[am2050]

Cheers Kenny.
Fingers crossed for next weekend.

 

[am2050]

The event started with problems on the Friday night when the new 15" wheels that we'd organised to collect from the event wouldn't go on the car because, as it turned out, they were fowling on the group A wheel studs at the front and the VW hubs and group A studs at the back. Never been a problem with any other wheels but was with these and we'd not fetched enough of the old 14s to do the event on so up whilst 00.30 reaming the holes out so they'd fit. Just what you want to be doing with new wheels and only 5 1/2 hours until you need to be up for a days rallying.
Anyway, got the wheels on the car and started the event.

In the first two stages we had absolutely no grip, car was massively over steering into corners with no lateral stability on the straights and the windows were completely misted up. Despite this we were in 3rd, a few seconds behind 2nd.
After stage 2 it was into management and we ditched the 15"s and went back to 14"s which had a more open tread.
Stage 3 and 4 went much better and we continued to trade times for 2nd/3rd place. Stage 4 felt like we were really on it but we still lost 17 seconds over 7 miles to 1st place Julian Wilkes.
Going into stage 4 we were confident and it felt good but lateral stability was still a problem. About 1 1/2 miles into the stage on a series of downhill 2L and 2R (flat in 4th) we hit something with the rear o/s wheel. Don't know what it was but it smashed the wheel, bent the stub axle and tore the weld between the trailing arm and the beam.

We tried to drive out of the stage on the spare but with 7miles of it left to go the wheel was wedged against the damper and arch and kept locking up so we parked it up.
Rally over and championship points missed out on. The guy we were battling with wasn't registered for points either. :face:


Before we retired:

 

[angusl2006]

Sorry to hear, saw you on stage 1, you were going well, nice and tidy!

That nova of julian wilks is aserious piece of kit!!

 

[Rallycorsa]

That's a bugger but it will fix just need to get some suspension sorted

 

[Gordo]

It's actually lucky it didn't catch the wheel in line witht he spoke - that would have transferred a lot more force to the rest of the suspension and chassis.
It's why I think some of the WRC rally teams seem too concerned with wheel strength and rigidity as a bent or broken wheel from clipping a rock would be a much better option than a bent or broken suspension which would put the car out of the rally - especially as now the rally organiser sets whether the car can continue the next day, after repair!

 

[Gordo]

It's actually lucky it didn't catch the wheel in line witht he spoke - that would have transferred a lot more force to the rest of the suspension and chassis.
It's why I think some of the WRC rally teams seem too concerned with wheel strength and rigidity as a bent or broken wheel from clipping a rock would be a much better option than a bent or broken suspension which would put the car out of the rally - especially as now the rally organiser sets whether the car can continue the next day, after repair!

 

[am2050]

Sorry to hear, saw you on stage 1, you were going well, nice and tidy!

That nova of julian wilks is aserious piece of kit!!

Thanks, didn't feel tidy! It's not just the car, he knows how to drive it.
Watching his in-car it's like he's on different stages to us; smooth and contolled. If we can get some stability and predictability into the car and our confidence back we'll get that bit closer to him.

Rallycorsa

Re: Corsa Rally Car
That's a bugger but it will fix just need to get some suspension sorted​

Yeah, could've been a lot worse. Rear damper is bent and seized so will have to get some new suspension sorted now. Not entirely convinced Reigers are the way forward, might have to find a different solution...
What bushes are you running on the rear beam, I take it everything is solid on your front end?

Gordo

Re: Corsa Rally Car
It's actually lucky it didn't catch the wheel in line witht he spoke - that would have transferred a lot more force to the rest of the suspension and chassis.
It's why I think some of the WRC rally teams seem too concerned with wheel strength and rigidity as a bent or broken wheel from clipping a rock would be a much better option than a bent or broken suspension which would put the car out of the rally - especially as now the rally organiser sets whether the car can continue the next day, after repair!​

Lucky it wasn't the new wheels too!

 

[am2050]

Been busy so not had chance to update recently.

Following the handling issues on the MW rally we got some new suspension sorted.
Had been looking at 3way adjustable dampers, in particular Ohlins, but the initial cost, setup issues and required servicing intervals put us off for now so we opted for a new set of Bilsteins which we can literally fit and forget.
We sent our existing front inserts off along with a new set of rears to get re-valved to make them softer.
We also got some casings made for the front which take a 14" spring and have slots in the bottom hole which have seats take a proper camber washer, rather than just welding one in place for the adjustment.

The front springs were off the shelf but we had some rears made so we could get them a bit longer and softer.

The next event after the MW was the Sommerset Stages back in April.
After the first stage we were in 2nd place but coming out of the stage the gearbox had devloped a knocking.
We decided to carry on and were still in 2nd going into the 3rd stage but unfortunately we lost drive a couple of miles in. Turned out to be the pinion gear that had stripped.

Long way to go for no more than a few miles but on the upside the car felt good.

We always knew the F15 would be a weak point using it with this engine, plus we've used it a bit and it came second hand to us so we had always planned to change to an F20.
We got a new F20 syncro kit from Quaife and built up a cluster using some F20 donor boxes. We also needed a new diff and following advice decided on a Gripper plated diff.
The clutch also needed a new hub to take the different input shaft so the old plate was sent back to Superclutch for a hub change but they came back saying the plate was supposedly showing signs of fatigue and had micro fractures and wasn't suitable. Hard to believe after less than 60 stage miles.
We also had to mess about with the release mechanism because the existing release bearing and carrier wouldn't fit over an F20 nose. In the end we ended up buying a nose from Hockleys that takes the F20 oil seal at the seat but the nose is the same size as an F15 at the end. Still had to reduce the length of the bearing carrier though to compensate for the depth of the oil seal.
After some buggering about we got it to fit and work, albeit there is a fair bit of drag between the nose and carrier.
Also had fun with mounts and linkages. We made a new front mount to start with but after struggling with gear selection bought a Hockley mount too, which was a good thing because the mount we made had the box around an inch too far back.
Didn't end up spacing the rear mount off the gear box but had to alter the selector linkage a fair bit to get the gears but it's perfect every time now.

Got it all back together and working for the Nicky Grist Stages (used to be Quinton Rally) last week. This is up there as the best forest rally of the year, many of the stages are used on Rally GB. Super smooth and fast.
Things started off really well, with us tied for 2nd place up until the 4th stage when we started struggling for gears. We adjusted the cable and had to space it off the box which gave us the gears back.
5th stage was going well but halfway through we lost the clutch completely which turned out to be the plastic lug at the top of the pedal shearing off.

3rd event in a row and 3rd time left spectating.


Some in car from the last event:

Nicky Grist Stages 2012 Dave Bennett SS2 Crychan - YouTube

 

[big e]

Very unlucky to say the least, but great work on getting the f20 to fit to the small block 1600..

 

[am2050]

Broken plastic on the top of the pedal that allowed the cable to pull through:

We couldn't get the cable to hold again to even allow us to make it out of the stage.
The setup is a bit poor really. We're not sure if we unseated the end of the cable at the pedal end whilst fitting the f20 box, allowing it to pull through over time, or the increased pressure required to operate the 7 1/4 race clutch is too much for the pedal.

I understand there are other types of pedals and cables on a Corsa, has anyone got any info on them (what they're like/pictures, what model they are fitted to)? They're maybe a more suitable alternative without having to start making one.

 

[novarallycar]

The early mk1 corsa take a similar cable to the nova. The pedal doesn't have any plastic on it at all, the cable end is a metal 'hook' that located into a hole in the top of the pedal and held in place by a spring. Def a stronger setup.

 

[kennybarbour]

sorry to hear about all the problems, but its a new car, some of these things are to be expected i suppose...

i picked up on you saying you didnt space the rear gearbox mount, but did you modify the mount to utilise the 3 mounting points on the f20? if not, do it! several people have had the mounts shear away when only using the 2 (as per f13/15)

new suspension looks very nice, who did the work on them? and please keep us up to date with how you get on with the gripper, as thats what ive got in my new F13, handily it also came with a box full of parts, crosspins, pins and plates etc

 

[am2050]

We started off with the spacer but it created more problems than it solved. We've picked up the 3 holes yes, heard that they shear off sometimes.

Biggest problem we had (still have) is the release bearing. Because we're using a race clutch we can't use a standard bearing and need to use a round nose bearing that mounts on a carrier that then slides up and down the nose. Round nose bearings seem to be available in very limited sizes only so getting one to suit the nose and clutch isn't possible. We ended up having to get a nose from Hockley that has an F20 mount and oil seal so it fitted the box but then reduces in diameter to that of an F15 nose, that way the bearing that is required for a 7 1/4" clutch will fit. The problem we now have is that we have a steel nose with a steel carrier sliding up and down it which creates a supprising amount of drag, too much really. After the last (half) event scoring has already occured and the release mechanism doesn't dissengage brilliantly and the bearing continues to sit on the clutch. Also the drag can't help with the already increased stress on the pedal.
Hockleys do a brass carrier but not sure whether this will be the correct length to suit the depth of the Superclutch pack, and also there isn't any tabs or flats for the clutch fork to stop it spinning.
Thought about tapping a grease nipple in to the carrier so that we could lubricate it but it'll just fill with clutch dust and no doubt cover the clutch in grease. Been looking at getting them electro plated with an anti friction coating.
Don't really want the hassle of going hydraulic, another thing to go wrong. Do like the look of this electric acutator though:

Would free up the left foot for braking.:lmao:


The Gripper has performed really well over the bit it's been used. It wasn't as snatchy as the ZF or or Tranx could be. Post-purchase they were helpful too on the phone regarding oil reccomendation.
Gripper also said that they will stand any parts if anything goes on it which gives some confidence with it (other than if we wear plates out when we drive 10miles out of a stage on 1 shaft!)


The were made by RIX engineering, and the springs and dampers were sorted out for us by MND Motorsport. Car feels a lot softer over the bumps, well worth it. Just a shame you can't get them with the sized valves you want straight from Bilstein.

 

[am2050]

The early mk1 corsa take a similar cable to the nova. The pedal doesn't have any plastic on it at all, the cable end is a metal 'hook' that located into a hole in the top of the pedal and held in place by a spring. Def a stronger setup.

Cheers for that. Going to have a look at what we can get hold of.

 

[Gordo]

You may be able to fabricate a metal replacement for the plastic - you could use a piece of bundy tubing cut in half and curved for the guide, perhaps?

 

[am2050]

Did our first event for a while at the weekend, competing in the Clubmans section of the Trackrod Yorkshire Rally.

Day started off well with us setting 10th overall fastest time on stage 1 but the clutch gremlins returned on stage 2, with us loosing well over 20 seconds trying to get a gear (syncro box) then whatever the problem cost us through the rest of the stage. Managed to make it along the raod section to service but busy traffic was interesting with no clutch.
Problem seemed to be the release bearing carrier not moving on the nose which we addressed with some oil at the 30min service to lubricate it.
Got through the 3rd stage but struggling to get gears again by the end of the 14miles. Short run back to service along forest roads but this service was short with only 12minutes allowed. Crew did an amazing job of dropping the sump guard off, removing the plate off the bell housing, oiling up the nose again and putting it all back together, plus the other usual service bits (spanner check, tyres, fuel etc.)
Got through the 4th 15mile stage and managed to finish.

Good to be out again and despite the problems we got a good result; 1st in class, 12th overall and only 1.8 seconds off being in the top 10 and the 1st 2wd car.
Also the stage times would have put us at the front end of the BRC Challenge field.

Some in-car of stage 1, Gale Rigg:

Trackrod clubmans 2012 Gale Rigg - Dave Bennett & Al McNeil - YouTube


Next event (hopefully) will be Malton Stages but first we need to get the nose and carrier sorted with some form of anti friction coating.

 

[st3vo]

sounds awesome on that last video!!! good result too man!! but lucky to get to the end by the sounds of it, whens the next event?

 

[am2050]

Malton Stages are 4th November. Another local event using similar stages to the Trackrod but unfortunately they use a lot of man made chicanes to keep the average speed down.
Hopefully we should have the clutch issue sorted for it so we can have a good run. Last time on this event we were leading our class in a standard corsa but the gearbox let go on the 2nd to last stage (I think) so just to finish will be an improvement.

 

[am2050]

Three weekends ago was the Malton Stages. We were seeded 1st in class and were looking forward to a good event which used similar stages to the trackrod a month previous. This is from the first stage.

Pictured shortly afterwards facing the wrong way up the stage:

Coming around a 3 right we cut the inside of the corner but unfortunatley there were 3 big ruts, the car just about rode the first two but the 3rd pitched the back end around 180deg and we slid down the stage until we hit a small bank and rolled over into a tree.
The damage wasn't too bad, luckily the tree stopped us rolling over more than once but it's done the bonnet, windscreen, both front wings, n/s rear quarter, roof and n/s front inner wing/leg. On the positive side we were both ok and from watching the in-car back, when the car stops rolling it's 1min10secs before the next car passes (2nd seed in our class) so were at least we were on them by 10secs

So the last two weekends have been spent fixing:

They came off ok, the roof was only stuck on with sikaflex anyway from when we changed the original roof skin because of the sunroof and the rear 1/4 unstitched ok, just a bit of a pain drilling spot welds.
We'd bought a new lower 1/4 panel and got a roof and pillars from a local breakers which had been cut off.
Spent a bit of time lining stuff up and unpicking seams and cutting where we wanted to join up. We've joggled the laps of the new and old panels so we get a smooth joint where they meet.

And then trial fitted it all for line. Used cleko fasteners to holed it all together before welding.

Checked it with the tail light and boot fitted and it all seamed to line up ok so set about set about welding it all back together.
The roof skin was stuck on with sikaflex again and we used a spot welder for the 1/4 panel.

Also made a start on the front leg:

Hoping to get the front sorted and it all painted ready for the Grizedale Stages in 2weeks.....

 

[kennybarbour]

absolutely gutted to see it damaged, but on the other hand very good to see youre grabbing the bull by the horns and getting on with repairing it! 10 out of 10 for effort!

cage triangulation looks very bent, hope its not moved the whole leg