Nose Cone - quick release?

[Tim_Earlam]

Hello,

Im sure this must have been asked already, but I cant find it anywhere...  I have an MX5 sdv and find the nose cone a bit of a pain to remove (esp on the side of the autoroute in france when everything is hot!!).  Has anyone modified the fitting in any way to make it easy (and quick)?  If so how did you do it?

Tim

[tex]

where the bolts are into the chassis rails at the sides you could swap for 'L' shaped brackets and zsus fasteners.. - then you would need a one for under the front - could use a pin 'R' type clip - pull the pin it pops over the stud.. then the wiring - re wire to one plug both indicator pods

[Mark (smokey mow)]

As above ^^^ Caterham have a similar setup with vertical tabs a Dzus type fasteners.  You could also move the indicators to under the headlamps to save having to disconnect the wiring each time.

I'd also suggest looking into why the car is overheating.  I put 1000 miles on my mazda sdv last year driving it through France without so much of a hint of it getting too hot, although mine does have a coolant re-route.

[Tim_Earlam]

Thanks for the info.  The problem in France was a hose that kept popping off a metal pipe that didnt have a lip on the end for the clips to tighten around - had to remove the nose to fix at the roadside (its properly sorted out now)! It certainly meant i got practise at asking for water in French...!  We used the coolant route as per the manual and have had no overheating issues at all.

With regards to these fittings - I dont mind the indicators/wiring as it currently is, but what you describe regarding replacing the two bolts with Dzus fittings sounds perfect - do you have a link to the type of fitting you mean (sorry im not familiar with them!)?

Thanks v much!!

[Mark (smokey mow)]

Most of the usual motorsport suppliers stock them and car builders etc.

[salexander]

I have my nosecone fitted with a Dzus slide latch on each side - effectively replaces the bolts on the inside flange.  Plus, a dzus slide under the front of the nose wher the single bolt mounting is.  The nose comes off in second, no problem.

[scott beeland]

Westfield used the 3 dzus fastener route in the god ol' days....Then things went modern, and a pain in the a**!!

With 3x dzus and a 10p piece you could have the nose off in seconds

[TIG Brother]

 We used the coolant route as per the manual and have had no overheating issues at all.

i didn't know the coolant re-route was published in the manual    

[Mark (smokey mow)]

 We used the coolant route as per the manual and have had no overheating issues at all.

i didn't know the coolant re-route was published in the manual  <!--emo&  

It's not Rick, he used the "coolant route" published in the manual

[TIG Brother]

 We used the coolant route as per the manual and have had no overheating issues at all.

i didn't know the coolant re-route was published in the manual  <!--emo&  

It's not Rick, he used the "coolant route" published in the manual

exactly Mark    spot the problem  

[Tim_Earlam]

thanks for all the replies.

as for the "coolant route" hilarity...  as I said - I've had no issues with it.

[dombanks]

whats a slide dzus

[Welly Jen]

My car has three Dzus connectors holding the nose on. This used to be the way all Westtfields were done, once upon a time apparently. I've not found them very reilable. In particular, the one underneath the nose cone holding it to the bottom has failed twice in the last three years of ownership, falling out and having to be replaced. The connectors are supposed to be captive in the housing that is rivited to the nose, but they lose this ability pretty quickly, then you risk losing them, or the release springs when you take the cone off.

I'm actually considering going the other way and replacing them with M8 countersunk head bolts. These are a nice fit in the remaining Dzus fitting riveted in the fibreglass once the screw headed Dzus bit falls out. I plan to rivet some M8 tapped aluminium pieces under the chassis tabs, replacing the Dzus springs.

Will admit, the Dzus connectors are really fast for getting the nose cone off. I also had to take the cone off in a lay by in France last summer!

Jenny

[Welly Jen]

whats a slide dzus

I presume a slide dzus is one of these.

Jen

[Martin Keene]

As above ^^^ Caterham have a similar setup with vertical tabs a Dzus type fasteners.  You could also move the indicators to under the headlamps to save having to disconnect the wiring each time.

I'd also suggest looking into why the car is overheating.  I put 1000 miles on my mazda sdv last year driving it through France without so much of a hint of it getting too hot, although mine does have a coolant re-route.

This. My indicators are Caterham-a-like items mounted under the headlights, mixed with 3 Dzus fasteners means nose removal is literally a 20 second task.