GoPro Hero2 HD External Microphone

I'm really pleased with my new GoPro Hero2 HD video camera.  The picture is awesome.  Only issue is the sound quality, or more specifically the problem of wind noise. With the skeleton door on the back of the case it is pretty bad.  With the waterproof solid door it is better, but you still get a lot of wind noise (bad) and not much engine noise (good).

Anyway, I investigated external mikes and bought the following off eBay: UltraDisk 4036 Omnidirectional Hands Free Car Kit Microphone 3.5mm 3 Metre Cable.

Then I drilled a 9mm hole carefully in the nice new waterproof case.  Yes, I know, it won't be waterproof anymore!  I then routed the cable around the roll cage and attached the mike under the scuttle on the exhaust side.

Tried it out and success.  The wind noise is almost gone and you can hear the engine much better.  This test video was taken before I had drilled the hole in the case, hence the reason why it's just resting on the passenger seat.  Didn't want to drill hole until I knew that it was going to improve the sound.

Tiger Curborough Sprint Day

Rallye Artois Lys 2012

Late September saw our second outing to France with the Southern Kit Car Club.

Front Camber Adjustment

The rear camber had previously been set up by adjusting the rose joints on the lower wishbones.  I tried to set the front camber, but I found that I could not wind the upper ball joints far enough in to the wishbones as the locking nuts got in the way.

The solution was to either machine down the wishbones or the locking nuts.  I decided it would be better to go for the lock nuts.  The local machine shop reduced them from 9.5mm thickness to 6.5mm.

Once re-fitted the upper ball joints would wind far enough in to get the desired 1.5 degrees of negative camber.

A test drive confirmed that the handling had been significantly transformed for the better.  Previously, with neutral front camber, the car handled okay, but it felt like there was room for improvement.  Now the car is much more willing to turn into corners and goes round on rails.  I should have adjusted this particular geometry setting months ago.  I'm now looking forward to testing the car out further on some more 'twisties'.

Front Half of Roll Cage Fitted

Brackets are supplied with the cage to mount the front half.  There are some tubes welded onto them to protect the chassis rails from being crushed as the bolts are tightened up.  Problem is these are 16mm outside diameter.  If holes were drilled big enough this would remove two thirds of the metal in each of the 25mm chassis rails!  It would be okay if they were welded in before the body was fitted.  So I decided to cut the tubes off and just drill 10mm holes, using the remaining metal of the brackets as spreader plates.

Initially the roll cage came very close to the exhaust, but after tightening up the bolts it pulled the cage far enough away from the exhaust.

The silencer needed to be removed to get the lower bolts in.  The seats and interior trim panels had to be removed to get at the upper bolts.

Steel tubes of 10mm internal diameter were needed to space the roll cage out from the upper chassis rails.

Once fitted it was clear that the front half of the cage was going to foul the mirrors.

New mounting holes were made further back and 25mm rubber grommets were inserted into the holes previously cut into the aeroscreen.

Here are some photos taken on the way to the Southern Kit Car Club 2012 Jamboree.

This was taken at the Jamboree parking.

Rear Half of Roll Cage Fitted

The previously made template was used to accurately mark out where the holes needed to be cut for the rear bracing tubes.  A hole saw and a curved file were used for this.

What I hadn't appreciated was that these bracing tubes were at a slight angle.  Meaning that the holes had to be widened to get the ends through, before the rear half of the cage could be lowered in to place.  Covers will need to be made for these.  Probably out of aluminium sheet sprayed white.

The feet were then bolted on to the bracing tubes and holes drilled in the rear of the chassis to accommodate the fixing bolts.  All in all not too bad a fit, the fabrication tolerances probably within a few millimetres.

Luckily the off-side bracing tube clears the fuel filler by about 10mm and also the filler pipe below.  Phew!  That was a close call.

After fitting I tried to get in the boot.  Oh dear, we have a problem.  Looks like the boot on the Avon Mk2 bodywork will only open to about 45 degrees with the roll cage fitted.  Never mind, access is still pretty good.

Next on to the front half of the roll cage...

Delivery of Full Race Cage

Yesterday my full race cage arrived.  This was delivered on a pallet direct from the manufacturers Caged Laser Engerineering.  It is comprised of a braced roll over bar with the main part of the cage bolting to this and the side chassis rails.

It is very substantial and quite heavy.  Much tougher than the chassis by the looks of it.  Which I suppose is reassuring and whole point of fitting the cage.  The quality is very good and it comes complete with a fixing kit.  We'll see how straightforward it is to install.

Holes need to be cut in the top of the rear tub to allow the diagonal braces to pass through.  The feet are bolted on after passing through the braces through the holes.  This helps keep the holes as small as possible.

I've made a cardboard template to establish the location of the holes.

I'll use this template to transfer the dimensions across to the top  of the rear tub.  I am praying that fuel filler is not in the way and does not need to be moved.  Once I've got the old roll over bar off, and the template offered up, I'll know for sure.

0-60 (well 0-62 actually) in 4.66s!

Finally got round to trying out the acceleration timing feature on my digital dash.  It has three modes 0-62mph (0-100km/h), 62-0mph and 0-400m (1/4 mile).  I had a few runs using the 0-62mph setting.  My best time was  4.66 seconds.

I think technique and gearing are big factors in setting a good time.  After a few practice runs I was getting better at getting the power down without lighting up the rear tyres.  In second gear the engine is getting near the red line at 62mph, but it just makes it.  I think with some more practice I could knock a bit more off this time.  With a better road surface, i.e. a track/airfield, as opposed to my slightly bumpy deserted country lane, further fractions of second could be knocked off.

Anyway, just over 4.5 seconds to 62mph is very satisfying, especially for a car that you've built yourself, and a level of performance equaling cars many times more expensive.

Must get round to trying the other two timing features.

Stone Guards

Like most (all) Sevens, my Tiger Avon was starting to get a lot of stone chip damage on the fronts of the rear arches.  A lot of this comes from stones that are thrown up by the front wheels.  Some people fit mud-flaps to the front cycle wings, but I don't really like the look of these - too much like a rally car.

I decided to follow the crowd and add stone guards to the front of the rear wings.  These also help prevent damage when getting in/out of the car.  To make these I used cardboard templates to transfer the dimensions to the 1mm aluminium sheet.  The shapes were then cut out using a guillotine (lovely straight edges that can't be achieved with tin snips or a jigsaw).

The aluminium was then shaped to the curvature of the arches by gently bending around a cylindrical plastic kitchen bin.  Holes were drilled for the rivets and then 2 or 3 coats of spray etch primer were added.

Thinking that most paints would chip off I decided to try using an automotive stone chip paint.  Black Hycote Stone Guard spray paint to be exact.  One 400ml can was enough to do about 2-3 coats.  The formula of this paint contains particles of rubber.

Once dry the stone guards were riveted in place using black head pop rivets.  I've been out for a spirited drive down some country lanes and the paint seems to be holding up very well - no chips yet.  Let's see how they handle some high speed motorway driving.

Brands Hatch Novice Track Evening

Tonight I've been to a novice track evening at Brands Hatch Indy race circuit.  I was very lucky with the weather and had a fantastic time putting the car (and myself) through its paces.

Seeing the photos has made me realise how inadequate the roll-bar is.  The next day I placed an order with Tiger for the full race cage.  Hopefully, this will be delivered and fitted soon.

Radiator Leak Repair

Since first getting the car on the road there has been a very slight leak from the radiator bleed bolt.  I'd tried tightening it up a number of times, including using PTFE tape on the threads, but it always continued to leak.

I tried one more time, but unfortunately this time I overtightened the bolt and stripped the thread in the radiator - turns out the tread is just tapped into the aluminium so is very weak. My solution was to re-tap the  hole to a larger size (M10 x 1.5mm thread) and use a spare cap head bolt of the same thread that I just happened to have spare.

Once the bleed bolt was fixed I could get back to investigating the leak.  Upon closer inspection it was not the bolt that was leaking at, but a pin hole in the weld around it!  With the engine running drops of coolant would slowly form.  I decided to leave this for a while as the coolant was only coming out very slowly.

Many miles later I got a coolant overheat warning from the Webcon ECU.  Turns out there was air in the top of the radiator and the coolant was no longer flowing properly.  The cause was air being sucked back in through this tiny pin hole each time the engine cooled down.  Something had to be done to fix this. I took the front of the car apart and removed the radiator.  This was when I discovered that the pin hole had turned into a crack, probably about 10mm long.  The body of the radiator was starting to split.

I quickly took the radiator to the friendly local welders who re-made the weld over the area where the crack was.

I'm happy to report that after a few hundred miles of use there is no longer a leak in the radiator.  This gives me added confidence for longer runs, particularly with another trip to northern France booked for later in the year.

Brake Light Switch Upgrade

I've never been truly happy with the existing brake light switch, the one supplied by Tiger.  This is a pressure switch that screws into one of the spare outlets on the brake master cylinder.  It is not very reliable and sometimes requires quite a bit of pedal pressure to light the brake lights.  Being a small, low car it is essential that people following behind, sometimes too close, are given maximum warning when I am slowing down.  I was reminded of this when being tailgated in London city centre last weekend.

To ensure that the brake lights come on as soon as the brake pedal is pressed I've introduced a microswitch on the brake pedal assembly, just the same as would be fitted to a normal production car.  Here is the microswitch mounted using a piece of cut and shaped aluminium L-section.

Floor mounted brake pedal re installed and wiring connected up.

The microswitch has been wired in parallel with the existing pressure switch - adding a level of redundancy.  Now, when the brake pedal is depressed just a couple of milimetres, the brake lights come on.  Likewise, now the lights also go out with a very positive action.  Next on the to do list is to investigate a high level third brake light installation on the roll bar.

Aeroscreen

My aeroscreen had been on order with Tiger for a while.  Finally got my hands on it and then finally found some time to install it.

I wanted it as high as possible to deflect the wind from my head.  At the same time I did not want it so high that shorter passengers could not see forwards.  In the end I found that there really was only one place it would naturally sit.  The high windscreen mount on the Avon Mk2 body, combined with the maximum you can bend the side of the aeroscreen pretty much determines where it ends up.  I fitted the centre fixing first, got it straight and then fitted all the other fixings.   Holes had to be cut and filed for the existing mirror mountings.

Very pleased with the final result, even if it doesn't quite lift the airflow over my head, it finishes the scuttle off nicely and adds a bit more contrast to the white bodywork.

Motorcycle fairing fixings were used for fitting along with some rubber P-trim between the scuttle and the aeroscreen.

Alternator Problems

I've had an issue recently with the alternator.  It was a new Brise 16004 alternator supplied by Tiger and its only done 1700 miles.  I noticed something was wrong when I could see the headlights flickering.  Only noticeable on side lights.  I checked the battery voltage with the engine running and it was erratic, sometimes above 15 volts.  If left this was going to damage my battery.

I checked all the wiring, the belt tension and the alternator plug, but everything seemed normal.  I decided to take the alternator to a local alternator and starter motor specialist.  I wanted it fixed quickly and I wasn't sure how long it would take if I sent if back to Tiger or how much the postage would cost.  I did contact Brise by email regarding the warranty, but I've still not heard back.

In the end it turned out to be a simple fix.  All the connections on the regulator had vibrated loose (or not been correctly tightened by Brise during manufacture).  The regulator had also failed, possibly as a result of working loose.  The alternator repair shop fitted a new regulator during the same day.  I've refitted the alternator and now I've got a nice steady 14.2 volts.

Intercom and Headsets

When I did the French road rallye last month with Southern Kit Car Club I noticed that a number of cars were fitted with intercoms.  Certainly made communication between driver and navigator that bit easier.

Anyway, I've bought myself the Terratrip Clubman intercom and the Clubman Practice Headsets.  I tested them last week on an 80 mile run.  Overall, I'm very pleased and would recommend the set up.  You still get just the right amount of ambient/road/exhaust/engine noise without being deafened.

Stationary and at speeds up to about 40mph conversation is perfectly audible.  From 40 to 60 the wind noise becomes noticeable and then as you get higher speed it does get quite noisy, but usually at this point you are only on a quick straight before slowing again.

You can also run the GPS (phone in my case) into the intercom unit.  This is really designed to take an input from a two-way radio.  It does not work so well with my phone as the output signal is too low and/or there is an impedance mismatch between the units (phone is too quiet compared to the other persons headset).  I've ordered a small headphone amplifier unit to see if this helps.

On last week's run, with a beanie hat, Dixon goggles and practice headset on both driver and passenger were very comfortable.  I think it does reduce the fatigue a bit too.  I've no windscreen or aeroscreen at this stage.  There is some slight alternator noise at low speed and occasional breakthrough from the phone signal.

Depending upon your taste they look quite business-like to, whether on the head or hooked over the rollbar.

Next I'll invest in the full face helmet version as an option for track/motorway use.

It wasn't in the instructions, but I believe an essential part of the operating procedure is to remove them when in tunnels!

Rallye des Jonquilles (15th April, 2012)

Not long after getting the car on the road we had the privilege of taking part in a road book rallye in Northern France: the Rallye des Jonquilles (daffodil rally).  Around 15 kit cars from the Southern Kit Car Club were invited by the local French motor club to join the rallye.

A very early start was required to meet up in Kent at around 08:30 for the channel crossing.  On the motorway bound for the meet up at Ashford Tescos.

Cars and drivers assembling ready for the short dash down the M20 to the Channel Tunnel.

Checking-in en-masse for the Channel Tunnel.

Ready for formation boarding of the train.

On board.  Time to get to know our new travelling companions a bit better.  Where are you from?  What is it?  Did you build it yourself?

And they're off.  Straight into the French traffic. Am I really driving in France in this car that I just finished putting together in my garage?  Oh yes, this is fun!

Wonderful roads on the cross country route from Calais to Baie des Sommes.  This is what the car was built for.

Break to stretch legs half way to the lunch stop.  By this point we'd split into at least two groups.  I think we had now made it into the first group.  It wouldn't last.

Avon taking a breather.

Loose formation around the many windy, country roads.  The roads were pretty much deserted during the whole weekend, which added to the fun.

Okay, so there was a little traffic to hold us up.

Parking up at the night stop in Bethune.  After this we all got taxis into town for a few beers and a pizza.

Next morning was a short 30 minute blast cross country to Hazebrouk.  The full compliment of approximately 150 cars gathered in the town square to await the start.

Breakfast was served in the Marie at the edge of the town square.

Rallye plaque attached to roll bar with cable ties.  I think some had done this before - they had special suckers to attach the plaques to the bonnet without damaging the paint.  The radiator grille was an option, but it would have interrupted the airflow to the radiator.

The road book with the directions, turn-by-turn, for each stage.

Exiges, Astons, Ferraris, Porsches, oh and of course, Tigers.

This April it was still quite cold.  Even colder at speed with no windscreen.

Self portrait while waiting in the queue for the start line.

Chaotic queue for the start line.  What did you expect?  This is France after all.

The end of Stage 1 was in Saint Omer.  Refreshments were served at the local bar.

Another car park taken over by rallye participants.

Lunch was served at the end of Stage 2.  Three courses with wine and reception drinks!  I think most drivers stuck to water.

Another queue, this time for the start of Stage 3.

Ready for the off.

Cars gathering again for the finish in the town square at Hazebrouk.

Unfortunately the heavens opened on the M20 going home.  After so many hours in the saddle since leaving home we were beyond caring.

A total of 597 miles in just over 36 hours, mainly on B roads.  Doubling the total mileage since the car was put on the road just three weeks earlier. The car was put into the garage well after dark - the mud, dust, flies, cow poo, brake dust, etc. could all be cleaned off another day.

We had a fantastic time: good roads, good company, good organisation, good memories.  We'd definitely like to do something like this again.  I hear the French club has another rally in the Autumn.  Now where's my calendar...