TNTRacing - XRCosworth

[pablo]

Well......what can i say, we took the car out last weekend to put some road miles on the engine and for us to get use to it:)

My ears hurt, my back hurt and my left leg hurt......why the feck did we not do this sooner. Me and Alan spent most of the time shouting at each other, not because we were angry or annoyed but because is so fecking noisey. At one point i managed to pull the gear knob off going from 1st to 2nd.

Alan 'where the fuck did that go'
Me 'In the back somewhere, should i stop'
Alan 'NO, GET IT INTO 4TH'
Me 'How'
Alan 'WITH THE FUCKING GEARSTICK'

Alan then scrambled around behind the seats to find the wayward gearknob and re attach it

Bearing in mind that we weren't pushing it, only using half throttle and part revs and Gordon had turned the boost down, I am more than very happy with how if feels at the moment.

The induction noise, the whistling of the turbo, the chatter of the wastegate.....when Alan was driving, it was almost like i could feel and hear everything the engine was doing from the fuel being injected, the pistons rising and falling, the crank turning..........I truely did not want to stop driving:)

I know it's a little sad (well a lot), but there you go, it's how it made me feel...like a kid again.

[Tk]

You two deserve the smiles so when is the first outing on track planned

[maff]

Sounds awesome, cant wait to see it!

[pablo]

We were hoping to get it out on track in December sometime, but we wont be booking anything until we, well me, can change gear without thinking about it. Scared of lunching the gearbox on the first outing:smash:

[Stuart]

Great result and nice write up mate.

[Rob S]

Nice to see things are progressing nicely!
Be fantastic to see you boys out there playing again:)

[pablo]

Just thought i should explain what the problem is that we are having which is stopping us from getting out on track. After all it's just another sierra with a MT gearbox, not like we haven't driven a few before:)

The paddle clutch and uprated inners make the gear change very harsh, but it's the quick shift kit thats taking time to get use to. When Alan was driving his GT and practising changing gear as per in the track car he kept putting his road car into neutral:frown:. That's how close it is.

For me it's worse....I have a habit of when changing down of going from 5th to 3rd, infact i do it all the time without thinking about it and if i do that in the track car that's a lunched gearbox looking for a picnic:smash:

So we need to do a lot of road miles until we don't think about the box and are totally comfortable with it. I'm even changing how i change gear in my road car to break the habit of shifting down 2 gears.

[Rob S]

How about a quick shift for the road cars?
Would nt cost anywhere near as much as the repairs to the shagged box, and with the road miles you two do, it would be second nature in no time.
I drove a BBR400 Mogul Cosworth back in the day, and managed to stall it three times in one drive due to the clutch/short throw combo, so I feel your pain!

[pablo]

Funny you should say that. Alan has already suggested fitting one to his car.

[Rob S]

Great minds.......or worryingly that means me and Al think alike ( OMFG!)

Seriously though, although the track car is a beast compared with the road cars you guys have, it's still a familiar environment, and with the best will in the world, there's no undoing years of dealing with a longer throw.
Dave J on here had someone looking into a selected gear gauge for the purposes of having a dash mounted indicator marking which gear had been selected, don't know if this ever got anywhere, but with your research skills and Al's ability to make anything from anything, it must be do-able......