Rodent Racing - A Field of Dreams

This is a sight to behold, two Aston Martin V12 Vantages, prepped for racing in the Aston Martin Asia Cup races.

On my track day to Sepang, I came across these cars being packed up after the Formula 1 weekend. The crew here were kind enough to entertain my questions about where to get a fire extinguisher system. The Vantages use the Lifeline system, but there are no refills available (you have to order them and ship it from UK). They're thinking of changing it out for something a bit more readily available.

I was also looking at the control panels and positioning of the switches. The pro garages are really amazing. Very well laid out and very neat.

Rodent Racing - The Build (Harness and Helmet)

We now have a new air intake and an ECU 4BEAT-SE remap, both from Knight Sports. Knight Sports is a specialised rotary tuner in Japan. www.knightsports.co.jp.

What does the remap do?

1. Water temp is controlled well around 88-94'C (98-106'F) on high rev driving. Oil temp: Low 75 (90) High 110 (128)'C. The first 3000rpm still lacks torque like before, but when you're on the track, you won't be looking at 3000 rpm at all.

2. More power when rev reaching around 3000-3500rpm, quite remarkable and then all the way goes up.

3. Fuel consumption has improved, less waste by sudden rev up to accelerate.

4. Able to go beyond 200km/h. Speed limiter is disabled.















Finally put in my new Schroth 6-point harness. Feels amazingly firm and unyielding. Awesome ride. It sure looks aggressive.

Rodent Racing - Strategy

Extracted from an interview with Barwell Motorsport. Something for Rodent Racing to follow (with the exception of removing the engine and gearbox)?

"The truck arrived back from our last race at Spa two days ago and then the unload crew came in yesterday. Today we’ll have a bit of a planning meeting to get a rough schedule and then the engineers will tally up all the mileages and work out what components are going to be out of mileage."

"From that information and from the debrief sheets generated during practice and qualifying sessions (where drivers note anything they’re unhappy with) we compile a job-list of work that needs to be carried out."

"Preparing for the 24 Hours is slightly different because we won’t necessarily change components for free practice and qualifying. Effectively we’ve now got a schedule where today (Tuesday) will be a clean and check-over: we'll take the gearbox out for a rebuild and inspect all parts of the car, including the suspension, to make sure there are no leaks or cracks or any wear. Then on Thursday we’ll put the car back together."

"On Friday we will set the car up in the morning; do the corner weights and geometry, etc – we know the settings for Spa very well. Then we'll put a fresh gearbox back in and then start assembling all the safety equipment and spare parts to go in the truck. There's a list of equipment we’ll need over and above a standard race weekend; we’ve already ordered all the endurance parts for the car – luckily all of our 24-hour equipment is already sorted as the car was already down to compete in the Zolder 24 Hours."

"Next week the trucks will be loaded up and we'll issue the team a detailed itinerary with the week’s schedule: session timings, pit details, where we’re staying and what our allocated scrutineering slot is. When we get to the circuit on the Tuesday the first thing we’ll do is dress the pit garage – set up the hoarding, flooring, awning, catering and such like. We’re a small team so there’s a lot of multi-tasking, with duties shared – but everyone is allocated set tasks. There's also a livery change on the car for this race, which will be done by a Belgian company."

"The key thing for us is to get the new drivers familiar with the car. So we’ll be scheduling familiarisation sessions and seat fittings to get them comfortable. We know how to manage the sessions to make sure we don’t put too much pressure on the car or the drivers. We know the pace of the car. We’ll be on the Michelin tyres, which we know inside out.The focus is being ready for the race, not setting ultra-fast times."

"After practice and qualifying, we’ll replace the engine, the gearbox and the torque tube. Strangely we’ll likely spend hours fiddling around with drinks bottles. Then we should be in good shape for the race. We’ll run the car in Saturday morning warm-up, make sure the new engine and gearbox work okay, and then that's it until the start."

"Our focus will then be to have a clean race; stay out of trouble and a result will come. We’ll be stopping on the hour for fuel – that’s as far as an Aston GT3 can go at Spa on a full tank at racing speed."

"There’ll be four mechanics on the car – that’s the key crew. Then we've got two tyre and fuel guys and our Belgian/French-speaking engineer, Marc. I’ll be chief engineer, handling strategy, and then there’ll be a couple of people taking care of logistics and commercial aspects. The catering for the event is quite substantial. I won’t get involved with the sponsors; my job is the well-being of the drivers and the car over the weekend."

Target: Completing the MME in 2011

Rodent Racing - The Build (Helmet and HANS and Harness)

Town Mouse recommends safety first for all forms of motorsport.



Helmet



Protect your noggin from all the knockin'. I use the Bell Sport 4 with HANS post clips. I like thi sbecause it has a big visor for Town Mouse who wears spectacles. Very friendly. Can't go wrong with a manufacturer that provides helmets for F1 teams...



HANS



The 20° is for upright seating positions in all sports cars (Porsche, BMW, Honda etc.) and touring car series with racing shell seats (Sparco, Recaro, OMP, etc.). Entry level price with the same exceptional safety perfomance as our Pro versions. Made from reinforced thermoplastics. The 20° Sport models are equiped with Vision Advantage Plus tethers. Made by HDI.



Harness



Many sanctioning bodies are beginning to mandate a 6 point restraint. Town Mouse has forgone the usual Takata, Sparco, and OMP harnesses for something cool but unnecessary. Schroth Harnesses are second to none, and are currently being used by leading Formula 1 teams.



The Profi III-6 comes with a 3" lap belt, and 3" shoulder belt and a dual sub strap. It features the RFR Rotary Cam lock, and can be specified in many different lap belt configurations.
You can specify Color, Lap Belt End Fitting, and Lap belt adjusting direction. Town Mouse picks one in blue.

Rodent Racing - The Build (Seats and Electrical)

Electrical Cut Off Switch

FIA race regulations require an electrical cut-off switch. For this, we've gotten the Cartek solid state battery isolator. http://www.cartek.biz/ Designed to be chassis mounted close to the vehicle’s battery, it allows the heavy current power cables to be kept as short as possible. Typical installation requires one external kill button and just one internal on-off switch which are all interconnected using low voltage wiring. Purchased from http://rallynuts.com/motorsport/

BUT is the Isolator FIA approved?

Unlike race seats, harnesses and fire extinguishers the FIA does not have an approval procedure for Master Switches. However, most FIA race and rally championships require cars to be fitted with a spark-proof master switch to isolate the battery from all electrical systems and stop the engine. The Cartek Battery Isolator meets these requirements.

FIA ARTICLE 13 : GENERAL CIRCUIT BREAKERThe general circuit breaker must cut all electrical circuits, battery, alternator or dynamo, lights, hooters, ignition, electrical controls, etc.) and must also stop the engine.

MSA External Circuit Breaker8.1. The circuit breaker, when operated, must isolate all electrical circuits with the exception of those that operate fire extinguishers.

Bucket Seats

Mice can be rather tall. Town Mouse often hits the roof with his head when driving (especially over bumps). For that reason, a bucket seat with its low seating position is needed for both practicality and (unbelievably) comfort. Town Mouse goes with the BRIDE Low Max Stradia II bucket seat in carbon kevlar weave. http://www.bride-jp.com/

Yup, its non FIA approved, but we'll borrow a Recaro for the real thing.

Rodent Racing - The Build (Gauges)

Town Mouse has decided to go for the favourites, the oil temperature, oil pressure and water temperature gauges by Defi. Defi-Link Meter BFs are electronic blacked out gauges. When the car is off they have a black face with no numbers on them. As soon as the car is turned on, the gauges light up and are in full affect. The "opening performance" is really kind of cool. http://www.defi-shop.com/product/bf/bf_top.html

Rodent Racing - The Build (Handling)

Town mouse has decided to use an RX8 for this. A rotary powered, rodent driven, rear-wheel drive car. Belittled, underpowered and always the underdog. Looks nice though. But first, we need to put a few things in.

For handling, Autoexe undercarriage braces and sway bars. http://www.autoexe.co.jp/ Sway bars connect opposite (left/right) wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring. A sway bar increases the suspension's roll stiffness—its resistance to roll in turns, independent of its spring rate in the vertical direction. The first function is the reduction of body lean. The reduction of body lean is dependent on the total roll stiffness of the vehicle. Increasing the total roll stiffness of a vehicle does not change the steady state total load (weight) transfer from the inside wheels to the outside wheels, it only reduces body lean. The total lateral load transfer is determined by the CG height and track width. The other function of anti-roll bars is to tune the handling balance of a car.

The undercarriage brace provides a rigid framework under the car to eliminate chassis flex, ensuring correct suspension geometry at all time. It bolts directly to the sub frame to further stiffen the uni-body. The under brace prevents flexing and twisting of the chassis by connecting specific points of the undercarriage to reinforce the chassis. Your car will feel more stable and solid, turn in more accurately and corner more quickly.

Target: Finishing the 12 hours MME in 2011