I just got my cams/RTA approved cage back from bond Roll bars its made from CDW six point with several cross bars for extra strength bolt in front legs rear section welded,its a basic cage that I will run a strut brace with and it will strengthen the car enough.CDW is only marginaly heaveyer than this Chromolly crap that everyone goes on about and is half the price of a cro mo cage that needs to be homoligated by an enginerr and thats a couple of grand before they bend a bar so unless you intend racing V8 super cars or fly to the moon CDW will do cheers JS
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
Twas $2300 weld in rear section,front legs and side protection,which is just a bar are bolted in .Its solid and I can add front strut bars later.Its been welded in well and Imounting plates have been welded to the body to bolt. Im happy and safe as I intend to fast:beer
CDW is Cold Drawn Welded which refers to the process used to extrude the tube,its much stronger than ordinary mild steel tubing eg steel fence posts Peter at bonds can tell you more,I just gave him a simple sketch of what I wanted,but if you spend some time designing a cage to fit he will build it how you want it,I left it up to him,which in hind sight wasnt the best idea, I should have fully designed it myself as I would have done it differently but thats life and its in the car and another thing off the todo list so I cant complain
Can you wind the windows up and down with the front part of your cage in?
I took the front bars out of mine. I've been on some long drives in the past couple of weeks and I really appreciate being able to wind the windows up and down without having to open the door.
I'd love to run around without the cage and only bolt it in when I race. However, I think it's probably more useful on the road than on the track. There are so many morons in 4WDs & big cars that would squash my car with it's 1950's crash protection or lack of... I think the whoe car is a cumple zone. It's a pity the traffic authorities frown upon the font bars.
Jak and I've decided to enter CT056 in the NSW Dutton Rally in May.
This is a 3 day even t with circuit sprints, hillclimbs, motokahanas and drag racing. Events are held in Canberra at Fairburn, Goulburn Airport, Wakefield Park and Eastern Creek. I think there's even one event at night on the street in front of the Goulburn Court House.
The first thing I'm going to do is dyno the engine because I've driven it all year without properly knowing what numbers its punching out. Then, depending on the results I'll compression test it to see if the valves are sealing.
Then the engine will come apart for some head work. Unshrouding the inlet valves a little, getting a 3 angle valve job and machining the valve spring seats so there's a little more room to coil bind and then it gives me the option of running a bit more lift.
The rest of the car will need a going through including;
Machining the front rotors
Speaking to Competition Friction about the best pads to use
Replacing the alloy bar with a mild steel roll bar that includes a harness bar
Getting some 6 point harnesses and maybe some new seats
Putting the smaller springs T3 springs in the rear
Rebuilding the rear konis
Resetting the ride height so it's about 10 to 15 mm higher just for extra ground clearance and suspension travel
Building a better crank case ventilation system
I'm tossing up fitting straight cut cam gears and IDAs just becasue I can. Mind you I'll probably go back to the 44IDFs for Dutton becasue I'm familiar with them.
Yeah looks like a good event. The qld event only had 2 entries in Class J last year. Wanted to enter, but the qld event is now feb and car won't be prepped in time 🙁 . You should do well with the oval, htough make sure you have a good working hadn brake (hydraulic?)
I have no sympathy for my car, only the wallet that pays for it!
Go hard or go home!!!!
I went to adjust the tappets yesterday and found 2 lash caps were pitted, 1 rocker screw as pitted and one pushrod was starting to compress as the hardened tips were geting pushed into the aluminium. Each was on a different cylinder!
After looking at the field in last year's Dutton rally and considering the entry fee, I don't want to reduce the liklihood of a mechanical drama even if it means rebuilding the whole drivetrain before May.
I put the car on the dyno today while it got a pink slip inspection.
It was a Dyno Dynamics Dyno on Shoot-out mode at Silverwater Automotive Services:
Max HP 95.8 RWHP (71.5 KW).
About 2 years ago it made 88 RWHP with unported heads, a differnt cam and more compression. Mind you in that state it was good enough to do a 14.9 at WISID. This equalled a 9.3 in the 1/8th.
I was a bit disappointed only getting 9.7 at Warwick but I was being conservative due to the long trip home.
I've read the engine specs in VWMA May-July 2006. You're still running pretty mild heads and standard rockers?
Reason I ask is the 1916 I'm getting for my 58 is very similar in specs other than ported 043 Steve Timms heads with 40 x 35.5 valves (from memory flow 155-160 cfm), CB performance 2242 camshaft (a little milder than an engle 130), Scat procomp 1.25:1 ratio rockers and a compression ratio of 8:1.
I'm guessing mine may breath a little better so will be interesting when it's installed, run in and dynoed.
Don't fret too much CT, that is pretty fair HP and the altitude of Warwick contributes to about 2 tenths slower.
On another note, I see that there is a dip in the power, and another one in the graph below it.
If that lower graph is air fuel ratio, then this needs to be corrected, and as does the slow fall at the end of the graph.
If that is a torque curve then the dip is a concern, but the torque falling away at the end is normal.
The steepness of the HP curve, and then it's "flat-ening off",
tells me that free HP is hiding in the tune up.
This is why a dyno trip can be so important.
Look at the air-fuel ratio when the power(or torque) curve is unusual, and the mixtures will tell you why.
The dyno run yesterday was just a benchmark and not a tuning session. I'm about to pull the engine apart to ensure reliability for the Dutton rally. If the car breaks down the exorbitant entry fees (More than a years worth of sprints with the Porsche Club!) will go to waste.
When the engine goes back together I'll invest in a proper tuning session. I just wanted to run the engine as it ran all last year so the results would relate to lap times etc.
I found that leaner mains and richer airs work better on the dyno 130 & 155.
Richer mains and airs avoid lean "white plugs" on the track in cooler temps and I run 135 & 155.
On the street in summer I run what was in the car when it was dynoed 135 & 175.
I'm glad to hear your comments Dave. I was hoping somebody with experience would analyse the graph. It really needs the air fuel ration graph and rpm scale.
I think a bit of extra timing at idle might help the inital dip in the graph. The engine feels a bit dead between 2000 and 3000 rpm. I don't know why the engine went flat up the top. If that happend at 7000rpm its due to the MSD limiter. On the track I rev the engine to about 7400.
I'll test these theories out when I get the engine back together.
I'm confident the engine will crack the 100HP mark.
I couldn't get the pulley off the crank and that didn't leave enough room to get the engine out of the engine bay.
I made a puller in the past and beefed it up but it just bent trying to get the heavy pulley off. No amount of prying or tapping would budge it.
A conventional puller wouldn't fit in the space provided so I made a bodgy backyard pulley puller at of scap metal and it worked a treat; first go.
Look at the amount of metal that's been taken out of the flywheel and you'll see why I decided to try a heavy pulley. Apparantley the Sabadusi crank has got a unique dowel pattern so I couldn't just bung a heavy flywheel on it.
There's a new business for you Dave.... Online Head Porting.
You have got a lot of fun ahead of you there CT.... For sure you'll crack the ton at your next session.... I have found in the tarmac rallies that I have competed in, that bugs need solid low down grunt in the tight stuff.... My car was always down on top end power compared to my competitors, but in the 1st and 2nd gear stuff only the mini's gave me any hassles.... With my wheel/tyre combo (less than ideal.. Rears too tall, fronts to small), in a swingaxle car, I found high tyre pressures in the front and low in the back made it EZR to get it around the witches hats.... Not so got on the fast stuff, but in carpark autokhanas it worked well for me.....
After looking at the type of events in the Dutton rally I think my hard-earned would be best spent on some tall first and second gears like the hillclimb cars.
Following that I'll have to reduce the negative camber and use the narrower 195/55R15 (10 mm narrower than 195/50R16 believe it or not) tyres to get enough lock to get around the witches hats.
Judging by the lap times from last year we should give some of the modern cars a bit of a fright.
hydraulic handbrake......... From watching the qld event, would be a worthwhile investment. and you can do it so it works of your std handbrake and still has the cabels connected to keep it legal
I have no sympathy for my car, only the wallet that pays for it!
Go hard or go home!!!!
I don't think the hand brake option would suit the current plan. Neither Jak or I have much experience doing handbrake turns in our cars.
In the super sprints we may be able to beat 1/4 to 1/3 of the field, which would be giant killing effort, because we've been supersprinting on the circuits for years.
With all the events the plan would probably be to err on the side of caution. If we have one spin and stall we could lose 30 seconds or more which would be impossible to make up. Hopefully other people will get over enthusiastic and spin, which will let a little old beetle pass them in the overall results.
I split the case today and removed the valves from the head. Every component looks fine but the main rib of the case is shiney suggesting it's shuffling with the high rpms.
I've never looked at gear ratios before but here's what I'm thinking:
595mm tyre OD & a 4.375 ring and pinion & 7000rpm
2.82 first
1.86 second
stock 3rd & 4th !1.26 & 0.89.
That means 64 km in first for tight turns close to the start such as Fairburn hillclimb (perhaps) and motokahanas. 96 km in 2nd meaning I'll have the option of dropping it back to second in a couple of corners I've had to chug out of in third previously. Also if I rev the engine a bit harder it will make for a bitch'n 0 - 100 time. I'm happy with the current 3rd & 4th. 3rd pulls hard at the right revs in most corners and changing into 4th snaps the neck sufficiently and has enough legs down eastern creek straight (6300rpm is the highest I've seen when I have the guts to take my eyes of the entry into turn 1).
I don't know if the engine will bog down too badly with such a tall first. Hopefully one of the experienced campaigners will shine some light on that.
Dutton will be a huge effort. It will probably be the biggest event I ever do with the car. It's certaily the most expensive. I'm pretty nervous about it and I want to make sure the car is prepped as much as it can be without having to rush.
I pulled the heads off and layed back the sharp lumps between the spark plug threads and where the valve seat cutter installed the seats. I can't believe those dodgy areas weren't cleaned up by DRD who did the heads.
I also had a good look at the valve seats. The arm chair expert I showed them to thinks a 3 angle valve job will not only add horsepower but improve driveability and make jetting the carbs easier (not that they're hard but as the dyno revels there may be more in it).
I've decided to replace all the bearings in the engine as cheap insurance. They looked scored but didn't feel it. I don't know if it's because some grit was left in the engine from the coil-bind / lifter drama following the previous build or if its a result of the oil light come on 4 times last year. Two were due to front oil cooler problems and 2 were due to oil surge on the race track which occurs around right-hand turns when the oil level is too low.
I've been playing with a gear ratio calculator which is a great thing. I looked at the dyno run I did just before pulling the engine apart and converted the MPH in third to revs.
The graph starts at 2800rpm and dips between about 3200 to 3700 where it climbs at a 45 degree angle until 4300 rpm where it gets steeperl. Then, strangely at 5100 it peaks and flattens to about 6500 as the torque drops away.
I don't know why the graph flattens out. I think an investment in a dyno tuning session to iron out the dip and try and get the power curve to keep climbing will be money well spent.
At least the engine is making 80 RWHP at 4400 and 90+ from 5000 to 6500.
Here's what I worked out on the gear ratio calculator. I'll list the ratio foolwed by road speed at 7000 rpm and the rev drop into the next gear:
1st 3.78 gear 31kmph change to second drops to 3815 rpm
2nd 2.06 gear 86kmph change to third drops to 4282
3rd 1.26 gear 142kmph change to fourth drops to 5167
4th 0.93 gear can pull 192kmph
Now if I change to a taller 3.0 first and 2.0 second I'll be able to do 59kmph in 1st change gear at 7000 and the revs will drop to 4667 and then do 89.6kmph in 2nd and the revs will drop to 4410 when I change into third while the change into 4th will remain the same.
Providing I can get the car off the line each gear change should drop the revs into an 80+ horsepower area of the power curve.
They're not perfect but the main reason for the tall first is to use it for motokahamas and hillclimbs.
Hi CT,
I have been thinking about your gear ratios and thought I would add a little bit of info that I have found to help.
The first thing I'd like to confirm is that the tyre you run is 595mm and that your diff ratio is 4.375.
If this is the case, your .931 4th gear is very low for highway use. ( I get 3622 rpm @ 100km/h)
Anyhow, that is not a major concern.
What I wanted to share, was the rev drops between each gear, are best reduced as you go to each higher gear.
eg, the rev drop from 1 to 2 would be the biggest,
then 2 to 3 would be a bit less,
and then 3 to 4 less again.
If you do the sums on the factory gears you will see that this is what they have done.
So what this brings me to is that the 3.0 to 2.0 gear set is very close by comparison to many,
which is good, and I like the choice of ratio.
But then when you step up to 3rd, there is quite a large reduction in revs. (bigger reduction than 1 to 2).
3rd to 4th is very good, infact you may be able to sacrifice a bit of this and make a lower 3rd ratio.
BUT!!!
This may upset your car on certain tracks.
I know you said that you were happy with the current 3rd and 4th for you application.
The way you have calculated your rev drop and layed that over your dyno page is excellent,
and a sure way to see that you will have no-problems with the ratios that you have chosen.
To make the rev drops a little more gradual, a 1.35 3rd gear would make the 2 to 3 step just a tad smaller(32.5%)
than 1 to 2 (33%).(yet still keep 3 to 4 the smallest rev drop of all of them 31%)
For comparison a 40hp beetle has 36% in 2 to 3 and 32.4% between 3 and 4.
1500 beetle has 38.8% between 2 and 3(ouch) but nice 29.4% between 3 and 4.
But as I mentioned, this ratio may upset certain parts of tracks where you buzzed through in 3rd before,
and of course, it increases the step between 3 and 4, which may also upset your driving style.
All I ask is you take these Ideas on board when you think about your combo,
and make sure you know what you have in there CURRENTLY before you buy gears that may not suit your style.
The 1.35 third looks nice on the gear ratio calculator.
I don't think it would be a problem on the track. There would be gains where the lower 3rd gear would have the engine at a better part of the power curve when exiting about 4 corners that I can think of. However it would also mean a few more gear changes in areas I've been able to hold 3rd in the past. But then again the new rev drop into 4th is also likely to land in an area producing more torque.
I spoke to Rams Head Services today after having them recommended to me from 2 completely different sources. The guy seemed genuinely interested and knowledgable on the phone. He wanted to check the heads out complete so his work on the valves would last.
CYA CT
esratrams
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
The steel cage got too expensive so I decided to keep the alloy cage for the time being. I wanted a harness bar which couldn't be added to a kit only a custom install done by Bond themselves. This added over $600 to the bill which pushed the proposed 6 point cage up to the $2000 mark. The budget will go towards a good seat, new harness and a gearbox instead.
What do you think of my proposed gear ratios? 595mm tyres, 4.375 r & p 3.0 / 2.0 / 1.35 / 0.93?
CYA CT
esratrams
Craig Torrens6 times Australian, 7 times State Hillclimb Class Champion
Here's what RAMS thought of the Aircooled.net level 5 heads by DRD.
The so called "racing valve job'; the valves were contacting the wrong part of the seats and the angles were all wrong. It was only a single angle valve job.
The flow bench results were "nothing to rave about"!
I'll post the chart when I get it.
Remember these heads were supposed to be 043s but they sent 040. They were stet up to coil bind at .520 lift. Considet that the engle cam card says you need .090 to coil bind. That means they were suitable for cam with only .439 lift while the sales pitch says they're designed for valve lift from .450 to .500.
Both John Connoly and DRD recommended, before I purchased the heads, that I run them with a Webcam 109 with 1.25 rockers. That's .525 lift. That's beyond coil bind on the heads they recommended to me.
