worst lapping day, ever.... - F-Body Road Racing and Autocross Forums

man, it was a comedy of errors and bad luck this wkend.

i thought i was all prepared, so i didnt go for a real test drive before the event, which i should have done b/c i have a few new mods that i didnt have last time. on the way to the track, i noticed a SERIOUS driveshaft vibration.. there was a slight vibration from my driveshaft so i read somewhere that you can sometimes cure this by rotating it 180* on the pinion yoke. apparently, this wasnt the case, b/c anything over 120 kph was buzz-buzz city. i should have drove faster during my test drive to check it out...

so i get to the track and the new aluminum jack i just bought (but didnt test, go figure) broke at the saddle. so i had to break out the scissor jack that comes with the car and crank away. my dr says i don't get enough exercise, so i guess there was a good side to it. anyhow, the front wheels (i bought a set of 10 spoke's with r-compounds) go on w/o a hitch, but the rears wont fit for some reason. these are factory gm wheels.. what gives? i found out later after doing some reading on the net that earlier 4 gens had slightly larger rear hubs than the front, which require you to slightly file the inside of the hole to fit. had i tried it on before, i would have known and did the 10 min fix. DOH DOH DOH.

since i had the front r- compound tires on anyways, i decide to run it this way with the stock 16" all seasons on the back. i figure, what the heck, i'll just take it easy and the increased front grip can only help, right? i tried to catch this sti along the back straight, and late braked going into turn 1.... fronts were fine, but then oh crap! i forgot about the crappy tires i had in the rear! the back end came around and swapped ends. mowed the lawn, but everything seemed ok. however, later on, i developed a clunking sound from the rear that only happens when cornering - ill have to diagnosis what it is later. any clues of what to look for?

one of the positive notes is that the power steering cooler i installed seems to work. no more whining from the pump.

torontoZ28 View Member Profile	Jun 13 2005, 03:24 PM Post #1
Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 195 Joined: 16-November 04 From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Member No.: 543	man, it was a comedy of errors and bad luck this wkend. i thought i was all prepared, so i didnt go for a real test drive before the event, which i should have done b/c i have a few new mods that i didnt have last time. on the way to the track, i noticed a SERIOUS driveshaft vibration.. there was a slight vibration from my driveshaft so i read somewhere that you can sometimes cure this by rotating it 180* on the pinion yoke. apparently, this wasnt the case, b/c anything over 120 kph was buzz-buzz city. i should have drove faster during my test drive to check it out... so i get to the track and the new aluminum jack i just bought (but didnt test, go figure) broke at the saddle. so i had to break out the scissor jack that comes with the car and crank away. my dr says i don't get enough exercise, so i guess there was a good side to it. anyhow, the front wheels (i bought a set of 10 spoke's with r-compounds) go on w/o a hitch, but the rears wont fit for some reason. these are factory gm wheels.. what gives? i found out later after doing some reading on the net that earlier 4 gens had slightly larger rear hubs than the front, which require you to slightly file the inside of the hole to fit. had i tried it on before, i would have known and did the 10 min fix. DOH DOH DOH. since i had the front r- compound tires on anyways, i decide to run it this way with the stock 16" all seasons on the back. i figure, what the heck, i'll just take it easy and the increased front grip can only help, right? i tried to catch this sti along the back straight, and late braked going into turn 1.... fronts were fine, but then oh crap! i forgot about the crappy tires i had in the rear! the back end came around and swapped ends. mowed the lawn, but everything seemed ok. however, later on, i developed a clunking sound from the rear that only happens when cornering - ill have to diagnosis what it is later. any clues of what to look for? one of the positive notes is that the power steering cooler i installed seems to work. no more whining from the pump.

Teutonic Speedra... Teutonic Speedracer View Member Profile	Jun 14 2005, 02:46 AM Post #2
LS1 Inside! / Toolbox / Mechanical Engineer Group: Advanced Members Posts: 2,215 Joined: 5-February 04 From: NJ Member No.: 179	QUOTE (Ojustracing @ Jun 13 2005, 18:28) Dennis your not supposed to go 3 wide going into Big Bend!!!!!!!!! I think the closest I've come to having a spin was the Down-hill at this same track. Car for whatever reason wheel hoped really bad all the way down the hill, but I did save it though. Later John John- Yeah....that's why I was braking so hard....trying to get ahead on the straightaway so that we wouldn't go 3-wide into big bend. Sounds like too much braking on the downhill (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) ....just a tap is required, if any brakes at all! Brake hop requires significant braking.....how fast are you going that you need to slow down that much on the downhill? (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) -Dennis