johnc

I'm sure it strengthens that junction, but does it need strengthening and is the small amount of flex that others have measured bad? If the flex gains a tiny bit of negative camber, that can be a (very, very minor) good thing. I personally have never heard of a failure in that part of the front strut. I've seen spindle and strut tube failures which were caused mostly from bump or side impacts. IMHO I would be more worried about how the welding affected the strut (from a failure perspective) then preventing flex at that junction. EDIT: I don't mean to imply that the part is now more fragile. In my mind the benefit gained is balanced by the risk of a stress riser from the welding so its an even trade.

I'll play devil's advocate... Way back when I was part of a software company we had two of the smartest people I've ever met working for us. Some people would say they were dumb or had no common sense because of the little mistakes they would make or their ignorance of "street" knowledge. Cory walked out of the shop early one morning after working most of the night and forgot to close and lock the doors. I found the place wide open when I got in at 7:00am. I asked him later what had happened and he explained that for the software problem he was working on he had to keep a five dimensional array in his head from 10:00pm until he left to get the solution coded properly. Cory said there wasn't much room left and it took him a while to dump the array from his brain after he got home. He was also completely ignorant about the working of a car engine. His Volvo had broken down and he asked me to help him get it fixed one weekend so we worked on it, got it running, tuned it up, changed the oil, etc. By the end of that weekend he thoroughly understood how his car worked and began modifying it. I think the issue with a lot of these people is that they are not exposed to the stuff we are exposed to and vice-versa. Most have the ability to learn and understand just about anything. Conversely, how many here can keep a five dimensional array in their head to solve a business problem?

Call me skeptical...

McMaster-Carr, Grainger, Sears, Home Depot, Lowes...

My old car had excellent brakes with Outlaw 2800 calipers and a vented 11.5" OD x .781" wide front rotor and a solid rear Brembo rotor. For a 30 minute track session in a 2,100 lb car that hit 150mph, that was more then enough brake. Again, the key is getting air to the rotors and the calipers. IMHO, a lot of folks run too much brake on their cars. Unless you're running a multi-hour Enduro, focus more on balance and less on heat management through mass.

Someone who read something on the internet that had these two items: 1. A car. 2. Some math. They now feel they are a Certified Internet Automotive Engineer and are qualified to comment on all things automotive.

I wanted to see the Corolla launch!

My nephew is in special ops and for his latest HALO training they did a night landing and take off from carrier in a MC130W. He won't tell me many details, but he did say he saw Ensenada when he left the plan and landed just north of El Centro.

I would remove all the other calipers and inspect them before making any decisions - this might be a system problem not an individual part problem. You might also want to check your caliper mounting to make sure its not moving radially and check your rotors and hats per what Doug said above. If you're as fast as others say you are, its probably time for floating rotors.

Then there are the Internet engineers that hang out on car forums...

Its most likely not just one thing because you're getting wear in two different places on the piston bores. Caliper flex is likely. When the Wilwoods flex they open up from the bottom and cause wear in the bottom of the piston bore. The cause of this flex is most likely heat buildup, not the overall strength of the caliper itself. You should have at least a 3" duct to the center of the rotor and a 2" duct to the caliper.

It looks like there's a lot of aerodynamic detail work on the car in addition to the lengthened wheelbase and the rear wing.

Search here on HybridZ and make extensive use of Google.

Nope. Course configuration, lap times, driver technique, and tire wear (as you're learning) are also factors. Some cars and drivers work better with much higher inside temps. Also, incorrect tire pressures (giving somewhat even tire temp readings) may mask camber problems. EDIT: I'll qualify my Nope. The rule of thumb is just a starting point to help folks get in the ballpark. You have to look at the additional factors I list above and continue to adjust, always keeping an eye on the temps to make sure you haven't gone way out of whack. I did a minor bit of development help with the T3 Mazda RX8s and they worked best at WSIR with a 50 degree difference across the tires at that particular track.

And now, the real meaning of the flags: Yellow (Standing) a) There will be something interesting to look at around the next corner, slowing down is optional. Some jerk has spun/crashed/stalled ahead, but was kind enough to get off of the track. Yellow (Waving) a) There will be something interesting to look at around the next corner and you will be close to it, make sure that you get a good target fixation going. Some jerk has spun/crashed/stalled ahead, took out a couple other innocent parties, and parked everything on the track to discuss the matter. Black w/Orange Ball (Meatball) a) Your car is a POS, (probably British) and the finest quality parts ARE falling off. We're trying to save you some money... report to the pits. Blue w/Yellow Stripe (Passing) a) The wanker in the Corvette is finally on one of the straights and will be passing you so that he can park in the next corner, throwing away all your momentum. There's a race going on, and you're not part of it... move over. Red (Danger) a) Said with Jim Ignatowski's (from Taxi) voice "Alex, why are all these cars stopped on the race track." Some jerk has spun/crashed/stalled ahead, took out a couple other innocent parties, and parked everything on the track to discuss the matter. A fire and then a fight then broke out. Yellow w/Orange Stripes (Debris) a) Someone ran over an animal and the concession stand will be serving "meat surprise" at lunch today. The wanker in the Corvette can only keep two wheels on course in the corners. White (Slow Vehicle) a) The wanker in the Corvette blew up his engine again and is limping around the track, on the line, trying to get back to his motorhome for a Martini. He didn't make it and the wrecker is going to get him. Black (Furled and Pointed At You) a) Your last move was crap and EVERYONE knows it. Every corner worker has your car and number and is just dying to catch you doing anything wrong. Its like your mother-in-law is at every corner station. Black (Waved w/Your Number Displayed) a) You're not Michael Schumaker and the event officials wants to drive that point home to you in person. Your mothers-in-law caught you red handed. Checker (Finish) a) You won the race. You paid a lot of money and wasted a lot of time to watch someone else win the race.

The Rusty Old Datsun had around $65,000 into it. Engine, EMS, intake, exhaust, radiator, etc. were close to $20,000, shocks were close to $10,000, fabrication work on the roll bar, chassis, and suspension were another $7,500, transmission was about $8,000, multiple differentials were about $2,000, body and paint were another $5,000, multiple sets of wheels and tires were $5,000...

Go here http://www.betamotorsports.com/products/products.php?cat=10 and select "Complete Strut Kit."

Go for it!

Did a track day as an instructor with Speedventures at Buttonwillow a while back. Didn't have time to swap to the track wheels and tires so I just bombed around on my 245/40-18 Sumitomo HTRZ-3s taking students for rides. I passed another instructor driving his Spec944 going through Riverside and thought nothing of it (he pointed me by). Back in the paddock he was dumbfounded that I was on street tires - and really disturbed when I told him they were $120 street tires!

Sumitomo HTR-Z|3s as the street tires on my 350Z.

That car comes and goes on eBay.

Depends on the rules. All ITS racing 240Zs have the heater and fan installed. I kept the fan in my old race car because defrost and a fan are a really good things to have when racing in the rain and sitting in grid baking in the sun.

Yes. Airflow is based on pressure differential not how smooth the flow path is. You can have the smoothest flowing air intake in the world but nothing will flow through it unless there's a difference in pressure. The cowl area in front of the windshield is a high pressure area, one of the highest pressure areas on the outside of the car. The car's cabin is a low pressure area in comparison (windows up or down). There is a large amount of air flow between the cowl and the heater/fan box at speeds from about 10 mph on up - more then enough to do heating, defrosting, and cooling. Its a very effective and time proven solution to getting cabin air for the HVAC system and its used on 90% of the production cars build today.

Man, you guys need to get more curious. Lie on your back on the passenger floorboard and look up at the bottom of the cowl. There is an opening in the bottom of the cowl under the metal shield in picture 2 above. Its under the lettering in the picture that says: "Passenger side water drain hole (dumps out to the inner fender area)." In picture 3 above you can see some of the sealer around the hole on the bottom of the cowl just above the lettering: "Cowl drain tube (dumps out behind fender)." When you pulled the heater/fan box out of the car, didn't you notice the opening on top that sealed to the bottom of the cowl?

I make real carbon fiber hoods for the S30. Check the web site below.