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Rolling road session - worth it ?


DaveMorris

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Have just put a new (to me) 1700 s/sprint x-flow engine into my toy and am wondering about getting it tuned properly. Currently it's just set up by eye/ear.

 

Have talked to a couple of rolling road people and as a result of this I have a few questions :-

1/. What is the going rate for a worthwhile rolling road session?

2/. Should I have exhaust modded to fit a Lambda probe point to give the guy setting it up a fighting chance?

3/. As I'm thinking of fitting lumenition or other electronic type of sparky thing - should I do that first ? (realises having typed it that this is probably a REALLY stupid question).

4/. Who would you recomend in the North West / Cheshire area.

Anything else that I should think about?

 

All feedback gratefully received,

 

Dave M

 

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Might be worth talking to the chap in Gresford? behiond the texaco Garage on the b5445? - the old Chester to Wrexham Road. He seemed reasonably priced at about £50 for the rr & carb set up, + any parts required.

 

He had a few race cars in there too!

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Dave,

 

Take it to Dave Brook's engines at Crewe. He will set it up for you on the Mikeanics rolling road at Congleton. He will also weld a lambda boss on for you.

 

I can guarantee that the setup he gives will be the best possible for the state of tune of your engine.....it won't be cheap..........but if you want the job doing properly.... *smile*

 

Paul

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1) My local charges about £40/hr, and an hour should certainly cover tuning a carbs & disty engine.

2) The RR operator should have a probe to shove up your tailpipe that will show the air/fuel ratio etc. so I wouldn't worry.

3) I would if possible, assuming you mean the in-disty devices that replace the points. Don't have any practical experience of them but I think in theory they could change the timing slightly.

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Dave,

 

I'm hoping to put my seven on a RR soon and I was considering W G T Autos in Northwich, right on my door step.

 

Spoke to them on the phone ,seemed to know what they are taking about,price is about £200 for a session but that's to set up an Emerald.

 

Any experiance of there work Paul ?

 

Cheers

Andy

 

K18 FUN

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Hi Dave

 

I would recommend a garage in Chester called J & J they are Weber agents and the guy who does the RR is called Dave. He has run cars in the European historic racing series and Classic Le Mans. Seems to know Webers inside out and X flows too. Done mine twice now and runs well, gives good sensible advice without bull.

 

Can dig ot the number if you're interested. Cost were I seem to remember £55 plus parts (plugs jets if needed)

 

Are you going 3D or just putting an optronic in the dizzy ? Would think you should do either first. What dizzy have you got ?

 

Certainly no need for a Lambda if you go to J & J or most RR as they stick a probe up your exhaust *eek*

 

 

PS do you still have the DS pmp ??

 

John

 

Edited by - John Hughes on 24 Jan 2004 13:25:16

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John,

 

unit is currently fitter with Aldon Igniter - seems to work o.k.

Possibly moving to 3D when I can determine which system is most user friendly in terms of re-mapping on your own p.c. They all seem to have lots of maps for various 1700 x-flow variants.

 

Dizzy is standard Caterham fare I believe.

 

Yes - DS Pump + Sump + remote filter housing still around. Had an approach from a couple of guys for the kit but since first e-mail things have gone quiet. Was considering sticking them on For Sale section to help clear the garage out (and raise cash for a race suit).

If you want the pump (or all the kit) then give me a call (01978 759743) and "quote me happy". 😬

 

Back out to garage now to fit vent pipes to catch tank. I don't know whether it's me but the engine seems to be breathing a bit heavier since I fitted the dry sump ? Or am I just worried that the rings are passing a bit *confused*

 

May speak to you soon,

 

Dave.

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Dave

 

If looking at 3D I would prob keep the "ignitor" system for now. Not sure of it's exact spec but if it doesn't use the points then it's prob going to be OK. The thing is to get rid of the points coz they are such a pain to get at under the manifold / carbs. Mine runs fine on the lumenition optronic it was built with in 1986.

A RR session will check the advance the dizzy can give which needs to be 34-36 deg I think this above 3500-4000rpm.

 

Interested in the pump and remote filter ? how much.

 

Are you going MAD on Wed night - if so could discuss things there. Have been looking at options for 3D myself would be interested to compare notes.

 

John

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All -thanks for the replies. Will give some of the places a ring and have a chat. Unlikely at this stage to spend too much as I may yet make more changes. Just need to confirm that it's reasonably well adjusted and not too far advanced to create any problems.

 

John - possibly there Weds night - if so I'll bring the bits. Re price - a big unknown. I know what I paid but that might not be what they're worth to you !

 

Dave.

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Rolling Road......Calibrated!!!!!!!, against what????, traceable to which standard?, maybe it is cal'ed, but it's worth nothing if the standard is not recognised, back to, say, The National Physical Laboratory" or some other esteemed institution, and is regularly verified as correct against said standard.

 

1982. 5 speed, clamshells. B.R.G / Ali. The True Colours.

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With regard to rolling road work it may pay to shop around! Took mine to an establishment not far from Southend and got mucked about no end. They assured me that they would start at 8 am, but when I got there on the day I had to sit waiting in the P****ng rain for over an hour before anyone deigned to turn up! and when said person arrived he had the cheek to say that they never open up untill after 9am! They did not get to work on the car straight away because they said they had work left over from the day before to complete! and didnt want me to wait in the workshop so I had to go up the road to kill time! Returned 3 hours later and they still hadnt started on my car.I was not going to do any more walking in the rain so I waited in the workshop/shop in the hope it might encourage them to start work on my seven. When I got the car back it didnt feel much different to the way it felt when I took it in there. But my wallet felt much much lighter. The bill included the cost of new jets (But the carbs had only done 4000 miles so the original jets could not have been worn) and even assuming the new jets were deemed necessary to lift the cars performance, I should have got the old jets back. Needless to say I am not going back to that particular establishment and tell anyone thinking of going there not go within a hundred miles of the place, unless they really get off on being F****d about!
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JJ Garage in Chester is excellent although he ran out of time to do a rolling road after setting up my carbs and a points replacement of a non repairable lumenition system.(He claimed that the car would have had to be strapped down to prevent going off the rollers).

He did the points under the carbs-no probs.

I can find the tel.no if asked.

Mike (1989 xflow).

 

mike jackson

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Mike,

I don't think J&J is there any more according to others, but I agree he was excellent on carbs. Only drawback was his RR went to a max. of 140bhp IIRC 😳

 

It's normal to tie the cars down, otherwise they try to exit sideways off the rollers, which is not a great idea *eek*. I would be very worried if they attempted afull power run without the car tied down *eek* 😳

 

Paul

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Sorry Mav, no offence meant, RR figures are a pet hate of mine, purely because RR "A" could show a power and torque of "X", take the same car a few miles along the road to RR "B", and find a completely different figure, no standardisation, if you're paying good money for this service then something honest should be received for it, ie verifiable figures against known standards, sorry, gripe mode off,

Nigel.

 

1982. 5 speed, clamshells. B.R.G / Ali. The True Colours.

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