Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Graham the original spark plug cables of the E30 have a resistence of 6k ohm maybe that is interfering with the ECU at high rpm. I did have the opposite problem in my BMW E21 when I swapped the original spark cables for one custom made just to find out it didn’t work without the resistors.
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
What grade bolts have you used round those discs and bells please, 8.8 or 10.9's? Look like copper locking nuts, like manifold nuts too?
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
jcccruz 
Graham the original spark plug cables of the E30 have a resistence of 6k ohm maybe that is interfering with the ECU at high rpm. I did have the opposite problem in my BMW E21 when I swapped the original spark cables for one custom made just to find out it didn’t work without the resistors.
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
rallyrob What grade bolts have you used round those discs and bells please, 8.8 or 10.9's? Look like copper locking nuts, like manifold nuts too?
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Graham not sure, but 8.8s but would be good enough, yes they are manifold nuts, i wanted a lock nut but given teh disc glow red under race conditions i didnt think nyloc was a good idea
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
i had a trip over to the rollers today, to check the engines health, mechanically its almost the same as it was when last run up, the only difference being ive fitted some slightly longer inlet trumpets, which it really liked, they have moved the torque up the rev range a bit, and it hangs on for longer which has added 16bhp, its now got 283 bhp, which is stunning for a bmw m20. we did also try some 102 octane fuel, that did make a bit more power but only a bit, another 2bhp to be exact, so i wont be buying any of that, that said the 102 did hang on longer, so if the engine were to rev to say 8500 i think the difference may of been more
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...w trumpets.JPG
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Very respectable :thumb: I guess the top end misfire is cured then?
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
katana Very respectable :thumb: I guess the top end misfire is cured then?
Doing the maths the extra power and cars diet has improved the power to weight ratio by 35bhp/tonne, no wonder it felt quick
i struggled to remember what the final weight was but seeing as ive now found a pic i will leave it here for reference, hmm, the pic seems to of gone missing, anyway it weighs 938kg or 1028 with me in it
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...t2019small.jpg
i had another outing in the car a CSCC race at silverstone on the international circuit, i have raced at silverstone numerous times but never this configuration, so only 3 corners would be the same as i have previously driven ten years ago, so basically i didnt have a clue where i was going, never good, and im not great at learning new circuits at the best of times, let alone in a car i still havnt really got the hang of and isnt the same as when i last drove it!
just to recap since i last drove it i re engineered the front discs so i could run the same 8x15 wheels and 225/45/15 tyres all round. as well as fitting a thicker front anti roll bar. my thinking being that on the 7x15 fronts 205/50/15's the car was ok, but had more understeer than i was happy with, for thruxton i tried some 215 tyres on the 7 inch rims the front just didnt feel nice, it seemed to have more grip but felt rather boat like and wallowed rather than changing direction nicely.
going out on track i was going to be on the back foot, virtually all my competition had raced the circuit before and quite a few had tested the day before. as it was to be a 40min pit stop race with (for most) a driver change, i decided not to practice a pit stop (even if you dont change driver you have to pit and get out the car and back in again) so i hoped a long un-interrupted 30min qualifying session would get me reasonably well upto speed.
other than some leg pulling as i was recognized scrutineering went without issue :)
Exiting the pit lane with the rear end snaking in 3rd, i thought yeah this feels fast, but it didnt really once out on track though, with a power to weight ratio of getting on for 300bhp/tonne it should feel fast, in practice the power delivery is so flat and smooth and only needing to use 3,4,5th gears it just never feels fast out on track, doubts were dispelled when i caught up with a triple webered E type jag and breezed past it in a straight line. The extra grunt at the top of the rev range did make its presence felt though, as it meant i only needed 5th gear at the end of hanger straight, and 3rd worked right through the twisty bits, so not a lot of gearbox stirring needed i could concentrate on learning where i was going.
despite the weight distribution changing for the worse and using old front tyres the front end changes worked well, the car was turning in well, in fact it was pretty neutral, the rear drifting a little if i turned in hard, the new stack dash did flag something up i would of missed before and that was oil surge going into the tightest slowest left hander, TBH i didnt worry me too much, i wasnt on the power when it came up and pressure was still in the low 20's. Unfortunately just as got the hang of whether i was going and starting to try and push, the Thruxton sickness reappeared. i tried to contain it for a lap or two but then pulled off. Thankfully i didnt actually puke this time, i now know for certain i am getting car sick, it only happens at circuits where there are a couple of tight right left direction changes close together.
back in the pits, we just refueled, added half a litre more oil ( this was the first time i had run the car on the max, not a bit overfilled) dropped 1psi out the n/s/f tyre, and headed into town to find some travel sickness pills.
i had qualified very much mid field, 18th out of 36, to be honest know it was the cars straight line speed that saved me from being at the back of the grid, i simply just didnt have enough track experience, but i figured out with others to chase down i would get quicker in the race.
it was to be a standing start race and in the drivers briefing we were all warned that race control had lots of cameras and observers watching the start, any movement after the lights came on would result in a penalty. sitting on the start as the rest of the grid formed up behind me i felt the car was moving slightly, mindful of the drivers briefing and no handbrake i held the car on the foot brake and tried to hold the revs just over 3K, which i wasn't going very well, so i was concentrating on trying to get that right when the lights went out and everyone was off, the end result of that being the cars behind got the jump on me, i reacted with too many revs and lit the rear end up loosing a couple of spots in the process. :doh:
at least i had a decent enough idea of where i was going to be competitive and had a good dice with first a 911 and then a 944 both in the above picture i got past them both, interestingly i was able to get past the 944 on the brakes, keeping an eye in the mirrors it was clear the lower powered fwd cars were practically as quick over a lap, looking ahead i was pleased to see i was catching another beemer an E21, i know that car slightly and round brands it cant get anywhere near me, but an unfamiliar circuit is another matter, still i was catching him and hoped to pass it when i noticed the car push on in a couple of corners, more throttle problems, this time it was sticking. i pitted, got out bent the pedal which seemed to fix it, got strapped back in and headed out again, a couple of corners it was sticking again big time, so i pulled off for good.
looking at the car the problem was obvious, in use the pedal box has bent and that was jamming the throttle. another DNF, oh well, it should be easy to fix!
i have to say despite the dnf i was pleased how it went, i enjoyed the way the car handled and actually got to race other cars, the sea sick pills seemed to work too :)
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
i whipped the pedal box out, and welded in a brace between the brake cylinders
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...#91;23373].jpg
i reinforced the throttle pedal pvot, next i changed the throttle cable attachment, robbing some bits from an old linkage kit, the outer cable is now retained by a retainer that can pivot, before when you got to about the last 3rd of travel the linkage would bend the inner cable and pull it tight up against sides of the drilling in the cable retainer, it was only a matter of time before the cable either snapped of frayed, now when you are deep in the throttle the cable retainer will pivot, keeping the pull on the inner cable straight, so it doesn't rub on anything or get bent, so in theory ive seen the back of throttle issues. i must say i now think that when its time to get a pedal box for the 2002im going to spend proper money and buy a tilton or AP box
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...#91;23372].jpg
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
i did the pivototing cable holder on a westfield. it was stretching the cable every outing but once i fitted the pivot it was sorted.
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Graham i had a trip over to the rollers today, to check the engines health, mechanically its almost the same as it was when last run up, the only difference being ive fitted some slightly longer inlet trumpets, which it really liked, they have moved the torque up the rev range a bit, and it hangs on for longer which has added 16bhp, its now got 283 bhp, which is stunning for a bmw m20. we did also try some 102 octane fuel, that did make a bit more power but only a bit, another 2bhp to be exact, so i wont be buying any of that, that said the 102 did hang on longer, so if the engine were to rev to say 8500 i think the difference may of been more
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...w trumpets.JPG
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...07-19 1887.jpg
after Silverstone i was at a bit of a low ebb, net race for the cscc series was oulton park, but i decided to skip it, oulton is a long way from here, and i just didnt facy treking half way across the country to a circuit i didnt know to have more problems, the following round was Anglsey again a very long way to a circuit i didnt know, and potentially more and DNF's. id actually decided to skip that event too, until i got an email the entry fee was very reasonable and the meeting a double header so i stuck in an entry.
leaving ely at 4.15pm on friday i arrived at the circuit 9.30pm only to realize what seemed like every man and his dog had arrived on thursday and tested friday, that didnt leave me feeling great about the place, basically once again i was going to be the only one who didnt know the track.
getting up saturday it was wet and drizzling, knowing my toyo R888's are not good in the wet and are 8 years old i had concerns about leaving them on the car, but it certainly wasnt wet enough for the Uniroyals, in the end i fitted a set of super soft Kumho V700's despite being brand new and unscrubbed as long as it didnt rain really hard they would work.
qualifying went without issue, no real issues and i got to grips with the track layout and gears required fairly easily, the car behaved and it was all quite undramatic, much to my surprise i had qualified P16 overall (out of 33) and P1 in class, the track was drier than i expected so arguably the supersoft tyres were quite the right choice, yes they did grip and gave me some confidence well but judging by the state of the N/S/F tyre it was on the verge of melting!
as usual with a cscc race, it was a pit stop race, something i dont really like doing as i unlike most my car isnt double driven. more correctly i dont mid doing the pit stop i just dont like having to get out the car and back in again! i would much prefer it if i just had to stop for a set amount of time, and not struggle with belts and hans device.
race one, by now back on teh 8 year old Toyo 888's i got of to a decent start, there, were a couple of points where i fluffed gearchanges which im afraid is something to tend to do until im really familiar with a circuit. i got tucked up behind a RSR Porsche 911 which definitely cost me a couple of spots, but i really enjoyed the first half of the race and certainly proved with more track time under my belt the car and i could be a serious contender fro running at the front end off the grids, to me the car doesnt feel fast but being able to dice with TVRS and out drag an E36m3 in a straight line shows the cars not slow. the link below is the start of the race upto the pit stop.
https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&vid...gj40xruJ8&ar=3
second half of the race didnt go great, but only because two laps later i got bloody car sick again, despite taking travel sickness pills!! i spent several laps chucking my guts up again, puke and leather gloves certainly make the steering wheel slippery! so after the pit stop i just circulated best i could, which meant i watched the mirrors and no one caught me, for sure i cost me a class win but to be fair given my chucking up and no previous track knowledge i was pretty happy with P2
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
race two was on sunday, same circuit, but different layout, the coastal layout leaves out a bit of the circuit but introduces a corkscrew section, that worried me because i know a series of tight left/right/left is likely to make me feel ill, the only plus point is that layout takes out two high speed braking points which go into slow tight corners, again something which doesn't agree with my stomach! as sunday was essentially the same circuit but with a bit left out, there was no qualification session, which means my P1 from saturdays qualify would stand. the organizers had however allowed a 15 min un-timed practise session.
out we went for practise and at about the second corner in i realized i had made a school boy error, i could smell fuel, and strongly at that, i instantly knew i hadn't replaced the fuel filler cap when i had topped the tank up, i also knew fuel would be collecting in the boot floor above the rear silencer, dam! i really needed to experience the revised track lay out, i also knew the session was very short and the marshals had probably already spotted me loosing fluid and reported it to race control. i figured id aim to do 3 laps, sure enough as i went past the start line for the second time the meatball flag (black flag with orange spot meaning mechanical defect) was hanging out with my race number attached. that cut my session short and gave me a basic idea of the shape of the corkscrew if no idea how quickly i could take it.
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
for the start of race two even through i launched at lower than normal launch revs the rear tyres didnt hook up and i immediately lost ground, which lead me to a tussle with a another E30 which lasted until the pit stop. i had more speed than the other e30 i just couldn't convert it into an overtake, basically the tyres are past it, the rear end wouldnt hook up and if you watch the video your see i miss most apexes by a mile because the front didnt have any real grip either and being the last race of the weekend there was a lot of loose rubber on the circuit, so quite a few times even the correct line wasn't usable.
race video part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-nSPkNf6ZQ
the pit stop wasnt great, i had my mate graham with me along with his other half but julie has no experience of strapping blokes in race cars, we also had a hick up getting the hans right, so one of the scruts held me until he was happy, as is often the case the second half of the race after the pit stop isnt very eventful, because by that point the natural order of things is decided, but it was still a great race, i didnt realize until i was back in the paddock, but i won my class on sunday. so im really pleased with the whole weekend,
race vid part 2 https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&vid...9Iyh96Zp0&ar=3
the car behaved itself, and to come away from a strange track with a 1st and 2nd im well chuffed.
next stop is in a week, Brands GP circuit ive enter a couple of sprint races with a different club the cmmc southern
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...224_nmeang.jpg
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
a mere two weeks after Anglsey i was out again, Brands Hatch Grand prix circuit this time. the car got minimal prep in between events as i was away scrutineering the weekend in between, it got an oil change, in an effort in increase rear end grip i disconnected the rear anti roll bar that was about it. other than i bought a new set of tyres, although they still had some tread left i felt my 8 year old toyo R888s were well past there prime, i couldnt get any more R888's and the newer R888R's werent yet available in the 225/45/15 size i wanted, having re-engineered the front end to take 8x15 wheels i didnt want to drop back to a 205 tyre, so opted to try something different and got a set of Nankang AR1's.
the cmmc meeting i had entered was a bit different to what ive done of late instead of a single min pit stop race this was to be two 15 minute sprint races, it was also a completely different set of cars, they were running modified saloons which ar every heavily modified and many very very powerfull and running slicks, and a production class, which were less modified and on road tyres, my car almost fitted the production regs so i got an entry as a "guest" car into the production class.
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Aaaaannnnnd? Talk about leaving the reader wanting? LOL!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
katana Aaaaannnnnd? Talk about leaving the reader wanting? LOL!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
so brands Gp was to be two short sharp 15 min races, half the cars on slicks with serious power, the other half like mine, not radically modified and road tyres. i was to run as a guest car ( my car not quite being production regulation compliant) i was really keen to see how i fared, it was a different bunch of cars some of which i had raced against years ago, others which i had no idea how i would perform against.
qualifying didnt go great, but it wasnt due to issues with the car, a 43 car grid takes a log while to spread out so its hard to find space to get a good qualifying lap, sods law but a couple of laps in and one of the hondas suffered suspension failure which put of in the gravel at a dangerous location, this brought the safety car out so most of the session was done behind it, only right at the end did we get a green flag and were free to lap at full speed, end result was out of 43 cars i qualified 25th overall, and was 6th out of cars on road tyres on a 1.48 sec lap
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
i looked at the races as an information exercise, it might shape the future direction as to which way i change the car in future, as a guest i wasn't going to risk taking anyone out, and would ultimately back out if i thought there was a risk of contact, i knew over a lap i had competitive speed against things like EP3 hondas, but was that just a strong engine? first race i was to find out. almost immediately i had the answer yes, corner speed there wasn't much in it, mine was better under braking and some corners i had better traction out of and could get along side,
end result was a finished race one 18th overall and 3rd on road tyres, still learning the circuit i improved my best lap time to 1.473, it wasnt without issue though, for most of the race i was getting fuel pressure warnings through the left hander at surtees, towards the end of the race engine was hesitating, and i kept missing gears, my modified rover gearlever has a brilliant short shift, but you need to take your time with it to fast on the lever and it doesnt find the gate, which always happend when i was under real pressure.
what i will say thought is compared to 8 year old 888's the AR1's were brilliant, far more grip and predictable, they made the car very neutral, push the nose hard and it lacked bite to the turn in, but overall i was very happy with the handling definaty there was no down side to disconnecting the rear ARB which i was certain would be the case anyway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA-K...ature=youtu.be
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Always like your race reports G - can be frustrating for you at times but generally cos you seem to be doing them purely for the fun of doing rather than having to score championship points which is when the fun goes away and is replaced by stress!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
race two, wrong slotted off the rolling start :doh: but another good race, again i wasnt prepared to push really hard and take someone out, but it was another good learning curve. i had a few more gear change issues during the race, it came to a bit of an abrupt end for me, as i pulled off on the last lap, not a mechanical defect, but just as i got past the turbo VXR astra i had been dicing with i saw the chequer flag, and backed off, i did realise my mistake, but it was too late to do anything, the starter did have the flag in his hand, but he was about to wave it at the leader who was coming up behind us, oh well never mind, whether i finished or not was a bit irreverent. As a guest i wouldn't of got anything even if i had won the race outright! what i learned was the car and i were competitive with a different set of cars, my best lap had improved to a 1.467, which was actually faster than i went last time i raced the GP circuit in the blue car on slicks :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Wi4d_HStc
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
buoyed up by the car going well at the last meeting i was looking forward to my next race, this time cscc 40 min pit stop race.
pre race prep comprised of an oil change, a new set of DS3000 front pads the old ones were down to about a fag paper thickness on the inside ones.
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...63IMG_0648.JPG
i took the rear ARB off altogether, no point leaving it on the car with one end disconnected!
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...78IMG_0646.JPG
im a bit annoyed with the fuel tank, o bought one with a built in swirl pot to avoid having to run twin pumps and a separate swirl pot, but brands proved its not upto the job, so ive added a standalone pot feed by a Facet red top. the install isn't the neatest, i did it using the minimum possible new fittings, and without cutting any existing fuel lines, not something you want to do, as you need a disc cutter, and thats not recommended when the fuel lines concerned have fuel in them! the new setup works well as gravity alone was enough to fill the facet and swirl pot. i had been pondering what to do to improve the cars turn in, i was unsure what to do until a spotted a picture online, it struck me the car had more body roll on the rear than front not surprising perhaps, considering i had disconnected the rear ARB, i thought about it and decided to increase the rear spring rate, my thinking was it might ease the load on the front end when cornering but keep the extra traction out the corners that i got from the ARB delete. at this point i didnt know the rear spring rate, turns out they were 600lb so i upped them to 700 (would give a wheel rate of around 350lb) finally i chucked it back on the scales it came in at 1031kg with me on board, so almost identical to the last time, but with about 15-20 litres more fuel on board, pleasingly front-rear bias had improved slightly to 55F/45R
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...71023track.jpg
finally i popped the tracking gauges on it, to see what if anything had happend to the geometry, the front was still were i had set it parallel, and the rear had slight toe in, id never checked the rear, but it had been modified to make rear toe adjustable so i was sure where it would be, slight toe in is way less than you normally get on a lowered E30 rear end.
i forgot to take a picture, but i also prepared another gear lever, this time to give a slightly longer shift, hopefully to avoid the missed gear issues ive been having
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
katana Always like your race reports G - can be frustrating for you at times but generally cos you seem to be doing them purely for the fun of doing rather than having to score championship points which is when the fun goes away and is replaced by stress!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
moving on Brands pit stop race. being Brands, the circuit i know best i was hoping to be quick. the only doubt in my mind being whether the stiffer rear springs would make the car all oversteery, we have to remember its a circuit race, on a high grip sealed surface sideways is slow as your either getting out/feathering the throttle, or simply not driving forwards, it was also a very hot weekend that could easily punish the tyres turning them to jelly, and as you know jelly is slippery!
we were first Qualifying session, it was 30mins long if your a two driver team thats not actually that much time, as each driver will only get 10/11 mins at race speed, but as a single driver it leaves plenty of time to get into the groove. i just stayed out the whole session, two reasons firstly the car ran well with no obvious issues (well none i could do anything about) secondly as my only pit crew the weekend was my wife, who knows about as much about race cars as i know about knitting machines, it was pointless trying to gather tyre temp/pressure data or making adjustments.
i wouldnt normally bother putting up video of a qualifying session, but the V box got the hump during the race and just recorded a load of fuzz. so here is qualifying
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ5a...ature=youtu.be
35 cars made for a busy session i set my best lap on lap 16 ( i did 31 in all) which makes sense mid session there would of been a lot of pit stops for driver changes going on.
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
my lap was good enough to qualify 8th overall, 2nd in class :) none too shabby when you look at the cars which were in front of me
1 79 A80 1 Mark CHILTON Nissan Skyline GTR (T) 2600 53.963
2 4 B70 1 M ELLIS / M ELLIS Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 2171 54.131
3 77 A80 2 Perry WADDAMS TVR Tuscan Challenge 5000 54.174
4 146 A80 3 JOHNSTON / WOODS-DEAN Audi V8 Quattro Saloon 3600 54.291
5 55 B80 1 Antony MCEVOY Porsche 944 S2 2990 54.645
6 63 B70 2 Geoff BEALE Talbot Sunbeam Lotus 2498 55.058
7 191 A70 1 Rikki CANN Aston Martin V8 Vantage 5340 55.105
8 46 B80 2 Graham BAHR BMW E30 2860 55.132
the skyline on poll is always blisteringly fast, but seem to rarely finish, the lotus in second won last years race outright, the quattro is actually an ex DTM car, so everything faster than me had a bigger engine/more power or in the case of the sunbeams a lot less weight.
in blistering heat i was more than happy with the way my car handled 31 laps flat out, just two negatives it wanted to understeer round the hair pin, and much to my surprise more fuel pressure warnings on left handers, i could almost understand them at surtees corner because it surged there the previous meeting, but i now had it at Graham hill where it didnt before, that could of only been down to the stiffer rear springs giving me a better turn in, but with the additional fuel swirl pot i shouldn't of had any surge at all.
come the race i made a reasonable job of the rolling start, got ahead of the Aston Martin and from memory one of the lotus's, the lotus pretty quickly got me back, but for 6 laps i kept the Aston behind me, then i got a poor drive out of clearways onto Braham straight, that was enough for the Aston to stretch its big v8 and blast past me, but it wasnt going to stay there, or so i thought the Aston was not a match for the beemer through the bends, i closed right up on entry into paddock, and took a wide line into druids to cut up the inside of it on the run down to graham hill, the plan was working until BANG! a Porsche 911 took a lunge from a long way back, clobbered my O/S/R corner which spun me round, and then clobbered O/S/F although i ended up sideways across the track the engine was still running and a shot off after the Aston again, but as soon as i next turned in something was very wrong, the steering felt horrid and i could smell burning rubber. i pitted, but no one was expecting me, another driver spotted the front wing pressed into the tyre and grabbed a crow bar to lever it off, meanest while someone else said my bumper was hanging off, so i just screamed at the m to rip it off, my wife wanted to know if i was going to make it my actual pit stop and get out, no too early i screamed and shot off again. in truth i knew my race was ruined, but i was just going to enjoy the remaining track time in fact i had dropped from 7th down to 27th!
as soon as i headed out the pits having stopped early i was in massive traffic, next two laps i did a lot of overtaking, then the pit window opened, so i pitted again, i was expecting my wife to help with the belts, but the scruts had said they didn't like my damaged bumper and someone gave her a roll of gaffer tape to fix it, so i had to strap myself back in, which i did surprisingly easily, and shot out the pits again, only to find all the cars id just overtaken i had to do all over again! next few laps were an overtaking feast, as a both caught cars, unlapped myself and lapped others, i recovered to finally finish the race 15th not bad considering two pit stops and the first being a very long one at that, Race control actually ended the race early due to a number of cars in gravel traps, so potentially i might of finished higher still, but not as annoying as being knocked out of 7th in the first place, i would of never won the race but im certain i could of got 5th and possibly on the podium as the skyline failed to finish as usual and the DTM Quattro Audi eat its tyres.
during the race i realized my fuel pressure alarms were not fuel pressure after all, they were oil pressure! the thing was its hard to tell the difference if your not directly looking at the dash at the time and as i had had fuel pressure issues my brain got it wrong, what i dont know was just how low it was dropping, i was seeing a 22psi alarm, but am not sure whether the dash was showing it was dropping to 22 or it was under 22 meaning maybe zero! i doubt it was actually going to zero, because it survived 63 laps surging twice a lap.
in summary, i didnt get the result i hoped for, but am pleased with how the car behaved, i now have body work to do and bearings to check, but i had a great time :)
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...57IMG_0649.JPG
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...89IMG_0650.JPG
could of been worse, the initial hit was pretty hard, i didnt actually see the damage until after the race, it looks better than i expected!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
fortunately when it came to the dents a bit of work with the porta power got 95% of the out, so just a bit of hammer and dolly work followed by a thin skim of filler got the sheet metal looking close to the correct shape.
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...night20194.jpg
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...t race2019.jpg
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...race 20192.jpg
plenty of super glue and some grp got the front spoiler or or less back to the correct shape, with one one event left this year i wasnt about to buy a new one.
you will of noticed the not very subtle lightbar and the cars now sporting front indicators, reason being i had entered a night race, for which the SR's required indicators and the light bar was in a vein hope i would be able to see where i was going in my first ever night race
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
it entered two races at Donnington park, both 40 minute pitstop races, one day one night. ive been to Donnington loads as a scrutineer, but that all, my only track knowledge is of watching cars go into Redgate corner at the end of the start/finish straight, which later would prove more useful than i expected.
i was looking forward to the event until the weather forecast turned from dry to 95% chance of rain all day.
its been years since i did a proper wet race, i was going to a circuit i didnt know, in a car ive never driven in the rain, and had i use normal road tyres (as opposed to proper wets) as wet tyres, something ive never done. what could possibly go wrong?
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Graham it entered two races at Donnington park, both 40 minute pitstop races, one day one night. ive been to Donnington loads as a scrutineer, but that all, my only track knowledge is of watching cars go into Redgate corner at the end of the start/finish straight, which later would prove more useful than i expected.
i was looking forward to the event until the weather forecast turned from dry to 95% chance of rain all day.
its been years since i did a proper wet race, i was going to a circuit i didnt know, in a car ive never driven in the rain, and had i use normal road tyres (as opposed to proper wets) as wet tyres, something ive never done. what could possibly go wrong?
At the end if anything happen can cost you a lot more than a set of tyres.
Anyhow it sound that someone will having fun out there. Please make sure that your camera works :lol:
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Quote:
Originally Posted by
chrisis Why not investing on a full wet tires? Normal road tyres on a race car it sound at least not a good idea.
:lol:
Quote:
Anyhow it sound that someone will having fun out there. Please make sure that your camera works
i have lots of footage, its hard to see much as it was so dammed wet
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
with practically zero track knowledge qualifying was always going to be "interesting" added to the fact it had been raining for about 14 hours it was very wet and any excursion onto the grass would at best result in getting stuck, but more likely a long uncontrolled skid into a crash barrier.
i did very little pre qualifying prep, it just comprised of bolting the Uniroyal rainsports on and brimming the fuel tank, i didnt need a full tank of fuel but figured the extra weight on the rear end would probably be a good idea, i know from corner weighting the car that its a bit nose heavy, and any additional fuel only puts weight on the rear wheels, and traction wise they were probably going to need all the help they could get
visibility was challenging to say the least, the car has a couple of ceramic hot air blowers for screen demisting, but they didnt stand a chance. especially when water started spraying at the inside of the screen from behind me! you can tell in the video the water on the inside as the wiper doesnt touch it, strangely the camera had better visibility than i did.
mid session i actually pitted for no other reason than to hope the screen would clear a bit so i could see where i was going.
below is some footage from the half of the qualify session
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a616VzpW25w
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
much to my surprise i had qualified 12th overall, however it was short lived, at some point when i couldnt see where i was (just about the whole session) i had passed another car when yellow flags were out, that earned me an interview with the clerk of the course, i was expecting a telling off, although i dont see what else i could of done, you either see a flag or not, you dont ignore them. what i wasnt really expecting was to have my qualifying time cancelled which would put me at the back of the grid for the race, but i accepted it thinking i wouldnt be alone as i knew numerous other cars had also been done for the same thing, the clerk applied the same penalty, but as the other cars had two drivers cancelling one drivers times still left the cars with the qualifying time from the other driver, so most cars moved back a postilion or two, but as my car only had one driver i was the only one to end up at the back!
i didnt do much race prep after qualifying, i stuck a heater in the car to try and dry out out a bit, closed the n/s/r rear quarter window and built the edges of the n/s door up with gaffa tape, hoping to stop whatever weird aero effect that was sucking water into the car spraying it forward the windscreen. the only other thing i did was a level check and brim the fuel tank, i didnt need a full tank but filled it just to put some more weight on the rear wheels. ..
the race start was less than ideal, it was to be a rolling start, from a grid formed up off the circuit itself, unfortunately for me the car ahead had stalled on the dummy grid and wouldnt restart, by the time i got round it the pack of cars following the safety car had gone, and the marshals directed me up the pit lane, that was another blow, not only was i going to have to start last, but now from the pit lane, which meant without a warm up lap i would have to join the back of the pack as they tore past the pit lane exit at full speed.
As the pack shot past i joined the race, with no idea of track/grip conditions i had a tentative first few corners, without water being sprayed on the inside of the screen visibility was better than in my qualifying session, but i was paranoid about missing another yellow flag and being hit with another penalty. in the really wet conditions the engine proved blinding,i could keep the revs low, and feed the power in really control-ably, it was noticable that the V8 Tr7s which i normally struggle with had no answer to the beemer, i could take a wide line in the corners and get close to them and power past them in a straight line, i had a couple of minor moments where the back stepped out, and a bigger one where i couldnt get it stopped into the esses, so rather than risk clobbering a stack of tyres or spinning off i opted not to attempt the corner and bounced across the gravel safely rejoining. there was a couple of times my hours of standing as a scrut in the the pit lane came in handy, a coupl eof times i had passed another car heading down the straight at around 100mph unable to see Redgate corner to my front right, but recognizing the pitlane on my left used that as a marker and made the corner. my pit stop went really well, i had no crew with me, but got the assistance from one of the race officials who is well used to helping drivers in and out of cars. ive also learned from earlier pit stops, you have to stop the engine when doing the pit stop, but ive found it hard to find the master switch when strapped in, so instead of switching off, i simply stall the engine when i stop, and simply hit the starter button to get going again.
during a race sometimes i have a good idea of my position others ive no idea, this one was a no idea, so i was stagger to find after starting last in 36th place from the pit lane i finished 10th overall, and was awarded driver of the day in the process :)
https://youtu.be/Y0L8lCCFO9Y
https://youtu.be/C7cektc_8KQ
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
well done in what sounds like appalling conditions and on a unfamiliar circuits :woohoo:
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
i did a night race too, that was tricky! i had tried the car around the industrial estate at work in the dark, but unfortunately its quite well lit so whilst the lighting seemed good it turned out not to be.
i had been told race circuits seem totally different in the dark, they were not wrong, Brand Hatch i could drive blind folded, but donnington, no chance i never really got the hang of it during they day due to the appalling weather, in the dark i was back to guessing where i was going again, and as it got darker with lighting which really didnt live up to the job.
it had stopped raining and hour or so prior to the night race, so a switched the uniroyal tyres for some softer sticker Kuhmo V700's but in reality i wasnt able to make use of them, my lap times on the dark wet track being slower than in the full wet but daylight conditions.
there was not a separate qualifying session for the dark, instead we were given a position based on our day time starting place, only this time i was even further back, in 39th place! come the race i finished 18th, so a lot further up the grid, however i suspect that was more down to me keeping it on the track rather than raw speed. there were a couple of safety car deployments which didnt help progress, i was just pleased not to of caused them and teh cars still running with no issues or damage
https://youtu.be/BxBiVXTvsuo
https://youtu.be/J4gmglAdJkw
Re: A race bmw 316, m10, s14, m20, turbo, na, its been the lot!
its been a while since ive touched the car, but the racing season is coming, so had to pull my finger out, and get some upgrades happening.
i didnt get a lot of seat time last year but its clear on the right day at the right circuit, the combination of me and the car have the pace to run well inside the top ten overall, which means ive been giving thought as to how to get on the podium.
i cant easily find more power, but i know from chasing Porsches and lotus sunbeams around various tracks what i need most is a car which will carry more speed in the tighter corners, which means taking weight out the car, and more importantly off the front. the trouble is most of my attempts to lighten the car whilst being successful are all taking weight off the back so doing nothing to help the car turn in better, and not something i can fix by just drilling a few more holes, so ive splashed a bit of cash. ive ordered a polycarbonate windscreen, and some alloy front arms.
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...l wishbone.jpg
so these have been changed for, these....
http://media2.turbosport.co.uk/2013/...30alloyarm.jpg
the alloy arms being half the weight of the steel ones
