One of our own here on GRM won his class in an M3. I am proud to say that he regularly kicks my but when we race on line.
A big congratulations to Matt!!!!!
Photography Credit: Tradd's Photos/Racing for ALS
Who set one of the 10 new records at the 2024 Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals? Our own Andy Hollis, and he did so in the “little brother” to the One Lap Honda CRX.
[Ten track records fall at the Tire Rack SCCA Time Trials Nationals]
Andy turned a 2:16.379 lap, a record for the Max 5 class, and it came behind the wheel of a car he bought for just $400.
“This car was my spare chassis for my One Lap car in case I ever balled it up,” Andy says. “This car sat in a friend’s field for 6 years. During covid, we had moved to a new place and had the room, so I brought it in and cleaned it all up. I paid $400 for this chassis, mostly because I wanted the fenders. Then I sold the drivetrain, once I had it running, for $600.”
[One Lap of America: What we learned competing with an underdog CRX]
With an empty spot under the hood, Andy sought a replacement.
“I found one of the rare B18C Integra Type R motors from Japan–the JDM version–which makes a lot more power, and the matching limited-slip, close-ratio transmission,” Andy explains. “This motor has the highest specific output for any engine from any manufacturer that’s under 1.9 liters. At the wheels, this motor will make over 200 horsepower. It doesn’t have a lot of torque, but it has a lot of horsepower.”
The rest of the setup mirrors what the One Lap CRX uses. RedShift dampers with Eibach springs. Wilwood brakes with Hawk Performance pads. A set of 225-wide Yokohama A052s on 6UL wheels. The Zebulon aero and front fenders were borrowed from the One Lap CRX. (Yes, Andy replaced the fenders that he wanted from this CRX.)
[Too good to be true? Custom-built coil-overs at off-the-shelf prices]
“The car weighs a little over 2000 pounds, with me in it,” Andy says. “It’s pretty darn quick.”
That’s certainly an understatement. Andy shattered the previous record by a whopping 3 seconds. He also remains undefeated in all 7 years of the Time Trials Nats, competing in a variety of cars and classes.
One of our own here on GRM won his class in an M3. I am proud to say that he regularly kicks my but when we race on line.
A big congratulations to Matt!!!!!
And I was just informed that we have a second class winner and class lap record setter in our midst. And he definitly has taught me a thing or three while racing on line. Congratulations to Trevor in his Mustang!!!
If you look closely, you can see why this chassis was $400.
The fenders were indeed pristine...mostly because they were new from a repair job.
The car has been punched pretty hard in the nose, setting the bumper back 1". The LF frame horn is also pushed down 1". I had to shorten one of the suspension arms by 1" to get it to align. The RR corner has also suffered an impact and has some major Bondo installed. And finally, the spare tire well is rusted through with a cheapo fiberglass repair job done to it.
On the bright side, the LR corner is perfect and the car is pretty square between the four wheels.
In reply to Andy Hollis :
This is something that I find just amazing.
Andy shattered the previous record by a whopping 3 seconds. He also remains undefeated in all 7 years of the Time Trials Nats, competing in a variety of cars and classes.
Congratulations on another win!!!
We did a similar build back in the 90s but we used a dodge Omni that we basicly gutted and then put a GLH motor in. Ultra light FWD race cars are so much fun and can be extremely fast. Reading your build that car sounds like it is amazing.
Couple of questions.
1. How do you drive it? Is it smooth and gentle or drive it like you stole it with hard fast inputs.
2. How is the torque steer?
3. What was the best upgrade other than the motor?
Thanks !!!
dean1484 said:Couple of questions.
1. How do you drive it? Is it smooth and gentle or drive it like you stole it with hard fast inputs.
2. How is the torque steer?
3. What was the best upgrade other than the motor?
Thanks !!!
1) I drive all my cars smooth, not because I'm not making hundreds of corrections constantly to keep it on the limit, but because those inputs are super small. So from the outside, it looks smooth. I'll link that record lap below so you can see.
2) Torque??? Ha-ha-ha. You're funny. :) These engines have no torque. Think S2000 AP1.
3) Single best upgrade is the aero. Was worth two full seconds over no aero, and over a second compared to the typical flat splitter and small wing. Also made the car easier to drive.
In reply to Andy Hollis :
So, what aero mods did you make...? Hopefully some of our email conversations made it to the car.
Congrats on the win and the new record.
stafford1500 said:In reply to Andy Hollis :
So, what aero mods did you make...? Hopefully some of our email conversations made it to the car.
Congrats on the win and the new record.
The aero mods were simply bolting on the Zebulon parts from the One Lap car. Big wing and splitter.
The hood vent wicker we discussed did not happen...yet. Once I painted the hood white (cuz Tom said to for the sake of photos), it was crystal clear just how rough it is. Needs a day's worth of Bondo work. So I figure I'll do the wicker at the same time.
In reply to Andy Hollis :
Great Lap, and yes, it looks very smooth. There were no tire noises at all that I could hear. It is interesting to watch the lap that Racebrick posted of his class record driving the Mustang and compare it to yours. He is manhandling the car just enough to extract the maximum from it, while your lap looks much more calm and smooth. However, you are still using every inch of the track and staying at 10/10ths 100 percent of the time. This is a really interesting comparison.
Thanks for the insight about the aero. 2 seconds is a ton of time!!!
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