cobramatt
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Posts posted by cobramatt
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If the mood strikes you, I would love to come support you for that race. Please let me know as it approaches.
Would love to have you come and attend. You are always welcome. I will keep you updated.
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What is your goal date to have car back on the track? Rear suspension: any planned changes there?
I have a NASA race at Barber in February so I'd like to have it done by then. I have no plans on changing the rear suspension at this time. It would really require a whole tube frame redo and thats pretty much rebuilding the whole car. I should probably go ahead and just tube frame the whole car but thats just more work and money than I had planned.
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Are you a 240? or 280?
My 1973 s30 with Zero usable fuel was 2252 without me.
I am 170 buck-nekkid also, I figure me and suit and helmet and HANS is another 200,
I still have L28 and am running the Toyota anchors.
I wonder where the weight is?
I am trying to stay in a certain P/W class so I really can't dump anymore weight now.
But I think losing another 100lbs from the car is possible (CF hood & hatch, battery, alt, starter, struts and wheels)
This new 1970 shell I just acquired is a feather...
Mine is a 1971 chassis. It has quite a bit of modifications and reinforcment to the frame rails and such. It would twist in half if not for the added steel square tube. I knew it added weight but was certainly necessary. My new plan goal is to drop between 250 - 300 lbs.
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Matt your 2615 was weighed WITH driver and 11g fuel?
No without me and 11 gal of gas and 3 gallon water cool suit.
Im 170lbs.
It was 200 lbs more than I thought it was.
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OK.............
The process has begun in sorting out the re build of the MTI Racing 240Z.
For now the "plan" looks sorta like this:
1. remove engine, tranny, radiator and all other catch cans etc from engine bay.
2. assess all body panels to see what can be repaired or needs replacing
3. Cut and remove chassis from fire wall forward.
4. frame shop to determine if remaining frame is straight.
5. tube frame front clip.
6. design and fabricate new suspension.
a. upper and lower control arms
b. fully adjustable coil over shocks
c. adjustable sway bars
d. spherical bearings
e. corvette hubs / bearings
f. etc...
7. repair radiator
8. remove rear flares and all bondo in rear quarters
9. attach new IMSA (1.5' wider) rear flares with fasteners
10. widen rear stance by 3"
11. redirect exhaust to side exit exhaust behind side skirt
12. this will allow us to drop the rear fuel cell 9" lowering the CG.
13. lower the front splitter at air dam by 2" and extend it out forward another 4".
14. extend undertray and flat bottom the car (I have an aerospace engineer working on the design now)
15. fully functional rear diffuser.
I would love to install our new sequential transmission but an extra $25k is just not in the budget after spending this on improvements. I truly feel after the weight reduction, added aerodynamics, redesigned weight distribution and suspension upgrades this will be an astonishingly fast car. It already was and with these upgrades I am looking to go from 1:27 at RA to 1:24's. Thats in the GT1/Trans AM times. I've even thought to go to a 16" wheel to be able to run a full slick tire instead of R compound's on the 17's. I've also given thought to a power assist on the brakes.
More to come I'm sure...........
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Here is a quick video of the start of the race. Turn your speakers up as loud as they go.............
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1um5dj9UYQXRjZoRm5vMlVGTGc/preview?pli=1
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I apprecaite the kind words and I will repair her. Just have to gather my thoughts and put a proper plan together that will make her stronger and faster. This is the second time that that bolt sheared off and I went off track. The first time I was lucky and didnt hit anything. This time was not good for me or the car. I dont go into a race ever thinking that an accident is not possible as I have been in my share. Its really not a matter of if.......its a matter of when. This weekend was when. The fact that it was mechanical failure only reinforces my redesign plans. I would never go back with the same geometry again. EVER. I should have fixed it after the first failure, if that would have happened at 160MPH, lets just say it would have been worse. I have been thinking and I believe after selling a kidney, most of my blood and hopefully some semen I can afford to start the redesign.
Here is some highlights of the car at Road Atlanta this past weekend at the ARRC championships by SCCA. These are all practice sessions with the Trans AM cars. They had never seen a Datsun pass them.
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Sorry to hear about the car, glad you're okay. I see you are using an AIM data logger. Have you added suspension sensors to your car?
No I do not have any suspension sensors. Good idea if you have a good suspension. I am never going to say Daves Arizona Z track pack suspension is garbage because its really nice for what he intended it to be. I dont think he would mind me saying that, however for what I am using it for, with 315 fr and 335 rear, with 600 RWHP, on a full on race car, I dont think the suspension needs sensors........it needs a proper suspension.
We did find through blind luck that we were able to drill through the bottom of the front shock housing that AZC designed and then you can make adjustments to the shock. I guess everyone knew that but me. I thought they weren't adjustable all along.
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THe ARRC race was great and I wish I could have been a better part of it. I qualified fourth overall and on pole for my SPO class with a 1:28.2 behind three GT1 Corvette's (MIke Skeen, NIck Hazelwood and Simon Gregg). The start was tiresome as we had three restarts for different reasons all related to the back of the field and quite frustrating. After the third green flag and for some reason we started side by side again I went over the curbing in Turn 3 at Road Atlanta, and everyone knows how the car gets air born there, well I did however in doing so my tie rod bolt sheared off at the heim joint and I hit the wall doing 83 miles an hour.
I'm ok after spending time in the medical center with basically a very sore body. I feel like a worked over punching bag.
Car is hurt pretty bad. Frame rail is buckled up against engine and headers, front nose, hood, fenders, roof is buckled, pretty much front end is toast. Engine should be ok. It stalled upon impact and Im glad because the oil cooler is integrated in the radiator and it was smashed and drained out. Not exactly how I wanted to finish the season but these things happen.
I will be decompressing for a few days or a week and then with a clearer head I can assess the damage and make sound calls on what to do moving forward. A complete redesign of the front suspension geometry is in order, removing everything from the firewall forward and doing a tube frame clip where we can use proper adjustable coil overs and upper and lower control arms. I want to add a power brake master, new race hubs and bearings, I want to rebuild the radiator box and front nose. After having to load the busted up g nose I realized how heavy it was. I had to weight the car per SCCA rules and the car was heavier than I thought. It was 2615 with 11 gallons of gas in it. Thats almost 100 lbs more than I thought it was. I can make the car better and I intend on it.
Here's the funny part of the weekend. During practice with the Trans AM cars TA1, TA2 and TA3 cars. After a few sessions 5 team crew chiefs and a few drivers came over to inspect my car. They said that now they understood what the hell was going on. They said that their driver would come over the radio and say that they were coming in as their was a problem with the car. The chief would say, stay out there is not a problem with the car what do you mean? Their reply was that a car, that they think was a Datsun just passed them and their has to be a problem with the car. Reply, A Datsun just passed you, are you sure? Yea it passed me and their has to be a problem with the car because I had it matted and he pulled on me.
Now that's freakin funny.
Obviously there's more to come, stay tuned............
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Race results..........
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How did the wrx/evo get on pole!?
That's what i was wondering. Was it some sort of pace car?
That STI Subaru is AWD and we qualified in the pouring rain and I'm on slicks. He also has 650RWHP so the car is not exactly a push over. I could have out qualified my Zcar in my F250 truck. He was mouthing off at the dinner that night that he qualified on pole and I made it a point to pass him and take the lead by the end of the first lap, it took 4 turns. On a side note, if you watch the video towards the end of the race on the last couple laps in turn 3 you will notice that he went off hard into the wall and wadded his car up. The whole drivers side was caved in and when we passed his trailer later that day he had a for sale sign on the car. It would be a great Factory Five 818 donar car.
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looking at the same picture, you need to fix the widow sticker or slow down. the force of the air is taking it off.
he he
jimbo
JImbo,
I said to my vinyl guy as soon as I saw the picture that I want to have that fixed. It is not noticeable when the car is sitting still and obviously I don't get to see the car in motion from behind the wheel.
I'm on it.
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Matt, the head on picture above is a prime example where when the car rolls a large portion comes from the inside jacking up. I'm not sure if you have seen any of the threads on droop limiting but this is what is addresses. Maybe something to think about.
Cary
Thank you Cary. I needed the car to be as soft or loose as possible due to the wet conditions. I agree with you and in dry conditions we stiffen the car up considerably. Good eye.....
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A few pictures from this past weekend at VIR with Mike Kelly and the MTI Racing team.
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Yesterday I left my home at 0450 and drove to VIR. I arrived at about 0810 and was at Garage #8 by 0815. I met Matt Isbell for the first time face to face and I was in the car and on the hot pits well before 0900. Matt is a hell of a racecar driver and he knows his car well. He has a support crew and a teammate, and they number 2 mechanics, a crew chief and a fellow racer in his red camaro. After introductions it is obvious immediately that they have a LOT of fun at Matt's expense. I can't mention all of it here because the thread would get locked, for sure!
Matt has been to VIR twice before, and has managed some very respectable times. His best was a 2:04 lap on full course. That is not a slow lap by any stretch but after viewing his video and making lots of notes, I could possibly help him dip into the 1:5xs. Our session was his first in a year, so we'd be knocking off the cobb webs. But I was also facing poor weather conditions and rain would surely be here by some point mid day. So, knowing Matt is not a shrinking violet and knowing that I am not, can two "A" type personalities live in the cockpit of a racecar for 30 minutes without getting them killed and meeting all objectives? Hell YES!!! On the out lap Matt and I are talking and getting our strategy for the session. I'm pointing out my concern spots, the aim points on entry and exit, the mistakes others will surely make, and then we start working up to speed. It takes 3 laps to get his tires up to operating temps and in that three laps we are going pretty fast. The car is twitching up front under heavy braking, but otherwise doesn't feel bad. There is some minimal popousing of the suspension, but they will eventually dial all of that out.
Our session consists of me yelling in his ear not to lift, where to "get on it" and when to brake. VIR is spooky and if you don't know the secret sauce to getting around it, you will leave tons of time on the table. In Matt's 30 minutes with me he has already dropped 2 seconds. He's still unsure of going flat out thru the esses, or braking at 2 on the back straight, but it'll click. He's starting to get T10, T11/12, and he understands where I want him to trail brake in T14/14A. Next session out he hits 2:00:xx. That is serious times and well within my goal for him. However, after experiencing his hand work, foot work, and the potential of the car and the team, I am more than confident we are leaving time on the table. Then the rains come.
So off to lunch we go. I try to get his team mate and one of their competitors up to speed best I can with video and visual, but both of those guys will have a tough race on both Saturday and Sunday because both are really having a hard time of it. This is actually a valuable lesson and one I will take into my own racing. Matt was smart enough to get a local to come coach him. He was even smarter to put a seat in the passenger side and move DOWN to HPDE3 and away from his competitors so I could get in the car with him and coach from the passenger seat. They were running in the racers open practice, and couldn't follow the fast line Matt was (quickly) learning. Most important of all, Matt, An instructor and racer was willing to let a complete stranger instruct him on what works, what doesn't and what can get you into trouble.
During his teammates wet session a BMW experienced the undulation of the snake and ended up in the left side tirewall exiting T6. It was an excellent teaching moment for everyone in our garage and I was able to walk them back thru the notes I had provided Matt weeks before on that very section.
So Matt's last session of the day comes at 1PM and the track is still wet. It's drying, but boy is it still damp on hoosiers. So off he goes and off I go to south Paddock with David Allen (lurker here) to watch from south paddock. Matt is looking good, but there seems to be much more traffic now than before. Some new arrivals must have shown up. So after his session I find that he actuall was still running 2:01s even with a moist track and heavy traffic. Our boy is gonna do well. We watch open practice for a nother session and I quickly see a lot of competitors largely making the same exact mistakes Matt was making in the beginning. Lifting or braking into the esses, not trusting the gators (in the dry), racing a bizaar mix of DE and "other" lines that just eat up additional tarmac. Not Matt. He's been shown the way, and he's using it, and using it well. I'll await Matt's post race experience and will hope for the best.
I want to thank Matt for the chance to work with him. He is one hell of a guy and he knows that car well. His hand/foot work is impressive and he can wheel a car very well. I sorely needed the distraction from the government shutdown (My company is shut down due to this mess and I'm hemoraging cash) and the current stresses of life. So a day away from all that was what I truly needed. Wish I coulda stayed a few more days!
I'll post some pics shortly!
Mike
Mike,
I cant thank you enough for making the trip and the results speak for themselves. Your expert coaching and insight is the reason we were successful and in comparison to my competitors. It makes it even more apparent as they have faster cars and were not even close to ever being a factor. With all the recent attention given to the safety and death on track as an instructor I appreciate your getting in the car with someone you've never met personally and trusting me with your life. My car is a little faster than a DE1 student and you were pushing me beyond what I thought the car was capable of. That takes loads of trust and I'm glad I was able to deliver your efforts with some quick times and solid race results. I look forward to your car on track and giving me a run for my money.
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Congrats on the Saturday Results in both races! Cant wait to see how tomorrow turns out!
Mike
I first want to thank Mike Kelly for taking the time to drive all the way to VIR and assist me with his expert advanced coaching. I could not have done as well as I did with out his efforts. This may sound like a cheap plug but I say it to confirm the importance of continued education and coaching in motorsports. I have been fairly fast around VIR in the past and I was able to drop 4 seconds off my times with his in car coaching. I cant thank you enough.
Here is a breif video of one of our Saturday Races.
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Thanks for posting the video! I speak international sign language, and the message you sent that fella was pretty nasty! Thanks for keeping us all motivated. Or would that be "Mattivated?"
Thats pretty funny. The kid that passed me was 15 years old. Ernie Francis Jr. He's the youngest competition licensed driver in the US. His father owns Breathless Performance. He DQ'd himself for not knowing the rules and he hopefully wont make that mistake again.
The reason I was so upset was that I had just lapped him, and he had made it clear to most everyone that no one was going to pass him and his Grand Am/Rolex Camaro. He unlapped himself by doing this and he has a big sticker on his bumper that says, "You just got passed by a 15 year old".
After the race his father and he came over to my corral and we were talking. I asked if he saw the new bumper sticker on my car that said, "Your 15 yr. old ass just got lapped by a 50 year old." His dad and I thought it was funny........
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Matt, I hope you got my series of suggestions via FB. I cant wait for the 2nd weekend in October. I have been looking at your footage and I like what I see. Cant wait to climb in your passenger seat and go for some laps.
MIke,
I'm really looking forward to the coaching. I want to absorb as much of your course knowledge as I can and really appreciate your taking the time to help me. What do you think of the pictures of the new 8.8 rear end? I think it's a work of art and not to my surprise it puts the power down better than before. The difference has also changed the setup in that I had to trim the car out due to high speed understeer. It just seems that now that the rear is hooking up better than before and the overall aero was effected as well. I tried to dial in some more front mechanical grip but with the clutch master cylinder going out on my second lap of Friday testing I got no seat time and just has to wing it for the race. We won over my teammate by .4 seconds. It was a very hard fought battle where once again the faster car did not prevail. Good traffic management and spotting helped keep them in check, and a little (legal) blocking.
Talk to you soon.
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Video from this past weekend wiith NASA SE at Road Atlanta.
Shot of start of the race P1 and P2.......
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Thanks to a kick in the arse from Matt Isbell, I joined NASA today and may well have my Z at VIR in October... Time is ticking tick tock tick tock....
I like the sound of that..........
Really looking forward to your coaching. Do you have any good data we could overlay? Do you have any prior setup notes we could look at? I need your address to send you your team crew shirt, call me. Whats a good video to study that would be a similar line, speed and time.
My student was surprised at Road Atlanta this last Chin event with the student line I was showing him in his PORSCHE, he said he had been studying a certain video for a month and that wasnt the line they were taking. I asked him who's video it was he was watching and he said it was from Petite Le Mans of the AUDI R18. I just put my head down and said he should go practice more Forza before our next session.
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Indeed. Racecars is a broad subject. Exactly what are you shopping? Also, I just renewed my NASA membership. There's a 15% chance I'll be at Road Atlanta in two weeks.
I'll be there. Hope to see you as well.
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I'm also looking forward to Mike Kelly coming to my NASA races Oct 11th-13th at VIR. I will be installing the passenger seat and getting some advanced coaching from Mike that will prove extremely valuable as I have only run VIR 4 other track days, never in a race.
Always remain teachable and when someone has more knowledge, learn from them. I want to win the race, without additional guidance it would be virtually impossible. Now if I lose I can blame Mike...............
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Well............
Its done and that was a bitch.
I can share all the parts we had to fabricate from scratch but thats kind of like the rest of the car.
All new Ford Motorsports Racing 8.8 aluminum independent rear end (the one that they just decided to stop making), new 3/55 gears, all new mounting brackets and structure, one off fabricated billet mounting bracket, custom one off I guess you would call them stub axel extensions, re splined axels, new cv and boots, drive shaft didn't need any work (its good to save a few pennies), and to add I have an all new AP Racing big brake kit installed on all four corners. The same set up that I run on my WC Corvette. Now, I only have to buy one type of rotor and the same pads (CarboTech XP20's) for both cars. Its funny that my old front rotors and calipers (Willwood) look like the rears in the new kit. I've got twice the pad on the rotor now. I decided against any ABS as I've never had it anyway.
I hope everyone likes the new set up. I have NASA races all weekend at Road Atlanta and Friday is our test and tune. I hope the dyno frees up tomorrow so I can just put the car on it and run up and down through the gears and let it put some slower miles on the diff then let it cool, drain it and then some more. That way Friday I can be a little more aggressive in testing. I'll also need to bed the brakes and fiddle with the bias.
Going flat out is a lot about trusting your equipment. It will hopefully give me a sense of confidence in the new rear end as I think we really hit this one out of the park and given the car a real dependable and solid diff and the brakes on four corners can only pay dividends with practice and patience finding a little time in the deeper brake zone.
If anyone is interested in buying my old willwood brake kit or my old Q45 Pumpkin with Carbonetic diff (the ring and pinion is what kept failing me) I think with a new set of R&P gears and you aren't flogging it like I was I think you would have a nice set up. Anyone interested give me a call or PM and make me an offer.
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after every video, i get all excited inside.
keep them coming.jimbo
Thank you Jimbo.
Here are a few shots from this past weekend that I thought were deserving of an honerable mention. I also want to point out that my good friend Joe that has the F body "Trans AM" Camaro 850hp montser pitted next to my car. MTI Built his engine and he is part of our team. When we are off track we are very good friends but when the helmets go on something happens and is quite fun to watch, as soon as the checkered flag drops we are best buds again.
keep them coming.
My Dream LS7GTZ.......project underway
in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z
Posted
Thank you.