Frozen Motorsport Ford Puma Cup Car 01

[Flying Scotsman]

With the arrival of the Ford Puma Millennium #300, the construction of the car for the 2014 Dunlop Ford Puma Cup will begin this month hopefully culminating in its completion in February.

For December we are looking at creating as much weight reduction as possible with the aim to removing about 180-190kg.
The running gear will receive new components along with the regulatory Ford Puma Cup suspension built by GAZ and a tidy up of service items in the engine bay.

January will see the car going to EMC Motorsport in Birmingham to have the multipoint CDS Custom Cages roll cage installed along with a painting of the interior and the seat to be installed, and looking to Chris Birkbeck Rally School for the construction of a custom S1600 competition seat.

February will see the last of the components to be fitted as to what finances may stretch to.


Regulatory Components

MSA Approved CDS Multipoint Roll Cage Procurred
GAZ Gold Ford Puma Cup Suspension Procurred
Ford Puma Cup Powerflex Rear Bushes Procurred
Ford Puma CUP Exhaust Manifold Procurred
Dunlop Direzza DZ03G R1 Compound 195/50/15 Tyres Procurred
Superchips Regulated MappingProcurred

Essential Components

New 239mm Front Brake Discs Procurred
New Ford Spark Plugs Procurred
New Front Brake Pads Procurred
FIA Approved 6 Point 3" Harness Procurred
Fire Extinguishers - Plumbed In Procurred
Steering Wheel Procurred
Steering Wheel Hub Adaptor Procurred
Racing Window Nets Procurred
Bonnet Pins Procurred
Tailgate Springs Procurred
20.5mm Rear Axle Spacers Procurred

Stage 3 Components

Mud Flaps Procurred
Oil Cooler Procurred
Silicon Coolant Hoses Procurred
MSA Approved Rainlight Procurred
FIA Approved Battery Cut Offs
FIA Approved Battery Box
Air Feeds Procurred
FIA Approved Cobra Suzuka Pro Seat Procurred
Front Upper Strut Brace Procurred
Front Lower Strut Brace Procurred
Braided Brake Lines Procurred
Uprated Brake Fluid Procurred
FoMoCo Oil Filter Procurred
Motorcraft Fuel Filter Procurred
RAMAIR Air Filter Procurred
Oil Change
Magnetic Sump Plug Procurred
New Clutch & Slave Cylinder
New Gearbox Oil
New Coilpack
New Ignition Leads
New Wishbones Procurred
New Droplinks Procurred
New Aero Wiper Blades Procurred
New Brake Pipes
Adapted Front Hubs Procurred
10mm Front Wheel Spacers Procurred
LED Running Lights
Vinyl Graphics Procurred
Roll Cage Padding
Door Cards
Inner Door Pulls Procurred
GRP Bonnet
New Radiator Procurred

Below are some photos on its day of arrival, and with just a small patch of rust which will get rectified this month, she is an absolute beauty!

 

[RyanG]

Looks like a perfect car to start with, again best of luck with it.

Im suprised your going with the 240mm discs over the 260mm option even though the weight has to be increased.
Are brake pads optional this might be one of the only areas you can get an advantage over the other competitiors.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Looks like a perfect car to start with, again best of luck with it.

Im suprised your going with the 240mm discs over the 260mm option even though the weight has to be increased.
Are brake pads optional this might be one of the only areas you can get an advantage over the other competitiors.

Yeah, we felt the weight reduction outweighed the 19mm.
And yes, brake pads are free so any suggestions?

 

[RyanG]

I can see the way your thinking weight wise but i personally would want the larger discs especially when all your overtaking is gonna be done on the brakes with the cars being so evenly matched.

Not sure what pads are available you will have to look in to it and read reviews, i know you can have pads backed with compounds of your choice from different manufacturers

 

[Andrew Hebron]

Hi Mac - looks like an exciting project, especially as it has a firm deadline attached! As it's a single make championship, the hardest things to get right (i.e. the biggest differentiators) will be:

1. the nut behind the wheel (but there's not much you can do about that...!)
2. suspension set-up
3. engine

Not sure what latitude you have for (2) apart from tracking etc - e.g. are springs free? That's going to be a minefield but an opportunity if you get it right.

A quick glance over your list and I noticed that it doesn't include an engine rebuild? Also, I'm not sure why you need a battery box as you'd only need that if you were moving the battery from the engine bay and, as it's a FWD car, that seems counter-intuitive.

A thought on weight saving: can you use polycarbonate windows? Probably not, but it weighs about half of what glass does so that would save 10~20KG.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Not sure what latitude you have for (2) apart from tracking etc - e.g. are springs free? That's going to be a minefield but an opportunity if you get it right.

The suspension is a controlled regulated component. This stops people spending £20,000 on suspension and endless testing to set it up perfectly to gain advantage, so GAZ are making specific suspension for the championship, so to that end, springs are not free.

A quick glance over your list and I noticed that it doesn't include an engine rebuild? Also, I'm not sure why you need a battery box as you'd only need that if you were moving the battery from the engine bay and, as it's a FWD car, that seems counter-intuitive.

Yes it is a foul up in the list itself but the engine will have a rebuild of all gaskets and seal etc, but with no modification to the engine itself, just the removal of non essential items like the AC compressor for example.
The repositioning of the battery is still yet to be fully decided. There are many theories behind it and amongst them, driver weight offset, no added rear downforce allowed. But the car will be corner weighed so if we need to redistribute weight then that may be one component to move.

A thought on weight saving: can you use polycarbonate windows? Probably not, but it weighs about half of what glass does so that would save 10~20KG.
I have asked to use Lexan windows like my other Puma has but unfortunately it is not permitted.

 

[lusid666]

Just a thought and I dont know if it will be of any help in this project but years ago when I used to run a class 1 autograss mini we used to remove the alternator to free up a bit more HP from the engine. we just made sure the battery was fully charged before each event and carried a spare in the tow car that was linked into the tow car via a caravan dual charge relay.
As I said it might not work and/or be allowed for what your doing but if you can do it you could free up an extra 3 to 5 bhp by not driving the alternator.

Good luck with the car and I hope you kick a$$ out there

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Thanks for that. It has been thought about and suggested, and to be honest im not sure how it would stand up against the regulations, but it is a good idea indeed.

 

[Andrew Hebron]

The repositioning of the battery is still yet to be fully decided. There are many theories behind it and amongst them, driver weight offset, no added rear downforce allowed. But the car will be corner weighed so if we need to redistribute weight then that may be one component to move.

Corner weighing makes sense. Maybe - as the engine and driver are both on the same side of the car - you'll find the battery is already in the optimal place unless (here's a thought) you get a LHD car! I guess the plumbed in extinguisher will end up in the passenger footwell for the same reason.

Mac, if spring lengths and rates are pre-determined, can you do me a favour and find out what they are when you order the kit? I'd be very interested to compare to what I have. Thanks.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Corner weighing makes sense. Maybe - as the engine and driver are both on the same side of the car - you'll find the battery is already in the optimal place unless (here's a thought) you get a LHD car! Unlikely lol I guess the plumbed in extinguisher will end up in the passenger footwell for the same reason. That's the plan.

Mac, if spring lengths and rates are pre-determined, can you do me a favour and find out what they are when you order the kit? I'd be very interested to compare to what I have. Thanks. Of course. I should be ordering it tomorrow.

 

[warrenpenalver]

Are the technical regulations out there???

I know youve mentioned youre not allowed to change the shape of the panels, hence ruling out frp kits etc, but you also have on your list the grp bonnet so is there anything to stop you systematically replacing most the body work with lighter stuff?? Or is there a minimum weight??

 

[Ian G]

There's a minimum weight, which is allowed to be less on the smaller brakes.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Yes Warren the technical regulations are 'out there'.
No panels may be altered with the exception to the bonnet which can be a lighter material.

 

[warrenpenalver]

might be interesting just how much you can mutilate a puma shell to get it light. Then replace with handling optimised ballast.

 

[warrenpenalver]

you got a link to the official regs in full???

 

[crystalpuma]

It's on pumapeople, easy to find via google I'm sure

If only I hadn't bought a house! Good luck Mac! Btw...'01' suggests there may be an '02'...?

 

[johnny h]

Is the Gaz Gold suspension different to the off the shelf puma Gaz Gold?

Also is it offered at a lower price? and is it available to purchase if you are not entering the race series?

The reason for asking is that I was looking at buying these for my puma rally car project - my budget will not stretch to Proflex unfortunately!

Not sure where you are sourcing your parts from but I found http://www.jjcraceandrally.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; quite competitive for many parts - just bought their branded plumbed in / handheld extinguisher for a good price. I have also negotiated a 10% discount for parts from Demons previously too.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

It's on pumapeople, easy to find via google I'm sure Also find it on http://www.frozenmotorsport.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; in the Puma Cup section

If only I hadn't bought a house! Good luck Mac! Btw...'01' suggests there may be an '02'...?You are indeed correct. There may also be a 03, 04 and 05

Is the Gaz Gold suspension different to the off the shelf puma Gaz Gold?

Also is it offered at a lower price? and is it available to purchase if you are not entering the race series?

The reason for asking is that I was looking at buying these for my puma rally car project - my budget will not stretch to Proflex unfortunately! The GAZ Gold are being specifically build for the Puma cup and are not off the shelf models. I ordered mine yesterday and will take two weeks to be constructed and delivered. With regards to the prices being different, I don't know what the off shelf for GG are but I do believe that we have a discount with them for Puma Cup purposes. Again on the side of buying them for other purposes, I have not needed to approach this, but I'd say give them a call. I assume you're only looking to do Tarmac rallying which is great, stage rallying you should be looking at proflex or b16 bilstein.

Not sure where you are sourcing your parts from but I found http://www.jjcraceandrally.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; quite competitive for many parts - just bought their branded plumbed in / handheld extinguisher for a good price. I have also negotiated a 10% discount for parts from Demons previously too. I have used JJC for many things and will continue to for their good deals on components.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

you got a link to the official regs in full???

http://www.frozenmotorsport.co.uk/ford-puma-cup/regulations/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

might be interesting just how much you can mutilate a puma shell to get it light. Then replace with handling optimised ballast.

I will start chopping off little bits from the car once I get home, but we will be looking to get it corner weighed and then ballast if required.

 

[crystalpuma]

There may also be a 03, 04 and 05

Blimey!