December 2011
Sunday 25th December 2011
A very merry Christmas from Zetecinside.com
A big thankyou to Karl at Kustom Engineering for the work he did to the front suspension on the Fiesta, to accomodate the Quaife sequential gearbox at the start of the season.
And a big thankyou to the organisers of the Retro Rides Gathering, who allowed me unlimited runs up the Prescott Hill in August, which was such a good event, I'll be back again in 2012.
And of course, a thankyou to you, for visiting the site, coming to say hello at the shows and events I've been to in 2011, and for following me on twitter and facebook.
Take care, have a good Christmas break, and remember to keep coming back for regular updates over the coming 12 months.
Thursday 22nd December 2011
The drawing I created (below) has been dropped off with Altiss. These will form the running boards for the Fiesta, as it starts its evolution in to a Berg Cup aero package. They are going to fabricate the sections out of 16gauge or 1.6mm aluminium sheet.
The boards will be made from single sheets folded according to my drawing, and I'll fasten them directly to the sills with quick release fasteners, so I can take them off when loading/unloading the car from the trailer. At some venues, the bottom of the car floor already hits the trailer bed whilst loading the car up, due to the uneven surface in some of the grass paddocks, so the running boards will only make things worse.
The reason for fitting running boards is to try to accelerate the air between the body and the ground. The resulting low pressure can be managed to generate a portion of the cars downforce, and without running boards, the air underneath the body simply washes out between the front and rear wheels. Once the running boards are on, and the front spoiler/splitter is designed and fitted, I can work on rear diffusers to help exploit the low pressure area.
Tuesday 20th December 2011
Aside from burying fish from the kids fish tank this weekend, I've been making running boards (or call them what you will) for the Fiesta.
Carboard again is the patron saint of home brewers like myself.
I'll get Altiss to make them up from Aluminium as soon as I've worked out how to fasten them to the sills of the Fiesta. The GRP arches will be trimmed to allow the boxes to fit beneath them. Looking like 90mm (width), and around 85mm (height).
I toyed with fitting these MCR running boards, but they dont lower the effective height of the sills low enough without severe modifications.
This is the rare Kamei front spoiler I bought from Germany 5 years ago. I'd like to fit it, but have enquired with TK Motorsport in Germany about the Scirocco front spoiler, as that could be made to be removable (for trailering). The existing MCR front spoiler in the shot below would need to be removed, and the front wheel arch extensions fitted, modifed suitably.
Here is the scirocco front end I'd prefer to use.
Sunday 18th December 2011
The MSA has announced a change to their membership rules, that allows organising clubs to run Taster Events, therefore allowing drivers to have a go at various forms of motorsport, without the expense of a competition license. This is a good step forwards for the MSA, as it may encourage beginners in to the sport. The next problem to overcome is the cost of the personal protection equipment (PPE) for things such as crash helmets, flameproof overalls, boots and gloves. This is the next hurdle, as you can very easily spend £500 on PPE, just to try a sport that you dont really want to continue. So the changes go a small way to encourage new blood in to the sport, but we've still the PPE hurdle to cross.
The rule changes as announced by the MSA
My new 2012 MSA membership card has arrived for next season, so I've just the aero package to complete, some slicks to buy, the fuel system to finish off, and we're good to go :D
Friday 16th December 2011
The results from the Motorsport Questionnaire are now in.
Comments submitted during the survey
Thanks to everyone who participated. I'll be emailing the results out to everyone who left their email address, later today.
Now its time to digest the results and determine what to do next.
My conclusion is that we need to run a beginners series of RWYB format Speed Events, to help get people on to the ladder. How difficult that will be to establish, remains to be seen. Head on over to www.uphillracers.com to join in the discussion.
Thursday 8th December 2011
The Motorsport Survey is still open and running, and I've had 130 replies so far. I'll keep it running until the end of December, and publish the results in the new year. Speaking of which I've renewed my MSA competition license today, and next I need to decide which events I'd like to do next year. Crystal Palace should be on the list, as well as the new venue at Blyton, and the local sprint at Mallory Park.
With the relaxation on the aero rules for Sports Libre in 2012, I'm looking again at the front and rear aero of the Fiesta. The best rear setup I've seen is the one used on Joss Ronchetti's Sunbeam. I should be able to replicate this, to give me downforce on the high speed tracks like Llandow and Aintree. I'd probably remove it for the slower tracks, but certainly for sprints it would be worth a few more MPH on the faster corners.
