--
From: owner-stealth-3000gt-digest@list.sirius.com
(Team3S Digest)
To: stealth-3000gt-digest@list.sirius.com
Subject:
Team3S Digest V1 #156
Reply-To: stealth-3000gt
Sender: owner-stealth-3000gt-digest@list.sirius.com
Errors-To:
owner-stealth-3000gt-digest@list.sirius.com
Precedence:
bulk
Team3S
Digest Monday, April 19
1999 Volume 01 : Number
156
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 03:16:14 -0700 (PDT)
From: George Kuo <amkreadgto@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re:
Team3S: Basic brake upgrade
- --- wce@bc.sympatico.ca wrote:
> Out
of curiosity George, wht did it cost, and how
> well did they mangae to
cross drill
> your stock rotors? Was it a decent job? And,
it
> sounds like they performed reasonably
> well as an option to
the full race financial maiming
> aftermarket options...or am I
>
"trying" to read to much into this :-)
I am very satisfied with the
Porterfield pre-treated stock rotors..
cost me about $60each plus $50each for
cross-drilling. Their
workmanship is superb.. they look alot better
than the cross-drilled
rotors that came with my Brembo kit.. which cracked
after 3-4 weekend
of racing.. the pads for stock caliper is $129/front set..
for Brembo
caliper $159/front set.. if they don't know what size or part #
the
pads for our Brembo kit are.. just tell them u want pads for
the
Ferrari F40!! =)
I happen to have a pic of the rotors.. I'll email
it privately to you.
Anyone who wants to see it please email
me..
Porterfield's #: 800 537 6842.. hope this # still works.. haven't
been
there or call for over a year..
George
Sunny S. Cal.. summer
tires all year long~
=)
_________________________________________________________
Do You
Yahoo!?
Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
For
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------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 07:59:55 -0400
From: "Micheal A. Whelan" <mwhelan@pdtech.com>
Subject: Team3S:
Question on interchangability of parts
Will a 1993 Stealth hood fit a
1991 Stealth? Where is the cut off year for
body panels?
Mike
For subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 13:16:54 +0200
From: "R.G." <robby@swissonline.ch>
Subject: Re:
Team3S: Basic brake upgrade
> So basically, I can't just use higher
quality pads & leave them in for
> everyday use with the stock rotors
as then the rotors become the weak
> link...yes?
You can, but one
link is always the weakest.
> If I want to "improve" the brakes do I
really need to do the
> rotors aswell to make the whole exercise worth
while?
Good rotors will complete the upgrade while upgrading the calipers
will finally
make it perfect.
Roger,
93'3000GT TT
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 09:55:28 -0400
From: Randy MacAulay <rmacaulay@mediaone.net>
Subject:
Team3S: Oil leak at oil cooler
Hi,
I have a 94 VR4 and have what appears to be a leak
from the lower
line of my oil cooler. Any tips or tricks
on
accessing/replacing/tightening these lines? Any idea of cost and
are
these dealer only items?
Thanks!
Randy
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 10:31:30 EDT
From: OrangeFell@aol.com
Subject: Re: Team3S:
Cleaning Under The Hood
Well, Auto Magic makes a pink colored degreaser
that I'd highly
recomend, it's just rather difficult to come by- if I
remember correctly,
they only sell from authorized dealers, and the one in
Akron, Ohio (where I
used to live and work as a detailer) came to the
dealership once a month, and
was a private seller of the products- kinda
like your local Snap On guy.
But if you can come up with a bottle
of the stuff, it's great! Spray
on, let sit for a few seconds, scrub
some with a plastic bristle brush, and
spray off with water. Hit the
compartment with some compressed air (always,
ALWAYS do this- belts
deteriorate by prolonged contact with water- and the
service manuals has
warnings up and down about the timing belt and
corrosion!), and viola- nice
clean engine confines! If you're really
adventurous, follow it up with
some of their water based tire dressing- sure
as hell works better on
plastic engine compartments, than it does on tires
themselves (if you didn't
follow that, it's a recommendating NOT to use their
shine on tires- very
runny, and comes off quite quickly). Their ACID (not
the degreaser),
per se, is some pretty hazardous stuff- wheel use only, and
make sure you're
wearing some gloves and that you water it off fast.
And Auto Magic
makes some decent compounds for scratch removal and
such too- Damn,
makes me want to hunt the local reseller right now!
Kenneth
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 23:20:58 -0500
From: xwing <xwing@execpc.com>
Subject: Re: Team3S:
Oil leak at oil cooler
Randy MacAulay wrote:
> 94 VR4:
leak from lower line of oil cooler. Any tips on
>
accessing/replacing/tightening these lines?
Randy: The oil lines on
my 93 started leaking, and it turned out that the (steel) lines
had rusted
through in spots!
I ended up taking oil cooler out, cutting off the stock
fittings and lines up to good
metal, then having some
AN fittings welded
onto the pipes; then I used AN fittings and braided line to connect
back up
to the rest of the
stock oil system. This came from years of
winter/salty driving, unfortunately...this
seems a common problem
(or at
least mentioned before, so likely an issue) so winter-state people would do
well
to check those lines once
a year or whatever, and note any oil
drippage from front driverside corner of
car/wheelwell. Mine dripped
awhile,
and was in no danger of catastrophic failure because there was
alot of good metal left,
just some pinholes. There should
be plenty
of warning for the aware...
Jack Tertadian
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 12:13:51 -0400
From: "Stealth" <cirrus@shore.intercom.net>
Subject:
Re: Team3S: Question on interchangability of parts
>Will a 1993
Stealth hood fit a 1991 Stealth? Where is the cut off year for
>body
panels? Mike
A 1991 will fit a 1993 Stealth, so the reverse
should be so, as well.
However, if you are replacing more than just the
hood itself, as in the
front clip or structural members, the base or R/T NA
models are NOT
interchangeable with the twin turbo models. The hood itself
should be fine,
but if you need to replace subframe parts, you have to use
parts from a twin
turbo car if yours is a twin turbo as
well.
Robyn
Any 3/S members in Philadelphia? I'm going up for
a few days on vacation in
a few weeks, not taking the Stealth though, not in
a big city! Please e-mail
me privately - let me know where the best places
for a margarita are!
For subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 12:56:26 -0700
From: Yoss <yoss@aracnet.com>
Subject: Team3S:
Brake Line Installation and Brake Tube flared nuts
Greetings
folks,
Has anybody been able to
successfully install steel-braided
brake
lines without rounding off
the flared brake-line nuts that connect
the
two rubber brake lines to the
metal brake line that goes around
the
strut
tower?
The torque spec. on
these nuts is 11ft.lbs but they have been
torqued
way more than that, and
there doesn't seem to be any way to remove
the
rubber brake lines without
rounding off these flared
nuts.
Is it normal practice to
just use a vice-grip on these nuts
and
replace the metal brake tubes
(the ones that have the flared nuts
on
either side of the tube) when
changing the brake lines?
Thanks!
- -sankar
- --
*******************************************************************************
Come
close to me Klingon, let me die with my hands at your throat.
There is a
substance within my cells which you need to survive.
Then you've come to make
me beg for my life?
No.
I would rather die than pollute my body with
Klingon filth.
-- Patahk and Worf, "The Enemy", stardate
43349.2
*******************************************************************************
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 23:05:18 +0200
From: "R.G." <robby@swissonline.ch>
Subject: Re:
Team3S: Brake Line Installation and Brake Tube flared
nuts
> Is it normal
practice to just use a vice-grip on these nuts
and
> replace the metal
brake tubes (the ones that have the flared nuts
on
> either side of the
tube) when changing the brake lines?
No, the main answer is : use the
right tools !! I have not been able to open
them and almost striped them
until I got the slotted 10 ring (dunno the right
name). With this, hold the
flared nut and turn the nut on the line. This will
loosen the stuff. Oh, also
soak the stuff with WD-40 (best overnight) as the
thing is not torqued over
specs but corroded. Also remove the spring clamp at
first.
Hope this
helps, good luck !
Roger
- -----------------------
Roger Gerl,
Switzerland
93'3000GT TwinTurbo (Animale Rosso)
K&N FIPK,Magnecor
wires,Blitz DSBC/gauge/Dual Timer,Apexi AFC,HKS SBOV,
ATR DP/ tespipe,Borla
Cat-back,OZ Mito2 rims,Yoko AVS-Z1,braided brake lines,
Bremsa brakes,Pagid
RS-R pads
Check out: http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedway/9589/3000gt.html
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sat, 17 Apr 1999 07:05:34 -0500
From: "Todd Schmalzried" <Q11981@email.mot.com>
Subject: Re:
Team3S: Oil leak at oil cooler
Yes, they are dealer only items, unless
you do as Jack did (next message).
The reason they are dealer only is because
the fittings on the ends are
banjo bolts, and there are quite a few bends. I
replaced all 3 lines for
about 150. It isn't too hard of a job. You need to
take off the plastic
cover to get to the oil cooler. There are 3 bolts
holding the cooler on. A
wobble extension goes a long way for this job. The
banjo bolts are pretty
tight. Be careful how you hold the cooler while
removing them.
hope this helps
ps. a little drip can turn into a
monsoon at the least expected time. fix it
now.
Randy MacAulay
wrote:
> accessing/replacing/tightening these lines? Any idea of
cost and are
> these dealer only items?
- --
Todd
Schmalzried
q11981@email.mot.com
- -You "put
your 2 cents in" but only get "a penny for your thoughts"
- -Who gets the
change? Think about it. O-
For subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page
is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 19:16:23 -0400
From: William Lynn Larsen <wlarsen@ibm.net>
Subject: Re: Team3S:
Cleaning Under The Hood
They are at www.automagic.com
OrangeFell@aol.com wrote:
>
> Well, Auto Magic makes
a pink colored degreaser that I'd highly
> recomend, it's just rather
difficult to come by- if I remember correctly,
> they only sell from
authorized dealers, and the one in Akron, Ohio (where I
> used to live and
work as a detailer) came to the dealership once a month, and
> was a
private seller of the products- kinda like your local Snap On guy.
>
> But if you can come up
with a bottle of the stuff, it's great! Spray
> on, let sit for a
few seconds, scrub some with a plastic bristle brush, and
> spray off with
water. Hit the compartment with some compressed air (always,
>
ALWAYS do this- belts deteriorate by prolonged contact with water- and
the
> service manuals has warnings up and down about the timing belt
and
> corrosion!), and viola- nice clean engine confines! If you're
really
> adventurous, follow it up with some of their water based tire
dressing- sure
> as hell works better on plastic engine compartments, than
it does on tires
> themselves (if you didn't follow that, it's a
recommendating NOT to use their
> shine on tires- very runny, and comes
off quite quickly). Their ACID (not
> the degreaser), per se, is
some pretty hazardous stuff- wheel use only, and
> make sure you're
wearing some gloves and that you water it off fast.
>
> And Auto Magic makes
some decent compounds for scratch removal and
> such too- Damn,
makes me want to hunt the local reseller right now!
>
> Kenneth
> For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 20:01:48 -0600
From: "Brent & Tara Maksymiw" <brent.tara@sk.sympatico.ca>
Subject:
Team3S: Stock boost levels on a '93 TT
Well,
I just
finished installing my SPI boost gauge and took the car out for a
run.
On third gear WOT runs starting from 60kph to 160kph, the boost would
max out
at 10psi until about 5000rpms where it would start to drop. At
6500rpms
the boost had dropped to 7.5psi. Just wondering if the 10psi was
normal
for a stock (except for FIPK) '93 TT. I seemed to remember that
stock
boost for the 1st gens was around 8.5psi.
Kind of
disappointed as 10psi to 15psi (when I install the boost
controller) won't
feel as good as the 8.5psi to 15psi I was expecting.
Brent
M.
P.S. I looked into the mod that was posted on rewiring the ETACS
to work
with a turbo timer. From what I could see in the service
manual, this mod
should work. I am going to do it sometime in the next
couple of weeks. I
am also looking into a similar mod for the light
automatic shut off unit so
the lights will shut off automatically with the
car on turbo timer and the
driver's door is opened. Let me know if
anyone is interested, or if this
has been done before, in which case I won't
waste my time going through the
wiring schematics.
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 19:44:56 -0700
From: "james berry" <fastmax@home.com>
Subject: Re: Team3S:
Stock boost levels on a '93 TT
> I just finished
installing my SPI boost gauge and took the car out for
a
>run. On
third gear WOT runs starting from 60kph to 160kph, the boost would
>max
out at 10psi until about 5000rpms where it would start to drop.
At
>6500rpms the boost had dropped to 7.5psi. Just wondering if the
10psi was
>normal for a stock (except for FIPK) '93 TT. I seemed to
remember that
>stock boost for the 1st gens was around 8.5psi.
my
93 showed about 9 before the boost controller
!!!
> Kind of disappointed as 10psi to 15psi
(when I install the boost
>controller) won't feel as good as the 8.5psi to
15psi I was expecting.
>
I was more than impressed with the effect
of 6 additional pounds ---
it's addictive though --- another 10 would sure be
nice. I picked up
about a second in 0 - 60 times. BTY did you regap your
plugs??
the big kids say that misfire is a problem with stock
gap.
Jim
Berry
------93 "arrest me red" Stealth TT
-----
SSBC @ 1.0 BAR, K&N FIPK, Magnecore wire, NGK @
.034
G--Tech 0 --60 4.75 sec. 1/4
13.3 @
110
[ suspension mods next ]
For subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is
http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 23:00:07 EDT
From: OrangeFell@aol.com
Subject: Re: Team3S:
Cleaning Under The Hood
<< They are at www.automagic.com
>>
Right on William! That's the ticket! Apologies for
the mass
cheering out of my apartment wasting bandwith, but this is the
stuff I was
speaking of- I recommend just about anything out of their
lineup, cept, well,
the tire dressing... ;)
Motor Degreaser #5 is
some powerful stuff for under the hood and
round the wheel areas- door jambs
are another great spot to hit up with this
stuff. Just don't let it
run onto the exterior paint, or else get it off,
FAST. It hazes in a
few minutes, and takes a good bit of effort to clean off
clear coated areas
of a car- namely, everything facing outside. But although
dangerous, a
favorite trick when muddy cars would be brought in would be to
spray the 1/3
lower portion of the car with this product, and spray off
immediately as
part of the prerinse- cuts mud like a knife. Same with the
grime in
the engine compartment.
Two other items to peruse are compounds
BC-1 and BC-2. BC-1 is a
heavier buffer compound- use this if your car
has really been sitting out in
the acid rain. But use it by hand,
cause even using it with an orbital, as
recommended, can leave a lot of
swirl marks. The even better part of the
combo, however,
is BC-2 (Black car owners take note- this stuff is wonderful
for all
those light catching marks!) . Light and medium scale scratches are
well covered and cared for with this compound. This, like it's heavier
cousin, is hand pad application only- the pink stuff puts the detail in
DETAIL. When it really counts, as it does with our cars, use it with
cotton
cloths- less swirling on the removal of the hazed compound.
Anyways, sorry to turn this into an upaid ad- all I can say is that
I've used this on a few million worth of hardware- 'Vettes, Beamers,
Mustangs, Porches, a Ferrari, and I'll use it on mine, just as soon as I can
get my hands on some...
Actually, any Massachusetts listees
interested in a order?... ;)
Kenneth
For subscribe/unsubscribe info,
our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Sun, 18 Apr 1999 20:51:02 -0700
From: wce@bc.sympatico.ca
Subject: Re:
Team3S: Stock boost levels on a '93 TT
Brent;
Barry King posted on
03: 23: 99 that 93 and earlier had a max boost level of 9.5 (10
seems close)
with anything from 6.5 and up to that level considered normal (within
specs)
as per the manual. 94 and up were considered normal at 12.5 BTW the
archives
are great for this type of information. I haven't seen
anything on the turbo timer mod
you're referring to, so keep us posted on how
(it works) (you performed it).
Best
Darc
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Mon, 19 Apr 1999 00:40:24 -0400
From: Ron Thompson <rtetetet@earthlink.net>
Subject:
Re: Team3S: VR-4 Drivetrain...
The engine in the Expo is a 2.4 liter
inline four. The AWD system is
out of the Eclipse. My wife has the same
car/van. There isn't enough
room for the V6 in the engine bay without some
major modification. I
have doubts anything will match.
For
subscribe/unsubscribe info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Mon, 19 Apr 1999 02:36:57 -0400
From: Jason Barnhart <phnxgld@erols.com>
Subject: Team3S:
1/8 mile times and shifting questions...
Well, I ended up racing
at a local 1/8 mile track Friday night. Unfortunately there
aren't any
1/4 mile tracks within 60 miles or so. I did about what I expected,
although
I'm pretty sure I can do better and possibly meet my goal of 8.0
seconds. I had a couple
bad runs, missed shifts and such that were 8.7
or 8.8, a couple 8.50s or thereabouts, 2
8.3s and an 8.22. The 8.22 run
came towards the end, and was the only run that I didn't
speed shift. I
notice early on that I wasn't making the boost I thought I should. When
I
did have a chance to look it was only .6 or .7 atmosphere, and it felt like
a slug. I had
been speed shifting all night, running right up to the
rev limiter, just before it kicked
in. When I'd get it in the next gear
it felt slow and wasn't building much boost. I was
running race gas
(almost ran outta gas on the way there) and had the AVC-R set to
1.0
atmosphere. I'm thinking that because I wasn't lifting off the
throttle, it would hit the
limitter for a split second, I couldn't feel it,
and then cause a problem when I was back
in gear. What exactly does the
limiter do in our car? Thanks to a moving floor mat, I've
found the
limiter several times. Recently, I was bouncing off the limiter for maybe
2
seconds and my engine died. I had a hard time restarting it, and the
only thing that I can
think of is that when the limiter hits it cuts the
spark which caused me to flood.
Wouldn't it be dangerous to cut fuel at WOT,
and without fuel, why would the car backfire
and not want to start
afterwards? I'm basically wondering how the limiter works, hoping
that
this would explain why flat shifting at high RPMs had such a bad affect. I
know it's
not good on the synchros, that's why I only speed shift on the
track. I'm thinking if I
speed shift at a slightly lower RPM that it
might have a better outcome. The car felt so
much stronger when I
lifted off the throttle on my 8.22 run.
On a side note, my trap speeds
were around 80mph, and looking at other 3000gt times this
should be good for
about a 12.75 or so, and all I've done is the Weapon-R air filter,
gutted
cats on factory exhaust and the AVC-R set to 1.0 atmosphere.
I raced
at Colonial Beach in Va. Seems like the track is good, but my overall
experience
was bad. It was $15 bucks to race and $5 apeice for the 2
passengers in my car. I only
got trap speeds on about 2 of my runs, and
never got a timeslip. It really sucked to have
to give my passengers
pens and paper to jot down my times so I knew what I did, along with
the fact
that I passed the sign displaying my time at the finish line. It was kinda
funny,
the announcer was clueless as to what kind of car it was, and it was
amazing the attention
I got running that fast. Everyone asking me what
work I've done to it. I only remember
one 5.0 that was faster, it came
in on a trailor and ran a 6 something. In fact, I can't
recall a faster
street car there that night, although 1/2 the cars there were trailored
in.
beatin up on the Stangs,
Jason
For subscribe/unsubscribe
info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Mon, 19 Apr 1999 06:39:22 +0200
From: Matthews <matthews@wiesbaden.netsurf.de>
Subject:
Re: Team3S: Stock boost levels, turbo timer
Brent & Tara Maksymiw
wrote:
>
> Kind of disappointed as 10psi to
15psi (when I install the boost
> controller) won't feel as good as the
8.5psi to 15psi I was expecting.
10psi sounds about right for a stock 1st
gen, would be only slightly
higher for a 2nd gen. You will notice a big
difference when you install
the controller, as boost is achieved sooner and
held longer. You will
see 1.00 bar before 3000 RPM and through 6000
RPM!
> P.S. I looked into the mod that was posted on
rewiring the ETACS to work
> with a turbo timer. From what I could
see in the service manual, this mod
> should work. I am going to do
it sometime in the next couple of weeks. I
> am also looking into a
similar mod for the light automatic shut off unit so
> the lights will
shut off automatically with the car on turbo timer and the
> driver's door
is opened. Let me know if anyone is interested, or if this
> has
been done before, in which case I won't waste my time going through the
>
wiring schematics.
I had Extreme Motorsports in MD install my A'PEXi
turbo timer. After
the first attempt, I could activate the alarm with
the engine still
running (as long as the E-brake was engaged) but the
auto-headlight
shutoff no longer worked. After my wife ran down the
battery because of
this (lights stayed on and of course no chime reminder!),
I took it back
and they rewired something (at my expense) behind the panel
next to the
left rear seat (where the remote control controller is located)
to get
it working again. So now it works like stock - with the turbo
timer
running the engine or after it has shut it off, opening the door
with
the lights on will kill the lights, and locking the door will enable
the
alarm. Contact Extreme Motorsports for specifics! Good
luck...
- --
Jim Matthews - Wiesbaden, Germany
matthews@wiesbaden.netsurf.de
(64 Kbps ISDN)
http://rover.wiesbaden.netsurf.de/~matthews
***
3000GT-Stealth International (3Si) Member #0030 ***
http://rover.wiesbaden.netsurf.de/~matthews/stealth.html
Jet
Black '94 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin-Turbo AWD AWS 6-spd
Adjustable Active
Suspension, Adjustable Exhaust System
K&N FIPK, A'PEXi Super AVC-R (1.0
bar @ 72% BADC)
A'PEXi Turbo Timer (30 sec), Blitz Blow-Off
Valve
Magnecore spark plug wires, Redline ShockProof fluids
Metal Matrix
brake pads, custom braided brake lines
Michelin Pilot XGT-Z4 245/45ZR17, Top
Speed: 168mph
G-Tech Pro: 0-60 4.79 sec, 1/4 13.16 sec @ 113.9 mph
1 Feb
99 Dyno Session: 406 SAE HP, 354 lb-ft torque
For subscribe/unsubscribe
info, our web page is http://www.bobforrest.com/Team3S.htm
------------------------------
Date:
Mon, 19 Apr 1999 05:40:05 -0500
From: Merritt <merritt@cedar-rapids.net>
Subject:
Team3S: Track report
Track report: Raceway Park, Topeka, Kansas, Porsche
Club open
track/driver's school event
Very long post on road
racing.
It rained and snowed the night before, so the area off the track
was a
soggy mess. Too much water on the track made the organizers bypass a
bunch
of turns, converting it into a 2.2 mile layout. The course began with
a
short front straight to a brake-killing 2nd gear 30 mph tight right
(turn
1) and a quick left to a long sweeping 3rd gear left (the
Carousel) to a
very fast 3rd gear right (turn 4) to another very fast
3rd gear left (turn
5) to a left-right kink (8&9) to the back straight to
a slow 3rd gear left,
then a series of rights and lefts ending with a tight
left (16) onto the
straight. I hit 100 mph just prior to 5, 6 and 8 and about
110 prior to 1.
(If you know the track, they used the long, brake-killer
course, but went
straight after 4 and took out 5, 6 and 7).
On
Saturday, it was about 35 degrees, windy and damp at 8:00 am. Perfect
weather
for a VR4.
I went out in run group 2, and proceeded to pass cars like they
were
standing still (actually, they were trying very hard to deal with the
damp
in their RWD cars with racing slicks). My run group had two vipers, a
new
C5 corvette, 6 911s, 6 944 turbos, two M3s, a 914, a race-prepared 924S,
a
Contour SVT, and a gaggle of others - about 24 in all.
The VR4 with
the AWD was miraculous in the damp, and I absolutely inhaled
the lesser cars.
Alas, at the very end of the session, I came down the
front straight at 110,
got on the brakes - and BANG! I broke another
PowerSlot slotted rotor. Just
like last year, I broke that sucker in two.
Fortunately, there is a big
runoff area, so I could coast to a stop
(interesting - the ABS chirps and
rattles and makes all the appropriate ABS
noises, but it doesn't use any of
the other 3 brakes to stop the car. I
think we should discuss the wisdom of
disconnecting the ABS on the 3S list.)
Fortunately, I carry spare stock
rotors, so I put one on in time for the
next run.
I've learned to
ration my brakes - that is, I use them hard only when
necessary, otherwise I
stab them and get off quick. Same with 2nd gear - I
use it only for turn 1-2,
and for launching out of 16, unless I am
overtaking a car. Then, I'll use it
to close up on the car quickly, so he
can see me coming. Otherwise, I cruise
around in 3rd gear. I try to limit
my top end speed, because it just takes
that much more braking to stop it.
I probably coulda got it up to about 120
on the front straight with a good
launch at 16 and running it up to 7,000 rpm
in 3rd. But then I would have
had to brake from that speed, and bring it down
to 30 mph for turn 1. Even
with rationing, though, my brakes are always gone
by the end of a 20-minute
session.
Even when cruising in 3rd, the VR4
overtakes just about everything out
there. It is particularly strong when
accelerating out of corners, because
you can get on the power much earlier,
and be on full throttle while
everyone else is still waiting to straighten up
before they can apply full
power in their vettes, vipers, and 911 turbos.
This drive out of the
corners is where we make up all the time we lose
because of poor braking.
Overtaking usually requires just eating up a
slower car, and waiting for
the hand signal to pass. The VR4 was particularly
quick through the last
series of left-rights leading to the front straight,
and I could make up
50-100 yards on almost any car through that series. If I
emerged onto the
straight 6 ft behind most cars, they just moved over and
waved me by.
Once, I gobbled up the new C5 Corvette this way, but
instead of moving over
he just whomped on it and pulled away from me like I
was standing still,
gaining about 10 car lengths down the front straight.
Damn that car was
fast! I hauled him in again, and was all over his butt by
turn 5. This
time, when coming out of 16 onto the straight, he let me by. I
found out
later that he had added some goodies to the C5, and it dynoed at
365 hp.
By the end of the third run, I had passed nearly everybody in my
run group
except for one Viper and a few miscellaneous others. No one passed
me.
Once, I started first in the group, and came around to lap six
cars.
I also ate up a set of Performance Friction carbon metallic
pads by the
third run, thus requiring a complete change of the fronts. I
installed a
set of spare pads (from last year's event!) but decided there
were only two
sessions left in those pads, so I'd save them for Sunday. So,
after only
three runs, I was done on Saturday.
Saturday was marred by
two nasty shunts. One, a 911 Carerra in Group 4,
went off sideways and
scraped off its left side. They brought that one in
on a trailer and took the
driver to the hospital with a concussion. The
other was an M3 in my run
group, who went head on into a cement wall,
demolishing the entire front end.
His air bag went off, and he walked away
from it.
Sunday dawned
bright and warmer. I asked for an instructor to ride along so
he could check
my braking techniques and see if I was doing anything wrong.
He cleaned
up some of my lines, taught me a few things about braking, and
corrected my
tendency for rapid brake-throttle transitions. I always
thought you had to be
either hard on the brakes or hard on the gas (from my
rallye days, where the
driving is more violent), but he said it was OK to
take a little time between
actions: Lift before a corner, then smoothly
stab the brakes firmly ONCE
(don't pump or ease down slowly), and then get
back on the gas smoothly. With
his help, I started lapping faster, which
means I started using more brakes,
and then the brakes started going away
again, becoming spongy and basically
ineffective. I got passed by the
race-prepared 924 S (damn! the only
pass all weekend! I consoled myself
that it was a Group 4 driver running in
our group 2 <so two guys could
drive the same car>, and I had no
brakes, and I had passed him before).
Since my brakes came back to
life 20 minutes later after they cooled in the
pits, I concluded that I had
boiled the brake fluid. It's Racing Blue, BTW.
My daughter took her first
lesson in her Contour, which performed admirably
(albeit slow) the entire
weekend. On Sunday, a wear indicator started
sounding on her left rear, so we
pulled the wheel to discover it had worn
down the inside rear pad (!!). We
concluded that she could get one more
session out of it, so she ran one more
time. Then we both drove home on our
get-home pads. If there are any old fart
dads like me out there, a Porsche
club driver's school is a wonderful
father-son or father-daughter weekend.
Here's what I learned this
weekend:
The VR4 is an incredible car! Even on street Michelins, it
corners with
almost everybody (except a certain 924 S - once he got ahead of
me, he just
pulled away because of better cornering). With racing slicks, I
think I
could have stayed with him. Other suspension improvements may help,
too,
but it is basically a very good car for open track driving.
It's
competitive right out of the box, and very forgiving. You can get away
with
stuff that will put a 911 into the weeds, such as lifting in a turn.
When driven hard, it pushes. This was a left-hand course, so I ate up
my
right front tire. I didn't notice the push last year, because I
wasn't
driving it fast enough. Perhaps correcting push would be another good
3S
topic.
When driven harder, it eats brakes faster. It's a heavy,
fast car, and the
brakes are not up to the task. We gotta work on
this!
The VR4's AWD provides a tremendous advantage. When you learn to
use its
drive out of the corners properly, it eats up the car ahead. This
requires
a somewhat different driving style, because you must look for
opportunities
where this works to your advantage, and then arrange entry and
exit points
accordingly. Our line is slightly different from virtually every
car out
there. Mostly, it just requires moving the apex back a few
yards so we can
get on the power earlier. It doesn't work on every corner
(like the
constant radius Carousel), but when it does work, it's awesome.
Stock, it is just slightly underpowered, so C5s and Vipers and new 911s
can
take it on a straight. I'm going to install a bleeder valve next,
which
should give me about 40 more hp. I hope this will be enough to handle
most
non-race-prepared cars. Of course, whenever they bump me up into Group
3,
this situation will change. The drivers are more experienced and the
cars
are faster and better prepared.
My overheating problems have gone
away. Last year it overheated badly, but
this year it ran at a normal
temperature all weekend. I attribute this to
the water pump I replaced two
weeks ago. Apparently, the pump was starting
to go south last
year.
My new brake cooling air ducts seem to work. Although I lost the
brakes
every session, I didn't come off the track a single time with
smoking
brakes like I did last year. And I could work on the brakes
almost
immediately - last year, I had to wait 15 minutes before going near
them
because they were so hot. So the ducts ARE cooling them down, just
not
enough.
Braking problems will be the subject of my next post -
"Adventures in
Braking" I have a coupla ideas to bounce off the tech wizards.
I'm getting
dang sick and tired of working in "Old Poop's Brake Shop" for the
entire
weekend.
I learned something about myself, too. When I get a
car in my sights, I
forget all about brake rationing and 3rd gear
cruising. I get the red haze
and the blood lust just like everybody
else, and all my good intentions go
astray. Still, I can't bring myself to
put the car out to the hairy edge,
especially in the really fast stuff.
At turn 5, for example, I come up on
it at 100 mph, stab the brakes,
downshift to 3rd, and power on through at
85. Every time, I said to myself,
"don't lift! Take it in 4th!," but I
always lifted. Probably has
something to do with wanting to drive it home
afterward, I guess. Gotta work
on improving my pucker factor.
Rich/old poop/94 VR4
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