With the Pug all repaired after the problems at Snetterton we headed to what it basically my home circuit. I love Donington and it’s a perfect circuit for the agile little pug. Qualifying started in the rain and we were running fastest when I handed to my co driver for his qualifying laps. Early on he ran wide into the gravel but rejoined having seemingly caused no problems. Keen to make up for his mistake, and on a drying track his lap times tumbled and once again we wound up with pole position. Checking the car after qualifying revealed the trip into the gravel had pulled the alternator belt off and the battery was now flat. The car was jumped started and headed out for the race. When the lights went green my co driver went off like a scalded rat, leaving the pack behind. At the driver change we had a healthy lead but the car wouldn’t start due to the flat battery. By the time we’d bump started it we were down to second. After 3 or 4 laps of chasing through the back markers I retook the lead, only for the race to be red flagged a lap later due to several accidents. We kept the win which was a nice result after the seasons poor start.
Posts Tagged ‘Race car’
CSCC from Donington
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011beef up your flange
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011This XR3i challenge car came to us in need of a custom engineering job. The front pipe to his race exhaust had been supplied by another well known exhaust builder but the front flange wasn’t strong enough. It kept bending causing it to blow. Also the centre section of the exhaust wasn’t properly supported causing it to droop down and catch kerbs during the race. We gas flowed the manifold as far as regulations allowed and had a new flange laser cut from industrial strength steel. We designed and built a new smooth flow front pipe and centre section, then mounted them all with extra hangers and supports.
CSCC from Snetterton
Sunday, May 1st, 2011The first race of this season was at the new Snetterton 300 circuit. I’ve got to be honest I didn’t like it much, I missed the old fast corners but the revisions that have been made are definitely a challenge. I guess it’s just a matter of personal preference. Either way we didn’t get to see much action. The car for this eyars racing as an ex BTCC pug 306 which is prepared elsewhere but we are helping with set up and driver training. Half way into the qualifying session the wheel studs sheered leaving the front wheel to make a bid for freedom. It’s the first time we’ve run the car in anger and it’s had a hard life after 10 years of racing. There will clearly be some parts that have seen a lot of stress over the years so it’s understandable that stress failures will occur. On the plus side despite only running half of qualifying the car was still fast enough for pole position. Shame it didn’t have enough wheels on it to race!
AA Sport
Wednesday, March 30th, 2011AA Silencers is going racing this year with sister company AA Sport. AA Sport deals with the performance side of the business including chassis tuning, car handling set ups and driver training. Company owner, Mark hammersley, is co-driving an ex BTCC Peugeot touring car. He shares the seat with Nigel Tongue who is campaigning his first season in this car. Mark will help with getting car and driver onto the pace and to the front of the grid. Pre season testing has gone well so far, time will tell when the lights go green at the first race!
Classic Celica
Monday, November 29th, 2010Another car for a feature in Practical Performance car. This time we joined the owner on a track day to gather some data on how his car handled. With some 380 BHP on tap the suspension was having to work pretty hard. Improvements were made on the day and using the data we’ve gathered there’s plenty more still to come. It’s lovely to see a real classic rally car like this still being used in anger on sprints and hill climbs
Porsche lacking pressure
Monday, November 29th, 2010This 928 should have been the 2010 Race car for Mark Hammersley of AA Silencers. The car belongs to Kev Leaper of Practical Performance Car magazine and driving honours where to be shared out over the 40 minute races in CSCC Future Classics. Unfortuantely on it’s first outing at Brands Hatch the engine failed. On inspection it is suspected the failure was due to low oil pressure, a common problem on 928’s. As a result the engine needs a rebuild along with a full dry sump kit added to solve our future oil pressure. The engine will probably be converted from mechanical to electronic fuel injection while we’re at it.
Capri Construction
Monday, November 29th, 2010The AA Silencers Capri is finally going back together. The inside and engine bay have been painted and lots of weight taken out. There have been various changes to the oil and cooling systems plus fuel system. The Aerodynamic underfloor is ready for construction and the exhausts need finishing but it’s taking shape ready for the start of the next race season.
Radical Improvements
Thursday, October 7th, 2010
Here’s a car that divides opinions, normally depending on whether you’re male or female. Most men seem to reckon it’s a thing of beauty, most women seem to disagree. One thing you couldn’t argue is it’s speed, these things are rapid. The formula is simple, take one super lightweight chassis, stick a motorbike engine in it and add a load of aerodynamics for grip. Radical really got it right with these cars and there success has been tremendous, including lap records and the Nurburgring circuit in Germany. This particular car has been having some difficulties with it’s exhaust. The header pipes on the exhaust manifold kick back around the engine and locate into collectors. The pipes keep coming loose and have cracked in several places so new sleeves have been added and the joints repaired. Less than a days work and the car is back on track frightening the locals, and probably the driver too.
Westfield barn find
Monday, September 13th, 2010In truth it’s less of a barn find and more of barn remembrance. The car is owned by Kev Leaper of PPC Magazine who we do various work for. This is a westfield XI, a copy of the Lotus XI. This car has been graced with bigger arches and a bonnet bulge to accomodate it’s vauxhall XE ‘redtop’ engine. It’s a fair deviation from how Lotus intended it to look but I thiink it looks like a rolling work of art, assuming that is you can see past the dust, rust and cobwebs.
The plan id to get it race ready, no mean feat but one we’re all set for. So far we’ve got it running and resolved a few cooling problems. The next obstacle was freeing off the brakes which wasn’t too hard, but then found that they wouldn’t bleed back up again. The master cylinder had seized so once that was replaced and several tight bleed nipples freed off it had brakes once again. Now we’re down to the nitty gritty of getting it set up and all those little details that take so much time but I can’t wait to see the car back on the race track
How to get rid of rust and make your car faster
Friday, June 11th, 2010As AA Silencers is busy with Practical Performance Car Magazines racing efforts this year our Capri is not needed on track. We decided this would be a good time to give it a bit of a freshen up and try to squeeze out a bit more speed. As always the main item on the agenda was weight saving but also to improve the aerodynamics and get rid of the rust that can creep in to any older car.
The solution was simple, identify any bits of the car you don’t need and cut them off, especially if there’s any rust in them. The shell has been multipointed and the cag extended and a complete new aero underfloor has been designed. There’s a huge amount of work to do but it shoudl be worth it when the car gets back on track. Here’s some pictures for the mean time
