My 131 abarth (never ending) story - 2017 season updates

[TR-Spider]

while we're on fans and switches I would like to mention briefly the phenomenon (?) called 'heat soak' - where the engine temperature climbs even though the engine is switched off. Most 'modern' cars with electric fans have this and it is something worth building into the installation.

It can take many minutes of fan running at full power after switch-off to bring the engine temp down to a level where, on restart, you won't have immediate (bhp) power loss or a temperature so high that sudden application of high load might cause detonation and burst the head gasket.

G

From that respect an electric (driven) water pump would be a good solution, as it removes the heat, where it soaks.
However, I have no personal experience with such arrangement. Maybe I am already too conservative for such a "modern" solution.

Thomas

[Guy Croft]

They are OK but an absolute pig to rig up.

G

[miro-1980]

Guy,

I sort of expected that:

RE #1. I'm not surprised you got your hands crossed with that bloke talking all the time. I have two co-drivers one does not say a word and this one keeps talking. I can always turn the intercom down. BTW it took me a long time to learn crossing hands.

RE # 2 . Is it just me or there some confusion as to what is 'left' and what is 'right'?! Mysteries of the Polish language no doubt 303 Sqn had the same problem with the RAF. This is why soon the British wing leaders stopped flying with the Poles , who would speak English only as long as there was enemy in site ...

RE # 3. You upchange is too low in the rev band get your foot down. It takes some time to learn that, but I am working on it ! I was afraid to over rev the car. With the short diff I have no such problem. With the long diff - this was my first try on a track. September 2 I have a race on a real race track ( the only in the country (in Poznan); All that happens before is but a trial and in the meantime there will be another track day on a concrete surface airfield. I will work on this.

Re # 4. Your braking is not aggressive enough. The track in Kielce is extremely slippery and in addition 4 of 6 runs were during rain ; I had Toyo R1R road tires (because of the rain), the tires were cold (well below good traction level). All my driving in Kielce was not aggressive at all.

During previous event the braking was quite aggressive and after 3 of 5 runs I lost much of the braking power due to the pads becoming "metalized".

pads 1.jpg (73.55 KiB) Viewed 10889 times

At the end of fifth run the brakes were very very bad! (less effective than standard 125 on cold pads) My impression is that the disks may need upgrading to match the pads ( currently I run Ferrodo Racing 3000). It looks like the disk cannot handle the high temperature the pads require and instead of turning to metal dust the disks friction puts metal film on the pads rendering brakes increasingly ineffective. (Few moments with a sandpaper cleaned the pads but the root problem remains. I have to consult someone with experience in this area.)


RE # No doubt you will tell me you know all this...! Surprise , surprise - I did not. I had some more or less vague feeling these were among the problems , but it takes and external commentator /observer to see it clearly and sharply , so please feel free to make any and all observations and comments. I need that . This season is short and I need a sharp learning curve so I am ready to race next season.

Miro

G

[WhizzMan]

From what I was told, race pads require heat to start the transfer of the pad material to the discs. If the pads are being used too cold, they will just apply friction to the discs and wear those down, because the pad material is much harder than the discs. For short runs like this, I would personally use road pads, because the brakes won't overheat with those before you get to the end of the track. Changing discs probably won't make a difference unless you can find some that are way harder than your DS3000 pads.

[Guy Croft]

Sharp as a needle, Miro! Always fun. I never had to tell you anything twice did I?!

Do you have a rev limiter? You need to get one and set it at 8500. A shift light would be a good idea too.

Have a look at www.raceparts-direct.com

G

[miro-1980]

Guy,

Re Rev Limiter: I thought about the rev limiter , but never got around to it. From the reading I have done on the Armtech page I like these units. Actually , I like the rev limiter in conjunction with the "Speed Shift". In addition it provides the shift up and shift down lights as well as allows to shift gears up at a predetermined RPM without losing engine revs ( I can keep shift with my foot on the throttle pedal without the risk of revving the engine too high.

Re: No need to repeat twice: You do not need to tell me anything twice for a simple reason : You are my engine builder with impressive technical knowledge and experience so listening to you is a given automatic reaction. I will not disregard your comments or suggestions. This would be like saying: "I know better". Well , I do not and I am not pretending to. More, you have never steered me wrong. So I am just doing what seems rational taking the most benefit from your comments that I can.

M

PS : I thought that "never ending" story of building my car will in fact end somewhere/sometime. Now, I am not so sure. The more I know the more about this car the more things need to be addressed. Hope it will be an engagement that will last as long as I remain physically and mentally able to drive this car. Lots of fun indeed ! Driving it 51 % of the fun. The other 49% is learning about it and fine tuning it.

[miro-1980]

WhizzMan,

Thank you, your comments on the pads vs disks is most valuable. Will pay more attention to heat the pads before a stage and try to do some reading . I will also consult with Ferrodo rep in Poland , a former race driver and a friend. He knows all technical aspects of hot pads operation. Will report my findings here.

Miro

[TomLouwrier]

Hi Miro,

Great to see you make so much progress!
I see you're using another set of discs from the selection we made, no BMW or VAG but the ones for/from Ferrari. What were the issues with the first set? Bad fit?
Have you done the testing on a bench and airfield as you intended? Any footage from that maybe?

Could you do something like a small write up about your current brakes and how you're doing with the pads in the other thread, where we discussed your discs and calipers? That would round the story off nice and complete.

regards
Tom

[Guy Croft]

"never ending" story of building my car will in fact end somewhere/sometime. Now, I am not so sure.

Becomes a book maybe?

G

[miro-1980]

Tom,

The calipers were fitted on the Ferrari disks. I will put the pads on next week , and see how it works. If all fits OK , I will proceed with the rear brakes selection . Once this is done we will get the hand hydraulic brake . The plan is to fit it all on the car for the next season, along with full Abarth front suspension.

I am still thinking of the uniball top mounts . I have very good replicas of the original - very heavy duty . This will probably go this way, but I need to check it the turrets can remain standard ( unextended on the top) .when I put the Abarth 52 mm diameter shocks on the front. ( How will the springs fit and if the inner arch opening for the shocks can remain unchanged). I do not not plan to go full extended turrets until 2013 season, but if things go right the car can be on full Abarth suspension front and rear next season.

As you have noticed every step I make creates few more i need to cover. I still want to get the electronic speedo installed, the exhaust system, new cobra seats. correct the safety belt mounting to meet FIA homologation requirements, but FIA approved foam on the cage .... , get the rev limiter (and maybe speed shift/full throttle shift, etc) , play with rear springs for more rally setup,( currently it is strictly track). continue decreasing the coolant temp, etc. So as you see there is a lot or work for some time ...

Miro

[miro-1980]

"
Becomes a book maybe?
G

Actually the thought did cross my mind.

I would need major technical assistance , will you agree to be book's technical editor/co-author ?

M

[miro-1980]

RE rev limiter ,

Look at these :

revlimiter options 1.JPG (57.02 KiB) Viewed 10878 times

(elements of not copyrighted technical information literature )

I actually like all of these options though it appears that - Full Throttle Gearshift and Launch control switch are mutually exclusive options.

See here for more details: http://www.armtech.co.uk/

M

[miro-1980]

Latest addition to the dash :

heuer.jpg (62.93 KiB) Viewed 10878 times

M

[TomLouwrier]

That is one really beautiful stopwatch, Miro!!!

regards
Tom

[Guy Croft]

I would collaborate on that Miro, yes.

G