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Phillip G
Phillip Leonard
Kansas City
(395 posts)

Registered:
02/03/2008 04:12PM

Main British Car:
1992 MG RV8 Rover 3.5

Decisions Decisions- Club Racing at COTA
Posted by: Phillip G
Date: February 02, 2013 11:37AM

So I run across this article in the latest edition of the SCCA's Sports Car magazine - Club Racing at COTA Becomes Reality - "It's official, the Southwest Division will be racing at the Circuit of the Americas, home of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, on March 8-10, 2013. Lone Star Region is totally excited to be able to provide the truly unique experience of a Club race at the Circuit of the Americas."

Can you imagine ? A chance to actually race with the SCCA GT cars at the most modern Formula 1 track in the world ! It takes only a short tow from Kansas City to Austin, Texas ... and ....a chance ( early in the SCCA season) to grab National points out of our division !

Decisions Decisions

keep them on the track

phillip g


Phillip G
Phillip Leonard
Kansas City
(395 posts)

Registered:
02/03/2008 04:12PM

Main British Car:
1992 MG RV8 Rover 3.5

Re: Decisions Decisions- Club Racing at COTA
Posted by: Phillip G
Date: March 07, 2013 11:37AM

Sad to report that I couldn't get the RV8 prepped in time to run it at COTA.

It is electrical/wiring problems - brought on by adding an alternator to the engine for the first time. Seems that adding the alternator changed the function of the electrical kill switch.

Last year the SCCA tech inspectors thought they found problems with the kill switch - so I've been trying to upgrde to a new "4 pole kill switch" and with the new alternator I just can't get the engine shut off via the 4 pole kill switch. It must be bleeding back from the new alternator which forces me to throw the ignition switch first before the 4 pole kill switch will shut off the engine.

Anyway, I wasn't ready for the COTA races in several other ways so it looks like the first 2013 SCCA GT2 outing for the RV8 will be at Heartland Park Topeka on June 1 & 2.

And too, I plan a practice session at Heartland Park Topeka on Wednesdy, April 10.

Any help from the group at these events is very much appreciated. Just let me know you can be on hand and I can add your name to the crew list for free entry.

keep them on the track,

phillip g


roverman
Art Gertz
Winchester, CA.
(3188 posts)

Registered:
04/24/2009 11:02AM

Main British Car:
74' Jensen Healy, 79 Huff. GT 1, 74 MGB Lotus 907,2L

Re: Decisions Decisions- Club Racing at COTA
Posted by: roverman
Date: March 07, 2013 05:40PM

Tuff break Phil. Good point that the alternator keeps making juice, even with battery disconnected. I was feeling a lil' depressed lately, so I bought an anti-depressant,( a 1988 Z28, track day car). Something to get me some much needed track learning with. Still working on the "real" race car/TR8, but progress is slow. Cheers, roverman.


Phillip G
Phillip Leonard
Kansas City
(395 posts)

Registered:
02/03/2008 04:12PM

Main British Car:
1992 MG RV8 Rover 3.5

Re: Decisions Decisions- Club Racing at COTA
Posted by: Phillip G
Date: March 10, 2013 02:14PM

Racers,

Wanted everyone to know that I've finally found my problem with the SCCA required 4 Pole Kill Switch which replaces the former 2 Pole Kill Switch.

With 3 weekend attempts this winter and after installing an alternator to the RV8 GT 2 racer and after discovering 2 defective new 4 Pole Kill Switches... the 3rd
new 4 Pole Kill Switch worked right out of the box !

We ran a national season of racing last year - without an alternator (simply ran off the battery) and in each race found that the small V8 engine would drain the battery by the last few laps, which resulted in engine sputtering at high revs near the end of the 50 mile races. The alternator was very necessary

After 3 weekends of attempts this winter to install a new 4 Pole Kill Switch we discovered that the first two 4 Pole Kill Switches were defective ! Can you believe it - brand new and defective - both by the same manufacturer. I purchased them via the Internet.

The 3rd new 4 Pole Kill Switch worked immediately right out ofthe box. And with the new alternator, too. I sourced the3rd new 4 Pole Kill Switch from a local (Kansas City) auto race part shop - Mid West Motorsports.
Mid West Motorsports allowed us to put a test meter on their new American made 4 Pole Kill Switch and we immediately found that it was wired correctly - unlike the first two 4 Pole Kill Switches not American made.

We got "written up"last year (entered in the Logbook by the SCCA Tech people) when they discovered we also had to throw the ignition switch as they tested the required Kill Switch - a real NO NO with the SCCA Safety Specs.

Electrical wiring concerns seem to be the more difficult part of race car prep

I want to give full credit to Bill Davidson of Kansas City MG fame ... and who is the best electrical and all around
race car prep guy you could ever wnt to meet.

keep them on the track

phillip g


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