|
Preparation Diary – Part 3 Picking up where I left off in part 2 of the diary the engine was still in its many component parts with the rolling road session looming large on the horizon. Joe from Hammonds is working on the engine in his spare time so progress can be a bit spasmodic but he assures me that it’ll be ready in time. 2 weeks before the rolling road session and the engine is in it’s final stages of build. This is the kind of time you don’t want to find out something that might be a show stopper. I had to speak to TTS to confirm the measurements of the oil pick up on the engine and it was during this conversation we realised we were missing something. The part in question was an engine baffle, when the engine is installed in a bike it is designed to lean. Of course in a car it doesn’t lean (unless I got a corner really wrong) and the g-force generated in cornering can push the oil to one side of the engine. The baffle is in two parts, one is around the crank and the other blocks a passageway between the gearbox and clutch. Luckily TTS had this part in stock and shipped it out next day. This was the last big item to be done, the rest of the engine was completed and it was ready for fitting. It is now the Saturday 17th February and we have 6 days to get the engine installed and ready for the trip to Norfolk to be mapped. I call on Justin’s services to get the engine mounted into the chassis. First job once the engine is in place is to measure up all the hoses required i.e. water and oil and jump in the car for my weekly trip to Merlin Motorsport. They make my oil hoses and put all the fitments on for me. With hoses in hand we set off back to the car to start putting it all back together. By the end of the Saturday we had the oil cooler fitted, the exhaust system, most of the wiring installed and some of the water cooling circuit. Sunday Justin was replaced by Barry each working on different parts of the car by the time Barry left around 2pm most of the engine compartment was 90% complete. After Barry had left I turned my attention to putting the cockpit back together, installing the bulkhead, seat, harnesses and fire extinguisher. On fitting the old gear linkage I discovered that it wouldn’t fit on the Suzuki engine, this would mean a early call to Radical on Monday to order the right bits. On the Radical Suzuki engines the water pump is modified so the exit is at right angles to the engine. When I first looked at it I assumed I could just use a 90degree hose to negate the need for modifying the pump. This was a great plan until I realised that the gear selector was in the way….ah that’ll be why Radical modify the water pump. I haven’t got time to get the pump changed now so I bodged it for the rolling road session and added it to the list of things to do afterwards. A few more jobs that needed doing like bleeding the brakes/clutch and we are ready for the rolling road. However at this point I haven’t tried to start the engine….something I’ve been avoiding if I am being honest. However I only have one day left before the rolling road and I need to see if it will fire. This is it then, I turn on the master switch and then the ignition switch. I’ve removed the plugs to enable the engine to spin quickly and get the oil pressure up. After about 3 x10second bursts of the starter motor the oil pressure hasn’t moved. A little bit concerned so a quick phone call to Joe and he comes up to help. I remove one of the main oil gallery plugs and turn the engine over again, nothing, not even a drip from the gallery. Ok we have a problem, the first suspect is the oil pump. The only way to prove this would be to remove the water pump as you can see the oil pump drive from here. That will show the oil pump is at least moving, however before we start taking the engine apart again out comes the Hayabusa manual. One thing I will say for Suzuki is their manuals are excellent, particularly for troubleshooting problems like this. On this engine the oil comes out of the pump and through the oil cooler before going into the filter and into the engine. With this in mind could the problem be the new oil hoses? Or maybe the oil cooler itself? In a flash of desperation I removed the oil filter (which was dry!) and turned the engine over again…after a few seconds the oil started to appear, this is looking better. Just to check the oil cooler I release the "in" hose and suddenly all the oil flows out of the filter housing. A look like the union on the oil radiator caused the problem as it wasn’t sat right and was blocking off the oil. A quick tweak, filter back on and I turn the engine over again, this time the oil starts coming out of the gallery plug. Result! I put the plug back in and turn the engine over again, soon I have around 20psi on the gauge. Excellent….well that was until I look down on the floor and saw a huge puddle of oil. Oh now what I thought, the leak was on the left hand side of the engine and it looked like one of the external oil hoses was leaking. I span the engine over again to see where the leak was….at that point I was covered in oil! There appears to be a hole at the end of the oil gallery in the head and the plug was missing, soon sorted that with a new bolt and copper washer….at last we are ready to see this will start. I fit the plugs again and get ready to start. The fuel pump fires up and is reading a healthy 45psi the ignition is on and we are ready to go! A push of the starter is meeting with zilch, nowt, nothing … bugger! A few more punches is greeted by a big back fire and the engine kicking back on the starter. I’ve heard of stories where starters get sheared off by engine kick back so I was very weary. A couple more tries and it almost starts then back fires again but this time it blows the throttle bodies off the engine! Ok….think I better give up with this and ask the experts. I speak to Emerald, who manufacture the ECU and where I am taking the car to be mapped and they just say bring it up and we’ll get it started. To say I am nervous about this would be an understatement as the thought of travelling 200miles to find the engine won’t start isn’t a good one. Well I take their advice and strap the car onto the trailer ready for the trip to Norfolk the following day. Friday, the day starts at 5am when the alarm clock goes off, I am on the road by 5.30am and soon plodding down the M4 towards the M25. I arrive at Watton in Norfolk just after 9am and greeted by Dave Walker. We soon had the car on the rollers and looking at the starting problem. This little problem took the best part of 3 hours to sort. The fault was the crank sensor not enabling the ECU to lock on when the engine is turned over. This was because when I changed the trigger wheel I didn’t change the sensor. Sometimes what you think is saving money ends up costing more in the long run. Anyway the problem was resolved on the day by using a big booster battery to spin the engine quick enough for the ECU to lock on. Once the engine was running it was fine, the engine sounded good and Dave set about running the engine in and then doing the mapping. 6:30pm and the job was finally done and I couldn’t have asked for a better result, the engine produced 200.9bhp at 9900rpm which was smack on target. However the torque was better than expected, over 105ft/lbs at 4500rpm, peaking at 116ft/lbs at 7500rpm and still over 104ft/lbs at the limiter….perfect! All the hard work over the past 4 months has been worth it. A few thank yous to the people/suppliers that go me to this point – So after the successful rolling road session I have a few more jobs to do before we are ready for the track. The car will go off to Neil Cox for the suspension to be setup and on Monday 12th we are at Silverstone for the first drive, half of me can’t wait the other half is a little bit nervous! Just as I finish writing this I’ve received a message inviting me to a open race at Brands Hatch on the 24th March. The meeting is the first round of the new Lotus Trophy series so should be a good meeting to watch. Well I couldn’t say no and my entry has been posted, should be a good experience as I’ll be the only Radical on the grid but surrounded by Elise ranging from 120bhp to 300+bhp, Nobles, BMW’s and Caterhams.
|
