G1en

Seeing as its Christmas Eve, might as well do a run down of the year (best as i can remember) 21 Rounds/Events in total were completed competing in 3 main Championships. HSA (Hillclimb and Sprint Association) BARC (British Automobile Racing Club) NSCC (Nottingham Sports Car Club) The car has performed admirably again for another year but not without a few problems. The Radium in tank fuel surge pump has proved a total PITA all year, now it may not be the systems fault entirley as i think the fuel tank opening in bowed but after multiple attempts i think i have eventually sealed it, although a still get whiffs or petrol every so often so their may be a fitting elsewhere weeping but at least the big hole at the top is sorted. fingers crossed. I also had issues with the clutch/gears for the last few events which turned out to be another clutch failure, seems whatever i use, they can only hang on for 2 years. Then another thing that plagued me for most of the year was my tyre choice. going from extremes and A052 that are ultra soft to a AD09 tyre that is more road and endurance focused (relatively speaking) proved very frustrating all year, especially on the venues where i had been previously and just couldn't match the times with these tyres no matter how hard i pushed. The fact that the previously mentioned tyres wore out in around 15 events and these still had 5mm of tread left after 21 events kind of emphesizes the hardness in comparison. So I recently put my hand in my pocket and purchassed another set of the good stuff for next season. So going through the season was a mixed bag of highs. lows and anywhere in between but ultimately finished with some silverware and the car mainly intact, it did fail its MOT last month for the first time ever. The rear quarter I had replaced after my big crash at Aintree a couple of years back was not quite as rust free as my original car and the cill towards the rear arch had succombed to the metal worm, luckily, after removing the side skirt, it was only the last few inches or so and the rest looks solid, so a bit of cutting and welding some new metal in was all that was required to get it through, nothing else needed, good for another year. So highlights were 11 class wins over the season lowlights being when i was 2 seconds adrift from my prev times at certain tracks I still managed 6 new PBs despite the inferior tyres Results Below: Cadwell Park 101.5 - 2nd Anglesey National 62.99 - 3rd Anglesey International 103.6 - 2nd Blyton Eastern 79.47 - 1st Blyton Outer 72.40 - 1st Coventry Motofest 73.01 - 1st Coventry Motofest 71.46 - 1st Curborough Figure 8 66.62 - 2nd Mallory Park 84.74 - 1st Curborough Figure 8 65.64 - 1st Curborough 2 Lap 65.57 - 2nd Harewood Hillclimb 66.63 - 5th Harewood Hillclimb 72.40 - 1st (WET) Loton park Hillclimb 61.00 - 2nd Snetterton 100 122.93 - 1st (WET) Snetterton 100 102.08 - 1st Hethel (LOTUS) 90.66 - 3rd Blyton Eastern 77.15 - 1st Blyton Outer 72.68 - 2nd Curborough 2 Lap 65.03 - 4th Curborough Figure 8 66.81 - 1st So onto the final standings and results for the year, I have had the NSCC and HSA awards presentation, the BARC awards are in March so not recieved my trophey as yet but results as follows: HSA 5th Overall in Main Championship and winner of the Oppenheimer sub award NSCC 3rd Overall in Main Championship BARC 2nd Overall in Main Championship Award to follow Plans for next season, I am leaning to doing the same 3 championships again, you build up a good repor and commeradery with people as well as friendly competition. I was thinking about doing the classic marques championship but this is seperate to all others and would mean (i think) you cant score points for multiple championships at the same time so I would have to commit to that and sacrice all others (unless i literally did almost every weekend racing which isnt practicle or marriage compatible!) just need to check the relevent regs. I have provisionally drawn up a schedule to include all my regular events but 2 new additions. Epynt in Wales (Brecon Beacons) which i have never done and looks fun, and also Scammondon, local to me and never previously done as its very short and i tend to steer clear of the shorter ones as in my head sprinting/hillclimbing is expensive enough but only doing 30 second runs instead of 60 secs means its even twice as ludicrous! No other plans to modify the car, just looking forward to pushing it the the limit as always, done a major service to end the season:m Diff Oil, Gearbox oil, Engine oil, oil filter, brake fluid and clutch fluid so hopefully she will be running sweet come March. Also for the detailing geeks, got this bundle in the black friday sales to keep her (and the rest of the fleet) looking tip top. Final few shots from the HSA awards which was held at the national motor museum at Gaydon: Have a very Merry Christmas everyone If your bored over the festive period, watch some of my videos from this season, they will send you to sleep in no time!

Last event of the season this weekend at Curborough. tad dissapointing 4th on the Saturday but finished off with a win on the Sunday.

I had something similar (the 2-2.5k revs stuttering), took it to horsham developments who said it was the VVT Solenoids i think, they stick over time. I had 3 options, 1- replace with new at a stupid price of like £2k 2- get some used ones from Zmanalex on here or a breaker at much more reasonable £300 ish 3- get it remapped again and mapped out (compensated for) which i opted for It could also need the idle relearn doing (videos on youtube) and/or throttle position reset as these are a common thing after battery dying Yours may not be same issue but i would guess if you take it to horsham or abbey motorsports they can plug into obd/ecu and see whats happening

September Update: Start of the month was a trip to Hethel/Lotus for their sprint event. And it was only a matter oftime before the clutch wore out. Ironically, it went 2 years ago at this venue almost to the day and sure enough it decided to stop working after 2 runs, no gears would engage, I did manage to get a half decent time in though, left the car all afternoon then managed to get the clutch working and selecting gears again to avoid the 40hr repeat/nightmare of the RAC recovery from last time. Finished 3rd in class. Some pics below from the photographer: Onto this weekend, just done a full weekend at Blyton Park (video below) and sure enough, struggling with gears again, battled on with the car but something is obviously on its way out and only a matter of time before it fails completely. 1st and 2nd in class Saturday and Sunday respectively, this was the penultimate event of the season, just Curborough left next weekend, a double header to finish with, praying the clutch holds out.

Had a nice break over July/August with a family holiday to Rhodes thrown in, but back at it hitting the rev limiter and crunching gears this weekend though at Snetterton. A weekend of 2 halves.

Latest Vid from Loton Park Hillclimb

how fast did the Nankangs warm up? supposed to take a lap or so which is no good for sprnts/hillclimbs which i do But they are supposed to last much longer than the AO52s which is interesting.

My Local Harewood Hillclimb at the weekend, mixed fortunes but pushing as always!

Next Installment of Zed Track life. Back to Curborough for a full weekend.

Mallory Park Sprint from Yesterday Video below:

Just done the Curborough Sprint Course Figure 8 layout.

255 are biggest i would go on rear rays wheels, 235 should be ok for fronts, going to 40 profile will mean car will sit a little lower so will alter the geo/toe The A052 are a mega tyre but if you are not competing the car against the clock/racing then your better with another option as they wear quicker than just about any other tyre, the new nankang crs are similar price but supposed to wear much better then there are all manner of semi slicks that are cheaper and better wearing albeit with not the outright grip of an A052 if you have the money your as well buying another set of wheels for the track, then you can get wider wheels and tyres for more grip.

Yep, he is always right up there as one of the fastest tin tops at any given event, serious car.

Video below from Coventry Motofest at the weekend. Lots to see walking around, can you guess the car below?:

20psi seems too low if its a 350/370 your driving. I have never gone that low but that doesn’t mean i’m right your wrong. Just try a few combinations and see how the car feels, ultimately its what works for you, i have had no end of people tell me what pressures to run on the 350 at sprints/hillclimbs, they didn't work and do my own bum cheek testing now. I know the AR1s have a relatively stiff sidewall so you can get away with lower pressures but i would be very surprised if your didnt feel better turn in and sharper steering with pressure up near 30 at the front. I run usually 5psi less at rear for traction and due to car being lighter at the rear. From my experience the pressures only go up 1 or 2 psi on a sprint run where as on a track day they may well go up 10psi over numerous laps if pushing. I would try 30 front 25 rear and see how that feels, just for comparison my last sprint day with the 350 i was running 34 front 27 rear with yoko AD09. Last year with A052 it was 34 front 31 rear. I have run Ar1s in past but was 5 years ago so cant remember what pressures were but certainly no where as low as 20, dont think i have ever gone below 25 on any tyre, maybe should try it lol.