EMWHYR0HEN

Probe type pyrometer seems to be preferred when taking tire temps. I tried late apexing but that didn't seem to help. The problem was that the rear end could not rotate quick enough. I could have been satisfied with that setup but, It just didn't feel right with the track layout and my driving style.

I didn't have a wobble problem but I did have some space in between the rack and x-member. Even with new energy poly bushings there was enough play for the rack to slide back and forth. I fixed that by welding 1/16 inch steel strips on the brackets and the x-member. Nice and tight now without play. If you don't have access to a welder I'm sure it would still work if you cut some strips and then bent them into place around the bushings kind of like a shim.

It takes readings quickly. I had an ice cube next to a stove burner and it instantly read 300+ down to 31 degrees F. The only thing is that I cant really probe, or poke a tire with it. Basiacally I can only read surface temp. I was a little concerned that I might have gone overboard and done too much. I'll report back with results.

So in hopes of decreasing push and getting the rear tires to work more efficiently I've reinstalled the rear sway bar, extended the front track by 1.5 inches, decreased front spring rates 25 lbs, increased rear spring rates 25 lbs, raised the rear ride height and lowered the front. What I really need to do is get my car on some scales so I know what im working with. In the mean time I'll be adjusting my corner weights according to tire temps and ride height. I have a pyrometer on my Craftsman digital multimeter with a tiny probe attchment. I tested it today and it seems fairly accurate. I'm wondering if this will be good enough to take surface tire temps or would I want something I can poke into the tire thread beneath the surface. Should I not even bother and get a laser type? any thoughts on this?

Thanks for the link Jon. This will help in the near future. I didn't see it that way. That makes sense. However, I'm not totally disatisfied with the understeer enough to change out my wheel and tire combo just yet. I think I still have plenty of options to try and come up with a compromised solution. Thanks for the input. I did observe tire pressure under two heavy sessions. The track is a right hand dominant so left side tire pressures were obviously higher. After tires pressures recorded The car came in hot with an increase as follows ; LF +8 RF +5 LR +4 RR +3 PSI. I do have adjustable ride height. I will be playing with this as well. After adding more power I was shooting to add lots more rear grip. I think I may have just ignored slow speed turns up until now. I agree It's not a BAD thing especially on a high speed course like WSIR (which feels pretty good there BTW). I'm not looking for a drastic change. Only some tuning in regards to understeer. As to your question about the wheel setup- Yes your going to have to cut A LOT of metal if you want your tires to clear everything and especially if your going to run a lowered stance and + caster angles. Also, If your going to be doing track events get 4 rear wheels. They fit fine up front plus you wont be having understeer issues like I am!

Not too proud of it but yeah I sold my car out for $300 bucks and a couple hours. What's funny is The guy with the green Z and I had no friggin clue who the hell this music group was.

I don't think my problem is as simple as changing my tires but, in addition to the rear ARB I will be widening my front track with a bit on the LCA and wheel spacers. I'm a little hesitant to add a rear ARB because the car is already a lot to handle when exiting a turn. I can only imagine things getting tougher.

Static Heavy braking into right hander same turn mid turn same turn exit Slow 180 degree right hander

Any suggestions on a pyrometer? The konis i'm running are valved much heavier than the Bilstien's so it shouldn't be an issue. I'm going to be switching back to 325 lb front and 350 lb rear. I switched it in the first place thinking I could bump up my front spring rates since It was much tighter than before. Also, installing the rear bar again in hopes of unloading the front outer tires and adding more to the rear outer tires. I'm really interested in adding some droop limiters and curious on how some are doing this. I'm thinking some kind of thin tow strap that attaches the lower housing and to the camber plate or strut tower?

This past weekend I took the car out to the Streets of Willow for the first time since all my major engine/suspension/chassis changes. Over all it went well and I was able to lay down some decent lap times. Late braking, and going fast on the straights and fast corners helped lower my times but I just couldn't get the car hold a slow to medium speed turn, which is about 70% of the track! Initial turn in is okay. I can get it pointed where I want after braking. It's after I turn in where the car starts to understeer, and pushes outward. I tried giving some throttle mid corner to try and induce oversteer and it doesn't seem to help much. All that does is push the car along further, or slide the rear out too much. The car is very predictable where you can pretty much catch any under/oversteer as it happens. I didn't have a pyrometer at the time only played with tire pressures. Here is my current set up: Front TTT camber plates Bilstien struts 350 lb spring Sectioned housings 1 inch bump spacers adjustable LCA w/rod end 23mm sway bar w/poly hardware 255/40/17 Falken Azenis rt-615 Rear stock insulator Old Koni Reds single adjust 325 lb spring Sectioned housings Adjustable LCA w/ outer rod ends no sway bar 1-way diff with light preload 275/40/17 Falken Azenis RT-615 Alignment: Front Camber -3 Caster +5.5 Toe 1/16th out Rear Camber -2.5 Toe 1/16 in or zero (don't remember) Ive never experienced this kind of problem so i'm kind of stuck on where to start. I think ill be adding droop limiters just from looking at some pictures, and maybe a little more neg. camber to the front from looking at tire wear. I have a rear sway bay that I removed when I had a welded diff installed and was thinking it might help out but im not sure. I’ll have some pics up shortly.

I don't think you would have to change your sway bar. Maybe modify it a little but, it shouldn't be that difficult considering you made those control arms yourself. If I were to do it I would have an adjustable rod with rod ends on both ends that bolted to the strut housing and sway bar with adjustable mounting points. here's what most bimmers look like

Instead of turning your rod end into a clevis... would attaching the sway bar directly to the strut housing eliminate the control arm from rotating?

Looking good Jon. Are you using 3/4'' rod ends? I noticed they look a lot bigger than mine. I like the use of the spacer between the rod end and spindle. I better check mine for bind.

Wow I'm surprised. I thought they were going to turn out a much better product than mine since they were being made by professional fabricators. The main issue clearly is the weld quality. It looks like they were MIG possibly even arc welded. However, if you look at the adjustable toe link the bungs are TIG welded. I'm guessing different people started and finished the job. Ive done quite a bit of strength testing on different welded joints and typically welds that didn't look good didn't hold so well. Just by the looks of the welds I wouldn't be very confident on running them on my car. Another issue I see is the size of the rod ends. I'm sure they'll probably work but, the outer socket part of the rod end has little surface area on the spherical ball. Also, like most have mentioned already the strip missing from the clevis. That can easily be fixed with a strip like Jon mentioned. I think adding more gussets would be the least of my worries with these arms and unnecessary if built properly. Again here's a pic of mine for comparison.

If your in LA Id look into taking some courses at your local community colleges. Check out Glendale CC. They have the lowest materials fees, new miller machines all around, and great instructors. BTW try to get in a class with John Cray.

Austin Good to hear it's still running well and putting up good numbers. Easily mid to high 12's on a good day.

Nice Trout! More like a salmon though. That thing is huge! Nice dodo as well. Baja?

If the roads are smooth then yes probably just pick up more noise with the heims but, when you go over the rough stuff it gets bad. Even a set up road markers will jolt up your spine.

That was loud. Owner claims Intake, headers, a 3.5'' single exhaust, and cams. All the rest stock.

Roll bar at the most for street use. If your frame rails are in good shape no need to change them. A nice triangulated strut brace will help significantly. Definitely the frame rails if it's an early s30 and maybe the floor pans if their rotted. On the street I would try and minimize the number of heim joints used.

When you lengthen the track of the front end for ex. adjustable control arms (as Dave has done) you start to run out of threads on the stock tie rods.

No oil issues with my engine (06). Maybe a cooler in the future since I bypassed the stock one.

Never had an issue.

Impressive times! I think 4.11 might be a bit much for and RB26 S30. If your having traction problems with 1st and 2nd your going to have even more problems with a 4.11. I'd look at a 3.5 or 3.7 at the most. Leave the 4.11's for underpowered NA cars.

Wow that looks too familiar. My advise would be to work each section hard until the metal is clean and bare for the paint to stick. I got lazy in some sections and it shows. Also, don't get too carried away and stick with your goals. I see you wondered off into the body for "frame rails". Looking good though. Keep at it!