• Please only use these forums for blogs, they are not a discussion forum

PollyMobiles Rebuild

OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
recently noticed that the printers heated bed was slightly twisted at the far end where it's only supported by 1 of the 3 mounts, making it difficult to ensure a flat platform across the whole bed.
decided to drill two new holes so it can be adjusted at 4 corner points.
but there's no existing schematics about the makibox heated bed circuit layout hidden under the steel plate,
I'm just hoping all the circuit routes within the mounting holes and I could dril around the outside.

IMAG2983.jpg


drilled two new holes in the bed & moving frame

IMAG2985.jpg


applied an insulator under the bed to help reduce heat up time

IMAG2988.jpg


OK reconnected it all up, power on and erm nothing, controller is blank and power adapter light is blinking, Oh ohh this ain't good.
is it a short? I'm screwed if the beds broken.

unplugged the heated bed and the rest of the XYZ motors are working again, phew I didn't blow the controller, good thing it has some shorting protection.

Ah pants, the heater circuit must've gone under where I've drilled and shorted out :/

Right, time to split the stainless plate off the PCB heater board. it was tricky with alot of razor blades but eventually separated the high temp adhesive tape without damaging / bending the board much

IMAG2989.jpg


and yeah I drilled straight through the circuit :rolleyes:

IMAG2990.jpg


so here's the circuit layout

IMAG3000.jpg


red = 12v feed towards center
blue = ground feed
green box = glass bed

0 original circuit.jpg


gonna have to reroute the circuit to bypass the conflicting new screw holes and disable part of the heater element outside the glass bed to prevent it overheating.
so gonna reconnect the areas marked in yellow

1 rerouted circuit.jpg


exposed the copper tracks

IMAG3001.jpg


connected some areas with conductive paint

IMAG3002.jpg


connected this crucial 12v feed overhead the ground feed by soldering afew strands of copper wire

IMAG3003.jpg


the flat areas under the glass bed connected with conductive paint. I also grinded any remaining copper tracks away from the screw holes so it doesn't short out through the metal chassis

IMAG3004.jpg
IMAG3005.jpg


removed copper backing away from the screw holes underneath

IMAG3006.jpg


fibre washers insulating between the screws and PCB

IMAG3007.jpg
IMAG3008.jpg


another issue is the bed. I could either:
- bond the stainless plate back onto the PCB heater (temporarily with some double sided high temp tape or permanently with epoxy thermal paste) to spread the heat and able to bend the metal flat then clamp the glass on top, but heater still has to slowly heatup both the steel & glass bed.
- or simply clamp the already flat glass onto the PCB heater for fast heatup but air gaps may affect heat distribution.

decided it's easier & better to just clamp the glass on top.
finally found 4 tiny binder clips to secure the bed from the corners.

IMAG3011.jpg


the heated bed finally works and works really well.
I'm able to adjust all 4 corners completely even flat (there are some gaps between the flat glass & the PCB cos the PCB has bent slightly after I pryed it off the stainless plate but it's a minor issue) and by clamping the glass directly onto the PCB heater, the heatup has reduced from 7min down to just 4min :)

happy with the improvement.
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
thermal paste would be very messy & wasteful cos every time I renew the ABS slurry coating on the glass between prints, I'd have to remove the glass, wipe the paste off, scrape the old slurry off under a warm tap, then reapply another measure of paste.

I was thinking more towards a thick non-adhesive thermal pad to conduct over very uneven surfaces.

maplin sells 5mm thick thermal pads, conducts 2W-per-mK but they're only 30x60mm, £8 each and there's only 2 in stock. whereas I'd need upto 11 packs to fill the 150x130mm bed.
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/akasa-5mm-thermal-gap-filler-a00nn

the other nearest local supplier of thermal pad was RS components.
they sell 150x150x2mm sheets and conducts 2W/mK at £34
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/thermal-gap-pads/7074746/

they also sell a more conductive 6W/mK sheet for £70
http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/thermal-gap-pads/7074770/

abit expensive but meh here's the thermal gel pad #7074770

IMAG3063.jpg


trimmed to fit the bed

IMAG3064.jpg


the previous foamy insulator didn't work cos it simply melted at high temp, so lets try some corragated cardboard

IMAG3065.jpg
IMAG3066.jpg


the thermal pad has a tacky plastercine feel/smell to it

IMAG3067.jpg


clamped it down with small clips but notice how it only clamps within a small area, so I had to apply alot of clamps all around but still the heater PCB is so warped that the middle section is hardly conducting.

cos the pad is tacky, it's difficult to remove the glass for cleaning the ABS slurry off so it'd have to stay in place without the coating.
tried printing on bare glass at high temps and it simply doesn't work without the slurry.

IMAG3068.jpg


at high temps the double sided tape also melts so it can't hold the cardboard insulator

IMAG3069.jpg
IMAG3070.jpg


I'd have to place a more permanant steel plate on top of the sticky thermal pad, then the coated glass on top and we're back to the old setup but with a thick pad sandwich.
with the steel & glass bed, heatup time has again rised back up to 7min :(
tbh this thermal pad doesn't offer any better heat distribution nor any benefits so twas a waste of £70

IMAG3071.jpg


so now I'll clamp the cardboard insulator to the PCB

IMAG3072.jpg


and clamp the glass straight back on the PCB for a fast 4min heatup

IMAG3080.jpg


another issue then came when the controller stopped powering up. seems the power connector is fused on

IMAG3074.jpg


erm yup it's burnt out abit :/

IMAG3075.jpg


hard wired the power plug straight into the PCB and now it's up & running

IMAG3076.jpg
IMAG3077.jpg
IMAG3078.jpg
IMAG3079.jpg
 
Might wanna put a fuse on that line looks like its pulling way too much, on aliexpress you can get thermalpads dunno about sizes but cheap, slow shipping though
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Might wanna put a fuse on that line looks like its pulling way too much, on aliexpress you can get thermalpads dunno about sizes but cheap, slow shipping though

looks like it overheated due to high resistance from poor pin contact with that much wattage.
I suspect the causes could be:
arcing between terminal pins from connecting/disconnect plug whilst still live with 12v may have oxidised the contacts,
repeated plug/unplugging may have loosened all the female terminal pins,
frequent unplugging of connector over past few months of rebuilding the printer.

now that it's hard wired straight between the adapter plug & PCB, there's no signs of overload and the 4 wires are cool.

as I found out, there's no point in the thermal pads here cos it doesn't fully contact the bendy PCB heater board and gave zero benefits.
the glass clamped on top of heater is working nicely, fast heatup, prints are sticking fine and easy to service.

if I was to further upgrade the bed, I'd be getting those proper flexible red heater pads that bonds under a metal/glass plate, but would need to find the required wattage for this controller board.
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
so yesterday I was giving me m8s a lift home from pub, I press remote but always takes a sec to unlock.
meanwhile one of em pulls the rear handle prematurely and obviously doesn't unlock.
I got in, they try pulling again but couldn't open it. I thought the lock had jammed so they got in the other door.

back at home found they'd snapped me handle off (owes me more drinks)
FFS :rolleyes:

DSC01565.JPG


could goto local scrappies but the nearest good one with micra is 10miles, £3 fuel plus they'd prob charge £5 for the handle plus 1hr of my time doing all that.
instead I just ordered a new one of ebay £6 delivered next week.

meanwhile I could've removed the handle to either glue back or model/3D print a copy but that's all PITA and will be fragile, costly and time consuming.
instead, as it was a clean snap I just superglued it back on for the time being and it works brill :D

DSC01566.JPG


if only they were made in metal and levers the rod from the middle rather than from the side of the handle.
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Following a sudden unexpected passing away of a good friend recently (may he r.i.p), I decided to print afew star wars models for adding onto a wreath as respect cos he was a massive fan.

printing vaders head

IMAG3089.jpg


gradually carefully picking the support material off the intricate surface

IMAG3090.jpg
IMAG3091.jpg


all support structure removed to reveal a detailed face

IMAG3092.jpg


printing two halfs of the death star

IMAG3098.jpg


supports removed

IMAG3099.jpg


filled in a faulty gap

IMAG3101.jpg


printing yoda

IMAG3102.jpg


removed supports off the very delicate model

IMAG3103.jpg
IMAG3105.jpg


printing the falcon

IMAG3111.jpg


unvealing the supports bit by bit

IMAG3112.jpg
IMAG3113.jpg
IMAG3114.jpg
IMAG3115.jpg


all 4 models successfully printed

IMAG3117.jpg


acetone vapour smoothing

IMAG3120.jpg
IMAG3121.jpg
IMAG3122.jpg
IMAG3125.jpg


finished printing & smoothing of the star wars models :cool:

IMAG3126.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
I haven't serviced the catchcan for awhile now over the winter. just half full but geez just look at this thick gunk, this is what would've been in our engines.

DSC01568.JPG


looking inside the hoses and oh myy, it's clogged full of gunk, I could'nt blow through it.
probably another reason why it ain't fitted to everyday cars is the manufacturers don't think most ppl are willing to frequently service/clear out/dispose of all this thick gunk every month. easier to simply keep the vapours warm and burn it away asap

DSC01567.JPG


squeezed the gunk out the hoses and it's like toothpaste thick, this definately ain't gonna let the PCV/catchcan system work.

the plumbing that's within the engine bay area where it's alot warmer stays clear, has just a light coating of oil.
the thick gunk is only near the front area where the cold airstream blows at the catchcan & hoses, causing all the vapours to condense / build up along the chilled plumbing until it eventually clogges up.

if black oil sludge is like the engines arterial cholesterol, this thick condensed oil vapour is equivelent to a coughy phlegm

DSC01569.JPG
DSC01570.JPG
DSC01571.JPG


the engine cover - inlet catchcan again doesn't have any build up cos cool fresh air flows through it most of the time during high vac

DSC01573.JPG


cleaned all this engine phlegm out and it appears working fine again.

DSC01572.JPG
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
received the new handle

IMAG3151.jpg


painted. lots of base coat orange peel compared to the other handles prob due to the cold but it'll do

IMAG3162.jpg


removed cracked old one

DSC01575.JPG


and installed

DSC01576.JPG


was driving around town and it's more noticeable nowadays that she always smokes oil when cold and only driven around normally at short distances, oil being sucked into bores past the poor rings.
well this definately ain't ideal for a daily car.
went out again to blast her, clear those pipes, park by motorway and rev the nuts off her looking for anymore smoke.
now once she's been pushed and all heated up, she doesn't smoke as much.

basically I guess these forged racing pistons are only meant to be thrashed hot to keep em hot n clearances upto spec but when cooler and driving normally she's way too slack and leak / burn oil.
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
the rear extended studs stick out too far & rust, so thought I'd clean em before aligning wheels soon

DSC01577.JPG


cut & retap them shorter

DSC01578.JPG


sitting flush

DSC01579.JPG
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
time to repatch this leaking turbo return fitting that was covered in ChemMetal last year

DSC01580.JPG


halfords didn't have JB weld in store. araldite says oil resistant but dunno if that alalso meant for patch j jobs and only withstands 80degC. not sure if the black instant gasket sealant can hold up against the surface oil leak.
thought I'd try this super steel epoxy resin which said it can work on cracked oil sump

super-steel-epoxy-weld-1291722165-l.jpg


the old ChemMetal can be chipped clean off so it barely bonds onto the steel and is too stiff & brittle

DSC01581.JPG


got as much of it off, roughen with emery cloth and degreased with carb cleaner

DSC01582.JPG


applied the epoxy. while ChemMetal is a very viscous bodyfiller that can be shaped and hardens quickly, this epoxy is abit more runny goopy so can get deeper into cavities and smooth itself

DSC01583.JPG


lets see if it'll work once it soon cures
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
the epoxy has now cured into a firm flexible and not rock hard brittle seal

DSC01588.JPG


relubed the clutch cable

DSC01584.JPG


now this is odd that I've never seen before. the catchcan only collected mostly clear water vapour instead of milky oil vapour.
blowed through the crankcase-catchcan hose and once again partially blocked with water and goop.
medically I could say that kasandra has a chest infection lol

DSC01587.JPG


ok so I guess the hose plumbing that goes behind & around the front of the rad is cooling / condensing the vapours prematurely.
so I rerouted a shorten length to flow within the warm engine bay and then quickly to & from the catchcan in the cool airstream so it doesn't block the pipe. recheck it few days later

DSC01586.JPG
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
after afew miles, the epoxy sealed sump fitting appears nice n dry :)

was chatting to andy and he suggested wrapping the hose with Alu tape to help further insulate em from too much cold so I tried that

DSC01589.JPG


abit more blingy now :D see how it does for a further few miles

DSC01590.JPG
DSC01591.JPG
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Won't ally tape cool it down more? Yes it'll insulate it from the cold, but it will also reflect away the exhaust heat?

dunno, tis why I'm trying it out.
aye I think it'll reflect infra-red but still allow cool air blowing over it to conduct heat away since it's so thin. was gonna use that thin foam silver backing liner but it'd be too thick and didn't have enough.
the hose ain't exposed to much exhaust heat imo, the hottest bit would be warm air behind the rad area.
I think the shorter plumbing from crankcase has helped cos inside the hose has stayed clear.
 

h701micra

Deactivated Account
Won't ally tape cool it down more? Yes it'll insulate it from the cold, but it will also reflect away the exhaust heat?
Heat's a constant from the crank breather
Giving it another layer of insulation helps retain it

It's theoretical as I've no hard evidence other than it worked for me although not my intention at the time
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Integrating action camera into helmet

For the past 2 weeks I've been trying to redesign my spare Drift X170 camera into separate parts to fit inside my trackday helmet to give a better POV and not have this big bright thing stuck to the side.

Disassembled, analysed & modelled every detailed part

(0).jpg
(1).JPG
(2).JPG


Camera Sensor

First design of the camera case had the cable pointing back but this fouled the helmet and the method of joining the casing needed work

cam 1-5 (0).jpg
cam 1-5 (1).jpg
cam 1-5 (2).jpg


The final design moved the cable out sideways, mic was also in the case and the case joined via twist lock.

cam 6 (0).jpg
cam 6 (1).jpg
cam 6 (2).jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Circuit Case

Case 1-3
the first design was simply a duplicate of the original layout with a hole for the camera cable but it was far too bulky

case 1-3 (0).jpg
case 1-3 (1).jpg
case 1-3 (2).jpg


Case 4-5
moved the batteries along the side to make it slimmer and rounded the corners, but the printer didn't like overhanging surfaces that curve upwards

case 4-5 (0).jpg
case 4-5 (1).jpg
case 4-5 (2).jpg


Case 6
made the ends square which printed better but by having the inner 4 small screws clamping both the circuit board & case, the outer edge of the unsupported case had big gaps sp the sliding battery lid can't work

case 6 (0).jpg
case 6 (1).jpg
case 6 (2).jpg


Case 7-8
moved the batteries along the front with a top sliding battery lid but it was too long and the case split line was too flimsy

case 7-8 (0).jpg
case 7-8 (1).jpg
case 7-8 (2).jpg


Case 10
moved the batteries across the topside to keep it compact and have the case split sideways down the middle, but the complicated split line and tall thin walls had issues printing

case 10 (0).jpg
case 10 (1).jpg
case 10 (2).jpg


Case 11-13
resorted back to the basic original layout but made the battery housing part of the case and had a sliding battery lid, but the sprung batteries warped the lid

case 11-13 (0).jpg
case 11-13 (2).jpg


Case 14
moved battery back to the sides for compactness and made a sliding lid at the bottom to keep the case around the battery stiff but the long opening had weakened the wall structure

case 14 (0).jpg
case 14 (1).jpg


Case 16
kept it simple and just had a sliding top lid but the sliding lip was too weak and changing batteries would be tricky

case 16 (0).jpg
case 16 (1).jpg


Case 17
the breakthrough was to make the battery compartment & circuit casing separately. the circuit simply slides into the one-piece case, battery compartment screwed onto the end and the battery cap would twist lock. this worked but the twist lock fingers need reinforcing

case 17 (0).jpg
case 17 (1).jpg


Case 18
tried increasing more interlocking fingers but twas too small for the printer

case 18 (0).jpg
case 18 (1).jpg


Case 19
this final design has just 3 strong twist locking fingers in the battery cap and smooth rounded edges

case 19-20 (0).jpg
case 19-20 (1).jpg
case 19-20 (2).jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Wiring

found an old parallel port printer cable that had over 20 wires for the camera sensor but was too stiff, so cut the rubber cover off

IMAG3214.jpg


and put in a braided sleeve to allow the wires to bend & slide freely

IMAG3215.jpg


Assembly

tediously soldered all 20+ tiny terminals

IMAG3217.jpg


camera unit assembled

IMAG3218.jpg


joining the loom to the connector plug with yet another 20+ tiny solder, u can imagine that I really hated soldering now

IMAG3221.jpg


carefully slid the circuit into the case

IMAG3223.jpg


powered it up and ah damn :( the screen flickers but fails to boot up, think a wirings wrong somewhere, dammit

IMAG3224.jpg


took apart to diagnose. tried the camera loom on another working board and the video is fuzzy so I guess I've either mis-wired the loom or it's too long :(
FFS well that was all a wasted effort.

IMAG3225.jpg


time to fit the cameras back onto the car for blyton next week so made these blanking ends to keep dirt out

IMAG3226.jpg
IMAG3229.jpg
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Redesign Glove Box Lock

the prev sprung loaded latch mechanism was jamming up again so lets redesign a simpler twist lock

removed & measured the original mounting points

DSC01592.JPG
DSC01593.JPG


Lock design #4

here I was trying this complicated fancy spiral ramp type flute to help turn the knob open if it was misaligned and the glovebox was simply pushed shut

glove lock 4.jpg


printed & smoothed

IMAG3230.jpg
IMAG3231.jpg


interlocks like this

IMAG3233.jpg


fitted the mount

DSC01594.JPG


the handle secured through the hole with a pin through it

DSC01595.JPG


but soon realised the glovebox actually swings open at an odd offset angle and the latch fingers seemed too flimsy

DSC01596.JPG


Lock design #6

should always tell myself k.i.s.s
rather than worry bout this self-retracting latch, just make it a simple t-lock.

glove lock 6a.jpg
glove lock 6b.jpg


turn knob 90deg to release. a split disc is screwed on to keep handle retained

glove lock 6c.jpg


printed & smoothed

IMAG3234.jpg
IMAG3235.jpg
IMAG3236.jpg
IMAG3238.jpg


fitted mount

DSC01598.JPG


and the handle secured. works nice now :cool:

DSC01599.JPG
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
fitted all the onboard cameras back on today after the winter break and went for a drive to check the settings right and the cars fine.
the cabin camera's abit over-exposed so will turn it down next time. the rear view camera failed to record.
on cold starts and when left idling over 1min she smokes heavily so who knows when this engines gonna finally let go.



with the car warmed up, I began checking the wheel alignments

DSC01600.JPG


the rear axle was pointing slightly left so corrected it. front wheels still pointing straight with zero toe and 1.8deg/2.0deg left/right camber.
recheck everything again tomorrow
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
checking outside footage of recent cold starts it seems that the exhaust cold cranks clear, 20-30sec later it begins to emit steam but then 1min later she begins to emit blue smoke





the rear view camera once again shutting off for some reason mid-rec, think it's cos I left some old batteries in it.

steering now heading really straight afew realignment
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
tday fitted the trackday 595rsr tyres so I arrive at blyton in the rain ready to go.

considering it's gonna rain heavy all day, the rsr are getting abit thin approx 2.5 - 4mm (never tried these in rain and prob risk of aquaplaning/spin but they're a good grippy compound) whereas the t1r are 6.5 - 7.5mm but limited amount of grip/durability.
logic says try out the rsr in wet to find out the facts as R&D and if it's too slippery, then I'll switch back to t1r.
I put the deeper tread rsr at the front.

brake pads still plenty thick.

fixed the rear view & pedal cam power issue and tested this final camera config

 

SuperUno

Buy & Sell Member
Unless there is a LOT of standing water, then performance in the wet is all down to the compound of the rubber and not the tread. Tread helps the rubber move and thus warm up the rubber. At Brands this year, I ran full rally slicks i.e. 17% tread in the wet and reasonable amounts of standing water and had no issue as the compound was very soft (X22) so soft when cold you can move the rubber with your thumb...

Library image for reference

dunlop_cr311_zps0ef53bab.jpg
 
I agree - at the trackday today I was running Road legal semi slicks, however there was just no grip and no heat.

Last rally at Blyton was slightly drier admittedly, however I ran soft tarmac rally slicks (like the above pic) and had a shed load more grip than today

Hope you had a good day Paul, didn't really get time to chat much. Finally sorted my brakes, gone back to standard callipers etc
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
after tdays completely rivered down blyton track, I totally agree with matt n alex. I thought the worn down semi was gonna slide all over when cold or monsooned but actually on the non-standing wet bits I was pleasantly surprised at how grippy these RSR are even in the heavy rain )

as usual I'm so tired so will report soon after rest.
soz I was so busy alex, andy, edward. I always have so much stuff to do/check rushing around, looking afew me two m8s who also told me in morning he needed to get back by 6 so had so much of my r&d and driving to cram into a shortened day before jetting off at 2pm.

that gazebo was soo essential for storage stuff tday :)
if only I had more time to take alex & ed around.
 

h701micra

Deactivated Account
You'll just find its takes slightly longer to get the heat in to the tyres
Thankfully the standing water on circuit eventually got splashed off for the majority which stopped the cooling of tyres so much
It only added approx 1-2 laps extra for warming to usual runs, hence my question Paul as i got to see the variety in performance between the 3 vehicles such big differences. Baptism of fire for Edward but he did well and held his own

Didn't have a massive impact on anyone's abilities. Slightly less slip angle tolerances and braking capability as to be expected but all in all still a good days drive.

And for those wondering, my drive home was much less eventful thankfully :D
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
You'll just find its takes slightly longer to get the heat in to the tyres
Thankfully the standing water on circuit eventually got splashed off for the majority which stopped the cooling of tyres so much
It only added approx 1-2 laps extra for warming to usual runs, hence my question Paul as i got to see the variety in performance between the 3 vehicles such big differences. Baptism of fire for Edward but he did well and held his own

Didn't have a massive impact on anyone's abilities. Slightly less slip angle tolerances and braking capability as to be expected but all in all still a good days drive.

And for those wondering, my drive home was much less eventful thankfully :D

thx for the valuable evaluation between the cars.

if only we could have like a dedicated micra try-out trackday were we each get to ride in every car (half the group drive their own cars, the other half get to ride along in each car, then swap around) to get an overall feel of the differences, hopefully with minimum running issues.

yeah it did seem to take me 2-3 laps before the tyres were peak warm and stopped locking as much.
what was up with ed's? he still looked quick in the corners.
was definate a fun day even with some issues, which I just found this morning to be a boost pipe after the IC that's popped loose (hence I had minimal boost & power on the way home), easy fix.
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Just remembered I spun in exactly the same place as Paul did last time we were both out - cursed micra corner! Hehe

that high speed port froid is a very tricky transitioning corner that catches out alot of drivers if mistreated, including me :p
saw this red mx5 spin there right ahead of me.
but strangely for me, kasandra was very stable through ports froid in the wet, no oversteer but I still couldn't trust her 100% to go WOT in 4th there.

actually aload of mx5 I was closing up on soon spun (their driving style was kinda irratic oversteery & inconsistant, well there was alot of novices that day tbh), must've been the psychological pressure from watching me closely behind them :)
 
That's exactly it, whenever you're catching someone they start to spend more time looking backwards instead of forwards! Tis why we tailgate people when rallying, try and force them to cock up and let us pass haha

Yeah I just had slight understeer coming out the corner so backed off the throttle, obviously just backed off to much!
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
That's exactly it, whenever you're catching someone they start to spend more time looking backwards instead of forwards! Tis why we tailgate people when rallying, try and force them to cock up and let us pass haha

Yeah I just had slight understeer coming out the corner so backed off the throttle, obviously just backed off to much!

it's a well know racing tactic to push the person ahead into a mistake.
it's exactly similar to what you find on the public roads with c*ck drivers in audi/beemer/white van man riding up ur butt with full beams in attempt to make u get out the way.
that's why I have no rear mirror cos it makes me nervous. hence I only purely focus on whats ahead and just use side mirrors when needed and I stay relaxed.

what I learnt from the very wet conditions is to be very smooth, progressive, and abit less braking & steering force than in dry due to limited amount of adhesion.
if I stamp on the brakes it locks easy. I had to smoothly slowly increase the braking force till it "just" begins to slip, whilst simultaneously lift off smoothly.
if I just stamp WOT to high rpm peak torque it just wheelspins / power understeer. I had to gradually feed the throttle and short shift.
if I steer too fast it just understeers. I had to treat her tenderly, smoothly, give her time to adjust to the transitioning corners like port froid and she behaves.

I'm gonna try avoid the naughty metaphors comparing driving styles when wet to how to treat women or a dangerous dog. and fail :p
 

Love_Whiskey

Super S Restorer
I had so much fun, good to meet Alex and nice to see Andy and Paul again. Haven't stopped being excited yet.

Really enjoyed it for my first time on track and I'll do one again. Car ran flawlessly (makes me proud) and tyres were better than expected.

Learnt a lot about driving and how the car handles, and was humbled by what I did learn. Was very nervous at first but hugely thankful to Andy and Alex for the moral support they offered riding out with me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
I had so much fun, good to meet Alex and nice to see Andy and Paul again. Haven't stopped being excited yet.

Really enjoyed it for my first time on track and I'll do one again. Car ran flawlessly (makes me proud) and tyres were better than expected.

Learnt a lot about driving and how the car handles, and was humbled by what I did learn. Was very nervous at first but hugely thankful to Andy and Alex for the moral support they offered riding out with me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

my cousin said once you get the trackday bug, ur hooked like a drug :p

that was ur first time? I'm impressed, u did really well in the challenging condition.
you learn ton's of valuable info about your car near the limit on a controlled track, can make you safer driver on the road.
 

h701micra

Deactivated Account
thx for the valuable evaluation between the cars.

if only we could have like a dedicated micra try-out trackday were we each get to ride in every car (half the group drive their own cars, the other half get to ride along in each car, then swap around) to get an overall feel of the differences, hopefully with minimum running issues.

yeah it did seem to take me 2-3 laps before the tyres were peak warm and stopped locking as much.
what was up with ed's? he still looked quick in the corners.
was definate a fun day even with some issues, which I just found this morning to be a boost pipe after the IC that's popped loose (hence I had minimal boost & power on the way home), easy fix.
You certainly notice the difference from a handling aspect all coming from the same chassis, Alex's being much tighter because of that roll cage and the support of the seats etc.
Yours Paul has the balance and it becomes obvious to those who know the signs of spotting a balanced and developed car
Ed's was fine, just his first time out. He did superbly. The corner he believed he favoured least turned out to be his strongest, much comfier car due to the seats I suspect.
Definitely a good experience for myself to see that variation. I msy be biased, but I do prefer the ride of Eds coilovers to thr BCs :D

Glad its a simple fix :) we said it would be something daft
 
Eds car was very very stiff, sod all body roll!
From previous rides with Paul I will say your car is very predictable and tight handling, a very nice setup can tell you've spent a while getting it properly corner weighted and dialled in, much better than mine :p
Mines twitchy, fast in the right conditions but yesterday was a real handful
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
You certainly notice the difference from a handling aspect all coming from the same chassis, Alex's being much tighter because of that roll cage and the support of the seats etc.
Yours Paul has the balance and it becomes obvious to those who know the signs of spotting a balanced and developed car
Ed's was fine, just his first time out. He did superbly. The corner he believed he favoured least turned out to be his strongest, much comfier car due to the seats I suspect.
Definitely a good experience for myself to see that variation. I msy be biased, but I do prefer the ride of Eds coilovers to thr BCs :D

Glad its a simple fix :) we said it would be something daft

nice insight, ur so lucky to get to sit in all the cars :p
yeah mine could do with a rigid seat & harness but is compromised by practicality.

I know, tis a silly issue but good to know it's very minor and easy to fix. gonna fit a longer elbow joint so it's not as easy for the pipe to wiggle off from the engine movement.
 
OP
OP
pollyp

pollyp

Club Member
Eds car was very very stiff, sod all body roll!
From previous rides with Paul I will say your car is very predictable and tight handling, a very nice setup can tell you've spent a while getting it properly corner weighted and dialled in, much better than mine :p
Mines twitchy, fast in the right conditions but yesterday was a real handful

yup being consistant and confident with finesse between man & machine helps keep you safe & fast.
 
Top