Westfield SEiW Clubman

[Bren]

Going to Lakeside on Sunday, then on Monday dropping the car off to get the Motec fitted. Hoping to get a good tax return, and maybe even look at getting some big cams for it. Will see what happens

[Bren]

Lakeside was a success. Heaps of fun! Didn't crash, which is a bonus :p I did the morning practice as well as the afternoon sprints, so heaps and heaps of track time. The oly problem the car gave me was popping the dipstick out twice. That was a pain, but not the end of the world.

Car is currently getting the M4 fitted. Might even be running tonight He'll be finished the install by the weekend and is planning on doing a basic road tune on Saturday, then he'll drive out to my place, and I'll drop him home. It's a bit over an hour drive each way, so by the time I have him back at home the tune will be complete

Also on the hunt for a set of Wade 800A cams and possibly an ITB adapter. Now that I finally have an ECU that can be tuned, I may as well make the most of it

[Bren]

The car got tuned last night On Monday Jase drove it out to my place as planned. Unfortunately on the way the alternator died. So I took the family car to him and charged the battery with it so that he could get it home. I didn't think it would be too big of a deal as I have a spare alternator. Got that in and tested it. No charge... Checked terminals, grounds, etc etc and all was good. Seems like my spare alternator is buggered also. So on Wednesday I took them both to an auto sparky to test and yep, both no good. He pulled them apart to have a look and both regulators were rooted. He was able to track down an aftermarket replacement that afternoon though. It arrived at his shop and the plug and terminal were in a different position. Didn't think it would be a problem, so off I go with my brand new alternator.

Get home and go to fit it. The plug and terminal ARE a problem. Terminal is close to block and plug fouls on oil cooler hose... And the whole unit is just a little bit bigger... Probably wouldn't normally be an issue, but in a clubman with very little engine bay space it most definitely was an issue! Anyway, got it on there with some dicking around. Also, turns out my alternator mount only has one point securing it. It is on the exhaust side and only secures at the engine mount stud. Need to find a bolt to fit in the second mounting hole.

Anyway, it all works. Started it up and got 14.3v at the battery. So yesterday afternoon I drove back to Brisbane and after putting some dash stuff back together and fixing the headlights, the tuning began. Didn't take long to do, either. So now it is all good to go. Next break I'll organise to get it on a dyno for a power run, just to see what it makes and as a base for my mods.

Hopefully today I'll get a quote on paint

[Slimer86]

M4 are a great bit of kit. Even though they run old dos software, the tuning resolution and adjustability make setting up, tuning and driving a pleasure. Have an m48 and never had an issue. Drives like oem

[Bren]

Yeah, the guy who installed and tuned it for me said the same thing! I was driving while he road tuned it, and it looked very simple, and I was impressed with the software considering it is for DOS! The biggest advantage for me right now is the tunability. I want to get some big cams and fit my quads, and that wasn't possible with the crappy old Injec that was fitted.

Going in for paint at the end of September

[Bren]

Ordered an inlet manifold/adapter for the quads from MRP today. Should be here in 2 - 3 weeks. Looks like this. Except mine won't be shiny.

[Bren]

CF guards mounted He did a great job of the mounts, too!

[Bren]

Been a while since posting in here.


Raced at Pittsworth Sprints a month ago. Had a few hiccups, but walked away with 3rd in class even after not having many runs and having some problems. First problem was my fault. Clipped a concrete barrier with inside rear wheel from turning in too early, resulting in two holes in the tyre. Got them fixed to race the next day, but missed the last two runs of that day because of it. Tyre is fixed, but needs replacing.


Second problem was the friggin alternator. Put a brand new one on. It wasn't quite right though. Auto sparky matched the part number of the original, but the after market one was just a bit bigger, and plug was in a different spot. This turned out to be bad. The thing didn't fit properly, I had to try and move some shit to make it fit. Got there in the end. Seemed good. Apparently not. Because it was so tight a fit, I mustn't have been able to get the plug in properly, and over time it vibrated out, causing the alternator to stop charging the battery. When this happened at the sprints I didn't know that was the cause, so it put me out for the rest of the day and meant I needed a tow home. I have since had the original alternator repaired and it is on the car and working well.


Car currently looks like this



And this happened



It is currently getting painted. So when I am home next I will go over every nut and bolt to make sure they're tight, probably check engine mounts, and give the thing a good clean. Then, if I can be bothered, I'll paint the interior black. And body should be done when I get home, so next break will be doing the above, fitting the newly painted body, and driving it hopefully!!


Brackets for the CF guards are done, and look great. Just need to paint them black, which will also happen on my next break. And the quad throttle adapter manifold has arrived at home, although I haven't seen it yet as it arrived while I have been away. I guess I need to get the cams soon, have them fitted, then get the throttles on and a new tune

[Slimer86]

How is it now that the m4 has been tuned? Feel solid through the rev range on the track?

[Bren]

To be honest, it doesn't really feel much different. The tune in the old ECU was good except around the idle cells, and nothing was changed except the ECU. The swap to the M4 was so that it can be re-tuned when future modifications happen.