a) lost 2 days of my life stuck under a car at the weekend or,
b) gained a valuable insight into the working of an S1 elise suspension.
Whilst I'm sure Mrs R would vouch for option "a)", I very much view last weekend as option "b"...
Objective of weekend: Refresh all x8 balljoints (x2 per corner)
..and the result was..... Objective achieved (it only took 19 hours......)
Firstly,i'd just like to say a big thanks so Steve (otherwise known as BRR Chief Technical Officer) - pictured -
...and also to Ben - also pictured - (otherwise known as "Technical Support") 
......without whom this would not have been possible (oscar speech!)
Anyway, the day started off fairly early, having got the car up on axle stands the previous evening ( no mean feat in itself) we set about dismantling the OSR suspension.
....very quickly the rear of the car became a workshop bench/tool assembly/general crap area....
Every balljoint had a unique character. They were all old, narly, and very stubborn. This is a pic of the OSR (which now sends shivers down my spine)
And..
Lower balljoint removed.
- Brand new set of M10 12.9 grade plinth bolts
http://images30.fotki.com/v472/photos/4/42222/7117476/P1000650-vi.jpg
- A perished and narly old balljoint
- A perished and narly old balljoint
http://images45.fotki.com/v1440/photos/4/42222/7117476/P1000642-vi.jpg
- Lower balljoint installed - all greased up and ready to rock and roll...
- Lower balljoint installed - all greased up and ready to rock and roll...
The actual balljoint removal didn;t take long - it was the reassembly of the suspension which was the most time consuming part. The first corner took us from c10 through to 4pm. The second rear corner took 3 hours.
Pic below is the high-tec strucural engineering I implemented in order to get enough downward pressure on the upper balljoint to screw on the nylock nut and tighten to 45nm (this took me over one hour, i kid ye not)
Pic below is the high-tec strucural engineering I implemented in order to get enough downward pressure on the upper balljoint to screw on the nylock nut and tighten to 45nm (this took me over one hour, i kid ye not)
Little did we know that what knowledge we gained from the rear suspension was to be effectively neutered when we started on the front end of the car (on sunday) - as you can see from the pics below, the lower balljoint is mounted to a rectangual plinth - of which the bolts are nigh-on impossible to remove due to the angle of the plinth - as soon as they get half out, the lower wishbone is in the way - and it is this plinth which was the architect of the death of toelink removal tool #1.
A quick trip to halfords, some WD40, muchos "persuading" with a hammer, and the plinth came off with a gunshot of a crack and we started moving forwards again.
http://images47.fotki.com/v1403/photos/4/42222/7117476/P1000644-vi.jpg
http://images47.fotki.com/v1403/photos/4/42222/7117476/P1000644-vi.jpg
New lower balljoint installed...
The old nut thing again....as we discovered the solution was to mount the nute BEFORE attaching the plinth....
Normally, this type of picture would mean nothing to me. However, this is the sight of a finished OSF suspension corner - which signified the end of the work for the weekend - at approx 7pm on sunday evening.
I am guessing it's these long dark days which make the long sunny days, getting ready to line up on the grid, all the more sweet.
I am guessing it's these long dark days which make the long sunny days, getting ready to line up on the grid, all the more sweet.
As I tidied up the tools at the end of the day, stuck the battery on trickle charge and turned off the lights, I can;t describe how rewarding it is to have completed this little task - I can only benchmark it against what someone must feel after building a small boat, a big chest of drawers or finishing a sizeable garden landscape.
Steve - thank you so much. Thank you also to your "wahf" for letting you out to play for 2 days when she's a mere matter of weeks away from childbirth. The words "hhhhah faaahv" and the Kings of Leon will forever take on a new meaning.
Next steps:
- Decide on roll cage
- Fix driveshaft oil seal, gearbox mount, fit an oil cooler and remote thermostat, fix the front indicator light.
- Find out whether my HANS device works with the present seat.
And finally....
There i was on Sunday night, winding down for the evening at 10pm. Started to write a blog post and then - bam - an email comes in from Paul Golding - who runs the Lotus Elise Trophy.
Entries are open for the year online.
All the talking now stops.
I have to make decisions now on what races to enter as some of the grids are already locked out, with reserve lists building up every hour.
So, at 2am I have booked:
My first race: Snetterton in June.
Then:
Brands Hatch GP - racing on the same card as WTCC and the new F2 championship (eek)
Donington - August
Cadwell - September
Silverstone - October
I was undecided about Brands GP. Of course I want to race there, but the GP circuit is difficult to get access to by way of trackdays to learn the place. Being on the WTCC card means being in the plebs paddock - ergo awnings and other stuff is required (more faff basically) which can be a distraction so early on in the whole race experience thing. As I goto bed I find myself already thinking of the storage boxes I'll need for an "outside" paddock......
I think you should post the actual dates of the planned races, so your legions of fans can plan their summer around it. :o)
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