Monday, October 13, 2008 - 06:01 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Excellent points Daniel, thanks very much for the feedback. I will definitely look into using more of 2nd gear in the tighter corners. I think I can also take the last corner before the main straight better, as my top speed 'should' be an easy 200+, but I'm stumbling around there.
Thanks again for the kind words
It's still running a bit rich at high end, at the advice of the tuner (sound advice no doubt, after seeing the temps yesterday), and luckily it was uneventful. An oil cooler is also on the books, the amount of heat that's poured out by the engine is amazing (I know this as there's a big gaping hole where the heater hoses used to go between the cabin / engine bay)
Monday, October 13, 2008 - 07:27 pm, by: Daniel Clarke(Dieseltrain)
Shaun, try removing the Rubber Strip along the top of the engine bay near the windscreen that seals the bonnet... This should allow more heat to flow out of the engine bay especially at speed.
Maybe try a cooler thermostat as well, this may help with engine temps, And the Oil cooler is a great idea as well
Re the 2nd gear /3rd gear thing, As long as your on boost in 3rd gear its fine, but if its not up around 4000-4500rpm ( 4800rpm is peak torque figures on a 1JZ motor) then that should be fine in 3rd gear, But if its a fraction low and a little hesitant, corner in 2nd gear and shift third as soon as your out of the corner and the rpm has climbed a fraction and 3rd gear is in the power band
Your mates Evo goes pretty well round the track too. How were the Skylines and Evo's times compared to your own if you dont mind me asking?
Monday, October 13, 2008 - 07:36 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Yeah I'll remove the rubber strip, I had a feeling that might help .. The water temp gauge read around 95 and climbing after 2 laps, and I backed off just in case. My friend's R33 had 105 on the water temp, such were the track temperatures on the day.
Re the gear change, it was off boost in 3rd gear, probably around 3000? I think 2nd is the way to go, I had the same issue at the hairpins in Winton, and found that 3rd was the best gear around there (but they were wider than these corners).
We are listed under 'invited clubs' down the bottom, and placed in 6 of the top 11 spots outright during the day.
1.2636 / Adrian / Mitsubishi Evo 6 (2nd outright) 220awkw 1.2679 / Jim / Mitsubishi Evo 9 225awkw 1.3098 / Drew / Nissan Skyline R33 GT25T 200rwkw 1.3115 / Laura / Nissan Skyline R34 GTT 249rwkw 1.3142 / Shaun / Toyota Soarer GT 211rwkw (same as the number on the side of my car ) 1.3357 / Kenny / Nissan 350Z 170rwkw
Monday, October 13, 2008 - 09:09 pm, by: Cihan Aday(Cihan)
Looks like great fun Shaun!
Definitely go for a brand name oil cooler and thermostat though.
I wouldn't remove the rubber strip which seals the bonnet without testing the pressure after the radiator with a manometer before and after. There is a chance that the pressure from above will prevent airflow from going through the engine bay as effectively, especially if you don't have factory undertrays. If you don't, i would get some tacked up from alloy, snouting in front of the FMIC, following through to the radiator past to the sump area.
This is what i will be doing shortly when the new motor goes in.
Sunday, November 30, 2008 - 08:03 pm, by: Luke Streat(Streatracer)
Fantastic car! this is almost identical to what I'm hoping to do with my Soarer. Thanks for the write up, you've clearly put a lot of time and effort into documenting your progress and having this thread as a reference will no doubt save young and generally inexperienced modifiers like myself a lot of headaches
Sunday, November 30, 2008 - 08:06 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Thanks guys, it's good to know somebody's reading
Luke: No problem at all, I'm extremely happy that my write ups are helping somebody out there ... If you or anybody else has any questions, I'm more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability
Phil Gibson Goo Roo WA '91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Monday, December 01, 2008 - 12:13 am, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Unfortunately, there hasn't been (as I've spent the last few weeks touring Japan), and most likely won't be until January at earliest. The car is taking a break (just driven occasionally on weekends) and then back into the swing of things again next year!
Sunday, January 04, 2009 - 11:15 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Time to pull the car out of hibernation, and get right back into some active track duty. Let's start it off real simple and go from there ..
Step 1) Wake up and observe buildup of cobwebs on car
Step 2) Install battery disconnect switch, this sits over the battery terminal, and makes it easy to completely disconnect the battery by turning it a few times when you want to store the car. No more flat batteries!
Step 3) Apply ScratchX on yellowed lights to clean them up a bit. Not perfect, but it works. Before / after pics:
Step 4) Laugh at dead bugs and spelling mistake:
Step 5) Take car for a drive in the twisties, yup everything is running good! (Yes, it's still road registered and insured )
Step 6) Wash car, and get ready for some track action in the next episode ..
Goals - * 6-8 sprint days in 2009 * Service car, plug holes (especially in firewall) * Install CAI pipe * Improve front end aerodynamics, bumper structure reinforcement * Look into doing some drift days too (if anybody has any information, please let me know)
Tuesday, January 06, 2009 - 08:45 pm, by: Brendan McGannon(1jzspec)
hey mate, been following your thread for a while now,and you have certainly come along way from the beginning both in car setup and your driving skills so well done!
if your after some info on doing some drifting in it let me know,as thats what i built my soarer up for and i should have some usefull advice and setup tips for you!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 - 07:38 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Hey Shaun,
I plugged up the two large holes in the firewall with some left over ally plate (1.6mm I think). I used the rubber grommets as templates added a bit around the edges for safety and to reach the bolt holes. Bit of a bastard to get to when fitting them, but it does provide a nice easy spot to drill if you need to run extra wires later on.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 - 07:47 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Thanks Brendan, I will be in contact with some questions about it, it's definitely something I want to give a shot
Ben, your attention to details is amazing! That didn't even occur to me, I was thinking more along the lines of a piece of sponge I will surely look into the alu plate ... Also been meaning to catch up on your blog now that I have a bit more spare time
Wednesday, January 07, 2009 - 08:26 pm, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Maybe I should let you work it out for yourself. You ran 3 seconds faster than me at Wakefield
I have been reading the CAMS rule book and some tech articles by scrutineers...apparently firewall holes can become 180km/h flame throwers if the worst happens! I like my nuts un-toasted thank you very much.
Thursday, January 08, 2009 - 09:05 am, by: Ben Lipman(Ben12a)
Yeah mate, I love that little track. I'll be up for it. You'll have to remind me closer to the date, and hook me up with whatever club/group is organising it. Might just get the Casey boys to come out also- they came and watched last time I was there. Their cars are pretty nice too.
Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 11:38 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Track cars are generally quite loud. The ability to compromise comfort and liveability makes the temptation of a freer flowing simple exhaust system all the more real, and this one is no exception. This doesn't pose a problem on the track, but hypothetically, if the car were to somehow be driven on the road*, then the noise would have to be controlled. This is something that I've thought about for quite a while, and my search at various car stores, ebay, and even super autobacs in Japan, yielded no suitable silencers for the exhaust.
The problem? The end tip is 3" in diameter (since it's not actually a muffler, just a pipe) ... Silencers are plentiful at 3.5"/4"/4.5" and so on, but not for 3", since hardly any exhaust tips are of 3". Plus silencers range from $85 upwards, on top of the cost of having the exhaust shop expand the tip to make it fit.
Some lateral thinking was required, and this thread provided me with some ideas: (http://www.zerotohundred.com/newforums/do-it-yourself-garage/199180-exhaust-silencer.html). Long story short, this guy in Malaysia made a custom silencer for his exhaust by buying a metal mug for approximately $1AUD, smashing the handle off with a hammer, and then fitting it into his exhaust tip (after punching suitable holes for breathing).
If that's not inspiration, I don't know what is. So get ready for some ghetto DIY! The first thought was getting a Coke can and smashing it fairly flat, but unfortunately this would be nowhere near the 3" required. What I had to find was a mug or cylindrical object that was quite close to 3", and preferably of fairly strong metal, being in the path of hot exhaust gases.
The solution? Canned food of course! Safeway was the answer, and after measuring up and picking a suitable food (peach slices), hopes were high. Just over a dollar, could it be this easy?
It should just be a matter of eating the peaches, cutting the can, and then putting it into the exhaust.
Bad news, the can didn't fit. It was slightly too large, which may possibly have been because I measured the exhaust on the outside diameter not the inside. Nevermind, a hammer will soon sort it out, but it wasn't to be. FAIL!
Mugsee popped by with some beers, and then the thought occurred to him, the Sapporo cans were bigger than normal cans, and they were tapered too, plus the metal was strong. Could this be the answer?
Well I'll be damned ...
Out with the hacksaw, it's even angled to suit the exhaust, such craftsmanship!
A nearly perfect fit, with a slight lip showing so that it would be easy to remove later with a pair of pliers. Punch a hole and apply wingnuts for easy tool-free removal.
Punch 2 x 12mm holes with a drill in the back, spray the whole lot black -
It's almost like factory! Actually no, it gives me the creeps just looking at it ..
So .. Was it worth it? Well, it definitely sounds quieter, it has become alot less boomy, and alot more farty in it's sound, plus the exhaust smells faintly of beer
Time to bust out the good ol DB meter to back this up, and here are the results, first without any silencer, and then with the Sapporo Silencer. It was measured as per EPA method, 1m diagonal, with A-weighted DB reading. Keep in mind DB ratings are logarithmic in nature.
[b]Without Silencer (A weight) Idle (approx 750rpm) - 81 DB 2000rpm - 98 DB 3000rpm - 111 DB
With Silencer (A weight) Idle (approx 750rpm) - 72 DB (81% reduction) 2000rpm - 92 DB (75% reduction) 3000rpm - 102 DB (81% reduction)[/b]
Sapporo Silencer, a stunning success. Thanks for reading
Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 11:42 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Some additional fluteboard to block firewall holes temporarily until I get round to doing it with metal sheets.
After having a chance to drive the car with the Sapporo silencer in place, I rate it very highly. The boominess is all but gone, and at daily driving RPM, it's no louder than the next car with a 'sports' muffler. Only a raspy note exists around a thin band at 1500-2000 rpm odd, probably due to the beer can end plate resonating at the right frequency to cause that noise. The car struggles with the tiny exhaust, but this is not particularly bothering, because the car doesn't get driven daily, and if it does get driven, it's just to the racetrack, where the silencer will be removed.
Now, time for some underbonnet bling, and I figured this 18 year old chassis could do with some bracing. Steve from Maltech provided the solution, in the form of this generic strut brace. Looks the goods, tightened the heck out of it, we'll see how it performs at next track day. An oil change and we're ready for the MGCC track day on the 8th of Feb. The Soarer will be racing on street tyres, which should be fairly interesting. Time to get out there and stretch it's legs.
Sunday, February 01, 2009 - 11:46 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Soarer is already ready for track next weekend, so what better time to tidy up some minor issues.
Problem #1 - Loose Bumper / Solution - Aluminium strips
First up, when the FMIC was installed, the front reinforcement bar had to be removed to make way for the cooler and top bracket. In addition, in my infinite wisdom, I removed the undertrays and disposed of them (not realising how vital they are to aerodynamics). To make matters worse, the undertray is usually linked to the plastic inner guards in front of the wheels and the edge of the bumper, so it keeps everything nice and taut. No problem, you might think .. the inner fender will keep the bumper in place, but I had cut out part of the inner fender on each side in the process of removing the power steering hoses (the PS is now routed through the auto cooler, so it received the full benefit of radiator cooling). This is the first time I've tried building up a weekend track car, and it shows
So the net effect is that at speed (basically anything above 100km/h), the force of air hitting the front of the bumper causes the edges to flex outwards, since there's literally nothing holding them in place. This can be witnessed in this picture taken at Wakefield last year, elegantly stolen from speedshots.com. You can see the edges of the plastic bumper deflecting highlighted in yellow. This is bad, as it puts unnecessary strain on the 2 of 4 screws holding the bumper in as it wobbles around, plus it just looks bad.
Aluminium strips found in thes garage (approx $13), approximately 1mm thick, and curved along one edge, ideal for deflecting air as well as resisting flexing. Two holes are drilled in each strip, cut to size, and they are placed on the underside of the bumper, along two points, reinforcing the stucture of the bumper. This 'should' reduce substantially any bumper movement. The existing holes at the bottom used for the undertray were just widened to accomodate the 4 bolts.
Problem #2 - Flaking wheel paint / Solution - selective use of sandpaper
The Supra rims had now suffered paint flaking around around the lip on one side, and being too lazy to take the whole wheel off to respray it, instead I used some 80 grit to sand around the lip, resulting in a silver lip. Looks a bit more stylish (probably not to some taste), but definitely looks less messy. Also realised the car desperately needs side skirts, and also the rear tyres are crustier than I thought.
Before:
After:
Problem #3 - Fading front lip / Solution - Sand and spray Used to be black, now it's grey and scratched up. Easy done, light sanding and a coat of spray. Looks like new!
Before:
After:
Bonus pic: Some new wheels for the rears ... They are (wait for it) ... SUPRA RIMS! (Just for a change). This will make it the 4th set of Supra rims I've had, and these are from the non-turbo JZA80 (MK4) Supra. Measuring in at 16x8 and 16x9, they should make good backup rims for the rears (as they won't clear the brakes at the front), and will hopefully see some action at upcoming track days.
Best of all, they came with a full set of wheel nuts, 3 center caps, and they don't look horrible, plus they are reasonably light and they were only $60
Phil Gibson Goo Roo WA '91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 - 08:43 am, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
08-Feb-09 MG Car Club (Winton Track Day) - Short Track
Gloomy conditions greeted us in the morning, with the extremely thick smoke, and our concern for the grave situation of the bushfire victims resulted in a sombre start to the day. Nevertheless, we tried to make the best of the situation and were prepared at any time to abort the track day in the event of an emergency. Fortunately, this wasn't required, but the day was called to an end around 2PM due to the conditions making the health of the volunteers, especially the flag marshalls around the field, a serious concern. Once again, RIP to those who suffered or perished during the fire.
The only preparation I understook prior to going on track was checking the fluids and tyre pressures, leaving them around 36 cold. After each session, they would measure around 42 warm, and I would deflate it to maintain around 40 warm. The amount of tread used was minimal, probably due to the limited amount of sessions. The car suffered no adverse effects during the course of the day, which was pleasing, especially considering the very hot conditions. I had the shocks set to softest at the rear, and 2nd softest at the front, as I expected the harder settings would be more suited to more grippy tyres.
After having driven on semi-slicks for the last 9 months, I decided this time to go back to street tyres for this track day, just for a bit of fun, and because I had no PB on the Winton short track to try and beat. The front tyres were Goodyear Eagle F1 235/45/17 (good tread) and the rears Pirelli P-Zero 255/40/17 (poor tread). I was hoping the larger tyre width at the back would make up for the poorer rubber condition. It was a shock at first that they were already screeching at below the normal cornering speeds I was used to, but I tried to adjust to this and not ask too much of the tyres. I also noticed that the first 2 laps would be where my times were the fastest, and after that they would rapidly overheat and lose traction easier. Brakes felt good, but some fluid fade was encountered after the 2nd lap, especially coming into the first hairpin, where hard braking was required.
One thing I wanted to find out was if the car felt as loose during steady state cornering on street tyres as the semis, and this was confirmed during the day (and also after watching the video). I was consciously making an effort to put the power down as soon as I felt it was safe to do so, but on reviewing the footage, I could see this was a fair bit later than what I preferred and this is something I will need to work on. Either getting more traction at the rear, more toe-in, or decreasing the grip at the front, something like that.
Results: My PB for the day was 1.14.9 set in the 2nd session, about 3 seconds quicker than what I was hoping for, 14th outright fastest (out of 64) and possibly fastest street-tyred car. But it matters not, it was definitely still a blast, and most definitely worth the trip (and all the sweating)
I have to say how well organised the MGCC day was, Matt really knows how to run it smoothly, the volunteers of the club really dedicated themselves to their tasks despite the awry conditions, and despite the day being cut short, it was still extremely enjoyable for everybody involved. A big thank you goes to the friendly members of the MGCC club who made us feel very much at home. Everybody we talked to was happy to have a chat, and there was great sportsmanship all round. I have a huge amount of respect especially for the guys who take their classic cars out, painstakingly restored, and push it hard lap after lap, even at their age, because they love doing it.
Some pics courtesy of Drew and Ying:
Powernaps in the dummy grid:
Wee!
On the way home:
Here is the video of my 3rd session (just uploaded so it may take a bit to process). During the second lap I try to beat my PB (and miss by around a second). At the start of the 2nd lap, I enter Turn 1 too hot and it gets all kind of ugly. I was definitely trying to keep it as smooth and neat as I could for the rest of the lap, but after watching the video, I can see first-hand how sloppy and messy my driving is (look out for the mega-fail at 6:10). Definitely room for improvement there, but it was a good fun session! After lap 2, things get even worse, and it all went down the drain. I pull in after lap 4 to nurse my wounds. But that's what it's about, trial and error!
Friday, February 27, 2009 - 03:56 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
When the car last visited the workshop, the mechanics observed that one of the engine mounts (right side) was slightly cracked. I also noticed at the track day that there was a loud knocking noise coming from the vicinity, which led me to believe the engine mount was close to the end of it's life. Anyway, due to laziness, I left it for a while (3 track days) and the noise has now become really loud. On braking at the last track day, it went from a loud crack, to a really loud crack, and now it's time to get the mount changed.
Good news is that the Supra engine mounts also fit, and they are cheaper to boot. $100ea inc GST from Toyota Nunawading, the car is going in to get the mount changed on the weekend, and also a gearbox oil change. Is 7 track days on the same gearbox oil bad? Any recommendations for manual gearbox oil?
Also, new toy has arrived woohoo! This is the main camera that will be taking the in-car view, Samsung VP-MX20, to replace the old Sony Handycam I was using.
Why it's an improvement: * Compact size / lightweight * Records to SD card instead of tape * Compresses to H264 on the fly, taking less space * Plug into USB, then drag and drop into computer * Comes with two batteries (total 6 hours recording time) * One 8GB SD card can record around 195 min of footage at highest quality * Has 'Wind Cut' function, for times when I forget to wind up the passenger window
Should hopefully get some good footage at the next track day ... and less hassle to upload to Youtube ... It even has a Youtube sticker on the camera!
Update: Hooray, new mounts are here ... They look chunky, they smell nice, will wait till weekend to install to see if it fixes the problem
Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 06:25 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
As it turns out, the engine mounts really were quite worn, my rudimentary understanding of it being that the engine rests on these large rubber mounts, which keep the engine trapped but still allow some flex when it moves around. As they move around and endure hundreds of heat cycles over the years, the rubber becomes brittle and begins to wear down, resulting in cracks and eventually the mount has to be changed.
If 'somebody' were to keep on driving on them, the top and bottom parts of the mounts (which are held together solely by the rubber in the middle) will eventually detach from each other as the rubber part begins to disintegrate. This can lead to bad things. Luckily enough, the engine didn't fall out of the car, but the rubber in these mounts was so chewed up, that the engine finally experienced true freedom and was moving around like nobody's business.
I looked back through my track videos and found that the noise first started showing up around the July 08 Winton track day, and got progressively worse. 5 track days since then with busted engine mounts, I regret not getting them fixed sooner!
After the short drive back home, I noticed the knocking noise was gone, it was much quieter, and the gear shifts had alot less slop in them. Complete success! Hopefully good for another 18 years. Moral of the story: If you hear some strange noises, get it fixed sooner rather than later!
Anyway here are the pics, comparison of new mounts and the old mounts (which look like a dog has chewed them up and shat it back out).
Wednesday, March 11, 2009 - 09:47 am, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
7th Mar 09 - Driver Dynamics Beginner Drift Training Day Venue: Sandown Raceway
The aim of this day was for people who are interested in drift, who aren't yet game enough to attend a full blown drift day, have a chance to get out there and give it a go, in a controlled environment with professionals. The day was divided into 5 different slow-speed exercises, designed to teach the basics of drift and car control. There were 3 water trucks that drove around the whole day, spreading 10,000L+ of water over the surfaces to make it nice and slippery to practice on.
Without further ado, here are some in-car vids on the day, and my narrative to go with it .. Warning: May be frustrating to watch, if you are good at this!
Exercise 1: Turn 2/3 Reverse - Linking Corners
Unfortunately, our group got thrown into the deep end first, this being one of the more difficult exercises on the day. The idea is to drive in reverse from Turn 4 around 50km/h, towards Turn 3 / 2 and learn two important techniques. The first being the ability to hold a slide for the right duration to position the car for the next turn in the opposite direction, and also have a smooth transition between the two corners. At first I was a bit unsure of when to back off and turn the other way .. Too soon and it would aim towards the ripple strip, and too late and it'd run wide, but one of the last runs I finally got it kinda right!
Fairly straightforward, drive towards a cone at 40km/h or just under, rip the handbrake and then dial in the right amount of countersteer + get on the gas quick enough so it doesn't stop. It seems like keeping it in 2nd the whole time bogs it down.
One of the more fun exercises, this right turn goes uphill, then pull a u-turn and slide back around the same corner. The first run I got an idea of the just how slippery the ground was, and on the subsequent runs, the instructor (Chris Dejager who competes in Drift Australia series), gave some tips on using the handbrake to initiate the slide, as well as the duration of handbrake use, and the transition between handbrake-off and gas-on. He also mentioned the Soarer is a good car to learn to drift in, as it's easier to control a heavier, less-twitchy car.
Then my car stalled, and wouldn't start up again. I suspect due to the ultra-cheapo Repco-brand battery in there, which didn't like the heat build up. Thankfully everybody was helpful and gave the big ol boat a good old push start!
Exercise 4: Turn 12-13 - Donuts
Designed to fine tune throttle control, the idea is to basically do donuts around a cone in the middle. It's not hard to do donuts, but to do multiple donuts while trying to position the cone in the same place relative to the car is harder than it looks! Also, for some reason I can do right hand turns better than left hand turns.
The idea is to drive to the left of the first marker, to the right of the second marker and then left around turn 1. In doing the right-left, it's effectively flicking or feinting the car and so the tail naturally comes around after that. Because the corner is so wide and big, this was a great finish to the day, as it allowed us to let loose and try some different things.
I tried gradually to get more and more speed into the corner, and rely more on throttle control rather than steering corrections to keep it sliding nicely and keep it smoother. Luke Fink (who also competed in DA championship) was the instuctor on this exercise, and his tips throughout were useful to improve my technique.
I found the day to be extremely well run and helpful, especially the tips from the instructors who sit in the car (or drive your car depending on your preference). This allowed me to learn some new techniques, learn how the car behaves at the limit and how to pull it back in, and most importantly, get lots of practice of what I learnt. For the inexperienced like me, this is quite useful.
The other participants were nearly all also beginners, with the exception of a few who were pretty good (including the white Evo, which surprisingly, gets sideways very nicely!). Most importantly, I think everybody including myself had a great time Definitely worth it, for those who might be considering.
It's good to have a change from circuit driving for a while, now that I have the basics sorted out and some confidence behind the wheel, I will be looking to attend the next VicDrift practice day at Winton to get some more practice and have some fun!
Monday, March 16, 2009 - 07:59 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
15-Mar-08 OzMazda Club DECA Motorkhana Day
Something different again, the DECA days organised by OZM have traditionally been very well thought out and executed. I was looking forward to this, but a bit dubious as to how difficult it might be to get the big boat around the tight courses that motorkhanas are traditionally associated with. For the unitiated, motorkhanas typically include a series of courses set out on a big concrete skidpan, marked out by witches hats, designed to test the driver's skill, being very demanding on the manueverability of the vehicle. The reactions and speed required by the drivers is quite high, and the experience is very instinctive, almost visceral in it's nature, but damned good fun!
Hats off to Darrin, Michael x 2 and the rest of the crew for keeping the day running so smoothly, and going out of their way to make it such a fun and enjoyable event
*** Spiro Slalom One of my favorite courses on the day, and also one of the most popular. This involved some straight up and down runs (enough to stretch out 2nd gear), followed by some 180s and a slalom to finish it off. Here is a combined pilot view overlayed with standard car-cam view.
Next up was the Serpentine, a christmas tree-like series of 180s, ever narrowing. Thank goodness that they ditched the CAMS manual and then made it wider, there's no way this sailplane was fitting in those tight gaps!
Mothballs was next, a square shaped series of 270 degree handbrake turns, with a corridor of cones in the middle. I didn't take up the dare to wipe out all the cones in the middle, sideways for $10
One of Darrin's special courses, involved a separate pit in the middle of the field, where a stop park was required, followed by a reverse / three point turn and back out again. This was trickier than expected, because the angle as you exited the garage was crucial to getting good speed out of the gates.
And last but not least, Drew taking the Snorer for a spin on the slalom. It takes skills to just jump into a car and drive it well, and he did just that, especially one that you have to muscle into submission like the soarer. Look out for the part where he forgets the car is twice the size of an ignis
* The pros make it look easy, but it's actually really hard ... There is a heap of control and inputs required at all times since there are so many transitions happening * The courses happen to quickly, you don't have time to think too logically about it, unlike circuit work. What I did was generally just instinct, which is probably why it's so messy and I'm flailing around * A heavy car gives you more time to react to the back sliding around, but when it does, it's harder to pull it back in * Different shock stiffness settings didn't seem to make a difference for me, there was less roll, but also seemed to be a bit less grip * Driver skill is 99% of the result at these events, Jim and Drew proved this time and again * I need more practice at motorkhanas
The last session was supposed to be the same as the previous slalom, but with half the cones (every 2nd cone taken out). However, this soon degraded into a massive hoon-fest with huge donuts and slides by all involved. Lots of fun and laughs, this was the icing on the cake! Here is my contribution (Pics courtesy of Drew):
And here is a video of my failed wheel cam. The webcam sensor is basically to poxy to pick up the bright daylight and it overexposes. I couldnt' use it on the outside of the car so I ended up using it for pilot cam above. At least I know the tyre isn't deflecting too much
So what's next? Some new poly lower control arm bushes would be good idea, as the current ones are cracked and brittle. Slap some semis on, get a long-overdue alignment, fill the sunroof, investigate rollcages, fix the damned battery and I think it will be ready for the EXE track day come May.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - 08:05 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
I popped the rear disc off and had a look at the condition of the handbrake shoes. They were making a squealing noise at DECA, and not locking up as nicely as they once did, so I suspected the shoes were worn.
On closer inspection, they didn't look too bad at all ! The factory thickness of the handbrake shoe pad is only 1.5mm, and they usually last a very long time since most people don't really tend to pull the handbrake while the car is moving. The inner radius of the disc (where the shoes contact) was nice and smooth also .. Toyota wants $75 PER SHOE (that's $300 per car) for replacement pads, so it's good that these still have some life in them.
So if it's not the pad, then what is it? It must be insufficient handbrake force! Time to tighten that bastard up .. The thumbtack marks the 10mm nut where you twist to tighten the handbrake tension. Most cars are similar once you remove the HB cover. It was about 10 clicks to fully tighten it before, now it's 4!
Time to go one step further, and modify the button. There are 'drift handbrake buttons' available, which allow you to push or pull the release button on the handbrake as you see fit, without it returning to it's former position by itself. This would then allow you to release the handbrake, and then activate it constantly as if somebody had the button held down all the time (like CAPS LOCK instead of always pressin SHIFT ).
But there is something even more ghetto than $20 for a drift buton, and thats DIY handbrake button for $0!
So first step, unscrew the button itself and underneath there will be a spring. On some cars you will need to slide the whole handbrake cover off, and access the spring through a side hatch. This spring maintains pressure on the button so that it pops out by itself.
And then reinstall the button, slide a cable tie through. Some people use keyrings, or other items. Hmm dubious looking, a bit like a nipple ring, but it works! Here's how it works ... Press button in to release handbrake. Handbrake will remain in loose / button-pressed state while you drive around and pull the handbrake. When you are ready to park, raise the handbrake, and pull the cable tie out, button will activate and handbrake will stay up. Extra tip: Don't forget to pull the button out or bad things happen ..
Here are some new Whiteline Lower Control Arm bushes (Part number 0577/0578). The existing factory ones are cracked and flexing around too much, resulting in some crazy suspension geometry while cornering, like a basketballer with wobbly ankles. The 8 bushes pictured here are enough to to replace the bushes in all corners. This should hopefully allow the suspension to work like it's supposed to ... Damn old cars!
So next up, I will keep looking for some 17" rims for the upcoming VicDrift day, and get the car ready for EXE track day, bit by bit. In the meantime, here are some outside shots from the Driver Dynamics Sandown training day a few weeks back, thanks to Mel for the pics
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 - 05:56 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
Heh .. I found that with so much going on, I accidentally left the handbrake partially up some of the time, must be getting old
The whiteline bushes were $100 a set, so $200 to kit the whole car out (8 bushes, 2 per corner), they are polyurethane ... Hopefully lasts another 18 years
Phil Gibson Goo Roo WA '91 UZZ31 track bunky, '94 blk/blk UZZ31
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 - 11:55 am, by: Phil Gibson(Sciflyer)
I found a neater solution for the handbrake... if you drill a small hole in the right spot you can put a rivet/nail/whatever through which stops the ratchet from working, then just attach the other end of your "pin" to something so you dont lose it when you pull it out
You can see it here
Works perfectly and leaves the handle and button untouched
Sunday, May 17, 2009 - 11:23 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
So anyway, I was fortunate enough to be gifted with this CF GT wing, but I need to make some brackets up to mount it onto the car. First off the standard bootlid wing (which helps alot with aerodynamics, had to be removed):
Whoa, 18 years of dirt buildup!
After a good clean:
Comparison of the standard wing, to the GT wing -
So here's how it should look like when it's finished
The brackets are made from plain old aluminium L-brackets. Cut into 18cm pieces, with three holes drilled into the side. There will be two brackets per wing 'leg', one on each side, for additional strength. 4 bolts will hold the wing to the brackets, and 6 bolts will hold the brackets to the boot lid. The key is to find placing on the bootlid to not interfere with the boot internal stucture, or else drilling will be difficult. There are three holes on the bracket to allow for angle adjustment, as the stock angle of the GT wing is quite steep (more than 45% at the trailing edge).
Unfortunately, we ran out of drill bits, so chapter 2 will continue when I obtain some actual correctly sized bits. The right tools make all the difference!
Sunday, May 17, 2009 - 11:28 pm, by: Shaun Chiew(Senk9)
correction from a previous post, the new Whiteline lower control arm bushes were for the front only, not all round. There's a total of 8 bushes for the two front arms (I made the mistake of thinking it was 8 bushes for 4 arms all round). My initial impressions are that, even just at the front, steering and suspension feels much better, more predictable and responsive, but will wait till track day to get a proper reading.
So, as expected, this came back to haunt me, one of the rear toe adjustment eccentric bolts had mostly seized up inside the collar in the bush, rendering right rear toe adjustment extremely difficult. I wanted to run less camber on the rear to get some more straight line traction, but because this affected toe, this had to be compromised. On the to-do list to be fixed definitely ..
In the meantime, a very steetable alignment setup:
Front toe = 0mm Front camber = -2 deg Rear toe = 2mm toe-in total Rear camber = -2 deg
Continuing on from Part 1, duplicates of the aluminium brackets were made and bolted onto the wing. So far so good ...
Time to figure out where to drill into the boot. Uneven downforce is a big nono!
No, this is not a mistake! The X marks the stand itself, so the hole comes out where the bracket to the side is
And the finished product ..
The car will be in action next weekend at Winton (EXE/CC club track day), and a few weeks after at the Vicdrift practice day, and the AROCA PI sprints after that
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