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Heyhoe

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Everything posted by Heyhoe

  1. For whatever reason, I want a Honda E! I'm not really sure why, but hey. After looking into this you're looking at around a 6.5k deposit and then £259+ p/m (PCP over 3 years). Now, I'm sorry, but for a car which can only travel 120 miles on a single charge, that is just way too expensive for most people. I feel like the Honda E would be a second (or third) car for a middle class family to use for short commutes in the city or a work commuter. For most people, those kind of payments would likely be expected for a "main" use car. A multi purpose, go anywhere, do anything daily. Let's have a look at some other options.. Honda E (Standard model) - 137 Mile Range OTR Price: £27,180 Deposit: £6,549.26 Monthly: £259 Over: 3 Years Final Payment: £14,526 Miles Per year: 8,000 Renault Zoe - 234 Mile Range OTR Price: £27,595 Deposit: £6,550 Monthly: £168 Over: 3 Years Final Payment: £12.232 Miles Per year: 8,000 VW ID.3 - 216 Mile Range OTR Price £27,135 Deposit: £6,391 (Maximum Deposit) Monthly: £206 Over: 3 Years Final Payment: £14,070 Miles per year: 10,000 MINI Electric - 140 Miles OTR Price £26,000 Deposit: £6,550 Monthly: £235.15 Over: 3 Years Final Payment: £13,094 Miles per year: 8,000 Without going into EVERY brand available (because nearly all mainstream brands are now offering an all Electric option), you can see that You are looking to spend at least £25k to get into the all electric market. Renault have 0% on their PCP deals when you commit enough money down as a deposit which makes it the cheapest EV option. I've used the example of a 6.5k deposit, but in reality, who wants to give up 6.5k of their hard earned cash on a PCP deal only lasting 3 years? So the £168 per month may look attractive at first glance, but that leaps up to £350 p/m with £0 deposit.. Interestingly, for 3 years, £0 deposit and 8000 miles per year, it's actually £5 cheaper per month to go with the 3.9% deal rather than the "0%" deal. This is down to Renault's larger dealer contribution on the 3.9% deal. Internal Combustion Equivalents? It's actually quite hard to find the actual Equivalent due to the manufacturers loading the "EV" models with extra features. Some of which you may not need, or desire.. Below is a table comparing the "Base" models with Internal Combustion engines to the "Base" EV options. I've used the "On The Road" cost (OTR) as trying to use finance examples with all of their slight differences doesn't really get the point across. ICE EV Model Cost Model Cost Honda Jazz Hybrid SE i-MMD £19,045 Honda E (Standard) £28,215 Renault Clio £16,200 Renault Zoe £27,595 VW Polo £17,800 VW ID.3 £30,395 MINI ONE Classic £18,005 MINI Electric £26,000 When you combine this increased cost with the current difficulties facing EVs on a daily basis, it's clear (to me) that EV isn't really a viable option TODAY. With the governments decision to ban ICE cars by the year 2035 (but still allowing some HYBRID vehicles..?) Could we see the ICE second hand market hold strong after this point? Will ICE vehicles be the weapon of choice for the masses for the foreseeable future, and what can the government do about this? Is EV actually the answer? The monetary cost of EV is realistically only a small factor in an industry which has seen it's biggest shake up.. Ever. Can the infrastructure be built quick enough? Will the infra be compatible across all vehicles and for how long? Will the cars need updating? Will the chargers needs updating? Will there be an ACCEPTED ISO standard and will we stick to the standard for 5 years? 10 years? Or would this slow down the current rapid advancement of battery and charging technology, due to the lack of incentive for manufacturers to fund R&D? A quick search seems to suggest there are multiple "Standards" currently, which kind of defeats the object. The big players (manufacturers and electricity suppliers/retailers) need to agree on the most efficient and practical standard, then implement it into all EV vehicles. There are so many questions surrounding the transition to EV in an incredibly small amount of time. Written by somebody who has little interest/knowledge in the industry but quite fancies an EV. So, as of 19/08/2021 EV is not an option for me, nor 85% of the population.
  2. Heyhoe

    RAFMSA - Fulbeck

    until
    RAFMSA - Fulbeck
  3. Heyhoe

    RAFMSA - Wigan

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    RAFMSA - Wigan
  4. Heyhoe

    RAFMSA - Llandow

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    RAFMSA - Llandow
  5. Heyhoe

    RAFMSA - Rowrah

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    RAFMSA - Rowrah
  6. Heyhoe

    RAFMSA - Crail

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    RAFMSA - Crail
  7. Heyhoe

    RAFMSA - IOM!!

    until
    RAFMSA - IOM!!
  8. Still quite a few bugs (such as the wacky chain) but they have been fixed recently. This video is meant to demonstrate the AI capabilities. I can't say I'm amazed by them but it's hard to tell until we get our hands on it.
  9. Entries as on 6th December: • Mini Max: 19 • Junior Rotax: 45 • Senior Rotax: 57 • Rotax 177: 34 • Honda Cadet: 58 • Junior TKM: 37 • TKM Extreme: 49 • KZ2: 10 • IAME Cadet: 47 • Mini X30: 18 • Junior X30: 40 • Senior X30: 35 • TOTAL: 449
  10. Below is the provisional calendar for the 2019 British Karting Championships: ROTAX (Senior Rotax, Senior Rotax Max 177, Junior Rotax, Rotax MiniMax) 30-31 March: PFi 25-26 May: Rowrah 29-30 June: Mansell Raceway 17-18 August: Clay Pigeon 14-15 sept: Forest Edge 12-13 October: Whilton Mill IAME (Senior IAME X30, Junior IAME X30, Mini X30, IAME Cadet) 12-14 April: PFi 10-12 May: Shenington 7-9 June: Larkhall (subject to track extension) 12-14 July: Rowrah 23-25 August: Wigan 27-29 September: Whilton Mill TKM INCLUDING HONDA CADET (Senior TKM Extreme, Junior TKM, Honda Cadet Championship*) 27-28 April: PFi 18-19 May: Rissington 22-23 June: Fulbeck 27-28 July: Shenington 7-8 September: Kimbolton 19-20 Oct: Whilton Mill *Will have its own championship title. KZ 18/19 May – Rissington 22/23 June – Fulbeck 27/28 July – Shenington 7/8 September – Kimbolton
  11. The new name of the Motorsports Association, Motorsport UK. See below for Motorsport UK's press release concerning the name change Along with the new name, there are HUGE changes being made to the format of "MSA" karting in the UK. If you were expecting to see SuperOne hosting the British Karting Championships in 2019, think again! In a shock move, Motorsport UK have created a new department called Karting UK Operations. This department will be responsible for hosting the British Karting Championships in 2019. Motorsport UK have announced the team of individuals who will be running the show. Click below for the official press release. Now, it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to realise that the team is essentially made up of Trent Valley Kart Club committee members. TVKC run their club meetings at Paul Fletcher International (PFI). Hopefully we will see fair decisions benefiting all the clubs within the UK. Here is what MSUK say about the 2019 British Karting Championship: MSUK have announced which classes will be ran as British Championships in 2019, these are: Bambino (6-8 Years) Comer Cadet (3-13 Years) Honda IAME Junior (11 - 16 Years) IAME X30 Mini Rotax MiniMax Junior TKM IAME X30 Junior Rotax Junior Max Senior (15 Upwards) IAME X30 Rotax Max TKM Extreme KZ (Gearbox 16+) SuperKarts (Long Circuit - 16 Upwards) 125 National 250 National 450 2019 will see a return of the KZ class. Early indicators are that this class will be ran to the KZ2 CIK regs as opposed to KZ UK which Super 4 utilise. Will SuperOne survive as the UK's premier IKR series? Will this move be a positive one for club level racing? Can MSUK run a successful British Karting Championship? Will Super 4 continue to enjoy large grids for KZ UK? There are many questions which will only be answered in time. Such a big shakeup is bound to produce winners and losers and we just hope that ultimately it has a positive effect on karting in the UK. We are interested to see how this will pan out as it really is the biggest change to UK karting in the last 20 years. See below topic to keep up to date on the 2019 British Karting Championship
  12. Also, the lace thing never really caused any issues over the years. That was just me being anal in the review!
  13. It's 4-5 years later and I'm still using these boots! They have seen better days and the toes have small holes in them from the constant battering of the UK paddocks. I think i'll splash out in 2019 on a new pair.. *Runs off to see if they are still available*
  14. This fell flat on it's face... It's two years later and the review we wrote is, to put it simply, useless. Black Delta (developer) has been silent for over a year... Until recently! The game has been released on steam for Early Access users at a discounted price. We will likely write another review but its hardly the exclusive review we promised years ago! We hope to start this in Jan/Feb. Paul.
  15. Due to a huge software update and negligence on my part, the site will be undergoing some much needed TLC. The Classifieds section is gone for now as it was incompatible with the new software. Hopefully this will be re-introduced at a later date. Stay tuned!
  16. Another option if you are racing at a level slightly above arrive and drive is the Tillett insert (It's a bit pricey!) https://www.tillett.co.uk/shop/shopexd.asp?id=82
  17. Most rib protectors provide protection for the back. So if you are racing your own kart etc these will usually provide adequate protection. It's worth noting, that most drivers usually get some bruising around the hips or lower back after a full weekends racing. This is unavoidable unless you spend lots of time tweaking/padding this for the individual driver. Is this arrive and drive karting where the seat is considerably too big for him? Calibre do some great seat inserts if that is the case. I can't actually find the link the the calibre brand but this is essentially the same thing: https://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/karting/seats-accessories/pitking-products-seat-insert Hope this helps a little. @Robd
  18. Yesterday I found the time to watch some of the F1 Practice at Sochi. I generally filter out what the commentators are saying as it's usually Ted Kravitz waffling on about something. This session was no different and when Ted asked David Croft a question he replied with "Sorry, what was that Ted". David Croft is clearly using the same filter as me and just blanks out the white noise which is the voice of Ted Kravitz. Anyway, they got into a conversation about points in Formula One. Currently, points are awarded as shown below: 1st - 25 2nd - 18 3rd - 15 4th - 12 5th - 10 6th - 8 7th - 6 8th - 4 9th - 2 10th - 1 There are no points for qualifying and no points for fastest lap etc etc. Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_World_Championship_points_scoring_systems Traditionally, World Championship Points have been used as part of the "Prize Money" at the end of the year. This is an EXTREMELY complicated area and something which I don't really want to go into great detail about. I have, however, included a few points below to demonstrate this: Ferrari get a large cut of prize money regardless of performance or finishing position. Teams outside the top 10 do not receive ANY prize money. Teams are categorised into "Columns" which means a team that finishes 9th, may get less than a team who finishes 10th. Bizarrely, depending on how many championship points were won in the previous season, dictates how much each driver has to pay for their FIA Super License. A new driver would pay around 10,000 euros, whereas a very successful driver could pay around 100,000 euros! Let's forget about money for the time being and concentrate on the actual awarding of points in a race which determines the championship order. In karting, for example, we generally award points for every position. Each championship can vary the way they do this slightly but the principle is the same. If we look at BTCC, they award points down to 15th. F4 and other open wheel championships appear to award points down to 10th, as per F1. I'm hoping somebody can enlighten me into this logic. For me, awarding points to everyone would encourage hard racing right the way through the grid. It would also encourage drivers to carry on racing if their car has taken some damage which is effecting the performance. Thoughts?
  19. ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ?️ ? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ? ?? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ?? ? ??? ??? ? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ??? ??? ???? ???? ???? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ⛑ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ✌? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ☝? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ✍? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ⛹? ⛹? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ✌? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ☝? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ✍? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ⛹? ⛹? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ✌? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ☝? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ✍? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ⛹? ⛹? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ✌? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ☝? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ✍? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ⛹? ⛹? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ?? ?? ?? ✌? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ☝? ? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ✍? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ?? ??? ??? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ⛹? ⛹? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ️ ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ⛈ ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ⛸ ? ⛷ ? ?️ ?️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ?️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ⛴ ? ️ ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ⛱ ? ? ⛰ ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ⛩ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ⏱ ⏲ ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ⚒ ? ⛏ ? ⛓ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ? ? ?️? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ️ ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ? ? ?️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ?️ ? ? ?️ ? ️ ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ?️ ? ?️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ⏸ ⏯ ⏹ ⏺ ⏭ ⏮ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ️ ️ ️ ️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?? ? ? ? ? ? ?️ ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ☹ ☠ ️ ☄ ⌨ ☸ ☦ ☪ ☮ ☢ ☣ #⃣️ 0⃣️ 1⃣️ 2⃣️ 3⃣️ 4⃣️ 5⃣️ 6⃣️ 7⃣️ 8⃣️ 9⃣️ ⏏ ☘ ⚒ ⚙ ⚗ ⚖ ⚔ ⚰ ⚱ ⚜ ⚛ ? ⛑ ⛰ ⛴ ⛈ ⛱ ️ ⛸ ⛷ ⛹ ⛏ ⛓ ⛩ ?️ ❦ ♕ ♛ ♔ ♖ ♜ ☾ → ⇒ ⟹ ⇨ ⇰ ➩ ➪ ➫ ➬ ➭ ➮ ➯ ➲ ➳ ➵ ➸ ➻ ➺ ➼ ➽ ☜ ☟ ➹ ➷ ↶ ↷ ✆ ⌘ ⎋ ⏎ ⏏ ⎈ ⎌ ⍟ ❥ ツ ღ ☻
  20. *****IMAGES COMING SOON***** Introduction Tyre pressures and tyre temperatures are one of the most important aspects of karting and circuit racing in general. Getting them right can mean the difference between being at the front or plummeting to the back of the field in the first few laps. Today we look at a device which can measure and record both tyre pressure and tyre temperature. The Alfano Digital Air Pressure Gauge with integrated temperature measurement is a premium bit of kit which comes in at roughly £350. It’s available without the temp functionality for a more reasonable £240. The cheaper unit offers all the functionality and accuracy of the more expensive unit. If you are only bothered about pressures, this is the unit to go for. images of two units First impressions For £340 you get: Alfano A-188 PT Unit Alfano A-1890 Temp sensor Carry case The carry case is OK. The handle is on the top but the zip is on the bottom, which could cause some embarrassment on the dummy grid when you drop your very expensive pressure gauge. No doubt you will have had comments along the lines of “How much?!? For a pressure gauge?? You’re mad”. So when it smashes into pieces you may get a few sniggers! carry case images Carry case aside, the actual unit is very well built. It feels solid and could probably take quite a few knocks. Having said that, you will probably want to keep it in its case given its value. unit images The unit feels good in the hand and is best suited to right-handed users considering the location of the pressure release valve. unit images The unit has a sleeve attached to the right-hand side which would be an ideal place to store the flexible interface tube. Unfortunately, Alfano thought differently and decided this can only be used to store the detachable temperature sensor. It’s a shame as when you just want to use the unit as a pressure gauge you will detach the sensor anyway. sleeve images We can see why Alfano has provided somewhere to keep the pressure sensor because of its fragile nature. The pressure interface tube is much more robust. When you turn on the unit, it’s not as straightforward as some other digital gauges so this is a little intimidating at first. initial screen images Once you have used this for a few sessions, it soon becomes second nature! General Use and Observations Here is a quick look at some of the features and specs: Records date & time for each set of data Records track temperature Release valve to reduce tyre pressure Temperature is recorded in 3 areas for each tyre (inner, middle and outer) Record pressures and temperature before and after each session with difference displayed Records up to 495 'sets' of data and up to 5 different vehicles. One 'set of data includes 34 units of data including time, date, pressures for each tyre before race, pressure for each tyre after race, track temp, tyre temps before race, tyre temps after race. Visualtyre software provides screen configuration and data analysis once downloaded to a PC, laptop or tablet. Configurable for ºC or ºF and Bar or Psi Backlight Powered by 2 x AA batteries Display 59mm x 69mm Weight 506g Accuracy /- 0.01 bar (0.15psi) / /- 1 ºC (2 ºF) There are a few things you will need to set up before you are ready to go testing but these are well documented in the instruction manual so we won’t go too deep into the details. Briefly, they consist of (from the instruction manual): Assignment of the numbers of the vehicles Regulating of the clock and the calendar Choice of the unit Bar/PSI Choice of the unit C°/F° Choice of the vehicle Configuration of the sequence of the captures Calibration of the Pressure sensor Calibration of the Temperature sensor We like the ability to set your own order of measurement, whether that includes tyre temperatures or just tyre pressures. Being able to select which tyre we take the measurement from first is also handy. We suspect that most users will not require more than one vehicle (up to 99 slots available) but larger teams may find a use for this. It’s in areas like this that you realise that this unit is a serious piece of kit and is aimed at all levels of motorsport. The ability to transfer the captured data into the VisualTyre software using the optional data transfer is pretty trick and this is what classifies this unit as a “Data Logger”, opposed to just a "Tool". Fundamentally, this gauge will not give you any more detailed information than your average gauge. What it does however, is provide you with a method to quickly take measurements and store them. It gives you a clear understanding of what the tyres are doing when you get back to the awning, instead of trying to remember things when you are flying around after a race etc. If you store your cold pressures before a session and then take the hot temperatures immediately after a session, the gauge clearly displays the Delta between the two measurements. You can then adjust your cold temperatures to suit. For temperatures, the same principle applies. Before the session, you will be asked to take cold tyre temperatures and tarmac temperature and after a session you will be prompted to take the same readings. Down to business By now you should have a good idea of what to expect from this unit, so now we are going to demonstrate how it actually works! The main thing to get right with this gauge is the "Sequence of Capture". Once this is set it is simply a case of placing either sensors in the correct position and pressing one button. This is aided on the display by various indicators. Images of display going through stages of taking cold temps (timeline) then hot temps (timeline) May include temps?? We have made a few videos of the gauge in use to give you a good idea of how it all falls into place. Video of whole sequence, annotated with on-screen captions. Summary We have uploaded the manual in PDF format below. Alfano PT Tyre Control Manual.pdf Pros: Calibrated Accuracy Large storage capacity Pressure & Temp combined Great quality Backlight Auto-off Cons: Accuracy 0.15 (More of an annoyance, would rather it be 0.2) Zip position on case No pressure interface hose storage.
  21. Heyhoe

    LapChrono

    Introduction LapChrono is a simple stopwatch app which is designed to be used at the side of the circuit to time up to six drivers in the same session. The app is free to download and allows full access to the app for 7 days. Once the trial is over, you are limited to recording data to one driver. First Impressions When we say this app is simple, we mean SIMPLE! The whole app experience is dominated by the timing screen shown below. This screen contains 8 tiles, 2 for each driver/kart. The app shows tiles for 4 drivers by default and has the sector tiles set to 3 sectors. There is a simple menu at the top of the screen which includes; Driver Numbers, End Session, Reset Data, Number of Sectors, Save Data and Help. Aside from the simple menu dropdowns, that's all there is to it. It loads really fast and simplicity in an app like this is key. General Use & Observations The app is operated by tapping on either the outside or inside tile for each driver. The outer tile is a single lap, whereas the inner tile is used to break down the lap into sectors. Single Sector Lap (Outer) Tapping the outer tile for Driver 1 will start the lap. Tapping the same tile again will start the next lap and show you the previous lap time. Continuing to tap this tile on subsequent laps will also show you the best lap. Example of single sector timing. Purple indicates fastest lap of the session and yellow indicates the last lap. Multiple Sector Lap (Inner Tile) Tapping the inner tile will start the lap. Tapping the tile again will end S1 and start S2. Tapping once more will end S2 and begin S3. The next tap will end S3 and create a new lap starting with S1. Last lap and best lap data will be displayed on the outer tile. You do not need to tap the outer tile when using sectors. Example of multiple sector timing. Sector times appear for the previous lap only. Best lap and last lap times are displayed in the outer tile. If you do not want to break the lap down into sectors, you can simply set the number of sectors to "No sectors". This will turn off the inner tiles and simplifies the interface further. You also have the option to assign your drivers race number to each driver. This will also show up in the data when reviewing after a session. The placement of the outer tiles is well thought out and allows you to use your thumbs at the edge of the screen without having to think about too much when concentrating on the kart. This works great for single sector lap timing. Multiple sector lap timing is slightly more difficult as you have to stretch further to tap the inner tiles. We think a good addition to the app would be the ability to switch the position of the tiles when sectors are enabled. Trying to time 4 karts with up to 4 sectors per lap is never going to be easy. It would require 16 taps in each lap which may only be 35-40 seconds long. That's a tap every 2-3 seconds! (That's assuming the karts are evenly spread over a lap, which they won't be!) I'm sure there are some experienced guys out there that could manage this, but it was too much for us! LapChrono tries to make the timing of your tap as accurate as possible by allowing you to hold the tile and release it when required. This was a little alien at first but does help as you can ensure you are holding the correct part of the screen and then look up to concentrate on the karts position. This is something which is unique to touch screen devices as a dedicated lap timer will usually have tactile buttons. Once you are familiar with the device, you don't really need to look away from the track. Reviewing Data Once we have captured a session, you have to save the data to the phone. You do this by clicking on the save icon on the menu. All data is saved to a folder named prefecon.lapchrono in the devices folder system. To access these files you will need to navigate through your phone's menus or file manager app. Although storing a file on the device in a widely recognised format (in this case HTML) is very handy when you want to export it to some other software or device, it's not very practical. It would be great to be able to access the data from the app interface. Below is the data which is stored in the HTML file. Again, we see a very simple screen with very little in the way of eye candy. The data is tabulated as you would expect. There is an attempt to format some of the data with colours but we are not sure this is working correctly. It appears as though the green sectors are the 2 quickest sectors per sector and the purple sector is... Well, we don't really understand the significance of the purple sector if we are honest. It's the quickest sector 2, but that's all we can tell from the data. An improvement to this would be to highlight data (fastest sector, best lap etc) on a per driver basis in one colour, and then use purple as the overall (All drivers) fastest sector, best lap etc. This would be widely understood as it's the standard in most motorsport timing applications. Summary Let's not forget, this app is FREE! If you are after a utility to time a few drivers and also the ability to break the lap into sectors, it does the job. As touch screen interfaces go, it's simple to use and accurate. Capturing the data while the karts are on track is straightforward. What lets this app down is how it handles the captured data. There are no tools for naming or organising session data and no way of accessing the data from within the app. Once you view the data, it's basic raw data with questionable use of colours to highlight important data. We suspect these things will be improved on in a later release. Pros: Free/Cheap Simple Easy to use Multiple Sector functionality Cons: No access to data within app Lack of ability to organise sessions Data presentation confusing/basic
  22. If you are wondering which OTK bars you need to buy to make sure you will be in the scrutineers good books this year, see below! 2013 or newer OTK chassis with M6 or M4 bodywork: + 2012 or older OTK chassis with M6 or M4 bodywork: + All bumpers are listed on this page: http://www.spellfame.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000099.cgi?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fwww.spellfame.co.uk%2facatalog%2fNose-Cones.html&WD=viper&PN=OTK_.html%23a2614#a2614 If you are having difficulty finding the viper bar, for some reason Spellfame do not list it under the OTK > Bodywork category, only under "OTK spares for Tony Kart > OTK Bumpers Front & Rear".
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