Discussion
Had a great time - a must do for all Ultima owners IMO.
The reaction of the local community and the race goers was very positive and enthusiastic.
I attended the Great British Welcome at St Saturnin(?) on Friday - what a great event - driving through a tunnel of people taking photos!!!!!!!!!!
The Ultima had a constant stream of interested admirers and I made one chap's day by letting him have a sit in the driver's seat. Loads of interesting cars to look at too.
The Drivers Parade through Le Mans on Friday evening saw some top supercars driving round the streets with the racers in them. A few found the slow pace too much inc the Zonder. Lots of beer too.
Didn't get to the Pistonheads Friday Service but was told it was a bit of a damp squib.
The race was more interesting than normal but the safety cars removed the climax at the end in LMP1 and GTE Pro. It is most sad that Allan Simonsen's promising life was cut short and my sympathy goes out to his friends and family, but at least he was doing something he loved - which is how most of us would like to leave this mortal coil.
The sight of the camp sites did not encourage me down that route in future years - I like my comforts too much and the food in the bistros in town far too good. I didn't get to see the car's going down the Mulsanne straight at 200+ but that is for next year....
1250 miles and a few issues. Immobiliser problems - traced to a probable short. Slight vibration - either a wheel imbalance or rear wheel bearing on the driver side. Wind noise from the drivers door - got to sort the seal.
Good to catch up with Mark and Karl and sorry not to meet up with the chaps in the great lime green GTR I met in the traffic jam......on Thursday. I thought about 2 mins later there was no way we would find each other at the track!!!!
A few pics
My son even enjoyed himself and his Boxster got some positive comments too.
Paul
The reaction of the local community and the race goers was very positive and enthusiastic.
I attended the Great British Welcome at St Saturnin(?) on Friday - what a great event - driving through a tunnel of people taking photos!!!!!!!!!!
The Ultima had a constant stream of interested admirers and I made one chap's day by letting him have a sit in the driver's seat. Loads of interesting cars to look at too.
The Drivers Parade through Le Mans on Friday evening saw some top supercars driving round the streets with the racers in them. A few found the slow pace too much inc the Zonder. Lots of beer too.
Didn't get to the Pistonheads Friday Service but was told it was a bit of a damp squib.
The race was more interesting than normal but the safety cars removed the climax at the end in LMP1 and GTE Pro. It is most sad that Allan Simonsen's promising life was cut short and my sympathy goes out to his friends and family, but at least he was doing something he loved - which is how most of us would like to leave this mortal coil.
The sight of the camp sites did not encourage me down that route in future years - I like my comforts too much and the food in the bistros in town far too good. I didn't get to see the car's going down the Mulsanne straight at 200+ but that is for next year....
1250 miles and a few issues. Immobiliser problems - traced to a probable short. Slight vibration - either a wheel imbalance or rear wheel bearing on the driver side. Wind noise from the drivers door - got to sort the seal.
Good to catch up with Mark and Karl and sorry not to meet up with the chaps in the great lime green GTR I met in the traffic jam......on Thursday. I thought about 2 mins later there was no way we would find each other at the track!!!!
A few pics
My son even enjoyed himself and his Boxster got some positive comments too.
Paul
It was good to meet you too, Paul! I don't know if you went to the PH meet after St Saturin or not, but we only stayed for an hr as it was really quite quiet. We missed the drivers parade, but that can always be done next yr 
You're so right about the Ultima, people are universally positive about it and are genuinely interested to know what it is. I lost count of the people who hadn't got a clue what it was! One of the funniest comments I got after responding "it's an Ultima", was: "oh, so you cut the roof off a GTR, it looks fantastic like that"!!!!
After 1,000 miles the Can Am really impressed me. It didn't miss a beat (except for the heater valve sticking) and was genuinely great to drive. The aeroscreen is fantastic and deflects enough air to make the cabin perfectly serene and calm.... only your head get's any turbulence and even then it's not that bad (and is a damn sight better than the Atom was).
I'm looking forwards to putting more miles under it's wheels and getting to as many events as possible.... Wilton House is on the list, but that's 5weeks away, must find something else to do in the meantime ;-)
You're so right about the Ultima, people are universally positive about it and are genuinely interested to know what it is. I lost count of the people who hadn't got a clue what it was! One of the funniest comments I got after responding "it's an Ultima", was: "oh, so you cut the roof off a GTR, it looks fantastic like that"!!!!
After 1,000 miles the Can Am really impressed me. It didn't miss a beat (except for the heater valve sticking) and was genuinely great to drive. The aeroscreen is fantastic and deflects enough air to make the cabin perfectly serene and calm.... only your head get's any turbulence and even then it's not that bad (and is a damn sight better than the Atom was).
I'm looking forwards to putting more miles under it's wheels and getting to as many events as possible.... Wilton House is on the list, but that's 5weeks away, must find something else to do in the meantime ;-)
Well one of my "issues" has an easy solution.
The "immobiliser problem" turned out to be corrosion probably caused by the wet run down to Le Mans where the negative terminals on the battery were failing to give good contact.
A clean up and tightening, so they are damn tight rather than just tight, seems to have solved the problem.
I still want to tidy up the wiring for the immobiliser and add the clip latch warning system so still some electrics to do.
Sometimes it's just the simple things!!!!
I have yet to look into the vibration. I will try my other set of wheels and if it is still there it is probably the bearing/hub.
The wind noise is another problem I have tried various fixes for with no success. It is at higher speeds that it is a problem and I think it needs a method of stopping the air getting into the door recess. There is no air gap into the cabin but the void around the door is creating a roar that increases with speed.
Anybody with noise free door seals?
Paul
The "immobiliser problem" turned out to be corrosion probably caused by the wet run down to Le Mans where the negative terminals on the battery were failing to give good contact.
A clean up and tightening, so they are damn tight rather than just tight, seems to have solved the problem.
I still want to tidy up the wiring for the immobiliser and add the clip latch warning system so still some electrics to do.
Sometimes it's just the simple things!!!!
I have yet to look into the vibration. I will try my other set of wheels and if it is still there it is probably the bearing/hub.
The wind noise is another problem I have tried various fixes for with no success. It is at higher speeds that it is a problem and I think it needs a method of stopping the air getting into the door recess. There is no air gap into the cabin but the void around the door is creating a roar that increases with speed.
Anybody with noise free door seals?
Paul
Don't forget that the door tends to lift slightly with speed, that only serves to open-up the gap with the result of more wind noise.
Years ago I had a foam strip on the door that pushed down on the rubber seal, that worked pretty well. But over time the sticky strip moved, due to the sideways pressure on the strip each time the door was closed. I removed it and just put up with a little noise, for the mo anyway.
Years ago I had a foam strip on the door that pushed down on the rubber seal, that worked pretty well. But over time the sticky strip moved, due to the sideways pressure on the strip each time the door was closed. I removed it and just put up with a little noise, for the mo anyway.
[quote=Pb3]Don't forget that the door tends to lift slightly with speed, that only serves to open-up the gap with the result of more wind noise.
I have a wedge fitted to the door that slides under the roof as the door closes to help prevent the door lifting.
Still think the "roar" is air turbulence across the gap between door and body.
Paul
I have a wedge fitted to the door that slides under the roof as the door closes to help prevent the door lifting.
Still think the "roar" is air turbulence across the gap between door and body.
Paul
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