No worries Phil, my custom cooling pack is almost ready - so I can jump into the debate
Finally been able to give the car a solid shake-down; everything standard 2013 - with the only additions the bolt-in brace, centra Drive with Phil’s inserts and bearing, and Phil’s bevelbox’ top bracket only (front and back brackets not needed for non-NVH cars), and new tires (Blockley front, Yokohama back). The belt has about 10 degrees slack.
First impressions......finally the car it always should have been. Take off in 1st gear with clutch control only is a breeze - no need for additional throttle input (previously, needed about 1800-2000 rpm in order not to stall). In dry conditions, wheel-spin in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear when going flat out. And the wheelspin is now controlled by the throttle, rather than the on-off-on pattern experienced previously (assumed to be as the slack shifts front to back through the drivetrain - and back).
Car can easily be driven between 1000 and 3000 rpm in lower gears, without a near total absence of clunking. It’s also possible to take off from stand-still in every gear all the way up to 5th gear.
In 4th and 5th gear, there is noticeable vibration (but nothing as compared to before) between 2600-3000 rpm, which feels more like a gearing mismatch between engine and gearbox. Dropping a gear appears the solution here, and easy to drive through.
One big difference, is that throughout, irrespective of revs or gear, there is a chassis vibration that can be felt backrest of the seat. It’s minor, and almost feels like a back massage.....I’ll call this a feature :-) not sure yet how annoying this will get on longer trips.
Overall I would say, success! And the car finally feels like a nimble little sports car. She definitely feels faster off the line, and I was going 100 miles an hour (on circuit) within the blink of an eye. What has become very obviou however, is how twitchy and unpredictable the front end is. Pushing harder, in combination with the Blockley’s appears to be the “culprit” here......now, this is without the steering kit, so next step is to install the modified Suplex (without the internal rebound spring!) and drop the ride-height down to how Malvern originally intended it.
To be continued.....
