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?