alfadriver said:
In reply to loosecannon :
How far different is the concrete you run on in Canada vs. Lincoln?
Really- seeing how fast you are now, the seat time for the two of you is the most important, so you know where to make the last tweaks (which are the hardest to figure out) and gain that last bit of time. At least that's how I see it now.
The next long term development that will be interesting is how you tweak the set up, and then what tune you use to match it so that you get your virtual traction control. That's pretty darned cool.
Unless you have another off season plan like you did this last year. BTW, not sure if you noticed, but all of that effort over the off season sure seemed to work really well.... It's no a fluke when you take a mis-behaving car to 3rd like that.
Our local courses are on bumpy asphalt with zero sweepers and all slaloms so no heat is generated in our slicks. Maximum G's are 1.3 and we struggle to beat 200 TW shod street cars. I think the car made a big performance step over the winter. We were down on HP (by as much as 100 hp) and I still managed 3rd. Last year I was helped out by the rain but this year it was all dry and I still got pretty close to 2nd place. My only off season plan is to shave a few more pounds off and make some slight tweaks to the aero. The suspension is awesome, I'm not touching it and the engine has plenty of jam but I may put the fully ported head and manifolds that I already have laying around. They will add power without increasing boost and I'll have the option of revving higher, too. We are thinking of running the Pro at SpringNats for the extra seat time.
759NRNG
UltraDork
9/11/19 8:13 p.m.
loosecannon said:
alfadriver said:
In reply to loosecannon :
How far different is the concrete you run on in Canada vs. Lincoln?
Really- seeing how fast you are now, the seat time for the two of you is the most important, so you know where to make the last tweaks (which are the hardest to figure out) and gain that last bit of time. At least that's how I see it now.
The next long term development that will be interesting is how you tweak the set up, and then what tune you use to match it so that you get your virtual traction control. That's pretty darned cool.
Unless you have another off season plan like you did this last year. BTW, not sure if you noticed, but all of that effort over the off season sure seemed to work really well.... It's no a fluke when you take a mis-behaving car to 3rd like that.
Our local courses are on bumpy asphalt with zero sweepers and all slaloms so no heat is generated in our slicks. Maximum G's are 1.3 and we struggle to beat 200 TW shod street cars. I think the car made a big performance step over the winter. We were down on HP (by as much as 100 hp) and I still managed 3rd. Last year I was helped out by the rain but this year it was all dry and I still got pretty close to 2nd place. My only off season plan is to shave a few more pounds off and make some slight tweaks to the aero. The suspension is awesome, I'm not touching it and the engine has plenty of jam but I may put the fully ported head and manifolds that I already have laying around. They will add power without increasing boost and I'll have the option of revving higher, too. We are thinking of running the Pro at SpringNats for the extra seat time.
Once the VSS is repaired and the 'tune' of choice is loaded...will the ported head/manifold significantly add that last little bit you so earnestly seek....as opposed to moving to the lower 48's and a more hospitable clime where one could 'seat time ' till blue in the face? I know not happening......carry on, I'll be watchin'
In reply to 759NRNG :
The ported head/manifolds will make more power at all rpm at the same boost levels it has now and the high pressure springs will add up to 1000 rpm to my redline. As for moving, we are planning to move the USA as soon as we can. I am in a 3 year program to get my Red Seal welding certificate so moving will have to wait until that is done.
759NRNG
UltraDork
9/12/19 8:14 a.m.
With certificate in hand (Red Seal), what industry would be a good fit?
In reply to 759NRNG :
I would like to open a little welding/fabrication shop and have a portable unit, too. Here’s a picture of my local site
^Look at all that grass, Is that autocross or rallycross? 
Please replace all divots.
759NRNG
UltraDork
9/12/19 8:09 p.m.
What is the business model for said 'fab' shop? ....just tryin to help....
In reply to 759NRNG :
I don't have enough firm plans to discuss business model yet.
I am selling my trailer if any of you are interested. Custom built low profile Haulmark enclosed and insulated trailer-aluminum sides and roof with steel frame, electric brakes on both axles, aluminum wheels, 3500 Lb Torflex axles for a smooth ride, LED lights, E-track on floor and walls, rubber floor, new spare, dual batteries to run 120v power inverter, really low load height, My trailer towing fuel economy increased by 30% when I switched to this low profile trailer, it's the best towing trailer I've ever had. I am getting a bigger trailer so I can organize things better and bring some welding equipment with me to Nationals. $6250 Canadian dollars.
Going to park next to the guy with the mini-machine shop, right? You guys could work wonders together patching people up.
In reply to alfadriver :
The first year I brought the Panther to Nationals, I broke the rear suspension and couldn't get anybody to come to weld it up for me so I had to buy a welder. At this Nationals, I had to weld up a competitors car with the worst welder I've ever seen and don't want to do that again. I figure if I find a generator capable of 50 watts at 240 volts, I can bring my TIG and my MIG and pull some nice beads for people in need. I posted the ad for my trailer locally and had 11 people contact me in the first 2 hours, so I guess it's gonna sell soon
In reply to loosecannon :
Services that should be at every major race. Seems like you will become one of the more popular people to get to know!
In reply to 759NRNG :
If you want to experience a really long sweeper on a smooth track, come down to Elkhart Lake Wisconsin and run Road America. It’s up in Northeastern Wisconsin so it shouldn’t be too long a haul.
The carousel there is the longest I’ve ever experienced and will really help you set up your car. Like most tracks there are plenty of left/right tight turns to work on but the carousel has you in a steady state corner longer than anything except the banking at NASCAR tracks. Oops, forgot about The Indianapolis 500 track. That’s pretty flat and you are in those corners a really long time too, except they are a much bigger radius than the carousel and they are only 90 degrees.
I’m shooting off the top of my head now but I think it’s something like 230 degrees around.
In reply to alfadriver :
I am worried about having too many welding jobs to do at Nationals. I'm already busy with getting stuff ready and hope there isn't a line of broken parts at my trailer every day
The annual off season improvement has begun. The last few years I have made good gains over the winter but the car is so damn good now that it's hard to find any gains. I am making a couple of aerodynamic changes that my aero guy suggested but I never did (until now) and have pulled more weight out of it so that I can add it back in the form of lead right at the bottom of the car. Today I started rebuilding the steel structure that holds up the whole hood/fenders out of aluminum and it should also have more adjustability. No pictures of it yet
I made a new splitter, but how is it any different? Well, the old one didn't go much beyond the fiberglass front end of the car so when we punted a cone, the whole front end would take some of the impact. The new splitter goes all the way back to the frame and bolts on so it will take the abuse when we hit cones. It also has some vertical strakes on the underside that extend back to the front axle. These strakes will improve front aero as well.
759NRNG
UltraDork
9/28/19 8:47 p.m.
I must admit that this shot is truly amazing from the simple fact that the progression to this point encompasses every bloody thing that you've embraced/fabricated in the kart shop no less.....GOOD on you !!!!.....hey there's pink paint on the shop floor....tsk tsk tsk 
New spoiler was made out of aluminum to balance the new splitter. It looks odd but is in compliance to the letter of the rules and is a copy of a spoiler that another competitor has been running successfully for several years.
Can you disclose some of the advantages of the odd shape?
In reply to Gimp :
he-who-shall-not-be-named realized a few years ago that you could be creative with the rear spoiler shape and gain some height. The rules state that the spoiler is to be no more than 10” high measured at the center if the deck lid. The rules also say that the spoiler can have no more than 10” of deviation fore and aft. So, by moving the part of the spoiler that is measured forward 10” (that part in the middle) and having the bulk of the spoiler behind that where the deck lid slopes down, you can game the rule and have a taller spoiler. It’s clever but IMO not with the spirit of the rules. Nobody has protested he-who-shall-not-be-named over it and it’s clearly a performance advantage so I decided to play that game, too.
In reply to loosecannon :
Makes sense. I agree that it's a tortured interpretation, but what's good for the goose..
In reply to loosecannon :
I wouldn't be surprised if the middle portion was creating a VG in the center. It'd take some 3D modeling (which I can't currently do), to see if that was the case, and if there was an 'optimum' wedge width to encourage a VG formation.
ymmv, I'll defer to Kyle/stafford1500, etc.
edited 'cause I didn't 'grok' the 'measured from center part' on first reading
With my lack of seat time on concrete (which is not likely to change any time soon) I can't afford to leave anything on the table. I don't like having to twist an interpretation of the rules like that but since the guy who wins every year runs it, then I have to run it as well. Visually, I thought I would hate it but that mass of satin black on the back of the car balances out the mass of satin black on the front of the car.
In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :
By VG do you mean Vortex Generator?
It's an interesting rules-twist, and I think it looks cool. Adds a bit of Bat-Mobile flair to your car!
