KS's hillclimbing odyssey

[911hillclimber]

Irritating, big hillclimb for us at Shelsley Walsh 1/2 June, typical!

[KS]

Just a little snippet from last July I've found on YouTube. I'd take 1.5 seconds off that later - easy to see where and why!
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxF2FZ64fJNO ... ZgXV46HVAz

And another snippet...
https://youtu.be/pkbHiCaug7o?si=YbeDfnk4l5TgYw3B

[KS]

Just realised it's been close to six months since I updated this thread. Not a lot could happen until I got the engine back, which I did eventually at the beginning of April, or thereabouts. I collected it as a long block so bought an engine stand so that I could build it up with all the cooling tin, alternator and clutch etc in my garden shed. In the meantime, I'd managed to lay my hands on a GT Racing tuned-length set of headers and Magnaflow silencer. The SSI heat exchangers were more efficient than the stock type but not equal length, so were clearly a restriction, as was the Vintage Speed silencer.

With shipping to the UK, plus duties, a GT Racing system worked out at not far short of £1700, so well out of my budget, however I happened to see a guy's post on Instagram about a new exhaust he'd had made to replace the GT Racing system on his 914. I sent him a message and asked if he'd consider selling the old system, which led to a deal...the problem was, the GT headers attach to the heads via a set of exhaust stubs, which were missing as he'd used them on his new system. A chance call to Angus at Greatworth came up with a second set of GT headers, pretty rusty but crucially with the required stubs. Another deal was done and so I was able to build up a complete system for the grand total of £350. A session with a wire brush and some high-temp paint (Halfords' own-brand, and very good it is, too) saw it looking all spiffy. Here's a pic (yes, the engine is upside down...):



Anyway, next step was to install engine (thanks once again to Williams Crawford for use of a lift) and then it was over to JMR in Plymouth (former rolling road workshop of Rawspeed) where Graham Rawlings and I finished off the installation ahead of a rolling road session. Well, that went well, with peak flywheel output up to 188bhp and torque up by 15lbft compared to the previous set-up. But we simply couldn't get the hydrocarbons down... On the way home, the engine seemed very smokey. Something was definitely not right and a plug check showed #3 plug oiled up. Looking down the bore with an endoscope showed a pool of oil on top of the piston. Sh*t. Engine out, head off, cylinder off only to discover the oil control ring had been installed incorrectly on that piston, meaning there was literally nothing to stop oil getting past the piston and into the combustion chamber. It didn't take long to sort out but it was an unexpected delay which meant I missed Werrington hillclimb, having already missed the opening round at Wiscombe earlier in the month.

https://youtube.com/shorts/-NwTsIxvL8o? ... NbIVncH9lj

But the car now ran better than ever and sounded fantastic through the GT Racing system. Next stop, Wiscombe.

[KS]

Been a long time since I added to this, largely thanks to a lack of workshop and, well, life getting in the way. So, where were we? Ah yes - an incorrectly installed oil control ring. Jim was horrified that he'd made the error but I can easily see how it would happen and took extra time to double check before buttoning it all up ahead of the first meeting at Wiscombe, except I didn't make it due to simply running out of time. No problem, Werrington was only a week or so away and it all looked good, but sod's law came into play again. The engine ran great and, the day before Werrington, I drove the car out of the W-C workshop with a smile on my face. Which lasted all of a quarter of a mile... I shut the engine off the moment I heard what sounded like a rock caught in the cooling fan. Towed back to the workshop, lots of head scratching and the realisation that the only option was to pull the motor (again) and take a look. I believe the expression is 'unexpected object in the baggage area', or something like that. There were the remains of an M8 washer in one chamber, which fortunately had done no damage whatsoever, having slipped past the inlet valve, taken a hit from the piston and then sat there minding its own business. Where it came from I know not, but it was clearly the consequence of rushing. It meant I missed Werrington but by the end of the weekend, the engine was back in and sounding fantastic. For once I was truly happy.

The second Wiscombe meeting now became my first and although it was cool, and hence a little slippery, I managed a sub-50 second run – my sixth fastest ever – so I was happy. The car felt strong, and I just wish the track temerature had been higher. However, instaed of my usual third from last I ended the weekend midfield in what is the largest class in the ASWMC series. It was a promising start.



That left St Goueno Masters hillclimb just a week away. I couldn't wait, especially as this time we (Sarah and I) had decided to tow the car out to Brittany behind our VW T5 camper, borrowing a trailer from Adrian Crawford. The T5 behaved admirably in its new role, the remapped (160bhp) 1.9 tdi engine proving to be more than adequate. St Goueno is a wonderful event, combined with a music festival – and plenty of beer courtesy of the village bar in the evening. I was in the company of the Williams-Crawford crew, with Rickard Williams driving his Carrera Cup monster, Adrian Crawford in his rally SC, Rob Kavanagh in his factory-built Cayman race car, John Fordy in his ex-works Mitsubishi Evo and a couple of others. Everything went to plan until the final day when our last run was cancelled after one of the Brits had a major 'off', leading to a closure of the course for a lengthy period of time. I ended up third from last, but with the biggest smile. Richard won his class - in fact, Williams-Crawford cars took four of the top five places, no mean feat!


A touch of opposite lock exiting the open hairpin at St Goueno!



And some video, showing the huge viewing screen alongside the track:

https://youtu.be/VO5xnJudmhk?si=zUWdD6ka1nNIc7QJ

I was now in the odd position of realising I didn't have anything to do to the car ahead of its next outing at the local Tregrehan hillclimb. What did strike me as amusing is that while St Goueno is 3.2kms long, Tregrehan is less than 800m long! A day's-worth of runs at Tregrehan would roughly equal one run in France...

Tregrehan went well and I succeeded in setting another PB there. I had far more confidence in the car than ever and once again finished mid-field. I felt less like cannon fodder this time around but am starting to feel I'm reaching the limits of the car – it's now up to the driver to get his finger out and learn how to drive properly! I've asked Adrian Crawford if he'd like to do a 'double drive' at one meeting so I can get his feedback – or maybe jwhillracer can be persuaded to squeeze behind wheel... Either way, I'd welcome feedback.



So, sorry about the delay, sorry about the rather brief reports. Tomorrow I'm off to Wiscombe again, followed by two more at the Devon venue later on in September and one last event at Tregrehan (or a sprint at Clay Pigeon, near Dorchester – I've not decided yet.

[911hillclimber]

Nice when it all comes together!
Good season so far.
Makes my efforts look rather lame....

[neilbardsley]

Nice updates.

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[Lightweight_911]

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Sounds like you're enjoying yourself !

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[jb]

A touch of opposite lock exiting the open hairpin at St Goueno!

Super update
Love this picture
Hope the rest of the season goes well

[KS]

So to Wiscombe for a run up the hill on the British Hillclimb Championship weekend. I opted to enter on Saturday as I figured I'd have more chance of getting and entry but even then I spent a few weeks on the reserve list, finally being told I was in on the Wednesday before the event. As usual, I drove to the hill, a run of about 95 miles which, early on a summer's morning, is always a nice way to start the day.

Production car entrants had all been put in one class, regardless of engine capacity, which meant there were 17 vehicles ranging from the Audi S3s down to a lowly Porsche 914, a car the best part of 30 years older than any of the other entries. No change there, then.

The first run began well, with a decent launch (2.59 secs, only bettered by an Audi S3 and a Toyota Corolla T-sport, whatever that is) but for the second time this year, I sgifted from 2nd into 5th at the bottom of the hill. This time I managed to whip it back into 3rd quickly enough to be able to record a time of 49.68sec, my fourth quickest time ever at the venue. I was pleased with that as I'd never started a day off with a sub-50 before. The weather was great, the track as dry as Wiscombe is ever likely to be under the trees. It was ages before the second run as the BHC field took priorty (rightly so) and, inevitably there were spots of rain on the windscreen as we waited in line. Fortunately it came to nothing...



This second run saw a perfect launch (2.38sc, the second fastest of the day in the class) followed by a decent run up the hill, resulting in a time of 49.11, which was my second quickest ever. I was more than happy but hoping I could find a few elusive hundredths to sneak back under 49 seconds again.

The third run was as near perfect as I could hope for. Tail out at the first left-hander (Wis Corner) a quick correction, lift briefly (and later than normal) at Bunny's Leap, down into second for the Gate and up into third through the Esses. I managed to keep it wide at Sawbench but lost a bit of time as the car hesitated, losing traction coming onto Castle. I left the braking later than usual into Martini, clipped one of the 'flappy' markers on the inside and smoked the left rear tyre up the rise over the finish line. As I rounded the corner into the top paddock, I slowed so I could read the time...48.35! I was ecstatic, as you can see on the video!

https://youtu.be/M3uIXIsnD_E?si=-5aHfHafJd22xGe6

So, it's now a six week wait until the next event and time for some soul searching: where, oh where, can I make up the four tenths I need to run a 47? If that happens, I'd truly rival the Cheshire Cat for the biggest smile ever...

I've been asked by a couple of people where now? I can't help feeling that gear ratios are not helping, but I simply cannot afford to go the 904 mainshaft route, followed by a rebuild and ratio swap. I have talked with a major American aftermarket company (headed by a big time 914 fan...) with regard to a new range of CNC-ported heads for Type 4 engines, so that, allied to a change of cam, may be a possibility for next season. But we'll see.

[911hillclimber]

Great looking run.
Sawbench is hard I think and I would think that is where to find that 48 sec run.
The Esses at Shelsley Walsh and Prescott are just as momentum sapping esp Prescott that exits the esses to an immediate left and armco.

Much harder than it may look.

As to ratios; what suits a hill may not suit another, all a compromise, and the main reason I rebuilt my Lola's 3.2 to rev much higher (by 2000 rpm) to stretch the gears out so avoiding a ponderous '915' gear change or two.
Your box changes faster than my 915, but i could possibly do the run to sawbench in 2nd only, possibly use 2nd all the way except at the start.

That best start time is really good, lots of traction I think.

As you go through the seasons it does get much harder to progress on times, repeat the best ones and be consistent.

Onwards and upwards.

[Lightweight_911]

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Excellent result !!

However I would think this is where it starts to get (even) more expensive - with greater outlay for quite small improvements (time-wise) ...

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[neilbardsley]

A very nice result.

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[RobFrost]

Well done Keith. Are you using the best tyre compound available? Can you fit wider tyres at all? There must be some weight the car can lose. I know some of those Group 4 wheels are heavy. Maybe you can find some magnesium wheels? Are you permitted to race with the roof off? That must weigh a kilo or so. Can you leave the carpets or any other items at base camp before you race? Do you have a limited slip diff? Are you getting cold air in to the engine intakes? Remove air filters for the run, perhaps, or replace with something less restrictive? Every little helps.

[KS]

Thanks Rob. I'll answer your questions in some sort of order. Tyre choice is limited to those on the MSUK control list - Toyo R888Rs are universally considered the best option as they work well at lower temps (with hillclimbs you don't get much chance to get the tyres hot). I'm restricted on tyre size, too, as there isn't much room under the 914's arches, hence running 195/50 x 15s which are available from Toyo - some people do squeeze fatter (205s) under the arches mainly for looks, but then you lose stability on the rim and are further limited on tyre choice. Going to GT-style arches would put me up a class and the extra weight of the wider wheels and tyres would offset any grip advantage. My Group 4 wheels are the same weight as Fuchs and there is no way I could afford to buy mag wheels etc. (I'm fortunate in that Group 4 gave me the wheels). I have run with the roof off and I've yet to decide whether the loss of weight is an advantage when offset against the loss of rigidity. Yes, even with the roll bar and door bars, the roof still makes a difference. The jury is out at present... I empty the car of all readily removable weight before I run. I have a Quaife TB diff. Running without air filters screws up the sensor readings for the ecu (I've tried it and it runs terribly) but better filters and a rolling road session is on the cards. Cold air? This is Cornwall in the summer - it's damp and chilly most days!

Weight is an issue (Adrian Crawford accuses me of being obsessed with it - I weigh 9st 8lbs, or a shade under 61kg, which must help!). I need to get the car on a set of scales, but I lost about 150lbs by replacing the bumpers and front and rear lids with glassfibre mouldings. i do need to attack the doors, though, as they still retain the US-spec side-impact bars, which weigh a ridiculous amount – you can lose 40lbs simply by removing them, but that involves stripping out the window winder mechanism, cutting out the inner door skin for access, removing the door bars with a cutting wheel, welding the inner skin back in and reinstalling the winder assembly. Not a five minute job. I'd love 'glass doors but they're not class-legal. I've no heating system these days, dispensing with heat exchangers and full stainless silencer saved a bundle. As you say, every little helps...

At the end of the day, the 914 remains a street car and is driven up to 95 miles to events, and further on some occasions (600-mile round trip to Classics at the Castle, or 500 miles to Bicester Scramble and back, for example), so I want to avoid turning it into a trailered race car. No heating system is bad enough at 5.30 in the morning.