Moggy's Darrian T9

[Roadsport]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

That engine seems to pull VERY well ! It idled quite low too , a bit above 1000 rpms or did I read the tachometer wrong.

[ShawSpeed]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

That engine seems to pull VERY well ! It idled quite low too , a bit above 1000 rpms or did I read the tachometer wrong.

Idles around 900 rpm.

Figures are pretty respectable for a 1.6 on a slightly modified std crank.

rpm-- lbft-- bhp
4000 100.1 76.2
4500 124.1 106.3
5000 119.7 113.9
5500 135.8 142.2
6000 137.3 156.8
6500 138.2 171
7000 140 186.6
7500 136.5 194.9
8000 132.1 201.2
8200 130.9 204.3
8500 126 203.9
8600 126 206.3
8700 123.1 203.9
8800 121.1 202.9

[Roadsport]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Hi Jon.

Those are some mighty impressive figures!! Would not mind having those numbers on my score board !
And that idle....that just blows me away 900rpm's mines at 1200.
Awesome little engine you've put together!!

[ShawSpeed]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Hi Jon.

Those are some mighty impressive figures!! Would not mind having those numbers on my score board !
And that idle....that just blows me away 900rpm's mines at 1200.
Awesome little engine you've put together!!

A lot of that is to do with the mapping which was done by the best-Steve Greenald of Race Engine Calibration. Almost every car he's ever done for me has had OEM idle standards

[Tristan]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

A lot of that is to do with the mapping which was done by the best-Steve Greenald of Race Engine Calibration. Almost every car he's ever done for me has had OEM idle standards

don't be too modest Jon , some of has to be down to you too!

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Small update, the Darrian is now all ready for it's next event.

As well as it's full normal check over we have fitted a new Brise starter motor from Shawspeed, so at least it turns over now when it's hot! We will also be fitting an Anderson plug so we can use a large Transit van battery to help crank it over when it is very hot after stages....the compression is quite high so it needs all the help it can get.

We also fitted, and bedded in, some new rear brake pads as the others had worn down quite a lot after only a few events. We have always used the same grade of rears 1144's as they heat up quick and give the car a very impressive handbrake!

Front brakes have proved much more sensitive as the car is so light at the front and runs a narrow tyre....we have tried various types.

1144's......overheated quickly and now only used it the rain.

1155's.......didn't get on with these at all.....either couldn't get hot quickly enough, or when they did would lock easily with no feel.

1166's.......much better than the others (for our car).....but were going off a bit on the last event which was very fast.....also noticed they seam to 'glaze'.

F4's.......these are the best for dry weather, even when they get very hot (we have had them smoking heavily) they still work well....also seam to either work well from cold or get hot quickly......only thing we have noticed is that the balance has to be spot on as they can 'snatch' a bit and lock a wheel.

So we run alcon calipers at the front front with F4 mintex and Wilwood dynalite rear with 1144......the brakes are great on the Darrian as it's so light.....but the balance has to be spot on for the conditions as, like everything on this car......it's very sensitive!

Next event looks like being either the Jack Neil in May at Blyton in Lincolnshire or the Pendragon stages on Warcop Ranges...........cant't wait!

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Small and possibly last update for a while.

We took the car to Blyton in Lincolnshire....I have only ever been autograss racing there but the circuit had been laid new so it was brand new to everybody.

It was a bad bad day!......on the very first stage the car seemed to feel like it had a rear puncture when under power so we limped to the end of the stage......when we looked...no puncture.........so we had a closer look at the rear suspension and found that a damper was leaking badly........and we had no spare.........

We decided to press on..........but it was a nightmare......we had a huge high speed spin on SS2 so after that took it easy for the rest of the day. We came 3rd in class at the end which wasn't bad considering. I DID NOT like the venue at all......it is bassically massive long starights and we were on the limiter in top gear before the half way point on each straight...not good....we wont be back!

The other problem we had at Blyton was that the rear brakes (Willwood) finally reached the end of their life....they were getting so hot from the constant high speed braking that they were flexing unbelievably and basically working less and less....therby moving the brake effort and bias more and more to the front of the car.

So after Blyton we had a think and decided to upgrade rear brakes and dampers. We have fitted AP5000+ calipers (thanks to Questmead) which are sized to compliment the fronts.............we also fitted FOX three way adjustable remote canister dampers which several other Darrian run now.

Next event was last Sunday.....my own club's event which is the Enville stages at Anglesey.......the event had the best entry I have seen in many many years and the weather was fabulous so it all looked like fun.............but it wasn't to be

SS1 and within 300 meters of the start a part in the gear linkage snapped.....leaving us stuck in 3rd gear....we managed to negotiate 2 more laps of massive long straights and super tight chicanes all in 3rd gear with a twin plate sintered clutch which you can't slip......to add insultt to injury the engine seemed flat and was missing a bit.

Back in service Jon fixed the engine problem in a few seconds (water under a plug lead) and Avto welded up the broken gear linkage part........so we were ready to go.

By now I was well reved up and gave the car and absolute spanking on SS2!.......the engine was mega and the new brakes and suspension were an improvement................we were 19 seconds faster than the rest of our class and well up the main field so smiles were returned....

However on SS3 it all went wrong.........under breaking for a chicane I felt something 'break' in the back of the car, it actually felt like a rear wheel locked for a second.......it was near the end of the stage so we limped out, well it was downhill so actually we sort of rolled out (still 10 seconds faster on that stage)............but as we drove back through the service area the gearbox was making a very unhappy noise indeed.

Back in service the lads dropped the gearbox oil which had bits of unhappy metal inside it......so the trailer was calling

It was a shame as the car was much faster than it has been before and even with suspension and brakes which we had not set up it was very qiuick..........there was another car like ours on the event with some good blokes from down South...they had a Davrian with a 16V vauxhall engine.....they also had problems from the start and retired at the same time as us....I am sure that between us we would have dominated the class, but it wasn't to be.

I took the box out when we got home and it is now stripped. First gear dog ring is totally broken which has lead to damage to 2nd as well. Also the diff has not enjoyed injesting small fragments of steel. The box should be fixed in a few days now.

We have decided to make some upgrades to the car so our short season is now over.......we will be back next year bigger, faster and with more gears

Thanks to everyone who helps with our car....we always have a laugh and that is the main thing!

Don't those cones look tall in a Darrian!





Thanks to Richard Furniss for the excellent photography.

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Small and possibly last update for a while.

We took the car to Blyton in Lincolnshire....I have only ever been autograss racing there but the circuit had been laid new so it was brand new to everybody.

It was a bad bad day!......on the very first stage the car seemed to feel like it had a rear puncture when under power so we limped to the end of the stage......when we looked...no puncture.........so we had a closer look at the rear suspension and found that a damper was leaking badly........and we had no spare.........

We decided to press on..........but it was a nightmare......we had a huge high speed spin on SS2 so after that took it easy for the rest of the day. We came 3rd in class at the end which wasn't bad considering. I DID NOT like the venue at all......it is bassically massive long starights and we were on the limiter in top gear before the half way point on each straight...not good....we wont be back!

The other problem we had at Blyton was that the rear brakes (Willwood) finally reached the end of their life....they were getting so hot from the constant high speed braking that they were flexing unbelievably and basically working less and less....therby moving the brake effort and bias more and more to the front of the car.

So after Blyton we had a think and decided to upgrade rear brakes and dampers. We have fitted AP5000+ calipers (thanks to Questmead) which are sized to compliment the fronts.............we also fitted FOX three way adjustable remote canister dampers which several other Darrian run now.

Next event was last Sunday.....my own club's event which is the Enville stages at Anglesey.......the event had the best entry I have seen in many many years and the weather was fabulous so it all looked like fun.............but it wasn't to be

SS1 and within 300 meters of the start a part in the gear linkage snapped.....leaving us stuck in 3rd gear....we managed to negotiate 2 more laps of massive long straights and super tight chicanes all in 3rd gear with a twin plate sintered clutch which you can't slip......to add insultt to injury the engine seemed flat and was missing a bit.

Back in service Jon fixed the engine problem in a few seconds (water under a plug lead) and Avto welded up the broken gear linkage part........so we were ready to go.

By now I was well reved up and gave the car and absolute spanking on SS2!.......the engine was mega and the new brakes and suspension were an improvement................we were 19 seconds faster than the rest of our class and well up the main field so smiles were returned....

However on SS3 it all went wrong.........under breaking for a chicane I felt something 'break' in the back of the car, it actually felt like a rear wheel locked for a second.......it was near the end of the stage so we limped out, well it was downhill so actually we sort of rolled out (still 10 seconds faster on that stage)............but as we drove back through the service area the gearbox was making a very unhappy noise indeed.

Back in service the lads dropped the gearbox oil which had bits of unhappy metal inside it......so the trailer was calling

It was a shame as the car was much faster than it has been before and even with suspension and brakes which we had not set up it was very qiuick..........there was another car like ours on the event with some good blokes from down South...they had a Davrian with a 16V vauxhall engine.....they also had problems from the start and retired at the same time as us....I am sure that between us we would have dominated the class, but it wasn't to be.

I took the box out when we got home and it is now stripped. First gear dog ring is totally broken which has lead to damage to 2nd as well. Also the diff has not enjoyed injesting small fragments of steel. The box should be fixed in a few days now.

We have decided to make some upgrades to the car so our short season is now over.......we will be back next year bigger, faster and with more gears.

Thanks to everyone who helps with our car....we always have a laugh and that is the main thing!

Don't those cones look tall in a Darrian!





Thanks to Richard Furniss for the excellent photography.

[exboyracer]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Ouch, shame about the damage - glad to hear it'll be back better than ever though!

[Roadsport]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Sad to hear about the gear box!

What is this you say about coming back bigger?

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

Well where did the last 18 months go?? sorry I have not updated the thread in such a long time, but various people update through facebook on TOTAL RALLYSPORT DARRIAN, if anybody wants to keep up with others say.

much has changed since the last updates so here is a quick catch up.

(i) Rear brakes changed from Willwoods to AP Pro5000 which made a massive difference as the willwoods were flexing and wilting on long stages when they were hot.

(ii) change of colour scheme from this >





via this >

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

To this >

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

(iii) next we changed dampers to FOX 3 way adjustable piggy back units......these were a big improvement, however whilst excellent units didn't suit the car in all respects, so they were sold on after a few events..............we are now going over to AVO 3 way remote canister units, which are currently on the Dyno at Swansea University who do a lot of development work with Darrian cars as part of their Honours degree in Motorsport Engineering and Design.

Basically this means the units are bespoke valved to suit our car and it's dynamics.

(iv) The major change for 2012 was a new gearbox/transaxle. We had used the Elite Racing Transmissions 200 series sequential since the car was new.......however the final development of the Shawspeed 1600 Sigma engine was comfortably over 200bhp and very torquey.....I liked the gearbox very much but with the engine's performance, coupled with the 15" wheels we run I was worried about long term reliability. So we sold it on and it is now fitted to a fabulous Simca running in French tarmac rallies......it has a highly tuned 1000cc engine (about 140bhp) and only 13" wheels so the gearbox is much safer.

In addition to coping with the existing engine we had eyes on the future so decided to fit this>



This is an Elite TXL250 6 speed sequential dogbox..........it has much bigger gears than the old one as well as a larger CWP so cope better with whatever Shawspeed throw at it next

originally we ran it with a rod change as you can see (temporary set up photographed), but it is now on a cable system.

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

2012 was not the busiest year for the car and we didn't do many events........we also had a few small problems such as failed fuel pumps as well as touch of the dreaded driver error (note front wheel angle) >



we also suffered a recurring problem with the rear trailing arms.....this photo was taken on a rally on probably the only hot day of the 2012 summer and was a bit of frantic work in service to get us back our again......see if anyone can spot any Turbosporters in the photo! >



Actually the heat on this rally was so bad it caused a problem which stopped the car on stage causing retirement so the lad's hard work was in vain.

Inside the car the heat was terrible as we have no through ventilation at all...........so Dave and I cut big holes in the roof to fit this thing which Darrian made up for us...........it is basically two pieces of carbon and weighs nothing.......we will get wet (actually 'wetter') when it rains but you cant have everything!

[Moggy]

Re: Moggy's Darrian T9

For 2013 we decided that more power (and a new class) were needed so our fabulous little 1600 Shawspeed Sigma engine came out >



this a a photo of the car in the workshop having it's new 16 litre engine fitted (the huge thing on the rack to the left) >



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actually that's possibly not strictly 100% true.