Final Gear Racing 2011 - 24 Hours Of LeMons

I keep saying you need to stuff the engine in the back! :D
 
EyeMWing said:
This is the exact configuration Lemons currently uses at CMP. Blue is pit road, red is the active track. Yes, it's clockwise :p


We don't use the rest of the course because Jay is afraid we'll run off the track into the gator pond or somethin'.

There is a hot pit at CMP. I doubt we'll use it.
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Well, my question that popped up out of my noggin was: Brakes. Some better ones.
I know that Q was wanting to add some of the braided stainless lines to his car before the shakedown cruise. And brakes and such don't count count to the $500 that the car should be worth, if I read the rules right.

I am essentially an untried driver in this situation, and I'll be willing to pay Q just about anything he needs to make sure it goes well for the drivers like me!

I might be incredibly capable, or I might not be. Hoping I just don't embarrass too many people before I get into the swing of it. :p

Ive done a few track days, but that's just you and a sweet ass car...ALL ALONE on the track to go have fun.

Now, I'm going into an environment that its a group of people like me who all want to GOGOGOGOGO on the same track as you. Which scares me just a bit. :p Just want to know I can count of the bits of the car doing what I ask of them. And I can be pushy with what I want on Q's car. :D:D

I'll have to get with him in the next few days to make sure I understand what HE wants from all of this...and I don't just go on some unneeded and un-needed tangent and end up being bitch-slapped. :p


Again, at almost 4 am...my stupid Ambien pills to help me sleep, and 2 beers...my brain isn't working in a hopefully and mostly coherent way.

Please be nice,:)
 
As-is, the braking on the car is pretty good, but a bit unusual. Pedal travel is a bit longer than normal, and our brake bias is VERY front heavy - neither of which are bad things, just a bit different. You'll get used to the first before you're even out of the paddock, and the second within a lap or two. It'll take longer than that to get used to just how wide the damned thing is.


That American Girl said:
Now, I'm going into an environment that its a group of people like me who all want to GOGOGOGOGO on the same track as you. Which scares me just a bit. :p
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It's really not as bad as it sounds. This race should be less crowded than last time, and only the insanest of the sane are driving 10/10ths - this is an endurance race, after all.

It's quite terrifying going into this for the first time - but as soon as you get strapped in and turn that first lap, your biggest concern will be 'why the hell didn't I do this earlier?'

That American Girl said:
Just want to know I can count of the bits of the car doing what I ask of them.
Click to expand...

As long as you don't ask it to break the laws of physics with regard to tire adhesion, it should be fine. The car was quite well-sorted last year and should be even better after its refresh.
 
EyeMWing said:
As-is, the braking on the car is pretty good, but a bit unusual. Pedal travel is a bit longer than normal, and our brake bias is VERY front heavy - neither of which are bad things, just a bit different. You'll get used to the first before you're even out of the paddock, and the second within a lap or two. It'll take longer than that to get used to just how wide the damned thing is.
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I used to have a 67 Impala...wide cars I can handle. :p



EyeMWing said:
It's really not as bad as it sounds. This race should be less crowded than last time, and only the insanest of the sane are driving 10/10ths - this is an endurance race, after all.

It's quite terrifying going into this for the first time - but as soon as you get strapped in and turn that first lap, your biggest concern will be 'why the hell didn't I do this earlier?'
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*laughs*

I did a track day once..and at the end I was thinking..

"Oh yeah..I am a driving God! This is easy! I rock!"

But I'm sure it'll be different with a whole group of drivers on the track at the same time all thinking the same thing. :D

Although...I used to drive on I-270 N to work every day...:D
 
The GTP isn't that big or wide, or it isn't to me at least. And when it's out on the track with that 6.9 and the LTD, it's going to feel like a Miata in comparison.

As for the brakes, the small issues we do have with them is because we still have the original rubber lines that were installed at the factory. They are actually very common with GP's that have done the F Body upgrade like we have, the OEM lines were not designed with oversized brakes in mind. This is why the pedal is a bit spongy and brackets had to be fabricated to relocate the hoses because they would never reach in the stock location. The stainless steel lines are not only longer but are ideal for cars that have gone to 12 or 13 inch rotors with the dual piston calipers.
 
So this weekend proved that SC 3800's are just too powerful for LeMons, the Bradley team wound up breaking a wheel hub and were unable to secure a replacement. So they offered it up for The Curse...


Thankfully they pulled the engine out before and it will be going into another car of theirs.

LSNJ11-BSGallery-43.jpg


It's a Toyota Supra done up like a GTO Judge, the bastards beat us to the punch, which had a Pontiac 400 V8 in it. That was until it shit a pushrod out through the bottom of the oil pan. Since that engine is now trash, they announced the Judge will be the new home for the 3800.

I really hope we end up going with our own GTO Judge theme now because I love the idea of possibly going head to head with these guys down the line. FWD vs RWD. Supercharged 3800 vs Supercharged 3800. May the best car win. :p
 
Wouldn't that be a CONNECTING rod?

And they seriously stuffed a 400 ci Pontiac V8 into that? How big of a shoehorn do they have?
 
No, it wasn't a connecting rod, it was a pushrod. I've no clue how the hell it managed to get from the head down to the oil pan and then force its way out of the oil pan. My only guess is that a lifter was totally destroyed and that allowed it to fall so far.

LSNJ11-BustedPartsSat-24.jpg
 
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That American Girl said:
Well, my question that popped up out of my noggin was: Brakes. Some better ones.
I know that Q was wanting to add some of the braided stainless lines to his car before the shakedown cruise. And brakes and such don't count count to the $500 that the car should be worth, if I read the rules right.

I am essentially an untried driver in this situation, and I'll be willing to pay Q just about anything he needs to make sure it goes well for the drivers like me!

I might be incredibly capable, or I might not be. Hoping I just don't embarrass too many people before I get into the swing of it. :p

Ive done a few track days, but that's just you and a sweet ass car...ALL ALONE on the track to go have fun.

Now, I'm going into an environment that its a group of people like me who all want to GOGOGOGOGO on the same track as you. Which scares me just a bit. :p Just want to know I can count of the bits of the car doing what I ask of them. And I can be pushy with what I want on Q's car. :D:D

I'll have to get with him in the next few days to make sure I understand what HE wants from all of this...and I don't just go on some unneeded and un-needed tangent and end up being bitch-slapped. :p


Again, at almost 4 am...my stupid Ambien pills to help me sleep, and 2 beers...my brain isn't working in a hopefully and mostly coherent way.

Please be nice,:)
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If you want to buy the longer S.S lines, I won't complain. :D

I am heading down Tuesday->Sat/Sun this week to get the engine wired up&running, exhaust mostly done, prep the cool-seat, remount the fire-extinguisher, fix the seat mounts, full safety check on the car, check the brake pads(and get new ones ordered), get a tire inventory(and order new tires), get flooring done in the trailer.. whew.

We also need to figure out our plans before the race (where to meet&when), to do any last-minute prep work before we go to the track.
 
Quiky said:
If you want to buy the longer S.S lines, I won't complain. :D
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Lemme see what I can do. :)

Quiky said:
We also need to figure out our plans before the race (where to meet&when), to do any last-minute prep work before we go to the track.
Click to expand...

I still need to book my rental car too. And almost forgot to request the time off work!~
 
For those of you who don't follow the FGR twitter account (and you really should be), we've got a surprise for everyone concerning CMP next month. I can't say what it is right this minute, but we'll make the announcement tomorrow. Also Quiky is spending this week working on the car, so hopefully there will be some new updates and pictures for everyone very soon.
 
Recently I've had a couple people ask me how we're going to handle race coverage next month, and I haven't been very forthcoming with an answer. The reason for that is because we've been working on a surprise for everyone and I haven't been to talk about it till now.

So what's the surprise? Well first I need to explain a few things. Hopefully you remember this video of our BS inspection at CMP last year.


This wasn't shot by us, but by Chris Medico of The Track Geeks. The Geeks are well known around the LeMons community but not so much around here. For a couple years now they've brought a large amount of video and computer equipment with them (along with their car) to every CMP race so they can do a live video stream for those who can't be there in person. Typically they have cameras setup at the first and last turns of the track, but recently they've been expanding their operation and trying new things such as interviewing teams and penalty box coverage.

So now that you know who they are...

I'm proud to announce that Final Gear Racing and The Track Geeks are going to be joining forces at the race next month. In addition to their standard setup, The Geeks will be installing a camera inside the GTP which will be broadcasting live for all of day 1. Yes, that means you'll be able to see things from the driver's perspective in real time as the car goes around the track. Originally we were going to have a camera run for day 1 and 2, but technical limitations meant a change of plans.

But that's not all. We will be hosting the stream on the front page of Final Gear so it will be easy for everyone to find.

Also this will not be replacing our own in car camera setup, it's merely augmenting it. I don't know how many video cameras of our own we'll be setting up, last time we planned on 4 and only 1 out of the bunch worked. We'll see what happens.

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2011/03/30/Ustream_sample.jpg

Above you see a sample of the picture quality from one of the trackside cameras. The Geeks do this on their own dime as a service to the LeMons community, so please keep that in mind if things don't work perfectly or the video isn't crystal clear. One thing to note is that Ustream saves all the video so anyone who can't watch it live for one reason or another will not be forced to miss out.

During the race we will be continuing to keep people updated via the FGR twitter account and posting updates to this thread as best we can. And there will be another Long Road To LeMons written up post race.

So here is the short list of what to expect during the race next month thanks to The Track Geeks.

1: A live video feed from inside the GTP on Saturday.
2: Three live trackside views along with commentary from Chris Medico and maybe a few other people.
3: Interviews with various LeMons teams.
4: Penalty box coverage.

Tune in to the front page of Final Gear on Saturday May 21st from 10:00AM to 7:30PM to see Final Gear Racing's GTP and the 24 Hours Of LeMons live. Then come back on Sunday May 22nd from 9:00AM to 4:00PM for the continuation of the race.. It's the closest you'll get to LeMons without actually being there.
 
Such epic WIN!
 
YAY!
This will make things SO much better for those that can?t be there in person!
:thumbsup:
 
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