Details, details, details

So now we have to finish the car in it’s current spec for Knockhill. After testing at Silverstone we have some work to do tidying up the loose ends and sorting a few bits and pieces out. Having been bitten by minor problems at Oulton Park, we are determined not to be let down by something that is avoidable.

However this year was always about development rather than competing, although it’s always nice to win, I am more interested in trying to get the best out of the car and learn as much as possible. We hope to have our dry sump system on the car within a month or so (certainly before Brands) which will be the very same unit we intend to sell to the public. We have some other projects for the car which will result in some nice stuff for hardcore track users, but as always we are tempered by budget.

ITT-Cannon have very kindly provided us with some bulkhead connectors to finish the loom the way I wanted to do it when we started 15 months ago. Today I am going over the data from Silverstone which shows no problems, although clearly there is some refinement to be had.

We should be lighter for Knockhill to the tune of around 15kg compared to Oulton Park, thanks to the Rays wheels and a few other tweaks here and there. The list of things to change and remove is pretty long and I hope to have another 10kg off by Silverstone, and a further 30kg off for Brands.

10 days to go…

Got to bed at 2am this morning, having driven the 5 hours back from Cornwall through the night. Straight back in to chaos and fitting 5 very full days of work in to 4 again! we had an absolutely manic day with the phone ringing non-stop and plenty of booked and passing by customers to keep our minds clear off Time Attack!

Mr T did the honours of droping off the engine block halves and 2 pistons at the machine shop this afternoon - we hope they understand the urgency with this one! The full set of pistons is on backorder but assured will be available by the weekend.

Mr T came round at about 6:30pm just as Paul finished the final map of the day and everyone’s attention turned to the green car. First off we all admired the work of art that is the Cosworth Inlet Manifold. Mmmmmmmmmm.

Rich removed the fuel tank from the car, before removing the foam inserts and lifter pumps. We are upgrading the fuel system to increase fuel supply and pressure, more of that as and when. Then off home for Rich to get some rest, leaving Tim on (unpaid) nightshift duty.

Paul has drawn up a list categorised in to 2 columns: ‘necessary’ and ‘nice to have’. This evening I pointed out where we could save some more money and time by re-allocating some stuff to the second column! This means we might go for the 2007 StopTech brakes to the front and (borrowed) 2008 STi Brembos on the rear. Not as light as the brakes we are (still) trying to do a deal on but time and money is of the essence! I have also shifted the dry sump over to ‘nice to have’ simply because we don’t have the time to get it sorted. Fortunately Steven Darley had already agreed we could borrow his wet sump set up (we sold our 2008 Group N modified wet sump to fund the 2009 build!) Cheers for those that come up trumps when we beg, borrow and… no, we haven’t resorted to ‘steal’ yet! Another small bonus for the budget was a surprise post on 22b by one of nicest customers Steve Fullbrook. He was after a GT style wing for sensible money, so everyone is a winner as he was more than happy to take our Buddyclub wing (of blue car fame) off our hands, for a small cash boost to the Time Attack fund

Tim, Andy and Paul set about modifying the rear quarters to increase the wheel clearance… Unfortunately, there was an issue with the carbon kevlar panels at point of fitment way back over a year ago, which meant that the clearance that should have been offered by the wide arches did not fully materialise. The upshot was that a) the WRC bumper did not fit (hence ending up the Zero Sports one) and b) the wheels rubbed on the inner arches, to the extent that smoke was billowing out of the rear arches at Brands Hatch After much sweating, cursing and some bleeding, the near side rear arch was unbonded, freed and pulled out and the result is fab. Last year’s wheels can now fit inside the arch and the bumper we originally intended now fits on that side.

I was at work till 10pm, by which time my daughter and niece were getting a bit frazzled so I left Tim, Paul and Andy busy on the race car. I expect they have the off-side arch and the bumper sorted now. Perhaps they have also offered up the flat floor and rear diffuser. Will it work with this bumper or not?……

Tech Director hints at 2009 plans!

Yesterday Paul (Technical Director) posted a ‘teaser’ on Scoobynet, hinting at some of the development you should expect to see from Team ZEN this year….

You can check out the new Scoobynet project thread here.

“Zen 2009 development