So much for it being a cheap toy this time round...

Del Lardo · 21-03-2010, 18:54

Well at the risk of sounding like a madman talking to myself here we goes......

Went for a ~40 mile blast yesterday on some roads that I know rather well and initial impressions were good but as it was a bit damp I wasn't really pushing and really just used it as an excuse to get a few miles on the engine.

Today I went for a ~100 mile blast trying to keep it below 4.5rpm with a hard limit of 5k rpm as I need to get a few hundred miles and 8-10 heat cycles on the top end before I can properly go for it. Even with a limit of 4.5-5K rpm (where things start to get interesting) the engine feels a lot better, a little bit more torque is available and it idles properly which is a nice change. Very much looking forward to being able to rev it to 7250rpm.

New suspension is a bit of a tricky one, the ride is definitely less compliant but the car feels more controlled over normal surfaces. Over a very badly surfaced single track road the suspension started to feel overwhelmed but then I glanced down and realised that I was doing 60mph on a road that I doubt the Mundano would have done 40mph down. Turn in is far better than it used to be but I think this is mostly down to the new boots and geo.

So, the new boots! Rather than replacing the worn tyres with another set of Kuhmo or Toyo T1-Rs I decided to try the new Toyo road/track tyre the R1-R. Basically it is a track compound tyre but cut for the road and using some clever compound stuff they even provide good grip when cold. I suspect that on the road these tyres have far bigger balls that I do, I was no where near the levels of grip available during normal spirited driving and upon trying a few laps of a deserted roundabout I gave up before coming close to the edge of cohesion, on the old setup I would have easily pushed into understeer.

So all in I am VERY happy with the car at the moment, while I'm not going to sit here and claim it was good value for money I am not upset with the amount that I have spent vs. the very positive changes to the car. I'm really looking forward to the next Sprint/airfield day to find out just what the car is capable of. I'm also going to try and find me old GTech meter as I think the no1 spot on the 60-0 OcUK leader board should be mine

21-03-2010, 18:54	#31
Del Lardo Absinthe Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Cambridge Posts: 2,539	Well at the risk of sounding like a madman talking to myself here we goes...... Went for a ~40 mile blast yesterday on some roads that I know rather well and initial impressions were good but as it was a bit damp I wasn't really pushing and really just used it as an excuse to get a few miles on the engine. Today I went for a ~100 mile blast trying to keep it below 4.5rpm with a hard limit of 5k rpm as I need to get a few hundred miles and 8-10 heat cycles on the top end before I can properly go for it. Even with a limit of 4.5-5K rpm (where things start to get interesting) the engine feels a lot better, a little bit more torque is available and it idles properly which is a nice change. Very much looking forward to being able to rev it to 7250rpm. New suspension is a bit of a tricky one, the ride is definitely less compliant but the car feels more controlled over normal surfaces. Over a very badly surfaced single track road the suspension started to feel overwhelmed but then I glanced down and realised that I was doing 60mph on a road that I doubt the Mundano would have done 40mph down. Turn in is far better than it used to be but I think this is mostly down to the new boots and geo. So, the new boots! Rather than replacing the worn tyres with another set of Kuhmo or Toyo T1-Rs I decided to try the new Toyo road/track tyre the R1-R. Basically it is a track compound tyre but cut for the road and using some clever compound stuff they even provide good grip when cold. I suspect that on the road these tyres have far bigger balls that I do, I was no where near the levels of grip available during normal spirited driving and upon trying a few laps of a deserted roundabout I gave up before coming close to the edge of cohesion, on the old setup I would have easily pushed into understeer. So all in I am VERY happy with the car at the moment, while I'm not going to sit here and claim it was good value for money I am not upset with the amount that I have spent vs. the very positive changes to the car. I'm really looking forward to the next Sprint/airfield day to find out just what the car is capable of. I'm also going to try and find me old GTech meter as I think the no1 spot on the 60-0 OcUK leader board should be mine