Sam's build thread

[simon k]

hey Sam - don't throw away the compressor! I think mine has started making noises

[sambb]

ah sweet. Thats the one I did years ago. I love how the re entry into the course at the bottom is actually a pretty damn fast corner. First time I did it I was caught out at turn 2 because the second time you arrive there you are doing triple the speed and I got my braking point muddled. Those trees on the outside of that bottom sweeper are dodgy though I reckon. I wouldn't want to go off there in an open wheeler. I'm pumped. We only ever get 4 runs at the state events usually so why not make them two laps. Might need to actually take a little jerry can!

[sambb]

You're welcome to it Simon. I'll seal it up while its still got the gas/lube inside it. Let me know when you want it.

[metalhead]

Yeh, it's a fun layout! Do you know what time you did last time? Not that I guess it's relevant with everything you've done to the car since.

[sambb]

Slow. 62 seconds I think. It was torrential rain and I was on reoo3's and it was the second time I'd been there so yeah, I won't really know what to expect from it. What time did you do in that vid? That should be a good guide. Looked like a tidy run.

[metalhead]

Ah right. Don't think it was 62s though... The vid above was a 75.36. Was my third run and I probably would have gone quicker but I had some mechanical dramas. Here's the results from that event to give you some comparison against other cars, it was a tri-challenge hillclimb.

[sambb]

ha ha yeah definitely not 62's then. Might even have been 92's given that it was monsoon. Alright 75's. Think i'll run the softs on the back again. I still don't think even two laps there is enough to get any heat into the rear of a FWD. It'll be first time for me so not too concerned with times, I just want it to be close. That last state event when the top 6 were within 0.5 sec was unreal.

[sambb]

too easy with the right tools:

YouTube

[metalhead]

I should have the AO50s on by then... It'll be interesting to see how they compare!

[sambb]

Look out, youll be fast on them! Softs or mediums?

[metalhead]

Softs, cheapies from time attack guys... Aim is to finish off the Nankangs at Wakefield this week and then fit the AO50s. I probably would have preferred mediums, as I don't think the softs will stand up to much more than hillclimbs on my car, but time will tell. I also hope they're not much/any quicker than the Nankangs, because I don't want to pay full price for them! But having had a few different sets of street tyres on my other wheels now, I'm starting to think that the Nankangs might be kind of crap...

[metalhead]

So Sam, I had mechanical dramas at Wakefield (why does the car cover thousands of km without issue and then chuck a fit when I've traveled hundreds of km for an event?), but I at least managed a few laps (~10 hot laps). Unfortunately I didn't get any laps without interference from slower cars, but had two laps with only minimal interference, both in the 1:10.6 bracket. Amazing how similar our cars are in performance on different tracks for such completely different machines!

[sambb]

Oh man that sucks. Nothing that'll put you out of the hillclimb is it? Yeah I got killed by slower cars when I was there too. 1:10.6 is a great time considering the weight you have to keep under control. Considering the limited running you'd have to be happy with that but I bet like me you came away pretty sure you could go much quicker with some continuity.

[metalhead]

I don't think it should be a major issue, I need to do some troubleshooting, but I think I have an issue with the low pressure fuel supply to my surge tank. Hopefully shouldn't be too difficult to solve. But before that, I started the day with a screw working loose inside the distributor and chewing things up before disappearing when I removed the dizzy cap. That was on my first lap (after out lap) of the day and could have ended my day... It took me until after midday and a trip into Goulburn to get the car up and running again, and I had to rough set the timing by ear as I couldn't source a light. Then I had the fuel supply issue which rapidly got worse to the point that I couldn't get a complete lap in before having to pit due to the engine cutting out starving for fuel... I was thankful that it was an open pit lane day so that I could go out on the track whenever I was ready, as if it had been sessions it would have been a disaster - though on the other hand I guess I might have had less delays due to slower vehicles.

Yes, I was happy with the time, though I was keen to run sub 1:10 if I could... But considering how things went, yes I was happy.

Video of the two 1:10 laps. Pretty messy... I'm certain I can do a lot better with some more track time. YouTube

[metalhead]

Just realised I hadn't updated you about Tamworth on the weekend either. I didn't make it up there Sat for practice, and was probably a bit slower after Ringwood as a result, but in the end it was Wayne first, me second, and Riley third, with just 0.2s covering the 3 of us. Was good to have such close competition!