Alan Bowler

I think I still have a box full (minus a couple of bent broken ones!) of standard sized valves you can certainly have Andrew. AB EDIT: I must have chucked them out. Sorry Andrew. Anyone else got any spare?

Never mind that, I've got £10 riding on "Crank Position Sensor" at 7-2 with Ladbrokes, and £20 on "dodgy battery" at evens with Betfred. I can't stand the tension much more.

These 27 way Penskes are proving tricky to set up here at the Australian test track resort I booked for the winter months. I'm still getting too much blow off on high speed corner entry for my liking. Found a good supply of new Yoko AD08s for next season though. Joining class 2 Stuart, by mapping your 220 engine down to 150? Bring it.

Sold to Peter.

Stuart, I am "marketing" these dampers, not "getting rid". Thank you for your interest. The 2015 championship rules don't preclude fully active suspension, so I am reviewing my options, along with testing some 19 way adjustable Penskes.

Sometimes just a second pair of eyes is needed. Where abouts are you? There might be a local member nearby who can take a look. [Crank position sensor or not quite 100% battery get my vote]

Excellent working condition - no leaks etc. and have served me very well. Suitable for S3 widetrack or narrowtrack (just remove the Widetrack extenders). Photos available if required when I have removed them from car! £150 plus post at cost, or collected from Claygate Surrey, or central London. AB

Hi Chris - are good 'ol Yoko A539s still in List 1A?

Tried both. 888s felt much better on the road, softer sidewall. A048's felt a bit more planted on track, but I have no data to back that up. Both fine in the wet IMHO unless severely provoked when very wet. AB

Thanks for clarification and for trying Matt

First - thanks again to Matt for organising the championship and working with venues/clubs to put the jigsaw of a championship together. If we didn't enjoy it, we wouldn't be writing so much about it now. Sorry I missed the awards do. I've lost a couple of kilos during my visit to Mumbai, which should save me a few 10ths next year. I haven't made it to Blyton yet - but its popularity speaks for itself. However... losing Wiscombe is a great pity, and I do wonder if we'll get invited back again. The more exclusive hills seem to be able to pick and choose. I don't know the specific dates/details, but if we could: stick to April for Blyton retain Wiscombe in September increase the number of events to 14would this suit everyone? (more work for the comp sec I realise though!). For those who haven't been, Wiscombe really is special, and worth the drive. AB

Hi 4* Rule 313B Sub section 7: All cars must have at least 5 forward gears to prevent unfair advantages on the hills. Especially yellow ones. Rule 917 A: No hat stealing. AB

There were 3 of us in class 2 at Wiscombe this year. Same as class 4. More than 6 and 7. Most of class 2 live up north, which probably explains why they tend to prefer Aintree to Wiscombe. Geography, not conspiracy. As for secret agreements of where we will compete - I can barely understand most of them face to face, and last I heard they haven't got t'phones and inside toilets up there yet, never mind t'internet and t'email. And if competitors did agree which events to go to - so as to increase the class competition - is that a bad thing? Better than picking events based purely on where they think they might win a pot.

Post edited as no longer relevant. Good luck wit hthe sale!

7 events, or 5 (but Oli and Caterbram are then allowed to enter the ladies championship following appropriate "modifications" )

A refresh is applicable to any engine, and shouldn't mean a class change. £1500 sounds about right, as its time consuming and good engine builders aren't cheap. 10bhp gain will apply to a tired one, and will diminsh over time back towards zero (apart from possible CR benefit of a skim). How you can differentiate between maintenance (if your head or entire engine fails on a K or any other engine you'll fit a new or refreshed one as well) and pre-emptive optimisation gets a bit difficult to differentiate IMHO.

Academy racers skimmed heads to boost the compression ratio? - wow. Not sure you could sensibly outlaw that, given that a large number of K's have needed skims after HGF over the years.

I thought super-grad was a standard 1600 K engine? (grad being a xflow or 8V Vx, and mega-grad being a K series supersport)

Mike's "R300" engine is in fact a standard 1.8 SS. It got the "R300" tag from his competitors because he appeared to go as fast as an R300 with it when he competed in classes 2 and 3. I borrowed it for a season, but didn't have quite as much success with it. There were definitely no TBs or VVC bits on it that I could find!

What a mess. For the ported 1.6SS vs. 1.8 discussion: I've run a DVA ported K 1.6SS, Mike Sankeys K 1.8SS, and my own K 1.8SS (refreshed internals). All bastardised with verniers, 52mm TB and long primary exhaust. Standard springs/dampers. Went a little bit faster each time, but I put this down to experience/confidence and tyres. From a seat of the pants feel, the 1.8 feels quicker coming out of the corners, but the 1.6 kept on pulling on longer straights, which is backed up by the theory. The 1.6 was more fun, until it exploded. I managed two wins against two different ported 1.6's by 0.01s this year, one on a track, one on a hill, so it couldn't be much closer, and the Zetecs and Sigmas are definititely competive IMHO under the current rules. I also know that a well driven class 2 car of any spec (proven by Matt W in a ported 1.6, Mike S in an unported 1.8, Matt J in a Xflow dammit) will wipe the floor. For the "TB or not TB" discussion:. On the one hand, a well driven 1.8 on TBs should be a smidge quicker than a 1.8K without, which in turn implies will be a smidge quicker than a ported 1.6K and the Sigmas and Zetecs as well. So we potentially impact all existing competitors. On the other, we need to be inclusive and have simple rules. I don't like saying "155 limit but TBs on K series in class 3 only please" as it smacks of self-interest. Saying yes to nominally 160 bhp R300s, but only if they detune to 155 is a fudge as well. But do we have anyone with and R300ish car who actually wants to compete in class 2? A lot of torque on 1A tyres becomes even more of a handful. I think the arguments for and against are now clear and understood. Time for some candidate rules and a vote, before it gets (more) personal. My tastefully enhanced Roadsport is already hurt at being described as "bastardised" , plus I can see why current & previous comp. secs will be getting a bit tired of the squabbles in the playground. (any chance of a postal/email vote please?) AB

E/L: Thanks for the 2014 analysis Chris. Looks like it works OK to me. I suggest 7 events to count, as per main championship. No tie break - gets too complicated, and penalises anyone who only does 7 events. I'll eat my hat if we get a tie. Winner gets a big mandatory sticker AB

Wot Simon says. I've chucked money at the car, and nothing made a bigger difference in speed events for me than slowly gaining experience/confidence. A good read here: http://www.lotus7.club/forum/techtalk/very-good-read-autocross-win-dennis-grant If you have the right tyres, then next on my shopping list would be adjustable platforms so you can flat floor it. It may ride a bit higher on 14" wheels. Someone with more expertise than me can advise whether its more important to have level lower front wishbones as a starting point, or get the ride height lower. I had 14s previously, and it always looked alot higher than others. I've gone from hard springs back to standard, which seems to work for the hills and tight circuits. AB

So if, after a couple of seasons being thrashed by R300s, I once again forget the correct advice that "its all about the driver", and my piggy bank has enough pennies for TBs and programmable ECU so I can bring my car up to equiv R300 spec. But I'm not even permitted to? I have to sell my lovely Roadsport and look for a genuine unmolested R300K ? If we allow R300s (if....) then lets not actively penalise existing competitors. Also, of those 3 (?) who have posted with TBs and 2/3ish levels of power, am I right in thinking 1 is a factory R300 (in) and 2 are Roadsports upgraded to R300 spec (out). Thats not very inclusive either. What about an R300K with verniers? Or one that once had a remap to optimise it? Or a 1600K on Jenvey TBs/Emerald? How do you draw the line and stay inclusive? I'm starting to come full circle to the idea of "155 bhp no matter how you make it" on a trial basis. If you are quicker through the speed traps than a car known to have 155bhp (and we just so happen to have one in class 2 at the moment, and I think in 3?) then the poor beleagured comp sec "has a quiet word" and the benefits of class 4 or a visit to the rollers are explained. The trial is useful in case we find that a genuine 155 but with more torque from TBs makes a huge difference and needs reviewing before existing competitors consider an upgrade. AB

No limits on timed runs. Display stickers.

Edward Lewis: Scores at each event collated across all classes to give 10 points for a win, 9 for second etc. regardless of whether scores are negative. Scores added to give overall EL championship score with best 7 (?) scores counting. This keeps it fairly simple I hope, and removes most of the dry/wet factor (you might get 10 points which can be caught, but you won't get 20 seconds which can't)