anyone here hillclimb?

[Corpulent Tosser]

RB Will said:

Hey all.

Was wondering if we have any members who hillclimb. cant afford to do any circuit racing but would be able to enter some hillclimbs was wondering if there is anyone with a vast knowledge of it all, what would i need to do to my car etc, any classes for standard cars?
anyone race at the track near salisbury?

Production cacrs can as has been said before be run in pretty much standard trim, just a timing strut required, though I would be inclined to get a harness fitted.

Cheap single layer suits can be used so that keeps intial cost down.

I agree with advise given earlier to go along to one of the events, maybe even marshal, that will certainly endear you to the drivers and organisers, and have a chat with drivers, particularly in the class you think you would fit into.

I prefer sprints to hillclimbs, though it will be mainly hillclimbs I do this year due to work schedules, but both are fun, relatively cheap, and very friendly.

Just Do It !

[Nick_F]

Dan Friel said:

The main problem with Gurston for me has been the lack of standard classes. However, this year both the ASWMC and ACSMC are running at the hill so it's not a problem for standard spec cars. As others have mentioned, Longleat and Wiscombe aren't a million miles from Salisbury either.

For series that allow standard cars, check out the BARC, ACSMC, ASMWC and HSA championships. All have a good spread of events.

Good point - and Gurston is, I think, unique in differentiating between production sports cars and production saloons - but I've generally found that 'standard' class rules tend to favour the 4wd turbo approach, which would be fine if that was what I had...

[RB Will]

thanks for all that guys. it would be a E30 BMW 325I sport that I would be playing in.

[eccles]

RB Will said:

thanks for all that guys. it would be a E30 BMW 325I sport that I would be playing in.

a couple of years ago at Llys y fran hillclimb in west wales, some local entrants regular race car had broken down, so they bought a 325i from a local scrapyard with minimal tax/ticket, and proceeded to have a blast for the weekend, even setting some respecable times!

[Nick_F]

In the mod prod saloons class at Gurston last year you'd have typically been up against:

(another) E30 325
Impreza WRX
Audi TT
Renault R21 Turbo
Scimitar GTE
Sierra RS500
Escort Cosworth WRC

with the two Fords away and clear by a second-and-a-half, but everybody else only a good drive away from third place in the class.

[zumbruk]

eccles said:

RB Will said:

thanks for all that guys. it would be a E30 BMW 325I sport that I would be playing in.

a couple of years ago at Llys y fran hillclimb in west wales, some local entrants regular race car had broken down, so they bought a 325i from a local scrapyard with minimal tax/ticket, and proceeded to have a blast for the weekend, even setting some respecable times!

There was a bloke competing at North Weald on the 18th March in a BMW 323 for which he'd paid the magnificent sum of £103. New shickers & brake pads and he seemed to be having a whale of a time. Talk about cheap motorsport!

[red21]

Hi Nick
Looked at that gearbox yet???
Colin still ended up smoking again despite all your efforts to repair the leak, and on Sunday got within 0.2 seconds of the class record
As for me third again with Les forth and Tony fifth.

[Nick_F]

red21 said:

Hi Nick
Looked at that gearbox yet???
Colin still ended up smoking again despite all your efforts to repair the leak, and on Sunday got within 0.2 seconds of the class record
As for me third again with Les forth and Tony fifth.

Hi Richard,

No, Sunday was taken up with family stuff and it'll be Saturday before I can lift the engine and 'box out, so the car's still sat in disgrace.

With luck it'll be a day to take it out and find out what's needed, a day to rebuild the gearbox and then half a day to put it all back in the car, it all depends on how much damage there is.

Given that I recorded a 40.80 with a broken gearbox - only 47mph across the line - I think that run was a reasonable one, too, perhaps a low 39, although there was no split time for Karousel, so I can't be certain.

Don't know about you, but my starts were rubbish - 2.56 was the best I could manage against a PB of 2.35. Could be that three seasons is a bit too much to ask of the same set of A048s...

That's twice in a row you've been in front of Les - you'll be off his Christmas card list now. Colin mentioned that Terry Luff had a nasty prang on Sunday - any idea what happened?

[cnhss1]

Nick
hows the old girl looking now after the rebuild?
i take it from the posts that the gearbox is now a box of individual gears? i managed to wreck three nissan boxes in just over a season. touch would i have the issues under control now.
Ben G's car now sports a T5 box to handle the supercharged essex i believe.

[skyedriver]

Sorry about the double post of this question but:
Hi,
If anyone out there has a copy of the current blue book, could they please list the spec for the suit and also the helmet requirements for hillclimbs.
It's a few years since I competed and am thinking of giving it a go again, for one event, to see how the current car fits in.
Can't remember the suit BS off hand but the helmet is an AGV to BS6658 : 1985, Type A
It has a RACMSA blue sticker on it.

Any help or guidance greatly appreciated
Tony H

[Nick_F]

cnhss1 said:

Nick
hows the old girl looking now after the rebuild?
i take it from the posts that the gearbox is now a box of individual gears? i managed to wreck three nissan boxes in just over a season. touch would i have the issues under control now.
Ben G's car now sports a T5 box to handle the supercharged essex i believe.

A little bit more purple than before - matching the colour was difficult - but I think I prefer the louder version we now have:



Badges and bits and bobs still to add when the pic was taken.

I'll have a word with Danny and/or Ben about the T5 option - depending on what's broken in the existing 4-speed: it was a 'proper' BGH Geartech job, so it should have handled more than a single season with less than 200bhp, even with me driving.

[red21]

Nick,
The 64ft times were a bit iffy for me as well with 2.51 being the best all weekend.
The incident that Terry had was just after hollow bend where the marshal post is(was)on the banking.
Not getting a card from Les at christmas won't be a problem, I owe him lunch and a round drinks as he paid that evening.
rich
[url]
www.brayspeed.co.uk/assets/films%20for%20web/Red%2021%20220407G.wmv[url]

[Nick_F]

Nice vid: I'll try to get a camera in the car for next time - won't be able to see much beyond the flailing arms, though...

[cnhss1]

good video! gonna have to get there this year.

Nick
paint looks really good, very shiny. You GTE boys are putting us SS1 guys to shame. think i might have to wash mine before i start the season

T5 box would put you out of super mod in rssoc championship, but would (should) be a fit and forget part though.

[steve-V8s]

Watched Richard’s run several times and can’t get over how smooth and unflustered it all looks. Perhaps it is difficult to tell from the camera angle but he seems to have very little body roll or sideways moments. I seem to have to exert a lot more effort do a run that is only slightly faster than that. Perhaps my suspension setup is even worse that I thought.

[Nick_F]

steve-V8s said:

Watched Richard’s run several times and can’t get over how smooth and unflustered it all looks. Perhaps it is difficult to tell from the camera angle but he seems to have very little body roll or sideways moments. I seem to have to exert a lot more effort do a run that is only slightly faster than that. Perhaps my suspension setup is even worse that I thought.

I thought sports cars like TVRs were supposed to provide a more involving drive...or am I missing something?

[steve-V8s]

Suppose the point I was making Nick was from the Vid it looks as if Richard has got his car set up very nicely and I haven’t. Would it be possible that Red21 is that man ? can’t tell from the profile info.

The Griff certainly is “involving” on a spirited run. Did you notice the new (well new to me it may have been there for ages ) feature on the timing computer ? If you enter your number and then hit enter again it does a comparison of the split times on all your runs and also calculates the best theoretical time. Quite interesting if you bring up yours alongside your arch rival. My best possible time using the best sectors over Sat and Sun was 36.86 but couldn’t string togther anything better than a low 37.

[Nick_F]

I thought much the same when I watched your video from the test day - I suspect that it always looks slower and more composed on screen that in 'real life'. You can't feel the cornering, braking and acceleration forces, either, and they're a big part of what makes it feel more frenetic in the car.

A couple of degrees of oversteer feels pretty drastic behind the wheel - but you'd barely notice it watching an in-car vid.

Edited by Nick_F on Wednesday 25th April 23:52

[red21]

Steve, My car set up nicely?
Not really, I just put the thing together measure the subframe hieght and thats it. Cannot adjust any of the suspension angles except tracking and tyre pressures and when they are done I just drive...

I was surprised how smooth it was on the vid, but then again it was a low 39 practice run on sunday morning and I wasn't trying

[Andrewm]

The vid looked very smooth to me Rich

Have just seen the entry list for the National meeting - I have a entry! In a 21 strong 1600 class with most on bike engines - oh well, will be good to see old faces again and stroll up the hill..

If any of you guys are at Combe on Monday - come and say hello - No 61 in the Mono race - or just look for a fat bloke in a Formula Vauxhall Junior!

Cheers
A