Driven5

Have you looked into LS2 coils? I've heard that they supposedly provide a lot of bang for your buck.

Well, no manufacturer recommends less than a 10.5" minimum wheel width. Another factor is rubber compound. If there is a specific tire you want to run, a 315 tire might provide some additional grip over a 275...However all of that goes out the window when you start looking at two totally different tires with two totally different rubber compounds. It's very possible for a 275 tire in a stickier compound to provide more grip than a 315 tire in an inferior compound, even when both are on ideal width rims. Consider too there is appreciably better availability of 275mm tires than 315 tires. While it's probably able to be made to fit, I personally I wouldn't bother trying to squeeze a 315 tire onto a 9.5 wheel unless I was specifically in a racing class with wheel width limitations. Suggesting a good tire make/model depends heavily on your intended use(s) for the car, and what compromises you're willing to make in regards to the tires to achieve those goals.

Yep...Like signing up on a forum with the sole purpose of dredging up a thread started 3.75 years ago and last posted in over 2.5 years ago with machine-gun replies aimed at people who some of which haven't been active in months or even years, as well as replying to some of the more closed minded comments with equally (or more) ignorant commentary. Way to do the rest of us Americans (and the Ecomodding community) proud! Trolls: Putting the 'ass' in classy since 1992.

A hair dryer can also often help soften the adhesive to help the floss cut through slightly easier.

Absolutely. It's not terribly uncommon for even completely stock older vehicles' speedometers to be off by easily 5mph, generally reading faster than you're really going. Even today many (most?) will read slightly faster than you're really going, as due to manufacturing variances there is a potential range of accuracy for the speedometers coming off the assembly line and it legally protects themanufacturer from liability if any of their customers were to be caught breaking the law (speeding) when the speedometer says they're not. Add in any gearing or tire size differences from stock without correcting/calibrating the speedometer, and it's entirely possible to be off by 10mph or more. Just to clarify the 50 and 55 in the tire size designation do not represent millimeters of sidewall height, but rather the 'aspect ratio' or more simply the percentage of tire width that the sidewall is tall. But yes, changing to a 205/55-16 will bring you closer to stock tire size, and actually be slightly taller than stock now, as it adds ~10mm to the sidewall height.

If I tell you that you're crazy, it would just be the pot calling the kettle black...Mainly my opinion is just in regards to your component selection vs your stated goal of a car that will be driven in any real capacity on the street and thus inevitably in some amount of traffic. It seems to me that you're building a car that really only belongs being loaded onto a trailer with a winch for transport to/from the track. But then again, I'm also sure that you know what opinions are like... How thick is the flange on the transmission to be able to mill from? I would be very cautious to not do anything to potentially reduce the strength of the bellhousing. Part of why doing this can be deceptively tricky ,is that there are a surprising number of variables that will need to be taken into account and if you overlook even one it can certainly cause problems. But the advantage you have is in the custom pieces that can be used to get everything exactly where it needs to be. Regarding offsets and fittment, in my opinion the chosen adapter plate thickness, in addition to ensuring it's also thick enough to safely mate the bellhousing to the engine and account for bolt head clearance and everything, should primarily be used to locate the input shaft into the desired position relative to the pilot bearing. Then the position of the clutch disks on the input shaft spline is built into the button flywheel design. Finally the release bearing is setup/adjusted to ensure a proper position relative to the clutch spring fingers. Of course there are potential pitfalls that would still also prevent this methodology from working in that order depending on how all of the measurements involved work out, but it would definitely be my first choice if possible. Not to step on your (or Quarter Masters) toes, or tell you anything you might already know, but I figured I might as well throw it out there while I'm thinking about it. I don't know what you have for measurement tools, or what Quarter Master has said thus far, but I would think you'll at least want to have on hand a level of known width long enough to span the bellhousing a caliper long enough to reach the bottom of the bellhousing from the far side of the level. These two tools should allow you to gather all fo the data you'll need. For the transmission side, potential critical measurements/calculations wil include bellhousing face to end of input shaft, bellhousing face to end of pilot bearing face, bellhousing face to both ends of full-depth input shaft spline, and bellhousing face to release bearing mounting surface (for hydraulic release bearing). On the engine side they include crank face to pilot bearing face and crank face to bellhousing face (make sure to not if recessed or sticking out). You'll also want to verify how far in from the bellhousing face you can fit a minimum of 6.625" diameter surface, as the clutch cover diameter is just over 6.5". I might be missing a few other dimensions, and definitely am if you end up using a starter/flex plate, but this should be enough to get you started if you haven't already.

Well I'll try to refrain from interjecting too many opinions and stick to the facts as much as possible. If I recall correctly, the clutches are rated for ~300 ft-lbs per disk. So my guess is you'll at least be looking for twin disk clutches. The 5.5" clutch is an excellent clutch for a dedicated race car, and is the smallest I would recommend for a production based chassis. Even on the most extreme race cars, I've only ever known 4.5" clutches to be used on formula cars. If my understanding is correct, you're running an adapter plate between the engine and transmission that will probably add significant clearance inside the bellhousing. So while granted I haven't seen any of it first hand, I don't think space should be a problem even for a triple disc setup. Since I don't recall them offering the Rally material in the 5.5" clutches, I believe your options are pretty much limited to the material included with the clutch as standard. I'll definitely be curious to see what you can come up with for a starting solution that doesn't use any type of ring gear or starter. Just remember that if you do need to go back to a flex plate later, that you'll also need to be able to adjust for the increase in stack-up height and reduction in clearance between the clutch spring and release bearing.

I don't know if you saw, but I did toss around a few ideas about this in your "Transmission Advice Needed" thread. Ultimately it all comes down to exactly how much help you need to "spec things out". If you're just wanting basic setup help and replacement parts dealers are fine, but not for much more than that. If you're looking for technical help creating a 100% custom installation of any brand clutch into your application, there are very few dealers in the support network for ANY brand of clutch will be able to provide you with any such information. The best and first place to go that kind of help will be directly contacting tech support at the manufacturer to see what information they can provide you. If they are willing to help you, they will singularly be the best resource to provide you with the critical dimensions and measurements required to make a custom installation work with their product. And if you're basically needing them to do what Quarter Master calls (or at least called) Make-To-Order, where you provide them with the necessary parts and/or all necessary dimensions for them engineer a kit for you, expect it to start getting prohibitively expensive for a 1-off personal project. And again, if you can't get the help you need directly from any of the manufacturers, let me know and I can try to provide some guidance.

Ok, I can see how your applying that rule of thumb better now, and in that context yes it will generally at least get you into the right ballpark when you don't have internet access.

Wheels are not ~1" wider at the sealing surface than advertised. The advertised wheel width is measured across the inner edge of the wheel lip, which is the sealing surface. People who don't know any better tend to try measuring across the outer edge of the wheel lip, which is what gives the impression that the wheel is ~1" wider than it really is because each lip is ~.5" on aluminum wheels. In other words, tire manufacturer recommendations are based on the advertised (distance between sealing surfaces) rim width, and there is absolutely no fuzzy math necessary. Also the "optimal" width for any give tire is not simply wheel width x 25.4, nor is tire width / 25.4 going to provide you with the "optimal" wheel width. As stated above, the recommended wheel width for a 215/60-15 is 6-7.5 inches, where as 7.5 x 25.4 = 190.5 and 215 / 25.4 = 8.5...Neither of which coincides in any way with the manufacturer specifications.

Whether your current tires will fit on 8 and 9 inch wide wheels, or not, depends entirely on what size tires are on your current 15x7's...In addition to whether you prefer your tires to look stretched, square, or bulging that is. The class of tire for the driving you plan to do will also play a factor in size availability for 15 inch rims in general, which are rather limited these days. The best place to look, and the same info you'll be able to get from most tire shop monkeys, is on the Tire Rack web site as it consolidates all of the manufacturer specs into one easy to use location. For the 215/60-15 I generally see a 6-7.5 width recommendation. Personally, I certainly wouldn't put it on the 9's and probably not on the 8's either. But then again I'm not a fan of the stretched look. I don't know exactly how far you can stretch tires, but I'm pretty sure .5 beyond the manufacturer recommendation shouldn't be a huge deal either in regards to the 8's. And contrary to what some people claim, aspect ratio can actually play a role in how wide of a wheel is recommended for a given tire size, not just tire width. The higher the aspect ratio, the narrower the recommendation can be for any given tire width, and conversely the lower ratios can increase the recommended wheel width for a given tire width. This is of course more prevalent/noticeable in the lower aspect ratio ranges than the higher ones.

Actually acrylic is hands down the most common aircraft windshield/canopy material, due in no small part to its vastly superior scratch resistance and ability to have small scratches polished out. Of course window requirements for cars and airplanes can not be directly compared due the completely different operating conditions.

While I can't validate any concerns on long term durability from first hand experience, there are options to improve the longevity of polycarbonate (lexan) windows. An alternative to the scratch resistant coatings offered on the polycarbonate sheets is be to apply a polyester (mylar) film to the window, also referred to as a tear-off in racing, over the polycarbonate to act as a protective layer. I'm pretty sure that principle is largely responsible for how I am still able to see clearly through my long abused polycarbonate sunglass lenses. With proper care, I think this could be effective for an appreciably longer period of time on a rear window than a windshield. However I don't think that it would necessarily be a permanant solution either, thus the film likely will require some unknown frequency of semi-regular replacement varying on many factors regarding the cars use. Depending on the acutal required replacement frequency, this could certainly add up. I have personally also wondered if a urethane film (paint protection/clear bra) might similarly be used with reasonable success compared to a polyester film. As was already mentioned, you'll probably want to avoid acrylic (plexiglass) as it can break into dangerously sharp shards in an accident.

While I am personally biased towards Quarter Master, the boys local to you on Easy St (Tilton) will probably serve you just fine too. A 7.25" clutch will make a great race clutch, but an 8.5" clutch will probably be a little more streetable and potentially a little better suited for the specific use you're discussing. Even though you might not need the torque capacity of a twin, in addition to Quarter Master and Tilton, you may also want to talk to Spec. They not only have an 8.5" Mini Twin, that we'll just say should be able to directly use Quarter Master replacement parts, but also what appears to be a 10" (Super Twin) aluminum race style clutch that is still very lightweight compared to any OE style steel clutch yet should be just that much more street friendly. I'm not overly familiar with the Tilton friction materials and what might be equivalent, but for cars seeing any type of street use you'll probably be wanting the thicker and more forgiving "Rally" sintered bronze material in 7.25" or 8.5", or maybe the organic 8.5 depending on the amount of power (torque) you're expecting. If you've got the money, carbon is fantastic too. Don't get me wrong though, all of these will be closer to on/off switch than they are to a OE clutch, and should be treated as such to maximize its service life. Remember: Slip the tires, not the clutch. Also make sure that you're using a correct type (radiused vs flat faced, and contact diameter) release bearing. As far as the 'custom' flywheel pulling this together. if the starter is still mounting in the factory location, the easiest thing is probably going to be continuing to use the OEM automatic transmission flexplate. This just leaves you with having a much simpler (cheaper) custom "button" flywheel made (ideally by the clutch manufacturer) which is just big enough for the clutch and offsets it the correct amount for proper clearance from the release bearing. I don't know if Tilton is as friendly about custom setups, but Quarter Master at least used to provide the basic necessary clutch mounting dimensions on request so that racers could machine their own flywheels if necessary for use on all manner of custom projects...And if they won't anymore, let me know and I should be able to track it down for you.