January & February 2003

28th February, 2003

Sorry for the very long delay in updating my 'site, I've been somewhat preoccupied with the prospects of having or not having a job. Still no resolution in sight and combined with the derisory redundancy package announced on the 26th Feb, the situation is rapidly heading due south.

Enough doom and gloom though, I have been out in the Rush when the weather has permitted and I'm slowly getting used to how it handles and how far I can 'lean' on it. I have been tweaking the set-up to try and get the car feeling right and in the processes of doing this I e-mailed Dax for some advice. This is their reply:-

With the Spax shocks there was quite a variation, and we found that the number of 'clicks' was not the guide to being correct. The front shocks we found were best set somewhere between zero to one turn & the rears, somewhere between one & two turns.

The tyre pressures you have are about right (20 psi), customers alter them to suit their requirements. The pressures you have should not give you the feeling they are too high.

There should be virtually no rod showing between the shocker's cylinder & the bump stop.

I also took the opportunity to check that my Spax shocks are not from the faulty batch (my kit was supplied around the danger period of Autumn 2000). I'm pleased to report that my Spax production run serial number was G18B AP 1N and not the rogue G18B AP 5D.

I have bought some EBC 'Green Stuff' pads from Demon Tweeks and plan to fit those very soon. I also bought a vented 38mm hose coupler to be able to more easily bleed air from the top radiator hose. I plan to spend a full day on the Rush in the very near future to get the niggles out of the way prior to the fast approaching 'Rushing about' season. So my day in the garage will try to complete the following:-

  • Fit the 'Green Stuff' pads. Interesting side note here, the front standard size Sierra pads are also listed as fitment for Ferraris!

  • Put one or two turns of brake bias more towards the rear. I've noticed that I can lock the front brakes too easily and the front of the car then slides until the rear brakes have stopped the car. Invariably this means the car's stopping distance is not 'best'. Indeed the SVA tester did comment that the rear brake force was marginal. This will mean having to knock out the roll pins and reset the brake balance bar. I'll not replace the roll pins until I've tried the new set-up with the EBC pads bedded in.

  • Fit the top hose vent. As this will mean there is no coolant in the system, I will replace the thermostat as well. My car runs very cold when driving normally and the temperature rises quickly in town driving. I suspect that my thermostat is stuck open. Might also remove my rather pathetic demister system since a) it doesn't really work and b) one rather sharp corner slightly intrudes into the passenger footwell and the SVA foam has 'fallen off'.

  • Set the Spax shocks to Dax's recommendations. Maybe recheck and set the ride-height at the same time.

  • Try to adjust the steering column to get the steering wheel 'centred' when the car is running 'straight ahead'. This is only a 5° or so shift but it is very hard to see how to accomplish this without major disassembly of one part of the steering system or another.

I have also ordered some Sidescreens from Dax as I don't really have any time at the moment to make my own. Hopefully they will arrive before the Open Day.....ha ha, oink flap oink flap!!

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