noggin Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 if you need a hand then im happy to help one evening or so. hopefully its nothing and is just the way it is. Thanks mate, You're a star! Might have to wait for some lighter evenings tho'. I was going to head up the garage this afternoon but it looks like rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 possibly or bring it over to mine for a drive one weekend. cant this one but maybe 12th 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Sounds good, mate. Let's hope for some good weather! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 As it was a nice day yesterday I took the car out for my first proper drive. I've had a couple of short blasts but no more than ten miles. Yesterday I did about 45 miles to give me a chance to learn the car. I started off a bit jerky and managed to hit the accelerator instead of the brake a couple of times. I left the indicators on for long periods after forgetting to switch them off. I had been using first gear everytime I slowed down but I've realised that it's fine to just use second gear and hardly bother with first. That made my driving easier and smoother - it'll still spin the wheels and start snaking in second! The issue about cooling has been bugging me and I was hoping the longer run would help it make sense. Before I left I had a good look at the cooling system. There's a lot of it! Far more volume than a standard car due to all the pipework. I figured that would be one factor to explain it being slow to warm up. The outdoor temperature of my previous drives has been 5 - 6c, yesterday was more like 12c. I thought that would help as well. This time I let the car sit on idle for ten minutes before I set off. I would have done longer but the guy who lives next to my lock up is a miserable b******d and he was giving me the evil eye from his lounge window! I set off slowly and drove a few miles in slow moving traffic. The temp needle moved a bit and was showing about 50c. As I got to quieter roads I kept it gentle, not wanting to go more than 3000rpm with a cold engine. I stopped and filed with a full tank of fresh fuel. I had no idea how long the old stuff had been in there. After about 5 miles the needle hadn't moved much so I pulled over into a layby so I could let it sit and idle for another ten minutes. So there I was sitting in my Westfield in a layby and a very friendly man came over to talk to me. I got out to show him the car as I thought that was what he was interested in. It soon became clear it wasn't the car, it was me he was interested in!! I didn't realise it was that sort of layby!! I made my excuse and left, rather amused by the incident! As I set off the temp had gone up to 65c, which is the hottest I'd ever seen it. After another 10-15 miles I dropped into my mates garage to show him my new toy. I mentioned to him about the cooling but he does remaps on VW/Audi. I suggested doing what my old grandad did with his old car in winter and put a piece of cardboard across the radiator grill. So we cut a piece to fit the top half of the grill and fixed it with ties. It looks a bit of a bodge but who cares if it works. I set off on the home journey which is about 20 -25 miles and I was able to do a non-stop run this time. By the time I'd got a few miles the temperature started to rise and sat at 80c - much better and the car was running better. By the time I got home it was up 85+. It seems the little bit of cardboard did it's job. It's time to think about fabricating a nicer looking non-cardboard alternative! One huge difference I noticed in driving a Westfield to a tintop is the attention one gets! I wasn't quite ready for that. When stuck in traffic a few pedestrians saw it fit to make some comment. Most of the were either 'nice car mate' or 'I bet you're cold!' I got loads of nods and smiles from other drivers but the real piece de resistance came as I got stuck in slow traffic as I drove past the local school as all the kids came out! I got comments and shouts from must be 50 or them! Most of the stuff I heard was 'nice car' love the car, mate' etc but I did hear one girl call it 'stupid' ! One can feel a tad exposed in a car with no roof. Anyway I'm pleased with how my first drive went. I'm less worried about the cooling thing and I've learned a lot about driving it. It's an even nicer day today but my GSXR1000 hasn't been out this year and could do with an airing. Out with the Westfield tomorrow, methinks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigals Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Can you post pictures of your cooling system as it doesn't sound quite right taking so long to come up to temperature, depending on how the car is plumbed in, mine takes about five minutes to get up to the 85/90 mark, it could be worth borrowing a infrared thermometer and checking the temp of the hoses, to determine if your gauge is reading correctly or if your car is overcooling. it was common for the plumbing layout to over cool on some cars, have a search of the forum as there are lots of good posts about it, I only mention it as if your gauge is reading incorrectly and your stopping the air flow then you could be running to hot, it's more likely your running overcooled and need to tweak your plumbing, but ether way worth checking out, hth Alan 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 @bigals I knew I had an issue with the cooling and I've read a few threads on the subject. Being hopeless with mechanical things and being a new owner, I'm stumped! I took a few photos the other day. I'm sorry some are not that good especially at the front. eta I messed that up and the images (now deleted) were postage stamp size) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 oh b*******! I'll try again later! bl**** technology!! Hurumph! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc4176 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I am in Leicestershire burbage I am out for a drive tom if you want to meet up I will show the the cooling mod you need to do,done mine last year runs at 90 all the time warms up in about 5 mins 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 That would be ideal and very kind of you! I don't really know Burbage. I'm in South Wigston. Where were you planning on driving? Could we work out a time and place? I was hoping to get out by about midday - not too late, I hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc4176 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 No dodgy lay-bys how about the first lay by towards enderby from fosse park by the police station Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Ok. That sounds about as un-dodgy as it gets!! When shall we say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjc4176 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 midday sounds good what gsxr 1000 have you got had 6 gsxr in the past quality bikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Midday it is then. Look forward to meeting. I've got a 15 plate gsxr1000AL5 that I bought new last year, It came with a loud yoshimura exhaust and abs as standard. I've only just run it in. It's only done 1000 miles. Cheers Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombanks Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I'm sure Wigston is just around the corner from me. My zetec used to take 10 or so mins just standing to get to temp. Driving was quicker. You shouldn't need any blocking out of the rad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noggin Posted March 14, 2016 Author Share Posted March 14, 2016 @dombanks You're right it shouldn't need blocking. However, I drove 23 miles and it wasn't up to temperature. I know the blocking isn't ideal but it's working for now. I figure it's better than driving around with the temps below 60. I need to do the 'zetec cooling mod'. A huge 'thank you' to @bigals kindly who took the time to meet up with me and explain the cooling mods I need to do. It's just a case of sourcing the bits I need and finding someone to bolt it up for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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