2012 DC Pro solo is now history....
Overall I could not be any happier with the car. (though driver skill is still something that will need some serious work!) Car performed flawlessly, no issues at all the entire weekend. We didn't find out till Sunday that the shock settings were wayyy off and very different from side to side...ooops! After some adjustments on Sunday afternoon the car felt a lot better and lot more composed in turns and under power. We also ran used tires (rear are three years old) so I really cannot complain at all about placing second this weekend. Here is to hoping our new Fikse wheel (ordered 8 weeks ago, was supposed to be here in 3) will show up before the next big event as we have fresh rubber lined up for those) Front splitter and side skirts are very unfinished, but it's there. The splitter is still too short by about a foot, the car need some lightening but it works and works very well. Jake Namer's car got quite a bit faster, Johns/Chadwick mobile is getting a complete overhaul with single turbo and a lot more power, Carter is super fast as is, SSM is going to be tough this year even without Andy...:O
Here is Tim (walka) taking the car for a spin during the bonus challenge. His first run on the right was downright impressive being his first time in the car with all new setup and cold tires. He red-lit the left side unfortunately and would have won that round if it weren't for that unfortunate incident I am sure (he red-lit by 2 thousands of a second!) ...bummer! Tim is going to be dangerous when he gets his car setup!
My wife Tara driving:
Rear shot with clearly unfinished trunk and engine lid...
The car definitely has a presents to it. I hope you keep that edge it has or as the announcer said the "need for speed" look haha.
Both you and tara ran really strong times for a test and tune.
On my end i had a lot of up's and down's. I was not even sure the car was going to drive itself on the trailer for this event. I even had a guy come over friday at the event and redo some of my wiring. I dont know why we cant button down these connections.
But i did end up getting some runs in this weekend
I did pretty poorly saturday with my spinning all around followed by an afternoon where i broke because a wire came loose from a connector and i had no throttle. The car did work every time for my co-driver though haha. Sunday was a different story.
I managed to run each time without worrying if it would make it or not and managed to lower my times but i really need to set this car up before i show up haha.
This was basically my main concern all weekend:
Now onto suspension setup
I thought this was a nice shot as well of SSM with all the wings.
I really need to get me one of those i guess so i can fit in
- Fikse wheel is finally on the way! We'll be sporting new wheel setup at the next event.
- shock settings made a huge difference in launching the car this past weekend. WE we cutting 2.1/2.2 60ft times on Saturday, after adjusting the ride height and adjusting the shocks I was able to cut pretty consistent 1.9's on Sunday....hoping with more tuning and tire pressure adjustments we might be able to get into 1.8's possibly on a good sticky concrete and fresh rubber.
- we need to loose 100lbs still, looking into lighter exhaust, removing some trim and useless brackets, possibly removing the elaborate oil cooler system - it weighs quite a bit actually. Any suggestions on weight loss will be much appreciated. I need to loose about 15 lbs myself so that won't hurt...heh
- still need to work on top end power, probably will have to put the car on a dyno to really fine tune it, I think our neighbors are not too happy with me blasting through the neighborhood streets at 8k RPM...heh Still working on oil pressure issues. Drained the oil yesterday and it looks really good, here is to hoping the bearings survived ok even with a little lower pressure this past weekend.
I seriously love you car. It looked fantastic out there. What Fikse's did you get?
Plastic trim all around
that rear metal panel (can you cut that out the one where the exhaust comes out?)
Headlights tail lights blinkers (replace with LED?)
Lighter trunk lid and mount the wing on the fenders OR through the trunk lid
I think you still have interior trim (need that?)
FM-10's for the rear. The ones on the car right now are cobra replicas that are wayyy too heavy. We already have one of the Fikse wheels, just need to order another one...
MicaCeli said:
Plastic trim all around
that rear metal panel (can you cut that out the one where the exhaust comes out?)Headlights tail lights blinkers (replace with LED?)
That's what I have been talking about with Mark Davis, I thought we had to retain the trim in SSM, if not, it'll be all gone for the next event! Not sure about the rear metal apron, I think that needs to stay since it's part of the unibody... The headlight already have lightweight plastic housings inside, might trim some of the brackets a bit on the headlight mechanism. Tails and blinkers are really lightweight, probably no sense in spending money on replacing those...
MicaCeli said:
Lighter trunk lid and mount the wing on the fenders OR through the trunk lid I think you still have interior trim (need that?)
I can't mount the wing on the quarters, the truck has to stay functional...maybe CF lid in the future? The stock one is suprisingly light though. Thanks for the ideas!!!
You did see the miata there mounted the wing on the quarters right? I wasnt really sure about that mod being legit. It says rear deck/hatch area in the rules.
The plastic trim im not sure because the body panels are changable to any type of material unless its unibody. So the front bumper and door could be made of cardboard so to me its not like your adding those strips onto the cardboard. The unibody part is the part thats interesting. Not sure how much weight your saving there.
BTW I feel if i was running your wing, tires, and rubber i may be at or above your weight. Just FYI when i mentioned i had 75lbs on you. Are those new wheels lighter?
Tim, yes, the splitter is about 16lbs, the wing not sure, but I am sure it's at least 15 or 20 or so... Yes, the new wheels are much lighter from what i can tell. (20 lbs or so) The replicas I am not sure about, but they are heavier.
Tim, were you shifting into 3rd? Looked like you were reaching down during the run. I won't tell you I told you so about the redline, but....the 15's certainly don't help.
Refresh my memory on your suspension. The car looks pretty unstable.
Yea i was shifting to third haha. In all my previous runs i tried to keep it in second but i'd be on the rev limiter for half the straight. I figured i'd get some extra top speed if i just short shifted 3rd which would give me enough time to down shift during the brake zone. Thats why 3rd sounds so weak. It was obviously not a huge improvement but i think it was faster. I think eventually as i play with this car i will go with what martin has on the back 315/18 setup which should help.
The suspension was not setup for the new wheels and tires. I have been too worried about making this wiring more reliable. I have new springs i am going to try out and i still need to align the car. I was running a wacky toe in on the rear passenger side. I knew i'd be running out of gear with a top speed of 52mph but i havent sourced the camry trans as of yet. It was def a learning experience haha.
That's what I have been talking about with Mark Davis, I thought we had to retain the trim in SSM, if not, it'll be all gone for the next event! Not sure about the rear metal apron, I think that needs to stay since it's part of the unibody... The headlight already have lightweight plastic housings inside, might trim some of the brackets a bit on the headlight mechanism. Tails and blinkers are really lightweight, probably no sense in spending money on replacing those...
SSM builds on Stock, Street Touring, and Street Prepared rules.
You can remove trim per the ST rules:
14.2.C. Factory rub strips, emblems, mud flaps, bolt-on front valance lips/spoilers, and fog lights (except those integral to a headlight or turn signal) may be removed. Rear wings may be removed so long as the vehicle retains any federally-mandated third brake light.
If you're calling that black grille thing on the rear the "apron" then I agree w/ you that it probably has to stay. Headlights have to stay per SM rules.
I assume you've already replaced the fuel tank w/ a fuel cell?
You can gain 3-5 lbs removing the front lip. I assume you already have but your splitter is hiding the area...
Martin,
I am analysing our videos. (mine starts at 1:17) I am considering the current group buy for the pinions. The problem is the real data im seeing. It is troubling me.
Watch your left side run compared to my left side run and watch purely the steering wheels. I stopped after each turn and switched to the other video.
They look exactly the same. Are you sure you have that pinion installed??
Maybe others can analyse too and show me where the difference is? I would think the pinion would make enough of a difference we would visibly see it.
I actually bought the car without the lip, I might cut a few spots in the stock bumper to lighten it some too. Now looking into aluminum mufflers, should be able to loose few more lbs there.
Martin,They look exactly the same. Are you sure you have that pinion installed??
Maybe others can analyse too and show me where the difference is? I would think the pinion would make enough of a difference we would visibly see it.
I actually counted and compared the two racks (I bought an entire rack)...the stock compared to the quick gear one, there was a difference. It's not as much as you'd think but it's definitely there. I'd say our tire difference affects it too... The steering feels really good on my car, I am leaving it whether the gear is there or not...
yea i agree your steering feels great! I am going to test mine with the p/s pump on first and watch the video. Seems if the steering goes past 190* then i think its def needed. Otherwise i got more things to address anyway haha.
Don't take my word for it. I quoted the rule... after reading this thread, were you referring to interior trim pieces? The ST rule refers to exterior. MK2 MR2 really only has those rub strips down each side... maybe 4-5 pounds total. Every ounce counts.
You did see the miata there mounted the wing on the quarters right? I wasnt really sure about that mod being legit. It says rear deck/hatch area in the rules.
I run with him in Chattanooga. I know there's a reason he mounted it the way he did, but I can't recall. I'll ask him why he did that and get his interpretation of the rule.
EDIT: I just read the rulebook. 16.1.L says "Non-OE wings may only be attached to the rear deck/hatch area behind the centerline of the rear axle." You'd have a hard time convincing me that the wing on that Miata isn't mounted to the rear deck area, or ahead of the rear axle. Note that 16.1.I refers to the the opening body panel as the "trunk lid" rather than the "deck area." If 16.1.L actually means "trunk lid," it should say so.
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