BX Club Forum

We\'ve bought a Hoffman rolling road at work and are in the process of digging a trench to put it in before hooking it up with electric and air.

Once it\'s commisioned, we\'re planning to put the word about and offer rolling road day-type affairs to car clubs and forums. It\'s not big news yet, but I thought I\'d get numbers together from various clubs I\'m on to see which ones would be interested.

It\'s measure the power and torque your car is putting out at the wheels, and give you a calculated BHP figure at the flywheel. It\'ll also measure lambda on petrol cars. It\'s good for 550WHP, so should be ok with some BX\'s!

We\'re down in Hampshire right on the south coast, but it\'d be a one-day type thing with a reduced price (usually £30 instead of £50 at most RR places).

It\'s not all about measuring power figures to chat in the pub about.....rolling roads are actually designed to demonstrate how well your engine is performing and highlight any obvious weaknesses. So putting an n/a 1.9D on the rollers isn\'t as stupid as you\'d think, because if you find out it\'s kicking 50bhp, you\'ve got a problem which is probably costing you fuel too!

The rollers are equipped with a fan so strong, it tries to walk off when you turn it on. Once chocked, it replicates the airflow onto the front of the car that you\'d get if you were on the road, so no risk of putting the engine under undue strain.

Plus, it\'s usually a good day out.

If anyone\'s interested, give me a heads up now and if theres enough interest I\'ll put it to the bosses.

That could be fun - I'd be interested to see what the GSis putting out.

slightly off topic, but I watched Campervan Crisis on the telly last night, where a VW camper was put on a road and got 13bhp!

Yes please

I'd really like to bring the BX and 205, but probably have more to gain taking the 205. It feels slightly restricted at the top end...

I remember going to a rolling road day at Northampton motorsport with my Dad when the 16v club was there. Nothing beats hearing a BX 16v at full chat... Even with all that fan roar

Agree with that, my BX might be a ropey old French relic but the noise put the VR6 that went on before to shame

If there isn't enough interest to organise a day, I'm sure we can arrange something for those that do want to do it. The days are such a good laugh though.

Count me in.

I was at the Northampton do with the 16V crowd a few years ago, it was fun swapping the 'chips' in the ECU and comparing them back to back.

Would like to check the 406, to compare the output on LPG and petrol.

We can go to a pub afterwards and have a meal and a chat too.

Mike

I'm now re-igniting this possible event. It'll be based in Hampshire (near Gosport) at the workshop I work in.

I can do either a Saturday or a Sunday and can price runs at £20 each (which is basically the least I can charge without getting hauled across the coals).

Order of the day is to strap your car onto the dyno, run it up in 4th gear to see roughly how much power/torque the engine is still producing. It's all a bit of fun, although it's a good way of determining how well (or not) your engine is still running. Contrary to uneducated logic, it doesn't put the engine under levels of stress any higher than you'd experience on the road. It's equivilent to slowing down to 30mph in 4th gear, and then flooring it until the power tails off. Only there's no wind resistance or bumps, and the car is being monitored closely, which in normal road conditions it isn't.

You get a printout like this:



Can make a social day out of it too - lots of nice local pubs/resturants etc.

If you're interested, start making a list here. There's no minimum number required - I'm doing it for a bit of fun (hence why it's so cheap) and can open the doors for even a few people.

Depends on the date as Hampshire is a bit of a hike for me, but definitely interested - thanks for being willing to set it up!

What's a 'rolling road'? I thought it was a chocolate biscuit of some kind?

Interesting ...I think my pump timing needs some tweaking and I could do a before & after! I see "French car day!! "SIMPLYFRENCH" Beaulieu" is on sun 8th June - and relatively close to you .

As you know I am definitely up for it, but preferably not until the GT is OTR, which i'm aiming for early June (for the Simply French day).

Cor, £20 is a bargain! Cheers Kitch.

We could have a GT competition! if Tim and Kitch's dad (who is not arctic steel!) come in their GT's, then best running/most powerful GT owner gets a drink bought for him by the other two??

Hi all. Date-wise it wouldn't be until June/July anyway. Connecting it to simply French is an idea, but you probably need the whole day there for museum etc. Dates are very flexible.

Kitch wrote:Hi all. Date-wise it wouldn't be until June/July anyway. Connecting it to simply French is an idea, but you probably need the whole day there for museum etc. Dates are very flexible.

So how about day before/after simply french day? Might be easier for people coming long distances if they got a cheap room overnight. I would do that if so.

Just need to find someone to bring my astra... Boyfriend hates it, and he isn't driving the GT so i'll have to hunt around.

saintjamesy89 wrote:

Kitch wrote:Hi all. Date-wise it wouldn't be until June/July anyway. Connecting it to simply French is an idea, but you probably need the whole day there for museum etc. Dates are very flexible.

So how about day before/after simply french day? Might be easier for people coming long distances if they got a cheap room overnight. I would do that if so.

Good idea and I could do that but the risk is those who can't stay the night can't then justify two return trips. Might be worth working something out though.

saintjamesy89 wrote:As you know I am definitely up for it, but preferably not until the GT is OTR, which i'm aiming for early June (for the Simply French day).

Cor, £20 is a bargain! Cheers Kitch.

We could have a GT competition! if Tim and Kitch's dad (who is not arctic steel!) come in their GT's, then best running/most powerful GT owner gets a drink bought for him by the other two??

Not for me chaps, no intention of blowing my car thanks theres LOTS of youtube videos of exploding engines to make me cautious. I would be a little careful Tom, you cars been off the road for a long time.

Roverman wrote:... no intention of blowing my car thanks...

Sticking to just polishing then.