MB goes racing 2017
12-26-2016, 08:52 AM
#1
Member
Thread Starter
MB goes racing 2017
New thread for 2017 
Last season was good, I got a first overall race win and the rest I was up at the sharp end generally 2rd or 3rd. The car had some engine issues, causing me to miss Oulton and left me very much down on power at Croft. Also a driveshaft issue at Snett, but still the car is working really well in its 4th year.
One noticeable issue this year is when the K20 CRX guys enter, they are mega quick and uncatchable on certain circuits... but all part of an open series I guess and keeps it interesting.
2016 results below....
Oulton
DNS (head gasket)
Silverstone
Q 2nd
R1 3rd (2nd in class)
R2 3rd (2nd in class)
Rockingham
Q 3rd
R1 2nd (2nd in class)
R2 1st
Snetterton
Q 3rd
R1 (2nd in class)
R2 (2nd in class)
Anglesey
No entry
Croft
Q 6th
R1 4th (2nd in class)
R2 4th (2nd in class)
So for 2017 I'm still deciding if I will fully race the S or use the Caterham a bit more. The VTEC series is great, and equally about car development as driver, where the Caterham series is very much about the driver (and who can afford a new set of tyres every race!) as you can't modify the car, But I enjoy fiddling with the S as much as racing it. Equally I like just being able to jump in the Caterham and not worry about mods.
But back to the S... I've got a Quaife box in the garage (very exciting) and the engine is at the engine builder being rebuilt. So this could go one of 2 ways. I can just do a basic rebuild and sort the head gasket issue or go for a tasty build. I could also flog the box and stick to basics, freeing up money for racing the Caterham.
With the engine, the issue is the muppets at Urge / Endyn have overskimmed the head, but actually the head is pretty good with some decent cams and headwork. It's been ported for a 2.2 also... the problem with the head is the head gasket... it's 1.5mm and keeps failing which isn't surprising when combined with Darton liners. It needs to be this thick though, to make up for the head skim, or bad things would happen.
The bottom end is good too - it's an Darton sleeved block with oem 2.2 crank and some rods / Pistons which are fine but a little heavy duty for a race engine. No heavier than oem but you would want lighter in a race block.
So the plan is to salvage the head but get a new short block built which can be made up to take up the loss of meat on the head. This would probably be by tweaking piston heights as these would be custom made.
I can also recover some cost by selling my 2.2 short block or parts of it. Getting a new head would be expensive! I should know more about the short block in a few weeks but it's likely to be a custom made ally sleeved block. No more expansion issues with the Darton liners. I will also be ditching the oem water pump and going electric, but will need a bigger battery as the plan is to run the pump post race with the engine off.
The sequential box is bought and paid for, however there are a lot of install costs. The ratios are quite long for an NA race car, so it really needs a 5.1 final drive, but you can't get them anymore. A 4.77 will be ok but I will probably need to get shorter 4/5/6 from Quaife and that's not cheap on top of the 4.77 diff rebuild. Gears 1/2/3 are fixed and Quaife don't offer alternatives, so can't touch them. Today though I found a 5.38 final drive and it's on it way from the US, so that very exciting and will make the gear ratios perfect I haven't updated the spreadsheet for the 5.38 but below gives an idea of the ratios (second set of columns is with the shorter optional 4/5/6 that Quaife offer, but I won't need these now.
The box also needs some means of ignition cut, which can either be done with a Geartronics add on (works with existing aem ecu) or a new ecu like Syvecs etc as the AEM can't do the ignition cut well enough. More £££. Plus mapping, although it needs mapping anyway with the new engine. There's also a few other bits needed for the install on top of the cost of the box. Romain is keen to fit a Syvecs, but will depend on cost.
The sensible thing to do here is basic engine build and keep the oem box but I know I will struggle to be sensible. Always wanted a sequential in the S but there are some unknowns with it. I'd also be replacing the entire drivetrain of engine / box and diff so would need a couple of test days to get comfy with it. Other pita is bedding the engine in. Needs to be done on the road prior to mapping, so need to get the car motd. Or a full day on the dyno, then oil change and then mapping. Just a taste of the volume of logistics this sort of thing involves and what Urge have cost me.
Think I need a financial sponsor...
I've also been looking at grip and going to a 10" front and rear with a wider track. Really just to improve the front, but running 255 on a 10" will also be a good thing. Toyos max tyre size in 17" is 255 so 10" is as big as I need to go. I would need wider front arches and probably rear, so looking at Downforce fronts and ASM rear arch things.
As for the VTEC series, we're moving from BRSCC to BARC and mixing with Classic Touring Cars I think.
It's also going to be a championship this season, which means really I should go for it and do all the races...
Last season was good, I got a first overall race win and the rest I was up at the sharp end generally 2rd or 3rd. The car had some engine issues, causing me to miss Oulton and left me very much down on power at Croft. Also a driveshaft issue at Snett, but still the car is working really well in its 4th year.
One noticeable issue this year is when the K20 CRX guys enter, they are mega quick and uncatchable on certain circuits... but all part of an open series I guess and keeps it interesting.
2016 results below....
Oulton
DNS (head gasket)
Silverstone
Q 2nd
R1 3rd (2nd in class)
R2 3rd (2nd in class)
Rockingham
Q 3rd
R1 2nd (2nd in class)
R2 1st
Snetterton
Q 3rd
R1 (2nd in class)
R2 (2nd in class)
Anglesey
No entry
Croft
Q 6th
R1 4th (2nd in class)
R2 4th (2nd in class)
So for 2017 I'm still deciding if I will fully race the S or use the Caterham a bit more. The VTEC series is great, and equally about car development as driver, where the Caterham series is very much about the driver (and who can afford a new set of tyres every race!) as you can't modify the car, But I enjoy fiddling with the S as much as racing it. Equally I like just being able to jump in the Caterham and not worry about mods.
But back to the S... I've got a Quaife box in the garage (very exciting) and the engine is at the engine builder being rebuilt. So this could go one of 2 ways. I can just do a basic rebuild and sort the head gasket issue or go for a tasty build. I could also flog the box and stick to basics, freeing up money for racing the Caterham.
With the engine, the issue is the muppets at Urge / Endyn have overskimmed the head, but actually the head is pretty good with some decent cams and headwork. It's been ported for a 2.2 also... the problem with the head is the head gasket... it's 1.5mm and keeps failing which isn't surprising when combined with Darton liners. It needs to be this thick though, to make up for the head skim, or bad things would happen.
The bottom end is good too - it's an Darton sleeved block with oem 2.2 crank and some rods / Pistons which are fine but a little heavy duty for a race engine. No heavier than oem but you would want lighter in a race block.
So the plan is to salvage the head but get a new short block built which can be made up to take up the loss of meat on the head. This would probably be by tweaking piston heights as these would be custom made.
I can also recover some cost by selling my 2.2 short block or parts of it. Getting a new head would be expensive! I should know more about the short block in a few weeks but it's likely to be a custom made ally sleeved block. No more expansion issues with the Darton liners. I will also be ditching the oem water pump and going electric, but will need a bigger battery as the plan is to run the pump post race with the engine off.
The sequential box is bought and paid for, however there are a lot of install costs. The ratios are quite long for an NA race car, so it really needs a 5.1 final drive, but you can't get them anymore. A 4.77 will be ok but I will probably need to get shorter 4/5/6 from Quaife and that's not cheap on top of the 4.77 diff rebuild. Gears 1/2/3 are fixed and Quaife don't offer alternatives, so can't touch them. Today though I found a 5.38 final drive and it's on it way from the US, so that very exciting and will make the gear ratios perfect
I haven't updated the spreadsheet for the 5.38 but below gives an idea of the ratios (second set of columns is with the shorter optional 4/5/6 that Quaife offer, but I won't need these now.The box also needs some means of ignition cut, which can either be done with a Geartronics add on (works with existing aem ecu) or a new ecu like Syvecs etc as the AEM can't do the ignition cut well enough. More £££. Plus mapping, although it needs mapping anyway with the new engine. There's also a few other bits needed for the install on top of the cost of the box. Romain is keen to fit a Syvecs, but will depend on cost.
The sensible thing to do here is basic engine build and keep the oem box but I know I will struggle to be sensible. Always wanted a sequential in the S but there are some unknowns with it. I'd also be replacing the entire drivetrain of engine / box and diff so would need a couple of test days to get comfy with it. Other pita is bedding the engine in. Needs to be done on the road prior to mapping, so need to get the car motd. Or a full day on the dyno, then oil change and then mapping. Just a taste of the volume of logistics this sort of thing involves and what Urge have cost me.
Think I need a financial sponsor...
I've also been looking at grip and going to a 10" front and rear with a wider track. Really just to improve the front, but running 255 on a 10" will also be a good thing. Toyos max tyre size in 17" is 255 so 10" is as big as I need to go. I would need wider front arches and probably rear, so looking at Downforce fronts and ASM rear arch things.
As for the VTEC series, we're moving from BRSCC to BARC and mixing with Classic Touring Cars I think.
It's also going to be a championship this season, which means really I should go for it and do all the races...
Last edited by MB; 12-26-2016 at 08:55 AM.
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AquilaEagle (12-28-2016)
12-26-2016, 10:18 AM
#4
No Snetterton this year 
Good luck for your 2017
BARC & classic Touring car should prove good spectator wise,
Smart cars just don't do it for me
Good luck for your 2017
BARC & classic Touring car should prove good spectator wise,
Smart cars just don't do it for me
12-26-2016, 12:23 PM
#7
Farking hell that must be another £20k! You know you're going the whole hog.
Glad that's not my wallet ... anyway get them CE28N's bought you tight git
looking forward to loads of updates
Glad that's not my wallet ... anyway get them CE28N's bought you tight git
looking forward to loads of updates
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12-26-2016, 12:37 PM
#8
Member
Thread Starter
I think the wheels will be £1200 ish but I'd sell both my sets to cover that as I don't think I've ever had to use a spare set. Bonus of a square setup too vs staggered is not having to have a full spare set. Won't be CE28 though! I'd have gone for Rota or Enkei but Advan were the best option.
The Quaife I got for a good price from Matty, but it's still a lot of wedge. The diff gears were £350.
Engine needed to be rebuilt and I've gone fairly basic on it but getting rid of the weak points. Still a good few grand though!
So the box has been the overkill expense otherwise the above would be about £4K plus some labour.
The Quaife I got for a good price from Matty, but it's still a lot of wedge. The diff gears were £350.
Engine needed to be rebuilt and I've gone fairly basic on it but getting rid of the weak points. Still a good few grand though!
So the box has been the overkill expense otherwise the above would be about £4K plus some labour.
12-26-2016, 12:39 PM
#9
Sounds epic! The squared setup seems to be favoured in the US racing series, preaumably for cost and front end grip!
12-26-2016, 01:11 PM
#10
Member
Thread Starter
Yep I've resisted it for a while but it's probably a good move for front grip. Going 10" and keeping to a 255 tyre seems to be a well proven way of extracting more from the tyre too (over a 9")