Section : Car Preparation

sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

Posted By : Josh Bowler, 16-Apr-2003, 11:57pm

• sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

  Posted By : Nigel Gibbins, 17-Apr-2003, 08:14am

  Hi Josh,
  
  I don't think anyone racing at the moment is using the camber compensators - they aren't necessary. So you can save some cash by not getting one. I would however, fit a swing spring and long halfshafts though, get rate adjustable shocks and set them stiff. That'll do for the rear.
  
  If later on you still want to fit a compensator then do it for the next season. That's how we all work at this thing.
  
  See you at the track day.
  NiG
  http://www.niginthecar.net

  • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

    Posted By : Josh Bowler, 17-Apr-2003, 03:21pm

    thanks for the info,
    i have spax all round, higher rated front springs, and an uprated/lowered SAH rear spring (yes really, i had an old 70's/80's mk3 (crashed)racing triumph prepped with all SAH bits,done less than 100 miles they in a garage till i got it. ) . i was thinking of staying with short shafts as people seem to be breaking the longer ones! this is the reason i wanted a camber compensator. (i still need a rear roll bar)
    

    • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

      Posted By : Richard King, 23-Apr-2003, 11:52am

      I race with short half shafts and haven't broke one, although I did loose a keyway on one at Cadwell.
      
      I think the longer ones give marginally better handling, but Rej once raced with one long, one short shaft and claimed not to notice the difference...
      
      Additionally, the handling on my car seems fine, I've no problem keeping pace with the faster cars around corners, it's just as soon as you get onto a straight bit everything else flies off into the distance. All I have on the rear is uprated shocks (Avo, if you're interested) set at about +10, an old tired leaf spring and a big diff spacer block (to increase camber). I think Nig is right and no-one races with camber compensators or rear anti roll bars at the mo.
      
      It's also worth bearing in mind that, especially when you're starting out, there is more time to be made up in your driving than any ammount of handling/power mods could ever make up for. You can easily see improvements of 3/5 seconds a lap a few laps into a new circuit and until you're lapping consistently fast your money is probably best spent actually getting out and racing.
      
      Going back to the FIA hoop, I'd seriously consider fitting a full cage. I didn't have one for my first 2 races, but after seeing an inverted Clive Gimson at Rockingam, I relented and fitted one. They're about 400 quid I think and the steel tubing only weighs in at a kilo per meter, so it's no massive overhead. I found the increased confidence in having it actually improves laptimes too

      • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

        Posted By : Josh Bowler, 25-Apr-2003, 10:38pm

        thanks for the input. in the early 90's i was involvoed in vw beetle racing, the beetles rear setup is a 'swing axle' along similar lines to the spit.
        i dont see how longer shafts and a 'swinging' spring will be that much better than a well set up short shaft system. incidently camber compensators are a very old idea, Kas Kastner probly saw how porsche and others dealt with rear wheel tuck and copied the idea for the spit. .
        lastly who makes the best fitting roll cages?

        • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

          Posted By : Richard King, 28-Apr-2003, 07:13am

          Well, I started with a rear hoop from Safety Devices but quickly 'upgraded' to a full cage which I got from Jigsaw Racing. So I can only tell you about that really, but it only took us about 1/2 a day to fit it.
          
          I don't think any of them fit straight in without at least *some* cutting, welding and swearing

          • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

            Posted By : Josh Bowler, 28-Apr-2003, 03:02pm

            what did you do with you old rear hoop? i could give it a new home :-)

            • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

              Posted By : Richard King, 29-Apr-2003, 09:08am

              It's still in there, I'm afraid. Welded to the front cage and side bars...

              • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

                Posted By : Josh Bowler, 29-Apr-2003, 01:16pm

                oh well,
                trying to race on a small budget, futile effort it looks like

                • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

                  Posted By : Richard King, 30-Apr-2003, 07:57am

                  Keep at it, if it's something you really want to achieve you will eventually. But you may have to prioritise a bit harder and it may take a bit longer to get going than the 'monied set' (well I did).
                  
                  That said, racing spitfires/heralds etc. is about as cheap as motorsport gets so you've picked a good starting point.
                  
                  Remember though, that one place not worth cutting corners or costs is on yours (and others) safety.

        • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

          Posted By : Michael Davis, 28-Apr-2003, 10:28am

          I've just about finished fitting a Safety Devices full cage to a Spitfire and it was a pain.
          
          Things didn't line up where they should, some of the bolts were missing from the kit (!) and the instructions were for a different design to the one supplied.
          
          Ringing the "if you have and problems ring this number" number just got me the sales department. They'd never heard of a spitfire, let alone knew how to fit the cage.
          
          Figured it out eventually with some help from the messageboard. Not particularly impressed though. Whether anyone else is any better, I don't know.
          
          Mik

      • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

        Posted By : Michael Davis, 28-Apr-2003, 01:41pm

        Out of interest, I weighed my full cage when it arrived; 26 Kilogrammes including the door bars.

        • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

          Posted By : Richard King, 29-Apr-2003, 09:10am

          Hmm, perhaps my kilo/m ratio was out by an order of magnitude

        • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

          Posted By : Don Cook, 30-Apr-2003, 06:58am

          Blimey Mik - that's 26 bags of sugar!

          • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

            Posted By : Michael Davis, 01-May-2003, 09:40pm

            ...and that doesn't include the fittings...
            
            26 bags of sugar indeed. Or about the same as the combined weight of all the fibreglass panels I have waiting to go on my car :-)
            
            Apart from the chassis and diff. that probably makes the cage the heaviest single component of the car.
            
            Still, better than a damaged head. Especially with a fibreglass hardtop.

            • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

              Posted By : Don Cook, 02-May-2003, 02:13pm

              Yeah but don't forget your camera rolling around in the foot well - that's about a bag of sugar's worth! Hey here's a thought, why not wear a roll bar just around your head to save weight?

              • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

                Posted By : Michael Davis, 03-May-2003, 07:13pm

                Maybe I should make a bracket and mount the camera in the front grill. No, on second thoughts, I rarely get it focused properly when I'm standing still...
                
                Oh well, My cage is finally fitted (except one door bar that needs bending a bit first). I ended up having to lower the drivers floor a couple of inches to be able to get my head under the bar. Nothing's ever easy...
                
                Mik

  • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

    Posted By : Karl Dandridge, 18-Apr-2003, 00:24am

    hiya nige. have you ever suferd with half shaft failer. you seem to have had most other problems, gravel rash, lost a weber,ect. (wanna borrow my fanbelt its only done 12 miles)
    cheers,karl.
    
    

    • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

      Posted By : Nigel Gibbins, 18-Apr-2003, 10:26am

      Karl.... how could you - sob! sniff!
      
      I think, up until saturday last only myself and Andy Vowell were the only 'long term' drivers that hadn't lost a halftshaft. But now Andy bit the dust too. John Thomason doesn't count as he's a rotoflex guy...
      
      NiG
      http://www.niginthecar.net
      
      P.S. you got to see Barry's halfshaft failure pictures - scarey or what!!

      • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

        Posted By : Karl Dandridge, 20-Apr-2003, 10:47pm

        WHAT ROTOFLEX.? ALL I SEE ON HIS SPITFIRE IS A TRICK SET OF 2000 SLIDING SHAFTS ON FULLY ADJUSABLE BOTTOM WISHBONES. ARE THESE ALLOWED.?

        • sell me a rear FIA roll bar anyone? 

          Posted By : Richard King, 23-Apr-2003, 11:16am

          I think a few people have asked that Karl