FF1600 conversions

[JR Ewing]

it was compared to the RF83

[Séamas M.]

Originally posted by ghinzani
Then again I thought the RF84 was pretty....

Are you wearing Ross Brawn's glasses???

[ghinzani]

Originally posted by Séamas M.
Are you wearing Ross Brawn's glasses???

quality, haha! Then again I must be because I thought Dave Coyne and Gareth Rees were very fair and sporting when driving FF cars...

[JohnMiller]

I've always wondered why people at Castle Combe and Oulton seem to go mad for Swift SC93s when I always thought the SC92 better and the SC94 and SC95 much, much better.

[kartingdad]

I think the Swift 95 seems ok!

[JR Ewing]

My esteemed opinion is that a Swift 94 chassis built up as a 95 is the best FF1600 overall and I can't see the wide pod new cars matching it as it had pretty wide track even then, 5'9" or so...

[Barny]

JR how do you mean an 94 built up as a 95, also how are they to work on, can you change the engine without removing the gearbox, and are they easy to set up?

[kartingdad]

really easy to work on, why would you want to change the engine the hard way, and yes, dead easy to set up.

[JR Ewing]

The SC94 was, I think, such a good car that they had the old problem of having to make 'improvemnets' to sell loads of new chassis the following year. Mainly small changes - some worked, some didn't but veyr little difference.
The cars are substantially the same but the 95 chassis weighs more than the 94.
Hence, you can take a 94 chassis and put all the later spec suspension on it and it will have the best Swift handling with the lightest weight.... but we're not talking a massive differnece here at all.

I also seem to recall the cars as being easy to work on as being quite spacious and wide when compared to the lovely RF90...

As KD says, why would you want to try to take the engine out without rolling the back end off??

[Barny]

Thanks for the info KD & JR, I got used to taking the engine out of my Reynard so simple and quick, compared to my currenet Van Dieman were you have to remove the entire rear end ,split the engine from the block and then having to check the set up on completion so more difficult and time cosuming especialy single handed in a small garage.

[blue nose]

Just reading the different points of view in this thread its the most interesting one I have found.

I think this year will show how the conversions compare,I feel lucky to have one we shall see.

[GolddustMini]

i think i might make my own car, follow the regs and whip yo' asses............... or would that be unsportsman like


i also picked up on the fact that someone in that thread seemed annoyed that peeps were hanging around too long in the series, instead of moving on up the slope, maybe not everyone wants to, and you cant tell me the appearence of folks like Gordon, Mularkey, ocasionally Neild etc, somehow detracted from the series, just because they had been there a while........ i doubt they do, simply because they make it more competitive, if no one got a jump on the rest of the feild, how would people improve, remove the carrot and the donkey stops....

[blue nose]

Only if you drive a Lada lol...

[GolddustMini]

that was written last summer, the early parts of this thread, fast forward to the end of the season and the zetec conversions werent quite as earth shattering as first invisaged, with the older cars still easily pulling there weight (or lack thereof compared to some conversions) will be interesting to see how much extra time there is when the zetecs get themselves dialed in

[blue nose]

Originally posted by formulafordster
I think its more a case of the Zetecs just not being there development wise. I think that very soon they are gonig to start to take large chunks off lap records.Its just a case of adapting the setup to the tires.A new chassis is always going to be better than an old one, over time they just soften up. This is coupled with the wider track and a stiffer chassis anyway.

It must stop because when there is more info availiable and they are sorted you are gonig to have to have one to be competitive. This means that we will have regional Zetec championships running alongside Kent championships, with exactly the same cars! just different engines. What is the point? We may as well have one or the other.

Wills is already going quicker this season in his RF02 than his swift, and its got miles of development to go. I knnow he would be at the front anyway, but thats not the point. It has to stop before it gets out of hand

I dont know about large chunks but over the season I can see the 2000 cars coming on a bit in all the different regions.

[blue nose]

It looks like a lot of newer cars running at the sharp end in australia.

[blue nose]

Has any one heard when the Swift update kit is ready and what has been changed?

[JohnMiller]

Originally posted by blue nose
Has any one heard when the Swift update kit is ready and what has been changed?

Wheel spacers to make track 7ft 6.
Should be about 4 seconds quicker and ready 'any day'

[blue nose]

I expected it to have an extra two wheels fitted at the front?

[blue nose]

I had a good look at the RF04 Kent today its a nice car. The new PI dash looks interesting and very easy to read at a glance.
The two off them will be out at the weekend it will be good to see them together on the track. Are there any more 04s out this year?

[Athgoe Racing]

yes George McAlpin has bought an RF04 Kent to contest in both mondello and kirkistown

[blue nose]

After a good test in Rf00 today I went quicker than my old Swift,considering the seat time I have had in the VD (just two days)compared to five years in the Swift.
So in my own opinion the conversions are a step forward at Anglesey,I am hopeing Oulton will be the same.