OV9

Same circuit (Knockhill), different car



On Saturday, I spent the day with one of my soldiers, Kenny, at Knockhill with the racecar I've been helping him build over the last two and a half years (I say "helping" - I've put in a couple of dozen days of actual graft, but mostly been there in a consultative/support role ).
The car's only run once in anger, so the aim of the day was ironing out early gremlins and establishing a decent baseline setup, as well giving Kenny some much-needed seat time (and a few directions on the way round knockhill!)
I have to admit to not quite being the superstar driver I billed myself as - the Scooby is a very different beast to hustle round Knockhill to either the Ray or the Westfield. It's so soft and rolly by comparison, and the power is all much lower down the rev range. So it took me a few laps to get keyed into the different approach to extracting a decent lap time - slower and more deliberate in all the transitions, short-shifting to keep in the power band, using the 4wd to get the car settled early in the corner.

With a few suspension changes and a bit more seat time, Kenny's lap times fell from a previous best of 1.05.8 to 1.01.2.
I saw a 59.1, but reckon there's a low 58 in the car as it stands.
More importantly, we've got a long list of changes to make back at the garage. I think a low 57 is possible even on the relatively conservative current engine configuration/settings (330bhp).

That Scooby looks great! Sounds like fun too.

Looks good - and Kenny could give JL's garage some tips on bonnet fitting too.

Are there some concerns about Subaru engine longevity when used on track? I'm sure I remember being told that in a briefing on a track day once: stay away from Subarus because their engines blow and they drop oil. Might just refer to standard factory cars.

Arches

Jobbo wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:09 am Looks good - and Kenny could give JL's garage some tips on bonnet fitting too.

Are there some concerns about Subaru engine longevity when used on track? I'm sure I remember being told that in a briefing on a track day once: stay away from Subarus because their engines blow and they drop oil. Might just refer to standard factory cars.

Not sure if that's a thing - there seem to be no shortage of Impreza trackday cars or racers and they don't appear to be dropping like flies. In fact the trackday here was organised by the Subaru Impreza Drivers Club, so about 50% of the cars on track were scoobies, in various states of tune, from standard road cars to full racecars.
An expert in EJ20s I am not (even though I now own one!), so not really sure what their common points of failure are. This particular car has an Accusump fitted to prevent oil surge (which is often the issue when people claim that certain cars aren't suitable for track work), and I've heard of problems with oil pressure relief valves (not sure how common that is though).

Oh, and don't mention bonnet fit . That was a total bitch. Kenny has cut away most of the inner skin on that one so it doesn't want to sit right anyway. And its been on and off more times than a working girl's drawers. And the original front slam panel is gone (replaced by an ali bar to mount rad and oil cooler, with pins to lock the bonnet. Let's just say there's an afternoon of my life in there that I won't be getting back...

Jobbo wrote: Wed May 15, 2019 11:09 amKenny could give JL's garage some tips on bonnet fitting too.

OI! - there's nothing wrong with my bonnet fitting