We took the Tuscan to the Duxford Spring Car Show on May the 3rd.
The Reflex Green paint really stands out well and we got lots of favourable comments. We were on the PistonHeads.com stand with fifteen other cars ranging from Aerial Atom to Gordon Keeble. It was a good day out and there are some great cars on display as well as the facilities of Duxford itself. They had a display of military vehicles, which was pretty impressive. We had a good trip down and back but the weather was pretty cold and windy so we got home fairly early.
Wednesday 13 May 2009
Tuscan Trackday
Well the Marham trackday came and went for the Tuscan.
I have posted some videos on you tube:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3WSo3kDvwg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv19tPl2N0Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbK6tjfr3yc
My middle son and I joined a surprising number of cars of all types for the Saturday. The weather was brilliant, which helped a lot. I had prepared the car by fitting the original 16" silver spider alloys with Bridgestone Potenza on the rear and Toyo T-1's on the front. The Racing Red shocks worked very well indeed and the scuffing of the tyres is very even indeed.
I must admit I found the coned perimter track a bit confusing at first, but the mile long runway was easy enough, with upto 6 cars abreast! The Tuscan was not running very well and would not rev cleanly on full throttle, so I had to accelerate more slowly than I wished. There was also no overtaking in the corners, which limited overall speed. We acheived 150mph on the main straight, but this should have been nearer 16omph. I suspect the Call-Pack was at fault, which is a common problem on the Speed 6 engine as it is bolted the the block and overheats! I did try using BP optimax fuel at 105p per litre and that did seem to help the revs a little.
We experimented with the rear wing and found that removing it did not affect top speed very much at all. Reducing the down force had us "understeering" off the track however and through the cones with the rear end feeling very "loose". With full downforce it was much more confidence inspiring coming from the end of the runway at 150mph downhill straight into a hairpin!
All in all a good day but expensive in terms of wear and tear as usual. I wore through several mm of tread on the tyres on the very abrasive surface and picked up a lot of stone ships on the nose of the car. Several people had gaffa taped up their cars to avoid this problem with airfield track days.
There were quite a few engine problems, spins and even a full roll over by the other participants.
I have posted some videos on you tube:-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3WSo3kDvwg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv19tPl2N0Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbK6tjfr3yc
My middle son and I joined a surprising number of cars of all types for the Saturday. The weather was brilliant, which helped a lot. I had prepared the car by fitting the original 16" silver spider alloys with Bridgestone Potenza on the rear and Toyo T-1's on the front. The Racing Red shocks worked very well indeed and the scuffing of the tyres is very even indeed.
I must admit I found the coned perimter track a bit confusing at first, but the mile long runway was easy enough, with upto 6 cars abreast! The Tuscan was not running very well and would not rev cleanly on full throttle, so I had to accelerate more slowly than I wished. There was also no overtaking in the corners, which limited overall speed. We acheived 150mph on the main straight, but this should have been nearer 16omph. I suspect the Call-Pack was at fault, which is a common problem on the Speed 6 engine as it is bolted the the block and overheats! I did try using BP optimax fuel at 105p per litre and that did seem to help the revs a little.
We experimented with the rear wing and found that removing it did not affect top speed very much at all. Reducing the down force had us "understeering" off the track however and through the cones with the rear end feeling very "loose". With full downforce it was much more confidence inspiring coming from the end of the runway at 150mph downhill straight into a hairpin!
All in all a good day but expensive in terms of wear and tear as usual. I wore through several mm of tread on the tyres on the very abrasive surface and picked up a lot of stone ships on the nose of the car. Several people had gaffa taped up their cars to avoid this problem with airfield track days.
There were quite a few engine problems, spins and even a full roll over by the other participants.
Back in Harness
Well the Chimaera got through its MOT just fine, simply requiring 2 new number plate bulbs.
I have been using it regularly through the nice weather alternating with the Tuscan. However I did note a slight hesitation in the engine, which gradually became a stutter and then quite significant "driveline shunt" when moving slowly in traffic. Seeking advice from RPI they identified the distributor as being at fault and so I replaced that with a new standard unit costing £179 plus fitting and now the car is running great again. This is one very quick road car as the tuning modifications make the power very useable on country roads. It does not have the presence of the Tuscan but still gets lots of admiring looks and favourable comments.
I have been using it regularly through the nice weather alternating with the Tuscan. However I did note a slight hesitation in the engine, which gradually became a stutter and then quite significant "driveline shunt" when moving slowly in traffic. Seeking advice from RPI they identified the distributor as being at fault and so I replaced that with a new standard unit costing £179 plus fitting and now the car is running great again. This is one very quick road car as the tuning modifications make the power very useable on country roads. It does not have the presence of the Tuscan but still gets lots of admiring looks and favourable comments.
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