Sam's build thread

[metalhead]

You gonna run Ringwood on the 28th of Jan? I just entered, it's the A3 layout which is basically going around the whole thing twice.

[sambb]

Hmm. To be honest I think I'd prefer to do that than one of the last Rallyspints. I hate crowds and the rallyspints are a bit like raging sydney peak hour at time control - no tightly managed like the hillclimbs at all. I'm chewing through the racing $ fund very quickly and that'll be a hell of a lot cheaper. The more I go there the more I love that track too. Is A3's 2nd lap all the way back down the hill, or the one where you redo just the top loop. I'll find out my shifts and let you know. Clio boy will probably come too if CRX Graham is going.

[metalhead]

Sounds good! It's all the way down and back up around again. Good practise!:

[Sydneykid]

Thanks for the info! Not to sidetrack Sams thread too much, unfortunately I'd already ordered some Carbotech pads a few weeks ago, before reading your comments. I'm definitely not afraid of running a more track oriented pad than whatever junk is in there at the moment. The Evo is not a bad comparison, I have somewhere a bit over 500hp at the engine, about 1550-1600kg, and 295 semis on all four corners - so it is a bit of stress on the brakes. The factory brakes are 4 pot calipers and vented 298mm disks on all four corners, so they work pretty well, and should hopefully be up to the task with some good pads, fluid, and I figure some cooling can't hurt. Maybe I'm a cheapskate, but the brake upgrades seem fairly expensive to me, any sizeable upgrade seems to be more than ~2.5k for each end of the car, and any worthwhile improvement will also mean that the stock 15" wheels cannot be fitted - not the end of the world, but still a consideration.

The usual problems, fair bit of weight, small diameter wheels, decent power and a large delta between straight line and corner speed. All of which means the brakes work pretty hard. The 15" wheels usually mean a max of ~310 mm rotors, which still don't give a lot of leverage, so at some point you will probably need to think about 17" or 18" wheels. Willwood do a front kit for the C3 with 6 piston radial mount calipers, 330 mm rotors, alloy hats, brackets, nuts, bolts etc (no brake lines) for around $US1700. The caliper is a Superlight 1120-11778/9 which I have used on a couple of cars, nice, rigid, not too heavy, with lots of pad compounds available. The rotors are spec 37 material, 32 mm, curved vane, slotted and drilled, should be good for combo street and track car. For a 100% race car I'd step up to a slotted (not drilled) GT47 rotor.

Wheels are the necessary first step, then tyres, then the brakes, so unfortunately it's never going to be cheap exercise.

Cheers
Gary

[metalhead]

I'm running 17x9.5 wheels on the street (until recently both street and track) and 18x10s (with 295/30R18 semis) as track wheels. I managed to do that reasonably cheaply by buying at the right time. Maybe I should give up on the idea of running the factory 15x8 alloys, I quite like them, but decent road rubber in appropriate sizes is nonexistant. The cost of the upgrade still hurts (everything so far has been surprisingly cheap), but it's good to hear your thoughts on it. I'll definitely keep it in mind if the current plan proves not up to the task.

[sambb]

Just counted my pennies and I'll be struggling to afford a new set of front Yokos if I don't sell some stuff. Sorry to anyone out of state who wants/wanted stuff but cash is the priority - money lost to the mortgage account wont make me quicker!

Set of H&R springs: 30/35mm drop spring kit 29333-3, blue, front - 27 N/mm, rear - 27 N/mm - $130

set of Weitec springs: 20/20mm drop spring, front - 27.5 N/mm = 2.80 Kg/mm = 157 lb/in (#VW582VA/000), rear - 22.5 N/mm = 2.29 Kg/mm = 129lb/in (#VW582HA/000) - $130

SOLD *** Biltstein B8 damper kit

PM m if your interested.

sam

[sambb]

another wakefield question. How much fuel do I need for the day. I was going to head out for each session with a 1/4 of a tank 10-12L. Will that be enough if I have 20L in a extra in a container. Will that do it or should I start with a 1/2 tank or more to make the 20L stretch through the day?

[metalhead]

I had about half a tank (90L tank) at the start of the day and definitely would have needed to do a fuel run if I'd had a more successful day - when I got it off the trailer at home I drove it straight to the nearest petrol station (20min/35km). My brother in his 1.6 MX5 (driven hard and ran every session) filled up the night before and again at Marulan on our way home, so basically used a full tank on the day (no idea what size his tank is). A second 20L can would probably be good insurance?

[Sydneykid]

another wakefield question. How much fuel do I need for the day. I was going to head out for each session with a 1/4 of a tank 10-12L. Will that be enough if I have 20L in a extra in a container. Will that do it or should I start with a 1/2 tank or more to make the 20L stretch through the day?

In the Polo I'd reckon on about 1.25 litres per lap maximum, if we say 70 seconds per lap, with a stop after 5 or 6 laps, in a 20 minute session you should get around 12 laps. That's 15 litres per session. Do they plan for 3 or 4 sessions? Personally I'd take 2 x 20 litre drums, to avoid the mad dash to Goulburn for fuel for the last session.

How"s the fuel surge? Without baffles, surge tank or foam I wouldn't run with less than 5 litres at the end of each session. Say, start the 1st session off with 20 litres, that's about half a tank, and watch it during the day. Top it up to half a tank before each session.


Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

ha ha. you can tell I've only done hillclimbs - Often the fuel light is on and I take a 5L container to get me to the nearest servo before the trip home! Ok I'll take 2 X 20L fuel containers then. I could be wrong here but I believe our tank is a 44L unit. At the hillclimbs from what I've worked out based on refills and where the needle is beforehand, I can start a run with only 5L in it and have never had fuel starvation. From whats been said so far it looks like 4 sessions. Ok i'll have to clean out another container that's had diesel in it recently. I've never run with such a high fuel load before which should be interesting.

Gary a rear damping question for you - my rear MCA's were initially delivered with 6kg/mm springs in mind and 7 clicks out (of 12) from full hard. There are now 8kg/mm springs on board. Do I necessarily go a couple of clicks harder on the damping as a starting point?