Rattie

Hmmm We just replaced the rear pads after letting the driver's side inner pad wear down to the metal. It's scored the disc a little but we'll put up with it for a while. The most worrying thing though is that as the pads have worn, and there's about 2-3mm left on the other pads, the caliper body (the back end of the cylinder) has been rubbing against the Watts link radius arms on both sides, which can't be by design. It's rubbed off powder coat and ground away some of the caliper surface. Has anyone else noticed this? These are the std Sierra/Scorpio calipers. One of them might even be a Ford piece! Any thoughts?

Quoting CharlesElliott: I understand that the ridge is formed in at a new position specifically for IVA. The original position was 65mm from the front of the wing on the stay. That would make sense after mine failed IVA due to wings 3mm too far back. Tillet/CC had not marked the reference points to help line up the wings and I just installed them where they seemed right.

Hella Plugs (aka DIN) are much better connections, more compact and you can get variants of the plugs which have a removable adapter to use them in cigar lighter sockets. BMW use them on their motorcycles for heated clothing etc. Hella or DIN Plugs and sockets. The page also has 20A "power" sockets, which are generally the cigar lighter size but without the clip to make the lighter work. We've got two under the dash, one switched on the battery cutoff, the other always live for Ctek charger.

Don't know if it's of use, but I actually fitted the popper bases to the shock tower covers in the boot space. The side straps then run down by the rollbar, through the gap in the boot cover. Works great.

Looks pretty nice. Those gold "banana style" sprung plugs are very effective. My only worry would be the heatshrink wearing off the females and allowing a short. Probably unlikely, especially if you put some extra thickness on for protection. The jap bullets have good thick clear "rubber" sheaths that don't perish and give excellent mechanical protection. I've come across them on other loom products and so the idea came to use them for this, but those gold pins are great for current rating in a tiny package.

Another way (I prefer it) is to slighly enlarge the scuttle holes for larger grommets, then use Japanese bullets like these: http://www.polevolt.co.uk/acatalog/1082-195.jpg Bullets at Polevolt I used the males on the screen ends, and keep the larger female connectors inside the scuttle. I don't have any trouble hooking the two together even with the panels in place, but then our panels have the large holes in for access. This avoids having wires and connectors flapping about when the aero is on for track use. As I say, I prefer it, YMMV.

It would seem you can do it with a thumbnail or a stubby screwdriver. I've not tested it, as I don't want to dribble fuel on the floor, but looking at the connector it makes sense now.

Good find Angus. I'd found the female half on RS but not that male cap. John, The race TPS is the same part as the standard TPS, but with the wires soldered on then potted in for strength. there is then an Econoseal three pin on the end of that, so you need to swap connectors. Not a problem as the original (184032-1) has usually fatigued off on at least one conductor anyway. 😬 I think James sent me a race TPS under warranty as my loom had done just that.

Hi John I looked for a male half and couldn't find one. That's the TPS side, hence part of a sensor or other fixture. This housing isn't meant for cable to cable connections, that's what the Econoseal connectors are for. The race replacement for the Duratec TPS actually has (~10cm) silicone wires soldered onto the blades in the TPS connector housing, which are then terminated in a standard Econoseal three pin connector, I'm guessing for this very reason.

It's for plate LSDs like the Titan, ZF etc, not AP or Quaife ATB

Do you guys not find that the low pressure zone in the cockpit with screen but no doors just makes it unpleasantly difficult to breath at speed? It's fine arround town and we had a setup like Jason's for a while, but above about 50 it's progressively nastier. YMMV

😬 😬Yay! My "free" pressmaster automotive kit just turned up from RS. Job done.

Get yourself one of these:A Drill Collar 99p

There's the rub. While it isn't critical to use the exactly matching tool in a lot of cases, the right tool will always do a better job. Some terms expect the cable strain reliefs to get B-crimped through the insulation, others ideally O-crimp them around the insulation. Bit of a minefield, keeps Pressmaster in business though. I'm owed one of those tools now that I come to think of it... @Johnty: I agree, I wasn't saying the wire would pull out when using the right tool, rather if you used a vice or boggo pliers. Yes, I've also used the size down crimper for putting small conductors in blue terms. Not the best, but it'll do at a pinch. The biggest issue with over crimping is the weakening of the conductors, speeding up fatigue.

ah, sweet. cheers I see why the new drive shafts are needed now. It's flange output. Interesting solution.

Chris, if it helps the basic 2.0L Duratec package is specced at 109kg dry weight, while the 1.6L Sigma is 81kg. You'd probably be looking at adding another couple of kg to swap for the crate engine's plastic manifold to the alu plenum I'd say. eta: Jingars, that orange R400 is using a Sierra diff, so is the R300 race car build. I've still not seem pics of the BMW diff! Edited by - Rattie on 29 Mar 2011 11:07:56

Nick, Just to give you a quick idea of what kinds of crimped connections there are, have a look at the picture below: http://www.ratwell.com/technical/Terminals/TerminalTypes.jpg The bog standard general "repair" crimp is the top one, marked "insulated". These are your typical electrician's terminations, ideally suited to low vibration jobs, like industrial and domestic wiring. The terminals are all pre-insulated with coloured sheathes in red, blue and yellow, coded for size. They do get used in cars, but only by "gentleman mechanics" shall we say? 😬 The downside of the design is that you don't get a large clamping pressure on the wires compared to the F-crimp below. If you don't use a pukka tool for them, which crimps two or three parallel flats into them and try using normal pliers or a vice, the wires will usually pull straight out again if you tug them. The crimp tool has U shaped cups in one jaw and a narrower version without the sides on the opposite jaw. These form a very flattened 'O' shape when crimped tight. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31wScmgUziL._SL500_AA300_.jpg The non-insulated terminal in the middle is generally another static application for high currents. The bottom, F-crimp or open barrel, uninsulated is the best type for automotive use, as the clamping pressure is high, not prone to relaxing over time. The crimp tool actually forms the 'U' shaped crimp into a 'B' shape that locks the wires in place and causes lots of good cold welding in the joint. Jaws look like this: http://www.ferrulesdirect.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/FDT10044DL.gif The downside is you then need to insulate the terminal to stop shorting, so "Japanese style" terminals come with clear rubber sleeves that are pre-shaped to fit over the finished terminal, while others use rigid plastic "box" covers that the terminals click into one way or another. I can heartily recommend Japanese bullet connectors like the ones halfway down this page. They are F-crimps so you need a tool with jaws like in the second tool picture above. They're ideal for joining wire to wire and can be disconnected easily if necessary. I've used them on the heated screen wires so that they'll fit through the holes in the scuttle nice and easy.

There are different lengths of shank for different thicknesses of material. It might be worth seeing if Softbits have any long shank ones in black. (If I've understood the question properly of course)

And now a picture... http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/5564521305_33fabe8958.jpg And for bigger with words, click here Went for a nice long blat down to Baldock yesterday, firing beautifully on the new CoP and fixed wiring. Hurrah!

Raceline only quote £150+vat for a brand new one. Ammo's the same (Raceco).

I wouldn't lift the seat if you can avoid it. Better to bend an 'S' curve in the adjustment lever. That's what CC do. Lifting the seat bring you closer to the road when upside down, not to put too fine a point on it.

I'll post a pic or two when I get time, but it's under the cover (which came with a grommet where the loom emerges). The cam cover itself is held onto the head by 10 or so bolts, and the bolt on the inductions side between 2nd and 3rd cylinders (IIRC) has a threaded stud emerging from the head, to allow stuff to be attached to it. This thread managed to cut through the ignition loom insulation, where the mesh tube was too short to reach the Econoseal that is inline on my engine loom. Pic to follow

Matt, just try something before you get the angle grinder out. A standard unleaded nozzle has a narrow, straight nozzle then a flange where the nozzle gets much wider then bends down towards the handle. The narrow section has to operate the flap in the filler. Most of the flange bit catch on the edge of the aero filler if you try to put the nozzle in straight. However, if you hold the pump handle "gansta style", i.e. at a 90 degree angle, they usually slide in just fine, then you can let the gun drop down to vertical again while you fill up. Took me a while to work that out, and the aero filler used to be much worse and even this trick would not have helped. Many people on here haven't used the improved version, so still quote the old solution verbatim (usually invlolving violence with hammers, chisels, Dremels,etc).

I've got DeWalt 28v gear, SDS drill and angle grinder, so I had a couple of batteries already. So I just got a naked DC810KN off ebay. Works like a charm!

Yay! new CoP installed, runs nicely again. Nothing else blown, phew!