Diary of Scott, aged 29 and 1/4.

Message

gmsclassics · #76 Post by **gmsclassics** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 8:56 am

I agree with Stephen and Mark, get the best brakes you can. There is nothing more demoralising than being outbraked into a corner by a car you have just passed on the straight. I now run 255mm x 22mm ex BMW vented front rotors with Willwood Dynalite 4 pot calipers. These have the smaller diameter pistons as the surface area is similar to the standard Sprint piston so hopefully with the standard master cylinder and rear brake setup (but better linings) the balance is maintained. The front pad area is much bigger and I run Ferodo DS3000 pads - they are excellent. 
What do you mean by 'knock off'? I do sometimes get brake judder under light braking when pads are getting worn, despite everything being carefully aligned. 
 
On the subject of gear ratios, when I was running the Triumph box I found it useful to have overdrive wired to work on second as well. You mustn't use it changing up from second as the response is too slow to reliably avoid over-revving and also it puts too much strain on the overdrive. However, it does provide an intermediate option between second and third to get good drive, at optimum revs, out of some slower corners where second is almost at the top of the rev range and third is pulling revs just below the power band. 
It is easy to wire up when building up the car, and if you don't need or like it, you don't need to use it. 
 
Also put a big warning light on the dashboard to indicate when overdrive is engaged - very helpful to remind you where you are at during the heat of racing. 
 
Geoff

Mark Larmour · #77 Post by **Mark Larmour** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 10:38 am

Geoff, 
My description for "knock off" or "knock back" is where you put your foot on the brake pedal only to find that it will travel a LONG way, sometimes to the floor, to pump the caliper pistons back to the correct position. The pistons have been pushed back into the caliper by the brake disc rotor during high "g" cornering due, usually, due to stub axle flex. 
 
This can be some what disturbing, requiring a second stab at the brake pedal to get any retardation. For some reason my car has always seemed to suffer from this problem, even when I have fitted solid spacers between the wheel bearings and the old ST vertical link reinforcing kit. The residual valve in the front brake line has seen the most inprovement. 
Consider this problem? I have had to change the nyloc nut that retains the lower ball joint to the lower wishbone with a 12 point nut (which is small O/D) because the brake disc was grinding the original nut in half due to it touching under extreme conditions. Now that is what I call flex!!! 
 
Mark

<a href="http://www.sprintparts.triumphowners.com">SPRINTPARTS</a>

Carsreunited · #78 Post by **Carsreunited** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 12:56 am

Geoff, good idea about the overdrive warning light. Going to have a big oil pressure warning light as well. Might need different colours or I'll get confused. I think overdrives going to be wired for all gears or at least I heard that mentioned a while ago. 
 
I can't better Mark's description of knock off and as yet I've yet to experience the dubious pleasure of no brakes. The only time I had that feeling was when I was young and stupid I'd bought an MGBGT and hadn't quite got used to the pedal offset. I approached some traffic lights on a roundabout, hit the brakes and the pedal met the bulkhead with no braking power. Swerved to miss the held traffic and ended up coasting the wrong way around the roundabout before I realised my brake pedal was in fact the clutch! 
 
I heard from the Supplier at Rallynuts that wilwood are particularly succeptable to knock off so I was just seeing if it was malitious rumour or not. If I don't get any knock off with Hispec calipers it will probably be because I'm not driving it hard enough! 
 
Scott

gmsclassics · #79 Post by **gmsclassics** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 5:52 am

Interesting. I did lose my brakes last time out but assumed that meant I had left changing the fluid for too long! <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... rassed.gif ALT=":o"> A very hot day on a short circuit renown for being hard on brakes - if they are going to boil, then that's when it will happen. Now I have invested in some of the 600 degree stuff. 
I have had a problem with the pistons coming so far out that they won't return properly. Now as the pads wear, I put a spacer between the pad backing and the piston (same shape as pad, but 2/3 the thickness). Maybe this helps to keep the piston travel short and avoid knock-off? 
 
Geoff <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D">

Stephen Grellet · #80 Post by **Stephen Grellet** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 8:57 pm

To date I have only experienced pad knock off once, and I found that I had endfoat in the front hub bearings. The Leyland ST manual recommends that the front hubs are torqued up so that there is no clearance in the bearings at all. Once I did this the problem has not re-occured. I also have a habit of trying the brake early to make sure the pedal is ok. The Wilwood calipers I use are the ones with the split pin pad retainer, not the cross bolts

ALG1K · #81 Post by **ALG1K** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 9:30 pm

I just touch the brakes with my left foot while still on the throttle coming up to a corner just to make sure as this has happened to me and i use AP racing calipers 
There must be some flexing of the suspension components on the sprint, 
i am making a brace of high tensile steel to bolt up to all the 5 mounting points on the front bracket, 
hope this will stop the flex

Richard · #82 Post by **Richard** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 9:34 pm

I've often thought of boxing in the front wishbones & rear trailing arms. would this help ?

Stephen Grellet · #83 Post by **Stephen Grellet** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 10:15 pm

To date I have only experienced pad knock off once, and I found that I had endfoat in the front hub bearings. The Leyland ST manual recommends that the front hubs are torqued up so that there is no clearance in the bearings at all. Once I did this the problem has not re-occured. I also have a habit of trying the brake early to make sure the pedal is ok. The Wilwood calipers I use are the ones with the split pin pad retainer, not the cross bolts

MaddMart · #84 Post by **MaddMart** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 4:36 pm

That's what DollyMates are for...<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /happy.gif ALT=":D">

<a href="http://www.aqpd91.dsl.pipex.com/" target="top">Mad Mart's Website</a>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub52.ezboard.com/bthetriumphdol ... addMart</A> at: 19/3/04 4:47 pm

Carsreunited · #85 Post by **Carsreunited** » Fri Mar 19, 2004 5:31 pm

Well, saved by the Smifter today. 
 
Mark called me the other day to say that my STR139 wasn't an STR139 and wasn't even a fast road version. Not to worry I thought, having been up at the workshops the day before, I had seen him on the phone to Kent Cams trying to discover what type of profile cam he had in his hands. It was a 16v Sprint cam marked KC L1 that had come from a race engine. 
 
Turns out to be a pretty full on Lotus profile similar in some respects to a 139 profile (I'll get the specs another time). Excellent, I'll have that one Mark. Mark calls me this morning to say that the L1 didn't survive the reconditioning process and did I know where I could get a standard cam from sharpish which could be used to have the L1 profile cut out of it. 
 
3 text mesages later and Graeme has posted me 2 standard cams in the space of 2 hours. That's what I call service! 
 
Anyone else heard of this L1 profile being used in Sprint engines? 
 
Scott

SMIFTER · #86 Post by **SMIFTER** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 12:10 am

Glad to be of help 
 
of course i expect a ride in this monster of a car when its done!

<a href="http://www.smifter1971.pwp.blueyonder.c ... >Smifter's Dolomite Sprint Website</a>

Carsreunited · #87 Post by **Carsreunited** » Sat Mar 20, 2004 5:28 pm

Of course Graeme. That goes without saying. I'll want your opinion on the car and how I drive it so definitely. 
 
Just had my ARDS test at Mallory Park this morning. I'm pleased to say I passed but you would have to be doing something herendously wrong to fail. We were told that the automatic failure points would be (on the assessed driving bit) if you had one or more wheels go off track or your observations were so diminished that you put other track users in danger. 
 
There were plenty of cars on track, Lamborghini VT, Racing E-Type, AMG55 Merc, Viper GTS, Noble to name but a few. The ARDS cars being the least exotic by far. If you think the £200 test fee is going to get you in an elise or caterham then you are seriously wrong. Clapped out 1987 Golf GTI's<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... ohwell.gif ALT=":"> Never driven one before but having driven both examples they had there today I've got to say the gearbox is horrible. Felt similar to the gearbox in a camper van! Anyway... 
 
There was me and a guy called Mel on the course. Yes, two students and two instructors! Not a bad ratio! Mel is going to be racing his Ferrari this year. Made me laugh when the instructors asked us what we planned to do and they were more interested in the Sprint than the Ferrari! Ken Clarke was there (not the fat ex-chancellor) who is apparently an expert on Sprints. Does anyone know him??? Remember I'm a relative newcomer to dollies so excuse my ignorance. 
 
We had about 4 laps of course familiarisation with the instructors and then about 4 laps of us driving with the instructor who was talking through each apex, braking point etc. The instructor then shuts up and looks for you to complete two laps with consitency and accuracy. Providing you don't screw that up, you have passed the driving assessment part of the test. They positively discourage you from trying to drive fast. I don't think I went over 4.5krpm! 
 
Next stage is the written test. Probably the most nerve wrecking because if you get any of the 12 flag questions wrong, you fail. If you get any of the three safety questions wrong, you fail. You can get 2 of the general questions wrong of which there are about 10 but you would struggle to get any of them wrong. My favourite was, "Your car is on fire, what is it a good idea to do?" 
 
a) Get off the track and remain seated until help arrives. 
b) Drive faster in order that the wind might blow the flames out. 
c) Drive into the pits ensuring that you pull up next to the re-filling station 
d) Aim to stop at the next marshalling post 
 
My fellow ARDS pupil picked a) which was kind of worrying, especially with the Ferrari's tendency to erupt in flames! Most of the questions had equally hilarious options to choose from. 
 
And that was that. I now am a Race National 'B' licenced competitor! Woo hoo!!<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... /smile.gif ALT=":)"> 
 
Oh, and I saw a lorry blow over on the motorway back home and hypothetically might have seen 135mph on the clocks of my wifes Mini Cooper (1600cc) on a very quiet stretch of motorway<img src=http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/im ... ns/eek.gif ALT=":eek"> 
 
Scott

Richard · #88 Post by **Richard** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 10:16 am

Ken runs CPR Engineering. he built a Sprint which appeared in a mag as cost £20k. he raced for a few seasons in it, but never finished up with the big boys. He has done lots of development work on Sprints. 
 
I believe his son races now.

ALG1K · #89 Post by **ALG1K** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 9:27 pm

Have you got an addy for CPR ?

SMIFTER · #90 Post by **SMIFTER** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 9:52 pm

Scott 
 
Well done on getting your Nat B. 
 
For info I've got a claim pending with Parcelfarce for the cost of that damage cam i sent to mark. 
 
Graeme

<a href="http://www.smifter1971.pwp.blueyonder.c ... >Smifter's Dolomite Sprint Website</a>

The Triumph Dolomite Club - EzBoard Archive

Diary of Scott, aged 29 and 1/4.

Brakes and gearbox/overdrive

"Knock off"

Re: "Knock off"

Brake Knock off

Brakes

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Box

Brakes

Re: Cams

Cams

Re: Cams

Update...

Ken Clarke

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