With the first round of the TimeAttack.com.au Lakeside series fast approaching, I thought I'd better pull my finger out and get my Singular Motorsport bonnet vents fitted. These weren't cheap at around $390 delivered, but they are a quality product and have the testing to back them up, so I thought it was a worthwhile investment.
The blades on each vent need to be bent into place at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Not too hard to do, just need to take your time. Next I had to mark and measure out the positioning for the template.
Next I taped up the rest of the bonnet, and put down some sheets over the engine bay and the windscreen. Then it was time to grab the angle grinder and get into cutting the holes. This was nerve-racking!!!
Went well for the most part. Slipped a couple of times and left little marks along the edge, but some touch up paint and the rubber trim was enough to cover them. The underside was tricky to cut in a few spots, but all went pretty well.
I didn't take a lot of photos from this point, but the rest was pretty straight forward. clean up the edges, drill the rivet holes fit the rubber trim and then rivet the louvres into place. I was pretty happy with the finish. I did get a few light scratches on the bonnet which I touched up, but it wasn't a perfect bonnet to start with, and well.....it's a race car now
Apart from that I just put in some new front pads, checked the rear pads and re-greased the slider pins, bled some fluid from the calipers, and gave it a once over before heading out for the first round of the Time Attack series.
I don't know what the temperature was yesterday, but damn it felt hot! The car felt good though, and I slowly eased my way into it, getting faster each session. The only adjustments I made all day to the car were tyre pressures and bump/rebound adjustments.
I'd managed a 62.07 to equal my PB in the third session, but my main rival in the A2 class from last year, had just improved his PB in same session to a 62.01. One session to go and I knew there was a 61 in it, I just had to put it all together and muster a bit more courage to carry a bit more corner speed in a couple of corners. It was about 11.30 by the time we hit the track for our last session and it was hot!. Put my head down and on the third lap of the session I managed a 61.87. Pretty sure I was on an even better lap next time around, but coming down the hill from Eastern Loop, the car had a sudden hesitation and lost power.
Checked the boost gauge and there was zero boost
Limped the car back to the pits and popped the bonnet to have a quick look. I expected to see a loose or split intercooler hose but nothing obvious. It may be right down the bottom where it joins onto the intercooler. Car was running ok otherwise, so just packed it up and drove slowly home. Will have a closer look at it next weekend.
Nice photo from Tim at 4020 Media
) and thought I'd blown the engine.
