Wheels and Tyres
12th December 2011
Still a lot to do if I'm to make my completely arbitrary deadline of having the thing on its wheels by Christmas. The main thing was actually getting some wheels!
As I mentioned ages ago, I was rather keen on Team Dynamics Pro Race 1.2s. However, I had another look around as one does, and came across pictures of another dax with Rota Slipstreams on. It's a Rush MC, and is using 15 inch rims rather than the more common 17s you get on car engined Rushes. I rather looked the like of the rims, and also think that the car looks a bit better with a bit more tyre sidewall than you get with the ultra low-profile tyres. Looks a bit more "racey" to me, I guess it's the Formula 1 thing. There should also be ride and handling benefits (some of the caterham guys swear by 13 inch wheels for track days for exactly this reason).
Anyway, I was sold. The slipstreams don't come in quite the recommended size at the rear - you can have 15x7 or 15x8, Dax say a 15x7.5. However when I spoke to them, they gave me to believe that as long as the right size tyre will fit, then it's ok. For tyres I'm going with R888s which seem to be the de facto standard these days. The 225 x 50 R15 tyre fits anything between a 6 and 8 inch rim, so happy days! So I basically had a choice of a 15x7 or 15x8 rim. I went for the 15x8 in the end because the offset was closer to what the Dax requires, so I need a smaller (16mm) spacer - I'd have needed something like a 25mm one with the 7 inch rim.
The whole lot arrived a couple of days after ordering, along with spacers and longer studs for the rear. I took them along to my friendly local garage to get fitted, then stood back and revelled in the flat black lovelyness:
There's still been a lot to do before fitting them though. The steering column needed fitting and tightening, and I still have the issue with clearance to the oil filter. I fitted a remote take-off plate and I think it'll be ok - there's a good 1/2 inch which is what Dax quote as a good working clearance.
It's closer than I'd like, but should be ok. It took a long time to juggle the steering column up and down to get the right balance between position of the wheel and oil filter clearance. I had to move the bulkhead bearing up by a couple of cm, refix it, make a new cover to hide the hole, and all that jazz. Anyway, eventually that was all done and torqued up.
I also had to go through the front suspension and torque everything up, since I didn't have all the right sized sockets when I'd assembled it. And I'll want to get the tracking roughly right whilst it's all up in the air - it looked ok, but as soon as you put a wheel on it, it's clearly miles out. Add to that a couple of knackered wheel studs and there's plenty to do before "the grand lowering"
The Dax has Landed!
15th December 2012
Very quick update, she's down.
I fitted all the wheels, then winched the back end half-way down first, onto some axle stands. I had to remove the rear tub and attach the crane to the de-dion bar, as the rollbar was too high and too far forwards.
From there, I moved the crane to the front, and attached it to the engine. Then hoisted the front to the floor, very gently. No dramas except that the axle stands did start to teeter a bit half way down as the angles changed, so I had to tap them along the floor a little with a rubber mallet.
And that was that! The car now looks like a car, and much smaller as well. Steering is not too heavy, which I was a bit worried about, but it's fine.
So milestone achieved. I feel like I've got to a good point to end the year on.