Some of us like to gradually build our cars over time. As budget allows.
some do it from home worskops, and enjoy tinkering wit making custom pieces here and there,
Then there are those who are a tad more serious.
Let me introduce you to NEMO
Thanks to Speed hunters
I always love Tokyo auto saloin. It bring some cool new stuff and some cool old things.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygMWKRcoAL4&feature=player_embedded
This is a bit late, considering it happened i mid 2011. but i have been …. well…. slack.
The last round i competed in was in in may or june i think. ( i cant really rememerb)
the only development i was trying was some new pads. To recap (if youve skipped ahead) i was suffering with some nasty brake shudder caused my, human error. Read the post titled “Sticking Point” for the full debrief and a good laugh at my expense.
So after some research and discussion with a good friend (KR) i decided to try a different brake pad company/manufacturere alltogether. Not that i was unhappy with my previous choice. Just wanted to try something new.
I chose to go with Project Mu due to their product involvmenet in everything from time attack to euro endurance racing, and even american Stock car scene. (not sure if its NASCAR as such)
SO i chose the well touted Project Mu HC+ Its been splashed around as the poster child in a few places, its been used by some others, so i thougt id jump on board the band wagon Sso i forked out the readiies, fitted them and headed out to my brake “proving ground” AKA Area 52.
I went through my changed brake in procedure and then laid into them. Holy shit, they stop hard. freakin hard. Ladies and gents i now have brakes. Confidence inspiring, belt testing brakes.
I let them cool the next day and went out again for a shorter session just to reaffirm their performance and to try and avoid another “Sticking Point” debacle. Same again. HAPPY!!
Its now tuesday night so i leave them in the car for the remainder of the week before TA, 2 days to drive to and from work. Didnt think anything of it……..
Got to Friday morning, and i look at my rims just on a whim to look for brake dust, and catch a glympse of the pad…………. ITS ALMOST FRIGGEN GOME! I mean deeper than the block seperation.
IM FUCKED!! So once again my preperation turns into panic as i phone around to try and work out 1) WTF? have i screwed up again????……. and more importantly 2) what am i going to do about TA just under 48 hours away.
So to let you miss all of the crap that filled the small gap ill skip to the happy ending.
I went to Pete (and Andy lets not forget Andy) from Autosport just to ask what brands they had or could get to fix me in the short term and get me through the weekend. At this point, i was really just looking to get me to and through the next 48 hours. Through sheer coincidence they carry the same brand, Project Mu. So i explained what had happened and my plight, and pete said hed make a call or 2 and see if someone could shed some light on what and why.
15 Minutes later i get a cal back, and sure enough, my cock up….again. (yes again)
My pad choice was the problem here. seems like the pad its self is better suited for track use only for starters, and that its really a hill climb or sprint pad. the fact that i did 1 extensive bedding ssession (probably over kill or over compenmsating for the last issue) and another the next night, AND left them in for day to day use, really was the wrong thing.
If you want a great hillclimb pad, i can definitely recommend these. they work from almost dead cold, and can pull you up from a good speed with no pedal loss or loss of feel. But that doesnt help me right now.
But pete has also got a solution. What he had done for me was to speak to the importer himself, and explained my story, and found a solution. yes it was some different pads, but pete was kind enough to take pitty on an old fool, and made it sweeter with some project Mu and Autosport stickers. The pad that was chosen this time was a much harder compound, a semi endurance pad, the HC16-03.
Pete knows how tough Mallala can be on brakes, and took this into consideration when suggesting this. Mallal has 3 big stops, (2 to hairpins) within a 30 second period, all from above 140kph. So the track is very hard on brakes.
So now with my organization destroyed, i find my self under my car on sat night at 7pm fitting brake pads again. Off to Area 52 at arond midnight, and again a long but reasonable break in. same feel, same stopping power, now quite as head snapping, but to be expected. But still very very happy. (and tired)
Off to the track, good warm up, no shudder (WINNING) still a little smell, but nothing serious. So we are looking forward to testing the limits of these new investments.
First hot lap……. approach the Northern hairpin, flat out in fourth, just off the limiter, and brake at my usual marker, change down 4…………3…………………….2………. then sheepishly accelerate and turn into the apex. Yes i pulled up a good deal short! But geez it felt so solid, it just begged for more.
Second lap, i know i have to go deeper. SO big beep breath, and brake later, 4……….3…………………..2. (shit, the apex)…….. turn in way late for a very bad, late, apex. Almost off the end of the track and into the kitty litter!.
So now i have 1 to early and 2 to late! so spend the restof the day re adjusting to find my new marker. Time wise its hard to say, due to some technical difficulties ther actual definitive results i dont think will ever be known. There seems to have been some “discrepencies” between all the top guys, as to how acurate the lap times were when comparing to their own on board results. And im not talking tenths here people!
I dont know the entire story so im not gokng to say anything other than its dissapointing to have this sort of issue spoil the day when the fast guys arent even looking at the lap sheets, theyre just walking from shed to shed talking amomngst them selves as to what their onboard said. when the organization the promotes these events has to deal with that, it cant be productive.
But personally i felt a big improvement. the brakes were significantly better, my lines improved slightly, and at the end of the day the clock said i had equaled my pb (with in hundreds)
so if you apply the same margin of error as the top boys, i probably went around .9sec faster, but to be truthful, ill never know, and i cant claim it!
So to finish up, a decent step forward, Yes.
A lesson lesson learnt, Yes
progress, sure!
And this time a shot of my own car.
Well we all probably know I love the guys from SPEEDHUNTERS, and their photography.
But heres a link to a reall nice not over the top Evo 7.
couldnt pass it up, just had to share it.
Just forgot the Gratuitus Evo photo. so heres a classic.
A brand that gets alot of time in the US, but very little here in OZ, is AEM. Ive mentioned them before, but they have some stuff that ive been looking at for a while.
They do heaps in america for all sorts of applications, and are quite popular in the engine tuning scene for their ECU. From street compact, to Top Fuel Drag, and Pro Stock.
Im searching for somethign a little different to do to set my self apart from the main stream. As usual everyone goes down the same path, and with good reason. IT WORKS.
But lately ive been searching for something(S) to do differently. I dont want to re invent the wheel, god knows that stupid!! But after my last post (and some discussion with a close friend who has been down that road) ive decided that water injection is not right for me.
So here we go again……..
Cam gears are something that id like to get soon just as a little bit of bling. (i dont think gthey serve any other real
performance purpose) and the black AEMones look great. (Props to STM for the pic, i couldnt find anything else!)
AEM Black Cam Gears
And the HKS twin spark CDI unit is something ive been looking at for a while. So after perusing the AEM site, they have a unit too, so i will be investigating that as well.
Well its been Christmas, well at least my wallet and waist tell me it was.
I work in retail, so its been rather insane, so ive had no chance to do anything other than what i call “Bench race.”
In other words, sit around talk crap, look at all the stuff i want but cant afford,
(Like cosworth blocks, Aero motions wings etc) But i have been looking at two things that I think i will definately put on the short list.
Both are to do with basically cooling the charged air before entering the throttle body. (post intercooler)
They are:
1, PLAZMAN Water to air intercooler
Very basic, in that it uses cold water to help cool the air, alot more affective than Air/Air considering where I am,
and the fact that the track is usually on the receiving end of hot, Northerly winds. (NOTE- this is the more costly of the two)
2,AEM water/methanol injection
Again the same principal, cooling the charged air. But this time doing it with atomized water/methanol, which will intern expand as part of the
combustion process. With water expanding 1600 times (im pretty sure) of its liquid state volume (So this means that 1 Litere of water is equal to 1600L of steam.)
You have the added benefit of some more torque with out the detination, (cooler combustion temps) so you can then put some more timing back in.
Plus the benefit of cooling the air too. Fully controlable with good safety measures in place, its HALF the cost of option 1. and looks nice and simple to install. I might even attempt it my self!
OK, so now you can all pick your self up off the floor.
AEM is probably the option ill consider when the time is right.
And just coz i can another gratuitous evo shot.
Do Luck Body kit
As usual, i was trolling the net, and surfing one of my fav sites, Speedhunters
and saw these two links
The SPEEDHUNTERS Art Book Ihave to have one.
Ive said it before and make no apologies, I am a huge fan of their photography.
And following my usual craving to learn all i can, they are doing a series called THE 101 – Of Set up Basics
You never get to old to learn new stuff. Check it out.
Ive been bit quiet lately, due to a lovely Microsoft BSOD, and PC rebuild. I hate having to try and remember all my damn passwords to everything!
As well as that, its coming upo to christmas, so its getting crazier by the day. No racing till next year now as well, so a bit of time to try and get a few of the jobs done i mention in previous posts
Now with a breather between rounds, i decided to go ahead and install the clutch that i had purchased earlier on.
I had chosen the Extreme HD. There was a reason that facilitated the transplant. After buying the car, i had purchased a clutch for the “just in case” factor. I had spoken to many people who had said that once you start modifying, the clutch can become the weak link. So i had a clucth on stand by.
It old one was holding up ok really, until i decided to try and save time i tried to drive it onto the tailor. I, err, kinda buzzzed the clucth a fair bit. SO again it was my fault.
The standard clutch was a sprung center, organic face. The new clutch has a sprung centre, Full face Organic material, adn close to double the
clamp load. I decided that if i was going to go this far, i would do it properly, and i got a light weight flywheel. New bolts, and all the fluids I’d need.
So i coaxed mygood friends into giving me a hand, both to save on $$ and to try and get more hands on. I can tell you now that this was the worst mistake Ive made so far. It is a job that i should have left to someone else.
It took a whole day to do the swap. But it wasnt helped by a broken Clutch release bearing. This had fallen completly inside the clucth fingers, causing us to really struggle and actually snap a clutch finger when removing the bell housing.
My verdict on the clutch? well functionally its fine. Its a little heavier than normal. On the track the clutch is fantastic. It feels solid, and no slip at all.
But ……….. In my opinion, its a little to heavy for the road. The faster you drive, the better the clutch feels, but around town its a little heavy. Clutch selection can be hard, Its one of those things you just have to guess at, and hope you got it right. If i could try something else, id actually try a twin plate clutch now.
But Im stuck with my choice now so ill just have to learn to live with it.
