Chase Racing Clio Build Blog (TinTops Entry)

[Hoofy]

I've just read this from start to finish and completely agree, sounds like one hell of a hobby but you need some serious knowledge to keep it going.
Looks like you guys have made some serious progress over the last 2 years, can't wait to see what happens this season.

Cheers! We've tried to use our combined, perhaps limited knowledge to the best of our abilities to develop a car that's competitive without being ridiculously overpriced. Hopefully this season we'll really start to see the hard work pay off... the aim being to collect some trophies of some sort!

 

[cliobritt]

It's normal pipe insulation!! LOL. Any good DIY store.

We actually got it from Rob's loft.

Thought it had to be MSA approved stuff?

 

[Hoofy]

Thought it had to be MSA approved stuff?

Not quite, it's a bit of a flaky rule....by definition you don't actually need any pipe protection

 

[Tony Hunter]

Thought it had to be MSA approved stuff?

Actually no.

 

[Hoofy]

The preparation for the new season continues and we’ve made a bit more progress with the winter build. One of the most time consuming tasks on hand is the wiring; the dash assembly now includes a hinged panel containing all of the necessary dials and switches, with the ignition and starter now moved to the right hand side of the driver. No more knocking the fuel pump off in the hurry to change drivers! So, most of the wiring has been laid out, just a few more long hours needed to get it all connected up.

One of the main features of the new wiring layout is our ability to disconnect the engine harness completely from the body. This is achieved by having all low current signals sent through a detachable mil plug connector (seen in green in the pic below).
Another item that can be seen in the picture below is the addition of a fuel pressure regulator; part of the new fuel system that we’ve laid out in the car. The black cylindrical bulkhead fitting you can also see in the picture is part of the new driver ventilation system, aimed at stopping all those mid race hot flushes!

If you have a really keen eye you’ll notice that the fuel pressure regulator has 2 lines running to it, one feed and one return with a T-piece taking the fuel to the rail. Those 2 lines run through the bulkhead, down beneath the car and to the back of the car where, of course the pumps, tank and swirl pot sit.

Along with all of this, we’ve made a new exhaust system. We acquired a 200 cell cat a while back and decided to mate this with a series of pipe sections from Jetex. Then, with a bit of fettling, tweaking and welding it came together quite nicely. Now we’re just hoping it’s not too loud!

So, that’s it for now. Still a fair amount of work, hopefully we can get the car running pretty soon!

 

[Tony Hunter]

So you're taking air from the engine bay for ventilation, or is there more to go onto this and out the front of the car?

Also, have you tried getting in and out of the car quickly with that switch there, I would be worried about knocking it with my knee, but I guess you would have thought of that already.

 

[sonny172cup]

Hinged control panel, I like. Should have done that with mine.

 

[Hoofy]

So you're taking air from the engine bay for ventilation, or is there more to go onto this and out the front of the car?

Also, have you tried getting in and out of the car quickly with that switch there, I would be worried about knocking it with my knee, but I guess you would have thought of that already.

Yehh, there's more to it than that. The trumpet on the front bumper previously used for a cold air feed will now be the source of the incoming air, with a pipe running from there to the bulkhead fitting. We'll wrap it in aluminium tape too, so it should remain as cool air when it gets to the driver's face.

And that switch is a little further away than it appears in that pic, we don't get anywhere near it leaping out of the car. That shouldn't be a problem. Separating the ignition from the fuel pump switches was the most important thing, not letting that happen again!

 

[Tony Hunter]

Ah ok, I guessed you would have thought it through.

 

[Hoofy]

Bring on the trumpets!

 

[Hoofy]

She lives!!

 

[sonny172cup]

splendid stuff guys

 

[Dan519]

Just found out you're my mate Cods house mate! Very small world!

 

[Hoofy]

Just found out you're my mate Cods house mate! Very small world!

Yeh, there's me (Dave), Ryan and Rob. It's Ryan that lives with Stu.

 

[Hoofy]

Winter Build Update - March '14

We set ourselves quite a task with the changes we wanted to make over the winter, but we are now getting close to completion. Ryan’s many hours of wiring are very nearly over and all of the little fabrication jobs are pretty much complete. These have included things like, a bracket to hold the oil cooler in a neat position just above the main radiator and a small bracket to house the coil pack on the drive end of the engine (plus many other small items).

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have routed all wires in the engine bay such that we can simply unplug the engine from the rest of the car. This has meant that removing the engine has now become quite a simple procedure. So, it’s now out of the car ready for the installation of a set of Catcam 421’s….which are due for delivery imminently!

Whilst the engine is out, Rob has taken the opportunity to wrap the exhaust…… and very lovely it is.

Inside the car, it will be quite visibly different with the new dash assembly and one of the main aspects from the driver’s perspective is the panel that sits under the cowl. We have made a custom piece which houses the data logger screen (showing speed, lap times and shift lights mainly), a number of warning lights, lambda, voltage, water temp and oil pressure gauges. This panel slots in to place via a tab along the top edge and is secured with two small bolts along the bottom edge. This means that if we have an issue with any of these items, they are very serviceable as this panel can be very easily removed much like the central panel. Once the wiring is fully complete, we will get the whole dash piece flocked, minus the panels.

The main tasks left on the job list are mostly centred around getting the cams in plus a few other loose ends. So, within the next two weeks, we should have the car all back together and we can get it over to the rolling road to do the mapping work. Then, the plan is to do a test/trackday in April before heading to Silverstone in May for the 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] race in the TinTops calendar.

 

[sonny172cup]

Good call on the quick release wires, was thinking of doing the same.

 

[Hoofy]

I've just posted in the wanted section.... but hopefully this will reach out to others who may be able to help

We're in desperate need of a passenger side driveshaft for a Ph2 clio... has to have 22 splines on the gearbox end as we're actually only after the tripod on the end. The tripod has come apart when we removed the engine from the car. Supposed to be mapping the race car on friday, so would like to get it sorted in time to do that, otherwise we'll have to postpone!!!

Preferably needs to be within a reasonable distance of Warwickshire, but may be able to travel to certain parts of the country.... can anyone out there help us?

 

[Hoofy]

Chase Racing Blog – Easter ’14 Update

As we approach easter, we can finally say that the winter build is complete. We have spent many months putting together an engine package that we hope give us good power & torque whilst still maintaining a certain amount of reliability. We’ve spec’d it such that if we have an internal engine failure, a replacement unit would be relatively cheap. The full spec of the engine is as follows:

- Standard F4R engine bottom end with Phase 1 head (larger exhaust ports)
- Catcam 421s with VVT (inlet cam phasing)
- 182 exhaust manifold
- Full custom 2.5” jetex exhaust system with 100 cell cat & 420mm round silencer
- GSXR1000 throttle bodies with Honda S2000 360cc injectors
- 90mm trumpet length & custom intake manifold
- Emerald K3 ECU

Now that the engine is running and idling, it’s time for us to get it mapped. So, we took it over to Dave Walker @ Emerald to get the job done. Here’s a video of the car on the rollers:



As you might be able to hear, it has a nice smooth delivery of power and it just seems to keep rising! We were reasonably optimistic of what kind of power it might give us, with our 3 estimates between 200 and 210 bhp. So, when we got a result of 224.6 bhp, needless to say we were pretty chuffed.

The power torque curve shows a nice delivery of torque from 4500 rpm upwards, the rev range we’ll be using when out on track. Good solid result all round!

Next up, we just have a few loose ends to tidy up. This includes; flocking the dash and lots of p-clipping now that the wiring is complete, panel in the front end around the radiators and air filter and do a final bit of setup work. We’ve booked up for Oulton Park on April 30[SUP]th[/SUP] for a bit of a shakedown in time for our first race at Silverstone on May 10[SUP]th[/SUP]!

 

[icebergclio172]

Unbelievable effort that!

 

[Tony Hunter]

Nice one chaps.

 

[Steven103]

Anymore choice moving of suspension pickup points this year?

The LWB pickups are probably the best chassis modification anyone's done on this forum IMO. Better way to do it than the RC correction kit for example (not knocking the kit at all).

 

[Hoofy]

Anymore choice moving of suspension pickup points this year?

The LWB pickups are probably the best chassis modification anyone's done on this forum IMO. Better way to do it than the RC correction kit for example (not knocking the kit at all).

Well, nothing's changed in terms of chassis stuff for us over the winter if that's what you're asking.

 

[Hoofy]

Chase Racing Blog – May ’14 Update

As I mentioned in the previous update, there were a few loose ends to tidy up before we heading out on our first test of the year. The dash piece has come back from being flocked and we’re pretty happy with how it has turned out. Here’s a before and after shot of it.

With the dash in place we were able to finish the routing of wiring, attach our new driver vent and hook up the data logger dash display. I mention the last item in particular, as we have also done some work programming the data logger to process a variety of inputs from the ECU. This includes all the usual temperatures and pressures, allowing us to record everything that happens as well as just being able to see them on a dial on the dash.

Oulton Park was the location of our first test, a track none of us have driven before, so it was important that we learnt the layout ready for the September round of the Tin Tops. Fortunately, the weather held out and the day remained dry with ambient temperatures reaching around 17 celsius. For the most part of the day the track was quite busy and with it being a trackday, it was difficult to really get a clean lap in.

We were still able to thoroughly test out the car and in fact developed a bit of an issue with the steering column halfway through the morning. Fortunately, we were able to fix the problem and got the car back out just before lunch.

After lunch, we decided to lift the limiter and test the engine out a little. This all went well and the car really started to show it’s pace and potential. We still have some work to do on setup as move through the year, but overall, a successful first test. We now look forward to next week’s race at our local track, Silverstone.

 

[NorthloopCup]

Do you have warning lights as well as the gauges? Only reason I ask is that from having first hand experience of gauges, in the heat of the moment you don't look at them until it's too late.

 

[Cupman29]

Love the centre consol!

Car looks to be going well on track too.

 

[Bobby.]

Brilliant little battle that, who's blue clio was that?

 

[Hoofy]

Do you have warning lights as well as the gauges? Only reason I ask is that from having first hand experience of gauges, in the heat of the moment you don't look at them until it's too late.

Yeh, precisely that...... We had problems at castle combe last year when it got a bit hot and we didn't spot the coolant boiling. We blew it up and didn't finish the race! So we're making sure we catch things like that before it damages anything

 

[Hoofy]

Brilliant little battle that, who's blue clio was that?

Can't remember his name....I think Rob was chatting to him about his car, apparently it had 240 bhp on throttle bodies though!

 

[Hoofy]

Love the centre consol!

Car looks to be going well on track too.

Cheers! Plenty more pace to find still....

 

[BIGASH]

Great stuff guys looks to be going quite well

 

[sonny172cup]

That dash looks fantastic

 

[cliokongen]

Brilliant little battle that, who's blue clio was that?

That was EVOgone (Steve) - nice battle....

The Chase racing Clio is proper quick
Looked nice and settled on track.

 

[Carbonraider]

Have you removed you uch if so could I be a pain and ask how

Car looking sweet btw.

 

[Hoofy]

Have you removed you uch if so could I be a pain and ask how

Car looking sweet btw.

We've totally re-wired the car to suit our own requirements, so the UCH is a thing of the past.

 

[Russ Rallye]

The best way, get rid of the lot!
Russ

 

[Hoofy]

That was EVOgone (Steve) - nice battle....

The Chase racing Clio is proper quick
Looked nice and settled on track.

Cheers! Still plenty of pace to come from it... it was set up quite neutral at Oulton in the interest of learning the track first but it needs to be a little more alive in my opinion.

We took the whiteline rear ARB off when we fitted the gripper diff, but now we're thinking the handling is a little on the safe side, so looks like we'll stick the ARB back on and adjust the damping accordingly. We'll be at Oulton later in the year for the TinTops race, so we'll see how much quicker it goes by the time we get back there.

 

[EVOgone]

Can't remember his name....I think Rob was chatting to him about his car, apparently it had 240 bhp on throttle bodies though!

Yes was me in my trackday car, had a really good day It was running on old tyres, std gearbox with no LSD and dead std brakes so was expecting the tin top cars to be quicker....... It would be well under 2mins a lap with just a diff in it.

good footage.

 

[Hoofy]

1st race of the year.....1st in class, 8th overall. Epic result, super chuffed.

P.s. can't guarantee when the video will be done as Ryan has all the footage since I'm flying off on holiday tomorrow!

 

[sonny172cup]

Well done

 

[Tony Hunter]

Super job guys.