Motorsport set-up - wheel size, brakes, final drive

[teej]

Hey folks. I was hoping I could pick your brains on a few set-up issues for the track (circuit, trackday type stuff).

I couple of years ago I bought a Nova GTE as a stop-gap while the Mk2 Astra I was finishing for classic touring got ummm.... finished. The project ran into problems, and got shelved, and life got busy so all the Nova has done is a couple of races in 07. It was fine at the time, and still is, but along the way I've picked up some okay suspension to replace the naff fast-road nonsense it was on, and thought that if it was going to get fitted then I should probably do it right, so if it comes out again (or goes back on the road, as may happen) it's not a complete shambles.

Brief spec - standard-ish shell, still original panels and all glass, and I want to keep it that way. (although it's leccy windows - is it easy to swap to winders?). Engine is 1.6 8v, but moderate cam and twin 40s - enough power but nothing worth writing home about. Suspension will be Gaz coilovers, the expensive "Dave, I've got a race car, what'll you do for me?" stuff, springs recommended lb-age for 888s or slicks, depending what I run (probably trackday tyres).

So, the questions....

1. It came on 15x6 wheels. I put it on 15x7s as I had them for the Astra (on last suspension the rear arches accomodated 195/50/15 on these), and stuck wets on the 15x6s.

Should I stick with this, is it over-tyred, or could it benefit from a drop to 14s or 13s?

2. Brakes - currently on pretty standard Astra GTE stuff (256mm, road pads etc.) It stopped fine, though seemed to grab and fade after 25 minutes or so hard work - fixable with better discs, pads, fluid etc. But I have a set of V6 Vectra calipers, 288mm discs etc lying around.

Is it worth fitting the V6 bits, or is that overkill? Any issues with fitting them, just as needing different master cylinders? Also, would I benefit majorly from a bias valve, or would that be dangerous for a mechanical numpty? (drums on the rear still)

3. The F13 in the car is marked "Diesel", only in tip-ex though. Is there a way I can easily tell what I've got? I have a 4.18 final drive in the garage with a spare F13, is it worth fitting this or should I hunt for a 4.53? How rare are they? The car was not getting out of 4th along Top Straight at Brands, at about 115mph (indicated). How easy is it to swap boxes, or change final drives? Also, are quickshifts available, as the gearshift throw seems really long, especially down to 2nd.

Thanks for any help, advice etc. If anyone knows a decent suspension set-up place in Essex I'd like to hear, too. Hopefully get it corner-weighted and the eccentric top mounts set-up right, when I get the strut turrets sorted and a bit(?) of tin-worm seen to.

Also, does anyone know of a white / blue check Nova, with XE conversion, full cage, possibly in Wales, on a D-reg. I sold it about 4 years ago to a lad who wanted to rally it. I was curious if he ever did, and how it is now - best car I ever had!

Cheers,
Tim
:thumb:

[novaguy08]

hi tim with the V6 brakes a better MC is a must, so long as you know how to change discs & pads as well as knowing how to bleed brakes it shouldnt be a problem. However i would just use better discs pads and fluid as the 288's will do the same after a while (EBC?)
The tyres will do the job however you might want to concider putting some 45 profile tyres on them.
With the box try looking for an F13CR however if you cant find one (yes this is the long way around!) get yourself an F10/5 box and use the final out of that. im not sure of how you can tell without taking the diff plate off an actually couting the teeth. Try Chris astley for a quickshift not sure if they are availible or not.
No i dont know of a Blue check nova in wales being used for rally :D Hope this helped :D

[mikey14sr]

1. 15's are fine, may need to drop to 45 profile to avoid scrubage

2. Uprated 256 discs and pads with decent fluid should help a bit, the v6 stuff will just bolt on but you'll need 4-stud discs and the nova master cylinder is a bit small to run them (you'll have a long pedal travel). 22mm master cyl from an early astra gte or a corsa servo and master cyl conversion will work better (corsa swap involves welding, as it sits where the battery goes in a nova).

3. Gearbox pic whore time again,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/mickyd79/strip-down/13052008.jpg

On the flat bit there should be some numbers stamped in, It's the last four that are of concern. C3.94 means close ratio with 3.94:1 final drive, W4.18 means wide ratio with 4.18:1 final.

There is a guide on here somewhere for doing the final drive swap, it's not hugely difficult to do, swapping the entire box is fairly easy aswell.

[teej]

Thanks guys.

We've run the 888s and AO48s before, and some similar sized slicks, without scrubbing (well, with the arches pretty crudely flared out), but obviously if the car goes lower then there could be issues. I'll look into 45s, though - will this affect the handling much? Improve feel, turn-in etc?

Brakes - thanks for the MC advice for 288mm bits. Is it a straight swap of MCs from the Astra? I had heard from people that putting Vectra brakes on a Nova was overkill, and was worse for track-work than the Astra bits I have already. Any thoughts? What's the "ideal" set-up?

Gearbox - again, thanks - I get the feeling you've used that a lot before. I did search, but didn't find it, sorry. 'Box on the car has no stamp, but my "spare" is a C3.74, so with the 4.18 FD, if I stick with 50 profile tyres then it should top out at pretty much what I need it to. Unless I go to Snetterton, then I'm screwed! I had seen the other thread, thanks for confirming it was vaguely manageable.

I had also seen another thread about fitting eccentric top mounts to Gaz shocks. I don't seem to have the problems that some do, but was wondering what mods, if any, are needed to the suspension turrets (mounting hole, bolt holes etc) top get a full range of adjustment.

Cheers again!

[AlexW]

With the master cylinder you could upgrade cheapy to a corsa MC keeping the standard nova stuff but having to make up new brake lines front and rear. As the corsa MC only has 2 outlets rather than the nova 4.

But if you can get a astra one (there not easy to find) then do that!

With the top mounts there shouldnt be any need for any mods.

Gearbox thread here:
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=93756

And il enquire about setting up your suspension as i might know just the man.

Hope this helps :)

Oh and also check out Trackdaynova's thread, Link here:
http://www.pngclub.com/forum/showthread.php?t=85108
Even though his thread is VERY long and the car is now scatterd around the uk theres lots to learn etc.

[trackdaynova]

AW thanks for the mention bud, thee two most important parts of my car came from Teej originally :D Good to see you on here Tim :)

[teej]

Hey there Olly. Olly took the gearbox and throttle bodies from when the Astra project ground to a halt and got broken up. I have some suspension bits to sell (not the naff stuff I mentioned earlier, haha!) - do I have to have 50 posts to advertise?

Olly - did you have eccentric top mounts? Is there a bit in your thread about fitting them? We were a bit puzzled by a couple of things when we did a trial fitting.

Master cylinders - how early does the Astra have to be? Are we talking Mk1s or 2s? I know a few guys who race them and may have spares I can blag - any code for the one I'd need? I want to keep it simple, and was quite happy with the current brakes, I was just curious of any pitfalls if I was to go larger as I have those bits already, with spare 4-stud dscs, pads and the like.

AW06 - thanks. I'm in South Essex (just realised my profile is very empty!), but bought the car from out Dunmow way. Happy to travel for the right service / price. Only option I can think of off the top of my head near me is Stancombe.

[trackdaynova]

Yeah I had eccentric topmounts :thumb: and yes, it is in my thread somewhere, I'm sure if you search 'eccentric' in the 'Search this thread' box it'll come up.

In short, I ran them upside down

[mikey14sr]

I think the astra m/c is from an early mk2 GTE, I've only ever heard about them though.

[teej]

Thanks. I've had 2 b-reg GTEs, the one that got broken still had the m/c on it, but no idea where it is now.

If the m/c differed between years, then that could explain why mine felt great on Vectra set-up, yet when another racer used exactly same on his mk2 he had spongy pedal and no feel.

[craig green]

I dunno what they said/\. But I'd stick with the 256mm brakes & invest in fluid & pads. As for wheels my preference over the years is 5.5J 14" Vauxhall wheels with 185/60 (or55) tyres. So much more chuckable & no less grippy than 15's which at 7J width are too wide. (IMO)