Last year I hit the track again and sorta kept track with a blog type thing in a thread on another forum. figured I copy paste it here and then keep it up to date.

After about a 10 year hiatus, I decided I wanted to go racing again(with corners this time around), and spent the winter getting the car back road worthy, and fixing a lot of issues. Had my first Autocross today

never been a fan of cone dodging, but for $20 bucks and 10 minutes from my house to Hoonigan around right in front of the cops it was worth it. Defiantly a good shake down.

I was really pleased with how the car did. Especially the front end. Braking and cornering were great. The back end not so much. Cornering was fine, but I just couldn't get any power down, with the power im putting out, the 4.10s, first gear, and a track that was a puddle of water that morning I just couldn't give any skinny pedal. Due to the venue they also had a "no breaking traction" rule that made it even tougher.

I felt like all my iRacing actually hurt me in turn-in and braking, I could have been way more aggressive there in real life, than iRacing allows. Old habits die hard.

For some reason the outside footage looks like slow mo. My dad rode with me and after watching from the outside he thought the same, going way faster inside the car, than it looks like watching.

took it easy the first run, then the last 3 starting trying to push more. ran 30.5, 30.4, and 30.7. The 1LE Camaros and SRT8s with there several event experience were running high 29s. the pros were running 27s in there Miatas and Sti's.

But I didn't hit any cones, the car survived, and I had a blast! Im hooked



how the hell do you post an embedded video?
https://youtu.be/l2xpogkr7MY

Car looks and sounds awesome! I can can tell you you needed to be in 2nd. You have plenty of low end torque to pull out of the turns. And you're probably going to want to drop to 3.42's if you're planning on doing a lot of track days.

Videos always look way slower than real life. I can barely imagine what it feels like to actually be driving an LMP1 car.

suspension right now is eibach sportline springs, stock front struts (120k on them), and rear summit drag shocks. essentially if you hand picked the parts to to make a fbody handle as terrible as possible that's what im running

yeah strano/konis are still the setup for a track/street car.

got the half of that setup in. Koni Adjustables!



new springs are in!

BMR 550lb fronts and 160lb rears.

ironically it will actually raise my car, these are only a 1.25" drop and my current Eibach Sportlines are a 2" drop. but the added roll/pitch support/response will by far overcome the CG change. Eibach rates were 360lb/137lb

well this weekend I had my first PDS at TWS. 2.9 mile road course. What a blast!
First day went decent, car did pretty good. but the second day I kept boiling the brake fluid so I had to take it easy on entrys with only about 50% brakeing power available. pedal never would come back even after cooling. on the final set I lost the brakes completely. still a blast though. time to do work. cant wait until the next one!

Final Day. had already boiled brake fluid twice on earlier sessions. braking power and pedal were down to about 50%, so I just went easy on entries so I could still finish the day. Ignore the early lifting and blown apexes. 4th and final session of the day coming into #10 (1:40 in video) the pedal went all the way to the floor with zero braking. I turned in as hard as I could to try to keep on track and to try to get the rear to kick out to bleed off speed. droped the drivers rear off. still had zero brakes even after cooling.

Video
TWS PDS Last Lap Brake Failure 7 19 15 - YouTube

pulled an all nighter and got the suspension in. about 3 hours.

moved the C clip in the front that holds the lower spring cup to give an extra 1/4" drop



out back i pulled out the rubber spring isolator at the top and did the heater hose mod to get a extra 1/2" drop in the rear.



sits a little higher than my old springs still as i expected. front is livable but the rear is still a little higher than id like. may end up cutting 1/2 to 1 coil off the rears.

also did a full flush on the brake fluid using an air bleeder. fully flushed with cheap brake fluid first, then again with the Motul 600. the stock fluid was filthy, the cheap fluid was clear, and the Motul was amber, so it made it real easy to see when it was completely flushed at each corner. followed each corner with a couple manual pump bleeds to check for air.
brakes feel good now. harder and higher than i ever remember the pedal.



got an alignment as well. i went with -1.0 camber (factory specs are +.4!) and 5.0 degrees of caster. had some toe out in it at first to make turn in more responsive, but ended up going back to 0 so i didnt have to worry about scrub or crack walking on the highway.
pretty cool $60K alignment machine only used cameras. no electronics in the wheel attachment.

had my second PDS last weekend
good times






I don't know if im getting better, or everyone else got slower, but on 3 of my sessions I started 1 minute behind everyone and by the end of the session I had passed the entire field (about 12 cars id guess) I felt like I was actually pushing less as I was on $20 autozone pads.



lunch time got to drive up and check out the old skyboxes atop the bleachers. cool perspective from up there.






few clips I threw together trying to use GoPro Studio, not my best driving, just trying to get a hang of the program
TWS PDS 8 15 - YouTube

on my final session of the weekend, I actually got my blue group "solo" approval!
first time out on the track without an instructor. good way to end the weekend.
unfortunately on my 3rd lap I blew it. came into 4 too hot and trailed the brakes waaay too long and spun at the top of the hill.
Video
TWS PDS 8-15 First Solo Session and Last Lap Spin - YouTube

went back to local AutoX this last weekend and did alot better.













vid of my timed runs
AutoX 8 15 - YouTube

run #3 (thanks Steve!)
Cory AutoCross pass 3 - YouTube

well I think I finally reached the end of my braking ordeal.



14" 5th Gen Stoptech Cryogenic frozen rotors, with center bore machined out to 70.6mm for 4th gen hub
Gen 1 CTS-V Brembo 4 Piston Calipers
Hawk HP+ Pads
Kore3 Stainless and coated lines

Huge difference over stock






well after fitting the brakes and after all my research the new brakes wouldn't clear my wheels. diameter had about .1" which I was fine with, but the fat lip and the +25 offset, the spokes wouldn't clear the new huge calipers. enough spacer to clear the calipers made the tires stick out 2".

So I had no choice but new wheels. cheapest wheels with the specs I needed were these Black Chrome C6 Spyder wheels. 18x9.5 +40 offset.



after getting the wheels in and test fitting them, I took them in to get my old tires transferred to these wheels. well they were so dry rotted the beads were just ripping as they tried to get them off the old wheels. (date stamp on tires was 200 so I had no choice but to order tires. this "cheap" big brake upgrade was adding up now.

figured I may as well go with something sticky, but wanted to still keep street stock legal (200 min tread wear) so I went with the Hankook Ventus R-S3 V2 tires. 285/35/18 Lots of great track reviews especially for there price. there as wide as my old BFG 295s



finished up












bedding in test drive showed a lot of promise. I think I may need harness's now...

best event yet! car was completly transformed!









Hankooks and brakes did amazing. Only had to use probly 25% brake power/pedal and ran all weekend long strong zero fad. Also really helped the Braking bias, no more oversteer when braking, and ABS really left me alone. Big improvment. Tires were awesome, covered me on a few bad lines keeping me straight and on track. Lots more grip and turn in and got rid of under steer. Car did great! for the first time nothing broke, failed, or let me down (well broke seat braket) If i had to find a flaw i would say that using so little of the massive braking power, it gave back very little "feel" threw the pedal since i was just breathing of them. but still insane performance.



the square tire setup really livened up the car too, lots more turn in and neutral steering, vs the old staggered setups understeer. also the lots softer compound was really working and making a difference. big jump in grip.



Had one of my best sessions ever Saturday i think it was. Decided to go out with the leaders. Following #1 full race C5Z. Gave me something to push for and overcome my comfort zone. Was flying out there and really wheelin the car finally. Tires were screamin for mercy. I kept pushing and the car kept taking it. awesome run. Also finally figured out a better line for me into 8, turning in early. What a blast!!!!

Heres a few random clips from the weekend (long)
TWS PDS 9 15 - YouTube

also got to run in the rain



saw the storm coming right before my session and knew i wanted to try it. most sat out, i think only 8 or so of us went out in the wet.

i left it in 5th and putted around, dropping my cornering speeds to around 60. caught a few cars that i guess were going even easier than i was.

slow and boring wet vid. got progressivly worse as the session went on.
TWS PDS 9 15 rain session - YouTube

Had an awesome event at the last autocross. Car and myself did very well. It was a really open course which suited my bigger car well. Was super stoked with my times. I did so well I ended up winning the RWD class! and even better I also beat the entire AWD class too other than 1st place.



Vids of the a few runs. better runs start at the 3:09 mark
AutoX 9 15 Part 1, 1st Place RWD - YouTube



































and then this happened





forged internals and ARPs, but im assuming a rod or rod bolt let go.

video here, about the :29 second mark I started hearing a double exhaust note/echo, i figured i had just blown a header gasket or broke an exhaust weld or something. I backed off but kepts going. coming back into the crossover the rear tires locked up and the motor let out the smoke. no real noises, booms, or scrapnel sounds. just died.
AutoX 9 15 Part 2, Hole in Block Blown Motor - YouTube

We got the motor pulled out last night









drain plug

carnage pics

pan



rods wanted out!



Damage was worse than we thought. #5 and 6 completely disintegrated. Forged rods, forged pistons, cylinder walls/block, crank, bearings, valves, everything. Shrapnel got 3 and 4 too



whats left of #5



top and right you can see the valve strikes. bottom left you can see where the piston hit the bowl of the head. and the piston spun nearly 180*



you can see the hole in the block at the top. and all the carnage below. unbelievable.

head work is now done,
4 new 2.02/1.6 Ferrea valves
new Dual .650 PRC springs
New Ti retainers
new Steel seats
new PRC Viton seals
valve job

well ive got this thing back together

went with a Texas Speed short block. Aluminum 5.3L bored back to 5.7. forged goodies and overall nearly identical to what I had before other than block.



heads are my old ported 862s that I had completely refreshed. replaced the 4 bent valves, new double PRC .650 springs, new Ti retainers, new seats and seals, decked and valve job.



the cam was a big one for me. I spent 3 weeks talking with a bunch of the industry's biggest getting specs, opinions, and learning a lot about valve events. ended up having Tick Performance Custom grind me this cam. Went with lower duration, and a reverse split lift to try to give up some big end peak HP to gain some mid range power band. 227/235 .619/.600 112.6 LSA



long block assembled



accessorized and wired



I just liked this pic was about to steam clean the engine bay, firewall, and K-member



Motor back on the K-member! intake, headers, clutch, etc etc on.



lifted back into place. was a cool feeling/moment



the first fire up!
New Motor First Start - YouTube

all finished. I now have about 450 break in miles on the motor, and next week will do the final oil change to remove the break in oil. Ordered a case of Joe Gibbs LS30 oil to run from now on.
I did lots of other updating along the way as opportunity presented itself. basically restoring everything under the hood to brand new parts and making all little issues "right"

well i had my first time back at AutoX last weekend. motor had about 400 miles on it, and still had the break in oil in it, hasnt even been on the dyno yet

The course was longer and much tighter than previous courses. not big car freindly. two 150* hairpins and two loops. the good news for me, only 2 of the Miatas showed up to compete for this event.






id been battling with a couple S2000's all day for top honors. we'd worked our times down to a 49.1(him) and a 49.2 (me). well on my 4th run(3:30 in the video) the sun was setting and i knew the track was going to cool off and this would be my last chance to get a good time in and i went out knowing i had to push harder. ended up stomping a good run and put down the quickest time of the event by a large margin

had a blast and the car did great! also got to do some night time fun runs. times were about 2 seconds slower in the dark (5:30 in the video)
AutoX 12 15 - YouTube

well im a couple weeks behind getting these edited and posted but here they are. PDS at TWS.

Car did great. I was able to pass everyone in my group. Saturday there was a '15 911 I wasn't able to pass, our pace was the same but he was far more aggressive in traffic so I never could get around him. Sunday however there was half the cars and I was able to pass him.


















probly the highlight of the weekend was having a F430 in two of my sessions! pretty sweet getting to race against it, ive never seen another Ferrari on track.
Saturday in the sun I was able to catch and pass him in two laps. Sunday in the rain however, his mid engine was giving him a lot more rear grip, took me 4 laps but I was still able to catch and pass him.
going by a $200,000 super car in a $10,000 Camaro was a pretty cool feeling









heres a little mash up id did combining all my laps from the weekend into a single lap.
TURN IN FOR WHAT - YouTube

part 2

on the last lap on sunday, on the front stretch i threw the belt off the pulleys. coming into turn 1 at 130 mph with no power steering was a serious pucker moment. but kept it on the pavement. overheated the car getting it back to pits with no waterpump, but so far everything has checked out. no blown head gaskets.
however unfortunately while checking for water in the oil (none), I came across this.



the blue color, and the spring were an immediate giveaway. valve seals.
pulled the valve covers and replaced them. over half of them were just floating on the valve stems. the ones what were down were crushed. 5 total.
it looks like the machine shop just slide the seals over the stems and didn't tap them on. just pushed on with hands.
got them all swaped out to some comp cams seals and fully seated on the guides.

old seals




got her back together and everything good to go other than tune. still fighting that.

well i was a little slow getting vids edited, but here is the update from the PDS earlier this month

Car did awesome.

spoted this on the way to the track saturday morning, had to speed up and the wife snaped a couple pics. i didnt think R34s were legal for import yet?






Compilation of laps
TWS PDS 1 16 - YouTube

end of day 1


a goal i set when i started racing here was to get a sub 2 minute lap in this old straight line boat. i didnt know if it was possible but saturday i did it for the first time i was so stoked. ended up running 4-5 sub 2 minute laps threw out the weekend.
Between the tune, and corner 1 i think there could be another full second to be had.



heres some unedited clips of a few of the 1:59 laps
TWS PDS, 1 -'16, Sub 2 minute laps, 1:59.xx - YouTube

the quick times came at a cost though. after only a few events my new hancooks are nearly shot, even with the proper camber. now i see why racing is so expensive

i threw another belt saturday, and was fighting that all weekend. when i would get above 6400 the tensior would start ringing and then throw the belt and of course id loose waterpump and power steering. had to just baby it on the big end of the front and back straights to keep belt on.

headed home after a great weekend



solved the belt issue with a Hawk fixed/manual belt tensior after getting back home.






added a Founders Performance panhard rod too. was getting some rearend lateral movement and clunking.

last event update.


Fought brake vibrations all weekend from my very first session. was gyrating the steering wheel on left turns when braking, not the usual vibration from warped rotors, more of a distinct left to right movement back and forth. would not do it on rights or in a straight line.
which was weird because they were fine last event, and I only drove it to work once and to the car wash. then first session this month I got the steering pulsing. also could not reproduce it on the street/ access road.
tried rotating tires, bleeding brakes etc. my first thought was a bad wheel/abs sensor, pulsing one wheel. it would also try to straighten the car when braking.
but as the event went on I decided to keep racing and it became obvious when It started doing in on rights and straights it was warped rotors, and mine are custom machined so I couldn't replace them. spare set bought now and on the way to machine shop tommorrow...

you can see the heat in the rotor (after event) perfectly aligned with the cooling vanes inside.






so turning was quite a work out. my arms were burning trying to hang onto that wheel. also in all the footage you can see when I brake it would violently shake the camera. so I didn't make a video. random stuff below.
I did manage a couple of 2:00.8 laps though

had a 458 in two of my sessions! got near him a couple times, but because of traffic we never really got to run each other. I was gaining time on him though, had we been able to get near I think I would have had him.



later sessions sunday my tires were starting to heat cycle out. just not holding the lines they previously could. probly there last event.

I did get to see a new 5.0 Mustang dukes of hazard style. I was coming up on him quick, and I think he let the pressure push him too hard. which is weird because ive run with him before and hes a really great driver. I felt bad after and sort of responsible. I went to check on him after giving him cool down time. and damage seemed limited to a destroyed splitter and front bumper. was a really nice car.
TWS 2 16 MUSTANG JUMP - YouTube

saw this beautiful 911 RSR. immaculate SEMA quality race car build. thing was perfect inside and out. wiring and layout looked like a circuit board. top notch build. really stood out. it was first time out since build. he wasn't going easy on it either. wish I would have gotten pics of inside and under "hood"
LS3 powered Z06 behind it. running 315 slicks on all 4 corners






Vaders Z06 drool






red/white group going out
Tws 2 16 red and white group - YouTube

Radicals 1500cc hyabusa motors

Well ive got a big race coming up this weekend, well to me. Its put on by Track Guys which is a Mustang group. Ive started calling it "me vs the world" for some reason i want to have a good showing at this one.

started by pulling out non essentials. droped right at 61 pounds. the back seat was the hardest. 2 bolts turned into a 2 hour ordeal.



made a radio delete panel of of some aluminum.



while pulling off the RS3s i noticed a heavy blue ring heat. they were shot and heat cycled out. not holding there usual lines anymore.



Ordered a new set of RS3s from Tire rack but they were on national back order for a month, so i switched to a set of Dunlop ZII Star Specs. had to drop down to a 275, but they are as wide as the RS3 285.



also picked up a new set of High Carbon rotors with Z clad coating for backup. had them machined(center hole). went up to $97 for the machineing. Ive got to find a way to do this myself. These will be my back up set.



Track guys requires an SA rated helmet. no motorcycle helmets. so i had to pick up this SA2015 racequip. its good for 10 years.

had the origonal rotors cut to get them back straight. had to have it done twice. first time they were still warped. also got some Quantum hub mounted braking cooling ducts and some ultra high temp Allstar performance hose. as well as some other misc from lowes.



tires mounted, time to go to work



well the expensive brake duct hose didnt work out. it was MUCH too stiff and unflexible. picked up some foil duct from lowes to get me threw weekend.












i plan to swap out to some better black hose, and proper intake ducts after the event.



its predicted to rain during the event, but im hoping there wrong. i really want to do well.

Thank you for taking the time to post all of this. I can't wait for the next update! This forum needs more of this.

thanks! as long as yall enjoy them, ill keep posting updates. I liked your threads as well.

I wish the videos would embed, thread is kinda missing all the important bits without them.

hope to have update posted soon.

Did you ever find out what caused that built engine to grenade like that??

To prevent that from happening to your (beautiful) new block/full rebuild did you do anything to address the oiling system (Accusump, IR baffles/scraper, more oil in sump, better pump/thicker o ring, etc.)?

An ATI crank damper would also help when you spin it up above 6300 as well.

Also, I understand just how unbearable having no AC on the street in Tejas can be, but you could drop a BIG amount of weight off of the nose IF you could handle it.

Here's my brake ducts, maybe you can use this as inspiration. http://www.paveglio.com/firebird/2001tamods.html#duct

I've seen that R34 at a couple of Houston Region autocrosses. It's a lot of car. Not enough tire under it.

judging by the bronze color on the crank bearings, were assuming it lost oiling.

yes on this new build i spent all my money on oiling, and none on horsepower.
Improved Racing oil pan baffle
High Pressure oil pump
GTO pcv conversion
and all new oil components, pickup tube, o ring, windage tray etc. and Joe Gibbs LS30 oil.

yeah for now im gonna keep AC. car doesnt see much street time, but sitting in the car in hot pits gets pretty sweaty when its 105 outside + t-tops.
definatly looking into other major weight reductions this winter though.

A long time ago the nick name "Stang Killa" was given to me by the car club in my second camaro. Some 18 years later im proud to still represent the name. Entered A Track Guys mustang event this last weekend with over 100 Mustangs, and made the name, the car, and myself very proud!







one thing i did notice was the trash talking via custom license plates, particularly on the SVT and Shelbys. i got a kick out of reading them as i was passing them.
Passes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCPo0yLslK4

The good new is that the brake ducts survived. I don't have any kind of before and after temps, but that cant be hurting anything. Summer may tell the truth if they were worth the effort or not.

The bad news as i suspected is the new Dunlops were not near as sticky as the old Hankooks.
i was running 39/38 hot pressures like i did in the Hankooks.
-First thing i notices was no feedback. they don't squeel at all. only a super lower pitch ripping sound after youd past the limit, that was barely audible. no high pitch squeeling at the limit like the RS3s.
-they don't like heat and instantly loose traction and all of it if you get them too hot, which was easy to do in only 80 degree day.
-faster responding than RS3s. the stiffer sidewall helped this im sure. i was curb hoping all day with them turning in so fast at apex.
-a more lively steering wheel. lots more quick twitches to drive them vs the hankook smoothness/sluggishness.
-less grip overall. especially initial.
-less feel and feedback. not a connected feeling.
-lake of sound and feel left me with no idea when i was at the limit.
-lost 1-2 seconds a lap. and i had to work a LOT harder to keep it at that. drivin identical would be more like 3 seconds per lap.

on my very last session (after a bad overheat of the tires the previous session) i decided to drop down to 37/36 psi. this definatly helped, they never over heated. but they were sorta of a sloppy mess in regards to handling. felt like a 70 series sidewall or something.



1 of 3 real Cobra Rs there


They also had 2 GT350s there. (actually 4 on sunday. ironically all 4 were identical gunmetal, with blue stripes and black wheels) they were all drooling and taking photos of it all weekend. instructors were also giving ride alongs all weekend. everyone said it was pretty amazing. even GM guys. all i know is they were holding me up all weekend. passed both of them twice.
i didnt know much about them, just that they were new and track oriented. Wife looked them up after the event and said they were 526HP.


GT350 wouldnt let me pass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ClYTJ97l4

i did get lucky once and got two clean laps in. best lap of 2:00.39 but most were 2+ seconds seconds slower with the Dunlops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s9iGFt-FxU

rare Viper TA (Track Attack) one of 93 made. never got to run him. he fell back on the warm up lap.




Overall a good weekend. made new freinds, and the car survived and had a great showing.

^^^Were all of the GT 350s the 'base' cars (like shown in the pic, with the alloy wheels), and NOT the GT 350 Rs, which have the carbon fiber wheels, deleted EVERYTHING (except a heater), bigger front splitter and rear wing, and better suspension components??

BFG REALLY needs to get those wider 18" Rival sizes (like a 295/30-18) released already!!

Thanks for posting... seems like TWS is having all the clubs and fast cars out there before they shut down...I ran there in my charger but haven't had time since I have owned the Camaro. I run the Dunlops for autocrosses..275 40 18..I run pressures lower 28/34 and when they get hotter they get more grip..haven't overheated them yet. I am running w the Porsche club autocross at grandsport on Saturday so they might get really hot

I wouldn't call them base cars but yes they were all GT350s not GT350Rs. no slouches, but no, not factory race cars either.

ar52, thanks! yeah im sure the Dunlops would do better in autocross, where they don't have time or the speed to get cooked. I am anxious to give them a second shot now that I discovered they like lower pressures than the RS3s.

Post up if you are in the Houston/ College Station Area again racing...

They say you only get out of something what you put into it. So after my local tuner struggling for months with the new motor, i decided to make the 5 hour trip to Victoria to see the famous Texas tuner Patrick Guerra.




before starting i did a little 9am injector swap. went from 26lb to 36lb




Dyno Pull #1
https://youtu.be/6JzQ2PWG2QI

Dyno Pull #2
https://youtu.be/3QAVYN05o_A



car put down 426HP and 397TQ on a Mustang Brand dyno. im sure on a normal DynoJet would add 10HP or so more.

(origonal local tuner had it at 415 on a DynoJet but later had to add fuel and timing which probly lowered it to the 405 range)

all in all i probly gained in the 20-25HP range or so, but most importantly its running right now. and efficient.
it will cold start and idle, and even idle with the AC on. and im sure it wont shoot fire when i lift and stink like hell from being so rich like it was before.

cant wait to test on track!

Well last weekend had an Autocross after the new tune. car ran great. It was a super tight course with a bunch (4-5) hairpins that this big car doesnt like. Ill admit it wasnt as much fun. also could have used the stickier RS3s, would have really helped. but in the end the car did really good. had a bunch of folks impresed to have an old camaro out there doing so well. there always perplexed/amazed.











most of the feild was running in the 45s, with a couple 43s. i had a 43.6 but wasnt just super stoked with the run.
on my last run (3rd in video) i put down my best time.
https://youtu.be/fXbdrvjUoNM

buuuuuut technically i didnt win. there was this guy (super nice) he was supposed to be in X class but they didnt have enough to fill the class so they left him in RWD. he ran a little over 1/2 a second quicker than me.

Miata floor pan, drivetrain, and suspension. Front engine. square tube Fabbed front and rear frame. Channeled bug body. Coil overs. 10x20x13 slicks. 1700lbs and $1500 to build. looked damn fun.


you can really see how low/small this thing was here


check out the seat position!


https://youtu.be/GuJ__aZ8Los

my folks came out to watch, and i got to give my mom a ride during the fun runs. i tried to be a little smoother. she didnt scream once
https://youtu.be/o5sX9tdaNOI

There was also a GTR out there doing exhibition runs. they came up to me and asked if i wanted a ride. so i did


for some reason i wasnt expecting much but to be honest i was impressed. the grip levels were unreal. unfortunatly it was too gravely for launch mode, but it still toke off sounding like the tires were being riped in half. and the areas it would accelerate were so unnatural coming from RWD all my life. and as heavy as it is i was really blown away how nibble it was in the hair pins, it never slide or understeered once. but it was still running 2 seconds slower than me
https://youtu.be/axVXRjbtTM8

well im a little late getting these posted.

got brake ducts V2.0 done. replaced all the silver flimsy duct with the stiffer black duct, and only used the silver duct on the spindle where i needed the flex. also painted the intakes for a more stealth look.





also installed a new rack and pinion with tie rods. this was the last piece of the puzzle for the cars full mechanical restoration.


did a midnight race alignment when we were done. got toe back to 0, and increased camber from -1.0 to -1.2. also did it this time with me in the car. my weight changed the camber by .25 degrees.


also added a Power steering cooler. it worked awesome. reservoir never boiled and didnt puke out PS fluid all over the engine bay every session.


and then it was race day! rain held off and we had cooler 75-85 temps and overcast.


the harder Dunlops really liked the cooler track temps. i was able to run 37/36 psi and it really liked it. never faded and grip was up. still didnt have the initial bite and turn in of the Hankooks, but i was able to pick the time back up by being smoother and rolling threw mid corner more.


ran good enough to get a sub two minute lap:shock: i couldnt believe it out of the Dunlops. average was in the 2:01 to 2:02 with no traffic. cooler temps really helped these tires.


Bad news was i had a few failures. Front pads had nothing left, 1 torn brake duct, a Torque arm bolt rattled out, broke the welds on the Y-pipe, and something was going wrong with the transmission. twice when shifting (both times 2nd gear i think) it sounded like it was chunking gears, and shook the car violently. but i could never replicate it. it was just random and only happened twice. a couple time i could also hear the clutch disc dragging.




So i made the call to put it back on the trailer after saturday and skip sunday

Here are a few of the clean laps from Saturday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOsD8RlHCZo

I can't believe your Y pipe cracked like that. Bad welds?


So I was watching your video and for some reason I just didn't get much of a sense of speed. I was wondering why you were taking it so easy. Then I noticed your speedo. Man that thing looks like it pulls hard.

not sure. for 1 the Y pipe and exhaust is 15 years old (SLP). and i noticed when we put in the new motor that the exhaust hung down even lower than before. it may have been in a bind?
or when i had the transmission issue and it shook the motor/car it may have been too violent/rapid for the exhaust and broke it.

haha yeah the videos look super slow. partly because of the wide angle lens. and partly because of my gears I'm not doing hardly any shifting.
also yes i am a bit timid at times with these Dunlops, they just don't have the initial bite of the RS3s, so i have to tip toe in, and I'm a fairly smooth driver. all make the vids looks pretty slow.
ive tested on a few videos using gopro studio to remove the fish eye. it instantly adds 20mph to the videos visually.

haha yeah i get a kick out of the speedo too. i think im going slow, then i look down and realize im cornering faster than most people drive on the highway(70 here in TX) and i feel a little better.

now i want to go watch the video again Thanks!

It wasn't axle hop that you felt, was it?

Better yet, did you get it on video?

You have long tubes going into a cut/modded factory style SLP y-pipe, or is it the actual SLP y-pipe FOR long tubes??

naa it was at too low of speeds. one was coming into the pits, and the other was at a gas station. ie under 20mph.
plus i don't have axle hop issues with my 12 bolt and big front brakes. unless i down shift to early. but not from braking.

also a couple times when starting the car and taking off in first the first time, i could hear the clutch disk dragging.

yeah i probly have it on video. would have to do some digging.
im going to do a 100% fluid swap/bleed of the clutch fluid with motul and see if the fluid was just hot/old.
then my next suspicion is going to be throw out bearing.

its an actual SLP Y pipe for LTs.
i got it jacked up last night. the metal is SUPER thin. luckily ive got a TIG. but not much experience.
its like half the thickness of a dime.

Is it 409 stainless, or just mild steel?

I know they used 409 for their stock type y-pipe which connects up to the factory catcons/downpipe (I have a brand new one for sale sitting in my cellar), but I'm not too sure about their long tube version(s).

just steel. and VERY old. infact when i bought these LTs (and Y) they were the ONLY LTs available on the market. the Hookers werent even out yet. damn things cost me $1200 too

Glad you are having fun-sure hope TWS doesn't die. Nice car and setup. Read this as a consideration that you aren't warping rotors.

http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/...and-other-myths

Ever thought of going racing with us in CMC? Do you follow the Texas board? http://www.aicmctexas.com/forum.php

Ill check those out, thanks!