Beej

thanks - which pad material should I go for? The problem I have is I don't know what the current manufacturer/material type is and I don't know what is fitted to the fronts. I was just guessing that it is Pagid because its got RS on the back - not very scientific really! I don't want to fit something daft that will screw up the braking.

My rear brake pads need replacing and I am having some difficulty in figuring out what manufacturer and material they are. Can anyone help? The car is an ex Taylors Foundry Vx Challenge race car SVAd for road use. There is every likelihood that these are the original pads since the car has only done about 7000 miles, so they could date back as far as the early 90s. It is used almost exclusively on track. The calipers are AP racing 2 pots and the pads are the same shape as Ferodo FCP825 - which I seem to recall is a pretty common old Lockheed pad shape The rear face is inscribed RS 11 C, which sounds like a Pagid pad but there doesn't seem to be an RS 11, only RS14 and RS15. Can anyone tell me if RS 11 is an old Pagid material or am I barking up the wrong tree? If so, what is the current replacement? Cheers

cheers. i must admit I thought of doing this but didn't think the extra distance gained would stop the problem. It can't hurt to try. I suppose I could always try cornering more slowly.. nah.

Anyone got any ideas..? I am rubbing a nasty groove round the inside edge of my left hand rear tyre from where the rear anti roll bar drop link is contacting the inner tyrewall. This is an ex Vx Challenge race car (road legal) running standard 6 x 13 minators with standard 6 (or 7)-13 -21 ACB10s or 205 Yoko Ao21s - doesn't matter which, they both rub. Its only the left hand side because spookily enough most circuits have right hand turns and it is definitely a sideways pressure issue. You wanna see the rubber shavings inside my wheelarch! At rest, there is loads of clearance between the arb link and the tyre. You wouldn't imagine that it could contact but it does. Whats moving so much that this could happen? The arb is on its softest setting because the car is quite tail happy enough and I don't think chnaging it would make much difference to the contact problem. Should the A frame allow that much movement - I would say at least 1.25" sideways. What is it doing to my geometry?? any ideas much appreciated. don't worry, they all do that sir!

Thanks for your replies.. 1. Myles. yes with no load on either wheel, axle in the air, propshaft disconnected, if you spin one wheel, the other will turn (in the same direction of course). If you try and stop the other one from moving, you can't - the two wheels are locked together. 2. Gambo. If my car has a ZF plate type LSD (how can I tell?) then am I right in thinking that in no load situations such as one I have described above, the plates will immediately rise up the ramps and lock the axle solid? If so, I have nothing to worry about. Even so, I am surprised that with somebody at each wheel (ie putting some load across the axle) we cannot induce any slip whatsoever. Is that correct? don't worry, they all do that sir!

Can someone tell me just how limited the limited slip should be on a limited slip diff!! Put it this way, if you jack the back of my ex Vx racer up and turn one wheel, you cannot stop the other one from moving.. it doesn't slip at all, not even a little tiny bit.. Its as though the diff is locked up solid. BUT, either I could teach Kimi a thing or two about car control or somehow this isn't noticeable when driving. I am completely confused. Can someone reassure me that they all do that? Help. don't worry, they all do that sir!

Andy. I'll mail you offline. Cheers Mark

Hi Andy, are you open to an offer? Cheers Mark don't worry, they all do that sir!

Gary, 13" 6.5J minators (minilite style) According to Avon, they are the right size tyres for the wheels but I am sure you are right, the sidewalls will move about more or less depending on the fitment. Mark

oh bugger. so ACB10s should handle pretty much the same? May be I should talk to Taylors?

ok now I'm really confused. Simon Lambert thinks its camber and so do several other people on this thread but may be it isn't? The car is not tail happy in a "no grip at the rear = lots of sideways fun" good way - say like runnning some knackered old tyres in the wet. Its tail happy in a nasty, snappy, no where near the loud pedal but still wants to leap about way. And I should point out that it handles perfectly on radials - Yoko 21s in the dry are pretty sticky when they are warmed up and had none of these snappy characteristics. Does anybody know what tyres the Vx race cars ran on? My car was built by Taylors foundry as a Vx Challenge car but never raced and subsequently road registered. Its reasonable to assume that it was set up for the control tyre. If those were ACB10s then I'm really flummoxed. Cheers Mark

brand new. 33's (I think). 18 psi all round. it looks like its the camber thats caused the handling trait. I guess I'll have to change it and try again.

actually, now that i think about, my previous caterham (which won a well known 24hour race in America!!) had both an oil temp guage and water temp guage but neither of them worked *cool*

No. At least, they aren't the right colour and don't have a stamp on top, so I assume not. That being said I could not detect any static camber, so I am not so certain. Even so, extra camber at the back is more likely to resist rear steer than create it, isn't it? I know it "feels" like its from the back but I wonder if its actually to do with the front?

If the car is in Whiteley, then you could do worse than see Lance or Roy at AMV 3000 (the classic MG/Ferrari garage in Park Gate). They are pretty good and it can't be more than 1 mile away. If the release arm has jumped of the pivot at the bottom of the bellhousing, its not actually an engine out job.. more of an "engine shunted forward enough to get your hand in the gap" job