[trackday_prep] Project 150

[RossD 44]

Cheers Anthony, good to hear you've seen similar issues before.

It wasnt the best oil, some Triple QX 10W40 semi synth from ECP I think.... And when drained it did come out like water!

[RossD 44]

Whilst I await the arrival of all the parts for an oil pressure gauge, I thought I'd whip the sump off and look at the condition of some of the bearings.

Pics below show Number 2 main bearing (The grooved one) and Number 2 big end.

They are about 6000miles old (pretty hard miles and a rolling road session) and whilst they dont look perfect they dont look too bad from my eye.

Anyone care to comment on the condition or wear patterns? The flash on my phone does pick out a lot of abnormalities that look much worse than viewing with the naked eye mind you.

The crank itself looks unmarked in every way. I didnt measure anything, but when the engine was built all bearing tolerances were in range when measure with plastigauge and the old bearings.

 

Number 2 main:

 

Number 2 big end:

Edited April 14, 2014 by RossD

[RossD 44]

I'm looking to take the car on a track day at some point this year, and knowing the induction / throttle bodies are rather loud, I took the car out with a mate yesterday and we did some drive-by noise tests using an app on my phone.

 

Brands Hatch is my local track and they have a 92dB drive by limit. (I'm not concerned by the static test, as the car is running a standard exhaust and is well under any static limits). After a 2 way drive by at full throttle, my car came out at a solid 95dB. So I've got to lose 3dB somehow...... I'm toying with the idea of some soundproofing on the underside of the bonnet and the bulkhead, as I think quite a bit of the noise is generated by the engine bay being like a sound box and amplifying a lot of the noise (Bit like an acoustic guitar works), so this is the first step.

 

I don't want to reduce the noise too much.... But enough so that I can get it out on track.

[welshpug 1,661]

gti's have a bonnet sound deadening sheet.

[rallyeash 155]

Induction noise on my 205 is super loud, and I've never been pulled on driveby noise and done lots of uk circuits!

 

How accurate do you think an app is? And how close were you testing?

Edited April 22, 2014 by rallyeash

[rallyeash 155]

An example of the induction noise on my 205.

[RossD 44]

The App isn't too bad to be honest - In my old job I worked for an audiology company so I could compare it to a proper calibrated noise meter, it varied from from zero error to 1dB error up to 100dB. We were testing at a distance of about 7 metres or so - I know the drive-by tests are usually done at about 20 metres or so so that might give us some leeway.

 

I'll check out your vids, cheers Ash.

 

WP: Yep, they did. base models missed out on this, so getting so thick closed cell foam on the underside of the bonnet and bulkhead may help a little!

 

Edit: Checked out the specs of my phone... The max is microphone can reliably record is 95db, hence the value we got, so i would hazard a guess that the actual value of the car is somewhat more!

Edited April 22, 2014 by RossD

[jackherer 543]

If you're worried about it buy my Reverie airbox from the for sale section

[RossD 44]

I think I'll try some soundproofing first thanks - I also don't think it would fit as I run a TU engine and the bodies face the bulkhead. The brake servo gets in the way!

[welshpug 1,661]

easy solution to that, take it off

 

I remember trying a Db app on my HTC, 85 Db at about 4k on DCC's 8 valve XU

[jackherer 543]

LHD reshell?

 

On a serious note while mine might be no use to you if you do have ongoing trouble you might want to consider something similar, it's surprising how much it reduces the sound level.

[RossD 44]

Indeed. I was looking at them in the not too distant past and also looked into making my own. However, I've now come to the conclusion that I will try sound deadening first and then take more drastic action, based on cost mainly!

 

One I looked at was the Pipercross PX600, but they are a lot of money for a thin, flimsy GRP box!

Edited April 22, 2014 by RossD

[jackherer 543]

That is a lot of money for GRP and aluminium, mine was very pricey but at least it is almost weightless!

[RossD 44]

A friend had an open day at his race prep firm (http://www.pgmsussex.com/) today, so I took the opputunity to cheekily ask if I could put the 205 on the scales. The 205 was the heaviest car of the day (Well it was the only non-Caterham!) but the weight, whilst not spectacularly light, isnt bad at all.

 

 

 

So 822kg with half a tank of fuel and a totally standard interior from the front seats forward, stripped in the back.

 

Weights are without driver, with me in the drivers seat they change to:

 

LF: 288.5

RF: 301.5

LR: 148.5

RR: 178

Total with driver: 917kg

So I think the best thing is for me to go on a bit of a diet!

Edited April 27, 2014 by RossD

[RossD 44]

Opened up the garage and took the old girl for a good blast around the rural Kent countryside yesterday - First time its been out for a couple of months now. I'm always dumbfounded how much sheer fun it is to drive this - the handling, the noise, the performance!

 

Slight update since the last few posts, I've fitted sound deadening to the underside of the bonnet which has drastically reduced the anti-socialness factor. Dont get me wrong, its still noisy as those big TB's sing as you open them up, but now a little more tolerable. (Cor, I must be getting old!). I've fitted a new oil pressure switch and Stack oil pressure gauge (Relocated the oil pressure switch with some copper brake pipe and adapter) to keep an eye on the oil pressure, which in reality is fine. The old pressure switch was obviously playing up.

 

I've got quite a few little bits and bobs to do over the summer before I attempt a track day, cold air feed to the TB's (Underbonnet temps were hovering around 50 deg C on my drive yesterday) oil cooler (Oil sits at around 100 Deg C on a cross country drive, so I figure track work might tip it over the edge), but at the moment I'm just enjoying it.

[jackherer 543]

Did you put any coils/loops in the copper pipe?

[RossD 44]

What, to counter vibration to stop the pipe fracturing? No need, the other end is also attached to the engine and not the bodyshell and so vibration shouldn't be an issue. The take-off for the pressure gauge then uses the flexible nylon pipe from the point on the cylinder head where I have relocated the pressure switch and gauge take-off point.

 

Pic below shows the electronic sender for the standard GTi dash, before I installed the proper Stack gauge

 

 

​

Edited July 18, 2014 by RossD

[jackherer 543]

Ah OK, yes that's what I meant but I was picturing them further away!

 

I'm thinking of doing something similar (but more remote) with mine because the SPA senders I'm using are ~£100 to replace and reportedly can be sensitive to vibrations.

[tomcolinjones 26]

fantastic thread! Pleasure to read.

[RossD 44]

Well I haven't updated this in a while - Lots of little bits have been done on the 205 to keep it reliable. I've been tidying up some wiring, replacing some of the original connectors under the bonnet with AMP Superseal waterproof connectors.

 

One quite big improvement was the addition of a 22mm rear ARB. This was from a Saxo, so the bar itself is slightly shorter than the 205 one, by about 14mm. Using some spacers and 306 end-plates, I got the bar to fit. Time will tell how reliable this is (As the splines aren't fully engaged) but its been fine so far!

 

And now the big (for me) update. I always had track days in mind when building this car but I've never done one in it. Until now. I signed up to a novice day at Brands Hatch and what a great day it was. The car was fantastic - its far more capable than I am at the moment (But I'll work on that!) and its just sensational to drive. Had one hairy moment where I took a tight line into Paddock Hill bend to leave room for a faster car.... And in the damp conditions the rear overtook the front.

 

http://youtu.be/XWbLCYItf3k - Oversteer off at about 8m30s

 

Certainly not the fastest but the 205 held up fine. Oil at about 115 degrees all day and the water never went over 85 degrees. Once I'd got to grips with the rear end I could use it to my advantage. Otherwise, no understeer, just lovely neutral handling and the rear end getting twitchy using the brakes if required.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzIxj6_PFBw

 

 

Oh.... And no noise issues :D

Edited March 6, 2015 by RossD

[RossD 44]

So, I've decided on a future direction of the constant evolution of the car.

 

I'll leave this little picture here, as a clue as to what's happening next in the not too distant future (Probably 2016). For the time being, I'm going to enjoy the current setup!

 

 

Any guesses?

Edited July 31, 2015 by RossD

[Anthony 1,003]

Going for an EW engine?

[RossD 44]

Yep. Will start with the EW10J4S on standard induction and cams with my Emerald running it. Will then look to get cams and TB's at a later date.

[RossD 44]

Well I found a GTi 180 engine and gearbox on ebay for the grand sum of £180 a couple of weeks ago. The guy I bought it from near Aldershot, is putting a V6 in his 206. Crazy!

Went and picked it up - it all fitted in the boot of the 406 - I'm surprised how light the engine seems to be. Before I strip it down, I'm cleaning all the outside surfaces - Nothing worse than stripping a filthy engine.

 

 

 

More to follow....

Edited August 29, 2015 by RossD

[RossD 44]

Excuse the size.... Onedrive isnt very good at embedding images into forums...

 

The engine....