Finally some driving!!

A "test drive a Radical SR3" event at Mantorp. I was also invited but drove my own car.

The engine runs great! The car handles great! Even the weather was great! My driving - not so great, but who cares? Well not that bad, today's best was 1:22.3. Compared with my all time best 1:21.8 it is all right considering I had no "rabbit" in front of me and I was feeling a bit rusty. The Radicals didn't stand a chance with those inexperienced drivers.

But of course...

Fuel surge and alternator problems!!

This spring when my engine broke, it was because of the small wire from the alternator went loose and it stopped charging the battery. The fuel pump couldn't keep up with the lower voltage and the engine run lean. Things got hot inside the cylinders and the engine got damaged.

Today the alternator broke completely.

The same symptoms - no power on the long straight. But this time I knew, and backed off the throttle immediately. Also the no-charge light on the dash was lit this time.

I also experienced fuel surge in the long right hander "Parisern" when the fuel level was below half. I always had that problem, even with the stock CSR200 engine. Today it annoyed me more than ever before.

I need a more robust fuel system! I can't risk loosing my engine because the alternator fails, or if a connector jumps loose.

Anyway I got five or so laps on film. Here are a couple of them. I'm not very satisfied with my driving here, as soon as I try to push hard I get sloppy and miss the apexes.

Brise starter

This is the second time my starter solenoid has broken. It is a mechanical failure where the plastic actuator arm inside the coil has broken off. The starter motor has also been very sluggish lately and not always been able to crank the engine when the engine has been hot!? If it is the solenoid that has been causing that too, I don't know. I do know it's not the battery, because I've replaced that one too. And it is not the wiring either.

I've been forced to ask a random person for help at a parking lot many times. So I just want it fixed and have installed a new Brise starter because "they're the best" according to a reseller.

And the difference is??

I don't know. I just hope it works better than the old one. The casing looks very similar for sure. It appears to turns the engine with much more determination than the old one. I read somewhere the gearing is different and that is probably why it copes better with high compression engines like mine.

Thermal camera

During the last F1 race they've equiped some of the cars with thermal cameras. How cool is that??

Notice how fast the tires cool on the straights, and how much heat is generated from just a small mistake. Some interesting words about it here. I also wrote something about wide tyres and heat a while ago, here.

Of course you'd want a camera like that yourself. The problem is that the price tag for an entry level thermal camera is several thousands of dollars.

There is soon a solution for that. Check out this camera that you attach to your smartphone. The estimated retail price is "just" $325!