New Member & Raw Striker Questions

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waddock
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:43 pm
Name: Waddock

New Member & Raw Striker Questions

Postby waddock » Tue Oct 06, 2009 9:01 pm

Hi there.

I recently purchased a Raw Striker IRS, I believe the previous owner was a member on here so you may have all seen the car before. Its No.5 sold by Raw when they bought
the rights to the Striker. I am loving the car, its my first car with no roof, windscreen, doors etc so is a bit different to normal!

So far I have been lucky enough to have some good weather over the past few weeks so I have been out at every opportunity enjoying the open top driving. It is a bit different to my previous Japanese weapons! (GTiR, 200SX, RX7, S2000 etc). So far I think the best bit is the noise from that side exit pipe as you give it some stick!

Any way, I plan on getting it on the track ASAP. Bedford Autodrome on 31st October will hopefully be my first date with it. So I would like to complete some prep work in advance and wondered where to start. The main tasks I have are:-

1.I need an oil cooler - Currently running a 1.8 zetec silver top but will soon upgrade to 2.0 black top (when flea bay has a suitable priced unit for sale). what size do most people run (Rows / width) and how have you secured the unit and feed pipes to chassis. I want to buy a unit I can use after upgrade. I have noticed the engine temp rises after a good drive to about 110 / 115 on the gauge. I presume a good oil cooler will help this. I also plan on draining all existing coolant and adding some good Anti Freeze / summer coolant as I am not 100% of current fluid / mixture ratio.

2.I want a roll cage fitted as I feel a little bit vulnerable at present with only the rear roll bar. I was thinking side bars and connection to rear roll bars. I have seen a lot of photos on here with this type of cage fitted. Where is the best place to get one that is approved for entry into hill climbs or 750MC events? How much would you expect to pay for this fitted to the car by a pro?

3.The suspension geometry on the car is OK at present, it is very neutral handling not to twitchy but not that responsive. I recently drove a Caterham CSR 200 at Bedford Autodrome, the handling was amazing! Loads of controllable over steer, it was so much fun I got straight home after this and sold my RX7 to fund a smaller track car. Can anyone recommend someone in Hertfordshire area who is able to set up the car for track use? In fact I would like to find someone who can assist with all aspects of the race preparation, I am more a driver than mechanic and will only really start to work on things I feel I can comfortably complete at home with my current toolbox and axle stands.

I will also be installing a fitted fire extinguisher, battery cut off switch, changing to race brake fluid, installing shift light, fixing a speedo which has mind of its own and a few other bits in advance. So if anyone has any tips for me on these that would be great!

Thanks in advance for any help provided and hopefully speak / meet some of you at events soon.

Regards
Ben

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David
Posts: 767
Joined: Thu Jul 09, 2009 4:43 pm
Name: David Hussey
Location: Woodbridge, Suffolk
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Re: New Member & Raw Striker Questions

Postby David » Tue Oct 06, 2009 10:21 pm

Welcome Ben -- I hope you enjoy your Striker as much as I do mine...

You don't mention whether you have sprint/hillclimb/race experience, so I'll assume you don't -- please don't be offended if that's a bad assumption. On that basis then, to some of your questions:

Oil cooler -- do you need one? Many Zetec installations in kit-cars actually run too cool, but yours seems the exception if you are getting 110-115 degrees. An oil cooler is extra weight and extra opportunity for a union to fail (I speak from experience -- I've dumped 6 litres of Motul's (very expensive) finest at Ty Croes :o ). I'd try to get the water cooling right before deciding you absolutely need an oil cooler. Before you decide you need one, speak to someone knowledgeable on oil like (but by no means only) Simon or Guy at Opie Oils. -- Having said all that, I still run one. If you're going to invest, I'd recommend Setrab for plenty of through flow. Most people rivet them onto the lower front chassis rail below, and behind, the radiator.

Roll cage -- very sensible. First, the rules: a cage is not actually (currently) a requirement for sprints/hillclimbs, or even for 750MC. In the former case, road legal cars do not have to run any sort of roll-over protection :cry: , in the latter a well braced rollover bar is adequate. However, if you are going to compete seriously a cage is a "no-brainer". Mel (at Raw) will sell you one fitted for about £700**; other expert welders have however ripped off the design and maybe a bit cheaper. I know that John Bradshaw got his fitted by Cougar Engineering, and it stood up very well when he rolled at Wiscombe.
[**Edited to say that the £700 included removal, modification (dash) and refitting of the rear bodywork and dash. If you do those things yourself it should be quite a lot cheaper!]

Brake fluid -- unless you are going racing seriously, I think Dot 5.1 is perfectly adequate. It certainly is for sprints, hillclimbs and track days.

Shift light -- fine, especially if you can run it off your ECU, but IMHO (if you haven't got one) a rev limiter is much more important.

HTH

David

P.S. Elder son Chris and I sprint a Striker, younger son (Guy) races one with the 750MC -- if you have other questions where you think we might be able to help, please feel free to ask. D.
Se7en Pervert -- by definition; I don't drive a Caterham


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