Nick

The best place to start is Jason Brown's site. Sigma have recently revised their range; the BC1200 was the one to have and is still available; I don't know what has replaced it, though I was told a back-lit one is now available. It's possible to hide all the wires, so need need to go for the wireless kit. Nick

A friend has just sent me this URL www.itgairfilters.com - means nothing to me!

Is the engine in a Caterham? If so, is it a Paul Harvey conversion or a new one from Caterham? I'm sure there are lots of us who would be very interested to hear about it! Cheers, Nick

Wasn't there something in Low Flying about using Ginetta's brakes?

Paul, see Plastic Bolts in this forum on 6 July 2000. I fitted some but haven't got round to testing them yet! Though I gather some people have, and they work. Cheers Nick

I have just 'retro' fitted an anti cav tank to my 1.6K ss (it wasn't an option when I bought the car) and in addition to the dry sump being pricey (have to draw the line somewhere!) I was told it was unnecessary for road and trackday use. If I was speccing now, I would at least go for the anti cav and would umm and argh over the dry sump - perhaps it's worth it just for peace of mind! That said, I think Peter Carmichael has looked into it with data logging and the like, and found the anti cav tank, whilst doing nothing to eliminate surge, does a good job at damage limitation! K engines aren't that expensive anyway... I did spec the LSD and when Hyperion recently fitted a rear arb, they said they would only advise doing so to a car with LSD.

I recall someone once saying they used oven cleaner, though I'd try it on somebody else's exhaust first! wink.gif Nick

I know what you mean but in order I changed: ride height - then drove ride height again - then drove arb - then drove I decided to change the arb as well, following Peter's advice (and a few others') that 4 was too stiff. I have changed the arb settings before so have some familiarity with the changes, and as position 2 is considered 'standard' it's as good a place to start as any. It only takes a couple of minutes to change, so I can easily play around a bit more on the track. My main point was that the car now feels different and, I think , better. I am now more aware of the back of the car but am not sure if this is because I have gone too far (too much oversteer) or because the car simply feels different and I have yet to get used to it. I have previously found that you can only tell so much from driving on the road whereas a track- or an airfield-day is much more informative. Cheers, Nick

Peter, I haven't got round to new springs yet but adjusted the rear ride height today - very easy when you know how! Rear platforms up by 2 complete turns as you suggested. Drove round some roundabouts, etc to evaluate; speed is somewhat limited of course, so not as informative as a circuit but the best I could do. Slight improvement. Rear platforms up another 2 turns - noticeably less understeer, even oversteer. Changed rear arb from 4 (stiffest) to 2; in so doing, had to adjust the arb 'arms' to the correct length so as not to tension the arb at rest. Definite difference from before I started playing. Car felt more rear biased - not sure if this is because it is a new feel, or because I have gone too far. A trackday will tell I guess! Thanks very much Peter for your help. I hope to meet up with you at a trackday as I would be very interested in your opinions of my setup, and to buy you a bevvy - at day's end of course! All the best, Nick

Good morning Pierre, Waxoil which has Swiss contact details. Also Waxoil US in the U.S. Hopefully the Swiss one will be able to help. Cheers, Nick

I did wonder about your reference to Cadwell's good pit facilities...! It's my favourite track. Have you been to Anglesey? It's similar but smaller - Easytrack have a day there on 7th October - can I tempt you to either?! Cheers Nick

Peter, hmm, I'll get back to you re Cadwell, if that's OK. It clashes with something else so I hadn't given it much thought. However, if you will definitely be there and could make some headway with my suspension....! I have just looked at the rear shocks. At the base of the spring there are two threaded 'collars'; it looks to me like one controls the length of the spring whilst the other tightens onto the first to lock it in place. Is that what you mean by adjustable platforms? The collars have slots around their perimeters, so a C spanner with an inverted 'bobble' on the end would be needed to adjust them - which trees do these grow on?! You say that the standard dampers won't be ideal - can you recommend any? You subsequently said you are not recommending replacements but I'm unsure whether you meant you do not think replacements are strictly necessary, or whether you would rather not get into that area. Clear as mud! Thanks, Nick

Cool! Edited by - Nick on 15 Sep 2000 15:51:25

I'll be quick. bull****

Peter, mine's a 1.6K Supersport, not a Superlight. FIA roll bar plus all those extras like a windscreen and a heater and a spare wheel! There were some tools on the boot but that was about it I think. 18 psi all round at the moment, just to bung that into the equation - not much weight there though!

Thanks for your comments Peter. When I said standard Bilsteins, I meant the whole caboodle - sprinds, dampers, and all those other bits that I just call 'shocks'! You will gather, therefore, that although I have achieved Deity status here, I am a complete novice at getting my hands dirty - how do I adjust the rear platforms? Would it be OK to do this with current springs? You're right, I have rear radius arm, adjusted to the sportier position (I can't remember which that is and it's pouring with rain so don't want to find out!) The red bushed front arb I have has a 52 mm circumference - 16.55 mm diameter, which is something like 0.65" which is about 5/8". What dampers would you recommend to go with Juno springs? Can I book you to help me set things up at a track day?! Actually, I'm half serious...! I had wondered about hiring Hyperion for a day. Keith, thanks too for your comments. Nick

A guy named Peter Boegli posted this on a newsgroup a while back which may be of interest: I recall having been to the Porsche Test Centre in Weissach some 25 years ago. There I saw them taking performance figures of _every_ new engine for the 911 on a number of test benches. That meant screaming 7000 RpM under full load and for about a minute. Compare that to what many manufacturers (including Porsche) ask you to do during the running-in period! I then asked one of the engineers about the discrepancy in attitude. This was his answer, which seems to be general enough to be still valid today and for different brands of engines: The main area of concern in a brand new engine is the cylinder walls, i.e. their initial roughness, which reduces the effective area of contact between piston and cylinder. As a consequence the thermal combustion energy (the part which is not transformed into mechanical energy) will not flow through piston --> cylinder wall --> water as efficiently as required. If you keep the period of high power output short enough, i.e. a minute or so, no harm will be done, because you just accumulate the heat in the piston. It is imperative though to give the engine a longer period of light load and of low speed to cool down again. Because most car manufacturers feel that their customers would not stick to the "one minute max" rule and get carried away chasing fully run-in Mercedes on the Autobahn they set up the restrictive running-in rules. After all they want to avoid warranty claims. Lubrication is less of a problem, according to this engineer: The cylinder wall roughness is in fact good, because it collects more oil. Pressure lubricated bearings in general have no metal-to-metal contact once the oil reaches them with sufficient pressure. This again requires that the oil has reached operating temperature. So this is what I did running-in a number of Lotus Twin Cam engines, up to now with no apparent defects: Always warm up the engine before going over 3000-4000 Rpm. This takes 5 Miles on a hot summer day to 12 Miles in winter. The water temperature gauge is a bad indicator, as the water heats up more rapidly than the oil. It's an oil thermometer that you need if you want to be sure. During the first 500 Miles use the car lightly, i.e. stay in lowish engine speed ranges for most of the time. A _burst_ of speed will not harm the engine, provided that it is short. During the following 500 Miles gradually extend the "bursts". E.g. accelerating through all gears up to - well what's the speed limit in GB - seems fair enough to me. Then hold the speed and let the engine dissipate the heat. In general use the gearbox and use the engine, but don't get carried away demanding high stress levels for prolonged periods.

No, my little signature thing doesn't work. Alex, you could change the windscreen though - if you want of course! I'm reluctant to criticise such a work of art - it must have taken ages! PS! You can change the and / on the wheels too - go for toe in or toe out! Toe out! _________ / ___ _/______ _ ___ / (_) (_)/ /`-'/o/ _______ o`-' / /// ( VDU7X ) \ /___/--_________/--___ Toe in _________ / ___ _/______ _ ___ / (_) (_)/ `-'o/ _______ o/`-'/ // ( VDU7X ) \/ / ___--_________/--/___/ Maybe! Edited by - Nick on 15 Sep 2000 12:48:05

You lied, it's "code"! It still changes the vertical mark (above the backslash on my keyboard) to a backslash - as you probably found out! Very good though! The most adventurous I've got is ô¿ô which may or may not come out here! _________ / ___ _/______ _ ___ / (_) (_)/ /`-'/o/ _______ o/`-'/ / /// ( VDU7X ) \/ / ___/--_________/--___/ Edited by - Nick on 15 Sep 2000 12:40:42

Tricky! Edited by - Nick on 14 Sep 2000 17:48:47

Nearly there - but increasing my chances of anorakicity too, I'm afraid. sad.gif

What happens now? Exciting hey?

...and again....

Tum te ta.

Pretty! I'm testing too.