Will Zetec's be adopted by the Clubman

[jminsh]

Htf do i know !lol

[JNWRF01]

Zetec slicks give you an instant half a second (more at places like Snett)- but by the end of a quali session they are basically shot. You will get prob another 200 laps at this lower performance (without any real change in speed)...what you save on engine rebuilds you spend on tyres.

The basic problem with zetec that you are only ever racing against a handful of clubmen - most are young lads trying to make racing their career - in FF1600 its the otherway around. Most of the zetec "club" runners have either gone to kents, going to kents or doing both next year....

In terms of driving to be honest they are very similar in the lack of real grip & grunt - and at the end of the day its driving a racing car and you're not in the office....

[Walshy]

I thought you were the man that knows.

Finger on the pulse. Font of all knowledge. Where it's at!!!!!!

i thought you lived racing..........Or do you just sell it.

[JNWRF01]

Zetec slicks £400 wets £420 f

[Triple J Motorsport]

About the same as ACB10s £390 inc vat but the last about 8 laps mega then drop off

They aren't easy to drive as you need to be smooth in the right places but you throw it at other corners and set up is so tricky as they are over tyred because of the engine height (get the back sliding and you nearly stop) but the handling is so similar to a new kent when you get it right PM me if you want to know more Walshy I switched due to tyre cost and lack of numbers and races.

Originally Posted by Walshy

And they are consistant. All the way through their life after that initial first 4 laps or so?

How much are a full set of current Zetec slicks?

[Triple J Motorsport]

Originally Posted by JNWRF01

Zetec slicks £400 wets £420 f

What with carriage Jeremy I bought 3 sets at the festival yeah the wets are about £420 ish

[Walshy]

No. That's fine mate.

Just trying to build up a picture of the pro's and con's of Zetec's filtering down into a club level racing scenario.

Not promising by the looks of things.

Originally Posted by RayFF

About the same as ACB10s £390 inc vat but the last about 8 laps mega then drop off

They aren't easy to drive as you need to be smooth in the right places but you throw it at other corners and set up is so tricky as they are over tyred because of the engine height (get the back sliding and you nearly stop) but the handling is so similar to a new kent when you get it right PM me if you want to know more Walshy I switched due to tyre cost and lack of numbers and races.

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by Tim Draffan

I looked seriously at the 750 MC Zetec series a few years back and the conclusion I reached was that (at the time) although the cars are relatively cheap to buy and run the racing was quite tame and the series was propped up with Formula 4 cars.

FF1600 offers the chance to race almost any weekend through out the season and against very (skilled?) drivers.

Assuming the word I have added above is in the spirit meant, I couldn't agree more about FF1600.

Personally, I started in FF1600 went 750MC Zetec, then Monoposto, than BARC SS.

While all series perhaps have true pace at the very, very front - strength in depth speed reduced continually as I progressed above, with no disrespect intended to anyone.

Hence I raced in FF1600 again.

I'm not so sure about Zetec engines being bomb-proof Walshy as, IIRC, there can be issues with over-revving and stretching of components, and I can still remember a Zetec engine rebuild bill that was quite breathtaking to me when I got it...

Also, to my knowledge, there is no difference between 1600 and Zetec nosebox prices for the relevant years of car. Finally, having hit the concrete wall in an RF01 at Rockingham I am quite sure that the nosebox saved me a substantial amount of money, like a grand plus. And kartingson's Swift 95 honeycomb nosebox saved him similarly at the WHT...

[kartingdad]

Zetec tyres are very fickle. when Stuart was doing zetec last year, he would reckon that a single lap was it in qualifying, maybe 2 if you were lucky. If the session was red flagged early on the tyres were useless as far as front running pace was concerned.

It was either NEXA or JLR that used to sit out the first 5 mins of a session as that was when most of the red flags occured and then go out and post a time in the hope that the sessions would be uninterrupted.

I am fairly sure that if you were to look at MST data from last year, most people put their fastest time in fairly early on.

Also, we found some significant differences in the tyres, which could make you chase setup round for ages. Throw away some 10 - 15 lap old tyres, put some new ones on and hey presto- car handles again and times plummet to suit.

[StephenRae]

I thought Zetecs changed to slicks and wets when it was found that they were no quicker than a 1600 on a good day!

[cbactur]

The Hillclimb & Sprint Association have created a class for FF Zetecs next year in their speed championship:

http://www.hillclimbandsprint.co.uk/calendar.htm

which should add to the market for all those Zetec's out there.

[andy97]

I fully understand that the Zetecs have never been as popular for drivers as the FF1600 cars - perhaps the CofG is too high and perhaps they are not as fluid to drive but I would have still thought that they would have made an ideal car for the clubman in Mono 1800 or Class E of 750mc F4.

With the best will in the world these are not the most competitive of classes but the Zetec cars are ideal for the sorts of driver that wants to compete at this level. John Miller' unfortunate experience aside, the engines do have a reputation for being bomb proof and spares are readily available, even tyres can be had second hand if you are really on a tight budget (like me).

Hundereds of cars must have been built since the category was introduced and only a very small proportion can have been converted to Kent power, so there must be a loads of cars sitting in garages that would make very cheap clubman racers. Basically I am astonished that Mono 1800 and F4 are not flooded with F Ford Zetecs, these categories would seem to be the natural home for this sort of car.

[JohnMiller]

Originally Posted by andy97

John Miller' unfortunate experience aside

i don't think the costs were anything unusual though AY.

[Barry Pomfret]

Recently had one of our Zetec engines rebuilt, the engine had done 3 seasons, mainly novice drivers so had several over revs, cost £1,499.

[JohnMiller]

Well, that's not bad is it. About the same price as a Kent but more mileage.

[JNWRF01]

Any idea what addional mileage is expected if they go for lightened flywheels/steel cranks in the kents (ie what sort of mileage are the US FF drivers getting)...

[Triple J Motorsport]

Cranks and flywheels won't cut the time between performance rebuilds mate.