Truenotch Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 How much is a rebuild going to cost? Have a chat to Mark at Haynes Rotary in Te Awamutu - he's the man who Green Brothers were sending their work to when they weren't taking bookings. http://www.haynesrotary.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/Haynes-Rotary/484972021552387?fref=ts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Not sure of the exact cost yet - but I'm probably going to have to budget at least $10,000 to upgrade to full Pro7 Plus spec (including a few non-engine related things). I spoke to Green Brothers back in February about having an engine built, and Richard recommended that I contact Mark if they weren't able to squeeze me in. 2 positives came out of this weekend - I'll save a bit of money by not being able to compete in the last 2 rounds, and it also gives me an extra month to prepare for next season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 So, this thread has been very quiet, as I try to live by the phrase "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". To summarise the last 12 months with too many words and not enough pictures: I spent a lot of money on the car and got myself sorted out fairly well in advance, with the hope of being up the front end of the Pro7 Plus class for the 2014/2015 season. Super ridiculously lightweight flywheel (my engine is the one in the middle): My engine builder let me down at a crucial phase of the rebuild when he decided to head overseas for a month at the time I was booked in to have the car finished, tuned and tested. The original engine builder who I wanted to use (but was well booked out in advance) came to the rescue and helped slot me in with another business who did a great job of getting me to the first round of the Mazda Pro7 Racing Series. They were already flat out with other jobs but squeezed me in and got the car running and tuned, but I didn't have any time for testing and refinement. Sexy, lightweight, freeflowing exhaust that is a million times better than the first attempt: The new exhaust sits closer to the trans tunnel and is hotter due to the stainless steel, resulting in melted footrests, shoes and legs. No more cruising for chicks at the Mount while wearing shorts in summer: The old pod filter was simply mounted on the end of the factory intake pipe, which sucked warm air from behind the radiator. The kickass new airbox divides copious amounts of air horizontally to the air filter and radiator: Round 1 at Taupo was the first time the new engine had been used, other than the time it spent on the dyno a day or so before. There was a noticeable increase in power, but my lap times didn't improve as I struggled with the new suspension setup, and the engine really needs to be run in properly and re-tuned for best results. The car handled perfectly before the 'upgrade', but I had to spend approximately $3500 on the custom Koni/Kings suspension that all Pro7 Plus cars must run to suit the class regulations. I had a minor altercation with one of the RX-8s which got in front of me, resulting in a little bit of front end damage and a fairly heated argument in the pits afterwards. After reviewing my in-car footage and showing it to the other driver, he apologised and admitted that he didn't know that I was passing him on the inside of the corner, and joked(?) that he doesn't use his mirrors. Choice. Round 2 was at Manfeild and was pretty much a repeat of Taupo, except I finally discovered why I couldn't set the car up how it was previously. From the moment I saw my new suspension a few months before, I wondered why there was such a big difference in the size (length) of the new stuff versus my trusty old Tein suspension. Dad and I discussed it but decided not to question it as all the Pro7 Plus cars are supplied with identical suspension from our class sponsors, who have decades of experience. I even mentioned it to a couple of guys at Taupo, but again we dismissed the idea and decided that it must be something to do with further refinement of the camber, tow, caster and damper settings. It turns out that I was in fact supplied with the wrong length springs- so it was riding way too high and was impossible to get the correct alignment. Since I was about 5 hours from home, the only thing I could really do was put up with it for the weekend and sort it out by the next round. Lap times were again slower than my previous times with my old (poked) engine, and even my straightline speed down the long straights of Manfeild were affected due to the slow exit speeds on the corners. 1 degree of camber compared to the old setup of 3-4 degrees makes a massive difference to the front end grip. Once again I had a run-in with an RX-8 - a different one this time - but the exact same scenario where I was passing on the inside and the other car turned in on me. I was far enough ahead with plenty of track width initially to perform a legal move, but the other driver had no idea I was there. Again, terse words in the pits afterwards, followed by an apology once the in-car camera footage showed fact rather than emotion. Frustrated at my performance and lack of results, I pushed a little too hard during the 2nd race and made a silly error, going off the end of one of the long straights. I was a safe distance away from the other Pro7 Plus cars ahead and there was no damage, so I was able to rejoin the circuit immediately - right behind my buddies in the RX-8s. I chopped through the first few quickly but again made another silly error. Braking hard into the last corner with an RX-8 ahead of me, my plan was to pull my car up right behind his and dive through the inside as it is nice and wide if you do it right. I hit the brakes and did exactly as I'd planned and began to turn in and take advantage of the big inside gape. Unfortunately I misjudged just how much slower the RX-8s are (especially the older fella who drives this particular one) with braking and cornering, and I gave him a very light tap on his rear bumper before following through. I was actually pretty relieved that it felt like a gentle nudge at first, but when I looked in my rear view mirror a few seconds later, I felt really bad as I saw him spinning out, albeit a fair distance from the point where we'd made contact. I assumed I'd upset the balance of his car as he was on the limits of cornering, and that he must have done his best to gather it up, but fishtailed down the tarmac and eventually failed. We all finished the race, and it was clear that he was in no mood to talk about the incident or accept my apology as he marched off to put in a complaint with the Clark of the Course. To cut a long story short, he put in a formal complaint against me and another RX-8 driver, and it turns out it wasn't me who spun him out after-all. The other RX-8 driver also tried to take advantage of the passing manoeuvre and gave him a decent shunt in the process. Unfortunately the final conclusion that I was solely at fault as I started the chain reaction, and I copped a $$$ fine, had 20 seconds added to my race time, and had my licence clipped. I freely admit that I made a mistake, but I felt that the punishment was a bit harsh, and it certainly felt like a kick in the teeth after everything else that has been going wrong. It was made clear at the start of the weekend though that the stewards were going to come down hard on anyone who misbehaved, and from what I can tell I was the only one who gave them an opportunity to show they weren't kidding around. Race 3 was uneventful thankfully, so I promptly packaged up my gear, loaded the RX-7 onto the trailer and said my goodbyes so I could end what was a rather unenjoyable weekend as soon as possible. Due to a lack of time and funds, I decided to skip Rounds 3 and 4 since I had no chance of being near the top of the points for this season. I was still recovering from some major expenses last year (this car, my random Mazda Cosmo purchase, and a wedding/honeymoon), and I wasn't enjoying the racing either, to be honest. Last Thursday I took my car to the Oldschool track day at Hampton Downs, and I was really looking forward to seeing how the car had improved after I put the new (correct) suspension in and had my old settings dialled in by the guys at K Drive Tyre and Battery (pictured above - that ain't me, BTW). After warming the car up and putting my foot to the floor for the first time, I immediately noticed a lack of power compared to the last time I drove it, and it felt even slower than my old smokey engine that had virtually no oil selas left in it. The car started fine both hot and cold, ran and idled fine, and sounded good, but there was definitely something wrong. Kyteler timed me as I took him for some hotlaps, and my best time was 1:19.6, which is 1.3 seconds slower than my previous best. Since lap times were irrelevant for the track day, I decided to carry on and take a few more people for rides (64valiant, Mikuni, bigfoot, etc), as I really enjoy giving others the opportunity to go for a ride in a race car, even if it's a bit slow. It also gave me an opportunity to put some decent run-in kays on it before I took it in for a retune. It turns out this wasn't the smartest idea, as I discovered this morning when I took my car in for a check up and dynotune. My fears were confirmed as a compression test revealed a lowly 30psi on the rear rotor, due to the 'unbreakable' apex seals doing their best impersonations of a banana. There are a couple of potential reasons for this and I'll know more when I strip the engine down in the next few weeks. A 'tuner blaming the builder' and vice versa scenario has already arisen, but I'd rather not get into those details. So that ends my lacklustre Mazda Pro7 Racing season prematurely, and I have some thinking to do once again over the next few months. On the bright side, I've got a couple of extra weekends freed up now, and I've saved myself about $2000 by missing the last 2 rounds. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr1600 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Sad news brent alot of work/preparation went into ensuring a competitive racecar this year and what a shame to be let down at this stage especially so early in the season... Let us know if you need anything sorted/can help down this way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfoot Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 it was an awesome ride round hampton even if it was down on power 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dell'orto Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 That sucks man, damn RX-8s! Shame about the motor too, would have thought the NA motors would have been less intolerant of a hard time though. Fingers crossed your housings are still mint Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I hope the housings are ok too, cos they were brand spankers. There are 2 potential reasons for the failure at the moment - one being poor apex seal choice for the intended application, and the other being poor air/fuel ratio due to lack of real world tuning. The latter reason is possibly because of the large amount of air that big expensive shiny airbox sucks up at high speed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 it was an awesome ride round hampton even if it was down on power Yeah, I reckon the braking ability is one of the best things about it. It still cornered and went sideways well enough for some fun, even if the straights were a bit boring aye. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roman Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 I didnt get a ride along in this unfortunately, but it looked super cool seeing it out on the track at Hampton! All the best with the engine fix etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Its always seems like one blames the other I have the same problem . They are happy to take money but no blame . It will be going again soon new session fresh engine the rx8s wont have a chance of keeping up so you wont have worry about them aim for the front.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhyscar Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Gutted you've had more issues with your engine. May I suggest a 2zz or f20c?? Bang for buck cheaper than rotangs, way more reliable and better for all round motoring enjoyability - screw rx7 class were everyone needs massive $$ to be competitive and just do hill climbs and club racing events.. it would be more than capable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 It's a bit too soon to make a repower call. Pull it down and see what the specifics are and then go from there. That exhaust is mighty fine! Loving the intake too. Those two pieces alone would need to be altered for a repower, and this car is built for a class, so might as well rebuild for that class. Good luck Brent, hope it isn't too bad when you open it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Putting my brand new 13B PP engine that is sitting around doing nothing has crossed my mind, but that's destined for another car. I think I'll own an LS-powered FD one day too, but I doubt I'll do it to this car. Hillclimbs, track days and club events are my preference over the class racing when it comes to the fun:money ratio. I wish I'd known that before I went from doing virtually no events to jumping straight into the Pro7 series. Still, it was a life goal of mine to compete in a sanctioned race series, so at least I've ticked that off. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHGWAG Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Gutted to hear! Hoping it's not Mark's workmanship, as I've just dropped a massive amount of coin with him :/ But hes doing the tune too so will have no excuses if it goes bang. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted April 1, 2015 Author Share Posted April 1, 2015 I dropped my car back off to Mark a week or so ago, and there's been quite a bit of progress on the engine strip down and rebuild. I got a phone call and some good news this morning - the inside of the engine is still mint apparently. I'm heading out to Haynes Rotary this arvo to have a look and take some pics before it all goes back together. If all goes to plan, it'll be running again later tonight. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 That's good news! So the seals went but no internal damage? Away from the whole finger pointing, you still need to figure out what happened to cause the issue, otherwise it may happen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHGWAG Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 That is good news! He works pretty fast when he's not flat out. be good to see it running again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sr1600 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Yep good to hear Was it the intake that put the pressure outside the mapping? assume you run steel seals due to the class? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Mark's thought it might be due to the intake, but it doesn't seem to be factor, as he reckons he did a speed run before the engine came out, and it wasn't making positive pressure. I had steel seals in there, but Mark's putting carbons in this time. We can run either steels or carbons (just not ceramics). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archetype Posted April 2, 2015 Author Share Posted April 2, 2015 Some pics for good measure: 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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