Hillclimbing What Car?

[microgod]

Hi Guys. Im new to the forums and was hoping to tap in to the wider knowledge bound within.

I have just applied for my national B with a view to starting hillclimbing. Trouble is I dont have a car to do it in. I was hoping to do it on a shoestring so didnt want to pay much more than 1k. I've had my eye on an MGF but its sold now so I was hoping someone could give me some advice on what car is best to start with?

Thanks in advance.

[Trev450]

Production car class is probably the least expensive as you can enter your everyday road car with one or two very minor mods if you wish.

[microgod]

I was planning on entering roadgoing class but I'm not sure what car to enter.

[RESSE]

microgod said:

I was planning on entering roadgoing class but I'm not sure what car to enter.

I started in Road Going Series Production Cars over 2000cc in 2003 and have stayed in the same class.

CLASS DESCRIPTION
A1 Road-Going Series Production Cars up to 1400cc
A2 Road-Going Series Production Cars over 1400cc up to 2000cc
A3 Road-Going Series Production Cars over 2000cc

[Trev450]

RESSE said:

microgod said:

I was planning on entering roadgoing class but I'm not sure what car to enter.

I started in Road Going Series Production Cars over 2000cc in 2003 and have stayed in the same class.

CLASS DESCRIPTION
A1 Road-Going Series Production Cars up to 1400cc
A2 Road-Going Series Production Cars over 1400cc up to 2000cc
A3 Road-Going Series Production Cars over 2000cc

We also have an A4 class in the ASWMC championship which is over 2600cc which is infact the class I have competed in for the last 3 years.

All the classes are competitive so really its down to whatever car you buy or intend to use. Generally, however, the bigger the engine the greater the costs due often to more power and more wear and tear.

[RESSE]

Also, a 4 wheel drive class any capacity/cc.

[Jerry Can]

i'm contemplating doing a bit of hill climbing this year at Gurston.
I have a stock hatch race car, although engine is standard. Would that be eligible for roadgoing? It is MOT'd and taxed.

Also - where do I get one of those timing braker thingins from?

tia

[RESSE]

Most people make a timing strut.

http://2009.tvrspeedchampionship.co.uk/index.php?o...

I bought mine from the TVR Owner's Club website (but cannot find the link at present).

I think the overall size of the strut increased after December 2010 (need to check Blue Book).

[Trev450]

Jerry Can said:

i'm contemplating doing a bit of hill climbing this year at Gurston.
I have a stock hatch race car, although engine is standard. Would that be eligible for roadgoing? It is MOT'd and taxed.

Also - where do I get one of those timing braker thingins from?

tia

To compete in the roadgoing classes, you will need to have all the interior and seats in place as well as standard panels, doors, glass, etc.

[RESSE]

Trev450 said:

To compete in the roadgoing classes, you will need to have all the interior and seats in place as well as standard panels, doors, glass, etc.

Trev450 - any clarification on List 1A/1B tyres in 'Roadgoing'?

Caused me no end of confusion last year.

[Munter]

I guess if you are asking what go's well. Then looking at the entry list/results of last years events should help:
E.g. http://www.harewoodhill.com/downloads/pdf/entryLis...

106 looks popular in the lowest (possibly cheapest) class.

[RESSE]

Munter said:

I guess if you are asking what go's well. Then looking at the entry list/results of last years events should help:
E.g. http://www.harewoodhill.com/downloads/pdf/entryLis...

106 looks popular in the lowest (possibly cheapest) class.

106

[Shaun_E]

Which hillclimb championship or venue(s) do you want to compete at? Regulations vary from championship to championship so best to get the regulations from where you want to compete before choosing a car. Having said that, for your first year, unless you are a driving god, it won't be too critical what car you have as long as it isn't hopelessly slower than the competiion. Starting in a road going class of small capacity engines will be the cheapest way of competing and give you a good learning experience. Peugeots (106 and 205) are popular and often successful. A good power to weight ratio is what is required.

[Trev450]

RESSE said:

Trev450 - any clarification on List 1A/1B tyres in 'Roadgoing'?

Caused me no end of confusion last year.

A lot appears to be dependent upon which championship you enter. I do the ASWMC and Welsh for example and they both allow 1b's. A fellow competitor who also does the Midland Championship can only use 1a's when doing their rounds. I think the answer is to check with the relevant championship organiser.

[Dan Friel]

Really does depend on where you live and what events you fancy doing. As others have said, you don't need to spend much money in the first year and having a fast car may be waste.

How about a MG ZR 105 as a starter car? Now as cheap as chips. Fits nicely in the sub 1400 class and you can enter this:

http://www.mgcars.org.uk/mgccsc/

MGCC Speed series gets invites to events all over the country and at some great venues.

I'm hoping to enter the Panda 100HP in some SW events this year. Standard with road tyres, but should be fun.

[microgod]

Thanks guys for all the help. I'm based in the midlands and have looked to join the MAC. so Shelsley Walsh and Curborough would be the main venues. I can see the point of starting with a small engine to get my eye in. Thanks again I'm off to trawl the classifieds for a ZR.

[RESSE]

microgod said:

Thanks guys for all the help. I'm based in the midlands and have looked to join the MAC. so Shelsley Walsh and Curborough would be the main venues. I can see the point of starting with a small engine to get my eye in. Thanks again I'm off to trawl the classifieds for a ZR.

Check out Loton Park (my local hill):
www.hdlcc.com

And www.zipp.co.uk for some good photos.

[anonymous-user]

MG ZRs are really heavy and in road going classes you cant do too much to the cars so you are going to have to lug all that weight around, they were full of leather and creature comforts so i would avoid them like the plague personally as things like electric windows weigh a lot. use stuff like the www.parkers.co.uk website to have a read of all the technical data, that or www.carfolio.com when i looked at ZRs the quoted weight was something like 1200kgs!

The Rover 200si had a 1400cc k series and something close to 100bhp as standard, the 3 door weighed 200kgs less than the ZR and you can bolt all the ZR bits on if you wanted. you can buy them for less than £500. so you would be mad not to... if you can get another 25 bhp at the wheels there wont be much with more power in the <1400cc class and you just need some good rubber, stiffer suspension and you are in with a good shout of the top three finish. obviously it weighs more than a mini or a 106 but power to weight wise, it should be on the money or thereabouts...

alternatively you want a much smaller fwd hatchback in the 106 or saxo vein, loads to choose from and loads of off-the-shelf cheap go-faster bits. finding a straight one isnt as hard as people will make you believe but signing up to the specialist/oowners club websites will be beneficial. mk1 106 gtis/rallyes were <1400cc, mk2s were 1600cc as were saxo vtr/s IIRC. the XSi was slightly detuned comapred to the above but was a 1400cc and had around 90bhp.

the 1400cc puma would be a good bet too, they were supposed to handle prettty well and the 1700cc would fit in an under 1800cc class nicely.

Other stuff to consider were the mk1 clio RSis that had the 1800cc, cant remember of that was the model but it was essentially a detuned Clio Williams with many of the same parts, 1800cc and close to 140bhp....

there was also the mid-nineties fiesta (mk4?), they used it in the TOCA Fiesta championship, it had a 1400cc zetec engine and was reasonably quick but i bet it wont handle like un voiture francais!

the mk1 suzuki swift had that 1300cc 8k rpm screamer engine and weighed well under 900kgs but they are getting rare now.

not sure if it has made it into the regulations but a good trick was always to take out the rear seats of the car and fit the bench seats from a poverty spec model instead, the bench seats being much lighter....

Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 13th January 08:59

[gtijohn70]

Have you considered a 205 1.9 gti, they go like stink as standard,handling is great, won't cost alot to tweek a bit more power, all parts are cheap.

[anonymous-user]

gtijohn70 said:

Have you considered a 205 1.9 gti, they go like stink as standard,handling is great, won't cost alot to tweek a bit more power, all parts are cheap.

i didnt include them because the solid ones are £2K+ and the cheap ones are rotten... people ask silly money for nails hoping that nostalgic fools and their cash are easily parted, just dont go there.

Finding a straight one that will meet regulaitons is not easy now and they were the classic boy-racer car so mechanically they are tired (i know becuase i had one when i was 22!), mine was a '93 car and i bought it in 2005 and according to the V5 already had 13 previous owners! people buy them, thrash them, then get an insurance renewal, are terrified and sell them on.

the 1.9 non cat model had 130 bhp but i would assume a lot of those have escaped in the preceding years, yes they were light and they handled well but there are less painful ways of going hillclimbing on a budget.

Remember the latest cars (1994) are nearly twenty years old and early ones are well over twenty five, built in france with a known reputation for low build quality and owners who were far from mechanically sympathetic....