jt1

That's looking great, that color combo really sets it off. John

Ken Lewis, CEO of bofa, made 90 million last year, in salary, bonuses, and stock options. Just thought Aux might like to know! John

Nice looking job. That guy didn't crush the pipe like most of them do. Sweet! jt

That's a nice job. Looks great and lots of stick. Could you tell the bigger/heavier tires hurt acceleration or braking any? John

Mike, are you absolutely certain, that with your belts fully tight, you can reach all those switches? There is no reason to discuss how I know this might be a problem. jt

That looks good. Covering the sharp edges is a good idea, if you have a bad wreck your knees flop around a lot. The worst injury I had racing was from my knee hitting the steering shaft. jt

heh heh. That thing looks wicked on track. Nice job, I love it. I'm with mark- How did the handling change with the big tires? Any setup changes yet? John

Heh heh... That will do nicely. More like BF sawzall!!!!! Looks like motor plate time to me. John

The bellhousing bolts are the limiting factor, although the distributor is not far behind. To move 2" to the rear, you need to get rid of the distributor and cut out/major BFH the firewall. John

I don't have any experience with the HP+, so I don't know if anti squeal measures will help or not. I don't think they would hurt anything, so you could try and see. My PF 01's squeal till they get warm. John

Grind the tab off completely, then continue grinding until you have a notch like the second drawing. The pads with the hole are for the older Superlights that used the cotter key to retain the pads. I don't know about Hawk, but PF doesn't make pads for the bridgebolt calipers. I have to grind every set I use. It's not bad and only takes a few minutes. The best method is to LIGHTLY clamp the pad to the bench/table/etc, then use a side grinder to cut off the tab and make the notch. You don't want the pad to drag on the bridgebolt, so if the notch is a little too big that's OK. Something like 1/16" clearance would be fine. John

Thanks Cary. That's an interesting read. I'm going to have to spend some more time with it and see what I can soak up. John

* For Sale: Mild pump gas 355 sbc. Recently freshened, runs good. Best offer, or will trade on some nice 17x12 wheels. jt

I think you are looking thru the round section where the carb bolts and seeing part of the rectangular section where the intake bolts to the heads. Well tuned, those things have some truly awesome throttle response. Of course, you're going to spend some money getting to the well tuned part. jt

Cary, I'm afraid I don't have the knowledge or experience to answer that. I'm currently running the Hoosier R6 225/50/16 on an 8" rim, and the sweet spot seems to be between -2.8 and -3.0. Even at that you can tell the braking is hurt some, but less and you mostly run on the outer half of the tire. A camber/grip graph would be nice, but I can't even offer generalizations. The intent is a track day/time trial car. The TT class is a catch all, so it's essentially run what you brung. Several of us spend a good bit on our cars, but we're still guys with jobs playing on the weekend, not serious racers with serious racer budgets. The R compound radials last for 20 or 30 heat cycles before they get really bad, and they are a popular choice. I understand bias slicks last only a few cycles. However, I haven't tried any, and probably should to widen my horizons a bit. I've been playing with a G2X datalogger some, is that the kind of data you mean? I haven't played with any sim stuff at all. Somedays I do well to reboot my pc. This alone might be the deciding factor. With my fat ass in the seat, if the car has an on track weight of less than 2500#, it probably won't be by much. I am not interested at all in playing in the tire carcass failure zone, or even close. This is beginning to look more and more like running the big heavy tires is the conclusion. I will need to build a bigger motor to pull them. John

Mike, that's very true. A car is a big, long, complex equation. It's impossible to change one thing, you usually wind up changing several things. Getting it all to work together is the key. I don't know if my current setup is great( a flying toilet would be great), but it's simple and works pretty well with the rest of my car. Bigger tires will change the whole deal and I will probably need to make some improvements in the fuel system on the track car. It's a big ol' long slippery slope. jt

There are basically three areas to make an ass out of yourself, the pits, your instructor, and on track. When you get to the track, choose a pit spot that doesn't crowd anybody already there. Everybody likes a little space. If you've got some buddies there, try to pit with them. Speak to the guys beside you and check out their cars. Most guys at a track event are serious car guys and like to talk about cars. Don't block people getting their cars in and out of the pits. Find your instructor as soon as possible, so you have some time to discuss your goals and plan the day. Time management is very important, between track, checking your car, and class you will have a very busy day. Carry your schedule and have a watch so you aren't late. Your instructor is trying to run his car, instruct you, and probably instruct another student, so time is even more critcal to him. Plan in advance where you are going to meet. You might want to pick him up at his car, or at his other students cars so that you don't waste time in the changover. That allows you to get the most track time possible and saves him trouble. LISTEN to your instructor. There are good ones and OK ones, but they all have more experience than you and you can learn from them. Communication is the most important part. As long as you listen, then try to understand and execute, you will improve. THINK about what you're doing. Being a good driver is mostly mental. Once you're on track, most 1st timers suffer from an information overload. There is so much new stuff going on it is very easy to be overwhelmed. You've got to think about your car, the instructor, the track, the corner workers, and other cars on track around you. There is a lot going on!!!! You just have to get used to it. Tell your instructor it's you're first day and you might need some help with traffic and flags. He should know that anyway, but if you bring it up it will impress him. Try to listen to your instructor on track. Ignoring him will mean you come to the pits for a talk, losing track time. Watch the flagmen. Missing a flag can mean more lost track time. If there is a faster car behind you, point him by as quickly as possible. This will build respect with the other drivers in your group, nobody like to follow a slow car that won't point them by. "IF THERE IS A CAR IN YOUR MIRROR, HE'S THERE FOR A REASON. GOD DID NOT PUT HIM THERE" The reason is, he's faster than you. Point him by so you can learn without having to worry about a car right on your butt. It will be one less distraction, and it's the courteous thing to do. If he waves off the point, you are good to go. In conclusion, the fact you've even asked about track etiquette means you will be OK. Treat other people like you like to be treated and you'll be fine. If you have a question, ask somebody. Younger guys may laugh you off, so ask some more experienced guys. They recognize you are trying to learn and not walk around stupid, and will usually help out. This is a very fun, very exciting sport. It can be dangerous. Nobody wants to tear their car up or leave in an ambulance, but it can happen. Leave the ego at the house and think about what you're doing, and you can learn alot and have the best time you can have with your clothes on! Any questions, post them up, I'll try to help. jt

John, thanks for sharing your experience with different sizes tire. Most of us around here are running the whatever we can fit on our car, and don't have exposure to varying setups. Some of your comments got me looking at the 275 to start with. It would be sweet, but I wonder how long Hoosier will build it. The 335 & 315's are corvette sizes and I figure they will be around forever. Flexi, I should have said the goal is to improve lap times, not just corner speed. The white car is fast on the straight and fast into the turn, but where I give up speed is thru the middle and off, so that's why I've got the big tires on my mind. I've consistently noticed that the cars I have a hard time running with, Z06's and GT3's, have a lot more tire on them than my skinny 225's or 245's. A medium tire may be best. We have a guy who tracks a 914/6 with a strong motor, big flares, and 16" wide tires, and the thing is only medium quick, not fast like you would expect. Jon, the track car's gonna have YZ flares, so with the right backspace anything up to a 12" rim should fit. My current car has stock fenders and I'm using a 16x8 rim. I know Tom is laughing at me, but that's OK I'm used to it. jt

Well, if I post something incoherent, it's probably the tequila. It's been a tough week, and I'm glad it's almost over, despite the fact I'm working tomorrow. Despite making very little actual progress on the track car, I keep thinking about it. The contractor in me requires that I have a pretty complete plan in place, and the engineer demands that any solution be fairly optimized as part of a complete system, not a pile of ill fitting parts. The basic goals for the track car are to be considerably safer, and at least some faster. The white car is pretty quick, but 160 mph in a 35 yr old car with a no cage, stock seats, five point belts, no fuel cell, and no fire system is just a risky proposition. I'm a very conservative driver, but you can't eliminate mechanical failure or the actions of another car, such as oil or antifreeze all over the track. I try to do about 20 days on track per year, and eventually the odds are going to run out on me. So....... The plan is cage a series one tub, put a good suspension on it, and transfer the motor, clutch, trans and diff from the white car. I might tune the motor up a little. Fuel cell, fire system, good seats and belts along with the cage will be a lot safer, and it should be as light as possible. Lighter is both safer and faster. I'm even trying to lighten up the driver a little, but he is an obstinate ass. So, what tires? I went from a 17# wheel to a 14# wheel on the white car, and was amazed at the difference, mostly under braking and off. So, a 17# difference in rotating unsprung weight would probably be akin to towing some crackheads taurus entering or getting off a turn. However, the whole point is to gain corner speed, and I suspect that right thru the center of a turn, the 335's will show an advantage. Since the 275's and 335's are the same compound, there is at least some possibility you might not get the 335's up to optimum temp. Full race slicks aren't in the program. I've proved with the white car too low is bad. No matter how many holes you drill in the crossmember, or spacers under the spindle, you need to keep the thing gaining negative camber in roll. When it goes positive, all you do is roll off the outside of the tire and slow down. The rear isn't as bad, but it's still there, and raising the rear LCA pivots is a bad day. So, when you put on the big tires, you raise the CG in order to maintain some sensible camber curve. Ultimately, the mass of the car, the height of the CG, the track width, and the amount of lateral grip determine how fast the car corners. So with the big tires you gain grip, lose CG height, and increase weight. The smaller tires have less grip, but get in quicker, off faster, and transfer less weight, so you use them all more equally. Damn if I know which is better. I know I won't be as fast as Mark, but I want to at least be able to keep him in sight. Cost is also a factor. I spend a good bit on the car, but again, it has to be optimized. 335's will run about $1300 a set, 275's about $1000. I usually buy 3 or 4 sets a year, so that's not insignificant. The 335 wheels will run $2500, 275's probably $2K, and you need a couple of sets. More $$$$$. I guess the answer is to buy two sets of wheels and try the two options. Or i could have another drink and shoot my big toes off. That ought to put the tire decision on the back burner. This has got to be the most rambling buch of crap I've ever posted. jt

Pretty much a bench racing type question, but I would like to hear your thoughts. Let's consider a V8 road race S30, about 2500# and 400hp, caged, with a modified stock style suspension, say the Arizona Z setup, running on a two mile road course with two long straights and varying medium radius turns. You have a choice of two tire/wheel combos to run, different sizes with the same compound: Hoosier R6, 275/30/15, 23" tall, mounted on a 14# wheel, with a total tire wheel weight of 34#. Hoosier R6, 335/35/17, 25.6" tall, mounted on a 22# wheel, with a total tire wheel weight of 51#. You can vary camber, caster, and toe to suit each tire, but you must keep the vertical angle of the LCA's the same. The 335's will raise ride height 1.3", and we will keep the same suspension geometry for each tire. So which tire/wheel combo will give the faster lap times? The 335's offer greater contact patch, but increase total weight 68#, increase rotating unsprung weight the same amount, and raise the CG 1.3". What do you think, and why? John

Surge tank in the rear, by the fuel cell, or in the engine compartment? jt

Nobody likes the Flying Toilet idea? Those things are wicked, no joke. jt

Ron's Flying toilet. http://www.ronsfuel.com/flying_toilet.cfm Run it on straight methanol. jt

Good job Bill!!!! Getting it running is a big milestone. If you get down and out a good burnout will make everyting OK!!!!! John

Thank you Ross! Look for an upcoming order. jt