In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :
ABS is pretty awesome--you can focus more on the race without worrying as much about locking a wheel, which means you can more consistently brake later. It's probably worth fixing yours.
In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :
ABS is pretty awesome--you can focus more on the race without worrying as much about locking a wheel, which means you can more consistently brake later. It's probably worth fixing yours.
jimgood said:In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :
Sorry to hear that. I have a pretty good 323is he can swap parts into if he's interested. Needs a hood and the ABS wiring put back into it. But it's all there.
That is a gracious offer. Also makes me sad that means you'd never come join us. But I think that ship sailed long ago anyway. If you are actually interested in selling I can pass this info along.
In reply to Tom Suddard :
You're probably right. Only downside is you might start to lean on it and could be SOL if it fails. But not using a tool for fear of its failure is a pretty dumb reason not to use a tool.
In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :
Yeah, something something blitz something something Tom Brady 
On the bright side, it should be pretty reliable once fixed.
PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham said:jimgood said:In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :
Sorry to hear that. I have a pretty good 323is he can swap parts into if he's interested. Needs a hood and the ABS wiring put back into it. But it's all there.
That is a gracious offer. Also makes me sad that means you'd never come join us. But I think that ship sailed long ago anyway. If you are actually interested in selling I can pass this info along.
You're right that I am committed to the stock car at this point. I just need to put the 323 back together so she can go to a good home. Feel free to give my number or email to anyone that's interested.
Great job out there last weekend! I'm pumped ot have you in the field. Made it onto the Spec3 social media in your first event!
https://www.facebook.com/NASASpec3/posts/315661477324533
In reply to Taylor Johnson :
Queue "Fame" - David Bowie
Dusterbd's thread about wheel spacers and their effect on suspension geometry got me thinking. I've probably wandered quite a bit from this car's stock geometry with the M3 control arms, camber/caster plates, camber shims and lower springs.
Thanks to some guidance from the thread above I set about trying to find what my current scrub radius is using the cheapest laser level I could find on Amazon.
First step was jacking the car up and removing the wheel. I tried to get the suspension as close to a normal load level as possible using a jack. Then I set the laser level at an angle so the line passed through the top strut bearing and the lower ball joint.
Then I put the wheel on and jacked it up to the same height and made a mark on the tire where the laser hit the lowest point on the tire.
That mark ended up showing roughly 5mm of positive scrub radius. With the 15mm spacers I plan on using that will probably end up closer to 20mm of positive scrub radius. That's a little more than 3/4 inch. Seemed like a lot but people who are smarter than me seem to think it's not too extreme.
But let's be honest, this probably wasn't super accurate anyway. I'm at least happy that my pivot point wasn't out by the sidewall.
Last night I took the driveshaft out and replaced the guibo and center support bearing. I'm hoping this solves the vibration I was feeling on track.
The old center bearing looked like it was in ok condition still but the old guibo was definitely worn and ripped. Here's hoping that issue is solved.
Great thread, thanks! Been eyeing Spec3 myself and this has been helpful.
In reply to ross2004 :
Thanks Ross! It's definitely a rapidly growing class. Very fun group of people too. If you're interested in diving in I know of a guy who was building a Spec3 but has to change directions. I think all the pieces are there and are fresh. From what I understand it just needs some elbow grease to be finished. He said he specifically wants to get it into the hands of someone joining the class.
This past weekend was a race at Summit Point. Things didn't go great.
On Friday I simply could not figure out how to dial out the massive amounts of understeer I was experiencing. I was slowest in class by a long shot. Maybe some driving adjustment needed. But also raising pressures and stiffening the front sway bar seemed to slightly help Saturday morning. Knocked about a second and a half of my best time the previous day. But it was all downhill from there. Literally.
^ Photo credit: Tony Politi
During the Beast of the East race (effectively qualifying) I buried it too far into turn 1 went off the outside of the track, was making my way back on but then lost it when I hit the paved access road. Car went up on that berm and then had a leisurely fall over.
Right side of the roof is now lower, right A pillar is noticeably bent. Left A pillar and right B pillar also just ever so slightly out of shape.
On the bright side we did get back out there for the race a few hours later, thanks to a lot of helping hands. The Spec3 crew is seriously the best group I've raced with. I had barely gotten back to the car before Sean O'Hara was already crawling underneath assessing damage and making sure nothing else was broken. Our own GRMers Jimgood and JH36 descended on the car with another old racing friend and helped get everything in order to go back out on track. The only major damage besides bodywork was a broken right motor mount arm and both side mirrors were destroyed. We kicked out the broken windshield, Taylor Johnson offered up a spare side mirror and and a very nice guy running an old Spec3 car in HPDE3 let us borrow his right motor mount arm for the race.
Thanks to all the help and support we were able to run the race sans windshield. Finished dead last of course, but points are points. Even with the rear windows down the car was effectively a rolling parachute. Wasn't even close to getting into 5th gear on the front straight. Here's video of the race. You'll want to turn your volume all the way down. Literally the only interesting part is the last 30 seconds.
Woah! Glad you and the car are okay. Seriously impressive to take that back out a few hours later.
Will you be at HyperFest?
Planning to be at Hyperfest. Whether or not I am there with a car depends on if I can hit and pry the roof enough to get a windshield to fit.
In reply to PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham :
Hey there's a reason windshields have so much urethane holding them in.
Lol yeah I guess if I build a wall of it anything can fit.
I was in that race and saw your rolled over after turn 2, Im glad your ok. It didnt look nice to see you in such a bad situation.
In reply to BKO5 :
Well to you and everyone else in that session, sorry for going and ending it so early.
Excellent tenacity and congrats on quickly getting back out there. That was awesome. Shop day on April 30 to get our stuff together...looks like volunteers are standing by! We got this!
PunchyWrench - Ed Higginbotham said:In reply to BKO5 :
Well to you and everyone else in that session, sorry for going and ending it so early.
No worries, if it wasn't you it would've been me. I was seconds from exploding the diff. If it would've locked up it who knows what would've happened. I actually had to be flat towed in after the red flag lifted, my car wouldn't move with out making the worst noises.
And yes great job to everyone willing to lend a hand and parts. One of the things I love most about going to the race track.
My heart absolutely SANK when I rounded T1 and saw you on your side. When I got the red flag, I was down by the carousel and waiting to hear if you were alright was miserable. I'm so glad you're okay, dude!
Major props for getting back out there and turning some decent laps considering the huge aerodynamic disadvantage of no windshield.
The windshield repair guys just showed up. They did a test fit and said it was actually not too far out of shape. I don't know how much my hammering and prying actually helped but it was very good news. This means I don't need a new shell.
Fresh glass!
the roof is still a little wrinkled towards the front but I think I can pull and hammer most of it out.
Bonus: while the glass was out I got to paint the front of the roll cage that faces out the windshield. I could never reach it with a windshield in. Looks much better now.
Looks great!
Wow! That looks amazing!
Thanks guys! Things are looking up.
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