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S550 The Albuquerque Stripper - Mustang Nosegrind 720 Kickflip Champion Build Thread Profile - S550 Mustangs

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PaddyPrix

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I know if my case with the R splitter, I can't clear the U-Haul lip. I have to back on and add some 2x8s (I actually bought 2x12s but had to cut them down since the U-Haul ramp is a little over 16 inches per side) where the rear wheels will sit. I also have to add a small length of those cut up 2x12s on the ramp area where the straps lie to make sure my mufflers clear the lip. I have to lie those down again to unload it. The other important step is to curse at yourself for spending trailer money on useless things like food, water, significant others, etc. as you have to climb over the center console because the U-Haul wheel arch only goes down on one side. Here's an example of my wood layout, patent pending of course:

View attachment 73749
Heh, my buddy made me a set of ramps out of scraps as he's a general contractor, we had some knock-off race ramps to extend and lower the angle of approach to the trailer, and then another block like an n which would go over that solid bar where the tire strap starts and is anchored to. I don't usually run with the top plastic lid all bolted down, and since I built my splitter with ease of installation as one of its primary objectives, I shouldn't be too bad to remove that and the bumper. Hopefully there's enough room left in the Tahoe with Birch v2 up in thurrr.

How about driving the tow vehicle's rear wheels up on a ramp thus putting the rear of the trailer closer to the ground and the trailer itself acts as a ramp. I did this with my S2000 about 10+ years ago
Good call. Similar idea, at WSIR, CW, and BW, I usually drive my truck over the edge of the pavement, along with the trailer, which usually give it another 2-3 inch drop so the angle isn't a problem anymore.

Also, funny how luck works out sometime, huh? Your plant happened to be my training monkey for the day :)
 

PaddyPrix

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Who puts clothes ON a Stripper? WHO?

I do, and I did.

I might have mentioned or hinted that I was undergoing a facelift, just somewhat tired with being the track's eyesore, so figured that I'd be taken more seriously as a race car if I started to look like a race car. So, I tossed some new fenders on, and tried my hand at wrapping.
20220319_160651.jpg20220321_212826.jpg

I think it came out alright, and had installed and riveted in the Race Louvers Extreme vents that I had been sitting on for like a year. Sorry Albert, we just weren't ready for it.

20220327_161028.jpg

So with a semi disappointing Saturday only pulling out a 1:48.3, but consistent, really fighting the Goodyear Eagle RS tires I had. I had them out the week before and they were 0.2s slower than the 12+ HC Yoko A052's that I was running, and they were even slower on this Saturday. I'm not going to lie, I then became real disappointed, as this was like, their 3rd heat cycle, and not that I have 19's, but I'd wonder if 3R's are faster. I pulled out a 3rd place in class on the day, but the other spots were somewhat within reach which just left me wondering. Sunday would be a different day though, I really had all my eggs in that basket, and a fresh set of A7 ready to go. For the longest time you've heard me say what I wouldn't give for just one good day, and well, I think Sunday was it. Conditions were good, I was 2nd in the train, and the pack leader knew that I was much faster than that time I had posted for Saturday, so couldn't not be any happier for his pointby on the flying lap, which is technically no pass unless pointed by. Got a really good exit out of the playground and ... well, see for yourself.


Started with a little chugga chugga choo choo to get that train a rollin', had a nice line through T1/2, min speed briefly hit 138, but mostly low 140, got a nice exit from 4, 6, 9, and the playground, and pulled out a 1:44.5, which you can see I was happy with, watching the seconds click off as I approached the start/finish. I'd been waiting a whole year for that opportunity, and made the best out of it. I got out of the car and jumped around like a f***ing idiot, hoping for a deep 46, maybe a 45, but didn't think I had 2 seconds left. So, even if for just one day, the Albuquerque Stripper got to be the pretty pretty princess.

20220327_101114.jpg

Although my top speed of 157 last year is now 150, and I'm slipping on the 3/4 shifts which have me wondering how much more I could have clicked off, especially because I had a -0.3 predictive on the next go-around but overcooked a turn. I guess we'll have to wait and see for next year. I went out on a full tank, and scaled at 3725, despite my claiming 3605, so taking some weight off would certainly help, and I'll get to it shortly.

edit - I also have to thank a bunch for the help to get there. I wrapped the driver side door on Friday with the help of @5.2 liters of democracy, borrowed a drill and later some drill bits :)D) from @67GTA to then install the Race Louvers and later the new air fence and bigger end plates with the help of @Hye Power on Saturday night. I was greeted with many smiling faces and high fives that made it all worth it. Went back to my normal life on Monday, and pulled into every f'n problem and whatnot throughout the whole day and didn't prioritize myself, and when I could come up for air, found out that all 45 spaces for the NASA Nationals at Laguna Seca were all spoken for. I'm not going to lie, my heart sank, as Laguna Seca is partially where my journey started a few years ago when I was going to dedicate myself to this thing I knew so little about. But as much as I want it, I'm fine with waiting as obviously it is just not the right time. For me to think that maybe 2 years' worth of driving a piece of shiznit is good enough to win a national championship is borderline absurd. This car has seen nothing but challenges and setbacks, so what's one more? Besides, I've honestly got no idea how in the hell this is going to make sound, and if I can't roar, where's the fun in that? There are a few people who I believe to be faster than I, and they're both there, might as well cheer them on. 2023 should be a different story though, I'll run those fuckers off the track.
 
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Fabman

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Who puts clothes ON a Stripper? WHO?

I do, and I did.

I might have mentioned or hinted that I was undergoing a facelift, just somewhat tired with being the track's eyesore, so figured that I'd be taken more seriously as a race car if I started to look like a race car. So, I tossed some new fenders on, and tried my hand at wrapping.
View attachment 73994View attachment 73995

I think it came out alright, and had installed and riveted in the Race Louvers Extreme vents that I had been sitting on for like a year. Sorry Albert, we just weren't ready for it.

View attachment 73996

So with a semi disappointing Saturday only pulling out a 1:48.3, but consistent, really fighting the Goodyear Eagle RS tires I had. I had them out the week before and they were 0.2s slower than the 12+ HC Yoko A052's that I was running, and they were even slower on this Saturday. I'm not going to lie, I then became real disappointed, as this was like, their 3rd heat cycle, and not that I have 19's, but I'd wonder if 3R's are faster. I pulled out a 3rd place in class on the day, but the other spots were somewhat within reach which just left me wondering. Sunday would be a different day though, I really had all my eggs in that basket, and a fresh set of A7 ready to go. For the longest time you've heard me say what I wouldn't give for just one good day, and well, I think Sunday was it. Conditions were good, I was 2nd in the train, and the pack leader knew that I was much faster than that time I had posted for Saturday, so couldn't not be any happier for his pointby on the flying lap, which is technically no pass unless pointed by. Got a really good exit out of the playground and ... well, see for yourself.


Started with a little chugga chugga choo choo to get that train a rollin', had a nice line through T1/2, min speed briefly hit 138, but mostly low 140, got a nice exit from 4, 6, 9, and the playground, and pulled out a 1:44.5, which you can see I was happy with, watching the seconds click off as I approached the start/finish. I'd been waiting a whole year for that opportunity, and made the best out of it. I got out of the car and jumped around like a f***ing idiot, hoping for a deep 46, maybe a 45, but didn't think I had 2 seconds left. So, even if for just one day, the Albuquerque Stripper got to be the pretty pretty princess.

View attachment 73997

Although my top speed of 157 last year is now 150, and I'm slipping on the 3/4 shifts which have me wondering how much more I could have clicked off, especially because I had a -0.3 predictive on the next go-around but overcooked a turn. I guess we'll have to wait and see for next year. I went out on a full tank, and scaled at 3725, despite my claiming 3605, so taking some weight off would certainly help, and I'll get to it shortly.
Congrats!
 

PaddyPrix

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1648671427086.jpeg

Sessions rained out, black flagged, and later cancelled due to hail, that "Dry Lagoon" is full of shiznit, huh?

Being honest though, there was really no way I was going to make 105 dB, and while TT is lots of fun, but I've got my heart set on Super Touring, my goal since day one. I even said it in the Skip classroom when doing introductions, and got something of a "yeah, okay" eyeroll from all the other dentists in the room. I'm still going to go back and blow kisses to all my friends and hope that they'll let me touch their cars, knowing how calamity follows close behind, who knows, if it rains, perhaps they'll toss me their keys, all I ended up doing there were wet lines anyhow.

It also goes to show what the difference a year can make, and perhaps that's another reason I'm somewhat content with it. I'm not incredibly spiritual by any means, but do believe that things happen for a reason and not a moment sooner than you're ready for them, and setback after setback has probably done me more good than harm. Not going to lie though, if the 2023 Champs is at Lime Rock, put your money on me to win that, as long as they get a no-sound weekend. I think their norm is something like 87dB, sheeeeit, I'd blow that on a cold start.

Also, holy moly, how clean your car stays when you run in the front. I should seriously try that more often. Looking over Sunday, I was 1st in class, 1st in TT, and 3rd out of the 106 that put down morning qual/warmup sessions. Considering that I'm 125# over min, have a slipping clutch, and some more things up my sleeves, I am liking my chances more and more.

1648673237217.jpeg

1648674506243.png


ed - sorry for the run-on posts, it's not like I'm editing these during meetings or anything.
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PaddyPrix

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What a difference that a year (and a half) can make!


What better way to celebrate the birthday of our beloved Ford Mustang than with a 1st in class, 2nd overall at Buttonwillow, setting a personal best of 1:54.439. Don't know if I can trust the predictive, but it said I had another whole second up until the last turn out of Sunrise. What I can trust, is now that this is the 2nd event where everything just felt really nice, smooth, and really happy where I've got it dialed in. Being the superstitious person I am, yes, that is a vinyl moustache on my visor, and yes, I have a real one underneath. What started out as a dumb April Fool's joke is going to continue on until disaster strikes again. Trust me, it annoys and irritates me equally as much as it does you.

Story time?

Perhaps this is why some people asking for advice on the next mod or part, some people answer with "seat time." Taking a quick trip down memory lane, my last time in that configuration was October 2020, my first and last NASA weekend in HPDE 4. It was also the same weekend that I somehow snapped the outer ring off of my flywheel, which spun all around my transmission bellhousing, and in doing so, also ended up grinding my starter's teeth down to the rod. I had run a best of 2:04.5 that weekend, and met a bunch of people that have also continued on their development since then, like Carlos who won a Honda Challenge race, or Andy who was on my tail in his roided out TT3 Miata. For the Albuquerque Stripper, not much has really changed since then, a few sets of tires, my woodworking skills (or not), but yeah... other than replacing parts that broke, that's pretty much it. If you had told me that the next time out I'd be hot on the tail of a Norma M20 FC, I'd definitely ask for what you're smoking.

But I would not inhale.

I very much like this CCW 13 layout, which seems to really reward smooth transitions and good rhythm sections for almost half the course. Buttonwillow is unique as that every corner is a different corner type, and very few are repeated, so it's a nice benchmark to see how you can read lines, courses, and handle yourself, so, I guess 10+ seconds faster since last time, I guess the answer is at least slightly better.

Times were pretty competitive with the Super Touring 2 times, so still some odds and ends on my to-do list, but making forward progress, and another clean event. All good things come in time, perhaps making the switch after the summer break? Dunno.

20220417_121949.jpeg
 
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What a difference that a year (and a half) can make!


What better way to celebrate the birthday of our beloved Ford Mustang than with a 1st in class, 2nd overall at Buttonwillow, setting a personal best of 1:54.439. Don't know if I can trust the predictive, but it said I had another whole second up until the last turn out of Sunrise. What I can trust, is now that this is the 2nd event where everything just felt really nice, smooth, and really happy where I've got it dialed in. Being the superstitious person I am, yes, that is a vinyl moustache on my visor, and yes, I have a real one underneath. What started out as a dumb April Fool's joke is going to continue on until disaster strikes again. Trust me, it annoys and irritates me equally as much as it does you.

Story time?

Perhaps this is why some people asking for advice on the next mod or part, some people answer with "seat time." Taking a quick trip down memory lane, my last time in that configuration was October 2020, my first and last NASA weekend in HPDE 4. It was also the same weekend that I somehow snapped the outer ring off of my flywheel, which spun all around my transmission bellhousing, and in doing so, also ended up grinding my starter's teeth down to the rod. I had run a best of 2:04.5 that weekend, and met a bunch of people that have also continued on their development since then, like Carlos who won a Honda Challenge race, or Andy who was on my tail in his roided out TT3 Miata. For the Albuquerque Stripper, not much has really changed since then, a few sets of tires, my woodworking skills (or not), but yeah... other than replacing parts that broke, that's pretty much it. If you had told me that the next time out I'd be hot on the tail of a Norma M20 FC, I'd definitely ask for what you're smoking.

But I would not inhale.

I very much like this CCW 13 layout, which seems to really reward smooth transitions and good rhythm sections for almost half the course. Buttonwillow is unique as that every corner is a different corner type, and very few are repeated, so it's a nice benchmark to see how you can read lines, courses, and handle yourself, so, I guess 10+ seconds faster since last time, I guess the answer is at least slightly better.
Smooth like butta!! Great drive - so little drama corner off and you were attacking those curbs like they called the Stripper a dirty name! Congrats man, we’ll deserved!!
 

PaddyPrix

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Smooth like butta!! Great drive - so little drama corner off and you were attacking those curbs like they called the Stripper a dirty name! Congrats man, we’ll deserved!!
Thanks.
I keep wondering what 2nd gear would have done for me coming through that back half, and not straddling between high 3rd and very low 4th, but I guess I'll have another year and a half for my chance to figure it out. I'd bet if you could hold similar speeds with your gearing being just a touch sweeter, you'd do just as good, if not better.
 

PaddyPrix

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I'm gonna say it, I'm stumped. Granted, I don't really know what I'm doing, so, it's not all that hard, but this one seems silly.

So in both the data I've got, and even just listening to some of my last few videos, my clutch is slipping.

20220423_183957.jpg
The Flywheel looks okay, not too many hot spots, right?


20220423_174500.jpg
You'd figure that a slipping clutch would have worn the material down to the rivets or something, right? Fair enough, which one was the slipping one?


20220423_183643.jpg
Nothing wrong with the pressure plate that I could see, no teeth mangled or something stupid.


20220423_184339.jpg
Slave Cylinder looked fine, no big leaks or messy puddles anywhere, the bell-housing was rather clean, especially since I no longer go off the course, filling my car and equipment full of dirt.

Is the continued and continuous high speed, power, and shifting too much for the stock material so it is glazing things over similar to brakes? I mean, you're not supposed to be racing on this transmission, right? That's what the TR-3160 is for, that's why they have it on the GT-350 and the Mach1. Reached out to Mantec to see what they say and if they'd be interested at getting hitched up and going for a ride, I mean, it's not every day you get the opportunity to work with the fastest (only?) MT82-D4 in the Country, right?
 
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I'm gonna say it, I'm stumped. Granted, I don't really know what I'm doing, so, it's not all that hard, but this one seems silly.

So in both the data I've got, and even just listening to some of my last few videos, my clutch is slipping.

View attachment 75225
The Flywheel looks okay, not too many hot spots, right?


View attachment 75224
You'd figure that a slipping clutch would have worn the material down to the rivets or something, right? Fair enough, which one was the slipping one?


View attachment 75226
Nothing wrong with the pressure plate that I could see, no teeth mangled or something stupid.


View attachment 75227
Slave Cylinder looked fine, no big leaks or messy puddles anywhere, the bell-housing was rather clean, especially since I no longer go off the course, filling my car and equipment full of dirt.

Is the continued and continuous high speed, power, and shifting too much for the stock material so it is glazing things over similar to brakes? I mean, you're not supposed to be racing on this transmission, right? That's what the TR-3160 is for, that's why they have it on the GT-350 and the Mach1. Reached out to Mantec to see what they say and if they'd be interested at getting hitched up and going for a ride, I mean, it's not every day you get the opportunity to work with the fastest (only?) MT82-D4 in the Country, right?
I just changed my clutch on my MT82 and the clutch was looking ok, the slave cylinder was looking fine and the pressure plate was looking fine. However my clutch was dropping to the floor, the pedal was super hard and it was slipping. The pressure plate was visually heat checked. But my assumption was that the slave cylinder was gone gone. Which mean new cylinder but since the trans is out better stuck a new clutch in. So that I did now it's much better and I'm sure after the brake-in will not have issues with clutch slipping at least for a while. Also took the time to replace clutch line and line to master cylinder with new ones so they don't put air in the lines (which for me killed the slave cylinder). In other words you can continue driving on your current clutch but since you have problems and this is dangerous component mostly because the fluid is the same with the brakes and a leak could cause an very dangerous situation considering how we are driving better safe than sorry. Hope this helps.
 

PaddyPrix

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I just changed my clutch on my MT82 and the clutch was looking ok, the slave cylinder was looking fine and the pressure plate was looking fine. However my clutch was dropping to the floor, the pedal was super hard and it was slipping. The pressure plate was visually heat checked. But my assumption was that the slave cylinder was gone gone. Which mean new cylinder but since the trans is out better stuck a new clutch in. So that I did now it's much better and I'm sure after the brake-in will not have issues with clutch slipping at least for a while. Also took the time to replace clutch line and line to master cylinder with new ones so they don't put air in the lines (which for me killed the slave cylinder). In other words you can continue driving on your current clutch but since you have problems and this is dangerous component mostly because the fluid is the same with the brakes and a leak could cause an very dangerous situation considering how we are driving better safe than sorry. Hope this helps.
Good idea, but in my case, the slave was super strong and just the right amount of pressure. I also switched in a new slave cylinder when it was out most recently, and since I've got a divorced setup, it's ridiculously easy to bleed the clutch with a negative pressure pump on it, and can honestly do it in 5 minutes super solid and firm as I like it. The reason for my divorce is that my fluids no longer love each other :( ... that, and I run Castrol SRF which I've heard plenty of people say eats up clutch lines, so I separated them into their own systems, and run Motul SBF600 for the clutch. I also had changed the clutch lines when I was repairing all the fire damaged stuff too, so there's not too many hours/pumps through that new-ish assembly.

Let's assume that I'm wrong, and there's a pinhole leak or something, would it not drip down the line to its lowest point after runs and then leave residue in the bell-housing? I didn't clean anything in the pictures, so it's relatively clean, and exactly what was. Let's also assume that it is leaking, if it's letting air in, and/or dropping pressure, wouldn't it then require more pedal pressure to get the slave cylinder to press against the pressure plate fingers to spring the clutch off? If so, I wouldn't be slipping, I'd have a hell of a time shifting though.
 
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Good idea, but in my case, the slave was super strong and just the right amount of pressure. I also switched in a new slave cylinder when it was out most recently, and since I've got a divorced setup, it's ridiculously easy to bleed the clutch with a negative pressure pump on it, and can honestly do it in 5 minutes super solid and firm as I like it. The reason for my divorce is that my fluids no longer love each other :( ... that, and I run Castrol SRF which I've heard plenty of people say eats up clutch lines, so I separated them into their own systems, and run Motul SBF600 for the clutch. I also had changed the clutch lines when I was repairing all the fire damaged stuff too, so there's not too many hours/pumps through that new-ish assembly.

Let's assume that I'm wrong, and there's a pinhole leak or something, would it not drip down the line to its lowest point after runs and then leave residue in the bell-housing? I didn't clean anything in the pictures, so it's relatively clean, and exactly what was. Let's also assume that it is leaking, if it's letting air in, and/or dropping pressure, wouldn't it then require more pedal pressure to get the slave cylinder to press against the pressure plate fingers to spring the clutch off? If so, I wouldn't be slipping, I'd have a hell of a time shifting though.
I know for a fact that the problem with the line is between the master and the reservoir or at least this was where my air was coming from. Also if I understand what I have read you need a braided clutch line between master and slave because that line pass between the headers and there is a lot of heat there so it's causing overheating of the brake fluid. With that in mind as I said for me the symptoms were hard clutch pedal, pedal dropping and clutch slipping (this one I still don't get but after all it's a cheap Turkey made clutch). So I ordered Exedy clutch and hopefully now all the issues will be gone. Even after a number of clutch and brakes bleeding my clutch was always hard so it's much better now that it's soft and easy to press and looks like the gear changes are easier as well. Good for you that you divorced the reservoirs this surely will help.
 

PaddyPrix

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I know for a fact that the problem with the line is between the master and the reservoir or at least this was where my air was coming from. Also if I understand what I have read you need a braided clutch line between master and slave because that line pass between the headers and there is a lot of heat there so it's causing overheating of the brake fluid. With that in mind as I said for me the symptoms were hard clutch pedal, pedal dropping and clutch slipping (this one I still don't get but after all it's a cheap Turkey made clutch). So I ordered Exedy clutch and hopefully now all the issues will be gone. Even after a number of clutch and brakes bleeding my clutch was always hard so it's much better now that it's soft and easy to press and looks like the gear changes are easier as well. Good for you that you divorced the reservoirs this surely will help.
Sorry to hear that you were having that issue, the Exedy should definitely get you sorted. That line is now a pretty solid one, and heat shielded, so I'm going to guess that was one of the minor improvements that came in the 2018+ refresh.
 

Dave_W

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Just grasping at straws, but how many miles on the new clutch? Doesn't seem like it in the pics, but does the friction surface seem glazed? I view clutches like brake pads - they need proper bedding between the friction material and rotor or flywheel & pressure plate. Until and unless that happens, you won't get the full "grip" of the friction material.

Not much personal experience, but the flywheel surface seems to have more concentric grooving than I'd expect. Maybe @blacksheep-1 or others who've seen more flywheels can chime in on if that's looking normal.

There's a crank bolt missing on the flywheel, but I'm guessing you know that.
 

PaddyPrix

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Just grasping at straws, but how many miles on the new clutch? Doesn't seem like it in the pics, but does the friction surface seem glazed? I view clutches like brake pads - they need proper bedding between the friction material and rotor or flywheel & pressure plate. Until and unless that happens, you won't get the full "grip" of the friction material.

Not much personal experience, but the flywheel surface seems to have more concentric grooving than I'd expect. Maybe @blacksheep-1 or others who've seen more flywheels can chime in on if that's looking normal.

There's a crank bolt missing on the flywheel, but I'm guessing you know that.

Mileage, maybe a couple thousand? It's only operated at the track, so I don't have much in the way of driving it around town. The glaze is slightly visible, but it's not a waxy buildup that can really be felt in any direction. I guess I could get out what I've got for the brake rotors and give it a go, but in a way, I don't want to go through all the pain and trouble to put it all together again to find out at the next event that I've got the same issue.

Also, good eye. The somebody before me cross-threaded it to the point where I can't get one in, and I'm not going to make a bad situation worse. I doubt that missing weight is truly enough to throw things off, or at least enough for me to pull the engine and crank.
 

PaddyPrix

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So busy of late, but hello blog of blogs, some new things since we last spoke. With the transmission out, and clutch being a weak point, I had reached out to Mantic and got my hands on a twin-disc ceremetallic clutch and aluminum flywheel. I think this'll be a nice upgrade over the organic material that the stock clutch is made out of, and while it's okay for driving around town and whatnot, just the constant shifting, power, and temps that we're doing are just too much for it.

20220516_111829.jpg

That stock is heavy AF

20220513_160504.jpg
Know what isn't? Yeah, the new stuff. Biggest difference is the flywheel, shedding like 16 pounds from the stock version.

20220516_111455.jpg
I want to say this was something like 32.4# cutting nearly 30 pounds from the rotating mass, plus the much quicker and firmer engagement. They said 12-15% more effort, but that's something I didn't even feel or notice, nothing like the pre-hydraulic days, where on some heavy duty clutches I had to press down on the knee to assist, and a rush hour traffic run was enough to skip leg-day for the month.

I like how they've got a billet steel pressure plate lid, instead of the stamped steel you see in the stock, and still even in some of the aftermarket assemblies. Got the torque spec right, measured all the distances and slapped the transmission back in to go break it in at Willow Springs. Didn't do anything too crazy, kept the RPMs to like 5-6k, didn't go full WOT, and did like 30-40 laps, building it up and backing it off, a few cooldowns in the pit, but unfortunately found out my scrubs went super hard in the like year I had them stored, something like 85-90 out and they were ice cold hard plastic slipping all over the place.

You wouldn't believe how big some of the elevation changes are until you really get a chance to track walk, like here's T1 of Big Willow. I'm not at the Apex, and they're not at the edge, but sheesh, makes me regret all those times I'd heavily brake when I could just scrub more of it off with the elevation change.
20220521_175357.jpg20220521_181324.jpg
Same thing for T2, much more banked and elevated than you'd expect.

Turned out to be a weekend of ups and downs, I guess.

Saturday's morning session was an interesting one, with that unfortunately one of our friends I was trying to egg along gave into my pestering, and that if he didn't have a Dyno or Weight, he could still run TTU for the day, perhaps dyno there to figure out the rest. We went out to grid and I was right after him, and as we were just finishing the out/parade lap, I was setting up to make the pass into T1, and huge clouds of white smoke fired out, and he blew his motor right there, throwing oil all over the T1 brakezone, narrowly avoided the wall, and the cleanup and extraction required a full course black which ended up putting the session over. Since the majority hadn't even had the opportunity to cross the start-finish, our gridding was pretty much cancelled and delayed, so that the 2nd session which is usually the best Saturday shot with 3+4 being in heat would also end up being somewhat open gridding.

With the gift of gab coming back to bite me, I spent too long talking to my student, and lost track of time, ran back across the pit to my car, and was about halfway through the fast line. Some nicely recognized me and gave out some parade lap point-bys, but not enough, so looks like a whole session in traffic, I guess they're going to suffer equally.

So, we had something of a qualifying race, I guess.


Since I was the only one in TT2, it didn't really matter how I did. With my A7 now at 10+ heat cycles, I could feel the lateral grip not there, and anything not done smoothly would dance the end around, so I was just trying to be careful and save something for Sunday as well. Still a bunch of fun figuring out what speeds others do in turns, and where these put power down. I'm going to assume everybody else was pushing it 9-10/10ths, I was just a smidge lower. Nothing fancy, something like a 1:32 would put me like 6th overall, and I'd spend the rest of the day instructing and keeping cool.

Sunday rolled around and seems some others went out 3rd and 4th sessions in the heat, and used that opportunity to increase their times and put me down to like 10th for Saturday. Wasn't entirely cool for the first, right around 80 degrees out for our 8am run.


Still pulled out a 1:28.7 near the end, which was good enough for 3rd overall. Definitely still playing with my gearing and shift points, you can hear me redlining the hell out of things when I should just be happy with the lug if I'm still building speed. Seems the speeds I do in turns are so close to the redline, like T2 ~100 which is top of my 3rd, T8 is 135-140 which is top of my 4th. I'll get it eventually, but man, an extra gear in-between would be nice. Might be worth investigating if there are alternative gear sets for the MT82-D4 that I've got out of the car, who knows, maybe even a beefed up MT82 with a 5th 1:1? Never ever touched 6th in mine, don't know if I would outside of an F1 track.

Anyhow, much different season with not much competition, I think I've already locked up the SoCal TT2 title with some hollow victories, so kinda thinking what's the point? ST2 has been 3-4 cars of late, TT3 is 4-5 which I guess I could pop on something like Toyo RR and some weight and try to win some free tires. I guess I could spend some time and start playing with the tune and try to pull throttle and make a super flat tune to put me at like 450rwhp (currently 470rwhp) which would be class limit at a 3605 race weight. Who knows. The race groups right after do show that my time is certainly on the podium, so perhaps getting in there and tailgating them might do me even more good, certainly trying to fight off my friends in 944 trying to egg me into something with 1/3 the power. As if!

I don't know, summer break coming up, almost too hot to run down here, plenty of time to think. Nationals still up in the air, perhaps word of my invite would change my mood or thinking, not going to hold my breath though, if it does, it does. It'd be nice, but I'd be out of my mind if I thought I had a legitimate shot at winning, especially since the two assholes I usually tailgate are already going, and they've done it a handful of times to my 1 day.

20220522_153829.jpg

First world problems, I know.

Get it? First?
 

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
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So busy of late, but hello blog of blogs, some new things since we last spoke. With the transmission out, and clutch being a weak point, I had reached out to Mantic and got my hands on a twin-disc ceremetallic clutch and aluminum flywheel. I think this'll be a nice upgrade over the organic material that the stock clutch is made out of, and while it's okay for driving around town and whatnot, just the constant shifting, power, and temps that we're doing are just too much for it.

View attachment 76165

That stock is heavy AF

View attachment 76163
Know what isn't? Yeah, the new stuff. Biggest difference is the flywheel, shedding like 16 pounds from the stock version.

View attachment 76164
I want to say this was something like 32.4# cutting nearly 30 pounds from the rotating mass, plus the much quicker and firmer engagement. They said 12-15% more effort, but that's something I didn't even feel or notice, nothing like the pre-hydraulic days, where on some heavy duty clutches I had to press down on the knee to assist, and a rush hour traffic run was enough to skip leg-day for the month.

I like how they've got a billet steel pressure plate lid, instead of the stamped steel you see in the stock, and still even in some of the aftermarket assemblies. Got the torque spec right, measured all the distances and slapped the transmission back in to go break it in at Willow Springs. Didn't do anything too crazy, kept the RPMs to like 5-6k, didn't go full WOT, and did like 30-40 laps, building it up and backing it off, a few cooldowns in the pit, but unfortunately found out my scrubs went super hard in the like year I had them stored, something like 85-90 out and they were ice cold hard plastic slipping all over the place.

You wouldn't believe how big some of the elevation changes are until you really get a chance to track walk, like here's T1 of Big Willow. I'm not at the Apex, and they're not at the edge, but sheesh, makes me regret all those times I'd heavily brake when I could just scrub more of it off with the elevation change.
View attachment 76169View attachment 76170
Same thing for T2, much more banked and elevated than you'd expect.

Turned out to be a weekend of ups and downs, I guess.

Saturday's morning session was an interesting one, with that unfortunately one of our friends I was trying to egg along gave into my pestering, and that if he didn't have a Dyno or Weight, he could still run TTU for the day, perhaps dyno there to figure out the rest. We went out to grid and I was right after him, and as we were just finishing the out/parade lap, I was setting up to make the pass into T1, and huge clouds of white smoke fired out, and he blew his motor right there, throwing oil all over the T1 brakezone, narrowly avoided the wall, and the cleanup and extraction required a full course black which ended up putting the session over. Since the majority hadn't even had the opportunity to cross the start-finish, our gridding was pretty much cancelled and delayed, so that the 2nd session which is usually the best Saturday shot with 3+4 being in heat would also end up being somewhat open gridding.

With the gift of gab coming back to bite me, I spent too long talking to my student, and lost track of time, ran back across the pit to my car, and was about halfway through the fast line. Some nicely recognized me and gave out some parade lap point-bys, but not enough, so looks like a whole session in traffic, I guess they're going to suffer equally.

So, we had something of a qualifying race, I guess.


Since I was the only one in TT2, it didn't really matter how I did. With my A7 now at 10+ heat cycles, I could feel the lateral grip not there, and anything not done smoothly would dance the end around, so I was just trying to be careful and save something for Sunday as well. Still a bunch of fun figuring out what speeds others do in turns, and where these put power down. I'm going to assume everybody else was pushing it 9-10/10ths, I was just a smidge lower. Nothing fancy, something like a 1:32 would put me like 6th overall, and I'd spend the rest of the day instructing and keeping cool.

Sunday rolled around and seems some others went out 3rd and 4th sessions in the heat, and used that opportunity to increase their times and put me down to like 10th for Saturday. Wasn't entirely cool for the first, right around 80 degrees out for our 8am run.


Still pulled out a 1:28.7 near the end, which was good enough for 3rd overall. Definitely still playing with my gearing and shift points, you can hear me redlining the hell out of things when I should just be happy with the lug if I'm still building speed. Seems the speeds I do in turns are so close to the redline, like T2 ~100 which is top of my 3rd, T8 is 135-140 which is top of my 4th. I'll get it eventually, but man, an extra gear in-between would be nice. Might be worth investigating if there are alternative gear sets for the MT82-D4 that I've got out of the car, who knows, maybe even a beefed up MT82 with a 5th 1:1? Never ever touched 6th in mine, don't know if I would outside of an F1 track.

Anyhow, much different season with not much competition, I think I've already locked up the SoCal TT2 title with some hollow victories, so kinda thinking what's the point? ST2 has been 3-4 cars of late, TT3 is 4-5 which I guess I could pop on something like Toyo RR and some weight and try to win some free tires. I guess I could spend some time and start playing with the tune and try to pull throttle and make a super flat tune to put me at like 450rwhp (currently 470rwhp) which would be class limit at a 3605 race weight. Who knows. The race groups right after do show that my time is certainly on the podium, so perhaps getting in there and tailgating them might do me even more good, certainly trying to fight off my friends in 944 trying to egg me into something with 1/3 the power. As if!

I don't know, summer break coming up, almost too hot to run down here, plenty of time to think. Nationals still up in the air, perhaps word of my invite would change my mood or thinking, not going to hold my breath though, if it does, it does. It'd be nice, but I'd be out of my mind if I thought I had a legitimate shot at winning, especially since the two assholes I usually tailgate are already going, and they've done it a handful of times to my 1 day.

View attachment 76171

First world problems, I know.

Get it? First?
Great writeup as always.
I'm interested in the clutch...did you have to do any spacing of the throw out bearing or did everything just stack up like stock?
 

PaddyPrix

If breakin' parts is cool, consider me Miles Davis
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Great writeup as always.
I'm interested in the clutch...did you have to do any spacing of the throw out bearing or did everything just stack up like stock?
Good question. Another reason why I liked going with Mantic is that they acknowledge that the MT82 and MT82-D4 are different transmissions. Almost every other brand I had talked to, more or less wanted me to use the 11-17 Slave Cylinder, which is slightly taller/longer, and pretty much using the 11-17 Flywheel + Clutch combo. I mean, they're the same transmission, but they're also not. With the Mantic kit, they expect you to use your shorter 18+ cylinder, and the pilot is actually integrated into our flywheel. So it was really a cinch to install, and trust me, I'm an idiot, so when I say something is easy, to the Sals of the world, it's a cakewalk. The only thing that's semi annoying, is that the way ours works out, we have to install the flywheel first. In the back of the flywheel, they've got a recessed channel which the big bolts reside in. As you put on each disk or plate, there's always a chance that you'll tap on one of those bolts. They've got big enough holes around the flywheel that you can sneak a few fingers back behind and push the bolt back, that or from the exposed end, you can just pull and lightly spin the bolt so the head plops back into the channel, and pull it back forward. They also include an alignment tool, so I just took care to align the ceremetallic pucks so that they were all stacked in about the same spot between the spacer disks, and was careful to tighten them down. Since they're Australian made, specs are in Nm, so 30Nm works out to be like 26ft/lb, which is on the real low end of my torque wrench, not one of its most accurate spots, and too much for my smaller 10-150 inch/lb wrenches. I also spent a little more time getting it all precise, using a gauge to measure the length of the screw sticking out from the nut, and the distance from the pressure plate disk to the fingers, but that all came out equal after a little re-arranging. After all that care to the details, I couldn't be happier though, and can't wait to get it to ACS, which will be in some slightly higher temperatures, but a place where the clutch slip was easily noticeable. Does that add up to a quarter second? Half second? Pulling off an ACS 1:43 from a wee 470rwhp car would be amazing, all those I know up in that territory are much more powerful or much lighter.
 

Fabman

Dances with Racecars
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Exp. Type
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20+ Years
Pleasanton: 1/2 way between Sonoma and Laguna Seca
So it was really a cinch to install, and trust me, I'm an idiot, so when I say something is easy, to the Sals of the world, it's a cakewalk.
I'm gonna go ahead and take this as a compliment...even if I don't deserve it.....Thank you.
 

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