Sorting our Time Attack cooling issues out after Donington MAYBE

[00:00:00]This is the debrief video for the Saxo after Donington Park. We was having a lot of high water temperature issues, wasn't we? So, we're going to check over the car. We think the engine did really well in 32 degrees. Yeah, we was getting well over 100 degrees water temperature and it was proving very difficult to bring that water temperature back down again as well. So, several laps at a time, quite painful process.

[00:00:29]It did hamper It did harm our our track time and as a result, you know, we didn't We did all right, you know, 117 flat. We repeated that quite a few times, but when the water temperature gets so high, the engine it Well, the ECU protects the engine. It adds fuel, which reduces power, and it also pulls a lot of ignition timing and that reduces a lot of power. And obviously, the the high air intakes, we were seeing 60 degrees Yeah, at the intake. So, Right, let's let's have a look at the car. Let's see what we think.

[00:01:06]Change the oil, do a few bits, give it a spanner check, and talk about what we're going to be doing with the front end. We need this thing to be able to do lap after lap.

[00:01:25]the main problem.

[00:01:27]So, our exhaust manifold is very, very very close to our coolant radiator.

[00:01:35]And at times, in the past, our engine has moved a little bit under flex, okay? So, Fibertechnics engine mounts, motorsport ones, they're not solid mounts. Maybe we need to shift solid mounts. But look, we've had a few episodes few incidents where the engine has moved and this manifold has just nibbled on the back of the radiator there. So, what we're going to do I will go upstairs. I've got a radiator upstairs that I'm repairing from Donington as well. So, remember that radiator that was leaking? I'm going to repair that. And I'll show you what I do. So, it's just a simple and it does work. Um we're stripping down the front end and we're going to move the intercooler and the radiator further forward. It can further forward, so we'll need to cut out um the front bumper. Um we could probably do with some better ducting as well. Uh to uh to to to force the air through the radiator. Um but yeah, we'll get into that and uh we'll spanner check the car.

[00:02:35]But in the meantime, let's just go upstairs real quick. I want to show you this radiator cuz we're going to be doing a repair.

[00:02:42]This is such a wonderful view from up here of the whole workshop.

[00:02:48]This is what we have.

[00:02:50]So, this is where we've repaired it before and we've got this little little slit there. Now, that, if you remember from at the track, that was the tail end of a jubilee clip that was holding some exhaust lagging uh onto the manifold. And uh yeah, foolishly, it was me uh left the tail end of the jubilee clip sticking out and uh it well, it cost me it cost me a having to uh work on the car, myself and the boys. So, yeah. So, but look, um stuff I've used to repair that was actually this, JB Weld Extreme Heat. All right? So, sits next to the exhaust manifold, but that has um that has survived. Um I've been brake cleaner in this, brake cleaner in the uh the coolant and everything out of it so that when we do um repair with this, it's it should just bond to it. I've used this before. This is a JB Weld. Um it's not quite such a high temperature. Um I carry in my toolbox as well this stuff, but this stays gooey and tacky and it doesn't deal with the heat very well on repairs like this. And you could use stuff like this on things like intercoolers. And it doesn't take a a very long amount of time to cure and if you carry hair dryer or a heat gun, there's usually someone in the paddock that's got a heat gun, isn't there? And just to give it a bit of extra curing and before you do uh need to use the car again. But, look, this is what we're going to do. I'm just going to mix some of this up. I'm just going to mix some of this up. I'm just going to mix some of this up.

[00:04:22]>> [laughter] >> I've not used this in uh 6 months and uh this is what I take to the track with me. It's gone off.

[00:04:30]Right, we're not >> [laughter] >> All right. Well, it All right, you get the gist. Right, well, you Let's Let's get some of this on. This is good ooji-gooji. So, we'll get that in there. That should be enough. There might be enough for one little blaster out of that. We'll be lucky. I might have Just going to squeeze that too much. So, get this mixed. Don't know if any of you've used this sort of stuff before, but uh if you're going racing and um I highly recommend carrying some sort of I call it ooji-gooji. Um some sort of glues, resins, um two-part epoxies, call it whatever you want. It fixes stuff.

[00:05:09]And uh it might just get you racing again.

[00:05:13]So, not everybody carries a spare radiator, intercooler, or whatever. Oil cooler, maybe. Could fix one of them.

[00:05:18]You get a stone in there.

[00:05:20]You You might be grateful that you was carrying some of this and it costs not a lot of money.

[00:05:26]So, get that in there. It's going to block up a couple of fins, but um when these radiators are costing about 450 quid, yeah, seriously.

[00:05:37]It's a custom radiator.

[00:05:39]Um I'd like to see that it can go again.

[00:05:41]And that's that repaired. That's it.

[00:05:44]So, yeah.

[00:05:46]>> [laughter] >> It's not pretty. It's uh It's It's out of the way when it's on the car. Um but it'll uh it'll get me racing again one day, won't it? Without the need for spending another 450 quid. Anyone needing 2250 15 Advans AO52s? I've got quite a few used ones. Um hit me up. Yeah.

[00:06:10]I might be able to sort you out cheap.

[00:06:11]They're not free. You're going to buy them, all right? Don't give them away.

[00:06:15]>> [laughter] >> But uh yeah. It's the tire that I use time attack control tire currently. Fast tire.

[00:06:24]Probably the fastest most best all-round tire.

[00:06:27]Wet, dry.

[00:06:29]Grass, gravel.

[00:06:30]>> [laughter] >> Um tire going currently. So, yeah. Um hit me up. I've got lots of used ones in various conditions.

[00:06:41]So, first thing I want to do taking off the splitter, so I need some Allen keys. If you're wondering do you not do any work, Ash Jew? Well, yeah, I do.

[00:06:57]So I'm waiting on some gaskets for this little Zetec uh little tiger that we've been doing a a crank seal, sump seal, and a few other little bits, clutch flywheel.

[00:07:09]Uh doing a bit of work on that one.

[00:07:13]Uh there is in the engine we've got a mini classic mini engine, yeah. If you know minis, you'll know what that is.

[00:07:23]Um but we've been supplied uh the right size bearings as in 10 plus 10 thou. Um but um but for the wrong crank.

[00:07:35]So, all that, yeah.

[00:07:37]Really nice.

[00:07:39]On hold until we get the bits for that.

[00:07:42]So, yeah, and the S2000, we're waiting from Honda.

[00:07:47]Uh we're waiting um I think it Is it Holland? I'm sure it's Honda in Holland.

[00:07:56]These.

[00:07:57]Yeah, customer wants all these changing.

[00:07:59]Some oil ones down there at the bottom there um that want swapping out. So, and then this job this whole job this been a massive job the S2000 then it it is done. So, right, let's get back to taking off the splitter and we'll check over the car. We'll see what's loose. Uh we'll change the oil. We'll have a look at the oil and um yeah.

[00:08:20]We'll see.

[00:08:22]It's no quick connectors or anything.

[00:08:27]There's a Saxos a weird one. If you want to split on a Saxo, you have to get pretty creative.

[00:08:33]Make your own framework.

[00:08:36]Which is what we did. We'll see that shortly.

[00:08:45]Really takes about 30 seconds if not less to take it off.

[00:08:53]Uh and that's our splitter.

[00:08:58]Yeah, don't mind this. This is for the kit car. Nothing to do with my car. So, lovely uh baffle sump that's going to get flushed out and it has a new gasket and everything.

[00:09:08]So, yeah, framework look if you've got a Saxo and you want to know how I did it, bit of box section off the front, framed it all up a little bit. Kind of lightweight, not made it too strong.

[00:09:18]Some bits that's not welded for a reason so it can collapse if it wants to rather than bend the front end cuz I have done that before.

[00:09:25]But look at that. Yeah?

[00:09:28]I think we Yeah. Oh gosh, we've actually touched the new radiator as well. We've actually touched it.

[00:09:35]So, there is there probably about half an inch clearance. So, we're going to try and get Let's try and get Let's try and make that into an inch if not more.

[00:09:43]And then, I we're going to have to put some better sort of lagging over that.

[00:09:47]Um just It's such a small engine bay. I mean, what What else can you do? You know, we've uh we'll just bring everything away from it, okay? So, front bumper off next.

[00:10:15]Now, about this dual charge on that.

[00:10:18]If anyone is thinking about giving me some stick for using one of these, yeah, not an impact one. The reason why is them studs are that long.

[00:10:27]That's hollow all the way through.

[00:10:29]Yeah? My other impactor, I'll show you.

[00:10:33]It's got an annoying thing in it. So, you can't Yeah? It gets stuck.

[00:10:39]>> [laughter] >> So, yeah, that's why I use one of these chromy things.

[00:10:51]Game of basketball. Look at all this.

[00:10:54]And that's uh snotted all the way around the tire. It comes off.

[00:10:58]It Well, it comes off in the wheel easy, but this uh some of the bigger bits, you warm it up. I got a heat gun with a flat blade on it and scrape it. It's not a proper motorsport one because those things are very expensive.

[00:11:12]They're more suited to doing slicks as well. You often uh trip over the tread blocks.

[00:11:17]If you use one of those style ones, or uh It either way, I use heat gun. So, a heat gun as in literally as in you buy it from B&Q, it'd be 20 quid, and you probably use it for stripping some paint off something at home.

[00:11:30]Take these off. It's a lot of brake dust on them.

[00:11:32]Here.

[00:11:33]>> [snorts] >> So, racing brake pads.

[00:11:39]If you follow the channel, you know we uh you'll know that EBC Brakes take fantastic care of us. This and pads, fluids.

[00:11:50]And uh yeah, trade-off for absolutely phenomenal brakes is uh a bit of brake dust.

[00:11:57]So, yeah, there's a lot of uh there's a lot of uh snot on that. I'm going to clean up. Don't usually get that much build up on the front. I think that's from running off-line, uh avoiding other cars on cool-down laps, like I did a lot of cool-down laps.

[00:12:11]Um but that will want washing.

[00:12:13]We'll go through everything and just see. We'll literally span and check everything.

[00:12:18]Um but yeah, brake dust that we had come off at the track. I'm sure we showed it on the other video. This was uh trailing on the floor, bless it. And now I didn't manage to either drive over it or what I I don't know. But uh yeah, it survived. So, let's get these The reason I took the wheels off is just get access to these. You can actually remove and service the bumper with those on, but it's easier to take the wheels off. They want cleaning anyway, don't they? Look at this.

[00:12:42]Floppy posts.

[00:12:44]Yeah.

[00:12:46]So, do you remember when we painted this this year?

[00:12:48]>> [laughter] >> So, it wasn't wasn't uh very long ago. I was doing filler in and uh and and and yeah, and bodywork and stuff. And I'm I'm not usually one for bodywork, but it's uh showing a few cracks in there, look. There's a big clout there from a post.

[00:13:04]Yeah, right. Let's get bumper off. And uh yeah, these might Hey, if you people say I'll do a do my tow eyes, that's what I do with them.

[00:13:11]Yeah? Just bolt them out of the way, so they're not when you're around the track, they're not doing this.

[00:13:17]I think it's cool. Send me a P-clip.

[00:13:19]And uh you just slit it and rivet it onto your bumper and you're away. Away you go. So, I I'll to pick up a fresh pair of these if I don't already have a fresh set.

[00:13:30]They're coming off, aren't they?

[00:13:32]Yeah.

[00:13:33]Right. Bumper.

[00:13:40]All right, one bumper.

[00:13:43]Right, it's been 10 minutes and we've got bumper off and headlights slam plate. So, a bit more perspective.

[00:13:49]Yeah. It don't look too bad. I mean, it don't look too bad clearance-wise here, but you can just see I can't even touch it. It's that tight, but you can see we've had a little kiss on one of the fins.

[00:14:00]But, uh got the screws out. I'm just going to uh Yeah.

[00:14:06]>> [clears throat] >> we'll uh we'll drop some coolant, pull that bottom hose, get some coolant out of it, and uh we'll undo the silicons and everything.

[00:14:16]Just lift it out and we'll look at the slam plate crossmember, rather, uh decide what we're going to do.

[00:14:23]Right, that's the radiator out.

[00:14:27]And uh that's the kind of clearance.

[00:14:28]That would be the dream, yeah? Guys with turbos in your Saxos, what room have you got? Talk to me because I mean, fit the snail in there.

[00:14:39]I don't know. Better or worse? It's going to be hotter. The exhaust is going to be hotter for sure, isn't it? Um I'm never ever, right? Quote me.

[00:14:47]Call me out. I'm never putting a turbo in this. Not doing it.

[00:14:52]No.

[00:14:52]It's not the car for it. In my opinion, it's not the car for it. It's not.

[00:14:57]Is it the car for that?

[00:15:00]Yes.

[00:15:01]Yeah, it is.

[00:15:03]We're all chuffed with that. Really happy. But, yeah, you can see the efforts I've made to I've opened that up and shoved it forward and we've opened the holes up on the bottom of the slam plate and shoved it forward.

[00:15:14]Um Excuse me, I'm just burping. I've just been drinking some Pepsi. Right, let me take a few more bits off the car. Oh, look.

[00:15:22]It's no good, is it? Yeah? Let's try and stop that. Mhm?

[00:15:27]I might speak with uh Ali Sport and say uh you know, what's the current price? Cuz I think it's 465.

[00:15:37]Yeah? Sure it's 465.

[00:15:40]It's just I mean, can anyone make one for less? I've got one that I can send out to you.

[00:15:46]Uh if you can make one for less, the right sort of tubes and everything and all the custom end bits, which I'm sure if you're a fabricator, it's not really a problem, but yeah.

[00:15:59]I don't think it's anything special. I mean, it's it's lovely.

[00:16:02]I'm not knocking the brand or anything.

[00:16:03]I'm a big fan of the brand, but yeah. If you can do better, if you're uh yeah.

[00:16:10]Reach out. Huh.

[00:16:11]My email's in the description. So, this rubber grommet here and here is where the main posts on my main intercooler sit, and then my radiator stacks up on here, and as you can see, I've done what I can do with, you know, with the product uh to move things a little closer, but um I've done what I can there.

[00:16:35]And previously, I've um I could just pick this grommet out. I don't know if I can one-handed.

[00:16:42]Maybe I should put this camera on my head.

[00:16:45]Yeah. So, I've actually opened up the hole here and welded it up on the back.

[00:16:51]Yeah? And then, you know, that sits in there. What I'm going to do, I'm going to open It wants to go there, doesn't it?

[00:17:00]Yeah?

[00:17:01]So, that'll be our 3/4 of a gentleman's inch that we was talking about.

[00:17:06]>> [laughter] >> It wants to go there. I don't know if I can quite Yeah.

[00:17:10]Yeah.

[00:17:11]So, I've just I might have bought 5 mm.

[00:17:15]Mm, maybe four.

[00:17:17]When I moved that forward, previously it could have gone a little bit more.

[00:17:22]But um we need to get away from this heat heat from the manifold. I need to make some holes. I need to fit these in the holes on make them so that they can be fitted in the holes.

[00:17:34]Um I've got I've got another slam plate and what I might do is cut that section out of the other one and weld it and have it come out. Forward. It won't be reinforcing cuz it will bounce and flop around otherwise.

[00:17:50]But something like that. All right, so I'll do that and we'll I'll be back when we've got some clearance.

[00:17:58]And my plan is Yeah. And the intercooler will sit in there and then this bit here I might do it Yeah, I might do it that way. What I'll do is I'll put a bend in that and I'll support it. It'll go do do do like a 90° yeah? Do do If I do do do you know what I mean, you know what I mean, yeah?

[00:18:16]We'll do it both sides so it'll kind of go like that and then like that.

[00:18:20]Yeah, and it'll weld and I'll weld it on. Yeah, I'll uh I call it >> [laughter] >> I can't say what I call the welder.

[00:18:31]It's uh I call it the something stick. It's the Yeah.

[00:18:37]>> [snorts] >> Number two stick.

[00:18:39]That's what I call it. sticker.

[00:18:41]>> [laughter] >> Yeah, I said it. Yeah, I call it the sticker. So I'll stick that onto the um it's coming out of shell on YouTube any now. So that'll go there and that'll buy us yeah?

[00:18:52]A gentleman's inch.

[00:18:55]>> [laughter] >> Right, we've had the welder out.

[00:19:04]And uh we've got them bits welded in, painted. It's not you know, it's not going to win any shows, is it? But it's race car. yeah? And we are racing again.

[00:19:13]You know, we're proud that we built the engine and it went to Donington and in probably the worst environment, the worst conditions, it seemed to have survived. So, um yeah, we've got those moved forward. And uh the only thing to consider is the boost hose. Will it um is it long enough? Do we need another one? If we need another one, it's just a a quick email or phone call to Roose Motorsport, who um they make the best silicone hoses on the market, don't they? Yeah.

[00:19:38]Um they've been uh taking care of us for a very long time and uh yeah, just want to want to reach out to Roose and they do custom hoses and they do off-the-shelf kits as well, but yeah, if that one will reach, great. Um and well, if not, you know, um the guys at Roose are absolutely fantastic. So, they turn stuff around usually pretty pretty quickly.

[00:19:58]Uh yeah, all right, let's try and get let's put the um intercooler in there and uh see what sort of uh clearance we end up with. Oh, there's a lot of uh Yeah, I've got a lot of cleaning up to do.

[00:20:11]Um but it's in and it's uh it really is a lot further forward. So, yeah, definitely need to get the air blower on all that, but uh yeah, quite happy with what we've got there.

[00:20:24]It'd be nice to get a bit more, but um see how she goes.

[00:20:29]So, quite a uh quite a big difference, they was. Literally, those mounts there and there and now Oh, you can't see them, but they're the other side.

[00:20:40]They're a good Well, we call it a gentleman's inch. I actually reckon it's more.

[00:20:45]But either way, >> [clears throat] >> just doing a bit of servicing, got a gearbox leak.

[00:20:49]Put in [snorts] Royal Purple there.

[00:20:51]Yeah.

[00:20:51]>> [laughter] >> Um but yeah, just dropped the oil out of it.

[00:20:56]And we'll uh we'll put some uh you know, some of the good stuff in it.

[00:21:00]Just a genuine filter.

[00:21:02]Yeah. Still get all of these or you can currently anyway, so due to order another batch of them, So it's about to pre-fill that. I know it pisses straight out, but do the best you can, don't you?

[00:21:13]Uh So when that's done, when we're done servicing, we want to put the put the splitter on. Make sure the splitter marries up to this and there's no gap or anything like that. If there is a gap, then obviously need to address that. Um but all being well, if that's if that's the case, um my one little trick I've got up my sleeve for brands widening the front track.

[00:21:35]Be nice to go another 5 mil wider, so 10 mil total.

[00:21:39]Why? Well, one give me a bit more steering lock cuz I've only got 3/4 lock before I touch one of my brake hoses usually, brake cooling ducts.

[00:21:48]The other thing she does suffer a bit of oversteer, bit too much.

[00:21:53]Um I'm not afraid of a bit of oversteer, but I just want to try a wider front track.

[00:21:57]It's on adjustable lock.

[00:21:59]Yeah, it's on quite a narrow setting.

[00:22:02]So Satchell Engineering just wind them out.

[00:22:05]Set this lock nut off and just check the plunge when the car is on its wheels. Just make sure you've got the right amount of plunge. Make sure the shaft's not being pulled out. Make the shaft sure the shaft's not being pushed in. I mean, we're going wider, so just make sure it's not pulling the shaft out the gearbox and there is a correct amount of plunge. Um I reckon I reckon we'll get away with another 5 mil a side. So and then it'll obviously want geo as well after that.

[00:22:35]Uh and then it wants a clean and then it wants once it's had kicking in around Brands Hatch, don't it? So right, hopefully you've enjoyed this one. I think we probably will end it there cuz I'm I'm I'm about done. I'm absolutely exhausted after yesterday coming back to work today and just cracking on with this all day.

[00:22:52]Right, see you next time then, guys. Uh like, subscribe, share, links in the description for everything we chat about. See you next time.