New Member & Raw Striker Questions
Posted: 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
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