Mikelly

On the following wires I think it's important to know how to energize them... This drove me nuts... 932 is the Brown FEED for parking/gauge lights and needs a switched 12v source. On the stalk, as the guys have mentioned the green/white and green/black wire are the two you want to use for 927/929/930. I ran a jumper off the main red/black feeder to the red wire on the stalk and jumped it over to the green/black. Then I ran 927/929/930 (all brown) to the green/white. Now all my parking/gage lights work off the switch! Mike

I've done track days on and off for YEARS... Last summer at Watkins Glen With PCA was the first time EVER that I had an instructor that did not click. I made the biggest mistake in the world and "toughed" it out and it was my worst event to date. Do NOT do that. If it isn't working, it isn't working. Different styles, personality, whatever... Get another instructor and don't worry about it. Mike

:lmao:

Trust me on this one, as I've been down this path a time or three... Don't compromise or cut corners. You'll end up redoing it yet again... Ask me how many brake setups I've had on my car? Go ahead, ask... Seriously, I'd unload them and buy the right wheel that doesn't require the adapters...It'll take a little more time, but you'll have a better solution in the end, especially with a 6.0 project. Mike

Why not sell those, buy them in the Mustang 5X4.5 pattern and swap to five lug? Mike

I got the hardest punch i've ever had (Gave me a black eye BTW) from my HOOD. Years ago I stopped on the side of the road to check something under the engine bay (Think I was confirming that the oil cap was on) and the hood hit me at the temple on the left side... knocked me DOWN... I forgot to put the prop rod up, and I'd removed those springs... Talk about a wakeup call! Mike

...And so it shall be done!

Congrats, and I'd buy posters of various supercars, emblems, and flags... One of our vendors here sells nice wall art cheap for the Datsun stuff... Mike

John, In a recent email traffic about my fuel issues, you commented that your current fuel setup is "great". I bet by adding that wider contact patch, you just gave up that "great" fuel delivery. I pulled up your lap times from last april at VIR North and comparing your times to Jim M.'s GT3, you were only 4tenths off... Those tires you're thinking about will solve your "grip" and corner exit issues, but I bet you're going to upset what you're used to in the fuel department, as well as in where you've been used to braking. You just added a bunch of rotating mass to each corner... Once you get the fuel delivery, brake bias, and chassis setup sorted out, you'll be a lot faster. But I bet the first couple of events are gonna be "fun"! Mark, Tom and I won't be the only guys cussin' and throwing tools in the pits! Mike

See my comments above. Most clubs will dictate which side a pass is given on and if you are to stay on or go off line when giving the passing signal. Every club I run with is slightly different in many regards so be mindful of that and follow that clubs rules. Mike

There are a bunch of differing opinions on what is and isn't acceptable, but here's what I can recommend from a total perspective...We can start another thread about track day "preparation", but this is for when at a track day. Understand what all the flags mean before going to the track. Check online with SCCA and other clubs, but you really should understand the flagging before hand. When you get to the track, have your track map handy at all meetings. There may be situations that ocurred overnight that they are discussing. You'll want your map handy to discuss it with. When you get in the car your first session, look for every single corner worker and WAVE TO THEM. I find that helps to ID in my mind where I need to visually check for a situation at every point on the track. Always, ALWAYS check your mirrors when coming up to a passing zone. You don't want to be the source of conversation in the pits because so-and-so in that blah blah blah wouldn't give a point by. Do NOT pay attention to your mirrors when NOT in a passing zone. If you're in a "talent" section aka curved portion of the track, and you're not fully focused on entry, apex and exit, you're going to eventually have an incident. That guy glued to your bumper is showing poor etiquette and I'll get to that in a moment, but I've seen way to many incidents by guys driving with their mirrors. Do NOT, DO NOT climb up someone's tailpipe if you're NOT in a passing zone. Lay back and give a couple of car lengths and build momentum coming into the last corner so you can have that momentum when you need it. If you're glued to his bumper a few things are happening here: 1. Your car is running hotter because less air is getting to it, which also means your brakes are getting hotter. 2. You are creating that "stress" of possibly causing a driver to check his mirrors in an unsafe spot, driving with his mirrors, as I describe above. 3. You're in a more dangerous situation if that driver does have an incident, because you are shortening your reaction time in trying to avoid him. 4. Getting the attention of the corner workers, instructors, stewards, and that reputation labels you as aggressive and at an HPDE that is NOT good. I've got some wonderful video of people doing this that I could share, but just don't be one who gets caught on tape doing it... It WILL end up on Youtube! Now always pay attention to where pit-out and pit-in are. These are traffic areas where abnormal things happen... People are going and coming in directions you haven't been used to for several laps. Make sure you can see that someone is giving you a point by signal, and Not a pit-in signal and in these two areas your hightened awareness is most important so use patience and good judgement. Don't take late passes. Wave them off. It will show your instructor that you are using good "safe" judgement and have left the ego in the pits. This will help you advance in the clubs you track with. Do NOT watch the car spinning in front of you go off track. During an incident keep your eyes on where you want to go. Otherwise your eyes will take you where you're wanting them to go by watching that BMW spin in front of you... Into the tire wall... Target fixation is a real problem, so pay attention to this. Look where you need to be, and worry about your buddies spin later. If you do break something, get off line and find a safe spot to get the car in the grass, or more preferably a paved or gravel run off area. Grass can catch fire with hot fluids, so be mindful of that... STAY IN YOUR CAR. Unless your car is on fire, stay in the car. I've seen students jump out of their car and cause the whole session to get black flagged. You just became the most popular guy in the group by cutting a run session short. So if you break, crash, get stuck in a gravel trap, whatever, stay in the car unless it is of the utmost concern for your safety. Above all, eat, keep hydrated, even in cold weather, and rest when you can. Track days will sap the energy out of you. I've been known to take naps between run sessions and those little power naps really do help with my focus. Mike

Yea, John C., you may be on to something. I plan to shelf the hardware, and investigate software/computers this year while I debug the rest of the car. I think I'll have enough to keep me occupied. I plan to use a surge tank and auxilery pump, like Mark suggested offline, and then run my holley 750/Edlebrock Victor Jr. and then once everything else is sorted, I'll focus on the tune/FI. Mike

I think I'll just swap it out or a carb setup I have on the shelf and sort out the rest of the car this year, and then maybe convert to EFI next year... It's a track car with a 383 stroker chevy running on road courses, so what I'm trying to avoid is getting caught with the car away from home and giving me fits. Mike

Congrats Bill! I hope to have a similar experience in the not so distant future! Mike

Yup I'm seriously kicking around the idea of pulling the Holley FI system off my car and going carbureted... I want to be able to work on the damned thing when at the track, and I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer when dealing with standalone systems... So I'm seriously thinking... The only drawback is my application is a roadrace project... Comments, suggestions, ideas??? Mike

Harry, That rear parking brake is junk. You might want to look at my thread on the Mustang Setup... The OEM rear caliper comes with an ebrake that works on the Zcar and the brakes for this setup are HUGE!!! Mike

Are you assuming Michael that we don't already have something like that in place? Hard to take advantage of the roth beyond current max points and we're hitting them every year. No, the goal was to have him safe and in a reliable car that won't be a roll of the dice everytime he gets in the car to start it up... His other car wouldnt' start "after" the trade in was worked. To me, this car was an investment in his safety and peace of mind. Mike

Yup, It's true, those high end brakes made by Porsche and others use drilled rotors. I have them on the Twin Turbo as OEM parts from porsche. I hate them, and most other guys who run their OEMs hate them as well... A side effect of those holes is they pack up with used material and can cause shudder at the steering wheel under hard braking. Captain Furious, One other thing to consider is those deep pockets supporting those carbon rotors. For the Porsche system, It's a $15,000 option: http://e-partssales.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=P&Product_Code=CERAMICS&Category_Code=996brakesTT The main reason most teams use these types of brake systems is the reduced weight. Remember, these are pro teams with vast budgets where cutting 10ths of a second is worth many thousands of $! I hate those things and will replace them on the porsche as soon as funds allow...Unfortunately Ross isn't in the Porsche parts business! Mike

Thanks! I just ordered 20 ft. in black to run around the whole dash! It was about $.60 per foot and looks like it will make the finished product look much better for my application. Mike

Most brilliant reply in this thread! Dane, You win the prize! Mike

In Va. if you take the "safe drivers program", it's generally mandated to get you out of a ticket. So you can't just "take it" on your own... This is similar to the Defensive driving programs other states host. Mike

Well we tried some of those to no avail. I have loJack on my Porsche, and it didn't effect the insurance rate one bit. Etched glass was the same thing, along with tint. My agent didn't want to hear it...All our vehicles have alarms and that's all the "bonus" we got... We did get our multi-car discount, which helps, and once a few incidents/tickets of my own drop this year i should be down to around $2500 per year. Mike

We've done that as well. This will add in that same direction of "building" good credit. Mike

This is an aerodynamic category... This is not a Paint and body/Waxer/CarShow Category... For "THIS" category what "THIS" guy did with "THIS" car is pretty impressive. Closed minds miss opportunities to gain knowledge, and knowledge is power. So the guy was trying to improve his fuel mileage to very high return on his money spent... Why would you NOT USE a commutor box like a Civic hf or a diesel vw or some other equally pedestrian mode of transportation. I certainly wouldn't expect him to use a Hemi powered 240Z to start with... You guys who are so critical failed the test without picking up your pencils. Mike

Car insurance here in Va. is very expensive, especially for young drivers. My wife and I have her 97 BMW, my 2001 Porsche 911 Turbo, my 2004 Dodge Cummins 3500 and a Haulmark enclosed car trailer on it and we're paying $3000 per year full coverage with increased coverage amounts and an Umbrella policy to cover us beyond that. Mike