And Penny just keeps on changing...

[Paladin]

Steve,

attached is my scale weight, very similar to penny's. I have about 25 lbs. more on the front end, almost entirely due to the front bumper/valance, but going to the r-model fiberglass bumper, not the look I wanted.

Anyway, on the autocross in steady state cornering, I have alot of understeer. The IRS I am running keeps the car so planted it just plows that front end around. I am planning on going to a slightly smaller rear tire, which will allow me to take some negative camber out (currently -3 degrees) and will also be better for dragstrip launches, and lower it another 1/2 inch.

I can't run bigger front tires (limited to 225/45/17), any other ideas/tips/tricks?

thanks

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by nvr2fst

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.

BTW.. the DTC-30 pads rocked at the event.. We had the second best 0-60-0 ... Considering we did better than Jackass we're pretty happy.

In fact we tied the GTR even though it had AWD and ABS.. of course we had stickier tires.

Anyways, pads seem like a good balance between track and street and especially good for short durration events.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by Paladin

Steve,

ton of questions here.
some of these are very exotic changes (zr-1 hubs) how do you know what to change, or is it just trial and error?
for instance in braking did you have data on your 60 to zero stops with the original set-up and tires? i.e what makes a bigger difference new calipers or switching to the michelins? (i.e. can the tires hold the brake torque)
Seems like your are trying to shed unsprung weight with the brake swap, and while lap times are obviously the goal, any sacrifice in streetability?

ever watch h2h on torque tv? They have had some great new vs. old comparisons at willow springs with a pro driver. Love to see penny vs. a new camaro or hpe camaro. Have you run penny there and if so, lap time?

A lot of trial and error.. some math. Sometimes we just know a part is better, like the ZR1 hubs, and move to them since every bit helps.

Tires make the biggest difference in stopping.. followed by pads.

I don't think I sacraficed any "streetability" by ditching the weight of the parking brake since it was never hooked up to begin with. lol -- saving all that rotating weight really helps the car get going quicker.

Sign me up for the H2H TV deal, I would love to see the results.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by Karl Buchka

Nice project you've got going on here.

Is there a specific reason you went with billet uprights? You could save quite a bit of weight and end up with a stronger part by going with a sheet metal weldment.

Well, these are stronger and I don't have to worry about a weld failure.. plus they are not that heavy. Another benefit was the upper ball joint and the fact that these add a full degree of camber gain. I also gained over an inch of shock travel.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by Paladin

Steve,

attached is my scale weight, very similar to penny's. I have about 25 lbs. more on the front end, almost entirely due to the front bumper/valance, but going to the r-model fiberglass bumper, not the look I wanted.

Anyway, on the autocross in steady state cornering, I have alot of understeer. The IRS I am running keeps the car so planted it just plows that front end around. I am planning on going to a slightly smaller rear tire, which will allow me to take some negative camber out (currently -3 degrees) and will also be better for dragstrip launches, and lower it another 1/2 inch.

I can't run bigger front tires (limited to 225/45/17), any other ideas/tips/tricks?

thanks

Your front tires are most likely killing you.. what size are your rears?

Tomorrow we start ripping the car apart. The first thing to do is a story on swapping out the stock core support and AFCO radiator for a an aluminum one from AutoRad, along with thier HUGE crossflow radiator... We will also be transitioning to a air based Setrab type oil cooler. The AFCO in Penny now with move to the Track Rat project.

I've also started getting parts together for the new 427 sleeved LS3 engine.

We need to have her back on the road before March since I would like to run the Mojave Mile event.

[Paladin]

Steve,

I had been running the old bfg g-force kd 275/40/18's in the rear. They were not great, even for the street, and gave you zero warning at the limit.
I have heard good things about the dunlop direzza star spec so I am going to get those in a 265/35/18. The right side rubs a bit with a 275, and I want to take out some negative camber (necessary for clearance). tire wear was brutal, and lousy for drag strip launches. My car is mainly for street, otherwise I would look at teh Toyo r888. I have 480 rwhp and 441 ft lbs. to harness.
check out these H2H links:

why do the cars with better power to weight and better tires keep posting slower times???
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DK-z...eature=related
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ngPG...eature=related

[Steve1968LS2]

Today we started tearing down.. Also decided to try out this Autorad radiator and core support. I doubt it saves weight since the radiator is WAY bigger, but it's nice and I was curious to see what's up.

As you can see the opening is much much bigger than that stock core support. This should provide extra cooling capacity.



Gotta break some eggs to make an omlette.. This is really just a dry run since it will all come apart, engine out and fenders off so we can do some mods to the inner fenders.



Here you can see the new radiator in place. There were some fitment "challenges", but nothing insurmountable. I want to talk with the company on Monday to get thier take before going into detail. I love how the radiator fits to the new core support.



Another view... we're going metalwork the DSE closeout panel to work with this system since I like how it comes "into" the engine bay.


Oh what the hell, let's take the whole car apart.. lol.. Next to come out will be the trans, engine and all the brake plumbing.

[ccracin]

Steve,

Looks like alot of fun. Question for you, did you paint the engine block and heads? I am torn on our project. Our's will be all aluminum and I'm not sure wether to paint it or not. I like the natural look, but I'm concerned about upkeep. Any thoughts? Sorry for the somewhat Hi-Jack. I just like the look you achieved. Thanks.

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by ccracin

Steve,

Looks like alot of fun. Question for you, did you paint the engine block and heads? I am torn on our project. Our's will be all aluminum and I'm not sure wether to paint it or not. I like the natural look, but I'm concerned about upkeep. Any thoughts? Sorry for the somewhat Hi-Jack. I just like the look you achieved. Thanks.

I just have the bare alum on the block and heads.. seems to clean up pretty easy then again I put in a new engine every year. lol

Personally I think paint is a PITA and is more likely to end up looking crappy. If I was going to do it I would clear powder the block but due to all the masking that would cost hundreds of dollars.

I say just go bare and keep up on the cleaning.. I just wash it down with soapy (DAWN) water every so often and blow it dry.

[Vegas69]

That is a killer looking set up. I may have to give autorad a call since I'm swapping radiators currently as well.