Paul Kuzan's Sylva Blog

2011-08-29T19:37:00.000Z

Below is a continuo organ based on a Yamaha YPT-210. Details of the chassis modification was shown in my previous post.

Here's the finished product. Will be on ebay soon.

2011-08-18T21:31:00.004Z

During our stay in Bristol, we went to Musicroom where they had a Yamaha YPT 210 for £89. Now, if you have read this blog you will know that I'm a fan of M-Audio Keystation 61es keyboards. At that price I just had to buy the Yamaha keyboard and give the competition a go. I must admit the Yamaha has a much better feel. However that's only part of the story. One of the benefits of the M-Audio product is its convenience; the keyboard was almost made to be used in a virtual organ. This can not be said for the Yamaha! As can be seen below I had to completely dismantle the keyboard and spend at least an hour cutting and filing the plastic chassis. Not sure if I prefer cutting the M-Audio keys or modifying the Yamaha chassis!

I decided to remove the keys, and contact boards so I had unhindered access to the chassis. I then removed the plastic key cheeks and the key slip with a hacksaw. I used a file to finish things off.

Below is the modified keybed with mockup cheeks. Unfortunately the height of the keys is 68mm above the base. This will make it tricky to achieve an AGO spacing in a 2 or 3 manual block.

Another Yamaha downside is the circuit board layout. The M-Audio boards are very compact. I can't see an easy way of eliminating any of the 3 boards.

This keyboard will be used in a single manual chamber organ. I'll use an X-Keys Stick for stops and the Prib sample set. Should be a very nice little organ.

Needs to be finished by 24th September for a concert at Romsey Abbey. Better get a move on!

2011-06-09T20:18:00.001Z

So the pedalboard now works....well sort of! I have now broken 2 reed switches. It is probably just me being clumsy but I think a more robust solution is called for especially as I plan to use the pedalboard as part of my organ rental business (more about that later).

Instead of reed switches I'm going to use reed sensors. What's the diference? Not much really. A reed switch is just the fragile glass capsule. A reed sensor is a reed switch mounted in a housing. They are used for burglar alarms, limit and level sensors etc. The ones I'm planning to use have the switch epoxied into a plastic case. All of those wooden blocks I carefully crafted all for nothing!

I'm just about to order 3 pistonless CMK3 keyboards from Classic Organ Works. I was tempted to buy Fatar TP/60L keyboards from one of the UK suppliers but the price of the CMK3, which includes MIDI controller, was just too competitive. The only downside is that I'll have to pay and wait for delivery from Canada.

I'm going to use either Klann or Syndyne pistons and arrange them in a more traditional layout than the Classic keyboards. Cool thing is the Classic MIDI controller is the same for all of their keyboards, with or without pistons. This means that I don't need another controller for the pistons. I will, however have to diaode matrix wire the switches. Luckily 1N4148 diodes are 1p each from Farnell!

2011-05-31T12:27:00.000Z

I have had a 30 key pedalboard awaiting midification in my workshop for a while. In order to get things moving, I ordered reed switches and loom csr32p from Midiboutique. As with all of their products, it is beautifully executed. However there are a couple of unanswered engineering concerns, how to mount the reed switches and how to mount the magnets, adjustability is key.

There are many ways to activate the reed switch. I chose to move the magnet at 90 degrees to the switch. This minimises the possibility of cross-talk between adjacent magnets and switches.

I decided to replace the supplied magnets with magnets mounted in a plastic casing. These were attached to the lower face of the pedal with some 10mm x 10mm aluminium angle.

In order to mount the switches, I cut some 20mm x 10mm hardwood strip into 25mm lengths. 2 holes were drilled, one into which the reed switch is inserted, and the other to attach the mount to the pedalboard.

Once I have the reed switch in a suitable position, I'll secure it in the block using silicon. Any future adjustment will be made by slotting the mounting hole.

Picture above shows the magnet in the off position.

As above but in the on position.

The magnet lines up with the switch.

30 reed switch mounts.

One down, 29 to do!

2011-05-31T12:14:00.003Z

As can be seen from the above picture, the pedalboard has been midified. I used an mpc32xrs MIDI controller and a csr32 reed switch loom from Midi Gadgets Boutique, their products and service come highly recommended. Over the weekend one of pedals began to stick, probably a weather thing. Fixing the problem was easy but in the process I broke one of the reed switches. Jordan from MGB offered to send an FOC replacement but suggested it would be quicker to obtain a replacement in the UK, MGB are based in Bulgaria. Farnell shipped a replacement next day.

If you look carefully at the picture above, you may notice that the reed switches are held into their wooden blocks with Blu Tack, it just stops them from falling out. This temporary solution has worked quite well! I will of course use a more suitable location method now I'm sure of the switch position. Next job is to enclose the fragile wiring in a wooden case.

2011-01-20T16:45:00.001Z

I've just ordered 30 Miyama DS-412 switches. I have also modified the great keybed and piston rail to accept appropriately positioned pistons.

The X-Keys stick has performed well, but is ultimately unsuitable for the task; it is too deep and the buttons are too sensitive.

I'm getting quite good at modifying the keys!

2011-01-19T13:10:00.002Z

I posted this information on the Hauptwerk forum, but wanted to put all of the organ info in one place.

I have connected a Yamaha FC-7 expression pedal to the swell keyboard MIDI controller volume connector. I did not want to cut the FC-7 cable so I bought a 6.35mm Stereo Long Reach Chassis Socket from Maplin http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=223988 .
I connected the socket as follows.

Socket : Keystation volume control wires
Tip ----> red crosses
Ring ----> white
Sleeve ----> red dashes

I was very surprised that it worked first time!

2010-09-20T19:39:00.000Z

I needed to make a stand for my keyboards in order to accomodate a 30 key pedalboard. I have read on the Hauptwerk forum of members using a computer table from Ikea named Galant. I went to the Southampton Ikea and found out that one can purchase just the steel frame and adjustable legs for £40. This is what I bought. However when I got it back to my workshop it looked massive. I needed to achieve 125 cm clearance between the legs so I removed 14cm from the frame and MIG welded it back together.

Here is the finished fame complete with a quick coat of Hammerite.

First mockup in the workshop. The keystack has a prototype music stand in the picture below. The most important thing about this modification is the resultant stand fits in the back of a Ford Focus. The top is 50cm composite pine board from B&Q.

The finished item. Quite pleased with the result. Just need the pedalboard.

2010-09-07T14:28:00.000Z

Pistons!

X-Keys Stick works brilliantly but... It was a real pain to fit and I'm still not completely happy with its position. Also the buttons are too close together and the feel is so light that it is easy to press a piston by accident! Better for gaming than a virtual organ!

So the plan is to use momentary push switches from Miyama Miyama DS-412. These seem to be the correct dimensions and can be obtained very cheaply. In the UK you can get them from Mouser Electronics.

I plan to use an mpc32xrs MIDI controller from MIDI Boutique to scan the switches and send note-on / note-off messages to Hauptwerk.

I plan to use the following layout, 10 generals, 6 divisionals, pedal coupler and clear and set on the great. Thats 25 switches.

Swell 1 2 3 4 5 SW/PED 123456
Great S 6 7 8 9 10 GR/PED 123456 C

2010-09-05T21:41:00.000Z

It had to be done, I bought another keyboard. I now have a 2 manual stack that conforms to the AGO 2.5" and 4.25" keyboard spacing. Below is the new case for the great keyboard. I wanted both keyboard cheeks to be the same height. So I made them both 2.5" in order to get the correct vertical spacing. Unfortunately this meant that the ply boards that support the keybeds are no longer flush with the bottom of the cheeks. If I did it again, I'd make the keybed supports from 10mm ply.

Another thing I'd do differently, the X-Keys. Not that they don't work well, as the do. It's just their dimensions make it quite difficult to incorporate without encroaching on the lower keyboard. Discrete piston switches are the way to go.
I have also invested in a 15" touch screen monitor.

Next jobs, finish the wiring, a coat of varnish and get a pedal board.

2010-08-24T08:19:00.000Z

Over the weekend I installed the X-Keys Stick and made a very rudimentary music stand. As Im using a Mac, I had to download ControllerMate to program the X-Keys Stick. This software is superb. It allows real-time graphical configuration. I now have 10 pistons configured using the Haverhill Mini sample set. I'm very pleased with the result.

The picture below attempts to show the overhang of the swell keyboard and the relative position of the X-Keys Stick. This was the reason for removing the waterfall front of the keys. With the fronts in place, the key front to key front dimension would have to be at least 5.5" (4.25" being AGO standard) and the Stick would protrude too much. It was a tedious task, but I think it was worth it.

Next the expression pedal.

2010-08-22T19:20:00.005Z

Not cars this time, but virtual organs!

Ok, stop sniggering!

I've recently been playing a virtual organ called Hauptwerk. The remarkable thing about this piece of software is that it attempts to reproduce the actual sound of an organ by recording every pipe on every stop, a massive task. The sounding of each pipe is triggered by MIDI. The problem for me is to get suitable keyboards to trigger Hauptwerk. There are commercial products on the market but they are costly. So I decided to investigate less expensive options.

I initially used my trusty Yamaha NP30 piano, a MOTU MIDI interface and an Apple Mac Book with the free version of Hauptwerk. I was hooked. The reality of the sound is amazing.

Next job was to add a second manual / keyboard. I tried to get hold of some Fatar keybeds. However these proved to be very difficult to obtain. My second choice was an M-Audio Keystation 61es MIDI controller. These are readily available and inexpensive. There are a couple of problems going down this route. The first is that the keybed has "waterfall" piano style keys. This makes it very difficult to arrange the keyboards with appropriate spacing and allow for pistons. The second is the plastic case. This is ugly and has to go. I decided to with AGO (American Guild of Organists) spec as this is freely available on the internet.

So my plan was to add a Keystation 61es to the Yamaha NP30 and use an X-Keys Stick for pistons. A Yamaha FC7 pedal will be used for the swell. The FC7 can be connected directly to the M-Audio MIDI controller in place of the volume slider. I'm going for function rather than tradition.

Removal of the keybed from the plastic case is easy and has been well detailed on the Hauptwerk forum. However when I attempted to place the keybed on top of the NP30, it was obvious that the swell keybed would have to overhang the great in order to get close to an appropriate spacing. This was not going to happen with the waterfall fronts of the keybed. So out came the hacksaw!

Removal of the key front allows the top keyboard to overhang the lower whilst allowing space for the pistons. The X-Keys stick is 18mm thick. I did not want the piston buttons to protrude past the front of the upper keybed.

Removing the keys was the worst part. A screwdriver needs to be inserted as shown above to disengage a small plastic clip.

Job done! The upper keybed can now overhang the lower. There is plenty of room for the X-Keys stick. The front to front dimension is about spot on. However the vertical spacing is about 10mm too great. Not much I can do about that.

I knocked up a case with basic wood from B and Q (Home Depot). Not a Vidarf but I did it in one day with no tools other than a jig saw! The piston rail is an 1" x 1" aluminium angle. If you look carefully, you'll see the upper keybed overhangs the lower by nearly 1".

The X-Keys will arrive next week.

Next job, the music stand.

2010-07-20T12:27:00.000Z

Many thanks to Paul Willetts for scanning the article below. It was a very good time to be in the Kit Car industry.

2010-06-17T12:00:00.002Z

Why no progress on the car? I've been working on the house! The Aga Little Wenlock wood burning stove has been installed on a South African granite hearthstone and the whole room redecorated. The colour scheme and blinds (yet to be fitted) were designed by Design House Winchester who also supplied the Little Greene paint.

Thanks to Mark Pyke of Dog House Designs for doing an excellent job on the floor. The floor is 21mm Hadlow Oak engineered boards with a 6mm wear layer. It is laid on Duralay Timbermate Excel underlay.

We are gradually getting the living room back together.

CF100 coax has been run around the room concealed by the scotia for the cable TV.
Next the hall......

2010-06-03T14:33:00.000Z

Sylva website is down due to technical issues. For now, the content can be viewed here.

Urban Tune! No its not genre of popular music, it is a new type of ECU map for Triumph Bonneville / Thruxton / Scrambler.
The Triumph ECU inhibits start if the battery voltage drops below 12.6 Volts. Why? I have no idea! There is plenty of juice to start the engine. Anyway, what happens is when you try and start the bike it goes through its normal process, fuel pump screeches into life, warning lights come on, all good so far. When the start button is pressed, a relay clicks, the fuel pump stops and the warning lights go out. After about 5 seconds the pump and lights come back on.
A lot of contradictory information about this issue exists on the internet some suggesting bypassing the ECU start inhibit, others removing the left hand side panel and shorting out the solenoid with a coin! This is where "Urban Tune" enters the scene.
Some say that Urban Tune is a myth, others claim that it lowers the voltage threshold and others that it prevents the ECU from being powered on after the engine has stopped. So I called Three Cross where I bought the bike. Never heard of it! Must be a faulty relay, solenoid or starter, we'll pick the bike up on Monday. Hmm. I then phone up Triumph. To my delight I got to speak to someone knowledgeable. He confirmed that there is a Map called "Urban Tune" for my Bonnie. The only difference with this map is that it immediately powers down the ECU - according to Triumph. Anyway, I phoned 3X back again informing them that I'd contacted Triumph and that I wanted Urban Tune to be installed. They then admitted that it does exist and will install it FOC. Why not 'fess-up first time?

I must admit to being a bit disappointed. It seems that when Triumph converted the Bonnie from carbs to EFI, they located the ECU in the battery bay and installed a smaller battery! Then they program the ECU to inhibit start with a ludicrously high battery voltage threshold. Why, to protect the regulator / alternator? The Emerald ECUs I use in cars will operate down to 10 volts. Then to compound the issue it seems that the ECU remains powered up after the engine is stopped. Again why? I'll try "Urban Tune" and hope it restores faith in my Triumph.

The obvious solution is to put the bike on trickle charge to maintain its condition. However I don't have electricity in my garage! So I'm going to try an Oxford Solariser battery charger. I must admit I'm not convinced this will actually work. Watch this space......

2010-05-17T18:37:00.000Z

I took the fuel tank out in order to complete the pipework. I also wrapped rubber around the pipes where they emerge from the tunnel. Installing the drivers side tunnel side was a real pain. Next time I'll panel up to the the dash before installing the floor. The rest of the panel would be easily fitted later.

Still not sure about the fog and reverse lights. Trouble is there are very few positions that meet IVA requirements that are not too close to the exhaust.

I would have liked to run a piece of angle down the passenger footwell attached directly to the 1" tubes. However the tank is a very tight fit in this area. I settled for the solution below. The angle itself adds rigidity to the footwell and is bonded to the side panel with Stikaflex.

2010-05-14T06:27:00.000Z

My least favourite job is now complete! I'm quite pleased with the result; no glue on the leather cloth! The last item needing covering is the tunnel top. Would have that too but I've run out of glue. On the subject of glue, I've always used Evostick. Ok, it is messy but smells great! This time I used a spray contact adhesive from Halfords. It has worked very well.

Here's the dash with the VDO gauges fitted. If you look carefully you'll see the immobiliser receptacle just above the hazard light switch. Wiring it in will be one of the next jobs.

It's all the little jobs that take up so much time. Below is the hand brake switch. The switch is a changeover micro switch from Maplin.

2010-05-12T14:18:00.000Z

Above is a wiring diagram for a Cobra A8510 Cat 2 immobiliser. I shall be fitting it soon!

2010-05-10T19:50:00.001Z

I fitted the engine cover today. Thanks to Jeremy for the stainless lift-off hinges. The front edge of the cover is supported by a 15mm aluminium angle and the bare GRP edge is covered with tight 'n' fast. The lift-off hinges securely attach the cover whilst allowing it to be removed.

The picture below shows the rear bulkhead panels. I've only covered the exposed tops of the panels. If you look carefully you can see the holes for the button head cap screws that will screw into the rivnuts. Not sure if I'd do this again as it is tricky to get everything lined up. A better compromise would be to rivet the panels on and fit access panels.

Next time in the workshop, cover the dash and fit the drivers side tunnel. Both jobs I have been dreading!

2010-05-10T07:37:00.000Z

My least favourite job, sticking on leather cloth. The only redeeming feature is the smell of Evo Stick!

With the internal panels done, I covered the top of the rear bulkhead panels. The panels are rivnutted to the chassis so I can easily remove them for maintenance.

Next jobs on the list are fitting the engine cover, wiring the hand brake warning light switch and riveting on the drivers tunnel side.

2010-04-06T13:06:00.004Z

Emerald K3 and Tech Edge 2J1

Managed to spend some time in the workshop over the weekend. One of the pending jobs was to install a wideband lambda sensor. There were 3 options Innovate LC-1, DynoJet Wide Band 2 or Tech Edge 2J1.

The LC-1 has received some bad press recently, Emerald themselves are no longer recommending it even though it is the only product documented in the K3 manual. Another reason for not using the LC-1 is the messy installation. A 100 ohm resistor needs to be placed between the LC-1 out and K3 due to the sensitivity of the LC-1 output. Also the calibrate switch and status LED are remote from the unit itself requiring additional wiring and bracketry.

Next up, the DynoJet. Good kit, just too expensive.

That leaves the Tech Edge 2J1. This is very impressive kit at a great price.
Installation is a simple 4 wire hookup.

2J1 Power cable goes to a 5 amp ignition switched live and ground. When I make an ECU loom, I use a single ignition switched relay plugged into a holder that incorporates 3 fuses. I use one of these fused lives to power the lambda sensor and speedo sensor. The earth is connected directly to the battery along with the ECU.

2J1 I/O cable provides 0 - 5 volt wideband output WBlin+ on the blue cable and ground reference for wideband output WBlin- on the green wire. WBlin+ goes to any user defined analogue input. I chose AuxIn35. WBlin- connects to pin 30 along with the temp and throttle position sensors. It is interesting to note that WBlin- is an input into the J21. WBlin+ signal will generated with reference to WBlin-.

The Tech Edge website has a page describing the differential output of WBlin+. Note that the 2J1 does not have a GND SHUNT jumper. The default configuration is perfect for the Emerald K3. However if connecting the 2J1 to a single-ended logger or ECU, you'll have to link the black and green wires in the I/O cable.

Next task is to tell the Emerald K3 about the sensor. In the K3, AFR / Lambda Input Configuration Screen, set the input source and enter the values below.

Input Voltage AFR

0 9

1 11

2 13

3 15

4 17

5 19

Stoic 14.7 AFR = 2.85 V which is almost in the middle of the voltage range making the default a good compromise.

2010-03-16T17:26:00.000Z

Sylva J15 on the front cover of Complete Kit Car out on 19th March.

2010-02-10T15:56:00.004Z

Just seen a posting on the JPSC forum about fitting 13" wheels on an IRS Sylva Striker.

I was a little surprised at the pictures of a professionally modified car (not by Sylva) that has the rear suspension load passing through a spherical rod end shank in bending. The drawing below shows the arrangement. Rods ends should not be loaded in a way that tends to bend the threaded shank. The entire mass of car + bump load + weight transfer and brake torque will be fed through shank of the rod end in shear. OK you could install a joint large enough to take the load, but it would be far too big and heavy. Another thing to bear in mind, threads make very effective stress raisers!

Below is how it is done on a Sylva Riot. The shock mount is as outboard as possible and a metalastic bush is used to resolve the spring load. The bending load is minimal and what little there is is fed through the wishbone itself.

If the compliance of a metalastic bush can not be tolerated, a spherical bearing (not rod end) could be used instead. This is OK as it has no shank. It is normally installed in a machined housing and retained with a circlip. The housing is welded to the wishbone in place of the ferrule that retains the metalastic bush.

Sometimes this rule is broken. Below is a picture of the Riot front suspension. Braking torque is resolved through a rod end loaded in shear. Why is it OK to pass brake torque but not spring load through a rod end in this way? As mentioned above, spring load has many instantaneous components such as bump and weight transfer in addition to the mass of the car, the lower joint on a Riot's front suspension only has to resolve brake torque in shear and this is limited by the tyres. The rod end specified is well up to the job.

2009-12-16T10:27:00.000Z

The Triumph has not left the garage since I rode it home last Saturday. Daily commuting duties have fallen to "The Trusty Steed", a Yamaha YBR 125. As I'm relying on it so much, I thought I'd show it some love.
A long overdue job was fitting new tyres. The original Cheng Shin tyres had about 1mm of tread left on the rear. Tyre sizes for the YBR are a bit strange, 90/90-18 on the back and 2.75-18 on the front. I ordered a set of Michelin Pilot Sportys from Micheldever Tyres. On Monday, I removed the wheels and had the tyres fitted. The difference is phenomenal. Anyone still using Cheng Shin tyres on their YBR 125 MUST change them for Michelin Pilot Sportys, they actually get warm and grip and they don't tramline like the Chinese originals.

The YBR 125 is built to a price. Components such as tyres, bulbs and mirrors are obviously low cost items that could benefit from upgrade.

As I do most of my riding in the dark, I decided to to fit a halogen headlight bulb in place of the incandescent original . The bulb is 12v 35/35 watt with a BA20d fitting. I fitted a bulb made by Ring part number RMU417. They are available from AutoBulbsDirect for about £7. The difference is marked. The beam is much whiter and brighter. I had to realign the headlight as it was pointing too high with the new bulb.

Next, the mirrors and maybe a screen!

2009-12-06T09:34:00.002Z

I've done it! Yesterday I bought a new bike, a Triumph Bonneville. I could not resist the unique custom paint job. Its painted in Triumph Thunderbird Pacific Blue and Fusion White. Below is a picture of the Thunderbird that provided inspiration for the paint scheme.

I had a test ride at Three Cross Motorcycles and could not believe how easy it was to ride, far easier than the GS500 on which I took my test. The engine has oodles of torque ; no need to change down for roundabouts and it has a very progressive clutch. But the most impressive aspect of the bike was the handling. I was expecting a lumbering, heavy feel as this is a retro bike after all. However the bike tipped in very easily and felt very agile.

I have specified a few extras.

Tacho
Alarm / Immobiliser
Knee pads
Fork gaiters
Luggage rack
Center stand
Locking petrol cap - (why is this not standard?)

I'll be keeping the YBR125 for rainy days when I need to commute.

2009-11-11T13:57:00.002Z

Connecting a DynoJet Wide Band 2 to an Emerald K3 is very straightforward. You'll need a data acquisition cable (76950114) which is surprisingly optional on some kits.

Here's the wiring:-

WB 2                

violet            K3 analogue-in e.g. AuxIn35 

white / violet    K3 pin 30, signal ground
red           3 amp ignition switched live
black       chassis ground
black / white chassis ground

Make sure that the pull-up resistor is not enabled for your selected analogue-in. This is done on the Input Channel Configuration screen. The 100 ohm buffer resistor, required for the Innovate LC1, is not required for the DynoJet Wide Band 2.

No configuration or calibration is required, the output is pre calibrated to (volts * 1.6) + 10 = AFR.

In the K3's AFR/Lambda Input Calibration screen set the input source to the analogue-in as used above and enter :-

Input Voltage   AFR

0               10

1               11.6  

2               13.2

3               14.8

4               16.4

5 18

After the ECU has been updated with these settings, it will be possible to read the current AFR from the live adjustments screen. It will also be possible to use the K3's adaptive mapping and closed-loop fueling capabilities.

2009-11-10T13:01:00.003Z

My Riot has been neglected of late. I have recently sold my house in Christchurch. All of my superfluous paraphernalia is now stored in the workshop. Now we are in the process of moving again. This time 4 doors down the same street! This house has a garage! A rarity in Romsey.
Anyway the Riot. I'm thinking of changing the lambda sensor on my car yet again! Why? The Innovate LC1 is awkward to install and configure, has a very sensitive output and requires configuring and calibration.

My search for an alternative yielded products from TechEdge and DynoJet.

Reading various postings it would seem that both are superior to the Innovate product.
I have used DynoJet kit before and have been impressed so DynoJet it is.

Here are the benefits over the LC1.

Fixed configuration, no programming is required. The 0 - 5V analogue output is always (Volts * 1.6) + 10 = AFR.
Auto calibrating. No manual free-air calibration required.
Faster response.
Better packaging. No external push switch or LED. The sensor to controller cable can be cut to length.
Robust output. No need for an in-line buffer resistor.

With this in place, I should be able to map the low load sites as required for IVA and use adaptive mode for the rest.

2009-10-06T10:55:00.017Z

Latest pictures of the J15 from Jeremy.

2009-09-24T12:30:00.003Z

Below is the column of grief! I spent ages cutting the steering lock from the column fitted to my car. Then I found out that IVA required either a mechanical or electronic immobiliser. The original IVA manual stated that electronic installations need to be certified. No way was I going to pay to have someone fit an immobiliser to the car so I decided to go the mechanical route. Trouble was finding a Sierra column with keys. Anyway I managed to obtain one. Trouble is the steering lock operates on the steering wheel. My Mountney boss has no provision for this. Then I find out that the requirement for certification has been dropped and I can install an electronic immobiliser! Anyone need a Sierra column with key?
This is work in progress. The headrests in this position would not pass IVA. There must be less than 50mm gap between the top of the seat and the bottom of the headrest.
I know some builders don't like exposed fixings on their cycle wings. However I prefer a solid mechanical attachment. I chose to drill and tap the stays.

2009-09-17T07:41:00.002Z

IVA, IVA!

2 things have been causing me grief. The first one is immobilisation, the second, headrests.

The IVA manual was updated on 29/06/2009. The requirement for an electronic immobiliser installation to be certified has been dropped. This is great news as I was going to fit a new steering column incorporating a working ignition switch and steering lock. It would have meant cutting a big hole in the dash and altering the wiring.

I have been looking at the Cobra 8510 Cat 2 immobiliser. It is a touch-key dual-circuit unit. I can install it on the front bulkhead isolating the fuel pump and starter. All for £30.

Next issue, headrests. One has to be careful when fitting headrests, the IVA manual has very specific requirements. The headrest size must be 85 mm wide each side of the vertical centre line of the seat and at least 100mm high. So what happens if your headrest is round like mine? The top of the headrest must be no less than 753mm above the seat squab and there must be no more than a 50mm gap between the top of the seat back and the bottom of the headrest. I have a set of the Sylva / Intatrim seats. Next time I'm the workshop I'll measure them up and let you know!

2009-09-10T11:22:00.003Z

On Monday I passed my Direct Access bike test, completing Module 1 and 2 at the Lee on the Solent test centre. Its been quite a journey; CBT, theory and hazard perception tests followed by Module 1 and Module 2.

There has been a lot written about the off-road Module 1 test, specifically the high-speed avoidance / swerve test. The issue is not with the swerve, but attaining the required 50kph. Anyone doing Direct Access will have no trouble at all. However I have witnessed poor souls attempting it on 125 bikes and really struggling. On a DAS bike, go round the corner in second, as soon as you exit the curve, give it full throttle. As soon as the timing device has been crossed, roll-off the throttle and perform the swerve. When the bike is upright, break hard, don't hang around the stop-box comes up very quickly. I did not attempt it on my 125 but I saw an instructor do it. He put the bike into third after the corner and revved the nuts off it. I was lucky as it was dry. No allowance is made for the increased braking distance in the wet, your front wheel must stop inside the box.

Thanks to Steve at ADT for being patient.

I must also mention that my sister Mary also did Direct Access with me. The first time she got on a a bike was 4 days before the test! She did incredibly well, managed to attain all Module 1 speeds but put her foot down in the U turn. She will pass Module 1 next Monday I'm sure. Respect!

2009-08-20T08:08:00.003Z

Good news from our friends "Down-Under". The Sylva Riot chassis has passed the torsional rigidity test required by some Australian states for road registration. The Riot chassis exceeds 4000N.m./degree stiffness. The photo above shows the test being performed.

2009-06-26T12:50:00.004Z

Something has been troubling me. The pic above shows how I have plumbed my brake master cylinder, the port marked P (closest to the push-rod) is plumbed to the rear, the port marked S plumbed to the front. So the primary circuit is the rear and the secondary the front. I plumbed the rearmost port to the rear and foremost to the front for neatness!

As the cylinder has a parallel bore, I don't think it makes much difference. However, the IVA test now assess the efficiency of the secondary brake circuit. See below..

IVA manual Section 09E
The secondary brake performance must be at least 30%,(of the
CLW or DGW as determined to be the highest) for each half of the
split system.

I don't want the IVA tester seeing P cast on the cylinder and assuming that the primary circuit is the rear!

I'm not sure if the P and S circuits share the same push-rod or if they have their own with an interposing spring. If a single push-rod is shared, it really makes no difference. Without pulling the cylinder apart, I can't tell. If anyone has taken apart their master cylinder, let me know!

Anyway, I'm going to re-plumb the brakes. This is a pain as I really dislike bleeding brakes.
For a sanity check, I had a look for pics of Caterham master cylinder installations, this is the same cylinder used in the Riot. The pic below clearly shows the P port (closest to the push-rod) plumbed to the front.

Same for the AP 13/16" cylinder.

Some good news, I have ordered an Innovate LC-1 wideband lambda sensor. More about that soon I hope.

2009-06-09T09:43:00.011Z

Latest pics from the Sylva factory.

2009-05-26T07:38:00.003Z

It runs!

On Saturday afternoon I connected the battery from my Focus to the Riot's using jump leads. After a quick systems check I tried to start it. It did manage to start eventually but only on 2 and 3. I quick check using an old spark plug confirmed there was no spark on 1 and 4. I traced the problem back to the ECU connector where pin 25 had come adrift. I refitted and connector and tried again. This time 4 cylinders! There were 2 problems, no lambda output and no ICAV so I had to keep the engine running by opening the throttle. I called it a day as I had to get back to the house in order to prepare for a manic choir weekend!

Bank holiday Monday saw me back in the workshop for a couple of hours. I started the engine again and got it up to temperature. I wondered why the fan did not cut in? I does help if it is connected! This time with the fan connected, I let the engine get up to temp and to my relief, the fan did its job. While I was at the front of the car I finished the headlight wiring.

Back to the ICAV problem. I went to the idle control screen and confirmed that 2 wire PWM was configured. On saving the config the valve sprang into life making a huge racket! The default frequency was set to 40Hz. I upped this to 240Hz and it quietened down and the engine idled with no intervention from me.

I buzzed through all the connections for the lambda sensor. Everything was ok. Must be a duff sensor. I'm not too upset as this seems to be the only problem with the engine. I plan to replace it with a wideband sensor from Innovate . This will allow me to do adaptive mapping.

With the car running, I had to take it out for a spin! For the first time it moved under its own steam.

I am well pleased (116).

Next jobs, fit the cycle wings and finish wiring the lights.

2009-05-19T07:58:00.004Z

Just returned from a fantastic weekend in Lincolnshire. We stayed with Jeremy and his family. The weather was extremely variable but we managed to find a dry spell to take the Riot out for a spin. It was the first time Sarah had experienced such a car. I drove first. I could tell she was a bit nervous. However things changed when we swapped seats. By the end of her drive, she was obviously enjoying the performance and grip of this fantastic little car.

Yesterday we went to the Sylva factory. I was very interested to see the new rear uprights Jeremy has had made for the Riot. They are fabricated in steel and use the Mk4 Fiesta bearing pack. Jeremy has moved the lower pickup points to allow the fitment of 13" wheels. The geometry has been changed to reduce scrub radius. In conjunction with new rear uprights, the front uprights are being changed to Triumph. This may seem a strange decision but they are proven, light and have good geometry; a much better proposition than the heavy, geometrically challenged Sierra alternative. Upper rocker arms will be retained. The lower wishbone will use a spherical rod end bearing instead of the traditional trunion.

These changes will allow Sylva to build a car with completely new components; no more dependency on ancient Capri / Escort / Mk2 Fiesta components. Also the use of Mk4 Fiesta driveshafts, bearings, hubs wheels and tyres means that a single donor kit is closer to reality.

Componenets that could be used from a single Fiesta 4 /5 Zetec donor:

Engine incl injection and all ancills, exhaust manifold, catalytic converter, wiring loom, ECU
Gearbox, driveshafts(modified?) and rear hubs
Fuel pump
Throttle, brake and clutch pedals
Clutch master cylinder
Wheels and tyres
Steering column (under investigation currently Sierra)

An excellent weekend. Many thanks to Jeremy, Stella and the rest of the family for being so hospitable.

2009-05-12T07:50:00.008Z

Saturday was exciting! My Focus needed new tyres. Off I went to Micheldever Tyres and had 4 Toyos fitted in place of my trusty Michelin Pilots . I can no longer justify buying premium tyres as I don't do the mileage anymore. Whilst the wheels were off, it was obvious that I had no rear pads and the rear discs were very thin. This is strange as in the cars 83,000 miles, it has gone through 2 sets of rear pads and discs and one set of fronts. On Monday I had the car MOTd and new brakes fitted. A very expensive weekend!

I did manage some time in the workshop. The plan was to finish the ECU wiring, remove the plugs and spin the engine over to get some oil pressure. The wiring went ok. I had to make a judgement regarding the coil. The Haynes manual states that black / green = 1 & 4 and black / orange = 2 & 3. However on the coil connector, the black / green wire enters the coil pack next to the posts for 2 & 3 and black / orange 1 & 4. I went with my instinct assuming the Haynes manual incorrect.

Next job was the oil pressure sensor. This is located in a very awkward place just below the inlet manifold. As luck would have it, the original sensor was not screwed in very tightly and I removed it with mole grips. I have a combined VDO oil pressure sensor and warning light switch. It is impossible to get a spanner on the sensor to tighten it. So I coated the thread with Loctite lock 'n' seal and used the same mole grips to tighten.

With the ECU wiring complete and the dash connected, I verified that the guages and warning lights all worked. They did. I then pulled off the HT leads from the spark plugs in order to remove them. This is when my day did not go to plan! The chamber in the head where the plugs are located was full of rusty water! I spent the next couple of hours removing the O/S engine cover and cam cover and carefully removing the water and cleaning the head. I then removed the plugs. Luckily they came out easily even though they had been submerged for over a year! A final clean and I poured fresh oil on the cams and replaced the cam cover. I checked the oil level and with great trepidation I turned on the ignition, the oil pressure and alternator warning lights came on. Good start. I then pressed the starter button. After about 5 seconds of cranking, the oil light went out and pressure registered on the gauge. Result

Next I connected the ECU. I wanted to attach a laptop to it so I could calibrate the TPS and CLT sensors. The Emerald software is for Windows however my laptops are both Macs. To make matters worse, the ECU requires an RS232 serial port, my Macs only have USB. One of my laptops has VMware Fusion installed. I was sure this was not going to work but it did! I installed a serial to USB converter and the Emerald software and connected to the ECU. The first thing I did was backup the installed map. I then calibrated the CLT sensor as I'm using the OEM Ford one. To my relief, both air and coolant temp sensors read 15 degrees. I then calibrated the TPS. I was glad I had connected it the right way round! I then turned the engine over. RPM was being registered so I've got the CPS right too.

I installed a new set of plugs and called it a day.

Next time I'll finish the cooling plumbing and put some fuel in the tank and go for a start!

2009-04-22T15:11:00.002Z

I’ve just been on the phone to VOSA regarding dual circuit brakes.
It would appear that an article in Total Kit Car has stated that spilt on dual circuit brakes must now be diagonal i.e. O/S front with N/S rear etc. instead of the more traditional front / rear split. The contentious paragraph is 09A section 4 which states,

"The vehicle must be fitted with a split (dual) circuit brake system with each part of the system operating on at least two wheels (one on each side), capable of operating in the event of a failure of the service brake or its power assistance."

I have just had it confirmed that the split can be front / rear or diagonal. Great news as my Riot is front / rear. However I was made aware of a new brake test that has been added to IVA that was not in SVA.

09E section 3
"The secondary brake performance must be at least 30%,(of the CLW or DGW as determined to be the highest) for each half of the split system."

DGW = Design Gross Weight
CLW = Calculated Laden Weight

The VOSA chap indicated that this new test may be difficult to achieve with a front / rear split. The test assesses the effectiveness of the least efficient circuit in the split. With a diagonal split you get one front and one rear brake per circuit – both circuits will have similar efficiencies. With front / rear, it will be the rear axle alone that will have to achieve 30%. OK so you could increase the efficiency of the rear but you still have to pass the dynamic lockup test.

In conclusion, front / rear split is ok but you’ll have to make sure the rear axle makes 30% efficiency without locking up before the front. A possible solution could be to ensure the design weights you supply are as low as possible. More later.

2009-04-20T19:53:00.003Z

My Riot has a new home! I have just taken on a workshop in Nursling, just to the north of Southampton. I'll be installing the rest of my equipment in he next couple of weeks.

SpringWorks is the name of my new company. 4 days a week I do IT consulting specializing in Java, JEE, Spring (hence the name) and Flex. The rest of the week, I can undertake work on kit cars specializing in the Sylva Marque.

SpringWorks Ltd
Unit H
Church Farm Business Centre
Nursling
SO16 0YB
Tel: 077 6654 2698
Email: paul@springworks.eu.com

2009-02-15T09:23:00.002Z

Monday the 9th was probably the wettest day of the year, the day I took my CBT. Great! After 2 hours of riding in the pouring rain, I was eventually given my DL196. The following day I bought a 2008 Yamaha YBR125. I'm ready for my daily commute now.

The Riot, well not much has happened. I have fitted an air filter, fitted a new oil filter and filled it up with oil and finished the cooling plumbing. The dash wiring is done. I just need a whole day on the engine loom and we should be ready for a start!

2009-01-29T21:07:00.004Z

I've spent the last couple of days working on the wiring loom and dash.
I fitted the VDO instruments and switches including a Hella hazard switch as it has the requisite 7 connectors, a Lucas 2 way ignition switch and a push button starter. Delta rocker switches are used for head / sidelights and fog lights. I have not sorted the horn or dip / main switches yet.

Is this why people buy a Digidash? I was tempted but I feel the Riot is better suited to the more traditional discrete instruments even though they are an utter pain to wire up.

Next time in the garage I'll be tackling the engine bay including the ECU.

2009-01-21T11:05:00.002Z

I really struggled yesterday. I could not find a suitable position for the fuse boxes, relays and flasher unit. I finally opted to mount them under the steering column cover. OK, I realize that I'll have to remove 6 bolts to change a fuse, however I'm hoping not to be doing that too often!

To make matters worse, 2 wires came adrift from the fuse boxes. It took me a while to work out how the fuse boxes come apart. I contacted Premier Wiring (new phone number 0131 554 0099) and they sent me some new crimp connectors.

You can also just make out at the top of the picture the 2 pieces of the loom coming through the bulkhead. Again a struggled to find an elegant solution for the cable routing.

2009-01-18T16:32:00.004Z

I had originally sourced a header tank from a Rover 214, however I wasn't too happy with its size.
Hunting around my local scrapyard, I found this header tank from a VW Golf. It fits very nicely in the space available. I am going to relocate the air filter. You can see the big 70mm elbow just below the header tank.

Below is the filter I'm considering. C7010 is the most compact filter with a 71 mm O/D neck.

I bought a loom from Premier, however the first thing I did was to pull it apart! I've removed the wiper, washer and heater wiring and significantly shortened the dash loom. I'm going to have to add wires for the fuel pump and fan relays, they are controlled by the ECU mounted in the rear.

2009-01-06T21:46:00.009Z

Cracking the Colour Code!

OK a bit of an excuse! I haven't done any real work on the car over the Christmas period, too much singing!

What I have done is work out the colour coding for the Focus ECU loom. I tried Googling but have been unsuccessful finding the required information. So here goes!

My engine was supplied with the remnants of the Focus engine loom; it had been unceremoniously chopped off at the ECU. I want to use as many of the connectors and cables as possible. I have an Emerald K3 ECU, so I need to connect injectors, coil, idle air valve (IACV), coolant, air temp crank position (CPS), lambda and throttle position sensors (TPS), fuel pump, fan and tacho.

In general Ford looms use black wires for earth and brown for power. However this does not hold true for the engine loom.

Please be aware the the colours below are for a 1.6 Focus loom. Zetec powered Fiesta looms are similar but not the same.

Green / blue cable is an ignition switched live. It powers the injectors, coil, lambda heater and IACV.
Black cables with a trace colour are ECU controlled switched earths. These trigger the coils, injectors and IACV.
Brown wires with a trace colour are sensor grounds. These are for sensors that require an accurate ECU derived ground reference; connecting to the chassis won't do. These include the temperature sensors, TPS, CPS and lambda sensors.
White wires, solid or with a trace colour, carry signals from the temp sensors, TPS, CPS and lambda sensors.

OK so that's the high-level overview, now for the details.

Injectors
black / white cylinder 1 ECU 24
black / orange cylinder 4 ECU 24
black / yellow cylinder 2 ECU 23
black / blue cylinder 3 ECU 23
green / blue ignition +12v connect to power relay

Coil
black / green cylinders 1 and 4 ECU 25
black / orange cylinders 2 and 3 ECU 5 (watch out same as inj 4)
green / blue ignition +12v connect to power relay
(Not sure if the above is correct. I have switched 25 and 5)

Idle Air Control Valve
black / yellow switched earth ECU 3 (watch out same as inj 2)
green / blue ignition +12v connect to power relay

Coolant Temp
white / violet signal ECU 33
brown / white sensor ground ECU 30

Air Temp
signal ECU 16
sensor ground ECU 30
I don't have cable colours for this as the air temp sensor is in the Temperature and Manifold Absolute Pressure Sensor (TMAP) sensor in the Focus. Strangely the TMAP sensor is not mentioned in the Focus Haynes manual. Anyway I plan to use it. The K3 allows the temp sensors to be configured. It seems that Ford have standardised on the calibration of their temp sensors (air and coolant are the same).

0c = 94k ohms
50c = 11k ohms
100c = 2.2K ohms

I have not tried the above yet but will report back along with wire colours.

Throttle Position Sensor
brown / red sensor ground ECU 30
yellow +5v supply ECU 9
white 0 - 5v signal ECU 8

Crank Position Sensor
cable screen ECU 29 - one end only
white / red signal ECU 31
brown / red sensor ground ECU 32
Use shielded twisted pair microphone cable if not using Ford cable.

Lambda (Narrow)
white signal ECU 7
brown sensor earth ECU 18
green / blue relay controled +12v heater supply
black / yellow heater ground - connect to chassis

ECU pin 36 can be used as a switched ground to control the heater relay.
For wideband wiring see K3 manual.

Fan
ECU 6 switched earth

Fuel Pump
ECU 20 switched earth

Tacho
ECU 12 0-12v pulse

I think that's it! Please email me or leave a comment if I have made any errors.
Once I have tested the above, I'll post a page on the Sylva web site.

2008-12-11T10:44:00.010Z

Jeremy's new car is causing a bit of a storm in the press. It is really what the kit car industry has been waiting for; traditional in appearance but based on modern mechanicals (no Sierra diffs, gearboxes or uprights here!).

The picture above shows a Riot and a XYZ chassis side by side. As can be seen the ZYX chassis shares critical suspension dimensions with the Riot. However the main difference is the chassis sides, the XYZ are parallel. This will give a more capacious cockpit and allow the fitting of seats from suppliers such as Tillett or JK Composites. Another benefit is the tunnel is slightly wider at the front of the cockpit. This is a blessing as there is not much space in a Riot tunnel.

The XYZ has out-riggers which give enhanced side impact protection and provide mounting points for the body.

So out of the box the XYZ will be endowed the fine handling characteristics of the Riot.

And now for the body. No question this has been influenced by previous JP creations. Being mid-engined, the bonnet can be low and elegant. At the rear, the engine and gearbox are mounted to give sensible ground clearance without the need for expensive sumps or bellhousings.

In case you are wondering, yes this new body can be fitted to existing Riots! Of course you won't get the enhanced cockpit space and you will have to fabricate some outriggers to support the body, but the wheelbase and track are the same.

I will certainly be considering a XYZ body once my Riot SE has been SVA'd.

Jeremy's best? The XYZ chassis weighs slightly more than a Riot, but it will be very strong and roomy.

A shot of the controversial rear end!

2008-11-24T13:06:00.003Z

No progress made on the car. However I have invested in a Emerald K3 ECU, a full set of VDO instruments and a Premier Wiring Systems loom. I hope to have a bit of a blitz over the Christmas period. It would be great to get is started this year.....

I'm going to mount the ECU as shown here on the Sylva demo car. This requires a bracket to be fabricated that bolts to the upper seat belt mounts.

Things to do before start..

15mm header tank bottom hose take-off - completes cooling
Temperature sensor fitting head mounted sensor for ECU
Header tank mount
Air filter
ECU / engine wiring - not part of the purchased loom
Install main loom with fuel pump and fan relays

BTW, we did have a fun bonfire night!

2008-10-16T12:49:00.002Z

She did it raising nearly £6,000 for The Parkinsons Disease Society BTW! See Sarah's fundraising page here.

2008-10-14T05:55:00.005Z

It's Tuesday 14th and she's coming home!

Below you can see the finished fuel pump. I have extended it with steel rather than aluminium. Also that is in-tank hose being used!

So there it is, tank in place. The fuel system is complete. Just need to get some pipes made up by Ally Fab and the cooling system will be done too.

2008-10-08T07:36:00.003Z

5/11 - Charca Huaylla Pass
No work on the car. A big walk for others.

2008-10-07T09:43:00.006Z

Good progress was made over the weekend. As can be seen in the photo above, I have fitted the sender to the fuel tank and mounted the fuel filter. I also have plumbed in the radiator. I have had the hoses for ages but not managed to fit them because I could not finally fit the radiator as I needed something to put in the fan switch hole. I eventually got a switch from eBay. However I have just found out that Moss Europe sell an M22 x 1.5 blanking plug part number RFC014. In the picture you can just see that I have fitted the pedal box cover. This was made possible following the purchase of a rivnut setter. I bought a cheap rivnut tool a while back but it did not last long, the mandrel snapped. This time I bought Gesipa tool that should last a lifetime.

Another job waiting for the rivnut tool was the dash. Just need to fit the instruments and switches.
I have ordered a wiring loom from Premier Wiring Systems . I think £120 is good value for a loom with the correct colour wires. They are putting in extra wires and relays for fan, speedo and fuel pump and wiring the hazard switch! I'm going to use microphone cable to extend the Vepor speedo sensor cable. It is a VR sensor so has very low output and is suseptible to interference. Microphone cable is shielded twisted pair with very good noise rejection.

4/11 - no mobile signal. Will be another productive weekend!

2008-10-04T10:58:00.001Z

11 days to go......

2008-10-03T15:18:00.004Z

The master cylinder that Sylva supplies for a Riot originates from a Caterham 7. It is Girling part number 74066147. I am led to believe that is has an 11/16", 17.46 mm bore. Since driving the latest Sylva demonstrator, which is fitted with a Willwood 1" bore master cylinder, I'm keen to increase the master cylinder size as I really liked the feel of the brake pedal. I could just fit the Willwood cylinder, but this means modifying the pedal box, something I'm not keen to do.

I noticed that Caterham supply a 13/16" 20.64 mm bore master cylinder made by AP racing, part number 77176. From the picture below you can just make out that it even has an SVA compliant cap.

The standard master cylinder has an affective bore area of 239.42 and the AP product, 334.63. That is an increase of almost 40%. Sounds perfect! Problem is it is £164.50!

2008-10-02T08:51:00.004Z

The picture below shows the Focus exhaust manifold attached to a Sylva silencer as requested.

You may notice the engine now has a fan belt! As the engine is from a Focus, the alternator and tensioner are from a 1250 Fiesta, it's little wonder that neither a Focus or Fiesta belt fits! The crank pulley on the Focus is larger diameter than the Fiesta. I could have changed the pulley but that means redoing the cam timing; the Zetec SE has a keyless crank. So I investigated a different belt. The standard 1250 Fiesta belt is 1181 long. Looking at the Gates catalogue, the most suitable belt would seem to be 6PK1195, 14mm longer. This belt is fitted to BMW 750i and a Fiat Punto 1.9D! It also fits my Riot perfectly.

I'm now working on the fuel tank and pump. Just waiting for some 8mm high pressure in-tank hose to be delivered. This is important as standard fuel hose is designed to convey fuel but not to be fully immersed in it! May have the tank in this weekend!

2008-09-24T12:13:00.004Z

Above is a pic of the rear of my Riot showing how the silencer with integral cat is mounted (just!). You may notice that I'm not using the Sylva manifold. My engine came from a 1.6 Focus which has a nice 4 into 1 tubular manifold. Ok the plumbing may look like a musical instrument but it will save a bit of money. Another bonus is I'll be able to put my number plate on the engine cover not silencer.

Decision has been made on the instruments; I'm going the ultra budget route. A Vepor dash will handle speedo, tacho and water temp. That will be supplemented with a VDO fuel guage and a Bright 6 LED array (indictors, charge warning, brake warning, main beam, oil pressure) . Thats it!

2008-09-18T14:59:00.003Z

Today I managed to get the Riot out of the garage and clean the dust off. As the sun was shining I took a picture just to remind me that it is almost there!

Ok be honest, what do you think about the colour scheme? There are some, who shall remain nameless, who have been far from complimentary! Ok the body should have been Oxford blue.

I need to spend some money! It is a toss up between a tumble dryer and and ECU or DigiDash..... As winter is coming, the dryer may win.

I have been contemplating instruments. As I see it I have 3 choices, DigiDash, Vapor

or discrete VDO instruments as in the Sylva demonstrator. The DigiDash appeals, but at £375 + VAT and delivery, it is a bit expensive. I am tempted to go the budget route and fit a Vapor dash, £60 +VAT from Rally Design. I will need to fit a fuel gauge as well.

2008-03-11T14:01:00.004Z

A post is well overdue!

Change of job and lack of disposable income due to work on the house has put a temporary halt to progress on the Riot. Anyway my house now has a beautiful new drive and patio and new drains!
I now work for a company called SpringSource as a consultant. They write Spring the open source Java/EE application framework.

Anyway, something top secret! Below is a picture from Jeremy at Sylva. It is a new chassis based on the Riot except it has parallel sides like the Mojo and additional side bracing. It is going to be clothed with an all new body. I think you can guess what the inspiration will be!

More soon,

2007-05-29T11:58:00.000Z

Mojo Specs - for Yoshi
My Mojo 2 was fitted with a 130PS 1800 (RQB) Zetec E engine from a 1995 Ford Escort Cabriolet. It was fitted with a Weber Alpha Silver kit including 2 X 40 DCOE carbs and ignition ECU. This gives approx 155 BHP with the Sylva exhaust. See here for more info. http://www.webcon.co.uk/alpha/index.htm

Detailed engine information below:
Type: Zetec E Capacity: 1796cc Bore/stroke: 80.6 x 88 mm Compression ratio: 10.0:1 Max power: 130 bhp @ 6250 rpm Max torque: 120 lbf.ft @ 4500 rpm Cylinders: four, in line Cylinder head: aluminium alloy Block: cast iron Installation: mid-mounted, transverse Valve gear: high-lift double overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, toothed belt drive

The gearbox was a Ford BC unit originating from an Escort Mk3 XR3. It was rebuilt by Abbey Transminssions http://www.abbeytransmission.co.uk/
The final drive ratio is 3.84 : 1. The ratios are 1st 3.15, 2nd 1.91, 3rd 1.27, 4th 0.95, 5th 0.76 and reverse 3.61.

2007-04-04T15:36:00.000Z

Latest Riot SE pic from Sylva

Note the screen! This car has a brand new 1.4 Sigma engine and an Emerald K3 ECU (which has yet to start). I think it looks great!

2007-04-04T14:17:00.000Z

Not much done recently. The chassis is being powder coated and I'm assembling a of the donor parts.
One of the issues with the Sigma engine, iB5 gearbox and Mk2 XR2 driveshafts combination is the offside inner CV boot fouls the engine block. This CV joint must be repaced. There are many posts elsewhere on the Internet about this. I'm going to add to them!
The joint that is needed comes from a variety of sources, early Fiesta Mk2 XR2, 1.3 and 1.6 Mk3 Escort and Orion and 1.1 Mk3 Escort van. The good thing about inner CV joints is they don't wear as much as the outers. So if you come across one of these cars in the breakers, it would be quite straight forward to remove the joint and save yourself at least £30! (and get covered in CV grease - yuck!) Oh and believe it or not, Radical also use the same inner CVs!

Here are the part numbers:
Ford - 81TT-3K167-AA
Hardy Spicer - C7840
AMK - TDL3602R
Drive Line - DL3602

The CV boots are all the same and have an AMK part number of TSB31.

2007-03-29T16:43:00.000Z

My Riot is going to have a light blue chassis and a royal blue body. Not totally sure how it's going to work out!
Anyway, while I was in Lincolnshire, I went to my favorite scrap yard, Roger Windley's. By pure luck there was a freshly rolled 1.6 Focus with 44,000 miles on the clock. £175 + VAT seemed a good deal for the engine, so I bought it!
So I now have all the major mechanical bits, 1.6 Sigma from the Focus, iB5 gearbox from a 1.4 Puma, XR2 driveshafts and hubs and Capri struts. I'm going to the factory again in a couple of weeks and should come back with a rolling chassis.
Another bit of luck is the Focus has a tubular exhaust manifold. OK the primaries aren't very long but I'm going to try and use it. It will save me over £200 and I won't have the manifold poking through the engine cover so I can mount the number plate and light on the engine cover rather than the silencer. We shall see...

2007-03-01T16:22:00.000Z

I've been too long without a car project!
Time to plan the next one then! There was only one choice, the Sylva Riot.
It is available in 2 flavours, bike or car engined. The bike option uses Yamaha R1 or Kawasaki ZZR power. I'm going for the slightly softer option, a Ford 1600 Zetec SE (AKA Sigma) engine. I'll source the engine from a Focus. It delivers 100PS in standard trim and should give about 140BHP with a decent exhaust and an Emerald K3 ECU. The car will weigh about 475Kg. 140 BHP will be adequate! I plan to use a Ford iB5 gearbox from a Fiesta.

So far I have sources all of the suspension uprights and hubs, not an easy task as the front hubs come from a Mk2 Capri and rears from a MK2 Fiesta XR2 along with drive shafts. The steering column is from a Ford Sierra.

I'm off to the factory next week to sort out the chassis. Fun!

2006-08-24T10:25:00.000Z

Edirol R-09 SD cards

There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding supported SD cards for the R-09.
I contacted Edirol support and was informed that I should stick to Kingston, SanDisk or Lexar. I have tried both Kingston and SanDisk Ultra II 2GB SD cards and they work fine. I have firmware revision 1.03 in the R-09.

2006-08-22T09:08:00.000Z

Edirol R-09
Nothing to do with kit cars!

I needed a highly portable recording device to record the choirs I sing in. I have used a succession of technologies over the years including a Sony Professional Walkman, Sony MiniDisk and Edirol UA25. I wanted uncompressed recording at 44.1 / 16 in order to create CDs completely in the digital domain. The UA25 is great but can not be regarded as a portable solution.

After a lot of deliberation, I chose and Edirol R-09. The main reasons :

AA battery power

Uncompressed 48 / 24 WAV

Uses SD cards up to 2GB

USB 2

The only negative with the R-09 is there is no support for balanced mics. This is not really an issue for me as I intend to use an Audio Technica AT 822 mic, an unbalanced X/Y stereo condenser mic.

Another issue is one of ruggedness. The case is of lightweight plastic construction. The most delecate part is the battery door. This is fiddly to open and is very fragile. I would have paid a bit more to have a more rugged device. I'll just have to be careful!

2006-06-27T13:43:00.001Z

The end of the Mojo story!

This is a pic of my Mojo at Berth 22, Dock gate 4, Southampton Docks waiting to be loaded on the Sirrius Leader. It is bound for Yokohama in Japan.

2006-06-27T13:36:00.000Z

A wonderful thing! The retest was a breeze! As Southampton had produced such a detailed list of the failures, it was a simple task to go through the failures assessing my rectification work. 45 mins and it was all over.

2006-06-09T09:08:00.000Z

U-tube Manometers and brakes!
My Mojo failed its SVA because the brake fluid reservoir was deemed to be too low.
What I had done was mount the reservoir with the low fill line just above the master cylinder inlet. However this meant that the hose that connects the reservior to the master cylinder followed a torturous route going above the master cylinder and then below. In reality the route of the hose is irrelevant as long as there is a sufficient head of fluid above the master cylinder. This is 'O' level u-tube manometer stuff.

In order to satisfy the tester I had to do to 2 thnigs raise the reservoir and change the method by which the hose is attached to the master cyliner. Originally I had used a straight push-on adapter from Merlin. This meant that the hoses were attached vertically to the master cylinder accentuating the up and down hose path. I replaced thses with push on banjo fittings from AP Racing part number CP2623-41 (available from Demon Tweeks).

These are very nice peices of kit. They allow the hose to enter horizontally giving a much neater hose path.

Below is a picture of my now SVA compliant brake system.

2006-06-01T13:03:00.000Z

Bleeding Brakes!

I'm in process of getting my Mojo ready for it's SVA re-test. As I've had to dismantle some of the brake pipes, I have had to bleed the brakes.
There is a small issue when it comes to bleeding brakes on a Mojo or Riot. The rear calipers are from a Sierra and are mounted to an upside down Fiesta front upright. The consequence of this is the bleed nipple is lower than the inlet hose. This allows a cavity of air to exist between the hose inlet and the bleed nipple. No amount of bleeding will get rid of this air. The only satifactory way to bleed the rear brakes is to remove the rear calipers. Having done this a few time, I've got quite good at it!

Firstly find a peice of wood approx 2" x 2" and cut is diagonally to form 2 wedges.
Now remove one caliper at a time and fit the wedges between the piston and caliper. This will stop the piston coming out during the bleeding operation.

Then rotate the caliper so the bleed nipple is directly above the hose inlet. Now you can bleed as normal. Refit the caliper and repeat on the other side.

2006-05-31T10:19:00.000Z

Quality Suppliers
Big thanks to Stefan Schreiber of Cohline. Cohline is a company you may not have heard of. They make hoses. One of my SVA failures was the hose I had used connecting the brake fluid reservoir to the master cylinders, I had the prove that it was suitable for use with brake fluid. I Had bought the hose from Merlin. The hose was marked "Cohline 2322 0613". I found and email for Cohline on Google and dropped them a line. I now have an official letter stating that the hose was designed for use with brake fluid.
Thanks also to Yokohama. I needed an official letter confirming the rolling circumference of my A032 tyres for speedo calibration. I gave them a call and 2 days later I had the letter!

2006-05-25T12:03:00.000Z

My Mojo failed its SVA on inadequate demisting. I was using a centrally mounted axial demister. There were 2 issues. Firstly it was deemed that there was inadequate fan assistence. Secondly there was not enough coverage of the windscreen. Beware of ads for products that purport to be SVA compliant, they probably won't be if your car is being tested at Southampton!

Here's my solution
2 X 12 volt 160 watt hair driers from www.towsure.co.uk @ £8.75 each.
2 X 70mm rocking vane dash vents from nfauto.co.uk @£9.95 each.
1 X 50cm length of 50mm aluminium heater conduit again from nfauto.
1 X 30 amp switching relay.
1 X blade fuse holder and 30 amp fuse.

There is ample room under the Mojo dash to mount the 2 driers end to end. I mounted a plate between them to stop the opposed fans from cancelling each other out! The 2 driers together will draw 27 amps, too much for most switches. I ran a feed wire from the ignition cutout switch through the 30 amp fuse to the relay which was wired in the usual way.
I removed the handles from the driers and bolted them to some aluminium angle. Some fettling of the plastic casing was necessary. I then made up a plate out of 16g aluminium that is bolted to the underside of the dash and the angle that holds the driers.
I used a hole saw to cut the holes in the dash top for the vents.
The aluminium conduit can now be used to link the driers to the vents.

A word of caution, 27 amps will flatten a battery very quickly! Only use the demister with the engine running and ensure that your cabling can take 30 amps.

2006-05-24T11:28:00.000Z

Escort / Capri uprights or Sierra?

I have just responded to a posting on Sylva chat regarding castor, tail and the Seirra uprights.

Many SVA's have been failed on lack of self-centering. Even though cars apprear to have and adequate castor angle, they still lack self-centering. Why?

There seems to be two culprits. The first is friction. New steering racks can be very tight. The second is the Sierra upright geometry.

If you were to look from the side of a car and draw a line from the centre of upper ball joint to the centre of the lower balljoint and extend it, it should strike the ground in front of the tyre contact patch. This line is called the steering axis. The distance from this immaginary line to the centre of the contact patch is the amount of trail. It is trail that gives castoring effect.

On the sierra upright, the stub axle is offset to the front of the car. This reduces the relative distance between the steering axis and the contact patch, reducing the amount of trail. So 8 to 10 degrees of castor angle may yeild enough trail with an Escort upright where the stub axle passes through the steering axis. However this amount of castor angle will yeild little or no trail with a Sierra upright.

Why did Ford do this? Firstly the upright casting was not optimised for use with double wishbones on a 500Kg 2 seat sports car! Secondly, castor angle has other effects on steering, not just self-cenetering. Castor angle also yeilds negative camber gain on the outside loaded wheel as it is turned. It also adds a damping factor to the self-centering caused by jacking. When the wheel is turned, the castor angle tries to jack the fornt of the car up. Have a look at the picture above. The Sainsbury's trolly wheel has lots of trail but no castor angle. It centres but has a tendency to wobble. The next picture shows a typical car setup with trail genterated by castor. This gives trail, damping and camber gain. Camber angle and trail can be individually controlled by offsetting the stub axle with respect to the steering axis.

Conculusion. The effects of castor angle and tail must be investigated individually. Trial gives self-centering, castor angle, negative camber gain and damping. It is the lack of trail on Seirra based kit cars that causes a lack of self-centering. There are 3 remidies. Raceleda makes a Sierra upright replacement that has no offset. Dial in more castor. This will increase trail but will also affect steering feel and induce bump-steer as the position of the steering arms will have been altered, you have to add a lot to make a difference. The last option is to offset the top ball joint position in order to minimise the offset. The next kit I build will not have Sierra uprights!

Comments above are not necessarily those of Sylva Autokits.

2006-04-20T11:29:00.000Z

Oh dear!
My Mojo failed it's SVA!
5 hour test at Southampton followed by 3 pages of failures!

Defrosting / Demisting inadequate
I had fitted a ceramic heater with an axial fan in the centre of the dash. The tester objected to the fact that it did not have suffiicient reach to the off and near side.
Will fit 2 12 volt hair driers and vents from Europa.

Seat belt fixings inadequate strength
I had specifically fitted cap head bolts to the lower seat belt mounts as they are deemed by the SVA manual to be of satisfactory strength. The tester objected demanding that I prove the bolts are 8.8 grade or better. As the bolts are imperial (7/16 UNF) their grade is not measured in metric units e.g. 8.8! After a couple of calls, the tester relented and said we would accept the cap head bolts.

Rough edges
The wiper mechanism on the bulkhead was deemed to be contactable. If any part of ones body ever made contact with the wiper mechanism, they would be in serious trouble.
Will fit a cover under the dash.

Fog lap not bright enough
I had fitted an MSA approved LED fog lamp. It is really bright. However as it is not E marked, it is subjective.
Will fit an ugly E marked lamp

Exterior sharp edges
Rear silencer. My silencer is repackable and as such has an edge where the silencer can be dismantled. Will grind the edge.
Front coilover bases. Will cover with rubber.
Rear edges of head restreaints. Will fit wing piping.

Heat shield required for exhaust manifold.
The fuel feed pipe passes over the exhaust manifold. A shield is required to provent petrol contacting the manifold in the event of a leakage.
Heat sheild required between exhaust manifold and set backs.

Wiring.
Everything needs to be covered in spiral wrap!

Brake caliper bolts insecure.
Even though new loctited bolts had been used, the tester must be able to visualise the locking mechanism. I will fit split washers.

Brake master cylinder reservoir too low.
Never heard of a U tube manometer? The reservoir was positioned so that the min fill line was just above the highest point in the hoses and about 30mm above the center line of the master cylinders. However the tester could not understand that the head of fluid "visible" to the master cylinder is actually greater than if the reservoir were actually connected to the master cylinder!
Will move the reservoir higher. A real pain as space is tight.

N/R rear brake hose too close to exhaust.
Will fit heat shield and cover the hose in heat reflective material.

Speedo
What a joke! I had at great expense installed a SPA digital speedo. I had installed the sensor and magnet on one of the driveshafts. The test rollers allow the wheels to rotate individually. The aggregate speed is measured. I have a standard open diff installed in the car. An open diff never drives each wheel the same. The results were meaningless. As the speedo is calibrated using the number of trigger points, in my case 1, and the rolling circumference of the tyre, I can get around this by having Yolohama send me proof of the rolling circumference and enter the value in the presence of the tester.

Brake reservoir hose
This is expensive stuff, over £15 a metre. Anyway, I have to get proof from the manufacture, Cohline, that the hose is suitable for brake fluid.

Rear view mirror
I had used a mirror from Halfords that attaches to the screen with a sucker. This is no good. The mirror must be permenantly attached.

Lessons learned
Don't go to an SVA station that does not do lorries! They have no intention to pass your car the first time.
Cover all wiring with spiral wrap
Your rear view mirror must be permenantly attached
Use only E marked lights or be ready to prove equivalence
Seat belt eye bolts must be stamped 8.8. Lower bolts must be either cap head or from the donor. If you use any other bolts, be prepared to prove they are 8.8 equivalent.
Fit a speedo that is calibrated in real units such as wheel rolling circumference. Bike speedos will not be accepted (I verified this).
Cover everything under the dash
If you have a full screen, make sure you have demist vents on both sides. One in the middle won't do.
If fuel pipe / hose passes over any part of the exhaust, there should be a shield to prevent fuel contacting the exhaust in the event of a leak.
Be prepared to prove suitability of any brake hose.

2006-03-10T14:40:00.000Z

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