Are these any good?

[bluezak]

ok so my first autograss season is over and finished 3rd in my championship

Some quick cars have just joined the group and at the end of the straights (440 yard oval) I have the edge but lack the acceleration out of the corners they have so am locking the diff for sure now so I can put the power down but got a few other things I want to try.

My puma is a 1.7 standard off the road puma just with lowering springs. Basically I am doing a few upgrades and wondered if people thought they are ones that would work for handling and acceleration - max speed is about 50mph in second (gearbox has lasted a whole season)

1) adjustable coilover suspension, this way I can make the car lean certain ways I thought as well as heightening it when its wet and bumpy.
2) 4 bar fuel pressure regulator.
3) Kevlar and stainless steel HT leads.
4) Iridium spark plugs (think these work well as my dad put them on his)
5) 4-2-1 exhaust manifold (removing the cat in the process too )

also a few free bits like cambering the O/S/F wheel and removing the power steering and air con.

Without going for a new ECU or remap, any other tips?

 

[oilburner]

Are you allowed to change gearboxes? As an Escort RS Turbo box will fit and it has a LSD fitted

 

[bluezak]

yeah we are, looking for one on ebay. Basically the mods are unlimited just not allowed nitrous.

 

[grayfox]

From that list Coilovers will help most I think, I had Iridium plugs, no difference imo, as with any mod on n/a cars they normally are only worth it when couple with other mods, exhausts not a bad thing to do, esp removing the cat, get you around 10bhp more, HT Leads are a waste of money imo, just get some new ford ones and get a new ford coilpack while your at it! Im sure you've stripped everything out you can, fitted full strut braces and poly bushes? after that track tyres and Id say your good to go. To get you between 140-150bhp and you've got about a grand to spare after that - add FRP cams, map and inlet or lightening motorsport equivalent.

 

[bluezak]

so that should max out the performance then? Its been a quick little car just lacking a bit in out of the corner speed, the track is egg shape so one wide fast corner and the other feels like a hairpin to go around and its out of that corner that the puma struggles. Will get rid of the backbox too and just keep the mid silencer that's on there at the moment. Failing that, if its still not fast enough might convert it to RWD the year after! haha. Even with these mods I think it in total will have cost me £1200 including the car and rollcage, internal fuel tank, bucket seat and safety switches! Thanks for the tips

 

[yippeekiay]

I know it may sound daft at first but why not reduce the size of your wheel/tyre diameter. i.e. smaller wheels or lower profile tyre. I'm guessing you don't need the top speed possible of the car by a long way so acceleration is what your looking for. Reducing the rolling circumference of your wheels/tyres will increase acceleration. Either that or change the gear ratios in the gearbox.

 

[bluezak]

Did use low profiles at the beginning of the year, people running 13" wheels tend to use 65mm tyres and I was running 15" with 45mm walls and it works out as virtually the same diameter in total, but they were popping off the rims on the corners, the camber should sort that for next year as was always the O/S/F wheel that they popped off. Will look for some deepdish 14" wheels later in the winter as that should help I think. Not sure the 13's would be too good on the puma but open to ideas and suggestions.

 

[bluezak]

oh also when I fit the 4-2-1, do I have to do anything to the ECU or with sensors or are they not in the first bit anyway?

 

[PumaJay]

What you've listed is a good way to impove the car, try not to do too much at once so you feel what is working best.

FYI... Tyre wall is not measured in mm it's a percentage of the width so a 195/50/15 is 195mm and the tyre wall is 50% of 195mm

 

[d170sam]

I tried iridium plugs and posh Leeds on mine, waste of money, no difference at all, just stick with good quality standard ones!

 

[bluezak]

What you've listed is a good way to impove the car, try not to do too much at once so you feel what is working best.

FYI... Tyre wall is not measured in mm it's a percentage of the width so a 195/50/15 is 195mm and the tyre wall is 50% of 195mm

Thankyou. I just assumed it was all mm. etc.

 

[Blue3]

Frp gearbox with lsd on ebay, they have better ratios so should help with acceleration currently £150


Other best thing you can do is loose weight, cut out door and boot inner skins and drill holes in anything that isn't structural, beyond that frp or lms cams
Simon

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Frp gearbox with lsd on ebay, they have better ratios so should help with acceleration currently £150

Simon... LOL

 

[Noobrider]

4-2-1 manifold makes a huge difference to acceleration, engine revs more freely, plugs and leads will help slightly but not noticeably. A lightened flywheel will give you a big improvement in acceleration, maybe look into fiesta gearboxes from low cc cars as they tend to have lower ratios wich also increase acceleration