Since the Ginetta G50 was launched in early 2008, there have been several technical updates to the car. It is important that car owners / teams etc keep abreast of updates available. You can keep a check on bulletins sent out to registered owners by referring to the list below:

02.04.08 - Diff. Beams
09.04.08 - Damper Pickups
09.04.08 - Judicial Cameras
18.04.08 - Suspension Bushes
28.04.08 - G50 Oil Tank Level
19.05.08 - Alarm Settings
27.05.08 - Damper Identification
30.05.08 - Driver Cooling Ducts
10.06.08 - Throttle Position
11.06.08 - Wishbones
27.06.08 - Flapper Valve
24.07.08 - Flapper Valve part 2
02.07.08 - Damper Spring Retainers
02.07.08 - Ballast Tray
17.07.08 - Thermostat Housing
22.07.08 - Pumping our Fuel on a G50

02nd April 2008

Diff Beams

New MK 3 rear diff beams will be available at Cadwell that will eliminate risk of bending. We would ask teams to fit them using locktite 240 or equivalent also torque the bolts to 95 ft/lbs and lock wire them. GT4 teams please contact stores and we can send them out on Monday.

09th April 2008

Damper pickups

Two cars have been found to have small fractures appearing around the damper pickups on the lower wishbones.

We are currently analysing the wishbone design with a view to providing an updated version. Any updated version will be provided free of charge.

It is the responsibility of all the teams / drivers to check their car before each race meeting commences. As part of the car preparation and maintenance, could all teams / drivers please check their wishbones for any cracks / fractures. Should anybody find a problem, our technical staff will be on hand at Knockhill to advise and we will have replacement wishbones if any are required.

09th April 2008

Judicial Cameras

There seems to have been some minor teething problems with the Judicial cameras, mainly relating to cameras switching off once they have been started.I’d like to make sure that everyone has read the instruction booklet and are making sure that they are doing the following:

• Re-charge batteries prior to each usage. Alternatively, make sure that the batteries have enough power to last a race. There is a low battery indicator – if this is showing then there will not be enough battery power to last the race / qualifying session. Have spare batteries on standby.

• Delete all previous footage from the SD card immediately prior to each use (see point 5 below). Deleting all stored recordings immediately prior to each use will have given enough time for the clerk of the course to request the footage.

• Ensure that the camera is set to Medium resolution. This will give the camera increased storage space whilst maintaining a suitable video resolution.

• Ensure that the camera is set to 30 frames per second, which will give smoother video footage.

• Cameras should not be tampered with when the car is out on track and / or under parc ferme conditions, other than to stop the camera once the race / qualifying has ended. The memory cards should not be removed out on track and / or under parc ferme conditions. Footage should be left on the camera and should only be deleted up to half an hour prior to the camera next being used.

18th April 2008

Suspension Bushes

Lubrication of the inner suspension bushes is needed as part of regular maintenance to reduce friction in the suspension, we do have sachets of grease available or copaslip does the job very well. We have had isolated instances of the rubbers becoming cut this could also be due to sharp edges on the inside of the wishbone bush which should be removed if found, the bush should have a slight chamfer on inside and outside.

28th April 2008

G50 oil tank level

Please ensure that the following method is used to check the oil tank level.Run car up to 95degrees water temp to check fan then hold revs at 3000rpm for 5 seconds then turn off engine and check level is just on the baffle. + or – 10mm. Any lower level can result in oil surge mid corner which could cause the alarm to come on [below 29psi]; some cars at Croft were very close to this happening. Teams should monitor the oil pressure and the level after each run to avoid possible engine damage.

Obviously at some circuits oil is filling the catch tank but the oil level is important.

19th May 2008

Alarm Settings

The current alarm settings on the dash for alarms [2 outside red LEDs]

Ecu temp: HI 80 deg C
Battery: LO 11.2 Volts
Oil Pressure: LO 29 PSI
Air Inlet Temp: LO 0 deg C, HI 60 deg C
Engine Temp: LO 0 deg C, HI 105 deg C
Oil Temp: HI 120 deg C

We have had rare issues of alarms activating so these are the channels to check, obviously the key alarms are water temp and oil pressure. Our advice is for drivers to use the yellow button to always display oil pressure at the bottom of the mini dash, to allow drivers to always be able to view these 2 key channels in case an alarm activates. If these 2 channels are reading correctly then it should be safe to at least continue to the puts to investigate the problem.

27th May 2008

Damper Identification

Contrary to previous information given out, we now can confirm that there is a small difference in the shims between front and rear dampers. The dampers should have a letter F or R stamped on the top eye to denote front or rear. A problem would only arise from teams who have changed dampers after an accident or removed the springs etc. The production cars should all be correct as they come built up with springs.

Please can all teams check they have the correct dampers and that they are correctly marked. Any problems please contact Ginetta. We apologise for any confusion.

30th May 2008

Driver Cooling Ducts

To assist in driver cooling we are allowing the following fitments:

Blank the area in the aero mirrors behind the glass to allow more air into the duct into the cockpit, if this is done a bleed hole of min 5mm must be drilled into the blank to avoid a build up of pressure.Fit a clear Naca duct in the lower part of driver’s side door window pointing towards the area in front of and level with the seat side head restraint.

The duct sizes max length 250mm, max width 115 mm

10th June 2008

Throttle Position

It is possible to achieve 100% throttle (currently 94% from the factory) opening by removing a moulding mark on the pedal stop on the pedal itself and then resetting the M8 bolt we use as the chassis mounted stop.

This does require removal of the pedal.

No other modification is permitted. Any queries please contact Ginetta.

Most teams are already aware of this and it is mentioned in the exploded diagram in the build manual version 2 so please can everyone ensure they have this version [available on a cd] as it contains a lot of useful information and drawings of all sub assemblies and clarification of permitted modifications.

Please could teams ensure that if they wish to add team members or workshop staff to the email list to contact Carrie Hardy.

11th June 2008

Wishbones

Please note that the addition of tacked 8mm washers to the rear lower wishbones where the rear track link is bolted through is permitted to prevent elongation of the bolt holes. The factory will carry out this if required. All new wishbones are now modified in this way. Also the fitting of a shanked bolt is recommended.

27th June 2008

Flapper Valve

We would like to inform you that we have had a new upgrade become available to all cars fitted with the larger ATL 80 litre dry break fuel tank.

A ‘flapper valve’ has been developed to minimize the possibility to fire during an extreme accident such as in the case with the Hunter Abbott crash at Oulton Park.

The valve installed between the fuel tank and dry break fuelling lines prevents fuel returning up the dry break fuelling lines during the rare situation when the car becomes inverted and/or the dry break fuelling lines are severed.

The cost of a ‘flapper valve’ (Part no G50M0065) is £320 +VAT

Please contact stores on 0113 385 4164 should you wish to purchase this upgrade

24th July 2008

Flapper Valve part 2

As we previously communicated, a non return valve has been designed to run in conjunction with the Ginetta G50 dry-break refuelling system.The valve has been developed to minimise the possibility of fire during an extreme accident.

Due to the importance of this new component, Ginetta Cars require all G50 competitors / teams running the GT4 dry break fuel system to acknowledge the immediate availability of this component and that they are aware of the potential risks involved if it is not fitted.

Could I please ask all competitors / teams using the dry-break fuelling system to sign and return the attached disclaimer form as soon as possible. If there are any queries please feel free to contact me.

02nd July 2008

Damper Spring Retainers

Following problems at Thruxton with the spring retainers Ohlins will be sending us a new batch [better quality] to be issued at Brands to cup and GT4 teams – any other teams please contact the stores after 9th July to arrange delivery.

02nd July 2008

Ballast Tray

Could all teams using a ballast tray ensure that the 4 M8 bolts are secured using an M8 penny washer min thickness 1,5mm to ensure that the ballast tray can’t break free in an accident

17th July 2008

Thermostat housing

Please note that following a fracture [probably caused by vibration which in turn caused the engine to overheat] on one of the unused heater pipes that come out of the thermostat housing we are allowing them to be shortened to reduce the chance of this happening again. See enclosed picture before and after. The housing needs to be removed, pipes cut and then a couple of spots of weld added to act as a swage and then the blanks refitted.


22nd July 2008

Pumping out fuel on G50

When pumping out fuel on G50 using the cars internal pump, could all teams be aware that damage will occur to the pump if it is run dry and left running.ATL advise us that as soon as the fuel starts to splutter out the pump must be turned off within 20 seconds to avoid damage- any pumps running longer may well require replacing.