S4 Duratec Project *The finishing Touch*

[elansprint71]

............. The spare wheel is a space saver from a Ford Focus.........

You decided to fit wider tyres than in period then?

Forgive me if I missed it earlier in the thread- with your much higher fuel tank, does it have internal baffles, or foam, to stop the weight sloshing around when it is half-full?

[Spyder fan]

............. The spare wheel is a space saver from a Ford Focus.........

You decided to fit wider tyres than in period then?

Forgive me if I missed it earlier in the thread- with your much higher fuel tank, does it have internal baffles, or foam, to stop the weight sloshing around when it is half-full?

Hi Pete,
The tyres are the widest you can reasonably expect to fit under the standard arches 185's on 6inch rims, I'm going to need to grind a little away on the inside of the rear arches, hopefully I will be patient enough to do this with a heavy file rather than risk an angle grinder, one slip will end in tears and there's the danger of bubbling the paint. The tank is baffled, I did think about having it foam filled, but the baffling was standard issue, so no need.

I will have to do a specification for the car and list the parts that differ from standard, there are some really good modifications over standard if the interest in originality is overlooked. Some non standard items are really obvious like the tunnel mounted handbrake, but others are more subtle like the inertia reel seatbelts.


Regards

[ardee_selby]

I will have to do a specification for the car and list the parts that differ from standard, there are some really good modifications over standard if the interest in originality is overlooked. Some non standard items are really obvious like the tunnel mounted handbrake, but others are more subtle like the inertia reel seatbelts

That would be good...to fill in any gaps not covered in your thread(s).

But when you & Rohan wrote:

"182 bhp at the rear wheels .....740 kg ..... properly quick ...."

" now that is an under statement if i have ever seen one"

In addition to what it is...what it does would be even more interesting! I'd like to see how it all translates into performance figures. Any chance?

Regards - Richard

[Spyder fan]

Hi Richard,
Meaningful performance figures are a bit difficult to obtain, it really needs a recognised tester like Autocar to take it to Bruntingthorpe and do the business and there's no way I'm going to allow some lead footed oaf to do 6000rpm takeoffs in my pride and joy.

One way of getting an idea of performace is to choose a similar weighted and powered car that has already been extensively tested and reported, but this is difficult as there aren't that many 740kilo cars with 182bhp and 173lb torque. The Elise Sc has 220BHP but weighs 903 kilos and the torque is 156lb, it's claimed 0-60 is 4.4 seconds, The elise 111R has 190bhp and only 135lb torque it weighs 890kilos and has a 0-60 of 4.9 seconds. I could stick my neck out and say that my car would be sub 5 seconds 0-60 based on that, but this assumes that I can get the power down on the road, both Elises have bigger tyres and more weight over the driven wheels.

My conservative perofrmance figures are 0-60mph 5.5 seconds, 0-100mph 12 seconds, top speed 135mph, I don't think that anyone could argue too strongly against those figures. The real world performance is it's driveabilty, it feels very quick without much effort, no revving high or swapping of cogs required to make good progress or perform a safe overtake, there's no fuss or drama and the power doesn't catch you unawares.

I hope that goes some way towards describing the performance, sorry I can't be precise with the figures.

Regards

[Bud English]

?The real world performance is it's driveabilty, it feels very quick without much effort, no revving high or swapping of cogs required to make good progress or perform a safe overtake, there's no fuss or drama and the power doesn't catch you unawares.?
That says it all. Unless you?re in the business of selling cars, TV shows, or magazines the numbers don?t really mean much. It?s the fun factor that matters most.

A couple of gorgeous cars, by the way, Alan.

[richgilb]

Hi Jannik,

It drives really well; on the motorway it feels solid and planted on the road without any wandering or busy feedback through the steering, I cruised at a genuine 80mph (satnav) and the car is better than my +2 zetec which feels a little fidgety at that speed. In town and traffic it's really easy to drive, it pulls away as smoothly as my modern Mini, the steering is nicely weighted and direct and the engine revs up very freely due to the lightweight flywheel. The gearchange is a little notchy just now and the gearbox chatter is transmitted through the gearlever reducing refinement, but there is an upgrade to the linkage which will be fitted when the car goes for it's 1000 mile service/safety check.

The engine and exhaust note sound superb and are definitely in keeping with the car and it's timeline, it sounds right. It reminds me very much of a Suzuki Swift Gti that I owned back in the 1990's in that the engine was a crossover between bike and car technology with a lumpy tickover but very free revving with a sweet exhaust note.

For performance testing I haven't gone over 4500rpm just yet due to the road conditions, wet on Saturday and icy yesterday. But the bhp at the wheels is 182 at 6400rpm and the torque is 173lb at 5100rpm with 80% of that torque available from 2000rpm and with the car being 740kilos all up it's going to be properly quick.

The cold weather testing went well, it was about minus 4 celcius overnight and she started first time.


Regards

So when are we having this duel then? The BBR is getting impatient.

[Spyder fan]

Richgilb wrote

So when are we having this duel then? The BBR is getting impatient.

Hi Rich,
Sorry, I haven't been ignoring your post, the website doesn't seem to alert me for new posts at the moment.

Your Mazda hasn't thrown a rod yet then? As you have kept it for a while now I assume you like it, have you still got the turbo pressure cranked up?

I will post my unofficial best lap times for Castle Combe on Saturday 26th May, I will get someone independent to do the timing, I suggest you get down there for the next MX5 specific track day and do the same. Your car weighing 985 kilos means you need to crank up your motor to 250bhp to get the same power to weight ratio as my car, your tyres and brakes will need upgrading and hopefully your suspension is in good order.

Frankly, your car will be hopelessly outclassed and your lack of track experience will be a severe limiting factor.

Regards

Alan

[richgilb]

I can do 200bhp, and the handling is superior. So come on, Alan.....I've still got it (and the e30 convertible now, too, by the way)......or has your Duratec melted the front end by now?

[Spyder fan]

Rich,
Hope the salon is doing well?

My S4 Duratec held off my brother's BMW M3 in a straight drag race late last year, between 2 local roundabouts linked by a dual carriageway over approximately 2 miles (yes he has the latest V8 M3). His speedo read 135mph before he had to back off to brake for the roundabout and he wasn't gaining on me.

Yes it runs rather well and no I haven't managed to break it. No bits have fallen off and nothing has melted.

Your dreams of humbling my creation will have to remain just dreams I'm afraid. If perhaps you had created something special yourself and wanted to pit that against my S4 then perhaps I would be interested, and more to the point perhaps others would be interested as well.

?Waddya take me for...a Mazdabaiter??