Made it to Lincoln for SpringNationals and immediately hit the test course. Dave Hanson from Ron Sutton Race Technology had me text him the tire temps after each run and he would get me to make a change then go back out. After many, many runs, the car was 11 seconds quicker around the test course.
The first competition of 2018 is over. If I ignored the actual results, I would be thrilled with how things went. The car did around 50 runs and the only problem was a misfire on day 2. We suspect this is battery related (not holding enough charge) but some diagnosing will have to happen. The car feels really good despite killing the front tires on the test track in the days leading up to competition. The tires had only 20 runs on them when we arrived so I didn't think it was necessary to buy a new set but by the end of competition they had 72 runs and that was just too many. Briget said it's the first time she's had fun autocrossing in 3 years so that tells you a lot about how the car actually feels at speed. We are both pretty rusty and didn't get everything out of the car but that will come with some practice.
It's awesome to see good results in a only-now-just-tested car. You dun good.
And you look good too!
Next year: two sets of tires.
In reply to SkinnyG :
Thanks,it's almost inconceivable that we won't do well with new tires. It corners really flat and handles great. My "to do" list is really short because there's little to be improved. I'll keep you posted on changes
scoured the results in race tire 1 ..... with fresh fronts will you be in the hunt???? the P looks fantastic!!!!
In reply to 759NRNG :
Thanks, we're thrilled with how it looks. Our tire supplier R&S Racing looked over the front tires and said they were wrecked, probably from all the front lockups during testing. I will be making adjustments to brake balance to correct this. We didn't have the problem last year so I had no idea until I got to Lincoln that the brakes were biased too much to the front. I have watched the onboard video over and over and think I lost 1 to 1.5 seconds through poor driving and another second to poor tires so if I can correct those things, we should be in the hunt. Putting new tires on is easy, improving the driving is not. It's not that I don't have driving skills, I am still winning races in karts but the nuances of autocross are different and I just don't get much seat time in the car.
When I first ran slicks on my "Lethal Locost" Super 7, my Goodyear slicks went off in a collective 15 minutes worth of runs between me and my co-driver. This was only a handful of events, with about 3 or 4 runs for each of us. When the slicks were new, I was a driving god.
We still ran them locally for another two years.....
I eventually switched to 7" slicks instead of the 9.5" ones I was using because I just couldn't get them hot enough. But I bought them used, so I soaked them at each event with a 50/50 mix of Xylene and Toluene (I already have kids, so I'm not worried about genetic mutation).
Be sure to alter you brake balance with either different masters, or a balance bar between the masters. A proportioning valve is not your answer here.
SkinnyG said:
Be sure to alter you brake balance with either different masters, or a balance bar between the masters. A proportioning valve is not your answer here.
truth. you can't prop away front-bias.
I have a proper Wilwood balance bar/pedal set up and called their tech line today to get recommendation and they told me to switch the front MC from 3/4 to 13/16 so I have already ordered one.
So not only is the Kiesel senior to be dealt with but, now his son too!!! And i suppose the boy built it with his own two hands???
In the SpringNationals videos I hear a weird howling noise from the tires when you turn, did that start before or after the tires went bad? I'm wondering whether that's the cause or effect of what happened to the tires.
In reply to GameboyRMH :
I don't hear any weird noises in the video so I couldn't tell you. They just sound like bias ply slicks to me
We returned from SpringNats with a short to-do list. Fix the seat slider, fix the stumble, get cooler air to the air cleaner, reduce front camber and balance the brakes. Believe it or not, this is the shortest and easiest list I have ever had after a return from Lincoln. I have already installed the new Sparco seat slider but am waiting for the aluminum side mounts to be bent. I was too successful sealing up the front of the car and the air going into the engine was too high so I cut open the brake cooling ducts and ran one hose to the air cleaner (a new air cleaner enclosure is on its way) and another hose to the ECM. After each day of running, I would remove the hood and boot and check all the nuts and bolts, the problem was that there were some important nuts and bolts in harder-to-access places that were coming loose or falling out. The stumble turned out to be a missing bolt on the flange that bolts the intercooler pipe to the turbo, causing loss of boost. In the one video you can see the exhaust pipe moving in and out and that was the 3/4" engine mount bolts coming loose. A call to Wilwood solved the brake balance issue, I needed a larger master cylinder on the front brakes so that has been ordered. I will be using more loctite and lock washers on the car. Here are some pics, I am pointing to the bolt that was missing.
Losse C got home last Friday afternoon.....the old 'X' brace is perfect.....and I'm lovin' the snakes thru the new brace. I'm kinda slow ..so your Lincoln trip basically was an expensive 'test n tune' in the end???
In reply to 759NRNG :
Yes, it landed up that way. I was extremely upset at the time but now, after I've had time to think about it, the trip was quite productive. The car IS better than it has ever been, by far and it's much better to find out these little problems now than at Nationals when it really counts. It's too bad I used up my tires testing but we will have a fresh set for Nationals and should do far better. I have been a little unlucky in Lincoln but if we can have a good, reliable week, we should be in the hunt.
An observation only ......A filter shroud/housing* with a side entrance (hose position currently) and a bottom exit wrapped in heat reflecting material might help drop inlet temps some more.
*Tig welding aloomeum refresher course..... 
In reply to 759NRNG :
I have an enclosed air filter box from Spectre on the way.
Will you fab up a smooth tube to route into the new airbox?
In reply to Jerry From LA :
I had not planned on it but if the flexible pipe seems to restrict the air flow, then I suppose I could.
SkinnyG said:..........I eventually switched to 7" slicks instead of the 9.5" ones I was using because I just couldn't get them hot enough. But I bought them used, so I soaked them at each event with a 50/50 mix of Xylene and Toluene (I already have kids, so I'm not worried about genetic mutation).
It's liver damage/cancer you need to worry about, not genetics, with that stuff.
As far as genetic mutation, when someone shows me a Darwin Award nominee, I always ask, "Did he have kids yet?" If so, then the gene pool isn't being cleansed despite the stupidity. He has to have offed himself prior to reproducing for the beneficial effect to Mankind.
There were some adjustments needed on the car after SpringNationals and here is the video of what I did
We dragged the car to North Dakota to compete with the Badlands Region for their two day event at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. There were a few race cars arriving on trailers so we knew it wouldn't be a cakewalk. The course was on smooth, smooth concrete and was quite technical, punishing any driver who tried a point-and-shoot style of driving. I wish I had brought my shifter kart instead but still had plenty of fun with the Pink Panther. Briget drove particularly well on the course that rewarded smoothness and momentum, and almost beat me. After the first set of runs, We had stiff competition from a Lotus, Corvette, BRZ and S2000 but in the end, we figured out the quick way around the course and I finished 1st and Briget was 2nd. We had to bail on day 2 of competition because both front tires were heavily corded and it didn't seem safe to continue. Click to see video
Congrats yu two......worn skins and all!!!!
where's your go fund me for Hoosiers site????
In reply to 759NRNG :
I doubt anybody would give me a dollar :( I got the quote for new Hoosiers today: $1347.00! On the plus side, the car only chewed up a set because I did so much testing on a less than optimal set up. That should be corrected now and I'm certain we will get away with buying only one set of tires per year after this year.
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