Discussion
A bit of a report on last weekend's hillclimbing activities...
The run up to the weekend of my very first hillclimb was a bit fraught. A noticeable wheel wobble under braking had developed and a quick glance indicated that I'd got 2 warped discs. They'd only gone on 1000 miles previously so assumed some kind of manufacturing issue. So 2 days before Harewood the new parts arrived and we started to swap them over at the workshop.
Sadly it turned out to be that both front hubs had warped and we had a nasty case of runout. Not great. Fortunately I had a spare pair of hubs in the stores so we swapped them over, put on new discs and pads anyway and all was fine. The car rolled out of the garage 12 hours before the event
Also on went the new wheels (deep dish 951 15'' teledials) and tyres - Yokohama A048 medium compound 205/60/15s.
The Yokos are a fantastic tyre. They look similar to a Toyo R888 but they're markedly different. The 888 is a modified tread road tyre but the Yoko is a true racing carcass with incredibly stiff sidewalls. This is a bit of a coup when you run a weird size like us - I was one of the very few cars out of 113 entries running more than a 45/50 profile tyre.
I had the Friday evening to prep the car at home - basically emptying out all the rally crap and potential missiles like the wheel brace etc. Even managed to give drag a wet rag over it and slap on my race numbers. I was quite chuffed to draw No. 99.
Come Saturday morning I met up with my internet friend Peter who had been a big help with info in the run up to my very first hillclimb (are you on here, Peter?) and got over nice and early to walk the track.
The weather was gnarly - low misty cloud and near permanent rain. I knew on the way over that the Yokos were really struggling in these conditions, even at normal road speeds.
And so in the blink of an eye I was lining up for my very first practice run with rain coming down - light fine rain but relentless.
Like an idiot I absolutely nailed it off the start line, bringing the revs up to 4k and just dumping the clutch. In the dry this is the perfect way, but in the rain on semi slicks still covered in release compound it meant that as the clock ticked past 3 seconds I was still looking at the startline marshals with my rear tyres just spinning. What a cretin!
Then round the first right hander and down the hill to the esses. I dabbed the brake gingerly and the back stepped out by about 30 degrees. Oops. That set the tone for the first run, just nursing the car around the course and trying to learn the lines.
Being a competitive chap I'd asked Peter for a target for my first event. He told me he know of a bloke who has been running a 944S (faster than mine) at Harewood for a few years and managed to crack a 76sec run. I was hoping to smash that on my first practice (!) so you can imagine how great I felt when I crossed the finish line in a mere 94 seconds. b
ks.
The weather and tyres played a massive part in that as even under light brakes the back end was stepping out. Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them.
45 mins later and I was ready for practice 2. It was still wet but a dry line was starting to appear in places. This is that run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LUTrzblThM
The car was still pretty loose on almost every corner and was wagging the tail under brakes. Was a bit easier now I knew the course better so I managed to knock 10 seconds off my run sticking in an 84 in wet conditions. Was a bit happier with that but knew there was more to come.
Sadly no more GoPro footage as some div (me) forgot to charge it up fully...
After a break for lunch we started the competitive runs. The first of which you'd consider to be damp, the last 2 in full dry.
Run 1 - 79
Run 2 - 77
Run 3 - 75
And that was that. I was bitterly disappointed that I didn't get down to 70 dead but soon got over myself when I remembered that I'd managed to beat a bloke in a faster 944 with a few seasons experience on my very first go.
Being completely realistic I KNOW that there is a load more time to come out of the car with no mods. In fact I'd be very surprised if I couldn't trim 8 seconds off in dry conditions. That would please me a great deal.
So I'm going to go back again on Aug 1/2 for another crack at it. Crack is in fact a very good word because hillclimbing is as addictive as it. If you've never had a go just do it, it really is that fun.
The run up to the weekend of my very first hillclimb was a bit fraught. A noticeable wheel wobble under braking had developed and a quick glance indicated that I'd got 2 warped discs. They'd only gone on 1000 miles previously so assumed some kind of manufacturing issue. So 2 days before Harewood the new parts arrived and we started to swap them over at the workshop.
Sadly it turned out to be that both front hubs had warped and we had a nasty case of runout. Not great. Fortunately I had a spare pair of hubs in the stores so we swapped them over, put on new discs and pads anyway and all was fine. The car rolled out of the garage 12 hours before the event
Also on went the new wheels (deep dish 951 15'' teledials) and tyres - Yokohama A048 medium compound 205/60/15s.
The Yokos are a fantastic tyre. They look similar to a Toyo R888 but they're markedly different. The 888 is a modified tread road tyre but the Yoko is a true racing carcass with incredibly stiff sidewalls. This is a bit of a coup when you run a weird size like us - I was one of the very few cars out of 113 entries running more than a 45/50 profile tyre.
I had the Friday evening to prep the car at home - basically emptying out all the rally crap and potential missiles like the wheel brace etc. Even managed to give drag a wet rag over it and slap on my race numbers. I was quite chuffed to draw No. 99.
Come Saturday morning I met up with my internet friend Peter who had been a big help with info in the run up to my very first hillclimb (are you on here, Peter?) and got over nice and early to walk the track.
The weather was gnarly - low misty cloud and near permanent rain. I knew on the way over that the Yokos were really struggling in these conditions, even at normal road speeds.
And so in the blink of an eye I was lining up for my very first practice run with rain coming down - light fine rain but relentless.
Like an idiot I absolutely nailed it off the start line, bringing the revs up to 4k and just dumping the clutch. In the dry this is the perfect way, but in the rain on semi slicks still covered in release compound it meant that as the clock ticked past 3 seconds I was still looking at the startline marshals with my rear tyres just spinning. What a cretin!
Then round the first right hander and down the hill to the esses. I dabbed the brake gingerly and the back stepped out by about 30 degrees. Oops. That set the tone for the first run, just nursing the car around the course and trying to learn the lines.
Being a competitive chap I'd asked Peter for a target for my first event. He told me he know of a bloke who has been running a 944S (faster than mine) at Harewood for a few years and managed to crack a 76sec run. I was hoping to smash that on my first practice (!) so you can imagine how great I felt when I crossed the finish line in a mere 94 seconds. b
ks.The weather and tyres played a massive part in that as even under light brakes the back end was stepping out. Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them.
45 mins later and I was ready for practice 2. It was still wet but a dry line was starting to appear in places. This is that run:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LUTrzblThM
The car was still pretty loose on almost every corner and was wagging the tail under brakes. Was a bit easier now I knew the course better so I managed to knock 10 seconds off my run sticking in an 84 in wet conditions. Was a bit happier with that but knew there was more to come.
Sadly no more GoPro footage as some div (me) forgot to charge it up fully...
After a break for lunch we started the competitive runs. The first of which you'd consider to be damp, the last 2 in full dry.
Run 1 - 79
Run 2 - 77
Run 3 - 75
And that was that. I was bitterly disappointed that I didn't get down to 70 dead but soon got over myself when I remembered that I'd managed to beat a bloke in a faster 944 with a few seasons experience on my very first go.
Being completely realistic I KNOW that there is a load more time to come out of the car with no mods. In fact I'd be very surprised if I couldn't trim 8 seconds off in dry conditions. That would please me a great deal.
So I'm going to go back again on Aug 1/2 for another crack at it. Crack is in fact a very good word because hillclimbing is as addictive as it. If you've never had a go just do it, it really is that fun.
No bit I did get a list of prices. Have got them filed away somewhere. The spare wheel doberry was £130 from memory.
The next expense will be some bespoke panels. The workshop has a new tenant who builds panels for classics and racers. He's going to make me up a lightweight alloy set of front wings, bonnet, doorskins and roofskin.
Timing will depend on cost but front wings will be first to happen. He's a proper old school English wheeler so they'll be completely spanking.
The next expense will be some bespoke panels. The workshop has a new tenant who builds panels for classics and racers. He's going to make me up a lightweight alloy set of front wings, bonnet, doorskins and roofskin.
Timing will depend on cost but front wings will be first to happen. He's a proper old school English wheeler so they'll be completely spanking.
He told me £120 when I first spoke to him. He appears to have been talking about the harness bar though, when I was asking about the enhanced harness bar with the wheel carrier attached.
Prices were confirmed yesterday at £120 and £220 inc. the carrier. Still not bad, although Im a little disappointed as I thought it was a particular bargain.
I take it that you received my rather late email Bernard?
Prices were confirmed yesterday at £120 and £220 inc. the carrier. Still not bad, although Im a little disappointed as I thought it was a particular bargain.
I take it that you received my rather late email Bernard?
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