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Reversal of Fortune?

Published Sunday, September 08, 2013 by Karen Phillips Racing | E-mail this post

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Following the failure at Mallory Park, the car was taken to Powerstation for a diagnosis.Within half an hour, Andy the technician discovered the problem. The mounting for the crank sensor had sheared and the sensor itself had impacted against the back of the crank pulley. This resulted in damage to the sensor and it tore a pick-up off the back of the pulley. All of this meant the ECU was not being sent a meaningful crank position and thus there was no ignition signal sent to the engine.
Andy fitted a replacement sensor and pulley and then re-fitted the cam belt. He also welded some beading on the ends of two aluminium boost pipes to ensure a more secure fit as they were found to have come apart after the first race at Mallory Park.
Having fitted the Front Mount Intercooler (FMIC), there was no functional need for a bonnet scoop on the car. The large scoop was still capturing air and forcing it into the engine bay. This may have a detrimental effect, by stalling air over the top of the engine thanks to air from the scoop hitting air that had passed through the FMIC and radiator.
It’s a commonly held belief that some kind of reverse scoop would help draw air out of the engine bay. This was backed up by conversations with Vaughan Fletchers’ crew following their Impreza having been in wind tunnel tests.
Richard decided it would be better to use one of the original smaller scoops when reversed, rather than the currently used large one which would still be sticking out into the airflow too much.
Minor modifications had to be made to blank off sections of the bonnet using small aluminium plates. The scoop was then fitted in its reversed position securely and everything painted in black.
Having restored the engine to a running condition and made improvements to the air-flow it was hoped that finally the recent problems were behind her and Karen would have no mechanical issues in the following races.

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About Karen Phillips

  • Karen races her Impreza WRX in the Classic and Sports Car Club (CSCC) Modern Classics series, with her husband Richard as a 2nd Driver. The races are mini-endurance events involving a driver-swap. Karen has previously raced in the Nippon Challenge, a race series for Japanese and Asian cars. Karen has been racing since 2006, having started in the MR2 Challenge.
  • Please check this site regularly for updates on Karen's progress through the season and developments with her race car.

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