h4nsm0l3m4n
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Posts posted by h4nsm0l3m4n
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Am I the only one bummed these are only available in 17s? 17 is too big for my taste.
I have RB-Rs now, and these certainly look a lot better, but then they would since they look identical to Wats. Maybe I'll just be super irresponsible and order a set of R types...
I agree, if these came in 16s Id be all over them. Probably going to go with the R types as well. More expensive but probably the right thing to do, with all the knock-off brand stuff I buy its good to support the big guys every once-in-a-while
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For constant 12v I wired my harness to the positive side of the starter wire. Out of the ignition switch I only accessed the one wire (probably BW but I cant remember now) for the ignition "on" signal. If you can verify the LS1 harness is working as intended you can assume the problem lies somewhere in your stock wiring. Did you already test that the harness behaves properly by powering it up without hooking it up to the ignition switch?
Also this might sound kind of stupid but what do you mean by "making the switch." Did you take apart the ignition switch assembly? If you take the assembly apart you will find its made of 2 parts, the key/lock cylinder part and the actual ignition switch. The key rotates a small tab on the ignition switch that turns a slot on the ignition swith to "on", "start", etc positions. It is possible (I think), if you turn the ignition switch slot to a different position, to put the assembly back together incorrectly. I accidentally did this and got some wierd, backwards sort of behavior from the switch since its not in the correct position anymore. Luckily this is easy to test and fix.
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Your ignition switch symptoms are very strange. Definitely seems like its mis-wired and not acting properly. Did you change anything from the stock wiring harness that could have affected the switch? The only modification I had to do to the stock harness was splice the ignition wire to signal my LS1 relays, etc to turn on.
About your fuel pump. Working with open fuel always makes me nervous but going through the fuel system one component at a time to check everything is probably the best way to figure out where youre not getting fuel. My first suggestion (if you havent already thought of this) would be to verify all your inlets and outlets on the pump, fpr, filters, etc, are hooked up to the right fuel lines. Very easy to get mixed up
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I used this method along with my Fastrax Camber/Caster gauge to set camber, caster, and toe. I think its similar to the parallel strings setup Tom Holt did but doesnt require you bolting anything to your car. It also got me results about +/- 1/16" that was later confirmed when I went to alignment shop.
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Chumpcar rules differ a little bit from Lemons. Our team leader is a member of the chumpcar staff and has always said that your car must be "worth" $500 and whatever money you spend is not really factored in. Cars are classified as being "worth" a certain amount of money and various additional parts are added to the total. If that total is still sub-500 youre within the rules. They also dont really require you to have themes (though it helps to have one) and dont have things like the "people's curse" or other strange things that Lemons does.
$3-4000 invested in a race car is totally realistic, it might even be on the cheap-side. The way I justify it is that, split 4 or 5 ways its not too horrible and its real wheel to wheel racing and I dont have to worry about blowing up anything I care a lot about.
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Someone asked me if I was interested to race coming up in Sebring for the Chumpcar race. On the surface, this looks to be a inexpensive, however, after reading the rule book on the roll cage that looks to be some serious money to spend on the cage. Am I wrong here? I understand the need, but I don't think this is as cheap as they are trying to make it out to be? Plus clothes, etc.
Thoughts, advice?
http://www.chumpcar.com/events.php
I agree. People get the impressions you can start racing for peanuts when, in reality, its not as cheap as one would think. Between the car, tires, brake pads, car fluids, roll cage, radio, race suit/helmet, race entry frees, towing/traveling expenses, lodging, and gas (in 8 hours an rx7 consumes quite a bit) it really adds up. This does not take into account spare engines, new/replacement parts, spare engines/parts, tools and other crap. If your car makes intact through the race (awesome!) chances are youll need to at least replace a few of previously mentioned items. Keep in mind the race fee wont get much cheaper for your 2nd, 3rd, Nth race. If your car breaks down (ours has 3 times.. in 3 races) youll probably be looking at even more parts/engines to replace/rebuild. If your car gets into a wreck and gets totaled (ours has once) you start all over from the beginning.
You can see this is definitely more than 500 bucks. However, after all that I still say its totally worth it. I think you'd really struggle to find a more fun atmosphere to race in
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I used a fastrax camber/caster gauge to set my camber and caster. It is a pretty simple tool to use and it worked well. Only issue was that it still was a lot of work to set everything up and do the alignment on my car. Eventually I ended up making friends with a guy who works at an alignment shop and got the lifetime alignment package, now I basically get as many as I want and I know he will do a good job. Plus I can always check his work using my gauge.
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Mcmaster carr has monoball bearings:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#rod-ends/=coizbz
I also believe aurora bearings have a line of monoball bearings but have no link for you.
What youre essentially building is this:
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As pointed out, trying to compare apples to apples among different race series is going to be exceedingly difficult dut to rule restrictions. But this applies even within a race series. Sure BTCC has FWD and RWD cars competing side by side, but typically, RWD cars are subject to a weight penalty, and AWD even more so. That alone points to the inherent advantage of RWD and AWD over FWD. It comes down to physics. Tires have a finite amount of grip, and you can either dedicate 100% it to accelleration or 100% to cornering. You have to compromise one or the other in a FWD car. Which is not to say that you can't have a fast FWD car, but all else being equal, a FWD car will be at a disadvantage. Just look at the driveline choices for supercars, where there are no rule restrictions. They are all either RWD or AWD. You'll never see a FWD Ferrari.
Nigel
I actually wasn't aware of the weight penalty for running RWD and AWD cars, so thanks for pointing that out to me. In addition to this weight penalty I believe BTCC gives a weight penalty to the top 4 or 5 cars that win a race, though the exact details about how that works isn't as clear to me. This additional weight penalty seems like it would compensate for if a certain car was clearly superior to the others (for example, if the weight penalty to RWD cars made FWD vastly superior)? I dont regularly follow this series so please correct me if I'm wrong.
You are absolutely right, I'm aware of the physics of why FWD is inferior on paper. I can definitely understand why most cars under little to no restriction opt for AWD or RWD platforms. However, the point I am making is that the performance difference between FWD and RWD is not always as massive as one would think. Using the BTCC example, if "all" it takes to make a FWD competitive with RWD in professional racing is some 20-40 kg, then on a more amateur level it makes even less difference (as indicated by John's video).
I would also like to note, even though its not really related to this discussion, that (at least from what I have seen on an amateur level) racing a car isnt only down to physics. Its also about race strategy, skill of the drivers and crew, and a lot of other factors. You could have a perfect car design on paper but may suffer lots of other issues through the season that would prevent you from winning. While I agree driveline choice is a big factor I think its really impossible to say just how much influence it actually has in the context of everything else that could go right/wrong during a racing season. At a professional level, "everything else" might be less of a factor since you have the best drivers, best engineers, best everything but I dont think you can ever say anything for sure.
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I will respond only with this...
There is not one professional event that is dominated by FWD, not Nascar, not F1, not WRC, not CART, not NHRA. There is always the exception to the rule but 99.9% of the time rwd will come out on top.
I'm not an expert racing series but I just want to be fair and mention that I am pretty sure Nascar, and F1 both have very specific requirements for chassis design that effectively outlaws FWD car chassis configurations. Also CART and INDY only allow the use of one standard chassis for all competing teams to level the playing field, so no chance for FWD cars there either. I'm not familiar with NHRA drag racing at all but I've seen videos of FWD cars running 8s or 9s. Thats pretty fast. Can FWD go as fast as RWD dragsters can? A top fuel FWD car has not been built to my knowledge so its really impossible to say for sure. Point is there doesnt seem to be many publicized racing series where FWD cars are even allowed to compete with RWD cars on the same level.
However, BTCC doesnt restrict driveline choice so teams can use FWD or RWD. Interestingly enough, this series has been dominated by FWD cars for years now. Though there were more RWD cars in the past there are actually very few of them left competing in the series. WTCC is similar, RWD and FWD cars compete directly, and though they arent as seemingly dominant have won the championship last couple years or so.
I'm not saying that youd ever see a FWD car in F1, but just that in a lot of series cars look a certain way because they are required to, not necessarily because that's what's best.
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I have the TTT arms, they work quite well but do have some issues.
You can see the main issue with them in this picture. The boxed section has some clearance cutouts to access the nuts/bolts for the TC rod. Its not all that apparent but theres not really that much clearance so putting these on can be a little annoying. Also, notice the clearance for the swaybar end link. The sway bar end link bushing wont fit through that slot. What you have to do is slide the bushing and its respective washer into position and insert the bolt afterward.
My other issue with them is they are heavy. If youre going for weight savings, or trying to minimize unsprung weight, these are not the best pick. The part is a box section using pretty thick gauge steel. The stock LCAs are boxed using sheet metal... Sure, perhaps it makes the TTT LCAs stronger, but its almost 1/8" thick, is that really necessary?
Keep in mind these are pretty small foibles, I'm pretty happy with my TTT LCAs. Back when I bought them I only had 2 choices, TTT or AZC and the price difference made over looking any issues quite easy. Overall, I think all 3 of those options will work about the same for you. They all work and accomplish the exact same thing the same way. Only real differences is aesthetics and price so theres no real wrong choice here.
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Are you interested in being competitive in your autocross class? If so swapping a V8 will put you in pretty fast class that will require lots of additional work to the car to be competitive. This may be just fine, but is something to keep in mind.
I personally think a properly done V8 swap is going to be more expensive than rebuilding your stock motor. The cost of the motor, transmission, motor mounts are all just one part of the swap. You
will have to source a custom driveshaft, buy some headers and get build custom exhaust. A carbed V8 has limited wiring so you should be able to fire it pretty easily, but there is more stuff to do before you get it running:
Even if you think your motor is in good shape how much faith in that do you really have? If you bought it from some guy on craigslist for cheap, how much do you trust his work? If you bought it from a junkyard, how long was it sitting in the rain/mud before they pulled it? If it were me I'd go through with at least a partial tear down of the motor to verify everything looks good. This means possibly new gaskets all around, spark plugs, wires, thermostat maybe oil pump and water pump... Also, if the motor is all stock, do you really want to leave the stock carb/intake/cam/ignition/etc? I'd at least get a edelbrock intake, decent holley carb, and msd ignition. The transmission also could need work, with a manual you will probably want a new clutch.
This may seem like a unreasonably long list but really can you afford NOT to do at least a few of the things I mentioned? Youre paying big money to put the engine in your car you might as well ensure everything ends well. You and your wallet will NOT like the frustration of having to re-diagnose some part of the swap, or have to pull the engine apart again because you find something wrong, down the road. Sure, you can probably reduce how you have to pay but ultimately I dont think your L28 rebuild will run much more than what you'd have to pay to put the V8 in your car (especially if you arent doing the work yourself). I'm not against the V8 swaps, they work great, but if youre on a budget the L28 motors are pretty strong, reliable, and make reasonable power. If you spent some time I doubt you couldn't find a used motor to put into your car and get running for pretty cheap, or use as a good core for a rebuild. If you havent looked there already check out car-part.com for used engines and transmissions
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Do they sell the spring to go with their sleeve and collar ? What size(Length & ID)spring and spring rate should I use?
Yes, you can buy springs separately from him. Coilover springs are typically 2.5" ID, length and rate are your choice. Do some research to figure out what springs you want to run.
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Youre in pretty good shape right now having taken care of the basics. What are your long term plans for the car? If youre going to do lots of track days and make tons of power a 5-lug swap may make sense. Otherwise, I dont feel its worth the trouble. There are plenty of 4-lug wheels available for our cars. Willwoods are great but, again, unless youre going all out you can get close to that level of performance for cheaper.
If youre driving the car a lot, Id address the wheels first. Find some used 14 or 15s and put some decent rubber on them (400 for the wheels, 300-500 for tires). It will greatly improve your ride. If youre looking for brakes, I would just get some good brake pads for the front, good shoes in the back and spend some time to make sure it works well. This should only cost a few 100, so you wont be backtracking a whole lot if you decide to go with better brakes later. Should have plenty of brake for your car now, if you want more piece together a 280zx or 240sx rear disc setup.
To address your engine. If all thats wrong with the EFI is a some sensors and connectors have deteriorated from age, could you spend some time going through your harness, cleaning it up and replacing what is broken? This shouldnt cost much and will hopefully address most of your issues. What money you have left you can put toward a L28ET, megasquirt or, whatever else.
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The Star Specs (Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec) sound interesting. I could keep the T-rated 60 / 215 balloons for cruising and put the 205/50/15 Star Specs for other events since I have two sets of rims.
I was in your position earlier this year after I bought my Michelin all seasons. I considered buying a set of Star Specs but ultimately did not like the idea because I felt silly buying a set of "street" tires I would use as "race" tires when they werent true race tires at all.
In this case I feel that a set of used race tires is the best way to go. 205/50-15 is a common size (especially for spec miata race cars), so you shouldnt have any trouble finding a set of RA-1s, or some other race tire. These should serve you just as well (or better than) the Star Specs, last a long time, and might even be cheaper to buy.
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Unless you feel that .4" of side wall will make or break your ride quality I think you should look into 205/50-15 size tires. Most popular street/track tires (potenzas, star specs, etc) are only offered in the 205 size. There are many more tires to choose from in this size so you should have a much easier time finding something that fits your performance needs and your budget. 225s are wider but you will be more limited in which tires you can buy. This may require you to settle for a "worse" tire (more expensive, less grip, harsher ride, or anything else) for your application.
For what its worth I use 205/50-15 Michelin Exalto A/Ss. They have been great all season tires, on daily driven z car during a VERY rainy oregon winter. For the track I picked up a used set of shaved 205/50-15 RA-1s. For a street/track tire I would recommend a high performance summer tire such as the ones I mentioned above. I do not have the experience to say how well all season tires do on the track.
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That "fuel accumulator" looks like nothing more than a remote oil filter adapter.
I never really thought about it but youre right, I knew those things looked familiar haha! It looks like they drilled an extra hole for the return line though. There is a little pick up tube inside the filter as well. It just extends to the bottom of the filter to make sure the high pressure pump never sucks in any air... not sure of the remote oil filter kits have those or not. In any case it seems like one could make a functioning surge tank really cheap by buying one of those remote oil filter mounts and modifying it slightly to work.
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I chose to use a BC broncos "fuel accumulator" (http://www.bcbroncos.com/store/product_info.php?cPath=131_108&products_id=1355) as a surge tank instead of building my own. It was cheap and it seems to work great. It has a mounting flange so its only a matter of drilling a few holes to mount it.
I think you can pretty much mount a surge tank anywhere you want its just a matter of how youre going to route fuel lines and place your fuel pumps. I mounted everything near the stock pump location, this seemed to simplify things a bit.
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Check out this thread: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/98897-step-by-step-coilover-conversion/
See how he does his upper spring perch setup (step 30+), I think it should work for you as well.
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Mcmaster-carr should have all the 10.9 bolts youd ever need. You also pick them up at your local Fastenal though they typically have to special order any 10.9 bolts. I agree with Danno, socket head bolts would definitely be better.
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Just curious, does the Suspension Techniques rear bar kit come with pre-drilled doglegs to mount it behind the diff? Or does it require drilling holes in the parts in order to mount the sway bar?
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The "camber wrench" that comes with this kit seemed absolutely worthless for rotating the bushing around to add/subtract camber. The kit for the rear was even worse. The bushings are delrin (hard plastic) and aluminum so youre basically taking all the compliance out of the LCA mount, supposedly giving you a much harsher ride.. They do work though and they're pretty cheap so maybe that's what you're looking for.
I had a set on my car for a couple months than replaced them with adjustable LCAs.
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What sort of suspension are you running in your car? Diamond racing wheels or not when you run a 15" wheel on stockish suspension you are fairly limited in how much backspacing you can run in these cars. The obvious issue is rubbing on the lower spring perch. I have 0 offset (so roughly 3.5" backspacing) 15x7 panasports and clear the spring perch by roughly .5"... maybe less. If you go with coilovers, you probably gain quite a bit of backspacing but I think you may start having issues with the wheel rubbing the chassis and/or the TC rods at full lock.
I just got a set of diamond racing wheels (in 15x7) and have found an additional issue. I run toyota calipers with vented 300zx rotors. The diamond racing wheel face rubs on the most inner of the 3 large ribs on the front of the caliper. You get can around this by running a wheel spacer or grinding off quite a bit of material of the caliper. Not a big deal but I just thought I'd throw that out there.
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Still looking...
Auto-X tuning ideas, want feedback
in Brakes, Wheels, Suspension and Chassis
Posted · Edited by h4nsm0l3m4n
Please correct me if I'm wrong but the impression I got from your original post was that you liked the way your car is behaving overall but wanted to do some "fine tuning" to get the car behaving exactly as you like. When it comes to fine tuning tire pressure is the easiest thing to work on and costs you nothing. If you have adjustable shocks, these are also an easy thing to play with. Most cars that I've seen run heavier springs in the rear. Switching them around is also easy and costs nothing. I feel that between these 3 variables and a lot of testing you should be able to find an optimum setting that you are happy with and with little expense. Part of the problem though is that in autocross there is little actual time to make adjustments to the car and since the course changes every event it can be difficult to figure out if the changes you made are positive. Unfortunately this means things will take longer, but that's part of the fun!
Spending a lot of money and making large changes to the suspension (adjustable LCAs, camber plates, etc) might be more fun, but ultimately will lead you down the same road - you will still have to do a lot of testing to find the optimum settings for all your adjustments.
What I'm jealous of is your power steering setup, I bet that works great for autocross