katman

Actually this was the only site I bothered to open up any political discussions on because the membership is generally a higher class and more civil than some other places I lurk. I think we can thank our moderators for that. Can you imagine what these discussions would be like on zcar.com? Bwah Hah! (Hell, I even laugh at the technical posts over there!) John I'll miss your research and Mike I'll reload for ya any day.

For starters, they don't have (or at least didn't used to) a diagonal in the main hoop, which is engineering malpractice. Maybe safer than nothing (although one could argue you'd be less likely to rollover if you didn't have all that weight up high), but not as safe as your typical ITS cage in a Z, which is also probably lighter. Again it goes back to intent- if he has to meet NHRA rules at his local drag track then okay, if he's doing track days at a road racing facility then I won't ride with him. If he wants one for looks, then it's a great deal.

It's heavy and inefficient, meaning for the weight it's not very strong. But, folks have said it's NHRA approved so if that's his bag maybe that's what he wants. If he'd rather be safe that's another issue.... "email him and find out" -LMAO

And he wants an S&W because?????

Ah, if they can also sign off the SCCA logbook then you're in good shape- because the main hoop is still illegal. Total number of bends not to exceed 180 degrees. That's funny thing about SCCA, a perfectly safe cage like this one could get dinged on some rule technicality. I got on a better monitor and can see from one of the pictures the tube running from the A-pillar downtubes to the firewall. Good. Are those plates with the lightening holes along the A-pillar tied to the A-pillars? I want a ride when it's finished!

DP Racing 714) 892-1513. They may have a website now.

Don Oldenburg at DP Racing in Huntington Beach still makes the Mac Tilton/BRE front control arm speherical bearing setup for a Z. Don's retainer is tack welded to the arm

How could Mark not have mentioned anything by Yoko Ono? Makes me want to confess to things I haven't even done! The sad part of all this is the support, nee encouragement, given to Durbin from the left wing media. Unbelievable the lack of spine this country has developed.

This is simple. The fault lies squarely with Michelin. They didn't bring the right equipment to the race. Period. They could have, they didn't. They have been racing that track for 6 years now, they have lots of data. The track was reground twice after the repaving. If Michelin wasn't aware of the problems Firestone had initially with the new pavement then they are guilty of Industrial Stupidity. They constructed a tire that had no margin of safety left in it. Oops. Victim of the tire wars. It is a shame for the fans. It's not the track's fault. The FIA enforces the rules, they're not responsible for putting on "a show". They wouldn't have put in a chicane (and I believe by the rules you'd have to re-qualify) for Bridgestone, who by the way has brought the wrong (slow, but safe) tire to several races this year. I don't like Bernie either, but I don't blame him in this case. Most F1 races are pretty boring to watch on TV anyway (as one of my driver's says: "It's the best cars in racing, but the worst racing in cars"), I rather enjoyed the controversy from the comfort of my recliner. But Michelin should refund everybody who paid for a ticket. As for driver's not being able to hold back- that is BS. Endurance drivers do it all the time, and F1 drivers do it this year because of the one tire rules. If I'm paying a guy millions to get his jollies driving my car his a$$ is going to peg that tack on EXACTLY the rpm I tell him, anywhere on the track, or I find somebody else. It could have been done.

Nothing like a lot of extra weight up high to raise that CG, because we all know Rabbit's love to pull two wheels up off the ground.

No. If the rules don't specifically say you can do something, then you can't.

Not likely based on my testing. We also always lost power with a dual setup- instead most apps will want the two secondary pipes collected into a single about where those headers end.

That's correct. Follow the links from http://www.scca.org for Club Racing > Cars & Rules > download Improved Touring Category to get the specifics. Enginewise you're allowed a +.040 overbore, any exhaust and ignition, balancing and blueprinting, and any carb needles. Otherwise, bone stock. Even under those restrictions we managed to get 200+ certified dyno crank horsepower out of the L24. Semi retired because I have kids to coach in one sport or another. I'm occasionally called out to the track for a test day. That's about it for a while.

I semi-retired as a 240Z crew chief in SCCA's ITS class after the 2001 season with 40 wins, 13 seconds, and 7 thirds in 69 starts (including 2 ARRC wins). Since then I just consult for the ARC Racing/Sunbelt Engines BMW's. I miss the Z's.....

They look exactly like the headers I built for Chet Wittel's 2 time ARRC winning ITS 240Z. In that application the "Tri-Y" configuration like the one shown made a couple more ponies above 4500 rpm than anything else we tested, however, they were real pigs below 4000. On a street car I'd still stick with a more conventional long tube setup. Very pretty though!

The ITS rules are very restrictive as to what you can do to the engine. A stand alone EFI for example is prohibited (although reprogramming the stock ECU is not). Be sure to get a copy of the rules before you commit to any class. If you chose to race SCCA keep in mind it is very competitive, especially in the southeast. You must be willing to write off the car the first time you put it on the track. In racing, feces happens, whether its your fault or not. In Vintage you are more likely to keep your car intact for years.

"With the obvious improvement of the Toy 4x4 calipers, this seems the most logical direction." Improvement in what over what? Race car? Street car? What is it we're trying to improve? If it's stopping distance then the obvious improvement to me is better tires. What are we trying to accomplish here besides adding a bunch more unsprung weight to the suspension? Is this for a track car?

What do you mean by "race car"? Under what sanctioning body will you race? That might make a difference. If you search, spell it "chassis".

Could be several factors including spring rates, roll centers,CG, etc. For whatever reason, your setup with a rear bar has the same result as our setup without one insofar as tire temp trends are concerned. I will say that the difference in temps between the left front and left rear for normal road courses like Roebling and Road Atlanta became very small after we developed the remote reservior double adjustable shocks. In fact, the left side to right side temps also got closer. I'd say we had always been very well balanced but undershocked until a few years ago.

My experience jives with yours- the outside rear runs hotter even with no rear bar in our case.

Removing the rear bar will reduce your rear roll rate, transferring more weight to the ouside front tire.

The visuals were of course awesome. Unlike Zhadman though, I thought Anakin's transition to the dark side was a little weak. You knew it was coming, you knew he had the anger and fear inside that the dark side feeds on, but I thought he went too easy. Great catch on the Millenium Falcon- I'll look for that next time.