Mikelly

So today I drove down to Carolina Automasters and Dyno'ed the new motor. I'd hoped to pick up all the crispness and bottom end I'd lost when installing the new motor. I knew some of it would be tuning, since the program was rich. I'd installed a Z06 MASS meter this morning, with the adapter, in hopes it would help my chances of 400WHP... I got there and Jeff was tuning a 99 Firebird, complete with DS1 Procharger, cage, and about 572HP at the wheels... Nice car indeed. The owner also has a 2nd Gen RX7 with a LT1 in it. Clean car indeed. So my turn on the rollers and we roll out 353HP... Eh' WTF??? Jeff does another couple pulls, cleaning up the fuel maps, and decides something is amiss... So we swap out the NEW meter for the old MASS unit, and the AFRs and mapping stabilizes. We get consistant 360s to 370s at the wheels. Go here to see the dyno sheet... http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z and click in the vette folder. I scanned in the 5th and 11th runs on the dyno... The good news is the car "feels" fast everywhere now. It launches hard, and pulls like a freight train, kinda like my old motor did... The bad news is the motor is down on power. We think it is the heads and the head work. The 98 model heads had issues, and I assumed (Wrongfully so) that installing bigger valves and extensive port work would clean them up and make them real runners... They may have COST me power... Lesson learned. Jeff tried to relay that to me and the engine builder in the process, but Dave didn't have a ton of experience with LS1 stuff, and I was more inexperienced than Dave. So we're making about 375HP and about 370#ft of torque, and the up shot is I'm getting the power everywhere and the car feels much faster. New heads could easily put me well over the 400HP mark. I'll consider them in the spring. Right now, I'm more focused on spending any additional funds on the Datsun. Another note of interest was that I was knocking down about 27MPG on the way down there, and we saw up to 32pmg on the way back... Amazing. The build up on this LS1: Forged H-Beam Rods (Heavy and could be robbing some power!), forged Ross pistons, Stock new LS1 Crank (Knife edged) with a new stock LS1 block, Ported 98 model LS1 heads with 2.02/1.57 valves, Thunder racing 224/224 114lsa cam (556 lift), Z06 intake/ injectors, Shander ported Tbody, LGM longtube 1 3/4 headers, and full 3inch exhaust W/ SLP cats. This is a 6 speed car and the rear gearing is 3.42. Redline is set to 6700RPms. I'll not shift it past 6200. Power falls off, so why bother. 400HP was the goal and I can't deny my disappointment. However, reality is that I wasn't driving 335HP on a road course to its fullest potential. I'll only swap those heads out if I decide I'm going to sell the car... Dyno sheets and numbers would help sell it. Right now I'm not interested in selling it, but at some point, Well... You know... So there you have it... The cam is worth 40HP and 20-ish Ft.# torque over my previous STOCK LS1 with the same bolt ons. I want to thank Jeff Creech for doing his magic and making this car so fun to drive hard and at speed. The new motor now FEELS soooo much faster and is much more efficient! Mike

I'm running two audiobahn amps, four 3way 6.5inch speakers and a 12 inch sub in the Vette... Crystal clear sound with an Alpine MP3 head unit. This is by far the best sounding system I've ever had in a car, and I've installed many over the last 24 years. Mike

Well the difference there is that Infenion just had a ton of money dumped into it, and it is still a dangerous track... Anytime you've got concrete walls where you're hitting in excess of 100MPH, that's a sure sign something bad can and will happen. The track the incident happened at is an older course. Lots of them around the country could use improvement to current safety standards. Also, something you may not be aware of is if there is a fatality at a track, an investigation is still required. Cops could care less if people go to the track or not. They just want you to obey the limits when on the street. Chat with an officer sometime about the mods to your car for track duty and he'll tell you that you're just stacking the odds in your favor on the street, and now you've added a bullseye as well... Once in a while I cross paths with a cop who is a real car guy and just wants to shoot the breeze about the car... But that is growing more and more rare. Mike

Bootlefoof, You're not going to meet your 2000# goal. Just not gonna happen... not with the words "creature comforts or street legal" in the project design. I sponsored a car from northern California from 2000-2004. Ian and Steve and removed everything from the car except for the running gear (the L6 Met F-prepared specs for SCCA solo2), a windshield, no dash, race seats, NOTHING in the interior, plexi hatch glass, door skins without any frame work or hardware (They flapped in the breeze as the car went around the course) and a skin for a hood... They had no bumpers, no extras, not even horns or headlights. The headlight housings had covers over them. They had a four point roll bar at the time, two race seats, and harnesses. They also had lightened suspension parts ie coil overs and control arms, and the shell had been scraped of all undercoating. The doors didn't even have regular hinges, but used cabinet hinges. It weighed in at about 1980#s. This was a 72 model shell. No glass in it, except for the windshield, no heater motor or controls, this thing was a rolling SHELL of a 240Zcar. You following me here? These guys owned the field when they raced, but typically did NOT drive the car on the street. So keep that in mind when you start to build your car. They eventually ended up with my old Marsh racing carbon/aluminum 3 piece wheels and installed a true cage, along with a fuel cell, and I think the car is still somewhere around 2000 pounds, or just under. But this car is a true track only car. Mike

Correct on all acounts... MAS, I'm using the standard LS1 block and crank, with Eagle Hbeam rods and Ross pistons. Compression is 10.5:1. If I hit anything over 400WHP, I'm gonna do a backflip. I went with the 114LSA because the Vette is a 99 model and we may eventually get mandated emissions inspections in my county OR I may move into another county that requires emissions testing. This car has got to pass emissions and from what Thunder Racing told me, the LSA was key to ease of tuning for both power and emissions... 112LSA was the break point (Can be done, but more tuning is required), according to Thunder Racing, So I played it safe and went with a 114. I'm heading out in a few hours. I'm going out to the garage this morning to bolt on the Z06 MASS meter I had sitting in the box. Jeff wants me to drive down with it in place so he can see how far off it is from the current Air tables... Mike

And I'm pretty sure a lot of us aren't sure where YOU are from... You stated in your remarks above that the VW in question was an early 70s car. Then you comment here hammering Savageskater because he clarified FOR YOU the rules as he thinks they are, trying to help you... Buying a new bug, and labeling it as a 72 sounds rather hinky, and I'm quite certain most of us not close to the Mexican border OR into bugs would even know that you can drive down and pick up a brand new 72 bug. Honestly I doubt this is even remotely true... Read your PM 240ZR... Mike

...Lazy bastage... http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1217165&page=1 and a compilation clip of the weekend half way down page five of this one: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=1190728&page=5&pp=20 Mike

Sux. Sorry to hear... Last spring my wife and I were running out to the grocery store to pick up some stuff to grill, and as we left the subdivision, there was this group of three kids standing, watching one of their cars start to flame up... They were all in a panic, and didn't know where to start... One of them had called the fire department. I stopped, had them turn the water hose on, and made them stand back while I hosed the car down. The source of the fire was under the hood and the hood latch cable had already melted. One of the kids had tried to pull the cable, and had melted plastic in his had, attached to what was left of the palm of his hand... AND he was in shock. We had no fire extenguisher and all I could do was have the friends help the young man out while I continued to keep a steady flow of water on the car until the fire department got there... They yelled at me to stop hosing the car down, and that water wasn't helping, that a dry chemical was needed... DUH... YA THINK??? I was working with what I had. Oh well... Couldn't watch the kids car just flame up without doing something... Source of the fire??? Brand new stereo install... His first. Multiple amps, speakers, and head unit... Kid had just gotten his tax refund. Your "biatch" of a principle probably used very good discretion in making you wait for the fire department... It hurts now I'm sure, but you can build a new car... We can't make a new you, you know? Cheer up... It only gets better from here. Mike

Yup. Apparently there was an Audi that lost its brakes at the end of the front straight before T1 and head on'ed into a tree... Lots of pics and some video over at Corvetteforum in the road race section. The guy who bought my Z06 road race wheels and hoosier tires spun at the same location I did in June (T10) and met the tire wall... He has incar footage of it... This is the exact reason I'll have my track car done before I go back. It just doesn't make sense to track a high dollar street car. The cost is much to high, and the lack of safety gear is most concerning. Mike

Wait until tomorrow and I'll be able to give you the skinny on my build. I'm going down to Durham NC. to have the final LS1 edit done on the new motor, and get some dyno numbers. I'm using the TR 224/224 cam with 114 LSA and some 98 ported heads with 2.02/1.57 valves. Using LGM long tube headers, LS6 intake/injectors, ported TB, and a full 3 inch exhaust with SLP cats. Mike

My guess is the rear tie rod or one of the ball joints let loose. The driver claimed that something snapped. There is discussion on other boards and it appears the car was in good shape and had just been through a little R&R. I've asked for a clip of the incar from the car behind Dale, so I can take a peek at it to see what exactly happened. There was also an event at VIR this past weekend where a number of cars were destroyed. HPDEs and lapping days can get expensive... Mike

If you can't weld, or cut metal, farm it out. This upgrade is not for the faint of heart. BTW, I think I have a set of 240Z strut housings with the spring purches already removed... I'd let them go reasonably cheap. Mike

Kraymond, I've not seen a fiberglass to metal bond that didn't crack over time. It is the nature of the beast, and the reason Terry O. (BlueovalZ) made all his panels out of fiberglass. Having survived a near fatal accident in a cage equipped Zcar, I won't drive a Zcar on the street without it. The street is a hell of a lot more dangerous than the track, so if you think that the track is the only justification, then think again. Check all the links to members pages for cage designs and ideas... http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z (Check in the New Zcar Project folder) to see my recently built cage... Just as a comparison. FYI, My car will be 99% track car, and only have an antique tag for the occassional test and tune... Mike

Good luck, and it sounds like this is the right choice. Try to exit with grace and poise, as it sounds like a small community in that industry! She'll likely cross paths with them again someday! And congrats on the wedding! Mike

Jeff Creech is one of the few people on the east coast who knows what the hell he is doing when it comes to software tuning... I'll be down there this Wednesday afternoon to get the Vette on the rollers for the final LS1 edit tune on the new motor. It's a 3+ hour trip, but well worth it in the long run! Mike

I don't think a TBI is gonna be able to support that blower with the fuel you need over the range. Talk with Holley's techs and explain your setup to them... Mike

I wanted to be able to fuel the car quickly and efficiently from the outside of the car. After seeing how Jim M.s filler neck mod was made to use the factory filler, and how slow it is to fill the car up, I decided to ditch the stock door all together. I don't like the idea of filling the car from the rear hatch. I'm also pretty sure that NHRA and IHRA would still want a lid surrounding the rear top of the fuel cell. I'm still gonna have to build a cage around my cell to protect it and me from backing the car into a tire wall or armco. Mike

I constantly see guys on this board reference the Elise when talk gets down to light sports cars... Trust me, they aren't very fast at all. They are also knife edge handling and aren't real forgiving. Every single track event I've attended in 2005 there has been a student crash one at VIR. EVERY event. They are slow, under powered, and only of real concern in the hands of a highly skilled professional driver. My various instructors at the track commented on this very issue as to why the car is NOT what the magazines write. I also sat in one while at the track and they are TINY. They make the interior of a Zcar seem HUGE and spacious. Don't believe all the magazine articles about the Lotus. For the money, there are a LOT better choices out there... Like a MazdaSpeed MX5. Mike

We're "peaches" because of vague and silly posts we deal with every day... kinda like your first post. You didn't search or you would have found many more posts than you probably care to read. I did a quick and dirty search on spring rates and came up with a ton, so that tells me you didn't get into it much. Then you get offended from the posts because we don't spoon feed here. I'd recommend you start over, and do some more reading. Mike

I'm sorry, I missed the bell... I didn't realize class was in session and Mr. C. was schooling you kids again! Bottom line to remember is any powerplant is just that, a source of power. Any Zcar is still going to suffer the same issues with regards to chassis stiffness, suspension design, braking, weight balance. John C., thanks for the morning read! Mike

First: I'm Moving this over to the non-tech forum and leaving a trail for you back to this one. I think you'll get more responses there. Second: When we started ZF Racing LLC, We did so because a specific need was identified... "ZF Racing's goal is to provide complete adjustability to the original suspension design on early Datsun Zcars. Our goal at ZF Racing LLC is to make a product that will be fully adjustable in toe, caster and camber without removing the parts from the chassis." "Parts designed by ZF Racing LLC will be durable enough to take the harsh beating most road race courses will povide." You need to identify a specific need or service you have identified as the community needing. You then need to explain how your business will provide that service while making a profit. That profit must sustain the needs of the business while also paying all employees (Including yourself). Hope this helps. Mike

Yea, what Doc H. Said... TCI and others make SFI rated units. Make sure to match it all up. If you're doing internal balance, get both the internal flex plate and the harmonic dampener. I use the TCI Rattler. If it is an external balance job, then make sure the flex plate and balancer are. Mike

...You guys can see pics of my fuel filler mod here: http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z and click on the fuel cell and filler folder! Mike

Damn man! That's a better solution than our discussion on the phone last night! Hope you're back up and running ASAP! I actually worked on mine today! Planets must have aligned or something! Mike

Pics can be seen at http://photos.yahoo.com/dat74z Select the Fuel Cell and Filler mod folder. Mike