bstark

Thanks Chris - should have thought about Redline myself really

The chap who is rebuilding my axle has found a very nasty crack in one of the halfshafts outside of the bearing (very glad he found it before I did the hard way ) so I need a good Ital halfshaft. Anyone know a good source? Bob

Ok, good stuff. Sounds like it should be fairly simple to make it last then. Cheers for the advice

Cheers Chris Out of interest, someone at Brands mentioned fitting an oil cooler to the axle - is this overkill?

Hi Chris, Thanks for the info . Pretty sure the axle was overfilled by jacking up the rear and using the normal filler. I very much doubt there was an additional 2 litres in there. Any idea how much higher up the second filler is positioned? Bob

Q102 - just so I know, why is the Ford axle any less prone to oil surge issues?

Had great fun on the track yesterday (especially "fun" round clearways 😬) despite my axle lunching itself again 🙆🏻. Agree that the MSV guys were great - exactly how you would hope an event like this would be run.

The axle was done by 7 Indulgence, and the ATB and CW&P fitted by R+R. Don't know if it is baffled. The engine now has some pretty fancy breather pipework and a big wing sump and seems fine on track (touch wood). The axle used to be fine when I first started doing trackdays, but since doing a couple of seasons sprinting I now corner faster so I guess it was marginal previously. The power isn't the issue, nor is bearing movement...

Surely there must be some way to get them to cope I've spent more on the axle on my car than any other bit of it over the years and it now has decent halfshafts (glued to bearings, and no bearing movement issues since) a Quaife ATB and Jigsaw CW&P in it. Axle is overfilled by jacking up the rear. It was fine when I was just sprinting it, and absolutely silent on the road for 2 years. First trackday I do (Brands yesterday - and very slippery, so not even flat out in the bendy bits) and the axle starts complaining after 5 laps or so. By the time I leave the circuit it sounds like a straight cut gearbox. It also did this the last time I was at Brands which is why I went down the Jigsaw route, but I can't afford to do this every trackday. I'm assuming its an oil surge or oil temp issue or both. I'm just fed up with it now, though, as being able to go for it on the track is a big part of owning the car. The rest of the car is great so I don't want to think about selling it. So... what can be done that will actually work, and stay working?

Not alone - think the whole car looks great!

Pretty certain the Weller steels I use on the track are lighter than the 80's-fit 6 spoke alloys I use on the road. The handling is better on the steels in my case as I use lower profile 60 section R888's on them as opposed to 70 section AO21Rs for the road. Bob

D'oh - just managed to miss the bit where you had already bought a Honda.... Good luck with it

Mazda 3 Ford Focus platform so handles really well and very spacious, and built in Japan (check Honest John for their reliability reputation). Mine's a 2.0 Sport petrol so not exactly economical (think 32-35mpg) but the diesels are supposed to be good - especially the 1.6. Plenty around and you should get an immaculate on for well under £6k that's only a few years old.

Are we talking Ital axle? If so, switch to a Jigsaw CW&P. The ATB in mine is totally silent

Hi Phil, I have the old-style suspension and have been pretty successful in local sprints with it. According to 7 Indulgence the biggest difference is that the old-style suspension is very heavy on the bushes (makes sense) so I just make sure these are in A1 condition. Also have GAZ shocks all round specifically specced for my car's setup. It can be converted to the later style fairly easily apparently. Haven't felt the need to change as the handling is spot-on.

Did this on the xflow last year and can highly recommend it Pros in my case include: Massive increase in low down torque and driveability. Increase in power throughout, and an extended rev range. MPG up from about 22mpg to about 26mpg. No temperamental moments in traffic and stays cool for longer. Easier starting. Engine super-smooth from anything above idle. Only real cons were cost of buying and installing and rolling road session. All in all, including parts and fitting and setting up I reckon cost me about £800 but that was using all new parts from Trigger Wheels and Webcon, and 7 Indulgence to fit it for me (they have done several of these).

I'd talk to Redline about the spring rates and shocks. My LA Xflow is set parallel toe-in and is spot on for the road and pretty good on track. No bump steer issues, and it takes a pretty poor road surface to upset it at all.

On a typical track day my xflow catch tank is half full after each session and ends up getting poured back in the top before going out again. They do breath heavily at high revs and high cornering forces.

Yep - I'm with the advice above. I can lock them no problem if I put enough pressure on with that setup, and the feel is great.

Jon - YHM

Just shy of 140hp at 6000rpm with over 120ft lb torque from 4000-6000rpm and a lovely smooth graph. Talking to Andy I reckon it could make more above 6000rpm if I fitted a better exhaust manifold as the current one creates a step from the exhaust ports, but I am very happy with how it drives and goes as its pretty much built to Supersprint spec.

BOSS 😬 Piers - I've just come back from having the Megajolt set up. Bear in mind I've set a rev limit of 6500rpm the xflow now develops just shy of 140bhp with over 120ftlb torque between 4000-6000rpm. In the words of the rolling road operator it "pulls like a train from 2500rpm" and its totally docile in traffic. I'd have thought the twin-cam on 3d could easily do more

Just had the xflow's new Megajolt mapped by B D Engineering in Newington, Kent - lovely guy and a top job. They don't have a website so I thought I'd mention them here instead. 2 hours, including a nice chat about the Lotus Elan Sprint sitting on the other rollers next to me, and it was all done. In Andy's words "pulls like a train from 2500rpm and sounds lovely" Certainly felt great on the way back

Thanks for the suggestions No idea why it wouldn't work but thankfully a laptop borrowed from work (still running Windows 7) worked first time. All been rolling roaded now and very pleased with the results.

Stoopid firewall has blocked the site If the configurator sets the baud rate then I simply have a problem that it won't work, and with no idea why 😔 I can see a last minute session cancellation coming sadly.