April 2025
27Apr
Latest ECU firmware introduces a User Timer
I was reading through the release notes for the most recent Life ECU firmware, and there is a User Timer feature which allows a timer to be started when certain conditions are met. For example, a timer can be started when the driven speed is above 0mph. Any two channels can be set as the trigger for each timer, the channels can be changed if you go in to the map customisation. And there are two User Timers that work independently. I asked Life for this feature over two years ago, and it shows how popular it was if they have now incorporated it in to the firmware.This would allow a User Timer to start when the run starts, and the same User Timer channel can be sent over CAN, as well as logged to the ECU data; so in theory you could send the User Timer value to the dash to display on the screen if you wanted to. Where that would be especially useful is if it were compared against distance from the previous fastest run, so you could see a delta. I might update the ECU to the new firmware (which needs bootcode 1.68) and have a play. There are also dozens of other improvements when the firmware is updated, adding even more flexibility for the tuner to eek performance from the car. Well done Life :D
23Apr
Rear wing fence repairs done
Nothing too difficult really, the sikaflex that bonds the pair of fences to the rear wing element, had deteriorated and the fences could move side to side. I removed all the red vinyl from the wing element, used masking tape to ensure the fresh sikaflex would have sharp edges to it once removed, and applied it, left it 24hours to cure, then removed the masking tape. I then spent a few hours removing all the adhesive left behind by the vinyl. The resin surface of the wing was then polished, and its all now reassembled and ready to be used at the next event in May.The Mallory Park weekend sprint in June, opened for entries this week, and its a whopping £400 for two timed runs each day! Thats 8 miles in total, at £50 per mile! Surprisingly, 47 entries have been received so far. The minimum number of entries is 75, and the maximum is 85, and given how slowly the event ran last year, it's going to be a very, very long weekend. The worst part is there is always a chance of a third timed run, and that prays on your mind. Will the second timed run be the only run off, or will there be another chance later on? The pressure just builds and builds all day. And then accidents happen.
One thing should have changed, and that is the placement of cones at the Edwina Chicane. If they're not on the circuit plan, they're not allowed to be on the track!
18Apr
Plex dashboard sending data over CAN video
13Apr
Onboard video
This is my 58s run from Sunday. The only difference between the way Javelin runs the event, compared to MUK, is they dont have a start line crew positioning the car on the start line. With Javelin a white pole is placed in front of the car, which you pull up to, and when the pole is lifted out of the way, thats your green light to go. Dead simple. No delays, just pull up to the line, and go when released. The rest of the course is the same length, with the same timing gear, and its timed to the undredth of the second, so its all the same as MUK events. There aren't cones littered around the circuit, they're in the same place as you'd normally find them. They have an ambulance, medics, marshals, and a well rehearsed Whatsapp group which tells you when to prepare to drive to the start line.I am hoping to run the new Plex dashboard for the next event in May, which is at Blyton back on the Eastern layout. I've dropped a silencer off with Altiss Engineering to see if Nigel can take some weight out of it, so I can drop the sound level by a couple of decibels. The silencer weighs 1.6Kg and I dont fancy driving over any bumps with an extra 1.6Kg hanging off the end of the turbo.
13Apr
Javelin success
I had a great day at Blyton with the Javelin Sprint series. The car was flawless, the front wing support brackets I designed worked perfectly, with no wing wobble, lots of downforce and a perfect aero balance. I couldnt have wished for more. I ran a 58.1 on the outer circuit on my 3rd run, all on the Avon HC3's, which is only 3seconds slower than my PB on Pirellis; given I'd not driven for 10 months, I was very happy with that time. The only issue with the Javelin Sprint series is the sound levels are lower than MUK events, because they use track day sound limits, and three times, whilst I was launching, I tripped the sound meter, with 95.4db, when the limit was 95db, and they deleted the three times. Luckily I had a 59.92 on the board, which gave me first in class and fastest single seater. I'll work on reducing the sound level for the next event in four weeks time, back at Blyton.The seat that TripleM made for me, was comfortable and held me very securely, and with the HANS device instead of the Hybrid HANS, I felt glued in to the car. I was careful to make sure that when I braked I lifted my foot clean off the throttle pedal, and I had no incidents all day.
On Saturday I replaced a section of UHMWPE which sits under the skirts, as it had worn at Mallory Park, and I also raised that section of the floor to give slightly more clearance between the strip and the tarmac, and it didnt bottom out all weekend.
With the gaps in the front wing, either side of the nosecone, allowing fresh air in to the side pods, the intercooler ran so cool that I disconnected the water sprayer, as its no longer required. I will leave it all plumbed in, in case on a hotter day, the ACT's rise again, but for yesterday it wasnt required at all.
Air charge temperature and Ambient air temperature (red 2024 vs green 2025)
8Apr
Nosecone trimmed
I took the Dremel to the new Mygale nosecone to trim it underneath where it fits over the front wing drop plates. Now its sat where I want it, I can attach the fasteners to allow me to secure it to the bodyshell.
Yet more time spent on the Plex dash, trying to get it to do what I want. I've worked out how to convert kph to mph, using a math channel, and I can now get it to switch screens according to a User Flag that I've set. I like the whole User Flag concept thing. It allows you to set the flag to True or False based on the value of the channel. Its a neat way of managing whats displayed on the dash.
I've got one setup called Racing, which is True when the vehicleSpeed is over 22kph, and one called Pits which is True when the vehicleSpeed is below 21kph.
If you have a channel coming over CAN which is in KPH, its very easy to convert to MPH, in fact, you dont even need to convert it. The Plex software allows you to select MPH with a Numeric control, and it automatically shows it in Miles Per Hour. Nice.
Splash screen is also working, it is another tricky feature to work out. It says it will support JPG or PNG, but I havent managed to get JPG to load, PNG seems to be ok, but even then on one attempt when the image was set to load on bootup, the image caused the display to show garbage for a second instead of the picture I'd uploaded. With PNG, background transparency is supported, and it works too.
7Apr
Radical wiring complete
Last week I made the final trip over to work on the Radical SR3. I connected the NPN wheel speed sensors up to 12V, and they work fine with the DTA S100, which only needs 5V input on the speed sensors, but as Alex confirmed, 12V works fine. I then connected up the repaired rain light, and thats wired to a switch on the dashboard. Finally we worked through the dashboard switches for launch and traction control, and I wired in the 12 position rotary switch I made (with the resister ladder) and that now allows Will to go from 0 to 100% traction aggressiveness. He can also press a button to turn launch on and off, and I need to wire in a LED to give a visual indication that it is on, as the AIM dash doesnt show the status at the moment.I've sold another set of wheel speed sensor printed mounts to RLM, for use on their customer Cup cars.
I'm busy working on the Plex SDM-330 dashboard, changing the screen layouts to how I want them. I've connected my Raspberry Pi data injector, which sends ECU data over CAN to the display, and its working great at the moment.
I'm also getting the car ready for this weekend, which will be the first time I've driven it since the crash in June '24. I've quite a long list of jobs to work through and despite suffering from a very heavy cold over the weekend, I've made good progress. I'll need to visit Stoney Cove for some more compressed air before the weekend, as the dive tank doesnt have enough pressure to charge the paint ball bottle above 2500bar at the moment.
I collected the seat from Alan Mugglestone at Donington Park last weekend, and thats now fitted in the car, just the belt lengths to shorten to get it all comfortable and safe to sit in. Alan made it for me at the start of December, but he's been so busy it's taken 4 months to finish it. He gave me a free pass to get in to the paddock and I spent the day watching the GT Cup Cars, the Radicals, Legends and the Ford Focus Cup. Alan was running the Lamborghini of Grahame Tilley, and he also had the new Ginetta GTP8 in the garage, which is a great looking car. Its got a thumping great big 6.2L V8 under the bonnet!
