And Penny just keeps on changing...
 

After Optima last year we got really busy improving Penny. We added sperical bearings, ZR1 hubs, Raceseng drop billet uprights and a custom Pozzi Racing sway bar. The car was almost "reborn" since it was so much better.

Then we took the summer off from performance mods (well, except for that STACK stuff) and drove the car at events around the county.

Well, SEMA is here again so we wanted to do more to the car.. quite a bit more. Dave Pozzi cut holes, notched frames, pulled the rear and we did a host of mods to the car. We may not win again, but we're going to at least give it a good try. :)

Larger Baer brakes installed. Ditched the parking brake which meant the 14-inch rotors actually weigh less than the 13-inch with the integrated drum.
http://i34.tinypic.com/7130b4.jpg

Front brakes fit like they were machined for these wheels. We are running a new pad from Hawk that they developed for circle track cars. They come on at 100 and last to well over 1000-degrees.
http://i38.tinypic.com/3ef5h.jpg

Since this is the Optima Invitational we decided to move to an Optima battery.. In this case thier 26-lb Group 51 unit. The battery tray came from www.eddiemotorsports.com and they even etched in the BP logo.
http://i33.tinypic.com/2l8eykx.jpg

Bigger on the list was that David thought we needed more shock travel. Seems that were were on the stops durring hard turns and even on acceleration. We worked with Steve Duck over at RaceCar Dynamics and came up with a shock that's over two inches longer. The new Bilsteins are also revalved for the car. The extra length meant that we had to punch holes in the trunk floor so that this mount extender could be welded to the top of the existing brace. The top hole is for future changes if necessary. Dave sure lays down some nice welds!
http://i38.tinypic.com/2zegzmw.jpg

Here Dave slides the new rear Bilstein shock into place. Later we scaled the car. The weight was 3290 with half a tank of gas. With a driver our cross weights are at 50/50 and the front rear are 52/48.
http://i34.tinypic.com/a0dxck.jpg

Last Sunday we bolted on the race tires and took Penny to the autocross at Marina. The course was tight for the imports but it was a good handling test. Myself, Dave and Mary all took turns. All I can say is that the changes really helped the car, we actually be fast now. lol

Racepak data shows were doing sustained 1.3+g turns and my iPod deal recorded peaks of:

Acceleration 1.10g
Braking: 1.41g
Left: 1.42
Right: 1.41

Car felt great but we found that due to the increased size of the front calipers we need a 1-inch bore master rather than the 7/8" one we have now. That part is going on tomorrow.

http://i33.tinypic.com/wrzv9t.jpg

I love this part of the build. With every change the car improves. I'm so glad I didnt get in the challenge this year. I want another year to race and make these kind of changes. Looks awesome. :thumbsup:

All you have to do is win and you get to come back the next year.. lol.. or be a paying sponsor.. take your pick :)

Here's proof that cars are never really ever "done"...
http://i37.tinypic.com/296bw9h.jpg

Man, can this car get any better? lol
Very nice Steve. Good luck at SEMA!!:thumbsup: :cheers:

Are all the improvements 'Smokey' Pozzi made listed above? :unibrow:

I only failed to mention the ones that never officially happened.... :_paranoid

That's what Smokey Y. used to say. :lol:

Looks like a lot of bolt-in parts there Steve...:_paranoid

Love it ...
Steve can you give us a run down on the brakes?

Hey Steve,
Can you get me a close-up shot of the new trunk latch catch so I can put it on my site and take down the shot of the old one?

SO..... do you get invited back if you win again this year??


:lateral: :cheers: :woot:

Cool updates Steve, Good luck again this year.:thumbsup:

What do you want to know?

Thanks, we will need it.. between letting in the kit cars and having to go against heavy hitters like Stielow in crazy cars like the Jackass winning will be more luck than skill. But, we will go down swinging.. :)

I will take one tomorrow.. I forgot to send you one soon and with my car gone all summer it was challenging.

Steve,
On the Hawk pads are they the new DTC70. They say that there good up to 1600 deg. Ive been watching some threads going on elsewhere on this pad (DTC70) More rotor friendly than the HT10. Better performance than PFC and Carbotechs. And rumor has it there beyound Wilwood H.
Havent found real comparison tests done yet. But from individuals you switched to these are highly recommending on track use. DTC70 I believe are bonded not rivited.
Dave

GREAT PHOTO.
Dont make me search old posts..... what kind of camera/lens are you using.

No, they are the even newer DTC30 pads.. developed for circle track applications.

The upside is they come on a low 100 deg and hold well over 1000.. perfect for this sort of event where segments will be ran with pretty cold brakes.

That's with my Canon 49D and I think my Canon 10-22 wide angle lens. I only shoot with three.. the wide, a 28-135 IS lens and my mac daddy 70-200 IS 2.8f lens.

Oh, and that's on a tripod with a longer exposure.

Good point on the short distance events. Ill wait to hear response in the future when your thrashing on them. Have you had them on long enough to determine if there street friendly.

I think you mean 40D

With 6P calipers, has to be 14" Pro-Plus kit front and rear. I have been selling a bunch of those kits lately. They are definitely an awesome piece

What do you want to know?

How do they compare to the older brakes you had ?

Sort of unfair to compare.. the Wilwoods were great.. these should be better due to the larger rotor but you can get that with the Wilwoods.

I will say this.

Pro of Wilwoods = brige bolts for easy pad swaps
Pro of Baers = C5/C6 pads you can find anywhere

The parts in the kit are very nice and the machining is beautiful. So far I like them. I think either company makes a quality piece.

I will say we measured and the Baer brakes have more piston area, but both have rear brakes that are too small in my opinion. I would like them to be 50/50 and then adjust the backs down with the prop valve. Right now I have the backs turned to full. (I think right now the Baers are 60/40 in terms of bias (based on piston area).

No, just drove to the track.. like any hi-po pad they seem a bit dusty but no noise so far.

I have to drive 200 miles on them Friday to a TV Interview so I will let you know. After Optima I will swap to the street pads provided by Baer.

Earlier in the year we installed the Pafdt solid bearings (control arms), the ZR1 bearing hubs, the Raceseng billet upright, and the upgraded ball joints. I wouldn't imagine I have any deflection now.

What we did earlier in the year:
http://i42.tinypic.com/2py6wk6.jpg

The uprights are insane!! beautiful machined pcs..

I've noticed more and more people going with Baer brakes lately.
I noticed that Nick will be using them on Orange Krate as well, and they look like a killer set up.:wow:

I'm wondering if this doesn't have to do with the "pad knockback" issue? The Baers are floating caliper vs the Wilwood being fixed... (not sure of my facts here...) So is that a good reason??

Nope....the baers in the photo are also fixed and would suffer the same fate by an external source.

Todd --

Shows ya what I know! ZIP!!

My Baers are floating - so ASS umed these mondo by giant versions must be as well.

I'm spending some MAJOR FACE TIME at SEMA in the brake booths again. In '07 after talking to lots of the factory folks is when I came home and went with the Wilwood 7/8" MC and all manual for my Nomad... and now I'm going to have to upgrade to some of these nasty by kool "mo larga" versions before Power Tour!!

The Baer 6Ps are fixed just like the Wilwoods.. the problem is axle flex under high g load.. I predict a full floater is in my future.. :yes:

Working on changing the master cylinder today and giving Penny a new look for SEMA.. we stole all the Anvil CF parts off the shelf for the Track Rat. lol

We were going to run the sheetmetal spoiler from Jakes, but even though it was said to have shipped it never arrived. Anvil was nice enough to save our bacon and send us over one of their CF units.

We couldn't mod the parts or the car since the old parts needed to go back on and the Anvil parts needed to go onto the Rat, so fitment is what it is, but I will say thier stuff fits REALLY GOOD right out of the box.

Thanks to Larry we also got the right hood struts for the CF hood. We will weigh the whole car when done. I'm hoping for under 3300 with gas.

http://i37.tinypic.com/25iuplf.jpg

Looking nice Steve. I really like the look on Penny. You want to get another set just for her.

Andy idea how much weight your saving with all the pieces?

Steve,
Did you purchase some S03's for Penny?
I have been considering these since I can no longer get wheels from Fikse...
Could we see a full pic?
Ps. The car is going to be deadly:yes:

Steve, Penny looks amazing. Good luck at Optima.

Are you going to be selling your wilwoods? I'm in your backyard now....

Putting the shocks on was way more work than I thought it'd be, but the results were worth it. A car just can't function right with insufficient suspension travel, and we've been suffering with that since last year. I was pretty reluctant to even cut or weld on Penny at first! Often an improvement creates other problems that must be dealt with. The front spindles are drop spindles, and position the shocks at a more extended length, so we are nearly out of extension travel. It doesn't seem to be hurting performance, but it's one of those things that just isn't right, and we won't really know if there are "real" gains until we lengthen them.
David

I love the S03s.. if you go to my fquick page linked at the bottom there are lots of pictures. Good wheels and light.

I will weigh the stuff tomorrow.. I imagine about 60 pounds.. heck the hood is about 30 lbs alone.

I do this stuff for SEMA but I like the all orange look for Penny on a normal basis.. more stealty and less like it's trying to look like a race car.


Wilwoods are going to another project. Hey, now that your down here we will have to meet up at some events.

Yea, gaining the extra compression from the spindles was nice but loosing the extension was unexpected. But, we seem to use compression more than extension (not many jumps). Still, it would be nice to have both. Will give us something to do over the winter.

I would say the car is more capable than it was a year ago and that's what I call "moving in the right direction".. I figure in a few years the car might actually be "done".. :lol:

That would be great. I'm down here Mon-Thur now. What kind of car stuff goes on around here during the week?

Lookin good! Whats under the wrap:unibrow:

my guess is forced induction...