TNTRacing - XRCosworth

[pablo]

So what were we testing?

Engine, brakes and tyres.

Engine
Before RGS Motorsport up the boost we wanted to give the engine some 'good loving'. Recording water & oil temps and oil pressure after each session (7 in total). Along with this we also monitored the oil level and new catch tank set up.
All info to be passed to RGS next week

Brakes
Alan had fitted some brake ducting to help with cooling of the brakes. Throughout the day we had Zero brake fade or drop off in braking performance. Yesterday we pulled the pads out to check for heat damage and the pads look fine at the moment. Although we will be checking them after our next outing to gauge how many events we can use them.

Tyres
Prior to the day Alan took off the front arches and raised them by 10mm to give a bit more clearance to the larger tyres. We did have a bit off rubbing in the morning but this was soon sorted with a file and hammer
Overall we are very happy with how the tyres performed except for one thing.............Damn they're noisey, even from the pitwall. As the car went past it wined as if it had a supercharger fitted

One of the best days we've had with this car and about bloody time too.

[jap.slapper]

Have you managed to do any testing in the wet?

[pablo]

Not yet. Last time we drove this car in the wet was Brands Hatch 2012 and we've changed alot since then so its going to be interesting. It's also why we're looking for another day in October or November.

[jap.slapper]

That's a good weight mate considering it has a full cage fitted and still has stock glass.

By way of a comparison, despite my zed being a short wheel base model with only a half cage fitted and currently having the engine and box removed, it's still a lardy old lump to push about. I think when the cage is finished and even with stock glass removed I'd be lucky to get it down to 1200kg

[jap.slapper]

Replied on the wrong thread...doh!

With regards to wet testing I can see with the random weather patterns there will be snow in October and an epic heatwave in November

I'd be interested to see how your car handles in the wet, is it running 4WD or RWD now?

[pablo]

4WD. With reference to weight (as me and Alan are always argueing about this). Our car in standard trim is lighter than all the cars in our class. But as they have a lot more power than us, plus light weight panels and poly windows to help address that inbalance we now have to go poly windows and light weight panels. No option....














Plus a bit more power wouldn't hurt

[jap.slapper]

I suppose on a positive note if you're not seeing much in the way of brake fade at your current car weight then it's unlikely to increase when you reduce the weight further, the same goes for tyre wear and other components of course. Plus with you guys running less power than the competition there's likely to be less stress placed on your engine and box and as a result you'll likely have better reliability all round.

It sounds to me like you guys are in quite a good position as you still have scope to improve overall performance without necessarily having to rely on the default route of increasing power output

[pablo]

Due to the early problems with the car basically eating the whole budget and throwing the planned build out of sequence to now go for a 500+ build would mean starting again with an engine strip down and rebuild. There isn't much that would need to be done but it's all internal (and expensive). So we'll wait to see what RGS say. We've still got another 100bhp to come just from re setting the boost.
At the moment i'm thinking weight saving is now the route to go. Improved acceleration, braking performance and cornering speed.

[Stuart]

Weight saving worked for my old Xr4x4 Pabs, and if you remember Donington my old bus with 150hp was quicker than yours with loads more power. Not read the other thread yet (about weight saving) but I got mine down to 1010kgs with fuel and that included a full cage, fire extinguisher etc etc

[pablo]

Just got back from Alans where we had a chat about weight saving and what he can start cutting out. Winter project.