johnc

There are no SCCA specs for roll bars in the GCR. There are some antiquated specs in the SCCA Solo2 rule book but its not enforced. No Solo2 tech inspector has the tools or equipment to verify wall thickness.

Paul's Works is still there Tony.

Call TH Motorsports and see if they will honor that price for the 8610. If so, buy them. Current Koni WD pricing is more then $179.38. Lots of shops have old Koni pricing on their web site because they rarely sell any. Reality sets in when a customers goes to purchase.

Start small with shop. Have them do small jobs and check the quality if the work. Ask for references and then go and talk with the car owner in person while looking at the work on the car.

The DP camber plates are a good option. No strut tower fab required. I used to charge $550 to section four struts. $650 if you wanted them powder coated. And I don't know where you're getting $800 for Koni 8611s. 8610s are around $210 each plus you have to source the gland nuts at $20 each - if you can find them. Last time I had to order 50 of the gland nuts to get Koni to bring them into the USA. Then there's the work to fit the 8610s/11s into the 240z strut tubes...

I dont think you can run a sequential shifter on a trans with traditional synchrod. I think it has to be a dog box. I ran a Quaiffe Sierra sequential in my racing 240z. Wonderful! It was about $7,900 back in 2002.

A simple answer to a complex question is the wrong answer.

A different test: STX Solo 2 E36 BMW. Car was tested on 245s on a 8.5" rim, 255s on a 9" rim, and 285s on a 10.5" rim. All 18s. The 285s were significantly faster then the others except for the morning test runs. The 245s were faster when it was cool.

All else being equal never is. Another example: B Stock Solo2 RX8. You're limited to stock rim width. Same car, same driver. On a 18 x 8" rim the car was quicker on 245/35-18s then 285, 275, 265, 255, and 225 width tires. All the tires had an OD within 5% of each other. All testing done in the same place on the same day with retest to reduce variability.

Tire compound is more important then tire width (a softer compound provides more grip). Tire temp is more important then tire width (a 205 width Hoosier R6 at 190F grips better then a 285 Hoosier R6 at 80F). Tire heat cycles are more important then tire width (a new set of scrubbed 205 Hoosier R6s grip better the a 285 Hoosier R6 with a years worth of races)... See the trend?

A good set of headers should require a tune. Take it back to the shop and explain the problem.

There is no smog exemption for vehicles model year 1975or earlier. There is an exemption from the bi-annual and time of sale inspection but ALL cars in California must comply with the smog laws that apply to the vehicle model year. Please search. This has been discussed here for over a decade.

And $2,500 for a "baller" cage is typically what's charged for an 8 pt. SCCA Spec Miata cage unless you go with a pre-bent cage from MiataCages or Dwight's shop. I'm not sure where your extra two mounting points are but that would put your "baller" Miata in EP or FP and you better be spending more then $2,500 for a cage if you're running in those classes.

And, BTW, Betamotorsports was sold to Benton Performance back in April. We do work on Datsuns but only two customers follwed me over to the Porsche shop. Now we're billing out at $120 an hour so I don't expect many Datsuns in the shop.

You're not reading the posts by Blu. I didn't charge $4,400 to install a set of customer supplied struts. Typically it was about $200 per corner to cut out, measure, and install weld-in camber plates. The $4,400 you're quoting above was for a set of media blasted, inspected, crack tested, powder coated, shortened struts, Koni 8611 double adjustable shocks, threaded collar, adjustable lower spring perch, upper camber plates, upper spring perch, Hyperco springs, new inner and outer wheel bearings, media blasted, crack testing, inspected stub axles, seals, and everything completely assembled. Apples and oranges dude. And since I'm not selling those kits anymore, it really doesn't matter.

And if you think this will be just a California thing, you're mistaken. This tool can generate a lot of revenue for any jurisdiction that uses it. Its all about the Benjamins. http://gizmodo.com/this-traffic-camera-spots-heavy-polluters-not-speeders-1341315733

This makes no sense. You're comparing a physical suspension component with a calculated abstraction. The main reson the Audi was faster up the hill was 4WD. Hill climbs are generally low speed events (like an autocross) and thus reward accelerative traction. Anything you can do to increase grip under acceleration will reduce your times. Spreading grip around four contact patches gives you twice as much area for acceleration in a 4WD vehicle (given the same size tires).

You can always buy thicker pads and bench grind them down to the thickness you need.

I found a Porsche guy to take over the route. I just drive the town car now.

Frank has asked a few folks if they would be interested in purchasing MM. I not aware of anyone making an offer. A one man business is very difficult to sell. Been there, done that earlier this year. I got real, real lucky.

That spike or a modified version of the has been around for a while. Gale Banks has them on their truck headers with a rounded tip and they call it the "power pickle."

I sell a 4" rise cowl hood. Prices, etc. at http://www.betamotorsports.com.

The vertical ribsin the cowl box don't matter. The exist mainly to keep the box from twisting. The cowl box is essentially a triangle with the base being the top 6" of the firewall. Vertically span that base with a '.095" 4130 plate and weld the tabs to it and you'll be fine.

Never had an issie with my early 1970. No creaking/groaning with how I built the STBs. When I put the STBs in the car I also reinforced the upper frame horn to firewall connection (1970s S30 are pretty weak right there). This allowed a 50 lb. in. increase in spring rate when lowered lap times. Before the reinforcement that same spring rate increase let to no change in lap times. The car did start cracking the chassis at the firewall, lower frame rail junction after I put in the triangualted STBs and the frame horn reinforcement. Adding subframe connectors solved that problem and allowed an additional 50 lb. in. increase in spring rate to a final number of 375 lb. in. in front. You are reinforcing the strut towers to handle greater then designed for loads. Once that area is reinforced, weaker areas of the chassis now start to deform as a result. If you ignore that then you lose some of the benefits fo the original reinforcment.

Of course you will find differing answers. People have different experinces and some people post the wrong information, which is corrected later in the thread or in a different thread. You have to read and come to your own conclusion. And, downloading the FSM as Tony mentioned above gives you a fairly authoritative source.