This Classic Capri needed a bit of TLC on the exhaust. The owner wanted something a bit more special from the sound and the look. We settled on a mild steel exhaust build as the car doesn’t get much use. We used a simple stainless steel exhaust tip to finish off the look.
The AA Silencers Ford Capri is always getting little developments here and there. Because of a change in championship regulations we have been able to develop a new front splitter and diffuser. The device is designed to control the airflow to the under body section. The splitter harvests pressure ahead of the car to create downforce. Further back air is accelerated to create downforce towards the middle of the car. The new front section controls the air in stages to manage its flow. It is also designed to create vortices along the underbody to seal the floor section and improve downforce. It’s not a perfect design as we have to work within the regulations but it vastly improves lap times. Also fitted are a type of dive plane in front of the rear wheel. Unlike regular dive planes these are mostly to deflect air from the exposed portion of the the tyre.
A regular customer of ours runs this 924 carrera GT in the MSVR championship. He was due to race on a Saturday so opted for a quick test session the Wednesday before. The car arrived with us on Wednesday afternoon with an odd misfire and an hour later we had found a hole in one of the pistons. Not wanting him to miss out on any racing we set about stripping the engine down. By Friday lunchtime the car was running again and he made it to the race on Saturday.
This BMW is a track day regular but as the owners talent has grown he felt the need for more grip. We carried out a full geoetry check but as a lot of the car was standard we could do little more than adjust the tracking. The customer decided to start his upgrades with a set of camber adjustable top mounts. These allowed us to improve the geometry to give him more front end grip. Next on the list is a set of coilovers. One step at a time though
This Astra race car came to us with a misfire that only occurs after half an hour or so of running on the race track. We did a few checks and a bit of digging around. The ECU is a Canems which we use quite a lot of. After running a little data logging and looking at the program it showed the injectors were running beyond their duty cycle and some temperature corrections seemed a little odd. We changed the whole throttle body assembly for one with bigger injectors and the car was remapped to suit. So far it looks as though the problem is solved.
This Astra GTE is a full on race car kicking out over 250Bhp. The tired old exhaust was neither big enough nor up to the job of meeting the noise regulations. We designed and built a system using 2.5 inch mandrel bent mild steel pipe and boxes big enough to keep the noise within the regulations. the object is to get maximum flow which normally means just scraping in on the noise test. This one had 4db to spare. On race cars it’s important to get the whole thing tucked well up so it doesn’t get pulled off if the car runs wide on a corner. Extra hangers ensure this race car sees the chequered flag every time.
This beautiful looking GTV had been giving it’s owner headache and heartache for months. The owner wasn’t shy when it came to getting his hands dirty and certainly know’s his way around Alfa’s. Everyone needs a little help from time to time though and we’re more than happy to work alongside the owners efforts. The car has a pretty big turbo blowing through twin 40 DHLA carbs with a Canems ECU controlling the sparks. Every part of the system had faults that interfered with each other making the task of getting it running like trying to knit spaghetti. We did a little rewiring and resetting of things which improved the situation. Sadly as hard as we tried the carbs wouldn’t work sweetly, although it was healthy enough for an MoT. These projects are rarely a quick fix, more work in progress. The owner has new carbs on the way and we’ll try again when they arrive. Despite the challenge it’s a pleasure working on such a beautiful and special classic.
For the third round of the season we travelled to Belgium. Spa is a long time fixture on the Formula one calendar and an awesome circuit. Corners such as Eau Rouge and Blanchimont require so much accuracy, skill and bravery. The whole lap is a breath taking rollercoaster. On the thursday test we carried out a few minor changes which set the car perfectly for the circuit. In qualifying the rain came along but that had little effect on our pace, with the car once again finding itself on class pole. My co driver and car owner took the start but on the run to Eau Rouge dropped a couple of places with a missed gear. Trying to slot back into the pack he ran slightly wide on the exit and the rear wheel hooked the damp exit kerb pitching the car into a spin. Most of the pack avoided the spinning car but a Westfield also ran wide and hit the back of the Pug, now stationary on the grass. The result was the Peugeot was for the second time this year running on 3 wheels, and the race would go no further for us. 
AA Silencers were at Practical performance car’s annual show and Mallory Park. AA Silencers owner Mark Hammersleys is a writer for the magazine and gave passenger rides and driver tuition at the show. He also took out the magazines Rolls Royce for some demo laps. AA Silencers staff also took their cars out for some track action
We’ve helped out with quite a few jobs on this Porsche. It has been taking part in the MSVR trackday trophy this year and was in need of a new exhaust. The owner wanted stainless steel and to keep the noise to around 95 db so it remains eligible for even the quietest trackdays. The system was build from 2.25 inch 304 stainless using 2 boxes. The result- 94 db at 3/4 RPM. Exactly what was ordered.
