To be fair I don't think the real issues and dangers on track days have anything to do with novice drivers who need initial tution. On the track days I've been to I don't think a novice session has even been red flagged, new drivers tend to pootle round fairly slowly keeping themselves out of trouble, certainly giving new drivers a few minutes on track before the 'experts' come out to play in an open pitlane session is probably advisable.
Expert sessions are a totally different story, the fastest track day cars are now lapping much faster than most cars seen in UK club motorsport and are often driven by inexperienced drivers who start their track day career with a 400+bhp racing car. When people crash on track days they hit just as hard (or often harder due to inexperience/the fact the cars are so damn fast) as in a normal race in cars that are no where near as safe, with a lot less driver protection (and they often bring a passenger along for the ride) and the emergency response is nothing like that at a race meeting. The worst accident I have ever seen at a race track happend during an expert session of a track day.
This. I love how in the UK road rallies stipulate a full interior. It makes the car so much more liveable. There are still circuit racers in the UK who race with full/part interiors in cars they drive to circuits (admittedly they're a dying breed). Why you would want to strip the interior out of a car that'll probably never be used for competition is beyond me.
Whilst 140kg is a lot of weight to loose it'll still be heavier (and physically bigger) than an older car with a full interior, why not just start with a lighter car that is far better suited to track work?
I once raced a Ford Cougar in non-contact oval racing in an unlimited capacity NA FWD class, after stripping 400kg out of it (including all glass, sound deadening, fuel tank, lots of metal out of the rear end) it was probably still the heaviest car on the grid.
Everyday tyres put Continental or (if you can afford them) Michelins on it. Alternatively Bridgestone/Goodyear/Pirelli/Yokohama will all be perfectly good for general road use. Toyo's everyday road tyres are the best of the budget brands (and are routinely getting fitted as original equipment now).
If you want something sporty then Toyo T1Rs are ridiculously cheap in 195/50/R15s from Camskill, about as good as you'll get without forking out for semi-slicks.
What a silly statement.
I suppose you also regard the Focuses fuel tank likely to explode in a rear end impact? Do you still avoid air travel after the Comets fell out of the sky?
Very true, I think the main thing that makes mods work in GPL is the fact that it is so difficult and time consuming to do anything, cutting out all the rubbish that gets released the moment you produce a tool to make it easy to produce half-arsed mods.
You'll need to tape some cans of Red Bull upside down on you roof to keep that thing on the road...
Monster energy has lots of sugar in it > sugarcane can be used as a fuel > it's sort of the same thing so will probably work > stick it in and see if you can feel the difference (don't listen to all the ney saying combustion specialists)
Got to love S14daft logic...
Wrong, the stress in a dual mass flywheel fitted to a large diesel will be the same (or probably a lot less, but definitely not more) than a dual mass flywheel fitted to a small petrol engine.
Putting oil in your fuel isn't going to work though, no matter what you or other people on the internet may think. You would leave far less carbon deposits all over your engine if you replaced your two stroke oil with piss.
It will make a huge difference, but you probably won't notice the difference. Modern ECUs are very good at trying to work out what's going on and what the hell you're shoving in your fuel tank. Modern diesels (with exceptions) will happily run on most of the rubbish fuels around the world and will run on BS 2869 class A2 (although that's a naughty thing to do) no problem, most will also run at a push on kerosene type aviation fuels and even MGO. It's not recommended, engine efficiency will be affected and who knows what'll happen if you use it in the long term (I don't think even VWs billion dollar test programs cover what happens if you decide to stick something that isn't a fuel in the fuel tank) but it will run or try its best to do so and you probably won't even notice the difference.
No engineering component has ever failed because of torque, shear stress causes failure. How you get from torque to shear stress requires an engineering degree.
It is still two stroke oil! That's like saying your putting fine Cognac in your fuel tank, it makes no difference whatsoever, it is still completely the wrong chemical!
Anything you stick in your fuel (especially things that aren't fuel) will effect combustion, just not necessarily in the way it says on the packet. Two stroke oil is a frankly awful design compromise and why two stroke direct injection will never find its way into road vehicles (at least not with the traditional charge air lubrication concept). I would imagine (but do not know) that racing two stroke engines with modern oil injection systems will reduce their oil injection to dangerously low levels or stop it completely for short periods.
BS EN 590 is the standard stuff that comes out the black pumps in the UK, I'm fairly certain your handbook specifies this (or the ISO equvilent) and doesn't mention two stroke oil.
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In which case it was mapped badly and engine efficiency will have been compromised as a result.
Producing a simple open loop ECU calibration for an engine takes months if not years of dyno testing, developing a closed loop calibration is something you do once a decade. The idea that a whole industry exists where stupid people 'remap' a car in half an hours testing, or not having ever seen the engine in the first place is comical.
The enlightened side of the rolling road/dyno testing/men in sheds who remap engines industry are simply trying to get a modified engine to run almost as well as a production engine would.
Whilst highly complex with an enormous number of variables the correct ECU calibration will be the best compromise for road use, anybody who tells you different is an idiot.
The G25 uses one of the standard PCDs used for aftermarket steering wheels, measure it and then go shopping for an appropriate adapter for your car, very easy to fit. I guess the G27 will be the same.
It is also an awfully bad idea, the G25 wheel (again I assume the G27 is similar) is cheap and horrible and too much flex even for sim racing, I wouldn't recommend using it in a real car. The G25 also uses the plastic centre piece to locate the wheel, which has oversized holes in it. You would have to be mad to trust Logitech's fine design work in a real car. It is a toy in the end of the day.
Has anybody actually made a drive by wire car yet?
You can use a smaller wheel in a non-power assisted car, it'll just be a bit heavier to park.
No need, try running larger grain bearing sand or get your crankshaft unbalanced for a bit more character.
The reason dual mass flywheels are not commonly used in fast road and competition cars is down to the fact the people who make competition clutches and flywheels don't understand how they work and it's not cost effective to develop them. To determine what type of flywheel would be the best compromise for a fast road or competition car (which is like comparing an oil tanker and a powerboat) would require so much maths your head would explode.
To get 2 stroke oil to work in a 4 stroke you need to take out the valve stem seals then your cams will be nice and slippery. The trick to lubricating the bottom end is to take out the piston rings, you'll get a bit of piston slap but the extra lubrication on the crank is worth it. If you're really serious then reroute your fuel pump to give proper 2 stroke style crankcase lubrication, route a hose and stick it in the hole where the sump plug used to go.
Sure emissions are a waste of time...
If the great minds of the world used that kind of thought process we'd still be driving horse and carts. Or maybe you'd have rejected the idea of the wheel as well because you couldn't fathom it?
Go and do some menial work and leave the thinking to the clever people who believe in maths...
Damn it I didn't realise that! I've just spent the last few weeks writing a 40 page report on how (very expensive, specially formulated ie. not from Halfords) two stroke oil doesn't burn cleanly in an engine that was designed for it and leaves all manner of horrible mess behind (carbon deposits, just like the ones you posted a picture of!). How silly of me, I should have just got you to write my report for me in five minutes!
You might find if you only stick BS EN 590 grade diesel down the fuel filler it'll run like those crazy Germans intended.
Be fair Jamie has been giving his engineering insights for much longer than Blueflame!
I can't even be bothered to start on this.... you've obviously studied combustion
A similar action would happen in Europe, racing in poor visibility is a no no. The Britcar 24 hour race ran under safety car for about two hours in the early hours in 2009 due to extreme rain. In Europe it is probably much more likely an endurance race will be red flagged with the clock left running, there were certainly a number of people upset at the said Britcar race who felt driving round behind the safety car was a pointless activity and a complete waste of fuel. There are certain races, like Le Mans though that stubbornly refuse to ever stop the race, regardless of how bad an accident has occurred and against the wishes of drivers and teams (eg. 1955 and 1984 - warning fatal).
Rolling starts are becoming more common in European motorsport, bizarrely this move has come from historic racing classes where the move has been made because it is considered safer, mainly because it reduces the risk of start line transmission failures in old cars. I know a number of UK club series have made the move to rolling starts next year on the grounds of safety, personally I think it'll be unmitigated disaster. Most UK racers are inexperienced with rolling starts and when it does go wrong on a rolling start it hurts a lot more, there was the serious start accident at the 2008 Britcar 24 hours and a similar accident with less serious consequences in a Britcar race in 2009.
This is probably the biggest difference, in the UK the only officially sanctioned motorsport body is the MSA, the national affiliate body of the FIA. All FIA affiliate clubs use the same basic FIA rules for all levels of competition, but do have some leeway for local variation in the rules. Licensing and appeals and tribunals all happen at a national or international level.
UK oval racing is very different to US spec oval racing. They don't have a national sanctioning body and events are still run by individual track owners, which I think is more like US grassroots motorsport. We turn right in non-contact classes and left in contact classes. Track quality varies from smooth but only lightly banked short circuits to flat but very rough tarmac ovals, dirt tracks and temporary grass ovals.
In the UK it is normal to race on ovals in rain and we use local yellow flags. As far as I understand neither of these are ever done on short tracks in the US? I can't really see the grounds why it isn't safe to race on relatively slow ovals (or any oval for that matter) in the wet. Local yellow flags stop races being constantly interrupted and provide just as fast a warning to a car that has spun/danger that will recover itself than using cautions or stopping the race.
This is a big difference with FIA/MSA sanctioned racing, yellow flags are very strictly policed. Passing under yellow flags normally results in disqualification and any incident under yellow flags are taken extremely seriously.
For Okyama I found this video has helpful commentary. It's the old tyre model so pretend it's a different car to the one you're driving and see how to use the track here. Personally I found it very difficult to find my feet at this track, the correct line is not immediately obvious like at Lime Rock.
I would dive straight into racing if you can turn 1.03s and stay on the track you'll probably be top 5 if not winning races in the starting splits. Always do a qualifying session first, even if it's a very slow lap, it will put you ahead of those who can't drive.
If you haven't worked it out yet iRacing has two ratings:
iRating - based solely on finishing positions
Safety rating - you gain it by keeping clean and loose it by having incidents.
Incidents that affect the safety rating are:
x0 - For light contact with another car (you'll only normally get this if the contact is very light, more common on oval). If the other car picks up an incident point immediately after the contact your x0 gets upgraded to whatever they get (ie. if they spin you get x2, if another car collects them you get x4).
x0 - For light contact with the wall - I've only ever had this on the ovals.
x1 - Off track - Some kerbs/tarmac run off triggers this.
x2 - Loss of control - If you bring the car to a controlled stop after a half spin you often don't trigger this.
x2 - Hard contact with a wall.
x4 - Contact with another car.
The safety rating does not aside blame for the incident it just penalises everybody involved. I personally think it's a brilliant, if occasionally frustrating, system. The main things to remember if you're wanting to gain SR is to avoid contact with other cars at all costs, even if it means spinning out and it is better to go off track than to loose control of the car trying to stay on track. In effect the SR system causes sim racers to drive in a realistic manner rather than just hopelessly trying to charge through a wreck.
The fact there are no restarts and the next race is a least an hour away (more for non-rookie series) does drive home the message somewhat.
Regardless of all this it is only natural you are going to crash or be crashed and in the rookie series your car gets repaired quickly in the pits, it is best to keep racing if you can because the safety rating is based on the number of incidents/laps done. As a rookie even if you have contact on the first lap you may still gain SR if you finish the race but you'll loose it if you retire on lap 1.
The grids for popular series (rookie series split 24/7) are split based on your iRating, as a rookie you don't actually see your iRating but it must be there under the covers. What you'll find is that having a few clean races where you get reasonable finishing positions will move you up a split or two and you'll soon be racing with people who run about the same times as you and aren't quite so out of control.
Trying to get Yodel to redeliver or allow you to collect a parcel from them is a complete nightmare!
I've used Interparcel to send parcels recently and they've been great, I normally use their economy option (which is actually UPS).
I've used Interparcel to send parcels recently and they've been great, I normally use their economy option (which is actually UPS).
Yes, if you can listen to the radio stream. If you watch F1 sessions live on the BBC website you can choose either the TV or 5live for commentary. I don't think you're meant to be able to watch/listen to the streams from outside the UK though (as technically you need a UK TV license to watch them).
Will have to get that! Works out at £2.63/month with the exchange rate.
What are the odds it'll be some annoying fanboy troll who doesn't even subscribe to iRacing with nothing better to do 
On a side note I bought the LM last night as I'd like to get onto racing the bigger oval stuff and have really enjoyed racing it. I bought the Modified ages ago and never got on with it, just doesn't seem exciting with the SK engine. The biggest problem with it though is I keep clouting it into the wall as I don't know how wide it is..
On a side note I bought the LM last night as I'd like to get onto racing the bigger oval stuff and have really enjoyed racing it. I bought the Modified ages ago and never got on with it, just doesn't seem exciting with the SK engine. The biggest problem with it though is I keep clouting it into the wall as I don't know how wide it is..
Fuel standards aren't international, EN228 covers Europe and in the UK and most of Western Europe what you get out of the cheap pump will comply with this and is strictly tested. There is a NATO standard F-67 that is about the closest one gets to a global fuel standard, but it's not available world wide in practice.
The fuel in Barbados was totally hopeless, it kept waxing up and blocking the SUs of a car we rallied there. I imagine most of the Caribbean has equally hopeless fuel that probably fell off a ship somewhere. At the same time we were out there rallying the were having to refuel on a different island because the jet fuel was contaminated.
The fuel in Barbados was totally hopeless, it kept waxing up and blocking the SUs of a car we rallied there. I imagine most of the Caribbean has equally hopeless fuel that probably fell off a ship somewhere. At the same time we were out there rallying the were having to refuel on a different island because the jet fuel was contaminated.
RWD cars rarely stand a chance against FWD in the lower rally classes. Simply because modern RWD cars (where you can find them with small enough engine capacities) are a waste of space for rallying, they are all far too big and heavy. Older RWD cars are fun and cheap but they are normally stuck with less powerful older engines and primitive suspension options in restrictive budget classes.
The most competitive 1.4 rally car for road/endurance events is a Rover 214/25 (bubble shape), nothing else can match its power with standard engine rules.
A Micra can also make a quick autotest and road rally car.
Golf - not a popular rally car choice in the UK despite their popularity in other motoring circles. Mk2 GTI make a good cheap road rally car but they are not very strong, smaller engined variants are too under powered to make logical choice. Mk3 GTI could become a cheap 'consumable' type car for road events given how cheap they are, however I have never seen one compete.
Corsa - (much) cheaper to buy and fairly similar to a Nova, but slightly worse in every way.
Fiesta - rarely seen, I think a mk3 would be probably be weak and uncompetitive. Mk1/2 are out of cheap car territory for a decent example, going to need a lot of work to get one strong enough for rallying. There are a lot of ex-race cars hanging about that may make a suitable base for stage rallying.
Ka - would seem like a logical choice for under 1.4 classes, however, I seem to remember reading in this book that it is quite a difficult car to modify for rallying, best avoided (but buy that book!).
Lupo - never seen one, not sure why.
Clio - mk1 potentially quick as a 2.0 litre stage car, will need a lot of work to stop it falling apart though and certainly wouldn't make a budget daily rally car. Mk2 is poorly built and truly dreadful in standard form. I'm currently driving and rallying a 1.2 mk2 Clio (long story...) and certainly wouldn't recommend it over the other FWD options. The 2.0 mk2 Clios can make a very good stage car but they will need a lot of work.
106 - a good option, although pretty weak and rot prone. A mk1 1.3 Rallye is a popular road/endurance choice. Not as good as a 205 though.
206 - Waste of space, rally a 106 or a 205.
Astra - too big as a 1.4 (although there are some competing), could make a cheap 2.0 litre road rally car.
Nova - popular choice for stage rallying, getting a bit expensive to make a cheap road car.
S13/S14 - never seen or heard of one rallying, probably far too big to be much use down British lanes. Not sure how strong they'd be either, given their popularity and cheap tuning parts from the drift scene I'd imagine they're not that much use for rallying.
E30 - won't be competitive against FWD cars but good fun cheap and strong. They have a dedicated stage series for them in the UK and make popular road cars.
E36/compact - even less competitive than an E30 against FWD stuff, make a good budget choice for a road car and would make a decent daily as well. Don't forget only 2.0 litre engines are eligible for road rallying.
Starlet - simply awesome. There are a lot of them rallying in Barbados. Can be genuinely competitive in modified classes but we're talking pukka Escort money. The only RWD Starlet current listed on Pistonheads is a rolling shell at £3000.
4WD turbo rally replicas are not rally cars. They'll need an awful lot of work and bills to become reliable rally cars, doubly so if you start with a used and abused cheap example. Bills for a turbo and the three diffs would probably fund a season of FWD rallying. They're not eligible for road rallying either.
I commute daily in a car with four point harnesses, and they're never loose!
The 340 makes a strong little road rally car, even in 1.4 form it's fun to drive and requires little more than a good service, polybushes and a sump guard before you can go rallying without too much worry, it doesn't fall apart like FWD boxes. It's currently off the road for a conversion to a 1.8 F7P engine
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First choose a series/form of motorsport you want to take part in, then budget everything. Don't even think about the car until you've chosen what you want to do with it.
If your budget is £2000 then forget about stage rallying. Road rallies, gymkhanas, autosolos and autotests all cater for standard road cars. Try some cheap motorsport and you'll probably soon know what car and modifications you want to make.
They shouldn't be. Endurance rallying in the UK requires cars to be fitted with a roll cage, but bans helmets on the (competitive) road sections and does not mandate their use on selectives (stages). If the drivers head (with or without helmet) is able to contact the rollcage tubing then something is dangerously wrong with the design of the rollcage, seating position or driver restraints.
If your budget is £2000 then forget about stage rallying. Road rallies, gymkhanas, autosolos and autotests all cater for standard road cars. Try some cheap motorsport and you'll probably soon know what car and modifications you want to make.
They shouldn't be. Endurance rallying in the UK requires cars to be fitted with a roll cage, but bans helmets on the (competitive) road sections and does not mandate their use on selectives (stages). If the drivers head (with or without helmet) is able to contact the rollcage tubing then something is dangerously wrong with the design of the rollcage, seating position or driver restraints.
I'm a bit dubious about them wanting mobile numbers and the terms and conditions regarding sharing personal information 
That explains a lot, number two is covered in markings telling you to pull back onto your side of the road for the junction, which I'm sure you ignore...
Too true! I think the driving is borderline, I certainly wouldn't post a video of it online.
I'd suspect it sounds like a fuel side issue rather than turbo although that is a rather vague description. Does it happen every time at the same revs/load or is it intermittent? If it happens at a certain point I'd get rid of the ECU chip, worth trying removing it anyway. Presumably it's common rail, if so check the electrical connections to all the injectors and look for any dodgy looking wiring.
Is the fuel fresh? It could be contaminated fuel, try draining the tank and don't put anything but pump diesel in, VW didn't design your engine to run on snake oil.
Other than that you're probably stuck to getting someone with the kit and experience to look at it. Diesel parts are expensive and car engine design life is relatively short, an old turbo diesel car can soon turn into a big bill.
Is the fuel fresh? It could be contaminated fuel, try draining the tank and don't put anything but pump diesel in, VW didn't design your engine to run on snake oil.
Other than that you're probably stuck to getting someone with the kit and experience to look at it. Diesel parts are expensive and car engine design life is relatively short, an old turbo diesel car can soon turn into a big bill.
Exactly but as usual Jamie makes a really stupid comment without thinking about it (like rightly assuming that an engine will run without electrical power so long as it is fully carbed) from his 'experience' and then moan when somebody points out he's talking shit...
FGED GREDG RDFGDR GSFDG