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Messages - The Stig

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1
Post your Pics! / HERE IS MY MOWER
« on: May 16, 2006, 03:07:42 pm »
Nice looking mower!

The thing that struck me - as an English racer watching the video - don't you get bored and/or dizzy running round a track like that? We never race ovals even when we only get a small area at a show to run in.

You can have a look at video of one of our classic races - the overnight 12 hour race at http://www.whosracing.com/public/videos/12hour.wmv though I'd only recommend it if you have broadband!

Lots more here: http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=%22whos+racing%22

Enjoy!

2
Post your Pics! / UK race season kicks off
« on: May 06, 2006, 02:41:04 am »
Hydraulic cylinders?? I wish!! Nope, I'm afraid the steering is all down to good ol' human power. As was mentioned before, the machine articulates in the middle - there's a pic below of the linkage on my machine.



There was a machine built a couple of years back that had the trailer wheels steering as well as the middle being articulated, but the owner has not been seen out on the track since it's first trip out, and I've never seen it in action.

Transmission is via a torque converter - this class of mower (in the UK) is the only one where a converter can be used. #25 is based on a Hayter Condor - and mine (the black #7) is based on a Scag SWZ.

Any more info you need - just give us a shout!

3
Post your Pics! / UK race season kicks off
« on: May 05, 2006, 03:22:34 pm »
Just a few pics from our first Championship race of the season! Bottom one is of Tony on #25 discovering that Group 2's don't have THAT much traction in spite of the ag tyres - he tried to set off about three times before turning round to find that Stu and I had a hold of his trailer!






4
Briggs Flathead / water cooling a motor
« on: March 20, 2006, 12:34:00 pm »
Why would you want to? No-one else sees the need to do it - including the people who designed all these air cooled motors to start with. Just seems like a good way of wasting a whole load of time and money for no reason at all???

5
Briggs Flathead / can i spray alchohal
« on: March 20, 2006, 12:32:22 pm »
@franmlynch

Quote
i want to put a car injecter on the top of my carb and spray fluids like NOS will it work what should i burn


I really think you need to do a bit more thinking. You blew your last engine thanks to a fantastic $3.00 modification that lasted about five minutes. You really need to look into the subject first instead of just trying to bolt a load of things to a stock motor and expecting miracles. The guys in here know what they are talking about and have years of experience under their belts - if they're not doing something - there's probably a very good reason for it.

6
Driveline / T drives, Any good?
« on: March 09, 2006, 01:33:02 pm »
Here's a link to the specs for the units we use over here in the UK:

http://www.comerindustries.com/pdf/gearboxes/L-25A.PDF

We have a supplier here who does a very good deal for us - he's already looked into shipping to the States, and the total cost for one delivered to your door would be approximately $250. I guess there must be someone supplying them somewhere over your side of the pond though.

AFAIK, they are manufactured as an industrial gearbox - I've not yet come across any actually fitted to a working mower. They are however pretty much bomb proof - I can only think of one unit breaking here, and that was fitted with a 40mm hollow axle - it was the axle that sheared inside the box. The usual way is to replace the short axle in it with a longer one suitable for the tractor or bug it's being fitted to - the standard axle is 25mm diameter. None of our racers over here have ever had much luck with Peerless type trannys (or any luck come to that!) - and the fact that I can only think of one broken T-drive says a lot for them I reckon!

7
Tecumseh Engines / Another tacho question
« on: March 08, 2006, 04:34:36 pm »
Thanks for that George - I'll have a look!

All the best from the (wet) UK!!

8
Tecumseh Engines / Another tacho question
« on: March 08, 2006, 02:15:15 pm »
Hi all,

Does anyone know of a suitable tacho for a Kohler single cylinder unit. I'm looking for a "proper" tacho with a scale and a needle in it - not one of these new fangled digital things!

I've seen some auto type ones but not for a single cylinder - I read somewhere that they will give the wrong reading on a single and I don't really want to stick a home made scale on it so it reads right!!

Any ideas/pointers?

9
Driveline / motor idea
« on: February 25, 2006, 02:34:31 pm »
You can get torque converters in all sorts of power ratings. I use one on my race mower over here in the UK. You'll have to work a jackshaft into the set up somewhere to run the driven half of the converter on - and then a chain drive from the jackshaft to the rear axle. They are a very durable piece of kit - I've been racing with the same belt for two years and no plans for a new belt this year either! Just make sure that the driver and driven halves of the unit are aligned properly with each other, and that you have the right belt for the centre distances of the two halves.

Hope this helps!

10
Post your Pics! / And some more
« on: January 13, 2006, 03:14:53 pm »
To be honest, on a good track they're not all that uncomfortable - the trailing seats usually have suspension and that improves things a lot. Where you do feel it is on rough tracks - although the handlebars are mounted on rubber bushes, because there's no shock absorption at all in the roller, when it's jumping around on rough ground you really feel it when it lands hard!

At the end of the day though it's "proper" mower racing - these are the only machines English people actually recognise as a mower. They usually call the group 3's go karts, and Group 4's are not what the majority of English gardens get their lawns cut with, and group 2 Wheels look more like something from the Mad Max movies!!

11
Post your Pics! / And some more
« on: January 12, 2006, 02:34:20 pm »
Here I am trying to avoid the softest cow pats at a meeting last year - it's not ALWAYS muddy!



Here's one showing our two types of Group 2 - on the left is a Group 2 roller, and my machine (#7) is a Group 2 Wheels. We only race these in the northern club (NWLMRA) They are not allowed in the southern club (BLMRA) as they come from a commercial rather than a domestic background.



Here's my mate John going for it on his Group 2 roller:




These are what we call group 3's - based on Westwood Lawnbugs and usually with a tecumseh 10 horse lump:



And this is what we call Group 4 - more like what you guys will recognise.



Here's a closer pic of my old group 2 roller so you can see underneath - that's a metal roller underneath with tyre tread bolted to it - it's not what you'd call a smooth ride!! When the track gets rough you feel every little bump - though these are actually a lot lighter to drive than the Group 2 wheels. The Scag (#7) weighs in at something in the region of 140kg without me on it.



Andy

12
Post your Pics! / More English pics
« on: January 12, 2006, 02:08:48 pm »
Here's a night shot from the 2005 12 hour



Here's our 12 hour machine in it's stock colours:



Here it is a bit later:



Here it is in the middle of the night - don't the reflective numbers work well?!



And here's team captain John crossing the line at 8am the next morning:



More later!

Andy
NWLMRA #7 - The Stig
Group 2 Wheels Champion 2005
www.fastmower.co.uk

13
Tires / Tire patterns
« on: November 17, 2005, 02:03:09 pm »
A lot of our Group 4 (tractor) racers over here have started using what we call "aggressive fronts". AFAIK these are a Trelleborg tyre - everyone seems to have been quite impressed with them. Pics below:





The first pics is the aggressive front - second shows it compared to a Turf Saver

Not sure how these would go over your side of the pond - we tend to run on much rougher and twistier tracks and in all weathers over here.

14
Kohler Engines / Anybody use these??
« on: November 17, 2005, 01:44:52 pm »
I moved from Tecumseh to a Kohler CS12 on my Group 2 wheels machine over here in the UK. The Kohler has completely transformed the whole machine. It pulls like a train - loads of torque out of the corners - no waiting for it to pick up like the old tecumseh - just give it a handful and you're gone. Top speed is way over what it was last season too - I geared up a few teeth for this engine and it just never seems to have had enough - it's dropping a lot of Group 3 and 4 machines now - which has never happened before! Reliability - it's had two oil changes through the season, and the air filter cleaned a few times - it's never missed a beat and the oil always comes out golden. To say I'm impressed would be something of an understatement!!

Pictures and stuff at my website at
http://www.fastmower.co.uk

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