brumster

Looking at an unused kit on ebay... could be a bit of a saving over new. I'm aware (thanks to Gaz of the chassis differences with the early Zero kits, but in terms of the kit contents, is there anything I should be aware of and make sure is present?

Obviously I'm aware of all the items on the brochure from GBS - chassis, nosecone, 4 arches, panels, finishing strips, lights, wishbones+bushes+bolts, arch brackets, etc.

but what else? Chassis plate, manual/CD.... what else?

Anyone got a list? Or anyone aware of items that the 2009 kit didn't include that maybe newer ones do, for example?

The other point is, are there any parts on the current GBS/Kit Spares shopping list that *won't* fit the earlier Zeros? I doubt this but just checking - for example dashboard panel, windscreen, fuel tank, etc.

Otherwise I could have found what I'm after

No, not at all, I mean using the Exmo as a donor and carrying the reg over, then doing IVA all above board. Not interested in having it potentially confiscated and crushed!

Well, I was toying with transplanting the Exmo into a Zero at the end of this year... but being a road car I really don't fancy all that cage. It's a lot of bits for the money but I'd always have the niggly feeling at the back of my mind that certain bits wouldn't be the way I wanted them ... I think if it didn't have the cage I'd give it a look-over. Wouldn't really be fussed for the V5, engine or gearbox

Being the "race" are there any aspects that won't make it through IVA? Or does "race" just mean fully caged?

I take it the cage is pretty integral, looking at it?

I'm not sure about the IVA relevance of this, but just an observation - the apparent gap on the trailing edge of the bonnet; is that free air into the engine bay?

If so, would that not be considered a risk in a car with no windscreen - I am thinking of fuel/water/fire issues under the bonnet escaping into the face of the occupants.

If it's sealed, then ignore me ;-)

Unfortunately it's my birthday and I'm out with family for a meal, so will miss this one, sorry shame as I got the car out at the weekend for a blast, and enjoyed it (think I saw you tootling past the house too Steve?!). Would be nice to attend the meet in the actual car for once

Have a good one and see you at the next one...

Sorry for your loss; I appreciate where you're coming from. Our dog, Grace, sends her commiserations too....

She'd tell you herself if you could make out what she's saying, the daft ha'peth.

I've seen these fitted upside-down on another (non-Ford) car and it doesn't make a difference, but not sure whether the Ford servo is different in any way (I would doubt it)... not an air leak on it, assuming you're 100% sure it's bled up properly.

Might put my engine bay side vents in.... might not depends if it warms up enough to warrant them!

I understand where you're coming from - we used to be on oil. I bet once you factor in the loss of the heat through the pipes/coil in the tank, heat soak out of the tank as you mention, it struck me there probably wasn't a fat lot of difference. I guess one question is whether you use a full tank of hot water in a day anyway?

We moved to gas over 12 months ago, and took the opportunity to move to a modern cylinder and unvented system. I tell you one thing - the new cylinder holds the water at temperature for so much longer than the old lagged copper effort. When the engineer installed it, before he got the boiler working, he rigged it up so that we could at least use the immersion for some hot water. We heated the tank and the water coming out of it was still hot 2 days later! I was amazed, the old cylinder would never have managed that, water was luke warm by 24 hours (airing cupboard was nice and cosy though). You can tell the difference because the airing cupboard doesn't get anywhere near as warm any more.

There's a good point there - it takes a lot longer doing it yourself on the road. This isn't necessarily an issue, of course, because you're possibly not in a rush when you're not paying someone else's wages - your time is 'free', so to speak

I don't dick too much with the advance, to be honest. I was toying with a little electronics project to rig up a knock sensor for a level of 'safety' but it's no replacement for a good session on a RR.

There is nothing wrong with the self-learning, adaptive mapping of modern ECUs but holding the engine in a controlled load is difficult on the road, so there's limits to what can sometimes be done without a rolling road. If you're after the last tenths of an engines performance then a rolling road (or even better an engine dyno) is the best way to go, but for average road use or fine tuning of an engine that's already been RR'd and just needs adjustment, self-learn by wide band gets my thumbs up. There are further steps to it - I would always refine the map afterwards by hand, rather than just relying on the self-learn... and as you say, it won't correct a bad ignition map - but it sounds like this bit you already have sorted (and I'm not sure the reality of things is that the ignition map needs to be that spot on - on many a tuned engine I've seen the ignition map to be quite basic!).

edit: I should add, the software does a good job of making the process easy. You get a nice 'target' system on the display to assist you in holding the car at or near a load site, and there are good shortcut keys (1/2/3 and 0/-/+) to manually adjust both the fuel and ignition maps at the current load site up, down or reset to original base setting. You can use this to 'nudge' the curves one way or another on the fly. I would still say it's easier to map with two people in the car, but it's just about doable by yourself once you've had some practise. Best thing to do is find somewhere nearby with a long, steep hill

Sounds cool - one of my mates is the spanner monkey on the drift cars, maintaining and building them... he was probably there at a guess, being doughnut'd around and risking his toes the cars certainly get maintained, he's always working on them, so I am guessing it's pretty hard on them.

60psi van tyres - love it

Don't suppose you've got an unfitted tonneau have you (did they even do an "official" tonneau or was it only full weather gear?)...

I can do a "leg" from Birmingham to Milton Keynes if that helps

I think it's far more likely people's browsers have been compromised because clearly some people aren't seeing the advert. Also, I can't see our site being the typical target for this kind of advertising. Also, it sounds right out of character for Matt - I'm sure adverts would be put up as banners on the forums, not as pop-ups?

Never seen it here, or even the popup blocked.

Using Win 7/Firefox/BetterPrivacy plugin/MS Security Essentials, nothing more.

I think, unfortunately, there's been a fair bit of spin been put in this from both sides.

I would read the following links and make your own mind up.

http://www.bikesport...per&newsid=8775

http://www.thisislei...2MZvaab9l</p><p

The first smacks a little of 'blackmail' - "agree to let us run more days or I'll sell up!".

The second one I think is important, it puts across a better view of what the residents in Kirby Mallory are concerned about. It's not the noise per se, but the desire to up the number of race days significantly. Many discussions don't touch on this point.

There was a meeting scheduled between the relevant parties, but in the end it was cancelled.

So, to be clear, I don't believe I've seen any evidence that this is people moving into the area fully knowing about the track, and then complaining about the noise levels. The business isn't viable on 92 days a year, a restriction made in an agreement made in 1985, and wants to up it to 160.

Personally I can see both sides of the argument but, being a petrol head, I would quite happily agree to the upped limit for a free entry pass (if I lived in KM, which I don't...)

I think in reality there isn't much difference, and to be fair the guys at Emerald also said I wouldn't notice much difference.

 

The term 'day to day' is really coming from where I started the conversation - and probably showing my lack of knowledge ...

 

I started from the point of view of having a map in place that I knew was rich and I knew what MPG I was getting had to be improved on. I also knew the emissions map was in place - but wasn't running with that . Having the Emerald means I can have 3 maps and switch between them.

 

So my approach was 'give me a third map that was optimised toward MPG' in the belief that I must be able to get a better MPG and stop the embarrassing (and frankly annoying ) popping and banging when the unburnt fuel detonates in the exhaust.

 

It does seem like it was subtleties that were the difference - silly things like lowering the tick over to 800. I also noticed the engine braking effect when taking my foot of the accelerator is more pronounced than it was.

 

I have to admit I was surprised to see such a big difference in MPG. At some point I'll do a full tank on the 'power' map to see if its a similar uplift there too, i suspect there will be.

 

But in short - whatever I call it - I've now got an engine that seems to be burning less, less embarrassing to live with and still responsive. For that I say thanks to the guys at Emerald.

Completely agree. The most relevant thing after a rolling road session is how it feels afterwards, and whether you're happy with it. You can chase big numbers but that might not ultimately satisfy you, whereas a nice driveable, responsive engine might not make the big numbers and impress people at the pub, but will have it where it matters - on the road

I'm not all that sure they're really needed; I'm guessing, but maybe on the day-to-day map they turn off overrun fueling, or at least raise the target AFR on the overrun to help consumption a bit, at the expense of response? Just thinking theory myself, never actually bothered trying it (I just run the one map, but it's not like the car gets used that much it warrants an 'economy' map!)

Speak to Emerald and ask if they have a base map close to the spec of whatever lump you're fitting. If so, fitting a wide-band lambda and using the self-learn facility is perfectly achievable if you can read and follow a set of instructions, so don't worry too much about it. If you're seeking the last 1% of horse power then yes, you need to factor in a rolling road session, but if you've got time and patience you can get the engine running perfectly well yourself 'at home', so to speak (ok, out on the road, but you know what I meant ).

Yes, correct, from K3 onwards.

I've worked on Emerald and a rather obtuse system, EFI Technologies, mainly used in motorsport (big with touring cars). It's only when you've used something like the EFI that you realise what a joy the Emerald software is. The ECUs themselves are very comprehensive and there's not much to separate them (the EFI seems a bit more robust maybe, I suspect it's slightly higher quality inside but couldn't verify) but feature-wise they're very similar - in fact the Emerald promises new features with firmware upgrade in the future, like traction control. What sets them apart in my experience is the software, and the availability of the skills out there. Also, the Emerald is mappable from your laptop using a simple serial/USB interface, whereas EFI make you splash out on a £500 USB<->CAN interface of theirs before you can work on it.

Groan.

Go with something mainstream and popular. The ECU feature list isn't the be-all-and-end-all; if you can't find someone to work on it it'll cost you in the long run!

Are we talking a Sierra diff here? CV joint bearings, that's got nothing to do with the diff - it needs new shafts, or joints at best - but the backlash perceived could just be the CVs, as Grim says.

edit: Scratch that, just seen the other threads diagnosing a shot diff and looking for a new one. So sounds like you've diagnosed the problem already, nothing to do with CVs?

I think Dunlop do an E-marked CR311 in a few of the compounds (designated R04/R08 instead of X04/08) which, in terms of dry performance, will knock the socks off an R888... but their size range is limited so I'm not sure they'll do something in your size. But still, something to consider.

edit: Pants, just found them : http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/competition-tyres/dunlop-cr311-fia-historic-rally-tyre

They're only available in 13"

Mind you, gives me ideas for mine!