400bhp Corsa SRI race car - back on track

Due to motor racing commitments for Thorney Motorsport (Britcar 24 hours and BTCC Silverstone) work on the Z20 LEH engine conversion had to be put on hold. A little frustrating but fully understandable. Now that the racing season has drawn to a close TMS are back on the case with a vengance. The iterative process of developing the hybrid ECU system has necessitated stripping down various parts of the engine. This work is now complete so the task of rebuilding the engine is underway. The remainder of the underbonnet components - air intake system, intercooler rigid piping, oil pipework etc. can then be reassembled so that full ECU testing can be undertaken prior to firing up the engine for the first time - heady days indeed!

Thorney Motorsport unveil BTCC Insignia

Thorney Motorsport launched its new BTCC car, the NGTC-spec Vauxhall Insignia, on Saturday 8 October at its base in Crowfield, Northants.
Regarding the rather striking livery John Thorne had this to say .."the livery is a one off as so many people thought it looked like the Batmobile anyway and seeing as we are looking for a new title sponsor for next season (our 5 year deal with Tesco Momentum 99 comes to an end this year) we thought we'd do something different for Silverstone. The car is not officially Vauxhall backed (yet?) and so we decided to make it striking in terms of looks rather than use our own usual colours".
Following testing at Mallory Park on Wednesday 12 October the Insignia is expected to make it's debut at the final BTCC meeting at Silverstone on 16 October.
Thorney Motosport have prepared both our Corsa VXR Racing and Corsa SRI race car - here at 2gee Motorsport wish them every success at Silverstone.

Thorney BTCC Insignia Launch

Thorney Motorsport, our partner in our Corsa SRI race car preparation, is inviting fans to attend the launch of its new BTCC car, its NGTC-spec Vauxhall Insignia, on Saturday 8 October at its base in Crowfield, Northants. It is expected that the car will make its race debut in the BTCC’s final round of 2011 at Silverstone the weekend after (15-16 Oct). The launch will start at 10.00am with refreshments, food, a bouncy castle for kids and ample off-road parking organised. But spaces are limited. Email info@thorneymotorsport.co.uk to reserve a spot.

Sachs Organic Clutch - Corsa SRI Race Car

With the Corsa SRI race car putting out 400+ bhp and 385+ ftlb torque it was essential to ensure that all of this power could safely and reliably be laid down on the road. The last thing we wanted was to incur terminal damage and wear to the pressure and drive plates when driving the Corsa race car hard and fast.
Our solution has been to fit a ZF Sachs Performance Clutch and to have the standard OEM Astra VXR flywheel lightened and balanced. As the Corsa is to be driven on both the road and track we decided, at this stage, not to fit a single billet flywheel so as to avoid possible resonance and vibration transfer from the engine.
The Sachs clutch cover, matched to a rigid organic drive plate, which gives a virtual OEM pedal response is rated at 407 lb/ft torque when used in combination with this up-rated organic drive plate.

Uprated Alloy Radiator and Intercooler - Corsa SRI Race Car

The Corsa SRI-R race car had been stripped down to the bare essentials, thus freeing up more space within the engine compartment. Ever conscious of the need to provide maximum cooling efficiency, bearing in mind the 400bhp expected to be available from the engine, a bespoke all alloy radiator and intercooler with rigid piping was designed and manufactured.
The high capacity front mount intercooler drops intake temperatures by over 45% compared to the standard car and 65% when running a higher boost map. This allows a more agressive map on the ECU to take advantage of these lower temperatures and yields resulting higher power with this power more useable more of the time.
For more photos of our 400bhp Corsa race car rebuild visit our Corsa race car website.

Cam camber adjustment bolts - Corsa VXR Racing

When setting up the Bilstein B14s on the Corsa VXR Racing we noted that the front camber was unequal (-1°18' on the NS and - 0°54' on the OS). To try and achieve equal camber on both sides we are going to fit cam camber adjustment bolts which will allow both positive and negative camber changes up to approximately 1.75°. These bolts replace the original upper strut/spindle bolt and should help us to further optimise handling and reduce uneven tyre wear. Not sure what camber we will set the vehicle up with (probably start with 1/1½° negative camber) and take it from there. More details to follow once the camber has been adjusted, road tested and we are happy with the setup.

Corner Weighting - Corsa Race Car

Looking to the future once the Astra VXR engine transplant into the Corsa race car is finished attention will turn to ensuring that we have optimum chassis dynamics. Chassis dynamics is a flash title for all things that relate to the cars handling and ride. As well as setting up the suspension geometry Thorney Motorsport will also carry out corner weighting to fully optimise the car set up for the track. Proper weight distribution is critical in setting up a well-handling car, for a general overview of corner weighting click here