My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

[mervhill]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

I think Willwoods suffer a lot from caliper flex.

They do indeed mate, I think Matt was making the things bend so much under the amount of pedal pressure he's able to apply that there was only about half the pad contact!

Windy still uses Princess 4 pots with modified subaru pagid RS14's, he has used them twice on rallies at Milbrook.

[FOSSIE]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Cheers Tom. Yeah, the one where I went straight on was when the brakes failed.

I know what you're saying about 15" wheels possibly messing up the handling - but my theory is that bigger brakes are going to be better than small ones, and if I'm going to spend a lot of cash on brakes I want to get the best I can. Thinking about how many corners there were in each 15 mile stage at Marham, for example - braking a quarter of a second later into each one would make up a lot of time over the whole stage.

Having said that, I do like how it handles at the moment. I have quite a few 13" wheels and I think Escorts look better on 13s (- a small point I know...)

So I'm torn really. In most of the rallies I've done recently, the only escorts that have beaten us have been running on 15s (with the exception of Gavin, of course ) so in general it look like they're doing something right...

Totally agree, can't argue with that, you'll definitely be able to fit bigger discs under 15's. Whether that would make the car stop any quicker is another matter, but they'll certain cope with the heat build up better.

Matts car stops and handles awesome - but he's been using that setup for ages - and he's used to it now.

Speaking to some spectators, of all the cars on the RBMR, the one that seemed to stop the quickest was Simon's mk2 (with the exception of the orange Darrian, but that thing is in a different league). He runs literally the biggest discs and calipers (which are pretty fancy Brembo jobs) he can fit under 13's and he admits they are right on the limit - not far off cooking them on long stages - but he choses to stick with that setup as he doesn't like the way the car handles on 15" wheels, which is what he'd have to do to upsize the brakes.

Another thing to think about is your rear brake setup, again I use Simon's mk2 as an example (and why not, is about the quickest thing out there) he has the traditional gp4 escort "works" AP calipers on the back. They have a piston area comparible with most 4-pot front calipers.

Why don't you maybe borrow some 15's from someone and give the car a try before spending any money? Will make your mind up one way or the other!

[JonSegger]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Hmm, yes I was thinking along the lines of borrowing some 15" wheels and seeing how it feels. I'll keep a lookout.

I will also speak to Ian Rix next time I see him. He supplies a lot of the AP kits to the various rally spares places, so I'm sure he'll have some advice.

[JonSegger]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

I've got brembos on mine and use a pagid blue pad with 2.8i discs and they are fantastic. I can take dimensions of the fixing bracket so you can get some machined up? I think the calipers are of a 406 coupe or something. Para might be able to confirm what car they are off. Might be worth trying first before shelling out on new big alcons and 15's?

I think Willwoods suffer a lot from caliper flex.

Hmm, sounds like they're definitely worth considering. I'll do some investigation...

[JonSegger]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Update time...

Lynn Charity Stages, 7th November 2010

Having armed myself with a roll cage certificate after failing scrutineering at Woodbridge, our next event was the Lynn Charity Stages.

We arrived at a cold and wet Sculthorpe and after a bit of trouble getting the car started, we sailed through scrutineering without any issues. We were warned that the stages would be slippery as there was a lot of standing water in places and a decent covering of mud and slime in others. Tyre choice was going to be crucial, but we didn't have any wets and didn't have full enough pockets to buy a set, so we opted for part-worn soft slicks on the front and rear.

Stage 1 went OK. It was very slippery as expected, but good fun. A powerful rear wheel drive Escort is definitely not an advantage in such conditions.

Stage 2 wasn't so good though. We really struggled for grip and in the wet sections it felt like we were driving on sheet ice. We also had a big spin after the jump but luckily didn't hit anything. The class B 106 that was running behind us caught and overtook us. They actually took nearly a minute out of us on this stage, front wheel drive and wet tyres working well for them.

In service after stage 2 we looked at our tyres and it was obvious why we had no grip. There was nothing left of the rears (see attached pic). Although it was very slippery, there were still some abrasive sections and that was just killing the tyres. So, we moved the front tyres to the back and then splashed out on some new soft slicks for the front.

The day went better from here on. Apart from clipping a barrel on the exit of a chicane and putting a big dent in the rear quarter, stages 3 to 8 pretty much went to plan. The car held together well and we finished 11th overall and took a trophy home for being 2nd in class C.

Now it's time for a winter check-over. A dent to fix, a leaky gearbox to sort out and an upgrade to the brakes. Our next event will probably be Brands Hatch in January.

Some pics - cos we all love pics:

(These were the ones we took off the rear after stage 2...)

[cossie matt]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Did your new oil cooler perform ok mate?

Going to be giving mine a good test at rockingham in a couple of weeks. I've gone from a 13 to a 25 row!!!

[Paul C]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Well done Jon Another great result

Car looks good in the photos as well. I like the last photo best.

[Paul C]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Going to be giving mine a good test at rockingham in a couple of weeks. I've gone from a 13 to a 25 row!!!

Won't that depend on how much snow you get??!!

[cossie matt]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Won't that depend on how much snow you get??!!

Er I bloody hope not mate!!! But I hear it's a very real possibility. If it does my car will be staying firmly on the trailer LOL

[Paul C]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Er I bloody hope not mate!!! But I hear it's a very real possibility. If it does my car will be staying firmly on the trailer LOL

Good man! i used to be like that with just rain!

[mervhill]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Er I bloody hope not mate!!! But I hear it's a very real possibility. If it does my car will be staying firmly on the trailer LOL

Aye, no use putting it in a barrier for nowt! It's slippery enough there with a bit of drizzle!

[360phil]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Good result in the end Jon, nice one.

I'm interested to see which way you decide to go with your brakes - any decisions yet?

[JonSegger]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Did your new oil cooler perform ok mate?

Going to be giving mine a good test at rockingham in a couple of weeks. I've gone from a 13 to a 25 row!!!

Hi Matt.

I went for the 19 row 330mm one in the end. It seemed to do the job, although now it does take a long while to get the oil up to temperature initially. Even with a long period of ticking over and revving it waiting for the start of stage, it was only about 60 degrees as we left the line. The highest I saw was just over 90 degrees in the tank, but it was a fairly chilly day.



Water temperature seemed OK, although I may need to tape off the radiator on an exceptionally cold day I think.

If it's really cold at Rockingham do you reckon you might need to blank some of your oil cooler off to get the temp up a bit..? Although your oil tank is in your engine bay so I guess it doesn't get as much chance to lose heat as mine does with all the pipework connecting it from the boot... it seems a difficult thing to get right so far.

[JonSegger]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Well done Jon Another great result

Car looks good in the photos as well. I like the last photo best.

Cheers Paul

How long till yours hits the stages again?

[JonSegger]

Re: My mk2 Rally car - Duratec power

Aye, no use putting it in a barrier for nowt! It's slippery enough there with a bit of drizzle!

Yeah, my mate Tony had his biggest crash so far in the wet at Rockingham last year in his Mitsubishi Evo. He had a big slide into another car that had already crashed into the pit lane wall...