Latest News
19Dec
Sierra diff-housing wheel speed sensor kits now listed
The new batch of printed sensor rings for the sierra push-fit output cup have just arrived so the listing for the complete sensor kits is now live on ebay. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/156590510729I collected the painted nosecone and bonnet at the weekend from Faircharm Restorations, and they look fantastic in the gloss black. Thanks Shane for another excellent job.
9Dec
Sierra diff-housing wheel speed sensor kits
Just waiting for a batch of sensor rings to arrive, and then these wheel speed sensor kits will be on ebay for purchase. Supplied with all the parts you need to add wheel speed sensors to a kit/space framed car running the Sierra diff-housing (eg Westfield/Caterham/MK Indy etc).
5Dec
Printed Fiesta rings
The pair of 91mm sensor rings for a Ford Fiesta arrived this morning. These are SLS printed, with 24 dowels.
They are built up with the steel dowels and are now in the post to another new customer.
4Dec
Printed Sierra rings and sensor brackets
I've just had another set of Sierra 78mm sensor rings delivered, with a set of M8x1.0mm sensor brackets. The brackets are printed with the 1.0mm thread to allow the sensor to be screwed in, using just one of the pair of M8x1.0 nuts to lock it in place. The other version of the bracket allows the sensor to be inserted and held in position with two M8x1.0 nuts. Both designs are available for £10 for a pair. The sensor rings remain at £25 each. The SLS printing service I use remains to be expensive, but the quality and details achieved with SLS are far greater than anything that can be printed at home.
Offset M8 sensor bracket for the Ford Sierra diff housing
M8 sensor bracket for the Ford Sierra diff housing
2Dec
Trip over to TripleM for a seat fitting
It was good to get back behind the wheel of the van with the trailer in tow again, for a trip to TripleM Motorsport near RAF Scampton in Lincolnshire. The A46 and A15 were busy, but the trip only took 1.25 hours and I was there for the 9:30 start.
With the car unloaded and pushed into the garage, Alan and Nick set about making cardboard templates, to block in the space frame at the sides. This is essential to provide the seat with anchors to prevent it from moving.
We then tried the Medium seat kit, but the bag didnt have a great enough volume of beads to provide me with the protection we were looking for. A swap to the more expensive large kit, (which is the same bag but with 50% more beads) provided a much greater volume, and once we were happy with the distribution, the bag is removed and the 1.5 litres of chemical resin are added, and after 15 minutes of break making, the beads were all evenly coated with the resin. Alan and Nick then added the requisite amount of cold water, which starts the chemical reaction to harden the resin. This is quickly spread around the beads, with some more needing, and then we had 20 minutes to put the bag back in to the car, push the beads where they were required, and I sat in the car, wiggled my bum around to get comfortable, and then the bag is pushed in to shape by hand, and a vacuum applied to the bag to prevent anything from moving.
I then remained in the car for a further 35 minutes, which kept the bag from changing shape while the resin cured and hardened. Once that time had passed I hopped out, and Alan and Nick removed the seat, and started trimming it to shape.
The thickness of the sides were reduced, to allow it to be removed from the car more easily, whilst retaining the shape of the space frame, which helps keep the seat locked in to position.
Belt holes were then cut, and after another hour or so of trimming, the seat was refitted with the belts pulled through, and I sat in it, did the belts up to prove everything was OK, and hopped out again. The seat was then removed and will be covered in Nomex flame retardent material, which will keep all the beads in situ, and strengthen the core of the seat.
From start to finish the job took around 7.5 hours to complete. The seat fits me perfectly, and should keep me in situ should I hit anything substantial again. I will be changing from the Hybrid HANS to conventional HANS as I am very aware how much the HANS moved in the crash. It just rolled off my shoulders as I slid forwards, and I'm not prepared to risk that happening again.
I also collected the new Pirelli Ultrasofts from Alan, and these will be fitted to a new pair of rims, and kept for the cold weather events.
Here is a short to the seat fitting process, filmed yesterday at the workshop.
https://youtube.com/shorts/pD1gl-ocZC0?feature=share
23Nov
Aero update
My Fusion designed 3D printed aero deflectors from 3D People arrived on Friday, and I bonded them to the front wing end plates using sikaflex. The overall width of the front wing with these fitted is 138CM which is 12CM below the maximum width.
18Nov
Brakes bled
I bled the front brakes on Sunday, no leaks detected on the fresh pair of front brake lines. I also fitted the new camlocs for the bonnnet. I then trial fitted the front wing on the car, making sure that the adjustable wing angle was in the operating range I needed, and it all looks OK. So the drawings are now sent off for a pair of brackets to be milled from aluminium.
Ariel Atom sensor rings
The Ariel Atom speed sensor rings are now fitted to the output cups on Ed's car. He's bonded them to the cups using Teroson, so they wont be coming off in a hurry. Ed is making his own brackets for the front and rear axles, to position the NPN speed sensors I supplied. His next job is to order the Syvecs ECU, and the start on the wiring loom.
Fresh paint
The bonnet and nosecone are now at Faircharm Restorations for spraying. I decided to get them sprayed black, rather than mess around with wrap. Shanes going to start on them this week.
Geeky stuff
I've added a couple of lines to my .htaccess file, which fixes the issue where double forward slashes are placed inside the URL for a link to a page on my website. The pages are still delivered, but it causes issues with google's indexing.# Remove multiple slashes anywhere in the URL-path
RewriteCond %{THE_REQUEST} \s[^?]*//
RewriteRule (.*) /$1 [R=302,L]But why would you want to do that? Because, the Google Search Console is reporting some issues with Page Indexing at the moment, and it keeps showing in the Search Console "Alternative page with proper canonical tag - These pages arent indexed or served by Google" and it then shows a load of affected pages that have double forward slashes in the URL. eg http://www.zetecinside.com/xr2//duratectune.shtml. The rewrite code in .htaccess will now remove the pair of forward slashes, and redirect the page to the correct URL, which contains the canonical tag, and this will in turn, resolve the errors. Trying to get Google to index every single page on the site, is not as easy as it sounds. It currently stands at 347 indexed, and 216 not indexed. And it needs to be all 563 pages are indexed. Its slow work correcting the errors, but its satisfying seeing the Indexed count slowly increase as errors are fixed.
14Nov
New camloc receptacles
Possibly the most exciting title ever, new camloc receptacles. I need to get out more. These are used on the car to secure the bonnet to the chassis, via 1/4 turn 2600 series camloc screws. One of the receptacles was damaged in the accident, and believe it or not, they are the hardest things to track down. Partly because the costs are very high, with some companies listing them at £10 each! And others only listing the pressed steel ones, or even worse, the brass ones! Luckily I found a listing on ebay for these new old stock MILSPEC ones, which weigh nothing at all. The listing was for four, and seven turned up, all for the princely sum of £10. What a bargain. I've already got the 2.4mm x 6mm rivets, so I'll replace all of them. Olive drab doesn't look so bad on a racecar. Presumably there's an F-35 somewhere with a loose panel :D
12Nov
Panels unwrapped
The bonnet and nose cone were unwrapped last night and trial fitted to the car, and I must say, I like the red more than the black at the moment.
A friend collected my BSC 11th place trophy from the HSA awards on Sunday. I do have to ask where the sponsorship money went from Woodford Trailers, as it clearly wasn't spent on trophies this year.
Printed parts
Another large order placed yesteday, for another pair of Sierra Output Cup sensor rings (37 holes), more sensor brackets, and a pair of printed guides which will be stuck to the outside edges of both front wing end plates, which will take the wing to the maximum width, and will be used to deflect air up and over the front wheels.
11Nov
Bodywork collected
I went over to Suffolk yesterday to collect the Mygale bonnet and nosecone, which were collected by a friend from the factory in France. That saved me over £200 in postage alone! Both panels are red, as the only colours Mygale had were red or white, and I didnt fancy white. I may leave the panels in their red gelcoat, and apply a graduated strip to their edges where they meet the black body work. I'll mock some photos up to see how it will look.
7Nov
Sierra diff housing speed sensor parts have arrived
I'm very happy with how the NPN sensor brackets have turned out. The M8 barrel sensor fits very well in the bracket, and is be secured with the supplied nuts. The bracket then sits on an M8 threaded stud which screws in to the diff housing, and is again secured with the supplied nuts.
The speed sensor rings took a while to build up with the 37 steel dowels, but they too look great. They're now posted to the MK Indy owner for fitment and testing, complete with four NPN sensors. I'm looking forward to seeing all the parts installed.
6Nov
Printed parts have arrived
The printed front wing drop plate support brackets have arrived this morning, and are now fitted to the crashbox and wing. They're a perfect fit, and the grub screw I've added allows better control of the front wing angle.
5Nov
NCR regulations updated
The latest version of the Blue Book replacement NCR regulations is now published, and thankfully I can now find references in it to Track Licenses, specifically with respect to duties for Stewards and Clerks of the Course.Latest NCR regulations: published November 2024
The document doesn't have a version number or release date, and the hyperlinks dont work in some PDF viewers on mobile phones, which needs to be resolved urgently.
2Nov
Brake lines replaced
I've replaced the front brake lines, with fresh ones, that took about 30 minutes to do. And I straightened all the bonnet support brackets, and refitted them with M5x10mm stainless screws. The video update is on Youtube.
31Oct
Halloween Update on Youtube
Now I've finally started on the repairs, the first job has been to remove the 3D printed plastic parts that were proven in the CFD adding very little to the downforce. Sticking them on with Sikaflex, has made their removal a bit of a challenge!
29Oct
The Blue Book is dead - long live the Blue Book
There's a new set of regulations for the governance of motorsport in the UK, held under MSUK, and you can drive a truck through them at the moment. Rewritten, and full of hyperlinks, they're meant to replace the Blue Book next year, but from what I've seen they're simply not fit for purpose at the moment. The most serious omission I've seen is that of the rules that prevent Cones from being used on sprints.I've not found anything on Track Licenses, Circuit Plans or Apex Markers. Which means on a sprint, traffic cones can be placed anywhere they want them to be. This is a very serious omission. What other regulations have been dropped ?
They also say fire extinguishers are mandatory on all race cars, including single seaters. Which is going to put the costs up for everyone.
Read the NCR Regulations here
Ariel Atom speed sensor rings
My first order for a set of sensor rings for an Ariel Atom has been received, and after designing the rings they are now away for printing. The Atom has output cups with an OD of 91mm, and the rings have 37 dowels and will be a friction fit over the cups. I am also supplying a set of four NPN sensors, as the car is being converted to launch and traction control under a Syvecs ECU.
28Oct
Ford Sierra diff housing model
You know my obsession with details. I've found a 3D scanned mesh model of the Ford Sierra differential housing, which I bought for a tenner on-line, and I then imported it in to Fusion. I've never tried using a mesh model before. The mesh model is made up from 10's of thousands of small triangles, which gives the model quite a crude appearance, but it takes a lot of processing power to manipulate the model, so I'm thankful it is just 10's of thousands of triangles rather than millions.With that model imported in to fusion, I can then incorporate it in to the design, and it gives a far better impression of the sensor ring and sensor bracket that I've drawn.
24Oct
Ford Sierra output cup speed sensor parts coming soon
I've designed a sensor ring and a sensor holder for cars running the ford Sierra differential housing and output cup. The sensor ring has 37 steel dowels and the holder is designed or the RS164-6097 12V NPN sensor. The parts are away for printing, and once tested I will be offering them as a kit, of two sensor rings and two sensor holders, with sensors. The render is not to scale :D
22Oct
Sprint Leaders scoring issues
There are rumours of some issues with the Sprint Leaders scoring this year, and the HSA has pulled the results pages from the web site. The thinking is that as the British Sprint Drivers run at a National A level (RS National), and the Sprint Leaders championship is a National B level championship (RS Interclub), then British Sprint Drivers arent technically allowed to score any points towards Sprint Leaders.The same thinking also applies to the HSA Speed championship, and many other championships that run in parallel with BSC rounds. There are two permits obtained for a BSC round, and BSC drivers sign on as Nat A under the Nat A permit. But does that signing on process preclude them from being eligible for the Nat B event results, or should the BSC results stand alone, so they dont interfere with the Nat B drivers competing at the same event?
17Oct
BSC History Portal updated
I've updated my history portal, that holds all the British Sprint data since 1970. I had to write a python program to scrape all of the google worksheets on Simons scoring system; because all the results are stored in worksheets, there is no option to export to CSV, so it's easier to use Python to open each worksheet in turn, and scrape the information from the page to a CSV file. Once the CSV file is complete, I have to manipulate the data so the drivers names match those in the database, etc, and once that is done, the data can be imported in to the table in mySQL, which is hosted from my web site in the States.I've had to make a few changes to the PHP, because this year the classes have all changed. Which is right faff. But its done and all the run off data from this year is now searchable on the portal.
https://www.zetecinside.com/bschistory <-- click this link to see the whole 2024 season.
Have a look at the attendance page to see the drop in numbers for the past two seaons (2023 and 2024). Its clear that there are too many rounds in 2024, with the highest number of rounds and venues than has ever been seen.
https://www.zetecinside.com/bschistory <-- click this link to see the attendance for 2024.
2022 - 30 rounds
2023 - 42 rounds
2024 - 44 rounds
11Oct
2025 Rumours
So Llandow has gone from the calendar, but its still 44 rounds potentially, but the number of scoring rounds is down from 75% to 60%. This is not a good move. Attendance is the key to running a succesful championship. You just have to look at the British Hillclimb Championship to see what good attendance looks like. If the number of scoring rounds is dropped to 60%, then that will mean even fewer drivers turn up at events. And this year rarely has there been 12 drivers even with 75% counting rounds. Fewer drivers means even slower qualifying rounds, as drivers dont need to qualify, they just have to drive around the circuit and get a time. And where's the fun in that? Fewer drivers means even higher scores for those in a position to be able to travel to the far flung rounds. And that means they have stronger scores when it comes to dropped rounds, and end up with even better finishing positions. Not for driving quickly, but for going to every round! Its turned in to an endurance championship.The argument about including N.Ireland also reappeared; how come the BTCC doesn't visit N.Ireland, or even Wales for that matter, yet its still able to run under the banner of a British championship? If they can get away with it, then surely the BSC can drop N.Ireland? No disrespect to the N.Ireland venue or drivers, but it would make sense to reduce the number of rounds by dropping the one furthest away as a trial, to see how that impacts the scoring. Its a long time since 12 drivers have made the trip over.
I will watch from afar as the championship disappears off a cliff edge. Next year will be hills and sprints for me, with possibly more hills than sprints. You heard it here first :D
8Oct
