That Steve Heath bloke.............

[father ted]

....saw him in action at Abingdon CAR-nival today...
520 ,simply awesome......spoke very briefly to him between sprints ,seems a very affable chap and definitely can drive a mean Wedge......
I drove home making brm brm noises can't wait to take Wendy Wedge out for a thrash !!!! ...
one sore point tho' Steve , my daughter Hollie's favourite car is now the 520 (purple is her favourite colour...along with pink )

But as i pointed out to Hollie as she continued to shout PURPLE WEDGE DADDY!

'it may be faster than mine Hollie ,but it's nowhere near as loud

p.s. pictures to follow as soon as i can get 'showoffyourcar.com' to work....not playing at moment

>>> Edited by father ted on Saturday 12th June 19:56

[father ted]

here goes.....
www.showoffyourcar.com/cars/TVR/4829.JPG

1)Hollie switches her favourite !

www.showoffyourcar.com/cars/TVR/4830.JPG

2)Steve enjoys a game of minesweeper between sprints

www.showoffyourcar.com/cars/TVR/4832.JPG
3)tasty competitors

>> Edited by father ted on Tuesday 15th June 08:03

[shpub]

Thanks for the piccies. Sorry I was a bit busy but I had just gone through the finish line backwards and I was looking at the logging to see what happened and how to go faster.

Glad Hollie likes the car.

Some data logging facts using a similar system to that of the TVR Challenge.

HP at the WHEELS... 360 bhp.
380 was recorded but I am not so sure about it as it was a peak.
Max G under acceleration.... 0.75
Max G under braking 1.2g
Max G cornering 1.35

I have the in-car video and as soon as I can I'll post it somewhere. Very interesting especially the backwards spin.

[cirks]

Steve,
unless it's a strange photo, how did you manage to get that dent in your bonnet?

[shpub]

The bonnet is glass fibre cloth that has been shown the label of the tin of Gel coat. It flexes a bit and that is why there is some dents. But it is oh so light. About 2 KG ish IIRC.

[adam quantrill]

1.35g cornering - impressive - that's higher than the classic sideways 'g' car, the old lotus elan, isn't it?
What's the secret - sticky rubber?

[shpub]

adam quantrill said:

1.35g cornering - impressive - that's higher than the classic sideways 'g' car, the old lotus elan, isn't it? What's the secret - sticky rubber?

Slicks do help, as does the modified suspension, the fact that the car is lowered several inches, the fact that it is close to 150 KG lighter than standard... Corner weighting... custom shocks and springs, modified suspension mounts, custome ARB drop links, 9J wide wheels etc etc

On Road tyres with road friendly suspension, anything over 1G is good, 1.1 is very good. Slicks with the right setup should be 1.1 to 1.2 so I am pleased with 1.35.

Look at the video and you can see that there is virtually zero roll and the car is pretty well balanced.

The video is on

www.t-v-r-services.co.uk/tvrs-gallery1.html

Two videos: 2003 spec hurtling around Lydden
2004 spec hurtling round Abingdon.

>> Edited by shpub on Tuesday 15th June 20:18

[tallbloke]

shpub said:

Two videos: 2003 spec hurtling around Lydden 2004 spec hurtling round Abingdon.

Boodly hell thats impressive.

[father ted]

How are the pictures on your PC looking chaps? they are pretty clear when looking at them on my laptop.

Steve , i have a couple of 'action' shots but they are a bit distant ( 1x entering chicane on 'Abingdon' course and 1x exiting chicane on same course)
How were your times in the end and what position were you ranked in class at end ?

p.s. watching the lad in the Mk1 fiesta was an eye-opener! .....flipping 'eck he was rapid ,great lines aswell !!
also liked seeing the Stratos fraternity sprinting having watched them on the old Lombard rallies through Sutton park way back when

really tempted to do a little bit of auto-test

[shpub]

Tje piccies are fine. Would love to see the action shots to see how the suspension is coping.

I was 7th fastest overall and quickest in class on the Bentley circuit. On the Abingdon, not quite so good mainly due to the ahem stunt driving. So ended up 16th overall out of 150 competitors including numerous single seaters and third in class. Lost out to a Ford Escort rally car fitted with a Cosworth Turbo engine with a turbo from a Scammell Lorry diesel allegedly. Rumoured to be 600+bhp...

>> Edited by shpub on Wednesday 16th June 06:21