Looking good!
They're not called Demon Thieves for nothing!
You assume I paid list....tut tut tut..
Housey's MX-5 Race Car Plans!
- Thread starter Housey
- Start date
You assume I paid list....tut tut tut..
It's been built to run in championships so has to be built to rules and turbo is not an option.
Sorry for the lack of updates. From my perspective there is not much to add at this stage really as we have been focusing on getting our first 2 team cars finished off as they are both doing a full series of the Ma5da championship which starts this month. Both cars went to Silverstone last week to get some track time and finish the testing and setup programs and we got some excellent data which we can now use to finish off mine and the other cars. We are building 5 cars from scratch and had a 6th from last season as we are team today of 6 cars. We now have 3 cars running and I expect another 2 to be completed this month, of which mine will be one of these and I am planning to get it out on track in April, probably Donington and Oulton first.
Here are some images of our 3 cars last week at Silverstone where we spent time getting some data together and comparing the cars we had built, both of which were running different springs and suspension settings. We also had our mate Mike Wilds on hand to set some times to see how the cars would perform and Mike is as experienced as they come and still bloody quick!
This is Clive's car built from scratch
This is Terry's car built from scratch
This is Martin's car which was a runner last year
This is Matt our building god doing some engine stuff.
Some measuring stuff
They are ace little things, like bloody go-karts!
Matt felt Terry and myself should have pink tow eyes!
Getting a little 'measurement' from the Honorific himself!
Since Silverstone Clive has also been battering around Snetterton 300 and making some good times too, though I can't say how good of course
It's serious this, but not too serious...
Spoke to Matt today and he has my cage points in for welding and suspension is expected from Avo tomorrow for fitting and then he can start plumbing in the fire eater, battery, new exhaust and other bits like my DL1 and should be good for some running around end of March. I will upload pics of my car in the next few days but really it's not changed much and will come together over the next couple of weeks.
Here are some images of our 3 cars last week at Silverstone where we spent time getting some data together and comparing the cars we had built, both of which were running different springs and suspension settings. We also had our mate Mike Wilds on hand to set some times to see how the cars would perform and Mike is as experienced as they come and still bloody quick!
This is Clive's car built from scratch
This is Terry's car built from scratch
This is Martin's car which was a runner last year
This is Matt our building god doing some engine stuff.
Some measuring stuff
They are ace little things, like bloody go-karts!
Matt felt Terry and myself should have pink tow eyes!
Getting a little 'measurement' from the Honorific himself!
Since Silverstone Clive has also been battering around Snetterton 300 and making some good times too, though I can't say how good of course
It's serious this, but not too serious...
Spoke to Matt today and he has my cage points in for welding and suspension is expected from Avo tomorrow for fitting and then he can start plumbing in the fire eater, battery, new exhaust and other bits like my DL1 and should be good for some running around end of March. I will upload pics of my car in the next few days but really it's not changed much and will come together over the next couple of weeks.
Yes, pretty much. Avo, Gaz and Bilstein tend to be the main 3 but you can vary ride heights and settings as well as track and geo slightly, but nothing too major. We have chosen Avo and tried a few different settings and we think we now have some settings that work. We have rebushed and generally replaced much of the original suspension parts with newer bits and then it's all in the setup. Obviously we like to keep the details a little covert as McLaren were seen nosing around the cars the other day....and they make a wicked pram.
It's the first round of the Ma5da series is this weekend at Silverstone, a triple header with a 4th race added for some of the cars! We have 4 team cars out and we are all excited and looking forward to the whole thing. I am not racing until later in the season and my car is still not finished but it will be completed by the end of next week as I have some track events planned the following week. If anyone is popping along to what is in effect the grass roots of motorsport pop along and say hello.
Shimmy Racing is off and running!
Shimmy Racing is off and running!
Ma5da MX5 Championship
March 27 Silverstone GP(Arena) Round 1 & 2
April 16/17 Rockingham Round 3 & 4
May 7/8 Donington Round 5 & 6
May 30 Castle Combe Round 7 & 8
June 18 Oulton Park Round 9 & 10
July 2/3 Knockhill Round 11, 12 & 13
July 23/24 Snetterton Round 14 & 15
August 13/14 Brands Hatch (Indy) Round 16 & 17
September 10/11 Coft Round 18, 19 & 20
Ma5da MX5 Autumn Championship
September 30/October 1 Silverstone GP (Arena) Round 1, 2 & 3
Ma5da MX5 12hr Winter Enduro
November 12 Snetterton 12hr Endurance Race (Relay)
Bold are the one's I am considering. I am also aiming to do some Track Day Trophy meetings on 13th August at Dony, 22nd October at Oulton.
March 27 Silverstone GP(Arena) Round 1 & 2
April 16/17 Rockingham Round 3 & 4
May 7/8 Donington Round 5 & 6
May 30 Castle Combe Round 7 & 8
June 18 Oulton Park Round 9 & 10
July 2/3 Knockhill Round 11, 12 & 13
July 23/24 Snetterton Round 14 & 15
August 13/14 Brands Hatch (Indy) Round 16 & 17
September 10/11 Coft Round 18, 19 & 20
Ma5da MX5 Autumn Championship
September 30/October 1 Silverstone GP (Arena) Round 1, 2 & 3
Ma5da MX5 12hr Winter Enduro
November 12 Snetterton 12hr Endurance Race (Relay)
Bold are the one's I am considering. I am also aiming to do some Track Day Trophy meetings on 13th August at Dony, 22nd October at Oulton.
I'd go down on Saturday to support the Topcats, Housey, if I were you and get Paul to foot the bill for an overnight.
I've a party on Saturday or else I might pop down.
Not me, mine is super fast red....and in bits.
The Ma5da championship is good because the car weight limits are built to include the driver, though I will need to get fitter.
What I do depends on when I can find time/budget but I don't plan to do Combe this year sadly.
That is correct.
Well, we have a race car!
You'll notice the white stripe on only one side...hmmmmm
Well it seems one side had a white sticker, the other side had white paint! Plan to spray over the white side as I think it looks all ace n shiny in red. Trying to get it out on track ASAP now but it was fabulous fun around the yard today, like a little go-kart! Of course if I had taken it down the road for a quick blat when no one was looking I could have course tell you all about it, but that never happened. Needs to go on the roller this week to see what bhp she is carrying and with me in it's a bit over weight so we will be looking at weight reduction and we already know where we can find 15 kilos of reductions. Fully corner weighted and set up and I promise you such epic fun little car that will go sideways easy yet is so easy to catch it makes it childs play.
Can't wait!
You'll notice the white stripe on only one side...hmmmmm
Well it seems one side had a white sticker, the other side had white paint! Plan to spray over the white side as I think it looks all ace n shiny in red. Trying to get it out on track ASAP now but it was fabulous fun around the yard today, like a little go-kart! Of course if I had taken it down the road for a quick blat when no one was looking I could have course tell you all about it, but that never happened. Needs to go on the roller this week to see what bhp she is carrying and with me in it's a bit over weight so we will be looking at weight reduction and we already know where we can find 15 kilos of reductions. Fully corner weighted and set up and I promise you such epic fun little car that will go sideways easy yet is so easy to catch it makes it childs play.
Can't wait!
Engine:
K&N Race filter, new lightweight radiator, new leads and pipes but other than this is standard. Other cars have had full rebuild but at £2K I decided not to bother as it's my first season. See how it goes and then take a view.
Body:
Stripped out top to bottom, full safety devices FIA approved cage, Cobra Monaco seat, Momo steering wheel and quick release (fitted after the pictures above were taken as I was not sure if the wheel would be to close to me with it, which it wasn't). Carbon fibre insert with electrics cut offs, fire extinguisher and start button.
Suspension:
New lightweight exhaust, Avo dampers and full suspension replacement, new bushes and generally a rebuild. The car came from sprinting so standard discs but red stuff pads. Full corner weighting and bespoke geo settings.
We are restricted as to what we can do but it should scale around 930 kilos with me in it (and I am over 100 kilos!) and today it felt bloody excellent!
K&N Race filter, new lightweight radiator, new leads and pipes but other than this is standard. Other cars have had full rebuild but at £2K I decided not to bother as it's my first season. See how it goes and then take a view.
Body:
Stripped out top to bottom, full safety devices FIA approved cage, Cobra Monaco seat, Momo steering wheel and quick release (fitted after the pictures above were taken as I was not sure if the wheel would be to close to me with it, which it wasn't). Carbon fibre insert with electrics cut offs, fire extinguisher and start button.
Suspension:
New lightweight exhaust, Avo dampers and full suspension replacement, new bushes and generally a rebuild. The car came from sprinting so standard discs but red stuff pads. Full corner weighting and bespoke geo settings.
We are restricted as to what we can do but it should scale around 930 kilos with me in it (and I am over 100 kilos!) and today it felt bloody excellent!
Testing went really well thanks, I just got back actually as I only did the morning session, but the car ran well bar a small water leak at the end of the session and running out of fuel as I coasted into the pits! The petrol station at Donington no longer seems to open so people were having to dive off to get petrol and I'm glad we filled some cans before we got there.
I spent time getting seat time really and running some different settings but I was running the same times as our other car at the end of the morning which is lighter and more powerful and with a much more experienced driver, so I have to be happy. Still more time to be found as some of my lines need work but looking at the telemetry the fundamentals are good. Need to book some time with Maxx now to get my lines better but happy as this is my first serious run since my early 20's. Looks like my first race will be Donington next month...
I spent time getting seat time really and running some different settings but I was running the same times as our other car at the end of the morning which is lighter and more powerful and with a much more experienced driver, so I have to be happy. Still more time to be found as some of my lines need work but looking at the telemetry the fundamentals are good. Need to book some time with Maxx now to get my lines better but happy as this is my first serious run since my early 20's. Looks like my first race will be Donington next month...
Well we need to take weight out of the car, we can see 15-20 kilos of weight loss from what we have done on the other cars so that will be something we do. Removing internals of bumpers, hinges on boots, insides of bodywork to name a few things and they all add up. I can also remove 10 kilos but that will be harder but at the end of the day we want to be on the limit not under it. My engine was pretty good on power today, I was following another car with our best engine in it and he probably made 3 yards at most down the back straight so I shan't be rushing to rebuild it. That engine was 139bhp so I suspect mine is around 120bhp but also that car was carrying less weight and both the drivers weigh as much as my shoes! There is no a lot you can do really as it's a budget championship and they try and restrict the big cheque book brigade.
There is no a lot you can do really as it's a budget championship and they try and restrict the big cheque book brigade.Thanks.
Car build with donor car is around 7K. A weekend racing is around £700 with our teams economies of scale (entry, fuel, tyres, support) and then you need to budget for around £2K for 'stuff'. If you bend it the stuff goes up but I can't afford a full season really so will be dipping in and out. Went to Donington last week for a shakedown and the first problem is my head above the roll cage so we need to work that problem and more than likely change my seat to something lower and knowing my luck, more expensive. Racing tomorrow at Rockingham but I am not out but might pop along.
Car build with donor car is around 7K. A weekend racing is around £700 with our teams economies of scale (entry, fuel, tyres, support) and then you need to budget for around £2K for 'stuff'. If you bend it the stuff goes up but I can't afford a full season really so will be dipping in and out. Went to Donington last week for a shakedown and the first problem is my head above the roll cage so we need to work that problem and more than likely change my seat to something lower and knowing my luck, more expensive. Racing tomorrow at Rockingham but I am not out but might pop along.
Thanks, can't believe my luck braking my ankle watching a motorace the weekend before I'm supposed to be having my first race in my new car. I am so ****** off I can't put it into words, really really gutted. I will review the options and find a new first race, I will be out later in the year!
Litte bit of an update for those interested. Leg is mending well, been out of plaster for a couple of weeks now and getting about as normal, though with care so that is good. Back in my own car for last week or so and clutch proving no problem so driving is good too.
I am now planning to enter the championship at Snetterton on the 200 layout on July 23/24 where we should have all 5 cars running! I was going to do Knockhill but we have all concluded it's simply too much of a jaunt to get up there really and Oulton next weekend is too soon for me as though I can drive easily getting in and out quickly is likely to be a problem and getting out is important at a track like Oulton where it can go very wrong.
I am also having the latest dampers fitted in the next few days, which have evolved after quite a bit of R&D and then the car will be fully corner weighted again and set up for me. After this I plan a few more track days and then get myself reading for Snetterton. There is also a 12 hour race at the end of this year, where we will be running, perhaps with 4 drivers per car so I will update on this when we have more information as I have an idea for this, but can't say to much (read anything) on that yet!
I am now planning to enter the championship at Snetterton on the 200 layout on July 23/24 where we should have all 5 cars running! I was going to do Knockhill but we have all concluded it's simply too much of a jaunt to get up there really and Oulton next weekend is too soon for me as though I can drive easily getting in and out quickly is likely to be a problem and getting out is important at a track like Oulton where it can go very wrong.
I am also having the latest dampers fitted in the next few days, which have evolved after quite a bit of R&D and then the car will be fully corner weighted again and set up for me. After this I plan a few more track days and then get myself reading for Snetterton. There is also a 12 hour race at the end of this year, where we will be running, perhaps with 4 drivers per car so I will update on this when we have more information as I have an idea for this, but can't say to much (read anything) on that yet!