Mike Biddle

Unclefester, can't advise about minilite wheels, but 280MM discs and Hispec ultralite racing 4 calipers certailly fit under my Image 13" billet 4 wheels. Mind you there is not a lot of clearance, maybe 4 or 5 MM.

Depends, My discs are cast iron I assume, but thats only the outer ring, which is bolted to an aluminium "bell" which is in turn bolted to the hub, whereas the standard discs are totaly cast iron, and therefore actually heavier.

Mankee, are you sure there is a weight penalty? When I fitred mine, there was a weight saving of 1/2 KG each side. I did actually weigh all the bits, and I fitted 280MM discs.

I can confirm that they are readily available, I bought some recently, and that was a mistake because mine are 280MM DIA. I will post them in for sale one day. You say you don't need bigger discs, but the bigger they are, in terms of diameter, the more control you will have over braking effort. If you are going to upgrade, fit the biggest ones that will under your rims, you will be amazed at the difference.

Thanks Myles, will try to contact him.

Thanks Paul, toothed because there are two toothed pulleys available, on on each head. Having looked at it more this afternoon I can't use them because I won't get enough RPM on the alternator. There is a Poly V drive pulley available, but then In order to mount the alternator where I need it to be I would have to divert that drive down, aroound the toothed pulley, and back up again to the alternator, otherwise the steering shaft would go through the centreod the drive, which would mean removing it to change a belt! another alternative is yo take the engine back to Russel and get him to change that polly V pulley over the the other head, then I don't have the steering shaft problem.

Following on from my earlier thread I now need to install an alternator drive and mounting system. Mounting is no problem but for the drive I will need an alternator pulley and due the small size required to get good charging it looks like one will need to be made to measure. I also need to source one or two idler pulleys to run on the back of another belt to drive the water pumps. Both belts will be 20MM wide toothed belt with 5MM pitch. So where can I source stock idler pulleys, and bespoke alternator pulley?

Thanks John, it seems that running backwards is not a problem as long as the issues of cooling, and potentialy, the pulley coming loose, are resolved.

Due to having a wider cambelt system fitted to my engine the alternator can no longer sit where it was so needs to be relocated. Needlsess to say that is proving very difficult, the only place it could possibly go is under the left cylinder bank and it would be a very tight fit involving lots of compilicated fabrication due to the fact that are very few mounting points vaialable and they are not in convenient positions. There is however quite a bit of room in front of the engine, and it would be much easier to fabricate a mounting, BUT that would mean mounting it the other way around, with the pulley facing the engine. So, question is, can I run the alternator backwards? Edited by - mike biddle on 3 Dec 2011 18:09:28

Outdoor Carcoon?

i beleive that the R500 uses a Quaife box? That will fit. Sadev also make a unit with type 9 dimensions that will fit, I have one in my car, and it comes with the internal gubbins and connection outside to allow flatshift. There was another company called Elite that also made boxes to fit but I haven't heard anything about them recently, so not sure if they still do. The final one is Drenth, that will also fit. I have a Quaife unit that I really should sell, I'll post it in the for sale section later this week.

Another vote for hi Spec, I have seen complaints about service but when i wanted a set of front rotors for my car urgently, I phoned them on a thursday and they had plain ones in stock. i wanted grooved so they machined them on the Friday and i set off to pick them up, but got badly stuck in loads of traffice and was going to be late. They actualy phoned me to ask how i was doing and then arranged for somebody to be there after hours for me to collect. I finally left there with my bits at 7.30 PM! Now that is good service, specialy on a Friday evening.

Mines NATASP, the 500 BHP version is supercharged. I've vever driven the supercharged version, but mine is a real hoot, and very easy to drive, being very tractable, and also having avery wide power band, at least 4,000 RPM. The later V6 is a much less complicated animal, with oil scavenge and pressure pump gear driven inside the sump, altenator at the rear, oil filter canister screws onto block, loads less internal parts, 4 valves per cylinder rather than 5, 120 Deg V so lower C of G, lighter, cheaper, smaller etc. I could go on, but suffice it to say I would have chosen the V6 had it been around at the time, in 2005. Having said that The V8 has been a fantastic engine, and no real problems so far, so I'm happy with my lot. If the price is right you would not be dissapointed. Matt, if you need the benefit of my experience please blat mail me with your contact details and I can help you a lot here.

Dave, please send me another mail that includes your e-mail address. Cannot reply to blatmail. Mike.

Which box? I have a Quaife display which I believe is geartronics anyway, (Not 100% sure though) that is now redundant because I have fitted a Sadev box and the Quaife display won't talk nicely to it. Now bought the Sadev display which will be fitted in the next couple of weeks. Edited by - Mike Biddle on 27 Jul 2011 18:50:37

Tyre pressure? An under inflated tyre will get hot in a hurry.

Myles, no problem with tyre wear on last tour, in fact there is still 3-4MM of wear left on the rears and the fronts even more. There will be a rolling road session prior to Austria so I will probably have to change at least the rears, and the fronts are getting a bit old now, hence the question. 215 on the front, 235 rears, so no chance to interchange. NoLimits, how many miles do you get from a set, and what car do you have? I was looking at different grades front/rear because with the CR500's there are no grade options so fronts last a lot longer than rears.

Consider changing my tyres from Avon CR 500's to Kumho V70A? Need a new set shortly so have to decide. I know the Kunho's may be a bit cheaper but that is not part of my decision. I use the car mainly for touring, (Austria in August this year) fast road, some trackdays and sprints. Have spare set of wheels that can be employed for track and sprint, so fast road and touring is the main application here. If Kumho, which compound? Soft front, meduim rear? POBC opinions sought! Thanks, Mike.

I'm also running 245/50 rears and use anywhere between 12 and 15 PSI (cold)depending on where/what I'm doing. Best to just try them at various pressures untill you find a setting that you are most comforatble with. Edited by - Mike Biddle on 2 Feb 2011 07:30:13

The Sadev is a great box, but it will rumble and clatter like anything at idle in neutral with the clutch engaged. Thts the only thing I don't like about it.

My car has a diffuser, inboard front suspension, full floorpan (sump does not protrude below chassis), 5" headlamps, vents in cycle wings and aeroscreen. At 162 MPH on the main runway at Brize Norton it felt secure and planted, not at all light on the steering.

Autocom went bust last year and were picked up by Tecstar in St Ives, Cambs. They still sell the product, and accessories. Mike.

Mad hatter, I got your mail but it's not posssible to reply to blatmail, so send it again from your own adddress to mike@asiawaterjet.com Mike.

Heres my post from the previous thread, more info there. http://www.blatchat.com/t.asp?id=190809 I'm running a Sadev right now and I can report that it is a very good box, with a very nice change, much better than the (previous model) Quaife, less clunky and less lever effort required. It does have one annoying aspect though, it rumbles and rattles in neutral when the clutch is engaged, Sounds awfull and many people have asked what the noise is. Don't have the flatshift connected yet but that is imminent.

Could be interested in the 9J wheels with Cr500's as they rae the corect size for my car. How old are the tyres?