My Puma.. Maximum Track Attack!!

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Finally got some photo's to post from my recent track day at Rockingham, car ran faultlessly all day which is all I ask for. Couple of small issue's to sort out now through ready for the next one, I think the lambda sensor is failing and possibly the exhaust has cracked. Will be getting the car up on the axle stands this weekend to take a look.

Also need to change the HCV as its stuck on full hot, luckily I have a spare in the garage and I'l also replace the coolant for some Motul G13 while I'm at it.

Anyway... some pictures

IMG_9566 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

IMG_7752 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

IMG_7305 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

IMG_9527 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

In other news I've got a new set of wheels coming for the car, I've gone for a 17x7.5 Protrack One, these are a new German wheel manufacturer and the wheels are very high quality and very light compared to the rivals.

I expecting a few issues going up a 17" rim but it's required to fit the new brakes I have planned. My only concern is how it will effect the feel of the car, I've done every track day on a 15" wheel and tyre!

New wheels...

aktuell_news_one.jpg
 
Finally had a day of being able to do some work on the car over the weekends. I've had a few jobs that have needed to be done for a little while now so it was good to finally make a start on them.

First up was to replace the HCV, hasn't work for over a year now so I swapped it out for a genuine Ford one..... This this is now my 4th one on the 10 years of owning the car.

Old one off the car
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

you can just seen inside that it looks like a seal has failed and turned over on itself which is why I assume its broken.
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

New one fitted up, I still need to bleed the coolant system but I'l get round to that next time.
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

Car has had a running issue for a while as well and its very noticeable on track days, below 4k its lumpy and can bog down a bit, I though I had cured this with a new MAF but after pulling the lambda sensor off it looks like this could be the cause, I've already got a new one in the garage but I need to have the wiring extended on it, something which will be done in the next day or two so I can refit it and test the car.
Old loom has melted through where its made contact with the manifold, I'l look into ways in which I can protect it better from the heat.
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

Oh... and I'm still finding bits of gravel trap from Rockingham!
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr
 
Starting to make some progress to get the car ready for its next track outing at Blyton Park on June 4th. I picked up on a few issues last time out at Rockingham.

The biggest change is also a visual on. I've moved away from the 15" OZ Superleggera's and now gone to a 17" Pro Track One wheel tyre, again with Nankang AR1 tyres. The wheels are part of promotional campaign I'm running via #TrackAddict for Pro Track to help raise their profile in the UK.
Slightly concerned about how the car will perform on bigger wheels and if the increase in unsprung weight will have a impact on the handling. However, the wheels I'm now going to running are 17 x 7.5 and weigh in at just 7.5kg so they are very light. I'm going to do a comparison of wheel & tyre against the 15's currently on the car.

The lower sidewall will also be something to contend with, its going to ride much harder so new adjustable suspension is on the shopping list and with limited options its going to be Gaz Gold's. I just need to save a few more £££'s before I can order these.

Anyway.... Last night I spent some time down at my friends garage getting the tyres on the wheels.

DSC_0634 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0639 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0635 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0645 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0647 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0641 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0643 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC_0644 by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

I'm so happy with how they look, I've stacked them back in the garage at home now and if I get a spare hour over the weekend I'l be getting them fitted to the car along with doing a few other bits.

Also waiting on a few parts to sorted/repaired, I cracked the welds on the exhaust centre section again where it meets the manifold so I've sent that away to Shuband Autoworks in Sheffield for him to add a flexi pipe in. Hopefully that should stop it cracking..... a problem I've only really had since fitting the Vibratechnics engine mounts.

Got a friend of mine to also extend the wiring in a new lambda sensor which is now fully heat proofed and ready to go back on the car.

Lots of little bits to do!!
 
Wild E. Coyote said:
[post]369102[/post] Really nice wheels! My only objection is that your friend hasn't used the plastic holders to protect the wheels from scratching while putting on the tyres...


Haha... they worn out a long time ago!! plus its on a part of the wheel no one will ever see so I'm not that precious about them.
 
So.... another track day done and what a day it was. Was the first time ive done a track day on anything that 15" wheels and I was slightly worried about how it would feel on 17's. I also had to roll the front arches to allow the bigger wheels and tyres to fit and to stop them rubbing.

The car felt perfect on the bigger wheels and tyres, it felt like it had more grip and better turn in. It was a little bit looser at the rear when carry a lot of apex speed but thats just good fun!!

The day wasnt without a few dramas. Turns out that the arch liners wont stay in once the arch has been rolled and they kept dropping down and rubbing on the tyre... easy fix, just took them out. Had a major incident in the afternoon though, my brother was out in the car and along the back straight as he braked for the chicane the pedal went to the floor. Turns out one of the copper lines had split and fluid had been leaking. No way of fixing the car at the circuit so I had to get a friend to come and rescue me!

Anyway a few pictures....

DSC05377_large by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC04984_large by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC04985_large by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

DSC05350_large by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

And the car being loaded up....

Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/26wC3DM by Jay Hardy, on Flickr
 
That's really surprising it felt better on the 17's, thought I read it wrong first time round. Did you keep the front spacers in? Only prob with 17's is they definitely look too big for the size of the car but if is felt better that's more important obviously.
 
grayfox said:
[post]369398[/post] That's really surprising it felt better on the 17's, thought I read it wrong first time round. Did you keep the front spacers in? Only prob with 17's is they definitely look too big for the size of the car but if is felt better that's more important obviously.

Well it didn't feel any worse than it did on 15's and I was pushing very hard. Only draw back I got was a very small amount of rubbing when attacking the curbs but that's about it.

Fronts still have a 20mm spacer on them so it sits very wide in the arches which is why I had to roll them. I need to source some new front wings anyway as mine are mainly rotten at the bottom now. Once I do this I'l be fitting some over fenders and going with FRP wide track bottom arms, and other components.

Personally... I prefer the the look on the 17's they do look a little big in the pictures but if the metal it looks so much better than the smaller 15's.

I've just ordered a couple of rolls of brake pipe and a load of fittings, I'm going to be removing the abs properly (its just unplugged at the mo) and running all new copper lines to all four corners of the car, the rear system will be ran inside through a bias valve. I'm going to have some longer braided lines made for the rear as well, with the disc conversion they seem to be a little be stretched and have rubbed on the rear beam causing them to wear through the outer coating.

Also need to sort the exhaust out, I've had a flexi pipe welded into the center section but I want to tidy the rear end up, with the cut bumper the exhaust looks out of place. I'm thinking a centrally mounted high level exit with a fancy bracket will make things much neater.
 
Hi Jay
With regard to the exhaust have you considered a side exit exhaust just in front of the rear wheel? This method was used successful on cars in the BTTC, as there are usually power gains to be had. That's of course assuming you have sufficient ground clearance? It will also be lighter so would be another reduction in the cars weight.
 
I have thought about going to a side exit but I'd need it to still maintain a low enough db level to avoid be black flagged on track days, the current one I have peaks at around 94db on a static test which is fine for pretty much all uk tracks.

I might email my exhaust guy and see what he can come up with.
 
Oval/rectangular silencers boxes are significantly quieter than round silencers. If it's packed with wadding it should be ok , (think about Westfields & Caterham 7's)
 
DOH said:
Oval/rectangular silencers boxes are significantly quieter than round silencers. If it's packed with wadding it should be ok , (think about Westfields & Caterham 7's)

Yeah the biggest issue is making sure it would fit nicely underneath the car.
 
So all bar 2 of the items I need to re route the brake pipes have now arrived and I can get cracking with the job this weekend. Trying to get it all done in one day as I'm hoping to be at a track day at Goodwood next Saturday for the Players Classic show.

I've got 2 x rolls of brake pipe, loads of fittings and a handy little tool that bends the pipe nicely. I'm going to make everything up then drop them off with a friend for flaring which will hopefully be done this weekend then its just a case of getting it all fitted up and filled with fresh fluid during the week.

I'm just waiting on some bulk head connectors and hydraulic handbrake with locking mechanism, I'm doing away with the standard cable handbrake all together.
 
So this weekend I made a start on replacing all the brake lines on the car and re routing them through the inside and fitting a bias valve.

Everything I need and more....
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

Car jacked up and ready to get cracking
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

ABS pump removal in progress
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

All old pipework, ABS pump and bracket out. Saved a fair bit of weight with the pump removed
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

Bias Valve installed
Untitled by Jay Hardy, on Flickr

I've made up 4 of the 7 pipes I need to finish the car, I just need to get the ends flared then I can crack on and get them all in place and the system filled and bled. Fingers crossed I'l get it all done in time for a track day on Saturday at Goodwood
 

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