Alan Bowler

If its for a one off handling day, I've got a pair of 14" wheels shod with verywell worn AO48's you are welcome to try and finish off. AB

Dropped the sump, and picked all the bits of crispy foam out of the oil pickup Yuk. Reckon I got there just in time. But - my gasket looks quite different from the one in the pic. I assume I just need a few holes in the wide "shelf" bit, close-ish to the edge, or should I make the shelf smaller as well? Thanks AB

Thanks Oily! AB

I've read the threads, so will get rid of the foam. Can anyone point me at a pic showing me where to drill the extra holes in the gasket? Links on other threads don't seem to work - I think the DVA site has moved. Thanks! Alan

Any idea if I will need to renew my 4 point harness? Its dated 2008, but in good condition. Might need to order in a few more yellow trowels if alot of people shift to list 1A tyres to avoid having to fit a cage. AB

Sorry Skydragon. Sort of private joke. I'm very happy with my Quaiffe diff. Just don't want Gary going any faster - I'm having trouble enough keeping up in class 3 already I'm probably not driving the car well enough for it to be making a huge difference to my lap times - and as I fitted it before my first sprint I won't know. [not tried Kumhos yet though... but plan to!] AB

I do mine by undoing the engine mount, and then jacking up the engine (under the sump) by a couple of inches. [A top tip from the Alcester Racing Sevens website!] AB

The sprinting bug bit you pretty hard then Gary! Don't bother with the diff. My quaiffe slowed me down by a good couple of seconds. I reckon those Kumhos are overrated too - you should stick with yokos. AB

No advice, but am in the same boat. Talked to a few people about the options (4 into 1 long primaries), and will probably try and get a quote to (a) fit a cat in the silencer, and make it repackable, or (b) try and mate my old noisy/thin/standard cat + silencer to the longer primaries. Or I just refit the complete old system for sprints. Depends how much is in the piggy bank. Would rather spend it on go-faster bits though. AB

Thanks to all the organisers - really enjoyed Rockingham - will certainly go back again. I think the OPL format worked well. There were alot of red flags, but stranded cars seemed to get sorted out very quickly. I never had to queue otherwise, and the numbers on track seemed about right to me. The concrete around the banked curve might be a bit intimidating in the wet though... was getting "the fear" in the dry! AB

BTTT Could anyone who still has the pics of this combination forward them to me please. [i need to get a cat sorted for sprinting next year... and don't want to buy yet another exhaust!] Thanks! AB

Thanks for reviewing this! Looks like a good/cheap solution. How did you fix it to the car? The "fix to car kit" appears to cost as much as the camera! I know that track operators are rightly concerned and vigilant about how you fix cameras to the car. AB

If dry, 48's. If wet, bald 48's can be a bit AB

Are stealth tyre warmers allowed in the speed championship? Have ordered 4. AB

Sounds like an earthing problem. Is the reverse light flickering a bit too?

Thanks. I'll try running a wire direct from the starter up to the relay (with a fuse). [should've listened in physics classes...] AB

Now he tells me 😬 Wonder how long this fix will work Done the relay mod (worked for a bit - click), cleaned the solonoid (click), put in a new relay + new solonoid wire (click), new battery/FIA switch cables (click). Haven't done the "deburr the copper fork" thingy yet. It ALWAYS starts when I dab the solonoid cable on the battery +ve, but it seems a bit brutal. Surely the solonoid doesn't need that much current, and I might damage it. Putting a HUGE relay directly connected to the battery/starter + associated battery lead spaghetti would probably work, but I'm not convinced the solonoid would like it long term. Forgive my numptiness, but isn't the problem that the relay clicks, its just that not enough current/volts/whatever is getting to the solonoid when it does. Or was your relay not working at all, and you are solving a different problem? Also, FIA switches seem to get blamed alot for this - which part of the switch should I be looking at/replacing? (I got the click at Castle Combe on Monday, and was going to bore Peter C who happened to be there - but I think he was having alot more fun playing with a Radical!) AB

I've got one you can have, sat in a box in the garage. Not sure what its worth - but prob. not that much. Off an '01 Roadsport. [Though I agree with those above - you'd be very popular swapping your LSD with someone. Why ever are you swapping? Race regs??] Edit - doh - its a 3.62 AB Edited by - Alan Bowler on 29 Aug 2008 20:39:21

> AB Edited by - Alan Bowler on 26 Aug 2008 16:49:05

You also need an FIA rollbar or cage if not already fitted. Assuming you go for Class 1, tyres should be cheap, but you should check what you have is on "list 1A", and consider getting fresh ones if yours are old/unsuitable. Yoko A539s appear to be the rubber of choice. Go for it though - I've had a fun first season even if I didn't break any records! AB

Wish I'd seen "simon's excellent advice" before I simply cleaned and put mine back together at the weekend... I think you'd really struggle to get at the fork to check/deburr without taking the whole starter off. The hex bolts were tight, but OK. The nut at the back was fiddly but I found a thin/short enough spanner. Getting it back together was fairly easy (if I managed it it must be) - difficult to describe but the plunger hooks back into the fork easily enough if you have it all off the car and can look at it closely. AB

I'll pass on these - over to 2nd dibs. Cheers Alan

The A048 "slicks" have been replaced, so I stand a chance of a personal best. I'm not sure I'll be troubling Tam or the other class 3 front runners though. See you there. AB

Mark - YHM re: Curborough. Its a

Chris - YHM