FinalGear Racing 2010/24 Hours Of LeMons

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Quiky said:
Those wings are too small.. I'm thinking 747 size should do the trick.
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Flying-Car.jpg


:p
 
Wow, what a day.. Pics will come later, I did not take any with my camera but McLightning95 did.

So we started by flushing the coolant, which was a PITA. On the bottom of the radiator, there is a plug that you twist a 1/4 turn, then pull out a 1/2 inch, then turn 1/3rd back. Once you do that, it piddles coolant out a special hole in the bottom of the radiator assembly+core support. No mess, no fuss.... However the coolant overflow bottle was missing a return feed, so the coolant would pour into the bottle, but not come back out. So we yanked the bottle and trashed it. Inside the coolant was brown with leaves and a mysterious hose inside.

So then we fixed the brake lines and had issues with the bleeding. Somehow the right lines were leaking regardless of how tight and sealed the hose was. Turns out the bleeder valve was loose, and when you released the brakes it caused fluid to exit the hose from the connector/knuckle.

Did some damage to the interior parts of the car (Video will come tomorrow). ABS plastic is REALLY resilient to damage (Couldnt destroy some of it even with a hacksaw, chisel, large hammer..).. we had to resort to really american ingenuity and brute force to destroy those pieces.

We are going to leave the heater core inside the car, because we have to pull the entire dash out in order to get to it. We have other priorities.

Designed a bypass hose for the radiator core. Went to Home Depot instead of Autozone to get some hose and fittings for it.. the guy running the plumbing department saw our hose and said "HEY! I know what that is! That's a waste pipe for a garbage disposal!". Nope, we shocked him with "It's a heater core hose from a car." We got plenty of proper water heater hose from them, and upon leaving he commented "That's a first for me.. coming to the plumbing section at Home Depot to fix your car..."

Road tested the new brakes, and they work.
We went to our private testing location to seat/bead the brakes.. Took the car up to 90 and slammed on the brakes.. enormous grey clouds blew out from the brakes from the first 90-20. Went again several times to heat cycle them, and stopped. Lots of smoke came pouring off the rotors once stopped.
Did a few runs, and the car hooks up and pulls like crazy off the line and keeps pulling like a screaming bull until I pussy out before hitting any sort of limiter on the car... no signs of running out of steam, even with 160k on the motor. Once we do a track testing day with full safety equipment installed, we will see exactly how fast it will go. With the weight savings and power increases we made, this car is an absolute screamer (And 100% LEGIT).
 
Quiky said:
Turns out the bleeder valve was loose, and when you released the brakes it caused fluid to exit the hose from the connector/knuckle.
Click to expand...
I *STILL* don't understand the physics behind that one. Unless (God help me for even thinking this) the goddamn banjo connectors aren't a solid seal.


Quiky said:
Did a few runs, and the car hooks up and pulls like crazy off the line and keeps pulling like a screaming bull until I pussy out before hitting any sort of limiter on the car...
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It also sounds like the baddest assed thing EVER. Putting a muffler on there will be a damn crime.

Also, my shop manual says the heater core can come out with the dash intact.

The instructions:
1. Take the plastic crap off the engine, drain coolant. (Done and done)
2. Disconnect hoses (Need to cut the remaining ends off so the fittings can actually pull back through the firewall)
3. Remove left and right sound insulators from beneath insturment panel (That giant foam pad down at the bottom?)
4. Remove floor console if equipped (Uh yeah. Done.)
5. Unscrew the case. (Partially done)
6. Unscrew the heater core itself
7. Throw that shit away.

See fig 3.

https://pic.armedcats.net/e/ey/eyemwing/2010/04/10/lolheatercore.jpg


Which sounds an awful lot like a 2 minute job.
 
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Any chance I can get a copy of the software? :D
 
Pictures! :D

Brakes have been flipped once again and are now on the proper side and the right way up.
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/1.JPG

Model of the bracket we need to make so the hose reaches the caliper without the danger of pulling it apart. (No, we did not leave the cardboard on there).
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/2.JPG

Hooking up the new coolant overflow bottle.
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/3.JPG

We took the GP and my car out for a drive.
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/5_000.JPG

Bit of smoke never hurt anyone. :p
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/4.JPG

https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/6.JPG
 
EyeMWing - Little off topic, but whats that piece of software smudged between Pidgin and Firefox?
 
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/5_000.JPG

Damn, looks like we gained an inch or two of lift thanks to the diet.

RacerSpencer said:
Geez what type/brand of brake pads are you using?
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OEM spec rotors from Raybestos and Wagner severe duty pads, I'm told they're the same kind of pads the Vic ran at CMP and they performed very very well, we'll see how they do in this car at the shakedown run.
 
If you have something that will cut through a spring, you can get some of that drop back at the disadvantage of less suspension travel.
 
The design of the spring doesn't really allow for a coil to be cut out and still have it fit the strut. Besides, lowering a W body can cause problems such as giving the suspension a pogo effect (even with a set of true lowering springs) and it can possibly wear out your CV joints faster, there are ways to correct this but it's just another expense we don't need.
 
Quiky said:
"That's a first for me.. coming to the plumbing section at Home Depot to fix your car..."
Click to expand...

I've um...done something similar. Won't even go into the story for fear of the ultimate smackdown I would receive here. :p

Quiky said:
Did a few runs, and the car hooks up and pulls like crazy off the line and keeps pulling like a screaming bull until I pussy out before hitting any sort of limiter on the car... no signs of running out of steam, even with 160k on the motor. Once we do a track testing day with full safety equipment installed, we will see exactly how fast it will go. With the weight savings and power increases we made, this car is an absolute screamer (And 100% LEGIT).
Click to expand...

*dies laughing* Seriously, I can't wait till I get the nerve/time/money to start doing things like this myself. :)

EyeMWing said:
Also, my shop manual says the heater core can come out with the dash intact.

The instructions:
1. Take the plastic crap off the engine, drain coolant. (Done and done)
2. Disconnect hoses (Need to cut the remaining ends off so the fittings can actually pull back through the firewall)
3. Remove left and right sound insulators from beneath insturment panel (That giant foam pad down at the bottom?)
4. Remove floor console if equipped (Uh yeah. Done.)
5. Unscrew the case. (Partially done)
6. Unscrew the heater core itself
7. Throw that shit away.

See fig 3.
Click to expand...

I would love to see instructions in any manual that would be that 100% clear and honest. :D

Punisher Bass said:
OEM spec rotors from Raybestos and Wagner severe duty pads, I'm told they're the same kind of pads the Vic ran at CMP and they performed very very well, we'll see how they do in this car at the shakedown run.
Click to expand...

Will those just last one race then? Or is it even possible to have them last longer? Or is that something you don't even mess with or want to take the chance on?

Punisher Bass said:
The design of the spring doesn't really allow for a coil to be cut out and still have it fit the strut. Besides, lowering a W body can cause problems such as giving the suspension a pogo effect (even with a set of true lowering springs) and it can possibly wear out your CV joints faster, there are ways to correct this but it's just another expense we don't need.
Click to expand...

One last question: (Yeah, sure.)

In a LeMons race...would there be any benefit to lowering a car? Or is doing that intentionally just asking for trouble?
 
Quiky said:
Model of the bracket we need to make so the hose reaches the caliper without the danger of pulling it apart. (No, we did not leave the cardboard on there).
https://pic.armedcats.net/m/mc/mclightning95/2010/04/10/2.JPG
Click to expand...

I don't know why I keep looking at that pic, but it's just nagging me for some reason. And it's not even my car! :p

You keep saying you need to make a bracket for that because the original lines wont reach.. But you can't be the first person to ever run into that issue, right? Why wouldn't the OEM 'spec' rotors from Raybestos fit properly? Is because of the Wagner pads? Or is the term 'OEM' just a general 'should fit, but we make no promise' kind of thing?


Sorry for all the questions, but...trying to learn as much as I can. :)
 
That American Girl said:
Will those just last one race then? Or is it even possible to have them last longer? Or is that something you don't even mess with or want to take the chance on?
Click to expand...

We're going to find out, but we'll have atleast one full spare set of pads and rotors on hand just in case.

In a LeMons race...would there be any benefit to lowering a car? Or is doing that intentionally just asking for trouble?
Click to expand...

Absolutely there's an advantage to lowering a car, with stiffer springs and lower center of gravity you can greatly increase how well the car handles. But for a platform like the W body, you can't just put new springs on and call it day, you have to take a few more steps to make sure the changes won't have a negative effect on something else. People who don't have wound up with $600 adjustable shocks crapping out after 6 months in some cases.

You keep saying you need to make a bracket for that because the original lines wont reach.. But you can't be the first person to ever run into that issue, right? Why wouldn't the OEM 'spec' rotors from Raybestos fit properly? Is because of the Wagner pads? Or is the term 'OEM' just a general 'should fit, but we make no promise' kind of thing?
Click to expand...

It's strongly suggested by the places who sell the F body upgrade kit to get braided stainless steel lines, the problem is that the set isn't cheap. Maybe before the car hits the track we'll be able to get a set under there, but for now the stock lines will work.

As for the fitment issues, the stock car comes with 11 inch rotors and single piston calipers. We've upgraded to 12 inch rotors and dual piston calipers, both are from the Camaro/Firebird. This is really a conversion kit and not a direct bolt on, so you have to expect a few problems to pop up.

Sorry for all the questions, but...trying to learn as much as I can. :)
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Not a problem.
 
That American Girl said:
I would love to see instructions in any manual that would be that 100% clear and honest. :D
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Factory service manuals. Seriously, they're incredible - easily a dozen times better than ye olde Chiltons or Haynes. In this case, it's not DIRECTLY a factory service manual, but a compilation of prettymuch every FSM ever up until 2009 in fancy searchable electronic format. Probably the same program your independent mechanic uses [in the US market anyway].



That American Girl said:
In a LeMons race...would there be any benefit to lowering a car? Or is doing that intentionally just asking for trouble?
Click to expand...
A lower ride height implies better handling because of less suspension travel (at the cost of a rougher ride). On this car it would be asking for trouble because of all the other suspension-related problems it introduces, but on another car, it may well be the best freebie mod they can make.

That American Girl said:
You keep saying you need to make a bracket for that because the original lines wont reach.. But you can't be the first person to ever run into that issue, right? Why wouldn't the OEM 'spec' rotors from Raybestos fit properly? Is because of the Wagner pads? Or is the term 'OEM' just a general 'should fit, but we make no promise' kind of thing?
Click to expand...
OEM spec in this case means "GM uses it on other cars and it bolts up to the same holes" - the sticking point comes from most people doing this mod also picking up braided brake hoses.

The only advice I could find for using the factory style hoses with this setup is "You should be able to make it fit by bending the bracket a little"

Impala SS brake hoses may or may not also be useful in this application. But who the hell cares - a couple inches of bent metal and fewer dollars spent. Now just wait until the wider tires go on and shit starts rubbing :lol:

That American Girl said:
Sorry for all the questions, but...trying to learn as much as I can. :)
Click to expand...

No big deal,
 
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