Racers & tuners » Team Saluki » Blog » 1st October 2008

1st October 2008

1st October 2008

The Saluki was back out in the desert for another test. Mark and I met at Mark's to take advantage of an extra day off due to the Eid break.

The plan was to take the same route to Fossil Rock, and push the Saluki a bit harder. The Saluki was obviously enjoying its day off, as it did not want to go out and refused to start. A quick bump start later and we were running all 6 cylinders.

On to the trailer and it was my turn to drive the Duellie and tow the Saluki. This was to give me an experience of towing for the first time.

The Duellie is no problem - I have driven this extensively before in Saudi Arabia. But the trailer was a first. This turned out to be fine, just take it slowly and use the mirrors and the rear view camera. Also being so big most people keep out of the way!

The test went well, Mark pushed the Saluki a bit harder and it performed really well, soaking up the bumps that would have destroyed a normal car.

A couple of issues need to be addressed. First the starting issue, it needs to start when we want it to, and not when it wants to! The cooling is still a concern, so an enlarged oil cooler will be fitted, and some extra vents will be fitted this week.

This is all part of the shakedown process and with 3 weeks to the race starting this is why we are extensively testing the Saluki to iron out all these teething problems.

All being well we will be back out on Friday for some more testing.

26th September 2008

Mark and I met up with Fadi and Mario, and their Range Rover Sport to go out for another test. The shocks have been adjusted and some other modifications made. This time I was riding in the navigators seat, as Paul was not available for this test.

The plan was to take the Saluki for a longer run up to Fossil Rock to really stretch its legs. We raced off and soon reached Fossil Rock, where we waited and waited for Fadi & Mario. We started to get worried, so called them to check they were ok, and found out that they had done a good deed and towed out someone who had broken down.

We headed back to the duellie, where an issues raised its head. The engine was running a bit too hot, and so we drove back gently. We took the Saluki back to the workshop, where a faulty thermostat was diagnosed - what a relief - only a few dirham part to replace.

19th September 2008

With 5 weeks to go before the big event, it was time to leave the workshop and get out in the desert. This was to be a shakedown, to check all the new parts are working and re-acquaint everyone with the car and how it drives.

Driver Mark, new navigator Paul, James and Colette met early on Friday morning with the Saluki caged on its new trailer. This is towed by the Duellie to save the Saluki from the mundane to and froing to its hunting ground.

The Saluki ran for about an hour, getting up to speed and temperature. No problems were reported, but the new shocks needed to be dialled in to get their best performance.

I managed to get some snaps of the action, attached elsewhere on this site.

Share:	Facebook | Digg | del.icio.us | reddit | Stumble It! |
Tags:
Groups:	Team Saluki