Europa build blog

Sadly with the loss of both Phil and Dan we were unable to compete at Barcelona but this hasn't stopped us ploughing on with the build of the Hofmann's Europa.  Instead of Barcelona we have entered the 1000Km race with LOTRDC at Brands Hatch and we are hoping to better last years 2nd place finish.

Since the last blog entry was some time ago there has been an awful lot of progress with the car that has gone unreported but I'll do my best to cover the pertinent points over the next couple of blog entries.

Some of the changes to the car have been quite fundamental including the installation of the re-worked chargecooler system, installation of a complete new engine wiring loom, new 46mm Nitron dampers, new bigger brake discs on the front and countless small improvements.

The car has now tested on the dyno and also on the track for a day at Blyton Park, both with tremendous success.  Charge intake temps have dropped by some 40 degrees and the recovery rate of the chargecooler is now incredibly rapid, so we have thoroughly proven the new system.  The new 46mm Nitron dampers have worked out of the box although we have made several changes to the settings from the baseline.  With the new engine wiring loom we have maxed out the capabilities of the ECU and have more information data logged than we have ever had before.  The wiring is done to get the traction control system running and a Lat-G sensor has been installed and this is our next project to get it all working.

This is pre-rad no1 which bolts underneath the stock radiator. Now single pass with 1.25" pipes

High-flow water pipe.  It has a plastic coil so it doesn't buckle on tight radii.

Dan fitting a shroud over the new, big, 2nd pre-rad.  This shroud allows the rad to be bolted up underneath the crash box.

This is the pre rad in place underneath the crash box.  There is only just enough room, we fitting the biggest rad we could!

The 115 litre per minute water pump.  We fitted it at the lowest point in the circuit to give it a good head of water to work with.

A view of the new pre rad from the front showing how the shroud splits out the airflow.

Chargecooler pipework getting fitted up.

This is the old chargecooler unit but modified.  Its now a twin pass as opposed to 4 pass and has 1.25" pipes.  Also, the BOV is now bolted up to a flange on the unit itself, before it used to be hanging from a pipe.

This is the new Tial water cooled wastegate.  It's been re-positioned so that its stronger and doesn't cook the side of the cam cover.

The new oil cooler arrangements.  Twin coolers in there and a very high capacity fan so that the coolers have enough airflow to make them efficient.

Difficult to make out in this picture but underneath the wires is an ECU adaptor plug.  The engine now has a completely stock engine loom and is plug compatible with my home made ECU harness.

The ECU plug being populated

Wires everywhere!!

The ECU and all relays and fuses are mounted up on a vibration isolated board.  Can't believe how many relays this car has!!

This is a turbo heat shield made from stainless. It bolts straight to the turbine scroll and protects the pipes and fitting on the turbo core and cold side of the turbo.

This is an oil/air seperator tank for the dry sump system.  Its foam filled so that the oil in the vapor leaving the engine condenses in side it and heads back into the tank.

This is a switch panel with all necessary switches to run the car along with an 8 position engine calibration switch.

This job is being completed over the next couple of days.  Lightweight roof and clam fitting to try and offset some of the extra weight of the charge cooler and cage.

The Europa dyno testing at TDI

Testing on the track at Blyton Park