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PollyMobiles Rebuild

just resolving afew annoying rattles, the bonnet brace already seperating and maybe vibrating

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so cut the piece out

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middle of bonnet without the brace is abit floppier and worried it can touch against the pulsar MAF when I push it down. drove around and nope doesn't seem to flex enough to touch the MAF so no prob.
but the annoying loose washer-like rattle is still there only at 1800-2100rpm in-gear and light throttle.

got tyre valve replaced for a tenner.

just packing all the tools n spares and we're ready for tomorrow 8am sign-in :cool:
 
2014-01-19 Elvington Airfield Trackday

8:30am arrived at the track in the pouring rain :/ so much for british weather. transferred stuff over to the support car and had to change shoes from the pooling floor.

signed in. fitted only internal cameras cos external ones will just get soaked.

tyres start at FR 6.25mm, RR 3.25mm, RL 4.5mm, FL 6.25mm, set to 3bars, oil topped up and all dampers left at full soft to begin with.

some guys were still working on their cars in the heavy rain, one was fitting friggin R888 semis!?
no way am I working in the bare rain.

9am Briefing

9:30am Sighting lap



engine has cooled so needs warming. little confusion as to when we should begin queuing watching other cars around.

wipe all the condensation @1.30
sound check whilst queuing @5.15
long wait was killing but soon began @8.15

rain eased abit but alot of spray near cars and loads of pool that'll pull the steering aside. track is quite roomy and studying the track layout beforehand has helped me remember the route.

initially testing the amount of traction & grip whilst cold n slow and was quite grippy.

9:47am Check car
after the sighting lap warmed things up, I check it over.
tried the needle temp probe but reading near 11-13c no point measuring em all cos its basically cold tyres.
reduced the 3.20bar front and 3.10bar rear warm pressures to the 3bar it was balanced for.
removed the plugs and lets assess the cylinders, nope they're still the same semi damp condition as before :/

9:53am 1st run



all dampers at full soft, with dad in passenger seat, healthy 6.5mm front toyos and half worn mixed tyres at the back.
so lets go for the first run in the wet

take her steady to warm up the brakes n tyres. brake pedal on first application with the pulsar calipers feels quite deep, begins to rest just slightly below the throttle so brakings abit tricky without pressing the throttle too.

@2.20 opening the taps, it gets quite fast down the straights almost 110mph

@2.45 braking earlier before the blue cones to get a feel for how much the brakes slow down. on first application the pedal feels firm but lacks bite from the pads even if I press harder.

@2.50 I reapplied the brakes to basically pump more fluid into the calipers. this had raised the pedal braking point for better heeling, made it feel firmer and for some reason the brakes now work alot harder

handling felt stable at initial slow pace. the fast right turn before the long straight is very wet and the car always understeers there whenever there's the slightest pool so have to feather the throttle.

@4.50 when I got through the first sections in 2nd, although the higher torque from the revs give good acceleration briefly before going to 3rd and straight back into 2nd for the next turn, it seem to upset the balance abit in most cases.

@7.55 began trying 3rd gear through the first section which seemed stabler at first but when you hear the wheels going over some jolting steps in the airfield tarmac @8.00 with left steering and WOT, the shock in the wet had unsettled the rear thinner tyres and engaged a mid corner drift

@9.10 trying the entire first section in 3rd gear and carefully feeding the power feels alot stabler

@10.40 going too aggressive on the trail braking really upsets the rear balance

10.30am 2nd run



rear dampers full soft, front dampers 10clicks harder to see if it reduces the mid corner oversteer, no passenger so weight should be lighter n balanced.
tyres have only worn slightly to FR 6mm, RR 3mm, RL 3.5mm, FL 6mm.

@3.20 with no passenger and slightly harder fron damper, the mid corner handling is alot more balanced

@4.08 end of the straight with lighter weight n braking too hard and one of the tyres going over the tarmac black butumin locked the wheels briefly

@4.55 going over that runway strip still nudges it sideways abit

@6.00 my wiper gives up so going back to the pits was interesting with almost no vision :eek:

checked the wipers and the motor/linkage balljoint is abit worn loose hence popped off. just popped back on and hope they work long enough and replace em soon.

10.58am 3rd run



same settings and just refine the braking n handling limits on a clear track

@5.05 finding the limits of the wet braking

@6.10 the rough tarmac at a fast right hand unsettles the back

@11.00 braked abit took late at the beginning of the first section, changed down n braked harder to slow down enough but this really upset her and was a handful. was wondering, the photographer was right at the exit trajectory of the mid corner if someone was to skid off bet he got a pic of a drifting k11 there :p

@11.20 turned the steering too much n too early for the exit corner, straighten a milisec to catch the mini slide, judging the trajectory mid corner I reapplied even more steering n power to make the turn going that fast (else it'll reach the grass) but the combo of the bump upsetting the rear tyres and the high inertia of so much steering angle and power made it begin to spin left so again lots of power countersteer

check tyres and the FL was really low, pumped it but few secs later it was down again, got a big leak.

then I realised that tyre had actually been punctured before and the small screw that I had fitted had flung out at high speed and the leak resumed.

urm but I don't have any spare screws and don't wanna swap over prematurely to one or more of the good set of toyo's cos I wanna wear out these bad sets together and leave the good balanced set for later on or for the road.

was considering using the green slime stuff but that might unbalance the wheel. looking around I figure I'll use the woodscrews from my laser alignment jig since thats never gonna be used tday. that sealed it.

almost out of fuel anyway so went out to refuel, new batteries and get screws from BQ and back for lunch.
 
Last edited:
1.30pm 4th run



sun has come out to play and dad is back in the passenger seat.
there's definitely a dry line developing and much more grip available.
the fast right hander before the straights, I can now just floor it, keep in the dry lane and feed the steering on and it sticks.

if you remember on previous tracks that my pulsar disc used to glow orange but now after removing that hub shield thing the discs now operate alot cooler and @4.47 onwards u can see they barely get hot enough. although this is in the damp so on a hot dry track the result will be a different but its a positive improvement.

@7.30 reaching some traffic with the 944 but although I'm faster in the turns and slighter faster down the straights he wasn't giving much indication of courtesy so held me back afew frustrating laps till I had to drag race him @11.40 :rolleyes:

@16.00 reaching an MX5 so backing off till I pass em @16.50

@17.05 I heard what sounded like a metallic clank or something fell off? car felt fine but pitted few laps later incase something was damaged. after checking in the pits it turned out to be the jacking handle thrown from the boot corner recess into the boot floor lol

the tyres are now FR 4.5mm, RR 2.25mm, RL 3.25mm, FL 4mm so fronts have only worn 2mm
was hoping to burn away these bad tyres in the morning but in the damp it looks like I'll be running these set for awhile

2.20pm 5th run



try all dampers at medium hard with no passenger. feels abit better

@1.55 an MX5 spinning, then overtook @3.50
@4.00 hard braking but locked again when the FL touched the slippery butumin
@5.20 I can now brake later at the blue cones
@6.20 fast righter just full power, turn and hang on
@9.20 gee not the 944 again, passed @12.00
@13.15 passed the toyota 86

2.47pm 6th run



all dampers at full hard and she feels alot more responsive n tight in the slow corners but slight high speed understeer on the bumps

@2.02 u can see the FR wheel catch the black strip and lock abit
@6.55 pass the MX5
@10.30 hit a slight entry bump in the first section and more drifting. noticed alot of rwd have been spinning there

3.17pm 7th run



full hard rear and med hard front to try reduce power understeer and tis a clear quiet dry track, everyones gone home, eh? :/
winter sun is blinding so shades on. :cool:
14min of solo driving pleasure

@7.50 passed the 911 turbo

everyones now gone home and i'm outa fuel but boy was that fun :)

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this morning may have tracked down that annoying 2krpm loud rattle.
as I was slowing and it rattled, I just touched the clutch pedal and it stops.
the cable does have abit of slack to it so it must've been that. find out tonight
 
I got a reply from the ebay seller who sent the wrong radiator

hi there the item you have recieved is OEM and is made of brass tank and copper core which has better cooling properties than aluminum. hence the core does not need to be so thick because of this. We do apologise that it is not mentioned in the listing. You do get a years guarantee with the product and from our experience these radiators are better than the standard aluminum ones with plastic tanks which tend to start melting after a while at change of weather. We do not mind taking the radiator back if you are still not satisfied. Thanks

can someone verify if his claims are true? that the brass tank, copper core and black paint will compensate for the thinner core and could theoretically perform equally or better than the current 26mm Alu rad for my turbo in trackday application?
 
Radiator should never get above 100 degrees eh, wax and ice are the only things you'll get to melt on one haha
 
I got a reply from the ebay seller who sent the wrong radiator



can someone verify if his claims are true? that the brass tank, copper core and black paint will compensate for the thinner core and could theoretically perform equally or better than the current 26mm Alu rad for my turbo in trackday application?
Polly he did mention it has warranty with the rad so if it does melt in few days or months claim a refund back


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good write up Paul! :)

I really dont buy that plastic melting on ali rads mate, iv given mine some abuse over the years and never had any problem!

I agree, mines never ever deform under a hot track with the turbo.
all the coolant would mostly vapourise before the rad got hot enough.
only time a rad could melt is when its on fire and which point the rad is the least to be concerned bout hehe
 
Polly he did mention it has warranty with the rad so if it does melt in few days or months claim a refund back


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no just 1yr guarantee.
so I either use the £50 rad hoping it'll cope with the turbo at summer,
or return it (cos technically this ebay item is "not as described") and possibly lost few quid from return postage and reorder another proper rad like mine for £70 that IS guaranteed to work.
 
no just 1yr guarantee.
so I either use the £50 rad hoping it'll cope with the turbo at summer,
or return it (cos technically this ebay item is "not as described") and possibly lost few quid from return postage and reorder another proper rad like mine for £70 that IS guaranteed to work.
Other way is return it back and say u ain't paying the few quids as it's wrong item and not same as they told u on eBay and go for the one u had before that way u know it's ok for track days and the right one


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Other way is return it back and say u ain't paying the few quids as it's wrong item and not same as they told u on eBay and go for the one u had before that way u know it's ok for track days and the right one


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totally agree ;)
 
replied back to seller

Hi, I purchased the item that had a description and picture which matched the OEM damaged one on my car and I also requested an express delivery because it needed fixing that weekend.

As the received radiator is constructed differently to the one pictured, its uncertain to perform the same as the original one with my cars setup, may affect the cars value and the cooling systems corrosion resistance because the engine and coolant was designed for aluminium.

I would like to return the radiator with a full refund including original and return postage.
 
logging the laptimes from the elvington trackday looks like this

elvington airfield times.jpg


getting faster as the track forms a dry line and I refine my setup and driving style. peaks are from passing back markers
 
checked the cylinders tonight and the middle section of all the pistons that can only be seen through the plug holes are dry n clean, needs a closer look with the scope

clutch pedal thumbscrew already fully tight but the pedal stopper was prev removed for more travel so refitted the stopper bolt to lower the pedal and take up the cable slack.

whilst checking the plugs n leads and the oil leak I just spotted these loose bolts.
aha could this be the cause of the oil leak consumption? suppose forgot to tighten that piece during assembly.
guess it explains why the dizzy o-ring felt too loose during fitting n leaked

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now tightened the bolts and the dizzy felt more snug during fitting

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lets see if this helps reduce the oil consumption
 
after adjusting the clutch pedal she's such a pleasure to drive this morning.

pedal felt smooth, firm, quiet, chunky and positive without that loose flimsy feel and the whole car was real quiet, no knocking or rattle anymore :cool: I like
 
Hi paul, if you ever have your lower rear spring seat out can you do a quick sketch with a couple of dimensions on it for me? Don't go removing them just for me though I know what you're like!
 
ebay seller got back to me with return addr and said

once item is received refund will be processed. Refund on postage is not refundable in any case as the service has been provided and paid for Kind regards

:mad:

that ain't right?
I paid £32 for a radiator (am I correct in thinking that it doesn't match the listings description significantly? or mildly cos it still fits a micra), £18 next day delivery, send the wrong item back recorded for say extra £10 and they refund the £32 radiator.
so me, the buyer, ends up £28+ out of pocket whilst the seller still retains their £32 radiator at no extra cost !?

when I opened the ebay case the email says
Here's what you have to do next:

Please allow a few days for the seller to respond to your case in the eBay Resolution Centre.

If the seller doesn't respond or if you aren't satisfied with the seller's response to your request by 25 Jan, 2014, please let us know. On that date, you can escalate your case to eBay Customer Support. A customer support agent will then review your case and get back to you with a decision within 48 hours.

What you should know:

If we don't hear from you by 16 Feb, 2014, we'll assume that things have been resolved, and your case will be closed. Note that once a case is closed, you won't be eligible for a refund through eBay Money Back Guarantee for the item.

so should I :
  1. just return the item to the seller for a refund and lose out £28?
  2. tell the seller I want a full refund (cos technically its their error in mis-description am I right?)
  3. if they don't budge, refuse the sellers £32 refund for wasting my time/money and escalate the case on 25th jan to get my full money back?
  4. or risk accepting this radiator and sell it onwards somewhere to get the money back?
 
Id just open an Ebay case Paul saying its not as described.

Fair enough if your returning something you have changed your mind on or you bought in error but not if its the sellers fault!
 
messaged them back demanding a full refund. not usually this fruitful replying back to ppl but this seller takes the p

Hi, after receiving this item which is not as described, I don't see why I should end up paying for both delivery and return postage totalling up to the cost of the item itself while you receive the item back at no extra cost.

I expect to be reimbursed the original purchase cost, original postage and return postage for sending me the wrong item and wasting my time and money
 
in other news I believe this engines oil leak/consumption issue is close to fixed after running it on track and tightening the engine head bolts for the dizzy.
I'll need to clean the oil residue off the gearbox side to make sure, but the big leak seemed to have stopped.

the plugs are still powdery white from burning tiny bit of oil in the chambers but the top of the pistons are now only 5-10% oily round the edges and slightly damp over the face whereas before it was 50% wet and 50% damp.
engine has now been running for 6800 miles since it was rebuilt

if I can find my endoscopes video cable I'll recapture the footage
 
those oil control rings have finally bedded in then paul :cool: i had a couple of builds recently that still smoked, but when i selected the 4 most worn o/c rings and fitted them to the lower position (and the best 4 in the upper position) the smoking stopped
 
Did you Pay by paypal , because i seem to remember someone saying if you open up a case there instead they'll hold back the money which generally gets the outcome you want from the buyer ? Or i may have that totally wrong in which case , ignore me :p
 
those oil control rings have finally bedded in then paul :cool: i had a couple of builds recently that still smoked, but when i selected the 4 most worn o/c rings and fitted them to the lower position (and the best 4 in the upper position) the smoking stopped

seems to be. found me endoscope cable so will video it soon.
I think it needs mooore trackdays :D
 
Did you Pay by paypal , because i seem to remember someone saying if you open up a case there instead they'll hold back the money which generally gets the outcome you want from the buyer ? Or i may have that totally wrong in which case , ignore me :p

yea through paypal.
dunno I just went thru ebays solutions case page. tdays the last day to get an answer off seller before I elevate the case to ebay.
 
so this is what the pistons looks like this morning



spray cleaned the oil residue off the gearbox with carb cleaner

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to make sure the oil doesn't leak back out the dizzy, applied abit of sealant

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cleaned the underside

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changed the oil

check the brakes. front right pads looking abit toasted. the rear end of the pads crumbling abit prob from the disc groove.
either these FT pads don't like extreme heat or the grooves are just chewing them up

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the front left, yikes needs changing.
also the pads are tapered (sticking front clips) and worn unevenly (sticking caliper guide pins)

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replaced both sides. rather than applying copper grease on the pad clips that'll just collect dirt n bind, I use graphite powder.
brakes feel much grippier but lets see when the bedding in layer wears off

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I've always said, grooved/slotted and drilled discs are only good for stage rallying where you might need to disperse water quickly. For every other occasion solid faced vented discs are the best :)
 
What pads are you using? Ebc blacks? They work well for me, but dont last long.

Grooved / drilled discs = slight weight saving and eating up pads MUCH quicker, not real performance benefit.
 
What pads are you using? Ebc blacks? They work well for me, but dont last long.

Grooved / drilled discs = slight weight saving and eating up pads MUCH quicker, not real performance benefit.

black diamond predator fast track on black diamond grooved discs

they certainly have enough braking power and consistancy but at the expense of destroying pads on track. perhaps once these discs wear I'll change em to smooth discs
 
Also how are you bedding them in ? Should be 30 to 0, 40 to 0 etc building up to 80 to 0 getting them smoking hot and the drive for a few miles until they are fully cooled down the abuse!
 
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