clarkspeed

Another post for this very old sticky thread. I pulled the Bilsteins out of my car after 3 years of moderate race use. They still looked and felt new. I've been happy with them. They are very durable. I sometimes wish they were adjustable, but I'm still making adjustments, changes, and upgrades to the car that are more important than shock tuning at this point. I just switched to bias ply Hoosiers and I'm dealing with completely different suspension settings now. I sent them out for a rebuild and revalve and got the attached shock dyno. As you can see the valving is linear and more like 125/350 according to the graph. I did the unit conversions and generated the graph in Excel, so any errors are probably mine.

Scottie, let me know if you need any parts :') Congrats and Happy New Year

I tried it at the PRI show last December. The tracks are very accurate. It took my breath away.

They are 48's. Act like 3 x sidedraft carbs. 6 itb's. Sound like webbers only a little lower pitch and just a hair quieter. My "sister car" parked next too it in the garage has webers. The carbs have a little more suction sound because of the chokes.

I use the TWM throttle bodies with an old Cannon intake. The air filters are K&N with radiused inlets to act as air horns. The TB's are 48mm which is way to big for the street. They are like an on off switch. You would run into the car in front of you. TB's don't have choke's like carbs do. They are fine for the track but I scare the hell out of people in the pits. So get the correct size for the if you are going to street it. Other than that, they are great and sound better than carbs IMHO. But I rarely hear them over the exhaust!

Pulled the engine for freshening and painted the engine bay. Here is a pic before it gets dirty again.

If you are painting with enamels, the wet paint goes wherever the air moves. I did a booth more to preserve my garage than to keep the dust down. If you spread a sheet on the floor, you don't have to worry about doing the water thing either. Just make sure the car is clean (top to bottom) before pulling it in. Your blowing the thing with compressed air when painting so dirt from underneath or fenderwells can suddenly appear. I've also done the early morning painting outside. Not bad either but you need the right condiitons. Wear a good respirator, safety glasses, and cover exposed skin.

If you use PVC use 3/4 sch 40 and include plenty of supports. The rolls of big plastic are available thru McMaster Carr. Clear plastic will let the lights shine thru. I let the fans blow in to avoid explosion issues and filtered the air going out to keep my garage door clean and not piss off the neighbors too bad.

If Ahrens ran them, they must not be too bad. A little boxy but fine for racing. Not too sure about the air dam. I think I could wrap some composite for the same effect. No problem Greg. I know the routine. That 3-4 hours between sessions seems like 15 minutes sometimes.

I think Doug Piner had the Japco Raceglass company a few years ago. I think they did a lot of 510 stuff. Maybe its the same molds. Looks like race parts, not something you would build a show car with.

Anyone familiar with these guys? Their website has a number of Z car pieces, hoods, fenders, hatch, etc. Located in NC.

I'm sure you will!

Greg, I also find it hard to believe it's harmonics. Seems impossible to destroy one bearing without at least wiping the coating off of others. It is a 7 bearing motor so it seems hard for the entire crank movement to be limited to the center bearing. It's possible harmonics contributed if the oil film was marginal, but not the root cause.

Blocking the lower was chosen based on simplicity for this application. Supports were there and we already had an existing grill to fit. The KISS principle. Hopefully I get some aero help from it.

I have a BSME from NCSU and have been in the workforce for 20 years. I've had the privilege of working on everything from Nuke Subs, Aircraft Carriers, Space Shuttle, Missiles, Lasers, Glass Plants, Power Plants, just to name a few. Funny thing is, I rarely use my engineering and have never done design. I learned a lot about manufacturing and how to build just about anything and currently manage an Industrial Engineering department for a large defense contractor. I've always networked with people and kept my experience varied and marketable. As far as being happy in your job? I like things different everyday. Never bored. Some engineers like a little more structure. And if you don't like sitting in front of a computer all day, don't get too heavy into pure design. I knew a guy who went to work in the engine shop of a large Nascar team. Sounded cool, but he ended up running dyno tests for weeks on end and was bored to death. And the pay was lousy. Keep in mind a dream job may not be that glamorous and you end up with much more competition to get ahead. Above all, for me to be happy, it takes a dynamic growing company with a young diverse workforce, good management, and a good boss who is willing to teach. Doesn't really matter what the product is or even what I do. You can create your own opportunities in that environment and move up or lateral. Or get good experience and move on. It's a big world out there. That ME degree will get your foot into a lot of doors, even ones you never dreamed of.

The easy way is to buy the welded spool I have posted on Ebay right now. It seems to be well made. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140300981083&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT

That car rules! Let me know when you go back to the track. I have the helmet cam up and working again!

Garrett, Are you pulling from the SDS brain or taking inputs from individual sensors?

I'm an FI guy and no carb expert but I do have some advise for a NA L6. You will want to data log your LM-1. Things happen so fast, sometimes they are hard to see on the gauge. RPM and throttle input even better. Jet for a steady WOT ratio a little above 12.5 to 1. Say 12.8 to 13.0. My LM-1 read a little high so I ended up about .5 above. Then tune for throttle transition per some of Jon's notes. You will end up with a comprimise. Going a little lean then a little rich is about right without going too lean and never rich or never getting lean and going too rich. That's what causes the stumble. Should clean up within 1000 RPM. Then if you really want to get it close, take it to a dyno, with LOTS of spares.

I think that's what he is saying. Tune to the temps, and you will end up about a degree "less camber" in the rear. (ex. -3 Deg F, -2 Deg R). Seems about right.

I think that's what he is saying. Tune to the temps, and you will end up about a degree "less camber" in the rear. (ex. -3 Deg F, -2 Deg R). Seems about right.

If your bias is way off, you will see noticable difference in wear on the fronts vs. backs. More heat also. Again, you might experiment with pad materials first since that's the easiest. What tire and size are you running? Stopping distance is always limited by the Cof between the tire and the road, not the size of the brakes. The bigger brakes will only allow you to modulate and control heat better.

I'm good at drilling fenders. Is that the same?

Damn this is a good thread. Now I know what I didn't know or something like that. Thanks all!