This thread is several weeks past due....but well deserved none the less. Big thanks to Alan at Blaine Fab for spending an entire Saturday (into the night even) working on upgrading my cars suspension. He was VERY meticulous throughout the entire process......always taking extra time to REALLY clean everything, double checking every thing, and doing extra little mods along the way (like removing unnecessary brackets and such). He was also FULL of great advice about future modifications that he shared with me.

We installed my bolt-in Unbalanced Engineering tq arm, UMI roto-joint LCAs and relocation brackets. Took a little longer than we expected.....but I blame that on good conversation (read: bench racing) and Alan being so thorough. I won't list the price but lets just say it was BEYOND worth every penny. I only brought a certain amount of cash with me (broke racer) and he honored his original quote which was a steal IMO for his expertise.

Long story short....the modifications shaved approximately 4 seconds off of my Button Willow #13cw with more time still on the table. Car feels much different. Still brake hops like a bitch if I get aggressive into a hot braking zone, but I think the tq arm still needs some dialing in. I would bitch about the car still brake hopping after this tq arm.....but the transponder doesn't lie, and as mentioned it likely needs more adjustment.

On with the pics and Video!

Headin' down


HAD to snap a couple pics of Ken's car (drool)

Getting her ready for a weekend @ Buttonwillow




Show car or Race car???? You decide! (street trim)

My 2:04 lap
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKnAQ9kmKwU...Mg-M56KKpr94%3D


Brake hop > Me (In-car go pro wasn't on correct exposure setting)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gKtCRM5DxY...8MyE76Jbk7sw%3D


Got caught behind some idiots drifting. They were holding me up so when I finally got a chance to pass them I over cooked it into turn one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1W7zWQFC5w...dZF4zJ5BYdh0%3D

Glad the TA shaved some time off the lap. A few questions since the brake hop is still there. How are the LCA's angled with the car at ride height? What rear brake pads are you using?

Thanks!
Jason S.

Carbotech xp12s up front in the stoptech 13" kit, xp8 in stock rear. Ill have to look at the lcas tonight but they are in the top hole on the brackets....in a picture I believe.

That's too much for the rear. I run XP10 front (next time will be XP12's), and AX6 for the rear. Even then I had to be smooth with the brakes, but it would allow me to actually get to the point of locking the front before I got any hop.

Yeah, as Steve noted, way to aggressive a rear pad, even with the added braking traction of the decoupled TA, you still need to run a lot less rear bake pad / bias.

As for the LCA angle, its also dependent on ride height so I can't really tell from the pics.

Thanks!
Jason S.

Car has strano springs, about a 1.25" drop. Ill take a closer look tonight after work.

What do you reccomend for a rear pad? Id really like to ELIMINATE the hop. Its sent me off the track several times, whick twice has ruined a fresh tire. Should i run sonething like a hawk hps so it can tolerate a little heat?? Or a straight up kragan special street pad?

Its partially dependent on brake pressure, braking style etc. If you go with Kragen specials you'll certainly eliminate hop.

Jason

AX6

Im nervous investing $150+ in new pads that just might still have too much bite. You don't think these might be border line?

Keep adjusti.g the ta. My first time out my car wheel hopped like mad under braking. I kept at it adjusting the spring on the ta and the wheel hop is all gone, even on 100 mph+ autox course.

It can cause hop when its too loose, but then you usually hear some "banging" as it hits the saftey loop (which is why its there). So look for witness marks that tell you the TA is hitting the loop. If they're there, then more pre-load. If not, then less rear pad.

Jason S.

4 seconds, that's great! i have been thinking of getting one of the UE pieces.

It was my first 2 day event there, so somevof the time was definitly from increased condidence and dialing in each corner. Makes a big difference IMO compared to 1 day events. No doubt the mods helped though.