I took advantage of a free afternoon and evening yesterday to work on several cars in preparation for upcoming events. The main focus was to chip some new cars and to replace "crazy" chips which had some cars taking off flat out without help of the throttle.
I'm an idiot
It was when I went to change the mad Greg Myers chip in my rally Subaru that I realised that I'm an idiot. I had already pulled the old chip out and bagged and labelled it and had cut the yellow and green wires on a brand new F1 chip in preparation for installation that it suddenly struck me. I took one look at the motor in the Subaru and realised, wait a minute, where's the ferrite man? Not on the guide flag end and more importantly, not on the motor. No ferrite man. And I was blaming the chip all along. One look at my new MRRC Cobra and I got confirmation. Both cars' erratic behaviour on the track were the result of there being no ferrite man on either. The end result is that all I had to do was add ferrite men to these two cars to solve their problems.
I also worked on my little Triumph TR4A for our upcoming Historic Saloon event. Its problem was the inability to change lanes. I removed the chip and examined it closely but could not find a break in the chip's LED wires, but it was pointed at a slight angle (not straight down) to clear the motor's driveshaft, so I carefully reinstalled it and I hope that the problem is now solved. I also took the opportunity to replace the blown chip in my Modified Production Ninco Mini. Finally, I chipped my MRRC Ford Mk IV (boy... that was a task!) and started work on my Slot.It Chaparral 2E.
Here are some pics (all courtesy my iPhone 4S):
Work going on with re-chipping my Mini. Other cars being worked on are to its right.
Lots of tools spread out on the workbench...
... and cars waiting to be dealt with. Note the almost empty beer mug and the iPad for online reference.
In honour of the life of the great Carroll Shelby, my new MRRC Cobra gets a ferrite man - visible just ahead of the gear stick through the hole I had to make to clear it.
My latest Vintage Sports cars - Ford Mk IV and Cobra - ready to go.
The Chaparral 2E getting ready for chipping. Still not done but will be for the next FRC session.
Gordon
My problem now is figuring out what ticket to buy, stands or general admission, and where on the track. When I went to Sepang in 2003, I had one of each: I used hillside seating for Qualifying and the grandstand for the race. I ended up wishing I'd gone back to the hillside, where I could see at least 3 turns, rather than the one-way traffic on the front straight. Any of you fellas coming up???!!!
I've found that cars with 2 men have little or no problems from electronic noise. When there's only room for one, I favor the motor end.