM - the same people who are putting on the one-day rally in two weeks time, and the venue is one of the locations. So it was a good opportunity to punt it into a few corners to see what happens.
Anyway, four laps.....
First lap -well, less said about this one, the better. Started off, then put it into second for no apparent reason. Then came around a right hander, tried to sweep into the following left hander, hit brakes and accelerator at the same time, and parked it up a bank. What made it worse was that I almost beached myself -took some wheelspinning to get off and back onto the track. No damage to the car at all, which was good. I was only doing around 10kph as I went up the grassy knoll.
Second lap was better, although I must admit I was slightly gun-shy. Left it in first most of the way round, which worked a lot better. Coming into the final, sharp right hander though, I discovered it doesn't like braking and turning at the same time - basically understeered in a straight line, and clipped a bollard. Again, no damage.
Third and fourth laps were, well, dull in comparison, yet obviously much quicker when you don't park it half-way through the lap.
Anyway, the results should come out soon. I think if I hadn't parked it on the first lap, I would have done OK. I deliberately didn't look at my times during the day - I decided to focus on the driving, not on the times. When you're trying to shave whole seconds off, what's the point of keeping track that closely?
So, a few things to look at. The understeering is still annoying, but I have a lot of suspension work to smooth that out. I can also focus on the driver - as long as I do most things in straight lines at the moment, its fine. But I have two weeks before the next event - probably won't improve too much between now and then.
But gee it was a hell of a lot of fun...... ;-)
Anyway, four laps.....
First lap -well, less said about this one, the better. Started off, then put it into second for no apparent reason. Then came around a right hander, tried to sweep into the following left hander, hit brakes and accelerator at the same time, and parked it up a bank. What made it worse was that I almost beached myself -took some wheelspinning to get off and back onto the track. No damage to the car at all, which was good. I was only doing around 10kph as I went up the grassy knoll.
Second lap was better, although I must admit I was slightly gun-shy. Left it in first most of the way round, which worked a lot better. Coming into the final, sharp right hander though, I discovered it doesn't like braking and turning at the same time - basically understeered in a straight line, and clipped a bollard. Again, no damage.
Third and fourth laps were, well, dull in comparison, yet obviously much quicker when you don't park it half-way through the lap.
Anyway, the results should come out soon. I think if I hadn't parked it on the first lap, I would have done OK. I deliberately didn't look at my times during the day - I decided to focus on the driving, not on the times. When you're trying to shave whole seconds off, what's the point of keeping track that closely?
So, a few things to look at. The understeering is still annoying, but I have a lot of suspension work to smooth that out. I can also focus on the driver - as long as I do most things in straight lines at the moment, its fine. But I have two weeks before the next event - probably won't improve too much between now and then.
But gee it was a hell of a lot of fun...... ;-)
Friday, October 17, 2008
She ain't heavy.....
Weighed the car today - came in at 568kg with 30ltr of fuel in the tank. So really not a lot at all.
Weight distribution was, strangely enough, almost perfect. As expected, the left front tyre was a little light on - it was locking up under heavy breaking, so I've turned the right rear shock to put more weight on the wheel - that should help. Probably only a matter of a few kilos to shift to make a difference.
I'll redo the corner weights with my Dad in the car, although I think we'll balance each other out quite nicely.
I've also bought my helmet - it's a Sparco Formula helmet, with Hans harness fittings in place, so when I decide to get teh Hans device it will clip right in. It's a nice, light helmet, but pretty huge. I guess it's not about the looks, though.
Weight distribution was, strangely enough, almost perfect. As expected, the left front tyre was a little light on - it was locking up under heavy breaking, so I've turned the right rear shock to put more weight on the wheel - that should help. Probably only a matter of a few kilos to shift to make a difference.
I'll redo the corner weights with my Dad in the car, although I think we'll balance each other out quite nicely.
I've also bought my helmet - it's a Sparco Formula helmet, with Hans harness fittings in place, so when I decide to get teh Hans device it will clip right in. It's a nice, light helmet, but pretty huge. I guess it's not about the looks, though.
Monday, October 13, 2008
It's Registered!
Yup, got the plates and everything. Now I can drive it legally on the road, which is nice. More importantly, I can start to get into the various events around the place, from nice country drives with the local clubbies group, through to AMS events.
Registration was actually a lot less trouble than I thought, although it didn't start well. The inspectors opening comments were 'I hate these cars. You can't steer 'em, can't use the pedals, and they're unsafe. If it was up to me, I wouldn't register these things'. But once he'd had his rant and seen that the lights all worked, indicators flashed, and took it for a 30 second drive, he signed the paperwork. And that's actually all that I really needed from him - the opinions were an extra I could do without ;-)
A word to the wise though - do a final check before you take it to be registered. Sods law says something will have come loose. In my case, it was a wire to the front left indicator - a five minute job saved me from failing the rego ;-)
I've also resolved the water temp gauge problem - I just needed to earth the engine to the chassis, which removed a lot of the electrical noise from the system.
Now it's back at Franks - I know, you were all thinking that once it was registered, that would be it. But there's still work to do before the rally:
Registration was actually a lot less trouble than I thought, although it didn't start well. The inspectors opening comments were 'I hate these cars. You can't steer 'em, can't use the pedals, and they're unsafe. If it was up to me, I wouldn't register these things'. But once he'd had his rant and seen that the lights all worked, indicators flashed, and took it for a 30 second drive, he signed the paperwork. And that's actually all that I really needed from him - the opinions were an extra I could do without ;-)
A word to the wise though - do a final check before you take it to be registered. Sods law says something will have come loose. In my case, it was a wire to the front left indicator - a five minute job saved me from failing the rego ;-)
I've also resolved the water temp gauge problem - I just needed to earth the engine to the chassis, which removed a lot of the electrical noise from the system.
Now it's back at Franks - I know, you were all thinking that once it was registered, that would be it. But there's still work to do before the rally:
- Fit the cross-member. If you remember, the bellhousing is below the line of the removal able cross-member, so Frank will fabricate a new one
- Re-do the water lines
- Play with suspension settings
But at least now I don't have to worry about the Police troubling me for my rego papers...
Friday, October 3, 2008
Final fitting, and Fabcar
The car is around at Frank's at the moment, getting the buzzer fitted for the indicator and the immobiliser done. Then I have to raise it up a little, do a wheel alignment, and put the VIN number on, and it can go over the pits. Planning on doing that sometime this coming week.
In addition, I've signed up to the somewhat camply named Fabcar 1-Day rally, organised by the same team that does the Classic Challenge and other events around Perth. For me, this will be a learning experience, as whilst I know what the car is like at low speeds, or high speeds in straight lines, I haven't yet had a chance to throw it at a corner to see what happens. So that's what I'll be using the day for.
The idea is that it's 16 different circuits including motorkhana, drag racing, street circuits etc, all done in quick succession around Perth. So you get all sorts of types of driving in, under all sorts of conditions. There will be around 6 Birkins along including several people new to this sort of thing, so we can all laugh at each other. Frank's should also be on the road, all tricked up, so it will be great to see that running again. Let's hope he avoids all walls this time.
The link for the event can be found here: http://www.classicrally.com.au/1-Day%20Rally.htm I'm going to do the rounds with my Dad, which should be fun. I'll have to see how badly I can scare him ;-)
In addition, I've signed up to the somewhat camply named Fabcar 1-Day rally, organised by the same team that does the Classic Challenge and other events around Perth. For me, this will be a learning experience, as whilst I know what the car is like at low speeds, or high speeds in straight lines, I haven't yet had a chance to throw it at a corner to see what happens. So that's what I'll be using the day for.
The idea is that it's 16 different circuits including motorkhana, drag racing, street circuits etc, all done in quick succession around Perth. So you get all sorts of types of driving in, under all sorts of conditions. There will be around 6 Birkins along including several people new to this sort of thing, so we can all laugh at each other. Frank's should also be on the road, all tricked up, so it will be great to see that running again. Let's hope he avoids all walls this time.
The link for the event can be found here: http://www.classicrally.com.au/1-Day%20Rally.htm I'm going to do the rounds with my Dad, which should be fun. I'll have to see how badly I can scare him ;-)
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