Colonel Red Racing 2005 STI Race Car

[ehsnils]

How often is that actually used while racing? Seems like the need to adjust it would mean poorly set-up for the racetrack?

Schumacher used to adjust the brake bias on his F1 car while driving. Different parts of the track may require different bias. Also when you end up in "dirty" air the downforce front and rear may get upset.

 

Of course - this is only making any difference for top notch drivers.

[Sgt.Gator]

How often is that actually used while racing? Seems like the need to adjust it would mean poorly set-up for the racetrack?

 

It's also useful when you dial in different wing or splitter settings. The more rear downforce, the more you want your brake bias to switch rearward to take advantage of the downforce. But then you have to be careful braking at slower speeds where downforce isn't coming into effect.

 

For example you might want to late brake a guy for a pass going into a corner at the end of a long straight. You know you have more rear downforce than you've been using during the other 90% of the race. You dial the brake bias to go for the max late brake at that corner, then dial it back to "normal" for the rest of the track.

[boxkita]

Of course - this is only making any difference for LGT drivers.

ftfy

[ehsnils]

ftfy

But only for Spec B owners!

[Sgt.Gator]

The Spec B for sale thread is up.

Buy it and support a racing career. I'll even put your name on the STI as a sponsor (for two years) if you pay full asking price!

 

http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/bend-2008-spec-b-261972.html?p=5626094#post5626094

[Sgt.Gator]

Had fun racing at Portland Int'l in my Acura Integra. It's a heck of a change from the Subaru though. I kept having issues with braking at the end of the two straights. This was a non-chicane weekend at PIR so the first corner at the end of the long front straight is a bit of a pucker factor if the brakes/alignment make the car a bit squirrely. I kept overslowing for the corner because the car felt so squirrely going in.

 

There was a LOT of cars there, 189! Spec Miata had close 40 cars alone, and unfortunately they were in our Groups 2 & 5 races, and also in my Class in the Endurance race. They sounded like a swarm of hornets all around me.

 

We did have 3 Radicals show up, and a Ferrari race car. The Radicals are always fast, but the Ferrari was crazy fast. He was in the Enduro with me and would smoke by like I was going backwards. Although something happened and he dropped out.

....

 

And this classic was in the Novice class, it was awesome to watch him on the track! I love the technology juxtaposition of the Ferrari and Radical to the Mercury stock car.

 

..

 

 

The Group 5 practice race was fun because I ended up nose to tail with a Spec Miata for many laps, then coming out of the corner onto the main straight I got a better exit speed that allowed me to just pass him in time to setup for the next corner. Then we spent the next 10 minutes with him right on my rear bumper. The last lap was awesome, him trying to pass, me defending and trying not to screw up with a missed shift or botched corner entry. I crossed the finish line with him next to me but behind my rear bumper. What a blast!

 

Then the 1 hour enduro: A large field, I think 40 cars, including 16 Miatas. With about 15 mins to go Rocky ( the Integra) developed a strong pull to the left. That lasted about 1/2 lap, then bang, the left front CV axle disassembled itself. I had enough speed coming off the back straight to coast thru the final turns and all the way down pit road and off the track, to avoid having to be towed in. It was ok though, there was no chance of even placing against all the national level Spec Miatas in my class. I just had fun racing against the ones around me.

 

In the paddock we discovered that the left front lower brake caliper bolt was gone along with the disassembled CV axle. We don't know if the brake caliper bolt being loose and eventually falling out caused the CV axle to fail, but it sure explains the lack of braking stability at top speed. And it must have happened over a little time because the left front brake pad had a goofy uneven wear pattern.

 

One of the Radicals took 1st overall in the Enduro. A Mustang Boss302R took 2nd overall and 1st in the ME0 class. The Boss302R driver is a great guy, the crew I hang out with crewed for him in the enduro because he didn't think he could a full hour without a splash of gas so they fueled him during the mandatory pit stop.

 

Finally a connection back to my STI. The guy I bought the STI from, who bought it from Dirty Rice Racing, Mike Conatore, had a brake failure in his gorgeous Spec E46 at the end of the front straight. My little 140HP Integra is doing 122 mph there, so I'm guessing he was at 145-150mph. He threw the car sideways to scrub speed, it rotated around and went across the run off area backwards, thru two tire walls, and climbed the chain link fencing. Thankfully he was unhurt, and given the speed involved the car was relatively unhurt. Hitting the tire walls going backwards saved a lot of damage and injury. His pics from his facebook pics;

 

....

 

They called the race over because of the damaged tire walls. This happened only about 5 mins after I exited the track with my broken CV.

 

I have to say this was an Arrive & Drive for me, and how sweet that is. No stress to prep the car and get it on the trailer, I didn't have to gas it or fix. Concierge racing I can get used to!

[ehsnils]

Sucks with the CV joint and caliper, but I'd rather take that than a blown engine. At least you had some fun!

[Sgt.Gator]

Knocked out the rear firewall and package shelf re-do . Previously there was nothing across the package shelf at all, and the"firewall" had a lot of holes in it.

I'm surprised it got thru tech and made me nervous with the fuel transfer pump installation right behind the "firewall".

 

I riveted plates over the firewall holes and painted it WRB. It's bolted in four places and push pins in 6 more. For the package shelf I first sealed up the holes with aluminum tape then riveted and bolted an aluminum plate on top of that.

 

The firewall system is not liquid tight but should keep any major fires from the fuel transfer pump or oil tank in the trunk at bay long enough for me to exit the car.

 

The second benefit is keeping the heat from the DS tank and DS cooler out of the driver compartment.

[Sgt.Gator]

I just heard back from Dave at Rallispec. They are stepping up and taking care of the shortblock issue. He is shipping a new Closed Deck version of their RSB-RS25 Race Block machined for 1/2" head studs. He has one in stock he can ship right away. It will be standard compression and standard stroke. Otherwise I'd have to wait 3-4 weeks to machine a replacement of the original order. He's also supplying new RCM head gaskets and will reimburse my shipping costs.

 

I'm completely satisfied with this outcome. Especially since I should be able to get some racing in this season.

 

Kudos to Rallispec for being a good vendor. I've invited Dave to come out and experience the Thill25 with our team (if we can get it together).

[xt2005bonbon]

Awesome outcome .

 

Can't wait to see you in action soon.

[BarManBean]

That's awesome service, glad to hear.

[shralp]

Nice! Thats was I was hoping to see from those guys, not surprised. There is a reason they have continued to have a solid rep!

[Chris GTO TT]

Great news!

[Sgt.Gator]

The only big ticket item I have left is the data/video system. I had the AIM Pista on the SRRT LGT Grand Am car, I really liked the engine/drivetrain data logging. Now I'm more interested in my own driver development. Peter Krause is helping choose the data/video for this build. More soon on that.http://www.peterkrause.net/Krause_%2...C/Welcome.html

[boxkita]

The only big ticket item I have left is the data/video system. I had the AIM Pista on the SRRT LGT Grand Am car, I really liked the engine/drivetrain data logging. Now I'm more interested in my own driver development. Peter Krause is helping choose the data/video for this build. More soon on that.http://www.peterkrause.net/Krause_%2...C/Welcome.html

Nice. So Aim or motec?

[Sgt.Gator]

Nice. So Aim or motec?

 

Peter and I are leaning towards Racelogic Video Vbox. It's the simplest and most powerful driver development tool. Not as strong as a Motec or AIM on the datalogging, but I can add an AIM logger like an Evo 5 later when I have more $$ for a logger and myriad sensors I'd like to log.

 

Peter is checking with Racelogic about how many data channels we can log on pre-2008 (non CAN) Subarus.

 

Right now I think the best mod I can make is to the nut behind the wheel, and Racelogic Video Vbox excels at that.

 

Here's link to download a 35MB pdf: Racelogic eBook on advanced circuit driving techniques. So far they haven't spammed me after registering for the book. It's worth reading even if you don't ever buy their system, there's lots of interesting stuff in there.

https://www.vboxmotorsport.co.uk/index.php/us/latest/applications/free-ebook-race-drivers-tips

Edited May 12, 2017 by Sgt.Gator

[Sgt.Gator]

Factory Five is stepping up and spending some $ on aero testing their new Gen 3 Type 65. I love reading aero studies. So much seems obvious, then so much is a surprise.

Gen 3 Type 65 Coupe-R Aero Testing Report: http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showthread.php?24430-Gen-3-Type-65-Coupe-R-Aero-Testing-Report

Edited May 12, 2017 by Sgt.Gator

[GTEASER]

^^ Thanks for the link. I didn't know they had a forum. Signed up.

[Sgt.Gator]

Last weekend my buddy bought a new AIM Solo which was great for studying each other's times. I am already familiar with AIM Race Studio 2 so we weren't trying to use the software blind. It really helped me see how much I was overbraking into the turn at the end of the front straight compared to his entry speed. That helped me push into my uncomfortable zone and pick up a second right there. The AIM Solo is the best budget friendly driver development system but I want to step it up a level from there.

 

Peter and I are almost set on the Racelogic Video Vbox HD2. Final decision on Monday.

[boxkita]

Last weekend my buddy bought a new AIM Solo which was great for studying each other's times. I am already familiar with AIM Race Studio 2 so we weren't trying to use the software blind. It really helped me see how much I was overbraking into the turn at the end of the front straight compared to his entry speed. That helped me push into my uncomfortable zone and pick up a second right there. The AIM Solo is the best budget friendly driver development system but I want to step it up a level from there.

 

Peter and I are almost set on the Racelogic Video Vbox HD2. Final decision on Monday.

Buying an AiM solo DL is what led to hiring a coach. Between those 2 I took seconds off my lap times . still think its the best mod you can do to a car.

[Sgt.Gator]

I trimmed up the rear bumper last night:

....

 

Next Up a Contest!

[Sgt.Gator]

Let's run a Contest!

I ventilated my front fenders with a vent and and good ole step drill:

 

....

 

The Contest

 

The first person to post the Make, Model, and Year of the car the fender vents came from wins their choice of one Murray Constant Tension Clamp or two Murray Dual Bead Hose Clamps.

 

Murray Constant Tension Clamps have been used on ProDrive WRC and Vermont Sports Cars SRT cars for many years. Why are they used in Unlimited and Open Rally Cars? Because they are unsurpassed in dealing with not only boost, but the vibration of gravel roads, jumps, and extreme temperature changes. Most recently you can see them on the Subaru Isle of Man record setting car.

 

 

The ProDrive 2017 VW WRC car:

 

And from the past!

 

The winner can choose the Constant Tension or Dual Bead by reviewing the sizes in my eBay store, then PM what you want.

http://stores.ebay.com/colonelredracing

[derp]

'98 bmw z3

[GTEASER]

My Google skills are feeling strong today....

 

1987 Buick GNX

 

 

http://www.gbodyparts.com/product_info.php?products_id=1197

Edited May 12, 2017 by GTEASER

[fredrik94087]

I wish NASIOC was as user friendly as this site about posting pictures.

 

If it is the GNX, then GTEASER beats out the other guy.