Time Attack - ESC Race Car - Alive & Kicking!! + Power G

Show us yours....
mike-payne
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Post by mike-payne »

Well after the issues at Knock Hill, a strip, investigation and repair was needed and at double speed.....!!! :o

the car had been dropped of to Zak @Mocom racing on the Monday, while he was travelling back from Knock Hill

The engine was removed on the Tuesday and stripped Wednesday. The conclusion being:-

Both engine mounts had disintegrated (this could have been the mechanical noise we felt as the engine kicked backed)
Both heads showed signs of cracking, one crack going through the the valve seat and down to the root of the plug thread
Two pistons showed distortion and damage at the top and one had scuffed slightly on the bore
All bearings were fine, just showing usual signs of wear
Crank was also fine

So up shot of the strip was as follows:-
2 new second hand V5 STI heads purchased from Scoobynet and sent next day delivery by Alyn @AS Performance
the following parts sourced from Mark @Lateral Performance, new set of pistons, big end, main and thrust bearings, new engine mounts, oil pump, gaskets and seals and new valve stem seals
The block has been sent off for honing...
The turbo has been sent to Turbo Dynamics as it appears the oil seals may very well have failed

The build will start Tuesday when the block is back, then its a very tight schedule to get the engine built, fitted, get it up and running and then put some miles on to bed the rings before mapping in preparation for Silverstone on Sunday June 1st!!!
It's going to be very tight but the team pulling out the stops to get this done...

At this point i must mention Frayz a fellow Essex Scooby Crew member, who is a prototype engine builder for Ford Motor Company. A request went out for his help nd he stepped up to the challenge!
he stripped the old head, discovering the cracks. i sourced a new set for the following day and he has stripped them, cleaned them, lapped the valves, flatted the sealing faces, fitted new valve stem seals and given them a new lease of life. Although i have no pictures they came back as clean as when they left the factory new. Although with his hard work on them, they'll probably seal and work better than new! he has also offered to help Zak build the bottom end due to the very tight deadline.

Much respect and thanks to all the team on this and special thanks to Zak & Luke @Mocom Racing and Frayz. :thumbup:
Take regular exercise, walk to you car!

mike-payne
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Post by mike-payne »

I guess i need to finish off the rebuild story......

The block arrived late Tuesday and the build started. but in the early hours of Wednesday morning it was discovered that the head rebuild required different valve shims to give correct clearances.
And despite the extensive number of shims to hand, the required thicknesses couldn't be found. A trip to Zen Performance the following day provided 5 of the 8 required. The remaining 3 had to be ground down by a local machine shop.
The build then continued again on Wednesday night and the engine was complete. It was then installed Thursday night and was up and running Friday morning.
Friday afternoon a base map was loaded and Neil (YVM of the ESC) then took the car to start the Marathon running in process through the night. Halfway through the night and an oil change under his belt,Neil continued through till the early hours (4am) and managed a very impressive 400 miles of A road driving.
Then it was my turn to start at 7am and drove through till 11am when i turned up at Mocom for Zak to start the mapping process.
Several hours later we had the mapping complete on pumped V Power. that was all the time there was and it was a case of driving home loading on the trailer and getting a good nights sleep.
The car really was pulling well and i was looking forward to some track time...

An early start to drive to Silverstone was needed. We arrived, unloaded and then i was straight into the driving briefing.
The ESC pit crew of Neil, his son Simon and my Dad set about cleaning and checking tyre pressures, oil and water levels.
i was looking forward to the day, but i was also anxious of the car, having just had it rebuilt and also the fact that i had very little time behind the wheel this year and not to mention that i truly didn't believe i would have a good result as the circuit fast and suits the high power cars.

Well despite my worries, i jumped in and went out for the warm up. Well any fears i had for the car soon disappeared as i started drifting through the chicane. i was truly enjoying myself. Then 4 laps in, my drift went just a little too far and i went off into the gravel. driving out the car felt wrong and i thought that was it!!!!
once in the pit the tyres looked fine, the gravel duly removed and all was good.. I'd knocked the front ARb out of alignment but this was easily rectified. checking the tyre temps, showed more pressure needed and a little less camber on one wheel, but other than that she looked good. my time was quite respectable compared to the other runners and i saw a time of 1.09.
not going to scare the top runners but possibly going to put me near to qualifying....

Well next practise just went from strength to strength with me getting times in the high 1.06's.. again things are looking hopeful for the final!!!

Qualifying saw me post a mid 1.06 and I qualify 13th of the FI group....

I changed nothing on the car as i was scared to disrupt it, but the car was over steering a little and i have plans fro the next round...
I went out for the final and managed to find a few gaps on the track and went for my hot laps...
By the end of the session i felt like I'd blown it. i felt i could have done more and pushed harder. But much to my surprise i had managed to finish 11th in class and 13th overall. my time being a 1.06.077.
So again another good improvement which is all i can ask for!

The car performed faultlessly and was great. the engine, the mechanics, the handling everything. I even had the confidence to have sideway drifts off the pits straight in 5th gear foot to the floor.. :D

i really can't wait till Oulton park now and see what i can manage there!!!

Again thanks to all that got me there and made the car so good....

Zak & Luke @Mocom Racing
Frayz & Neil of the Essex Scooby Crew
All the Essex Scooby Crew that have helped, supported and come along to cheer me through.
Polybush for the bush set that is helping to make the handling so good
Alyn @AS Performance who always has what i want and can get me just about any part next day
Darren @ABW fro making the car look so original


Now a couple of Videos
My Super Battle Best lap


Me getting it a little sideways at Copse


Now some pics...
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Oh and here's one for the desktop!! :P

Image

OK.... Two!!!!

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Take regular exercise, walk to you car!

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pablo
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Post by pablo »

Mike after seeing the first pic I was going to say 'I can see a little tripod action going on there' :) There I saw the last 2 pics 8) Looks like your hands may have been hiding another type of tripod action :lol: :-D .

Seriously though a massive respect to you and all the guys that worked so hard to get your car ready in such a short period of time :notworthy:

Fantastic job on the driving well deserved mate :grin: .
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IWANT1
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Post by IWANT1 »

:o You Dirty old man, your old enough to be there dad....... :lol:

Good result fella glad it held together for you :-D
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" Uh Betty you should of seen this car in Ely today!! it had stickers and stripes
all over it, and when it started up, the noise!!!, I could feel my teeth rattling!!!"

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Gerry H
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Post by Gerry H »

Nice write up and pics but will decline the offer of some pink shirted geezer as a desktop :D
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or hump it, piss on it and walk away!

stockcar
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Post by stockcar »

good to see you got it sussed.....................

happy to help out anytime as you know, mike

best of luck for next round
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Stuart
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Post by Stuart »

Well done Mike

you did great and I was delighted for you, a tremendous result mate.

Trim birds at a car event?? Whatever next

Must have been your Essex dress sense (Pink race suit, pink shirt, cut down denim jeans :wack: ) Bit of luck you can drive mate!

See you soon bud :)

SM
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Post by SM »

Good one Mike.

This motorsport malarky really is a team effort, I know I couldnt do it without the support of a huge number of people who all help out.

Congrats to all those that helped Mike, and well done for getting into the final - see you at Oulton :)
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mike-payne
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Post by mike-payne »

Cheers for the words of encourangement guys!!!
Take regular exercise, walk to you car!

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frayz
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Post by frayz »

Was proud to be part of this, great result Mike.

Makes it worth while :)
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