Haggard-hawk

[Catmaigne]

I bought a hooptie Firehawk from a friend not too long ago. He let it go for cheap because water was getting into the interior and a family of mice moved into the glovebox. I've verified that it's a SLP car, but gotdam, this thing is beat. I basically bought it to use as a track toy because of all the suspension junk on it.

39139
39140

Some details:
95, 6 speed w/stock Hurst, garbage paint job
SLP Bilsteins, Eibach springs, SLP triangulated subrame connectors
2OTL catback, Ram-air
Spohn LCA's, adjustable panhard, adjustable torque arm
Trufiber hood
275 Sumi HTR ZII's that I'm gonna roast

I've already gutted the interior, chased the rodents out, disinfected everything, and scrubbed a bunch of stuff with pinesol. The windshield was replaced recently and I think that's where the water is coming from. Once that's sorted, I'm going to hit the junkyard to see if I can find some replacement carpet to put the interior back together. There's a lot of small hokey stuff to fix (driver window gets stuck 1/2 way, viper alarm system driving me nuts, wipers hardly contact the glass, etc.) and a few mechanical issues (opti code 36 :( and a noisy rear), but I can still drive it around for shits because it's inspected. This will hold me over while the Camaro is down.

39141

I've since reinstalled the front seats, belts, and shift knob and have been scooting around like that... straight outta the trailer park.

[SSlowBoat]

oh man, i love this

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Camaro96]

Diamond in the. Ruff great track car

Sent from my VS996 using Tapatalk

[harner]

Is that a warbird hood? Nice find, honestly. A little TLC and you could really have something there.





































...fuel pump is probably on its way out (there, I said it!)

[Catmaigne]

It's made by the brand Trufiber, but it's the same style as the warbird. I wasn't too crazy about that type of hood when I saw it on TA's, but I kinda like it on the Formula/Hawk body because they're a little curvier.

And I'm gonna start carrying a spare fuel pump with me every time you're around lol.

[Catmaigne]

Fixed a ton of small stuff on the car:
-plugged the firewall hole (from whoever installed the viper alarm), no more water
-ripped out all of the wet foam and sound deadening
-installed carpet from a junkyard car
-replaced driver side window motor
-replaced air filter
-replaced hatch struts
-removed shitty window film
-installed different opti harness (didn't fix code 36)

I need to put the rest of the interior back together and get the car through inspection because it expires in 2 weeks. Has a little shake to it (wheel out of balance or rear end going) but I'm hoping they won't give me grief for it. Unfortunately, my mechanic friend now works at a private shop that doesn't do inspections. The CEL is still on but it shouldn't matter with classic tags.

Gonna scope the opti to see what's up. Probably going to have to swap that for a junkyard one.

[Catmaigne]

Finally got a change to test the opti. I put together one of those DIY oscilloscope kits a few months ago and figured it would be good enough to test the pulses.

Low-Res signal looks good...

39213

Hi-Res signal... nada

39214

I jiggled the connector going into the opti cap to see if it was a flaky connection but that didn't do anything. I took a mystery junkyard opti from the parts shelf and plugged it into the engine harness to test. Pulled the injector plugs and spun the rotor by hand with the ignition on standby. I tried to keep the speed constant. The Low-Res signal looked like the other one, ie a few skinny and fat pulses. The Hi-Res looked like this:

39215

A lot of equal sized pulses. So I guess I'm doing the opti this weekend.

[Z28pr0jekt]

That's pretty awesome, I've never seen someone diagnose the opti like that.

[Catmaigne]

Put the car back together with the working opti. Just have to add/bleed coolant and do an oil change.

I'm in the market for a square set of 18x9.5" wheels if anyone knows of any for sale. No staggered because I want to run 275/35r18 RS-RR's on all fours for autox.

[Catmaigne]

Car has been running decent since the opti. I found plug wire #2 just hanging behind the AC compressor when I did the wires... this thing may have been running on 7 all along lol.

39238

Got impatient, found a deal on some new c6z reps and couldn't resist. Gonna order tires soon.

[Flyinz]

Sounds like a fun new ride. Keep us posted!

[Catmaigne]

Scored a 3.42 posi rear at the junkyard yesterday. Didn't know the v6 cars had an option for that, found this one in a 3.8 v6 vert. Hoping to throw that in along with some poly motor mounts and a new trans mount. Maybe it'll pass inspection after all that lol.

Autox season is only a few weeks away...

39263

[Injuneer]

Good find.

The "Y87 3800 Performance Package" for the V6 cars, introduced in 1996, included the 3.42 posi (auto trans), 14.4:1 steering, 4W discs, dual outlet exhaust, and 235/55-16 tires.

[Catmaigne]

Good find.

The "Y87 3800 Performance Package" for the V6 cars, introduced in 1996, included the 3.42 posi (auto trans), 14.4:1 steering, 4W discs, dual outlet exhaust, and 235/55-16 tires.

That's the one. The u-pull yard has an online inventory with VINs, so I pulled the RPO codes for all 4th gens through Compnine and was able to pinpoint the GU6 G80 car.

I pulled the rear out and found some more mods lol. Has an aluminum driveshaft, stainless Russell brake lines, and the adjustable torque arm is the shortened type with a driveshaft loop on the mount. If I'm not mistaken, the short torque arm is more drag oriented, but I'm going to keep it for now. I have decided to ditch the Spohn LCA's though and picked up some of those Founders ones with the 3 piece bushings.

Also, check out my destroyed bump stops. Probably from saggy Eibach springs... I guess I'll keep an eye out for tighter lowering springs.

39266

[SSlowBoat]

That's the one. The u-pull yard has an online inventory with VINs, so I pulled the RPO codes for all 4th gens through Compnine and was able to pinpoint the GU6 G80 car.

I pulled the rear out and found some more mods lol. Has an aluminum driveshaft, stainless Russell brake lines, and the adjustable torque arm is the shortened type with a driveshaft loop on the mount. If I'm not mistaken, the short torque arm is more drag oriented, but I'm going to keep it for now. I have decided to ditch the Spohn LCA's though and picked up some of those Founders ones with the 3 piece bushings.

Also, check out my destroyed bump stops. Probably from saggy Eibach springs... I guess I'll keep an eye out for tighter lowering springs.

39266turn the short arm into a decoupled for autox

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

turn the short arm into a decoupled for autox

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

That's not a bad idea... wonder how much work that'd be. I've only ever heard of the Unbalanced kit which I'd imagine is very expensive.

[Catmaigne]

Got a stupid-good deal on some RS-PRO's which are supposed to be the successor to the RS-RR.

39267

Used the extra cash to buy some coated Pacesetters (w/ORY). This thing isn't loud enough for me with stock manis, cat, and 2OTL.

39268

Now waiting for some time off to put this junker together, but my work is hell bent on staying open. Not in a rush though, the first 2 autox's got cancelled.

[SSlowBoat]

Got a stupid-good deal on some RS-PRO's which are supposed to be the successor to the RS-RR.

39267

Used the extra cash to buy some coated Pacesetters (w/ORY). This thing isn't loud enough for me with stock manis, cat, and 2OTL.

39268

Now waiting for some time off to put this junker together, but my work is hell bent on staying open. Not in a rush though, the first 2 autox's got cancelled.Are you just open auto-x'ing or going for a specific class? i ask because some of your mods are going to bump you from most normal classes

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

Are you just open auto-x'ing or going for a specific class? i ask because some of your mods are going to bump you from most normal classes

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

Was just going to run CAM-C like before. Otherwise, ESP. If I made some adjustments, I could probably fit into STU though. I'm not trying to be that competitive with autox bc I'm just going to get destroyed by Miatas anyway. Goal is to get comfortable with the car so I can take it to Track Night in America @ NJMP. Gonna need those LS brakes.

[SSlowBoat]

Was just going to run CAM-C like before. Otherwise, ESP. If I made some adjustments, I could probably fit into STU though. I'm not trying to be that competitive with autox bc I'm just going to get destroyed by Miatas anyway. Goal is to get comfortable with the car so I can take it to Track Night in America @ NJMP. Gonna need those LS brakes.*gonna cook those ls breaks*

there i fixed it for you [emoji23]

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

*gonna cook those ls breaks*

there i fixed it for you [emoji23]

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

They're cheap and twice as good as what I have lol. The C5/C6 setup doesn't seem like a huge upgrade over them considering the $. This thing is too much of a hooptie for fancy V brakes and the like, so I'll steal some LS-era brakes from a V6 car in the junkyard.

[Catmaigne]

39491

So this pile is back on the road... sort of.
Installed the coated Pacesetter LTs, ORY, poly motor mounts, new trans mount, new spark plugs, Founders LCAs, poly Jeep bumpstops, and junkyard 3.42 posi rear. All emissions are ripped out too. I need to get back under it to adjust the pinion angle though because it's all out of whack.

Some observations: the triangulated subframe connectors aren't the bolt in SLPs, they're Kenny Brown Double Diamond weld-ins. It also has an aluminum driveshaft. For some reason this car feels way less planted than my Camaro despite having better tires. Maybe the Eibach/Bilstein combo has had enough after 25 years? Probably. Also, these brakes are absolute trash and the 2OTL is nowhere near loud enough for my tastes. PS- this thing is slow as hell lmao

[Catmaigne]

39511

Got this piece back on the ground a few days ago with the standard length adj torque arm from SSlowBoat. Car drives much better than it did, but I still have a vibration despite the pinion angle at -2*. It's only under throttle and gets worse the faster I accelerate, so maybe the pinion angle needs to be readjusted? Or it could be ujoints or tailshaft bushing, idk. I'm done screwing with it for now though. Gonna slide it through inspection and just drive it.

[Catmaigne]

The SLP 2OTL wasn't doing it for me, so I sold it. Replaced it with a perforated-tube glasspack [gasp!] and netted $350 to dump into other mods. It's definitely not as loud as an open cutout Borla, but has a similar amount of roar at WOT. I was pleasantly surprised to hear more midrange bark and hardly any raspiness. I guess glasspacks get a bad rap because dumbass highschoolers put them on their TBI 305's and they sound like trash.

39726

This car is going to inherit the MWC watts link I originally bought for my Camaro, but wouldn't fit onto my Moser rear because of its sway bar mounts. I also bought a set of UMI lowering springs so I can ditch the SLP Eibachs. I went with UMI specifically because the rear rate was a little higher @ 200lb/in which will allow me to drop the watts link roll center down more than the typical lowering spring.

39727

I also changed my mind about V brakes and decided I'm going to grab a set of new 4-pot Brembos for a gen1 CTS-V. I figured it would be more cost effective in the long run to get better brakes early on rather than having to buy a bunch of replacement LS1 calipers after they spread. I also looked at the rules for the STU class in Autox and I should be able to run V brakes without getting pushed into ESP because they use the factory mounting holes on a LS1 era spindle. They can totally throw me out of STU for using a 98-02 spindle on a 95 car, but I'm not banking on them knowing the intricacies of 4th gen f-body spindles lol.

I'm also working on making C7 wheel hub adapters I designed out of heat treated 4140 on a manual mill I bought. My friend is going to rough it on his lathe and I'll finish them up on the mill with a boring head. No ABS, but the factory system is crap anyways and I'd rather not have a wheel fly off from running 200tw tires.

[SSlowBoat]

The SLP 2OTL wasn't doing it for me, so I sold it. Replaced it with a perforated-tube glasspack [gasp!] and netted $350 to dump into other mods. It's definitely not as loud as an open cutout Borla, but has a similar amount of roar at WOT. I was pleasantly surprised to hear more midrange bark and hardly any raspiness. I guess glasspacks get a bad rap because dumbass highschoolers put them on their TBI 305's and they sound like trash.

39726

This car is going to inherit the MWC watts link I originally bought for my Camaro, but wouldn't fit onto my Moser rear because of its sway bar mounts. I also bought a set of UMI lowering springs so I can ditch the SLP Eibachs. I went with UMI specifically because the rear rate was a little higher @ 200lb/in which will allow me to drop the watts link roll center down more than the typical lowering spring.

39727

I also changed my mind about V brakes and decided I'm going to grab a set of new 4-pot Brembos for a gen1 CTS-V. I figured it would be more cost effective in the long run to get better brakes early on rather than having to buy a bunch of replacement LS1 calipers after they spread. I also looked at the rules for the STU class in Autox and I should be able to run V brakes without getting pushed into ESP because they use the factory mounting holes on a LS1 era spindle. They can totally throw me out of STU for using a 98-02 spindle on a 95 car, but I'm not banking on them knowing the intricacies of 4th gen f-body spindles lol.

I'm also working on making C7 wheel hub adapters I designed out of heat treated 4140 on a manual mill I bought. My friend is going to rough it on his lathe and I'll finish them up on the mill with a boring head. No ABS, but the factory system is crap anyways and I'd rather not have a wheel fly off from running 200tw tires.what you doing with the slp eibachs???

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

what you doing with the slp eibachs???

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

I was gonna send them to eBayland where the exhaust went lol. You want them?

[SSlowBoat]

I was gonna send them to eBayland where the exhaust went lol. You want them?they severely sagged? if not ill take em. i just want to drop the front of the bird a little to match the hose mod rear springs. give it that drag look lol

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

they severely sagged? if not ill take em. i just want to drop the front of the bird a little to match the hose mod rear springs. give it that drag look lol

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

They're not saggy, but they aren't as low as typical lowering springs and are pretty soft. The p/n is SLP 70009, I think it's only a 1/2" front, 3/4" rear drop.

[rentedmule]

I like my LS brakes with EBC Yellostuff pads. Enough power for auto-X (on 315s) and they held up well on a lapping day. What are you doing for swaybars? Can you swap them in STU? Are rod-ended suspension parts legal in STU? The Watts may bump you if anyone is paying close attention. I also have a C7 hub kit that I got through a group buy on FRRAX ready to install now. The adapters weren't too bad but decent hubs aren't cheap!

[Catmaigne]

I like my LS brakes with EBC Yellostuff pads. Enough power for auto-X (on 315s) and they held up well on a lapping day. What are you doing for swaybars? Can you swap them in STU? Are rod-ended suspension parts legal in STU? The Watts may bump you if anyone is paying close attention. I also have a C7 hub kit that I got through a group buy on FRRAX ready to install now. The adapters weren't too bad but decent hubs aren't cheap!

I've yet to measure the sway bars to confirm, but I believe they're the stock SLP 32/19mm bars. I'm allowed to swap bars in the ST classes, but I wanted to see how the car feels with the other suspension tweaks before swapping parts around. If I feel it needs stiffening, I already have a 35mm Hellwig for the front and can easily scoop a thicker rear from a 3rd gen in the junkyard.

Watts links are legal in ST for live axle RWD cars under G.1, but the bushings are a bit of a gray area. You're allowed to swap suspension bushings for those of different materials in their original locations, but metal is prohibited ie no rod ends allowed. The watts link rod ends are in different locations though? No clarity on this AFAIK. There's a bunch of Mustang people who run watts links w/rod ends in ST classes (generally the old STP class), but I haven't heard of them getting grief for it.

If they really wanted to throw the book at me, they could totally boot me into ESP or CAM because I have no cat and my hood isn't original (aftermarket trufiber). I don't think they will though because I'm not that experienced of a driver and probably won't be competitive anyway.

I contacted the guy who made the original x-tracker hubs and the newer C7 versions. I couldn't find anyone to go in on another group buy, so I would've had to buy 6 sets myself at no discount and unload the remaining 5 myself. He told me that there should be no change in track width, but the C7 bearing sticks out much farther than the x-trackers and the hub area where the adapter interfaces with the stock spindle would be alarmingly thin. I designed my own and added some thickness to the back flange because the hub is supposed to support the weight of the car, not the mounting bolts.

[SSlowBoat]

I like my LS brakes with EBC Yellostuff pads. Enough power for auto-X (on 315s) and they held up well on a lapping day. What are you doing for swaybars? Can you swap them in STU? Are rod-ended suspension parts legal in STU? The Watts may bump you if anyone is paying close attention. I also have a C7 hub kit that I got through a group buy on FRRAX ready to install now. The adapters weren't too bad but decent hubs aren't cheap!i have seen ls calipers spread when tracked hard.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[rentedmule]

I hadn't thought about the Watts rod ends being in a different location, that would put it in a grey area for sure. The top ESP car in our region ('10 Mustang) runs one and he's a stickler for rules so I'll assume it's legal! I have rod ends on the axle side of my rear LCAs so I could be kicked out of ESP for that. Our club is reasonable - people recognize that a relatively heavy, 25 year old, solid axle RWD car needs more than a few bushing changes to compete for FTD.

I have about $900 USD into my C7 hub setup with SKF hubs and ARP studs. Jim Dulaney (can't recall the name of his company) offered them as a GP in early 2019. I can grab some pics the next time I'm in the shop if it would be useful to you. The adapters felt damn solid and were machined to allow the hub to slide into them. It was a super tight fit. When my R888's give up I'll run A7's and I didn't think stock hubs would hold.

[Catmaigne]

I have about $900 USD into my C7 hub setup with SKF hubs and ARP studs. Jim Dulaney (can't recall the name of his company) offered them as a GP in early 2019. I can grab some pics the next time I'm in the shop if it would be useful to you. The adapters felt damn solid and were machined to allow the hub to slide into them. It was a super tight fit. When my R888's give up I'll run A7's and I didn't think stock hubs would hold.

If he's the guy I'm thinking of, I believe his site is rrsusp.com. I couldn't find pics of his C7 hub adapter online, but I assumed they would resemble the earlier x-tracker adapters with revised dimensions. If you could share pics, that'd be great.

I'll have to find my notes that I took when I dimensioned the C7 hub, factory hub, and stock LS spindle. I tried preserving the stock track width when designing my own, but found that it would only leave a few mm of thickness behind the C7 hub's dust seal. I pried the seal off to see if there was any room to spare, but there isn't. I decided to widen the track width a tiny bit to increase the factor of safety there being that it's responsible for supporting the weight of the car. I ran a few FEA's and liked what I saw. I also spaced out the bolts that hold the adapter to the spindle a tiny bit because the threads were very close to the large OD of the C7 hub making cracks likely. The mounting holes in the spindle might need to be reamed out a tiny bit because of this.

I made a fancy version CNC version to submit to Xometry, but producing it without volume made it costly. I made a simpler version for manual machining that I'm gonna prototype soon, it looks like this:

39729

[Catmaigne]

Also, these showed up:

39730

The basic plan is to run the stock CTSV1 Ferodo pads up front and 14" Camaro SS rotors with the hubs bored out. I might need a small wheel spacer, 8-9mm max probably. The rear is getting new rotors and some Power Stop Track Day pads. Hopefully the brake balance will be reasonable.

[rentedmule]

The calipers look great, I'm jealous!

SSlowBoat - what do I look for to tell if an LS caliper is spreading? Will it start to leak?

Here are some pics of the hub setup. I had them partially assembled and lock-tited together and it was only 12F in the barn last night so I didn't feel like disassembling them:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50838103547_c0d2155476.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ksoz1F)20210114_200146 (https://flic.kr/p/2ksoz1F) by Rented Mule (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152606866@N06/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50838103612_19a474cfbf.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ksoz2N)20210114_200111 (https://flic.kr/p/2ksoz2N) by Rented Mule (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152606866@N06/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50838103497_2d739c6638.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ksoyZP)20210114_195952 (https://flic.kr/p/2ksoyZP) by Rented Mule (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152606866@N06/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50838019026_190ac01dca.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2kso8Tq)20210114_200003 (https://flic.kr/p/2kso8Tq) by Rented Mule (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152606866@N06/), on Flickr

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50837294198_bd8efb5f55.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/2ksjqqo)20210114_200016 (https://flic.kr/p/2ksjqqo) by Rented Mule (https://www.flickr.com/photos/152606866@N06/), on Flickr

The small tabs are for mounting cooling ducts

[Catmaigne]

You'd be able to tell if they've spread if the pad wear has a taper to one side rather than wearing them evenly. I'd imagine there'd be a lot of material left on the inside edge of the rotor near the hat and heavy wear on the outermost diameter. Basically the heat and pressure of track driving causes the caliper fingers and piston tops to no longer be parallel, so the caliper goes from being U shaped to V shaped.

[Catmaigne]

Here's cross sections of my C7 hub adapter (left) vs. what the other guy's should look like. I beefed up the locating hub ring that fits into the spindle by widening the track width slightly. Was trying to decrease chances of shear from driving on bumpy roads. If the ring cracks, then the car is being held up by 4x M10 class 10.9 bolts.

The locating hub ring on his version would have 2.5mm thick walls assuming 0.5mm clearance on each side. The stock f-body hub ring I measured was ~4.25mm thick and is made of some kind of forged steel. It also extends much farther into the spindle than what I'm seeing on his adapters, which would worry me because the stock spindle already has a big chamfer on it. Maybe the OE unit is overengineered? Can't say, I have no data on what forces it would see hitting a pothole on I95.

39733

[shownomercy]

That xsection to the right is a big oof for stress concentrations. Just going 4340? Or something more exotic?

[Catmaigne]

That xsection to the right is a big oof for stress concentrations. Just going 4340? Or something more exotic?

Jim D's original design is made of 4130. The Strano and Detroit Speed clones are said to be made of "alloy steel," so I'm guessing it's the same 4130 or 4140 steel. If someone were making them out of 4340, I'd imagine they'd advertise it as that stock is way more expensive. They're all said to be hardened, but whether or not that's during post processing is a mystery.

I ordered a disc of 4140 prehard to prototype one on. I'm gonna try testing the hardness using the old ball bearing trick at different points along the radius, so hopefully it'll be harder at the hub ring than whatever mysterious forged steel the OEM hub is made out of. If not, I could try quenching it at home.

[shownomercy]

DIY induction hardening setup may not be that hard to rig up, but you would be guesstimating at best the depth it hardens.

[Catmaigne]

I reconstructed my interior and fixed a bunch of stuff to make it more livable. Fixed the ebrake, power seat, headliner, power locks, and trunk release. I also have a dash mat I need to iron and install to cover the cracked plastic (too cheap to drop $200 on a new one). I also made a shift boot ring out of a wire hangar because I refuse to give Hawks any money and installed a white shift knob that matches my unpainted hood.

I'm going to throw the UMI drop springs and watts link on the car and run it as is for autox early next month. I want to get this car to a track night at NJMP by the end of the summer, but I need to finish my hub adapters, install V brakes, mount the C6z wheels, and fix a drivetrain vibration first.

39774

39775

39776

[Catmaigne]

I installed the UMI springs and it totally transformed the car from a soggy waffle into a crispy golden one. No uneasy floaty feeling anymore.
Also, I think someone swapped the factory SLP Eibachs for a Pro-Kit because the part numbers didn't match up. Maybe it wasn't low enough for them? Idk, but this car definitely came from SLP with the Level 2 upgrade. Also, the Bilsteins on there were tight as crap so I'm not sure if they were also replaced at some point. I could get a closer look at the sticker for a p/n and date code, but it was pretty faded.

Also, I grabbed and IAC from Rockauto and it was DOA. Yay junk parts.

39795

[rentedmule]

Awesome, looks great. I replaced my 125K mile Decarbons with new Bilsteins before I swapped springs, thinking it would help the floaty feeling. It didn't - the springs definitely make the difference.

I just noticed your ashtray plaque is missing - there was one from a '95 on ebay for about 2 years that must have eventually sold. It would have made a nice addition since the car isn't very haggard anymore!

[Catmaigne]

Awesome, looks great. I replaced my 125K mile Decarbons with new Bilsteins before I swapped springs, thinking it would help the floaty feeling. It didn't - the springs definitely make the difference.

I just noticed your ashtray plaque is missing - there was one from a '95 on ebay for about 2 years that must have eventually sold. It would have made a nice addition since the car isn't very haggard anymore!

Thanks! It's still definitely a 40 footer, but cleans up well enough. I waxed it and lost a ton of paint in the process lol.
I wonder if that was the plaque from this car, it's '95 #316 if I remember correctly. Car has an interesting history as it was stolen in the late 90's. I'm guessing some crackhead took the badge, shift knob (had the SLP one instead of the H), and wheels (it has ws6 17's on it).

[rentedmule]

My car is also a 40 footer - lots of dings and scrapes.

Maybe that was the plaque on ebay! I actually used to have a set of '95 hawk wheels that I ran on my GMC Sonoma for autocross. They were beat though and only one center cap still had the bird logo.

[Catmaigne]

I did a quick spray job on a used Firebird bumper with Rustoleum Auto Enamel to replace the haggard one that was on there. There is still more wet sanding and buffing to do, but I'm not sure how much I care as it already looks 1000x better.

39804

39805

39806

39807

Also signed up for an autox even on April 6th, so I'll be sure to get some gopro footage. I'm probably going to shotgun a Founder's rod ended panhard onto it because it still feels a little loose in the rear. I do want to put the watts link on, but I need to devise a better system to ensure the axle tube clamps are on point. A misaligned watts is going to move on an angle / vs vertical |, which kinda makes it pointless imo.

[Catmaigne]

Had the hawk out at Pocono for an autox test-n-tune earlier today. These ancient Sumi HTR Z2's are hot garbage and need to be replaced asap. I'm running another event in a few weeks and am contemplating throwing the Federal RS-Pro's onto the car before the hub adapters are finished. Hopefully the stock hubs will survive 5 runs or so on a relatively low speed course. I plan on getting the C7 bearings and V brakes on in the near future, but definitely won't have time before the next event.

Here's the fastest lap from earlier:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsKY1AnyTHI

[rentedmule]

I'm jealous that you're already out racing, my car is still in storage and it'll be another month before events start here.

I wouldn't worry about the stock hubs on regular street tires. I have ~50 auto-X events and 2 track days on mine, most of which were on foot-wide R888's, and they're still tight.

[SSlowBoat]

I'm jealous that you're already out racing, my car is still in storage and it'll be another month before events start here.

I wouldn't worry about the stock hubs on regular street tires. I have ~50 auto-X events and 2 track days on mine, most of which were on foot-wide R888's, and they're still tight.

interesting, seen people with tires not even that sticky have new hubs fail. sounds more like youre not pushing as hard lol

[Catmaigne]

It's settled, we're going full send. It'll only be temporary. I have 2 good hubs sitting on the shelf too if anything goes awry mid-event.

39819

Also, I'm going to rob the Hawk HPS pads and rotors from the front of the Camaro as I'm already in the middle of putting red C6 calipers on it (for the bling, of course). I'll figure out the V brakes later as I'll need spacers/hub rings to clear them.

[rentedmule]

I'm running low-mile OEM hubs, which supposedly makes a difference. A lot of aftermarket hubs are questionable

[Catmaigne]

I'm ready for Sunday. Also made some numbers with a magnetic roll from the craft store.

39825

[Catmaigne]

Car did pretty well and feels a billion times more composed. Was too lazy to break the tires in beforehand which is why my earlier runs are pretty hairy. Gripped really well by the end though, gotta work on the driver mod lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPLZR_WpkSI

[shownomercy]

Hopefully I am not the only one who thought how the hell you remember where to go in that sea of cones?

[Catmaigne]

Hopefully I am not the only one who thought how the hell you remember where to go in that sea of cones?

It's really confusing, reading a course is a skill in its own right and there's so many different lines you can take. We do a bunch of course walks before running which helps a little. Other regions have bigger courses that are more spread out and easier to visualize, but the Philly courses are small and cater to little toy cars.

[rentedmule]

Looked like it was working great - sounds awesome too.

I know in theory, a big V8 car should do better on a wide-open course, but I always find I do better on the short technical courses where I can use the torque to exit corners quicker than the compacts. The "toy" cars seem to have a tougher time using their momentum advantage on courses where corner entry speeds are low.

[Catmaigne]

I know in theory, a big V8 car should do better on a wide-open course, but I always find I do better on the short technical courses where I can use the torque to exit corners quicker than the compacts. The "toy" cars seem to have a tougher time using their momentum advantage on courses where corner entry speeds are low.

I gotta get better at that now that the tires are really breaking in and I've aired them down a couple psi. I got discouraged from using so much throttle through tighter turns with how tail-happy the car was at first, so dialing back kinda hurt me by the end when the grip came in. Should've done some wicked burnouts before the event lol. I still managed to better than most of the novice class and considerably better than a GT350R on MPSS' and an Abarth Fiata on RE's so I'm happy. What's really strange in this region is that the ST classes are hypercompetitive and were generally faster than the SM and SP ones.

[Catmaigne]

I've decided to throw a 35mm hollow Hellwig bar onto the front of the Hawk along with the 23mm solid 3rd gen bar that's currently on the back of my Camaro. It currently has the 32mm/19mm setup from the factory. I also want to pull my AC out, get lighter seats, and potentially a lighter battery if it doesn't hurt my wallet too much. Will try to pull out any extra weight I can that isn't super obvious. Next event will prob be mid next month.

[joelster]

Hopefully I am not the only one who thought how the hell you remember where to go in that sea of cones?

Videos never do it justice, but when you walk the course in the morning, it's a lot easier to see where you're supposed to go. Plus the course designer is supposed to make the course "flow". I've raced with about 10 different regions, some are very good at track layouts and others will have cars going DNF missing cones right up to the very end.

[harner]

I've decided to throw a 35mm hollow Hellwig bar onto the front of the Hawk along with the 23mm solid 3rd gen bar that's currently on the back of my Camaro. It currently has the 32mm/19mm setup from the factory. I also want to pull my AC out, get lighter seats, and potentially a lighter battery if it doesn't hurt my wallet too much. Will try to pull out any extra weight I can that isn't super obvious. Next event will prob be mid next month.

You can have my AGM battery if you can get it to work for you. The chargers I have and methods tried couldn't turn it around.

[joelster]

Car did pretty well and feels a billion times more composed. Was too lazy to break the tires in beforehand which is why my earlier runs are pretty hairy. Gripped really well by the end though, gotta work on the driver mod lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPLZR_WpkSI


I just looked at the results. Why don't you run CAM-T instead of STU???

Also saw that Eric Simmons was there. He's ridicously fast and came in 3rd out of 3 so yeah, you could say there were some fast guys there lol.

I race in PA occasionally but I'm more towards the western end, although I've done an event In the central PA region last year. Mostly I do the UMI events at their track in Clearfield. Lots of runs and you don't have to work the course!

What tires are you running?

[Catmaigne]

You can have my AGM battery if you can get it to work for you. The chargers I have and methods tried couldn't turn it around.

Cool, I'd def be interested in resuscitating it if it'll drop a decent amount of weight. I think the current Interstate is about 32lb.

I removed and weighed some parts...
Rear seat back - 17lb
Pass seat (leather/lumbar) - 42lb
Power antenna - 2lb
Monsoon hatch speakers - 3lb per side

I wanna hit the junkyard and grab a cloth, manual Camaro seat for the passenger side along with some 3rd gen seat rails (allegedly lighter). I'm debating considering a few budget Procar seats (Pro-sport, Drifter, Sportsman). Leaning towards the Drifter because it has way more bolstering than the Sportsman being a fixed back, but the sides aren't insanely tall like the Pro-sport so getting in/out of the car won't be as big of a PITA in parking lots.

[Catmaigne]

I just looked at the results. Why don't you run CAM-T instead of STU???

Also saw that Eric Simmons was there. He's ridicously fast and came in 3rd out of 3 so yeah, you could say there were some fast guys there lol.

I race in PA occasionally but I'm more towards the western end, although I've done an event In the central PA region last year. Mostly I do the UMI events at their track in Clearfield. Lots of runs and you don't have to work the course!

What tires are you running?

Truth be told, I didn't run CAMT/C because I heard it compared to the special olympics for slow american cars lmao. I'll just suck it up and run T next time. Not really hung up on class because my ultimate goal is to use the car for track nights and get away from chasing cones in the sun all day, but I need some more seat time first.

I'll have to up my AAA coverage (or befriend someone with a real tow rig) and check out UMI's course, that sounds nice. My friend with a blown 350z who now lives in Pitt might be interested, although he generally does big boy events at the race complex and offered a place to stay if I wanted to run there.

I'm currently running 200tw Federal RS-Pro's which are the successor to the RS-RR. I got a smokin deal on them (new set for $400), although the date codes are a few years old and they were stored in a cold warehouse for a while. I'll probably go with something sub-200tw next year like a NT01 or RA1.

[joelster]

Truth be told, I didn't run CAMT/C because I heard it compared to the special olympics for slow american cars lmao. I'll just suck it up and run T next time. Not really hung up on class because my ultimate goal is to use the car for track nights and get away from chasing cones in the sun all day, but I need some more seat time first.

I'll have to up my AAA coverage (or befriend someone with a real tow rig) and check out UMI's course, that sounds nice. My friend with a blown 350z who now lives in Pitt might be interested, although he generally does big boy events at the race complex and offered a place to stay if I wanted to run there.

I'm currently running 200tw Federal RS-Pro's which are the successor to the RS-RR. I got a smokin deal on them (new set for $400), although the date codes are a few years old and they were stored in a cold warehouse for a while. I'll probably go with something sub-200tw next year like a NT01 or RA1.



CAM = special olympics? I've never heard that. It got a bad rap at first because at the National events the guys running AS with their C6 Z06's were faster than the guys in CAM-S running unlimited modded C6 Z06's, but that has all changed in the recent years.

I've raced the past few weekends in Ohio with the Akron Sports Car Club. I was 3rd in PAX at both events out of 137 and 105 cars. CAM cars raw timed the whole field at both events.

I would stick with a tw200 tire which will open up your class choices. I run the RT660, the past few years I was running RE-71's.

Here's a run from last weekend. I tagged the very last cone at the finish. Would have bumped me up to 2nd in PAX, and out of first by 3-tenths.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U5jPoeLKUQ

[SSlowBoat]

Cool, I'd def be interested in resuscitating it if it'll drop a decent amount of weight. I think the current Interstate is about 32lb.

I removed and weighed some parts...
Rear seat back - 17lb
Pass seat (leather/lumbar) - 42lb
Power antenna - 2lb
Monsoon hatch speakers - 3lb per side

I wanna hit the junkyard and grab a cloth, manual Camaro seat for the passenger side along with some 3rd gen seat rails (allegedly lighter). I'm debating considering a few budget Procar seats (Pro-sport, Drifter, Sportsman). Leaning towards the Drifter because it has way more bolstering than the Sportsman being a fixed back, but the sides aren't insanely tall like the Pro-sport so getting in/out of the car won't be as big of a PITA in parking lots.i have a cloth manuel firebird passenger seat if you want it

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

CAM = special olympics? I've never heard that. It got a bad rap at first because at the National events the guys running AS with their C6 Z06's were faster than the guys in CAM-S running unlimited modded C6 Z06's, but that has all changed in the recent years.

I've raced the past few weekends in Ohio with the Akron Sports Car Club. I was 3rd in PAX at both events out of 137 and 105 cars. CAM cars raw timed the whole field at both events.

I would stick with a tw200 tire which will open up your class choices. I run the RT660, the past few years I was running RE-71's.

Here's a run from last weekend. I tagged the very last cone at the finish. Would have bumped me up to 2nd in PAX, and out of first by 3-tenths.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U5jPoeLKUQ

The comment I heard about CAM was mostly in jest. They seemed a little salty that the CAM class rules were extremely relaxed when it comes to modifications, unlike the others where unbolting your backseat immediately throws you into SM. Anyway, I was never super interested in being very competitive at these events because it gets very expensive very quick and some of these drivers seem superhuman.

I'll have to do some research on the RT660 now that the RE's are discontinued. They seem like a nice middle ground between the Federals and RE's price wise.

Nice driving! And that course looks great, lots of open space. I'm always afraid of nailing a light pole or some other obstacle with how congested the courses are around here.


i have a cloth manuel firebird passenger seat if you want it

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

I may take you up on that. But a friend just offered to sell me some Corbeau CR1's in red for a steal, so all goes well and I'll have hotboi seats that are too nice for this car. Hopefully he doesn't change his mind.

[Catmaigne]

Ordered some more junk to try to shut my power steering up.

Cooler I'll mount right in front of the rad: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-13224
Underdrive pulley set (27% underdrive crank, 13% overdrive alt): https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mch-4485
Redline PS fluid

Hopefully I don't have to buy a pump.

[joelster]

Older cars tend to be more expensive to run because tons of the stock parts need upgrading to handle the stresses high-g cornering and massive transitions put on them. Newer cars in CAMC basically just need a set of tires to be competitive. The big enemy for my car is the weight. Theres no easy way to cut weight out of it. Modification wise my car is pretty much a day 2 car. A few bolt ons, an alignment,, and good tires. My friend has a nasty Monte Carlo SS and its been a money pit trying to get it competitive. He has an easy $15k in parts into it. Wheels and tires cost him around $5k. Still more fun than drag racing though lol.

[Catmaigne]

Thanks harner for the agm battery. If I can't get it to start my car, I'll probably chuck it in the ocean or something.

Also, I picked the pair of Corbeau's from my friend as it was too good of a deal to pass up. Here's the passenger side:

39847

Some weights from the postal scale...
Seat = 28lb
Slider track = 5lb
Corbeau adapter bracket (for a Honda Del Sol) = 5.5lb
Total weight = 38.5lb (yikes)

I'm assuming Corbeau's seat brackets for a 4th gen are going to be just as heavy, so I'll fabricate my own out of some 6061 stock I have laying around (perks of owning a mill). I'll also omit the passenger side slider and hard mount it to the floor in the interest of weight. I'm guessing it'll be a savings of ~25lb overall and will buy me an inch or two of headroom which will be nice since my helmet hardly clears.

[Injuneer]

I have a Corbeau Forza I bought new 20 years ago. It weighed about 17#, and the Corbeau slider and mounting bracket weighed 10#. The Corbeau website lists the current Forza design at 19#.

[Injuneer]

Also had a Braille lightweight battery, 21#. Excessively expensive over $200. Found out that there is an identical Deka for 1/2 the price.

[rentedmule]

The seats look comfortable. I tried a fixed back Momo in mine last year to save weight and get more lateral support but there just wasn't enough padding - I had bruises everywhere after the first event I ran. The no-name sliders that came with it were also single lock and exploded on my first hard lap, sending me into the back seat...

[Catmaigne]

Been working a lot slower lately as I'm recovering from sinus surgery. Finally got these mounted:

39855
39857
39856

Gonna try to install this March underdrive pulley set tomorrow if the weather holds. AC delete, PS flush, and mounting the new PS cooler is also on the to do list before the next event on 5/15. Think I might need to swap out my driver side hub as it just started squeaking :cry:

39858

[rentedmule]

How do the seats feel? Was the height ok? The last few seat swaps I did put them pretty low

[harner]

The seats look great, nice score!

[Catmaigne]

How do the seats feel? Was the height ok? The last few seat swaps I did put them pretty low

I think they feel great. Definitely on the snug side in terms of bolstering, but not at all uncomfortable. I'm only 5'10" @ 160lb though, so I could see these being uncomfortable for someone much bigger than I.

Went on a long drive yesterday and my back felt fine, so lumbar support is decent and definitely an improvement over the worn out stock seat.

I tried to mount the driver side as low as possible. It seems to have bought me an additional ~1/2" of clearance to the ceiling which is something. Where the headliner meets the A-pillar is still kinda tight, but there's nothing I can realistically do about that (other than pull the headliner and plastics out).

[shownomercy]

Aluminum seat brackets are a bold move indeed.

[Catmaigne]

Aluminum seat brackets are a bold move indeed.

Weight reduction, bro.
Although the only aluminum pieces are the 3 angles that bolt directly to the floor (rears are 1/4" and front on psg is 3/16"). All the other bits are 1/8" mild steel.

[Catmaigne]

AC delete is finished. Underdrive pulley set is on with a fresh 59" belt. Also installed the 35mm hollow Hellwig sway bar on the front, 21mm solid 3rd gen bar on the rear, Founder's rod ended panhard (so I can put the chromoly UMI one back on my Camaro), and power steering cooler. Flushed the power steering and refilled with some Redline fluid. Ripped around some backroads and it felt fine with no noise. I'll find out if my efforts were futile at autox this weekend.

39895

39896

Also put in my order for oil cooler parts. I went with a B&M Supercooler that's 11x8x1.5", Derale thermostat, Derale lines, and 1/2" NPT to barb fittings everywhere to be cost effective. Looked around for a b-body oil cooler adapter to repurpose and only found the crappy f-body one, so I'll have to source that.

[Catmaigne]

No power steering whine to be found. Definitely hooking way better than last time as I was only 2s behind my friend's Mustang on RE71r's around a 50-55s course. Last event, my best was 3.25s behind on a 30-35s course :cry:

I need to work on my braking because it doesn't lock up nearly as quick as it used to. I'm guessing the lack of feedback is from the stock front calipers, they feel super dead. Hopefully the V 4 pots will fix that. Also need to be more confident with the throttle through the gentler turns as there were a bunch of spots I was coasting when I should've been accelerating.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9X8Nitd0gQ

[joelster]

Your car is holding you back. More specifically your tires are holding you back. They were howling in protest around some 15mph turns. I studied your hands around the course. You're placing the car exceptionally well. You're turning in on every slalom cone and you're very fast to react when the ass end starts to cone around. Put a LEGIT TW200 tire on it and go crush the class. I'd suggest the Falken RT660 in the biggest size you can find.

[joelster]

I was looking at the results. Some really fast guys in there! I didn't recognize any of the CAM guys, but you had Strano there in BS in a new Mach 1, Alex Piehl in his Civic R, and Andres Rodriguez. I race with Andres a lot and Alex several times a year. Alex is pretty hardcore lol. He raced with you on Saturday, then drove 5 hours home, just to leave early Sunday and come into my neck of the woods 4 hours north into Western NY. We had a good battle going for top pax on sunday.

[Catmaigne]

Your car is holding you back. More specifically your tires are holding you back. They were howling in protest around some 15mph turns. I studied your hands around the course. You're placing the car exceptionally well. You're turning in on every slalom cone and you're very fast to react when the ass end starts to cone around. Put a LEGIT TW200 tire on it and go crush the class. I'd suggest the Falken RT660 in the biggest size you can find.

Yeah I'm realizing these RS-Pros don't hold a candle to real 200tw tires. The RT660 in 275/35r18 would fit the bill @ $240ea. I have 2x 18x10.5 C5DDs sitting on the shelf, so I could grab 2 more and throw 315/30r18 RT660s on all fours for the ultimate setup. The extra $100 per tire might be hard to stomach though.

[Catmaigne]

Tirerack is blowing these out... https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE-71R&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=635WR8RE71RXL&tab=Sizes

[joelster]

That extra $100 will be easy to stomach as you're racking up class wins and cracking top 10 in pax at every event. I like to show up with everything on my shoulders. Car is prepped and setup as best as I can make it. That way there's no excuse when I don't win. I can live with a loss when someone out drives me. I'd be pissed if I showed up on roasted tires and got beat by a tenth or something.

[SSlowBoat]

Tirerack is blowing these out... https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Potenza+RE-71R&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=635WR8RE71RXL&tab=Sizesre-71's are BEAST atleast in fiesta/focus autox circles

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[joelster]

I ran RE-71'S for 3 years. RT660'S are better but its a tiny difference. If you could find some big boy RE-71'S then grab them. Don't waste your time with 265's.

[joelster]

I took a look at the site you raced at. Pocono is about 4hrs and 45 minutes away for me. If I still have some decent tires by then I'll probably hit up an event in the late summer early fall. I'll try to talk a bunch of my PA CAM friends into going. Always fun to see a stacked CAM class!

[Catmaigne]

I took a look at the site you raced at. Pocono is about 4hrs and 45 minutes away for me. If I still have some decent tires by then I'll probably hit up an event in the late summer early fall. I'll try to talk a bunch of my PA CAM friends into going. Always fun to see a stacked CAM class!

Cool, let me know when. I'm probably going to run another event there on Jun 11-12, but will definitely go back because I love the setup there.

[Catmaigne]

A friend was able to CNC the C7 hub adapter I designed on the Haas at his work (my former employer lol).
He still needs to do the other side to complete the pair. Once I get both, I have to tap the holes and finish the hub diameters on my manual mill and fit them to the car.

39933

[Catmaigne]

Ran a course at Pocono Raceway yesterday. Was a little wet, but I managed to get some decent times. Killed the novice class on saturday, so it's only a matter of time until they kick me out of it lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_0ntUuCXQ

I also picked up these a while ago because the deal was too good to resist. 315's on all fours will be the end goal, but these will serve as good backups for the C6z wheels I have now.

39946

Going to throw the C7 hub adapters/bearings on with V brakes (with the Ferodo HP1000/1 pads) before the next event which will either be another autox at Pocono or a track night if I can source an oil cooler in time. I will also be swapping the rear pads to some Powerstop Track Day pads to even out the brake balance as it's very front-biased at the moment. Trail braking has been sketchy because of it and I know my times are suffering, especially with grade changes and super technical courses. If I have time, I also want to throw the MWC watts link on and lower the roll center a bit to plant the rear better. I have UMI rear springs with a higher than typical 200lb rate which I'm guessing is supposed to go with their panhard lowering kit. Hopefully, the car will feel much less squirrely on corner entry with those two mods and I'll be able to push it harder without losing as much confidence.

[rentedmule]

Great run! The tires should be a huge upgrade

[Catmaigne]

Let me just say that spiral flute taps are a gift from beyond. Made tapping the spindle bolt holes in my hub adapter a breeze. I'm using L9 bolts (or grade 9) because the diameter was very slightly stepped down from M10 to 3/8" in order to clear the back of the C7 bearing.

The only thing left to do is machine the final hub bores (spindle and C7) which should happen on my friend's lathe thurs. Then I can mock a spindle up and see if/what spacers are needed with my C6z wheels. I've seen conflicting info about clearing 4 pot Brembos online.

39947

Slightly bored the hub out on this 14" 5G Camaro rotor to fit the C7 hub.

39948

39949

[Catmaigne]

Mocked everything up and didn't end up needing any spacers with the Ace C6z wheels.

39950

39951

[Catmaigne]

Been rushing to slap this thing together with the hub/brake conversions before the next event at Pocono 7/8.

Got the 2nd hub adapter and finished up the machining on it real quick. The brake line hardware came in the mail from Summit, so I pulled the car apart a few days ago. I planned on grinding the k-member camber slots while I was there (so I can ride around hellaflush). This is what both of my caster bushings looked like, so I overnighted some Mevotech supreme LCA's to shotgun on the car.

39992

All buttoned up and ready for an alignment. Custom stainless lines courtesy of Russell and Earl's.

39993

39994

I also swapped the rear pads/rotors for some Powerstop Track Day pads and Centric blanks. Took it out to bed the brakes and GOTDAMMMMMMMM, this thing really stops. The pedal feel is 10000000x time improved. The best way I can describe it is that there's way more pedal travel between braking hard and locking up and it takes less force overall. Maybe more linear travel vs stopping power? Before it felt like the pedal would stop moving at a certain point while braking moderately, like you were pushing against concrete and there was no feedback from the pedal. If you pushed even harder, the car would brake way harder, but the transition from hard braking to skidding was extremely difficult to detect.

39995

Should be taking it in for an alignment tomorrow. I want 1.75-2* of camber, 0 toe, and stock or more caster. Gonna search around frrax to figure out if I should just have the caster maxed, or if there's an ideal amount.

[SSlowBoat]

Been rushing to slap this thing together with the hub/brake conversions before the next event at Pocono 7/8.

Got the 2nd hub adapter and finished up the machining on it real quick. The brake line hardware came in the mail from Summit, so I pulled the car apart a few days ago. I planned on grinding the k-member camber slots while I was there (so I can ride around hellaflush). This is what both of my caster bushings looked like, so I overnighted some Mevotech supreme LCA's to shotgun on the car.

39992

All buttoned up and ready for an alignment. Custom stainless lines courtesy of Russell and Earl's.

39993

39994

I also swapped the rear pads/rotors for some Powerstop Track Day pads and Centric blanks. Took it out to bed the brakes and GOTDAMMMMMMMM, this thing really stops. The pedal feel is 10000000x time improved. The best way I can describe it is that there's way more pedal travel between braking hard and locking up and it takes less force overall. Maybe more linear travel vs stopping power? Before it felt like the pedal would stop moving at a certain point while braking moderately, like you were pushing against concrete and there was no feedback from the pedal. If you pushed even harder, the car would brake way harder, but the transition from hard braking to skidding was extremely difficult to detect.

39995

Should be taking it in for an alignment tomorrow. I want 1.75-2* of camber, 0 toe, and stock or more caster. Gonna search around frrax to figure out if I should just have the caster maxed, or if there's an ideal amount.

i will search my google drive tomorrow, send me a message to remind me, i have fraxx setup sheet saved somewhere.

MAX CASTER. as much as you can get. I had 1.75* camber, slight positive toe, and all the caster i could get on my 96 formy (the first one) and that thing handled the best. i got the alignment settinfs from fraxx

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

i will search my google drive tomorrow, send me a message to remind me, i have fraxx setup sheet saved somewhere.

MAX CASTER. as much as you can get. I had 1.75* camber, slight positive toe, and all the caster i could get on my 96 formy (the first one) and that thing handled the best. i got the alignment settinfs from fraxx

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

That's pretty much what I asked for. The alignment shop was able to give me 1.9-2* neg camber, 0 toe, but said that the max caster they could get was 3.5-4. I only ground the camber slots, should I have touched the caster ones? Could've been the way they were measuring it, idk. Driving it home in the monsoon that just happened was pretty unpleasant lol.

[joelster]

Why not see what they can max the camber to? You'll want more than 2 degrees negative. Also add a teensy bit of toe-out like 1/8th of a degree.

[SSlowBoat]

That's pretty much what I asked for. The alignment shop was able to give me 1.9-2* neg camber, 0 toe, but said that the max caster they could get was 3.5-4. I only ground the camber slots, should I have touched the caster ones? Could've been the way they were measuring it, idk. Driving it home in the monsoon that just happened was pretty unpleasant lol.im not sure if i would, would probably get aftermarket lca's before that.
joelster i couldn't get more than 1.75* on my old car. looks like mike got a little more than that.

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

There isn't much room left in the camber slots to get more with the grinding I did. I took the slots out to where the washers/bolt flanges were tangent to the bracket edges. My friend who did the alignment told me that one LCA was pretty much maxed and the other was closer to the middle. He tried maxing caster (after bringing the camber out), but that didn't get very far. I'm guessing the next step to correct this will be aftermarket UCAs or LCAs, but I'm gonna drive it a bit to determine if that's necessary. 2* should hopefully be enough to slow down the outside shoulder wear on my front tires as I can see they've already taken a beating. Also hoping for less understeer and screeching in turns.

Was thinking about playing with the toe at the track and then adjusting it back to 0 before I go home. Trying to save the tires because I do drive this thing on the street a lot.

Unfortunately, it looks like it might rain at Pocono again. Might end up doing an event at Ripken stadium in MD instead.

[joelster]

I'm running 19's now. I have the 660's with about 6 events on them. I have another set on back order but they might be here in late August lol. So I bit the bullet and bought a set of 18" wheels and tires. Good news is that I got the tires already (Yokohama A052 in 315/30/18) bad news is that right after taking my money for the wheels, they emailed me and said I'll likely not get them until late August lol. If everything comes together in late August I'll have LOTS of fresh rubber to burn up and ill try to head out your way. I'll get with a bunch of my PA CAM brothers and see if we can stack the classes and have some fun!

[Catmaigne]

Pocono got cancelled, so I ended up doing a Philly event at Ripken Stadium in MD. Definitely not my best driving. Lot was pretty dirty and torn up which didn't help. Also runs were done consecutively which REALLY didn't help (tires were definitely overheating). I will pick up a small sprayer for next time.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dink7ajwSuc

I think my brake bias is still jacked up because the car won't tolerate much trailbraking without the ass stepping out. I know this is forcing me to take much wider lines to carry speed and costing me a bunch of time. Watched some vids of the faster guys and they get very heavy on the brakes far deeper into the corner, something my car won't allow.

Did some research and I think I had the brake balance problem backwards all along. I've read/been told conflicting things about this, but I think the entry oversteer is from too much rear brake because I'm demanding too much of the rear tires with so little weight on them. Tasking them with braking and lateral acceleration at the same time is probably what's causing them to shear and create snap oversteer. If a symptom of too much front brake is understeer on entry, I definitely have the opposite of that problem.

I think these Powerstop Track Day pads on the rear were a mistake as they are outdoing the massive CTSV setup (V1 calipers, 14" rotor, Ferodo HP1000/1 pads) on the front, even with tiny stock LT1 rotors/calipers. I threw the old mystery pads onto the rear of the car to see if that would help, but I can't tell because there's nowhere around here to go 10/10 safely. I could just barely make out the friction code on the old pads as 'FF' meaning they're somewhat grippy, but this could be anywhere from a premium ceramic to a Hawk HP 5.0. I'm gonna email AMECA to see if they can tell me what compound these are as I can just barely make out the code.

Might do an event this weekend if it doesn't rain, either Philly or NEPA. If not, next weekend in SNJ. I also ordered all of the oil cooler parts and will be throwing that on the car to do a track night at Pocono 8/17. Trying to lay these tires to rest lol.

[Catmaigne]

40001

Oil cooler stuff showed up.

Derale 52578 oil cooler - 25 row
Derale 15720 sandwich plate adapter w/t-stat - took a ton of deburring to clean up
Derale 1/2" ID oil hose
Fancy compression style hose clamps from Mcmaster
Wix XP oil filter for a Cummins
Misc fittings and mounting hardware to shove it somewhere in front of the radiator

I'm going to plug the stock oil filter bypass valve with a 1/4 NPT plug because the Cummins filter has an internal bypass valve.

[shownomercy]

Whats the thermostat rating on the oil block?

[Catmaigne]

Whats the thermostat rating on the oil block?

There's a cooler bypass hole that gets blocked off by the thermostatic coil/strip @ 180F. There are nicer thermostatic adapters with legit valves, but I can't complain for $40.

[shownomercy]

Got any pics of the hose? Been wanting to do this to my car for awhile

[Catmaigne]

Got any pics of the hose? Been wanting to do this to my car for awhile

Nope, but this is what I bought: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/der-15700
AN lines would be nicer, but this will get the job done.

[shownomercy]

Cool cool, how much grinding did you have to do to the adaptor?

Looking to do this mod to my car out of sheer boredom.

[Catmaigne]

I didn't really have to grind anything, just deburred it with a file because there were a bunch of sharp edges. I did add a copper washer though so the steel adapter wouldn't gouge the aluminum housing.

40002

[Catmaigne]

Rearranged some stuff. Moved the power steering cooler down by the air dam and screwed it in using the factory bolt holes. Built a bracket for the oil cooler and mounted it at the bottom-middle of the rad.

40006

Here's the sandwich plate adapter. I think the Permatex PTFE sealant I used on the NPT fittings isn't fully sealing, but the leak is super minor. I'll redo it with tape at a later date.

40004

I smacked a deer the other night. Went on a test drive through a nearby state park after buttoning the oil cooler up, rounded a corner pretty fast and spotted a doe on the oncoming side of the road. I locked up and slid for a bit, but the fucker leapt in front of my car at the last second which was probably only going <20mph by that point. It took out my popup headlight, slid up the hood and windshield, and then dipped into the woods. Somehow the hood and windshield survived without cracking. I grabbed another headlight from the junkyard yesterday so the car is already fixed.

Definitely put some flat spots into my front tires, although they're not that bad. These mystery FF rear pads aren't cutting it, so I already swapped them out for some GG rated Raybestos Element 3 hybrid pads. The Powerstop Track Day pads were rated HH for reference, so maybe the new ones are just right. I also changed the caliper slide pins on both sides as they were pretty sticky and worn.

40007

Built a master cylinder brace and the pedal feel has improved a bunch. Feels firmer with improved feedback and the brakes release way quicker than before. Threshold braking felt nearly impossible before because of how spongey and inconsistent the pedal felt (lockup seemed to come out of nowhere and was super difficult to recover from), but I feel much more confident now. Should've done this long ago as the change in pedal feel was about as drastic as going from stock calipers to the V 4-pots.

40005

I'm doing a track night at Pocono tomorrow... wish me luck lol

[shownomercy]

I have good luck so far with this stuff on NPT fittings in both oil/fuel

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-aviation-form-a-gasket-no-3-sealant-liquid/?locale=en_us

[Catmaigne]

I have good luck so far with this stuff on NPT fittings in both oil/fuel

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-aviation-form-a-gasket-no-3-sealant-liquid/?locale=en_us

Cool, I'll give it a shot

[harner]

I have good luck so far with this stuff on NPT fittings in both oil/fuel

https://www.permatex.com/products/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-aviation-form-a-gasket-no-3-sealant-liquid/?locale=en_us

I thought the fittings had to go together dry? Think it would work with PS fluid?

[Catmaigne]

Track night was intense, I'm ready for another lol. Car felt super planted and predictable. Brakes felt great this time around and the car didn't bite me for using them mid corner. I guess replacing the rear caliper slide pins and GG pads did the trick.

Anyway, here's me chasing a Miata around:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYZ8DgC4qDc&t=2530s

[shownomercy]

I thought the fittings had to go together dry? Think it would work with PS fluid?

I have always used tape or this permatex stuff on NPT stuff. Hell, even the AN fittings get a tiny dash of PTFE goop on the threads.

[JOATMON]

Track night was intense, I'm ready for another lol. Car felt super planted and predictable. Brakes felt great this time around and the car didn't bite me for using them mid corner. I guess replacing the rear caliper slide pins and GG pads did the trick.

Anyway, here's me chasing a Miata around:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYZ8DgC4qDc&t=2530s

Hey, That was awesome. I finally had a chance to finish watching it. You were getting better and better as the heats went on. At around 24:00 what was that lil SUV that kept walking off from you in the straightaway? I'm assuming it was one of these new high HP SUV's I've been hearing about. Thanks for sharing your video.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Hey, That was awesome. I finally had a chance to finish watching it. You were getting better and better as the heats went on. At around 24:00 what was that lil SUV that kept walking off from you in the straightaway? I'm assuming it was one of these new high HP SUV's I've been hearing about. Thanks for sharing your video.
Nolan

It was a MK5 Golf GTI, dude was really pissing me off because his car was way slower through the turns and couldn't brake nearly as hard. You're supposed to pull to the right, decel, and point-by traffic in the passing zones if someone's been on your tail for a while, but he wouldn't let me or the LS3 Camaro that was tailgating me for a few mins through.

Didn't talk to him, but I'm guessing it had some motor upgrades (k04 turbo maybe?). My Hawk only has Pacesetter LT's and a glasspack, so it's pretty slow by my standards. I'm debating throwing some SA 1.6rr's on it for a little boost, but my long term goal is to dump my Roadmaster's motor into it which should be ~370-380whp.

[Catmaigne]

Currently working on making an Arduino HUD to keep track of my corner entry speeds a little better. I'm trying to run another track night @ pocono on 8/17, intermediate class this time so the traffic will be faster. Hopefully I can get my lap times down to low 1:50's or high 1:40's.

[JOATMON]

I started getting a subscription to Car & Driver free somehow. After reading about some of these 5-600 HP SUV'S that are out there that I never even knew about, I realized that there are some kool-aid Moms that could blow the doors off my Camaro and it's pretty quick.
I found it funny that you mentioned "following a Miata around". Me and a friend who has (Had, he sold it) a very serious LS3 Camaro once talked about going to try out some road course racing. His stepdad said, hell yeah I'll go race with ya'll, I'm pretty good at it. His road course experience is in his lil Miata. We decided we didn't want his stepdad to spank us with his experience. LOL
Thanks for sharing your videos, I'm subscribed.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

I know a couple people with Miata's they race, although I've never driven one personally. It's pretty obvious why they do so well when you look at the ratio of curb weight to tire width on most of them. They're generally 2-2.4k lbs and can tuck 245's on all corners. Plus, they have IRS and can dial in rear camber/toe for even more grip. Being underpowered is also somewhat of an advantage on tight autox courses because you can be more aggressive with your throttle without breaking loose, it practically drives itself. Something like a C5 checks a lot of the same boxes, but keeping it planted on corner exit will take some finesse.

They have their place, but they definitely lose their edge on the road course when the high powered cars can actually hook. It also seems like the bigger cars with longer wheelbases are more stable at high speed whereas the Miata might be twitchy.

[Catmaigne]

Had to brush up on my coding skillz, but I'm ready to test out this HUD speedo in the car. It's an Arduino Nano and Adafruit 7-segment display that reads off the VSS. I'm testing it with a cheap signal generator.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEcd_wnYqEg

[shownomercy]

Where are you planning on stashing the display?

[Catmaigne]

Where are you planning on stashing the display?

I'm gonna stick it close to the bottom of the windshield most likely.

[Catmaigne]

A friend cut me a deal on some old parts. They're 1.7 ratio NSA Scorpions, 7/16" ARP studs, guideplates, and a set of stock heads with a Crane 10308-1 kit on it. He went a little ape on the rockers with the belt sander in order to clear the studs, but he ran it that way for years with no issues. I still have to finish grinding the backs by the pushrod cups to clear the stock valvecovers though.

40012

Didn't want to run the Crane kit because I think the pressures might be a little too much for the stock timing chain at 130k, so I picked up a cheap set of Howard's 98212 springs with in intent of pulling the dampers out and running them with the stock retainers/locks.

40015

I installed the springs on one bank, but I took a closer look at the stock retainers and found some ugly stuff. I can't tell if what I'm looking at are stress cracks from years of abuse, or just imperfections from manufacturing. I compared the stock retainers to another set of stock retainers from a pair of 561 heads I had sitting on the shelf. There weren't as many surface imperfections because they appear polished, but I found a hairline crack on one of them upon closer inspection. They're only about .056-58" thick where the spring sits, whereas most aftermarket stuff is .080+.

Figured it was time to stop being a cheapass, so I ordered Comp 742-16 retainers and 601-16 locks. Hopefully the installed height comes out fine and I don't have to shim anything, pull the seals, etc.

40013

40014

joelster I'll be running an autox + track sprint at Pocono on 8/14 if you're interested. This is assuming the valvetrain goes together smoothly, which I'll know monday when the retainers/locks get here.

[shownomercy]

Pocono raceway as in the one in Long pond PA ya?

Also, oooof on that clearance, is that really required? First time I have read about it

[Catmaigne]

Pocono raceway as in the one in Long pond PA ya?

Also, oooof on that clearance, is that really required? First time I have read about it

Yeah, that's the one. Same place I ran the track night and a few other autox events. Always a great time going there because the people are really relaxed (unlike NJMP and their billion rules).

40016

And I think the Scorpions always require more work because they're pretty fat compared to other rockers. I have the same exact rockers on my Roadmaster and had to do the same thing, although I didn't overdo-it and my handiwork was way cleaner lol.

[Catmaigne]

So the Comp retainers I ordered lowered the install height to 1.7" which was the opposite of what I wanted. Even +0.050 locks wouldn't push the installed height high enough, so I gave up and installed the Crane duals. I found that using stock locks in the Crane kit pushed the installed height up another 0.025" which dropped the spring pressure a tiny bit.

I also drafted a tune and did some logging to make sure the rockers weren't causing any false knock. Never logged this car before and just assumed it was healthy because I previously raced my friend's LS1 z28 vert and won by a small margin. It always felt kinda sluggish to me though, but I chalked it up to the fact that my other cars have way more power and gear.

Anyway, the datalog showed that the right bank was running consistently lean with BLMs in the low 130's to 140. Swapped out the OEM O2 sensors and saw the same phenomenon. Checked the right bank header primaries with an infrared temp gun and noticed that the cyl #4 temp was considerably lower than the rest. Also ran a cylinder strength test in EEhack that showed cyl #4 as being unusually strong, so I pulled the #4 injector plug with the car running and the idle didn't change one bit. I then tried actuating the #4 injector manually with some alligator clips hooked up to the battery and couldn't get it to click, whereas all the other injectors on the car did. Thing was definitely stuck because I swapped the injector out for another stock one and BAM, it feels like I gained 50whp. No more goofy BLM issues and the car drives better than it ever did, especially under 1.5k. I think I've been running on 7/8 this whole time (deja vu).

Ran the car at an autox/track sprint event at Pocono yesterday and it did great. I only ran about a second slower than my friend's Mustang on RE71R's, even with my crap tires. Really gotta work on my downshifting though as I screw up occasionally and let the clutch loose too quick. I've never experienced axle hop before so that was a first. I might try to figure out a way to reconfigure the pedals so I can attempt to heel/toe downshift, or at least extend the throttle pedal over so I can blip it with the side of my foot during hard braking.

I think I also figured out the secret with these cars is to run the rear tire pressure 5-10psi lower in the rear than the front. Even pressure on all 4's seems to make the back very squirrely.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeNssuCKqho

Next event is a track night at NJMP later in the month, then another at Pocono next month. Might try to cram another event in before the year ends.

[rentedmule]

Great that you found the dead cylinder and freed up some ponies. The downshift axle hop and tire pressure discussion sound so familiar! I definitely still struggle with the heel-toe DS and get axle hop every now and then. I missed a heel-toe at a track day and tried axle hop at 80 mph once... not fun.

For tire pressures, I run about 30 psi front and 28 rear on my R888's. I was running way to high for a long time and giving up a lot of grip. I could probably back down even more on the rear but it gets hard to control the softer they get.

[Catmaigne]

Great that you found the dead cylinder and freed up some ponies. The downshift axle hop and tire pressure discussion sound so familiar! I definitely still struggle with the heel-toe DS and get axle hop every now and then. I missed a heel-toe at a track day and tried axle hop at 80 mph once... not fun.

For tire pressures, I run about 30 psi front and 28 rear on my R888's. I was running way to high for a long time and giving up a lot of grip. I could probably back down even more on the rear but it gets hard to control the softer they get.

I talked to my friend's cousin who has an LS7 4th gen about his heel/toe technique and he told me it's near impossible with the stock pedal setup. Dude is a PCA instructor and a really good driver, so I trust his judgement. He's going to send me a 3d printed pedal extension for the throttle at cost to try out.

Are you running 10.5's or 11+ wide wheels on the car with the 315s? Guessing a 10.5 might need a few more psi than on a wider rim or else it might get too washy. I also have a rod ended panhard and the rear of the car is very unforgiving and tighter than the front, so dropping the pressure on them gave me more margin before it snaps loose. I was running ~33F/27R cold and it seemed to induce a little understeer at the limit.

[Catmaigne]

Pic of me sliding with the tires too aired up, I missed the cone by a hair.
Wish they gave points for style lol.

40017

[SSlowBoat]

Pic of me sliding with the tires too aired up, I missed the cone by a hair.
Wish they gave points for style lol.

40017damn drifters

just go full tilton pedal box

Sent from my SM-N975U using Tapatalk

[rentedmule]

I'm running C4 ZR1 reps in 17x11.

I used Sullivan Racing pedal covers and spaced the throttle up to get it closer to level with the brake. I found it helped a lot with heel-toe but a driving instructor who did some laps in the car felt they were really close together - I haven't driven many decent track cars so I don't really know what the benchmark is. I think the biggest problem with the car now is driver-related. I don't get many opportunities to practice H-T downshifts, even in auto-x events - most of our races are on tight courses where I only shift up to 2nd going into the finish box.

[Catmaigne]

Since I couldn't keep up with all the other dudes in CAMT last event, I dumped the 265 RE71r's I was saving for next season on Craigslist and turned a big profit in the process. I was the only guy in my class with a tire under 315, so it's time to get more meat on the car. I'm replacing the 18x9.5's with a square set of 18x10.5's and am picking up a set of 315 RT615k+'s. The 615 isn't the fastest tire of the 200tw bunch, but I need something that's CAMT legal and will last longer than the RT660, Rivals, and AO52 on a road course so I can get plenty of track time in. The Hankook RS4 is what I really wanted, but they don't make a size wider than 285 that I can use.

Currently shopping for wheels. I test fitted a friend's 18x10.5 C5z rep with +58mm offset on my car and it's damn close with a 3mm clearance from caliper to spokes. The OEWheels version is +56mm offset, so that might buy me another 2mm. Gonna order one in black to test fit, otherwise I'll have to grab more expensive C6 or C7 ZR1 wheels.

40018

Pic of a 315/30r18 Falken on 18x10.5's for reference. Those vette sizes seem to run slightly narrow and don't bulge.

40019

[joelster]

The 615 is going to be a compromize for road course and auto-x. It will get the job done but you'll be over a second behind in auto-x to the CAM-T guys and even further behind in the road course stuff. Its tough to have 1 tire that can do everything well. It would make more sense to have a really good road race tire and when you do auto-x get a co-driver so you can keep more heat in it.

[Catmaigne]

The 615 is going to be a compromize for road course and auto-x. It will get the job done but you'll be over a second behind in auto-x to the CAM-T guys and even further behind in the road course stuff. Its tough to have 1 tire that can do everything well. It would make more sense to have a really good road race tire and when you do auto-x get a co-driver so you can keep more heat in it.

I should say the tires are more like triple duty rather than dual duty because I have to drive them on the street in addition to autox and track days. The R888R would be my go to if Toyo upped the treadwear rating to match all the other cheater 200's, but I'll get stuck in ESP with the current rating where everyone is running DOT slicks and be even less competitive. Really wish Hankook or Maxxis had a 315 endurance tire, because I'd be all over that in a heartbeat. Continental has the new Force tire, but there's no info out there, they're expensive @$400/ea, and the tread depth is shorter than the Falkens.

I'm not too far behind the other guys in CAMT at the moment and I was already faster than more than half the CAMC guys, even with cheapo 275 Federals. I'm hoping the RT615k+ compound is a step up from the Federal RS-Pro in addition to having an extra 1" of rubber on the ground per tire. Might switch to CAMC to upset some of the late model guys, including my friend with his coyote mustang.

[joelster]

I'm doing UMI King of the Mountain this week. I'm not sure if I'll make the night show though. Theres a lot of talent here. After that I have 1 more important local race and then its travel time! How many more Pocono autocross races are left?

[Catmaigne]

I'm doing UMI King of the Mountain this week. I'm not sure if I'll make the night show though. Theres a lot of talent here. After that I have 1 more important local race and then its travel time! How many more Pocono autocross races are left?

The last one is 9/18: https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/nepa-scca-2021-solo-fall-pocono-event-11-raceway-northeastern-penna-140937
Will watch the weather the week before and register late if it's clear.

[rentedmule]

For tires, have you heard of John Berget Racing Tires? They sell scrub race tires for dirt cheap - a lot of local guys buy their Hoosier A and R7's from them. They don't ship to Canada so we rely on guys picking them up at the border but I'm sure they ship withing the US. I decided on 17" wheels because their prices on 315/35-17 A7's are crazy cheap.

[joelster]

The last one is 9/18: https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/nepa-scca-2021-solo-fall-pocono-event-11-raceway-northeastern-penna-140937
Will watch the weather the week before and register late if it's clear.

Its weird to me to see an autocross on a Saturday but that works out well. I have a local race the next day in Buffalo NY. I will watch the weather too. I'm sure some of my friends will be there. Peachey brothers and a few others.

[Catmaigne]

For tires, have you heard of John Berget Racing Tires? They sell scrub race tires for dirt cheap - a lot of local guys buy their Hoosier A and R7's from them. They don't ship to Canada so we rely on guys picking them up at the border but I'm sure they ship withing the US. I decided on 17" wheels because their prices on 315/35-17 A7's are crazy cheap.

I'll have to keep them in mind if I ever upgrade to big boy tires, wondering how much it would be after shipping for 315/30r18's.

[Catmaigne]

So I did a track night @ NJMP Lightning. Really realllllly like the course, it's full of blind corners and sweepers. I think I'm going to need a baffled oil pan though as the oil pressure would get wonky around turn 7 (past the bridge) if I downshifted and kept the revs up. At corner exit, the pressure would dip to 20psi on the gauge and take a second to build back up as I'm going flat out in 3rd, so I started grannying it in 4th the whole way instead.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDcD6UkqfLQ

[Catmaigne]

I ordered some 18x10.5 C5z reps to test out and there was even less clearance than my friend's higher offset reps. Back to JEGS they go.
I think the next wheel I'm going to try are 18x10.5 Stingrays (CV27A, non dished version).

40022

Also found a bitchin deal on a new Kevko 1091RR road race oil pan, so I'll swap that in over the winter.

[joelster]

We're taking advantage of the extended weekend and hitting an autocross in NH. Based out of Canaan. I watched a video and it looks like half road course half autocross. Not a lot of cars entered and the hotels are outrageous but I like racing with new people. Its 7 hours each way for us. Just hoping that the weather stays clear. So far it says 76 and sunny.

Here's the link: https://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.status/uidEvent/3B919EF6-D7B2-8C8A-19A1DF6F32C3F13B

[Catmaigne]

We're taking advantage of the extended weekend and hitting an autocross in NH. Based out of Canaan. I watched a video and it looks like half road course half autocross. Not a lot of cars entered and the hotels are outrageous but I like racing with new people. Its 7 hours each way for us. Just hoping that the weather stays clear. So far it says 76 and sunny.

Here's the link: https://www.motorsportreg.com/index.cfm/event/event.status/uidEvent/3B919EF6-D7B2-8C8A-19A1DF6F32C3F13B

Damn, that's about 7 hours for me also which is too much. Really trying to get a tow rig in the coming years so I can travel farther. Sounds like a cool course though.

[Catmaigne]

Decided to stay with the C5z reps, run a small spacer, and add extended Moser wheel studs. Got the tires mounted today and did a test fit. I want to raise the front end a tad with some washers under the shock mount (like BMR SA002, but for cheapasses like me) and do some fender rolling or grinding to the inner lip.

40023

40024

[joelster]

Hows the weather looking for Saturday?

[Catmaigne]

Hows the weather looking for Saturday?

It's looking questionable right now. 40% chance of rain but hopefully the forecast clears up in a few days. They decided to make it a double event for the same price. Would really suck if it gets washed out.

[joelster]

I'll wait until Thursday to make my decision. Just got 2 new trailer tires. Ordered Vorshlag camber plates too but I won't have them installed by then though.

[Catmaigne]

Did another track night @ Pocono. Shaved 7 seconds off my previous best and got to chase a bunch of corvettes around in earlier sessions.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKGpQuzPA7o

[rentedmule]

Great videos! Almost 130 down the straight. Check your fuel level needle in the hard turns, it's fluctuating by over 1/2 a tank!

[Catmaigne]

Great videos! Almost 130 down the straight. Check your fuel level needle in the hard turns, it's fluctuating by over 1/2 a tank!

Holy crap, just noticed that. Guess I need to bring some extra gas or get a baffled tank.

[Catmaigne]

I'll wait until Thursday to make my decision. Just got 2 new trailer tires. Ordered Vorshlag camber plates too but I won't have them installed by then though.

Weather improved so I registered for saturday

[joelster]

The forecast I've been looking at shows 75%+ after 1pm.

[Catmaigne]

The forecast I've been looking at shows 75%+ after 1pm.

I'm seeing 25% chance of rain on Accuweather and 40% from the Weather Channel. I think the morning will definitely be dry which is good because the event starts early and heats move fast (track is constantly hot, even during worker changeover). Hoping the afternoon clears up. I'm going to a concert in Stroudsburg the night before so I'll be going regardless.

I guess call it tomorrow or Friday morning. Definitely worth the trip because their courses are always fast and 70-80s.

[joelster]

Just registered. Looks like 6 cars in CAMC so thats good.

[joelster]

Theres a few names in there that I recognize. Geoff Wolpert is there in his Escort GT. He's a maniac lol. That car will be on 3 wheels the entire time. He just sold his Z06. Also theres a Denis guy in a crazy fast Nissan 240sx. Has huge aero great power and big Hoosiers. He will be one of the fastest vehicles there. I talked to Eric Peachey and he might be there with his Viper. His brother Justin just broke his Z06 so I'm not sure if he's going or what he'll be driving if he shows.

[joelster]

Got to our hotel at 10:15. There's a few Porsche's here an M2 and an IROC. Checked the registration and it's at 111 cars. That's pretty good. Some heavy hitters in there as well especially in B-Street.

[rentedmule]

I'm missing my bench-racing fix - any updates or race vids?

[joelster]

I did a 2-day event last weekend. Nice weather day 1 followed by rain on day 2. I had a co-driver as well. We went 1-3 both days. The guy that came in 2nd behind me is a multi time national champion. He was driving my friends car which was not optimal lol. Otherwaise he probably would have smoked me. Heres a video from day 1. Was my last run of the day. Did a big controlled drift at the 1:30 mark that probably cost me a few tenths plus a few other random slides.


https://youtu.be/qIgGcxpVrYE

[rentedmule]

That noise - love it!

[Catmaigne]

Had a bit of a rough weekend last time. This was the best I could muster:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9W_62m-asEk

Got to ride in Joel's car. It's insane how planted and drama free his car is whereas driving mine is like wrestling a grizzly bear. Gonna tackle lowering the rear roll center with a UMI panhard relocation over the winter along with GW upper arms, decided to keep the watts for the Camaro because adjusting it seems like a pain in the ass. I also picked up a vacuum regulator to cut the assist to the brake booster in hopes that it'll give me a more consistent assist and pedal feel. I kept locking up at the autox on the back straight and I'm theorizing that high RPM/high vac makes lockup way easier.

Vac reg is a Koganei NVR200-02 which is the same one Miata guys use in the Sakebomb variable booster thingy. Had to import it from Japan lol.

40085

I also uploaded a vid from the last track night of me chasing some vettes around.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUdWYomMl64

[joelster]

My car is planted because of a few key things. Its a very good chassis, I'm a decent driver, and its on Excellent tires! I can't stress enough how important they are. When is the last time you saw a car with 660's or A052's lock a tire up? They grip so much better than the 615's you run. Get some good tires and watch those lock up problems go away.

[rentedmule]

You racing the hawk this year?

[Catmaigne]

You racing the hawk this year?Yeah, I just started prepping it for a pocono track night on 7/7. GW upper A arms, softer rear springs, Kevko RR pan, and square 315s. I'll throw up some pics when I get a chance.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[JOATMON]

I've enjoyed the in car videos, hope to see more.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Some pics of where the car is at currently.

I pulled the windage tray and crank scraper out of the Kevko oil pan, cut all of the mounts out as well. Also had to make clearance for the power steering rack (see giant-ass dent). I got it on the car with a Melling 10554 pump and don't see any leaks while running on jackstands. I'll know for sure if it's sealed during the test drive.
I think I need to get a longer dipstick though as I have 7.5 quarts in the car and it's not showing at all. Kevko say it's a 6 quart pan (7 quart system), but maybe this Wix filter and oil cooler hold more than I thought?

40286

Pic of the shock spacers I made. They're 1/2" tall, same as BMR SA002.

40287

Had to trim the front bolt on these GW arms as it was touching the LS-era spindle. Might have something to do with my shock spacers.

40288

I swapped out the UMI rear springs for my Camaro's old BMRs. Should take the rate down from 200lb/in to 145-160lb/in to make the car less skatey in the back. I think the UMI set was designed with running a lowered rear roll center in mind, something I don't have yet. I'll put the watts link on later in the season but really don't have time to fiddle with it now.
Stock wheel studs are too short for the wheel spacers I need to clear the bumpstops (grinding the rear bolt area isn't enough). I'm swapping out the wheel studs for longer Moser 2.5" ones. Currently waiting on a reamer from Amazon as the interference fit is 2x smaller than it should be.

40289

[rentedmule]

Were the shock spacers to raise ride height on the front? I've been considering the BMR ones (not for stance, but so I can get into my driveway without scraping the air dam).

Why did you remove the scraper and windage tray from the pan?

[Catmaigne]

Were the shock spacers to raise ride height on the front? I've been considering the BMR ones (not for stance, but so I can get into my driveway without scraping the air dam).

Why did you remove the scraper and windage tray from the pan?

Yeah, the spacers were to raise the front a little. The front UMI springs are fairly slammed and had my tires rubbing the inner well at times. I bent the inner fender lip up and screwed the well up higher, but still added the spacers for added assurance.

And I removed the Kevko tray so I could retain the stock one. The crank scraper was interfering with the stock tray so it had to come out as well. Seems like aftermarket trays are hit or miss (see all of the 242T windage threads), so I tried to keep 'ol reliable in there. I did the same modifications to my Camaro's 244T pan and it has never given me issues.

[Catmaigne]

Fresh alignment and I'm good to go for Pocono.

-2.25 camber
0 toe
+6 caster

Was able to double my caster with these GW arms and the turn in feels super sharp now.

TNIA is running a buy 2 get 1 free deal this weekend so I'm going to schedule a couple more events. Also trying to do Shenandoah @ Summit Point on 9/9.

40290

[Catmaigne]

Car doesn't feel like it's trying to cut my head off anymore with these new rear springs. Back end feels way more compliant over bumps and planted under braking.
Still breaking in the tires, but they feel great so far. They don't screech like the Federals and seem a little more forgiving at the limit.
I can definitely be more aggressive with how I time my inputs, but I was over a second faster than last year.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-sKNUoHnJc&ab_channel=JunkRacecars

[Z28pr0jekt]

LOL at the good ole fuel gauge around 50 seconds in around the turn. Do you have a fuel cell or the stock tank? Might need some baffling in there to ensure the fuel pump doesn't end up sucking nothing around turns.

[Catmaigne]

LOL at the good ole fuel gauge around 50 seconds in around the turn. Do you have a fuel cell or the stock tank? Might need some baffling in there to ensure the fuel pump doesn't end up sucking nothing around turns.

It's the stock tank and I think the PO put a 255 in the stock bucket. Haven't noticed any loss of power coming out of turns, but I really should get a wideband to keep an eye on it. Was gonna start bringing gas cans to longer events. This lap was from the 3rd 20 min sesh.

[JOATMON]

Looks like kick in the ass fun to me. What's the top MPH in the long straight when you get into 5th? It's hard to tell on the dash speedo.
Thanks for sharing.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Looks like kick in the ass fun to me. What's the top MPH in the long straight when you get into 5th? It's hard to tell on the dash speedo.
Thanks for sharing.
Nolan

I top out at about 126-128 generally. Wish I had more passing power as some of these newer cars blow my doors off lol.
Here's another vid:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vohtje08sgo

[JOATMON]

Hey, That was cool, thanks for sharing. If you're ready to go faster you could run that '96 hotrod Z
Nolan

[rentedmule]

Great videos, as always. I ran an auto-x a few weeks ago with more than 3/4 of a tank of a gas and it almost stalled on a super hard left hand corner. That's the first time that's ever happened in 50+ events with this car - I think the new tires are working well.

[Catmaigne]

Great videos, as always. I ran an auto-x a few weeks ago with more than 3/4 of a tank of a gas and it almost stalled on a super hard left hand corner. That's the first time that's ever happened in 50+ events with this car - I think the new tires are working well.Hahaha, maybe we should both invest in some Holley Hydramats? Unless they're a gimmick.

People recommend the plastic LS tank, but I'm not sure how I'd go about converting it to a return system.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[harner]

Hahaha, maybe we should both invest in some Holley Hydramats? Unless they're a gimmick.

People recommend the plastic LS tank, but I'm not sure how I'd go about converting it to a return system.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

I remember seeing those Hydramats in a SEMA video years ago and that's the last I heard of them...until today. Haha. Not sure if you follow any Youtubers, but Kevin @ KSR Racing built a slick dual fuel cell setup for the Vice Grip Garage burnout car (a garbage rotted out Chevelle that is built to do drag and drives/burnout comps/etc).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI-UylnxDII (fast fwd to like 8 mins)

He goes into detail on the science behind that car's fuel setup with dual pumps, flex, separate surge tank, etc. Perhaps it would give you an idea or two.

[SSlowBoat]

Hahaha, maybe we should both invest in some Holley Hydramats? Unless they're a gimmick.

People recommend the plastic LS tank, but I'm not sure how I'd go about converting it to a return system.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

just cut in a surge tank. i just watched tony angelo (hotrod garage) remove a hydramat setup and install a regular baffled sump

[JOATMON]

I saw a short video on the Holley hydramats when they were first introduced. I thought they seemed pretty like a great add-on to your fuel system.
Then I saw the price and thought it was ridiculous.
Smallest size ~3x8 $166.95 largest~14x30 $1055.95

[Catmaigne]

Yah I can't find any info on anyone actually using the Hydramat in a racing setting and my biggest concern is that it won't be able to move enough lph with only a corner submerged. It's also ludicrously expensive, but I figured a long and narrow sock would be able to span the plastic bowl in the tank and potentially help on long sweepers.
I haven't had any issues yet as far as I can tell, but if it happens in the future I'll probably go the surge tank route. Just gonna bring a couple 5gal cans to the track in the meantime lol.

[Catmaigne]

Did NJMP Lightning for the 2nd time yesterday. I think I was about 3s faster this time around. Still trying to work up my confidence there as turns 1 and 5 are terrifying.

Was really hoping for a sub 1:20 lap, but it never happened due to traffic in the first 2 sessions and oil-dry on the 3rd. I'll be back next month.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9HV_YVKeK0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAm0_JtH0Wc&t=42s

Also doing a HPDE at NJMP Thunderbolt tomorrow.

[JOATMON]

Hey, great in car camera action. Thanks for sharing. I had to look up HPDE. Maybe a pro instructor can help you. It looks like you're doing pretty damned good from my desk!
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

First time at Thunderbolt and it's already my favorite so far. Definitely my kind of track because it makes me want to drive like an ape lol, especially through turns 2, 3, and 4.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYKdFe97O08

I had to cut my last session short because the car missed for a split second. I think it was from fuel starvation on the 3rd session since fueling, speak of the devil! Going to stop being a lazy ass and bring a gas can with me next time as a sump is not a project to embark on in the middle of race season.

Also, I need to find an easy way to get a harness in this car so I can put race seats back in (NJ doesn't allow race seats with stock belts apparently). I was sliding all over the place, even with the stock TA seat bladder thingies filled all the way up. Hawks has a really ugly and heavy looking harness bar, but it's more expensive than a cage which makes no sense to me. Might attempt to make something.

[Catmaigne]

Went back to NJMP Lightning on Wednesday and knocked off another 3s. Current PB is 1:18.436.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQhoC0jkFtE

I think I finally got the brake balance right on this car. I swapped the front pads out for Powerstop Track Day pads and the rear end doesn't feel as squirrely at corner entry. I can actually trailbrake now! Definitely need tons more practice, but this is a start.

Also, I picked up a 4-point rollbar from S&W Racecars to put in over the winter. I need my Corbeau's back in the car as I'm sliding all over the place and NJ law won't allow race seats w/o a 5pt harness.

[JOATMON]

Great video. Cool bonus when the Golf lost it. Speedo glitch was strange, my Camaro used to pop a Speed sensor code every now and then but it fixed itself?
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Great video. Cool bonus when the Golf lost it. Speedo glitch was strange, my Camaro used to pop a Speed sensor code every now and then but it fixed itself?
NolanThe usb cable that was powering my HUD came loose and caused the speedo needle to bounce around. I should've secured it better before that session, my bad lol.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

I did 2 events at NJMP Thunderbolt in the past 2 weekends.

This first one was with NASA NE and although the instructor was great, they cut half of my sessions due a storm 10 miles away despite it being dry where we were. Also, the sessions were supposed to be 20min but were typically 15 or less. At $335 for entry and $60 for a membership, I think I can confidently say it's a bit of a ripoff. Traffic was also horrendous and the best I mustered was 3s slower than my old PB.

I signed up for a MoE HPDE on labor day to redeem myself and managed to chop 1.5s off of my old PB despite botching a couple sections. I will make a YT video soon with some cleaner driving from the session after, but here's the 1:36.75 lap. I do feel that it is capable of a 1:35 under the right circumstances.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QDO03xE5M6EkRRrYWPZTxcA-YLwGUeMv/preview

I'm also trying out Harry's Lap Timer for the first time which is pretty rad, although the interface sucks lol.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[JOATMON]

Hey, The video comes up but won't play? BTW, Thanks for keeping this forum alive with your posts. I'll attempt to post more updates on my truck project and some updates on my Camaro when it gets cooler. The weather has been so miserable, hot as hell and rain every day for months.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Link working now? The drive player doesn't want to embed for some reason

[JOATMON]

Nope, still won't play.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Here's a better vid anyway:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RwJho47DjM

Also, some pics from NASA:

40323

40324

40325

[JOATMON]

Thanks for sharing. Cool video, great track photos. 666 is devilish.
Why do the brakes make so much noise?
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Thanks for sharing. Cool video, great track photos. 666 is devilish.
Why do the brakes make so much noise?
Nolan

They're Powerstop Track Day pads so I get all of the noise of race brakes without any of the stopping power lol. I will probably ditch them for ST43 pads next year which might be even louder.

[JOATMON]

About the brake pads, that's good to know. The most recent project I did on my Camaro was a Powerstop brake kit, got it with Z26 pads, drilled and slotted rotors and rebuilt red powder coated calipers. I put a set of Russell braid stainless brake hoses too. Glad I didn't get too aggressive with the pad material.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

So I had oil leak that was nastier than usual since my last trackday at Thunderbolt. I found this when I pulled the waterpump off lol. Thankfully I had several spare timing cover seals on hand.

40326

Took the car to the Pocono TNIA of the season and I chopped another 3s off. This puts me at about 4s faster than this time last year.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9Ch8dw3EfM

Car started leaking again from god knows where. The whole car is super grimey underneath so it's near impossible to figure out where exactly it's coming from. Could also potentially be a PCV issue, idk. Not sure how much I care with only 2 events left this season.

[JOATMON]

You was gittin up on that run. The Pocono track seems sweet, I even got a little nervous when you were up on the wall. LOL
I hate oil leaks and I hate them even more when I ignore them and then have to work on a greasy ass engine.
Back in the daze they had places that would steam clean your engine and chassis up on a lift for a reasonable price.
Can't find anybody that will do it nowadays.

[Catmaigne]

Last NJMP event of the year and another 2s dropped. Also got to chase around some fast cars with new LT1s lol.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCJhFHY5ztU

I'm currently looking into some front coilovers and rear shocks for next year. Car feels kinda floppy on corner entry as these 20yo Bilsteins have probably had enough of my bullshit. They should be SLP valved and only have around 30k on them, but the stickers are faded and illegible so who knows.
Looking for a shock to bridge the gap between 200tw class tires and a 100tw Goodyear SC3R with only a spring swap and damper adjustment. If it's too pricey, I'll stick to Koni yellows and forget about stickier tires.

[JOATMON]

I've watched all your track videos and your driving skills appear to be improving. You were hanging with the higher HP cars with skill. I seem to sense a bit more aggressiveness in your entries and exits. Awesome job.

[Catmaigne]

Time to ditch the SLP Bilsteins for something better. Ridetech HQ coilovers on the front with 800lb Eibach springs. 3rd gen Koni yellow SAs on the rear and I'm going to swap the 200lb UMI rear springs back in.

I need to shorten the front sway endlinks a little, but the coilovers went in alright. I might want to get shorter eyes for the shock tops to drop the car a hair and make them easier to install (had to compress them slightly to get them in, was a pain in the ass).

Really hoping to make the car more crisp on transitions as it feels pretty floppy at corner entry. I also wanted a setup that wouldn't be total dogshit when I ultimately step up to a 100tw tire.

403274032840329

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[SSlowBoat]

ohhh spicy twisty parts

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

I decided to demo my new suspension on a new track... yea, not the smartest idea but it didn't disappoint. Definitely feels way tighter than before which makes it easier to place on corner entry and handle high speed transitions (see: downhill section mid track). Exit also feels a little more tidy and there's way less squat/floppyness. I want to put the BMR springs back in the rear though. I think UMI's 200lb/in rate is too much with the stock roll center height as it makes the car too intolerant of trailbraking.

This track is absolutely bonkers though. Definitely going back next year. Check out the air I get around 4:10 lmao.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU_8KAGkNvs

https://i.imgur.com/bqzO7de.jpeg

[JOATMON]

Looks like a cool track. Thanks for sharing the onboard video, it's fun to watch, but the brake squealing drives me nuts. LOL

[Catmaigne]

Looks like a cool track. Thanks for sharing the onboard video, it's fun to watch, but the brake squealing drives me nuts. LOL

Hahaha I also swapped the front pads to Raybestos ST43's right before the event. I thought the Powerstops were annoying, but these take it to a whole new level. The brakes feel fantastic though and have way more bite than before. Still getting used to them.

[Catmaigne]

Last event of the season, this time with Porsche Club. Got to chase a bunch of 911's around and they were pretty impressed lol.


https://youtu.be/mJaGpicZvPk

I was having issues with the car breaking up all day so I couldn't use all of the power. Could be the opti, fuel pump, injector, etc. I think the motor is hurt though as it blew part of the valvecover gasket out during the last session.

This is ironic because I've been planning a H/C setup out for this car the past couple weeks. Plan was to build a 355 with studded mains, better rods, lighter pistons, small-med sized cam, and my Roadmaster's LE1 heads. High 300's whp should put me between a SS1LE and GT350.

[JOATMON]

Looking good, sounding bad. Check for a corroded coil wire terminal. Don't laugh, I've had two different LT1's with a on and off miss and the coil wire was the culprit on both.
But then again, a fresh engine would be sweet and you can go Watermelon Boy Fast. LOL
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Looking good, sounding bad. Check for a corroded coil wire terminal. Don't laugh, I've had two different LT1's with a on and off miss and the coil wire was the culprit on both.
But then again, a fresh engine would be sweet and you can go Watermelon Boy Fast. LOL
NolanI played with all the wires at the track without any luck. Replugged most of the opti wires, coil, coil pigtail, inj clips, opti harness, etc. Wish it was that easy, but I'm not really bummed because this means I'll get to flex on newer cars next year with all that extra hp lmao.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[JOATMON]

I wasn't sure if you followed Nascar. This is what I meant by Watermelon Boy Fast. Watch Chastain. He stuck it in fifth gear and stood on the gas. LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6S0TVYon4

[Z28pr0jekt]

I wasn't sure if you followed Nascar. This is what I meant by Watermelon Boy Fast. Watch Chastain. He stuck it in fifth gear and stood on the gas. LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn6S0TVYon4

That is nuts, hilarious and incredible all at the same time lol. He was going SO much faster than everyone else. Commentators called it perfect, "video game move"

[Catmaigne]

Lol he used my Gran Turismo 4 cheat. I used to tape the PS2 controller so the car would ride the wall during an endurance race on Super Speedway, come back 2hr later and collect my prize car.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

So I ended up pulling the valvecover on the side where the gasket blew out and found that one of my pushrods was MIA... Must've fell into the intake valley somewhere. Anyway, the stock cam is probably all dinged up from smacking the unconstrained lifter the whole drive home and there's way more blowby than before (maybe from a hole in the piston? lol), so I'm officially retiring the stock motor.

In prep for a budget 355, I grabbed some 5.7" Eagle H-beams from Ltconvert with the 7/16" ARP 8740 bolts. Also got a stock crank and 2-bolt block from SSlowBoat. Original plan was to have the stock mains studded, but I found a cheap 4-bolt block on marketplace and am going to use that instead.

I took advantage of those black friday sales and have some parts coming in the mail:
- Wiseco ProTru PTS503A3 forged pistons, 4032 alloy, -5cc flat tops
- Lunati 20080543 cam with the laziest lobes possible, 219/227 duration, .534/.544" with my 1.7's, 110LSA +4adv, should be fine with my Crane duals
- Morel 7717 lifters (the Summit branded ones), basically LS7s but hopefully not as shitty
- Cloyes true roller 9-3651X3 timing set similar to the ole LT4 HD one
- Spec 12lb aluminum flywheel so I don't shatter the 10 bolt with brake hop lol
- Yukon Duragrip posi because my Auburn is dying and I'm too cheap for a Truetrac

Last two things I need are a Super Damper (the big 7" aluminum one) and a windage tray, but I'll get to that.
Cam is on backorder unfortunately. There was a cam shortage for a while, so who knows when Lunati will get to grinding the damn thing. I'm probably going to throw the Roadmaster's LE1 motor in the car as-is though as I already signed up for an event at Thunderbolt 3/11 and dunno if I'll have time to cobble the shortblock together before then.

40367

40368

[SSlowBoat]

So I ended up pulling the valvecover on the side where the gasket blew out and found that one of my pushrods was MIA... Must've fell into the intake valley somewhere. Anyway, the stock cam is probably all dinged up from smacking the unconstrained lifter the whole drive home and there's way more blowby than before (maybe from a hole in the piston? lol), so I'm officially retiring the stock motor.

In prep for a budget 355, I grabbed some 5.7" Eagle H-beams from Ltconvert with the 7/16" ARP 8740 bolts. Also got a stock crank and 2-bolt block from SSlowBoat. Original plan was to have the stock mains studded, but I found a cheap 4-bolt block on marketplace and am going to use that instead.

I took advantage of those black friday sales and have some parts coming in the mail:
- Wiseco ProTru PTS503A3 forged pistons, 4032 alloy, -5cc flat tops
- Lunati 20080543 cam with the laziest lobes possible, 219/227 duration, .534/.544" with my 1.7's, 110LSA +4adv, should be fine with my Crane duals
- Morel 7717 lifters (the Summit branded ones), basically LS7s but hopefully not as shitty
- Cloyes true roller 9-3651X3 timing set similar to the ole LT4 HD one
- Spec 12lb aluminum flywheel so I don't shatter the 10 bolt with brake hop lol
- Yukon Duragrip posi because my Auburn is dying and I'm too cheap for a Truetrac

Last two things I need are a Super Damper (the big 7" aluminum one) and a windage tray, but I'll get to that.
Cam is on backorder unfortunately. There was a cam shortage for a while, so who knows when Lunati will get to grinding the damn thing. I'm probably going to throw the Roadmaster's LE1 motor in the car as-is though as I already signed up for an event at Thunderbolt 3/11 and dunno if I'll have time to cobble the shortblock together before then.

40367

40368

i have a windage tray and a road race oil pan too lol

also have the baby 230/242 114lsa cam for sale as well, you could run it with a hydraulic lifter

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

i have a windage tray and a road race oil pan too lol

also have the baby 230/242 114lsa cam for sale as well, you could run it with a hydraulic lifter

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

I'm just gonna reuse the Kevko pan that's on there now.
I decided against a bigger cam for the sake of longevity and also so the budget wouldn't balloon out of control. Definitely overbuilding it because this thing will be doing WOT for 2hr per track day.

[Catmaigne]

Some goodies showed up. Interesting how you can see the needle bearings on one side of the Morel roller.

40369

40370

40371

40372

[JOATMON]

Dam I like shiny parts. Bulletproof piston and rod combo you got there. The valve reliefs seem big enough to make it a D-Dish piston. Must be an optical illusion at only 5cc.
Should have plenty piston to valve clearance.
You gonna be da boss running on all 8 considering that you were doing pretty good on 7. LOL
Nolan

[harner]

Curious how those lifters work out for you, but also excited to see how the new setup performs!

[rentedmule]

Excited to see how this turns out. What RPM do you think you'll be able to spin it to safely?

[Catmaigne]

Excited to see how this turns out. What RPM do you think you'll be able to spin it to safely?It'll probably go to 6.2-6.3k no problem. I think the valvetrain will be the real limiting factor.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

Also, I bought a tow rig + new daily. I have a problem lol.40375

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[JOATMON]

That's a damned nice ride, me likey. Is it an LT1 Cad ? Years ago I was visiting with friends over the holidays, his Aunt was there in this beautiful black Cadillac, come to find out it was an LT1. I was so in love with it that I almost had her talked into selling it to me, but she said no way because you can't buy one like this anymore.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

That's a damned nice ride, me likey. Is it an LT1 Cad ? Years ago I was visiting with friends over the holidays, his Aunt was there in this beautiful black Cadillac, come to find out it was an LT1. I was so in love with it that I almost had her talked into selling it to me, but she said no way because you can't buy one like this anymore.
Nolan

Yeah, it's a 94 LT1 Brougham. Probably the last real land yacht GM made.
Even though I wanted a fullsize SUV or pickup, the Caddy was just too nice to pass up and in way better shape than all the other things I looked at.

[harner]

Our boats should have a burnout contest haha

[Catmaigne]

Currently dumping the roadie's LE1 motor in the bird, I'll get to the 355 later. Only thing I'm doing is swapping oil pans and taking out the 1.7 Scorpions in favor of 1.6 Promags.

Lazy cam showed up sooner than expected though. I guess I should probably drop the block off for boring and the rotating assy for balancing. This will be a slow project assuming the LE1 motor doesn't pop immediately.

40380
40381

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

Nearly ready to slide this jawn back under the car. A few concerns:

1. There isn't enough clearance for the dipstick tube on the Kevko pan. I actually ovalled the dipstick tube on the old motor from cranking the pan down on it which made it a huge pain in the ass to pull out of the block. I didn't want to chop the tube level with the block because then the only thing stopping the dipstick from getting smacked by the crank throws would be the big windage tray hole. I ordered a plug for the factory dipstick hole and some sort of universal dipstick to put into the fill port at the top of the driver side kickout. Looks cramped as hell down there because that's where my oil temp sensor and cooler lines are, but I don't have a choice.

2. I am debating leaving the 1.7 rockers on this motor and just dropping the redline down from 6150 to the stock 5800 or whatever, hopefully avoiding valve float in the future. The 1.7s put the lift at 0.568" int and 0.581" exh which is already approaching the limit of the Crane 10308-1 kit. The stainless valves are also 5g heavier than stock and the Crane retainers are allegedly heavy, but I have no data for them. I know a titanium retainer will probably save at least 15g, but they're $260 and my wallet has already taken a beating this season lol.

Also, check out the baller aluminum flywheel from Spec.

40389

40390

[Catmaigne]

Also, I couldn't resist and had to put wheels on the boat

40391

Needs more low lol

[shownomercy]

I'm not sure if you could fit something like this in a kickout area and or if the full oil pan would be past kickout level.

Basically set the level you want and cut the tube, then fill till it drips out from plug below pan.

[rentedmule]

Looking forward to hearing your feedback on the aluminum flywheel. I've been considering one but have never had the opportunity to drive one and can't decide if it would be better or worse for auto-X.

[Catmaigne]

I'm not sure if you could fit something like this in a kickout area and or if the full oil pan would be past kickout level.

Basically set the level you want and cut the tube, then fill till it drips out from plug below pan.

That's interesting, but I definitely would need to fill above the top of the kickout. The Kevko tech told me the proper fill level was to the top of the kickout (fill plug), but I found the car would starve on long sweepers. I dumped another 1.5+ qts in and filled to the factory dipstick instead.

[Catmaigne]

Looking forward to hearing your feedback on the aluminum flywheel. I've been considering one but have never had the opportunity to drive one and can't decide if it would be better or worse for auto-X.

My guess is that it's going to be crappy for launches, but will make shifting and heel-toeing much smoother. I'm hoping it shocks the diff less and makes brake hop less likely.

[Catmaigne]

Still have a lot of work to do, but it's in.

I kept the 1.7 rockers and just added another 0.030" shim to the Crane duals. Installed height ended up being 1.830" with a seat pressure of 137lb. I was too lazy to pull the valve stem seals, so I got some Comp shims that were close and bored the ID out slightly so they'd slip right over the ID locators.

Also, I bought a flexible Kevko dipstick and it fits like crap, but it functions. It gets a little bound up at the pan fitting so you have to rotate and jiggle it, but it works.


40394

40395

40396

[Catmaigne]

Got it together and drove it around a bit. I can already tell the dying Auburn posi won't last much longer lol.
First impression of the aluminum flywheel is that the car is a little harder to get going from a stop and the revs can dip pretty quick, but it's not that noticeable. I'm sure the little Comp cam takes away some low end too. The car is very easy to drive overall though and the throttle response is snappier than what I'm used to.
Was the flywheel worth the money? Idk lol, we'll see how it feels on the track in 2 months.
40397

[JOATMON]

Congrats on getting it back track ready. Also thanks for the review on how the aluminum feels. It's something I've considered, but now I think I'll stay with a heavy wheel.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Swapped in a cheapie Yukon Duragrip posi and Proform girdle cover. Ideally I'd be using a Truetrac and a nice cover, but I don't want to put too much $ into the 10 bolt. Hey, it's better than nothing.

Hopefully it hooks up better on corner exit.

40413
40419

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[SSlowBoat]

very nice

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

Seemed like there was a lot of interest in my hub adapters in a FB f-body autox/RR group, so I decided to make a batch. Trying to help the community out so more cheapasses like me can zoom around their local road course.

40420

[SSlowBoat]

Seemed like there was a lot of interest in my hub adapters in a FB f-body autox/RR group, so I decided to make a batch. Trying to help the community out so more cheapasses like me can zoom around their local road course.

40420how much for a pair? id rather have better wheel bearings on both mine and Ltconvert car

Sent from my SM-S908U using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

how much for a pair? id rather have better wheel bearings on both mine and Ltconvert car

Sent from my SM-S908U using TapatalkThey're gonna be around 400ish or a little more for the pair with hardware. No provision for ABS and the track width gets widened 1/4" per side. You don't really need them unless you plan on putting 200tw tires on the front and hitting the twisties.

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

40428

I haven't posted in a while because not much has happened. Went to a season opener DE at NJMP on 3/11, but it rained the whole time. This car is a DEATHTRAP in the wet lmao, no ABS or traction control had me white-knuckle driving the whole time with no traction through 3rd gear. More power and a tighter posi definitely weren't helping me here.

Apparently it dried out later in the day, but I got kicked out of staging for leaking oil before my 4th session (there were 8 total that day). Typical LT1 behavior I guess, although it only puts down 1 drop every 2 mins. The wet ground would turn a tiny drop into a big rainbow spot which is the only way they caught me. They also singled out a dude with a Porsche 944 and booted him too.

I did notice the leak before the event and thought it was coming from the crank seal area but couldn't really tell. I didn't remember my Roadmaster's motor leaking like that, so my guess was that the F-body hub I transferred over was too worn as it was a little grooved where the seal rides. I shotgunned a billet hub onto the car a few days earlier and it seemed to stop leaking, idk. I guess my problem is probably higher up on the timing cover.

[JOATMON]

On the stubborn leaky seals I use a Speedi-Sleeve on the hub. That along with the new seal has always done the trick tightening up the seal just slightly. Another trick I picked up on many years ago is to lightly sand the hub seal surface with about a 220 grit. The roughing of the surface gives the seal a little "tooth" to break in on. Super slick surface and a new seal will usually leak. You probably already knew this but I threw it out there anyway.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Bought some Canton valvecovers off a friend for cheap because the stockies were seeping a little. I believe the poly locks of my Scorpion 1.7s were making contact and preventing a good seal. The fit of the Cantons is awful and they have 0 internal bracing/baffling, but I don't see any leaks.

I also rigged up the old ebay catch can from my Camaro that's stuffed with scotch brite. Maybe it'll catch something? Idk, but I think one of those Provent 200 knockoffs is in my future.

Going to Pocono Thursday. Hopefully I can hang with most of the newer cars on the straights now.40436

Sent from my SM-A526U1 using Tapatalk

[Catmaigne]

Back on track and faster than last year by 1s. Not due to skill, just raw power lmao. GPS data says I gained about 5mph on the back straight and am hitting 133mph before shutting it down. I think I was braking too soon this time around though, so it could be more. I'm also short shifting this bottom end for the sake of longevity.

Still feeling very rusty though. Despite this, I was able to hunt down a bunch of high dollar cars no problem. This is in the advanced run group too!!!!

Also, lol @ the red Porsche


https://youtu.be/pVeK6aw3XBI

[rentedmule]

Your track vids are great - the noise and little bit of camera shake really get the adrenaline going. 130+ on the straight looked fun too.

[JOATMON]

I really enjoy your video's too. Very well done and I like it when you cuss yourself LOL
When you followed the Porche down the wrong track I ROTFLMAO.
Engine sounds strong and your driving skill seems to be getting better with experience.
Thanks for sharing.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

Thanks guys!
I've been thinking about trying out a helmet cam setup. They always look a little more extreme and nauseating, but it gets harder to judge what the car is doing because the perspective is so wobbly.
I also went back to NJMP Lightning last night. No new PB's as traffic was too thick, but I'll throw up some footage anyway.

[Catmaigne]

Doing an event at NJMP Thunderbolt in 2 weeks, so I've been doing a bit of prep. I got an open-box Corbeau Forza that I'm gonna try to sneak past tech with the 3pt routed through the lap holes. Missing every shift is getting old.
40443

Couple other things I need to tackle before then:
- Wire up the Autometer oil temp gauge
- Wire up an AEM UEGO wideband
- Lower the Corbeau as it sits slightly higher than the stock seat
- Swap rear pads to Hawk HPS to move brake bias forward (I'm currently running Raybestos EHT pads with GG friction code, Hawks are FF)

Also, last time at NJMP kinda sucked due to traffic, but here's a vid anyway. I'm noticing a common theme with Porsche owners...


https://youtu.be/qhg7ent6oZ0

[JOATMON]

Awesome, you are getting better on the wheel. I really enjoy your video work too. Thanks for taking the time to do all the editing, it's cool and well done.
Nolan

[Catmaigne]

I'll be back at NJMP Thunderbolt on Monday. Hoping to crack 1:35s (or 1:34s???? :brows:). I ran a 1:36.2 last year with a slower motor and a gnarly misfire so this should be doable.

I got the Hawk pads on the rear and bedded them in. Hoping the car will be less slippery on corner entry.

I also lowered my Corbeau another 1/2-1" by bolting the rear parts of the slider straight to the floor. Had to use these goofy 12pt VW exhaust manifold nuts to fit in the slider track, but it works. I also had to swap the seat belt buckle out for a shorter one from a Saturn L200 that I found in the junkyard. Getting buckled in is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it'll do for now.

Wasn't able to get the wideband in easy as there's no rear O2 bungs on this Pacesetter ORY. I'll have to weld something in. In the meantime, I did some datalogging and found that both O2's were reading 950mv/1020mv L/R up to the shift point which gave me a little more confidence. However, I did find that my knock sensor was going apeshit giving me constant knock retard at all RPMs. So much so that it would mimic the TPS when graphed. I nerfed the timing 5deg across the board and nothing changed. Here's the knock plot from EEhack on a 1500s datalog with a small pull:

40450

Swapped sensors, kept the 5deg nerfed timing table, did 4-5 long hwy pulls and drove around a bunch (2500s datalog). The full WOT timing is only 31deg logged before KR creeps in:

40452

Much better! I still get some false knock driving around down low, but that's what happens when you have delrin/rod ends/poly on your suspension and PA roads are trash.
You can still see the typical 4500rpm resonance from the stock OBD1 Fcar KM. Gonna take the KR attack table down to 80% of stock to see if it shuts it up (it has been at 90% the whole time). Otherwise I'm just gonna nerf the max KR in that region.

[Injuneer]

Is that the basic upholstery on the Forza, or an upgrade? Mine from 20+ years ago was simple, fuzzy cloth, all over.

Y40453

[Catmaigne]

Is that the basic upholstery on the Forza, or an upgrade? Mine from 20+ years ago was simple, fuzzy cloth, all over.

Y40453

It's the standard one. I guess they jazzed it up a bit lol.

[Catmaigne]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTWW8U2L4r0

Cut about half a second and ran a 1:35.7. The theoretical looks good at 1:35.1 with decent confidence, but there were a few things keeping me from being consistent.

1. Brake pedal looses a ton of bite as the session goes on and the pedal gets considerably longer. This makes threshold braking really difficult because the bite point keeps moving around. I'm gonna do a total brake fluid flush with something better than the ATE typ 200 that's in there now. I also want to rig up air deflectors on the tie rods to funnel some air onto the rotor (like the ones Vorshlag makes).

2. As a result of the soft pedal, I ended up flat spotting my tires a little. These RT615k+'s are at or below the wear bars anyway, so I think it's time to throw on the RS4s and get a more aggressive alignment.

3. I need a harness badly. The 3pt on this Corbeau is definitely better than stock, but my torso still flops around a bunch. Giving point-bys while turning is super dangerous because I'm still pushing against the steering wheel to stay upright. I'll try to rig up my eBay harness bar and a 5/6 pt despite being very dangerous in a rollover.

Car did great overall though. This was my first time running with the Advanced group in this particular club and goddam the pace was fast. Thankfully I wasn't the slowest in the group, but I was definitely on the slower end of the spectrum. I'm not used to this lol.