Sam's build thread

[sambb]

Yep I was when that was happening. I had to keep telling myself to wait before turning in at 5.
Yeah I lost so much time behind slow cars and I mean like I was just touring around sometimes. If you look at my natsoft lap times you'll see a ridiculous amount of 1:14's, 1:15's etc and then lots of laps where I was obviously touring around jammed in a gear or parking in the pits, flicking the slider back in and going out again. I can honestly say that once I got my eye in I got about 2 or 3 clear laps so I know I can go a lot quicker - I can crack the 09's for sure but 59's though jesus! that was 230hp crank not atw yeah!!
Now my mate in his W172 Clio RS wants to follow what I've done with springs etc - its a mac strut, twist beam, only 2 degrees pos castor though. He's on 195/50/15 A050's and has 6kg fronts but only 4kg rears so we're going to see if my 6kg rears will fit his Bilstein B14 kit rear adjusters.
Good luck with the 6hr then... another time. Thank again.

[Sydneykid]

Yep I was when that was happening. I had to keep telling myself to wait before turning in at 5.
Yeah I lost so much time behind slow cars and I mean like I was just touring around sometimes. If you look at my natsoft lap times you'll see a ridiculous amount of 1:14's, 1:15's etc and then lots of laps where I was obviously touring around jammed in a gear or parking in the pits, flicking the slider back in and going out again. I can honestly say that once I got my eye in I got about 2 or 3 clear laps so I know I can go a lot quicker - I can crack the 09's for sure but 59's though jesus! that was 230hp crank not atw yeah!!
Now my mate in his W172 Clio RS wants to follow what I've done with springs etc - its a mac strut, twist beam, only 2 degrees pos castor though. He's on 195/50/15 A050's and has 6kg fronts but only 4kg rears so we're going to see if my 6kg rears will fit his Bilstein B14 kit rear adjusters.
Good luck with the 6hr then... another time. Thank again.

Sorry, 68's that'll teach me not to type on the run

The problem with the naturally aspirated Clio is its torque to weight ratio, so he's going to have to really work very hard on increasing the corner speed, so he doesn't have to accelerate the mass so much off the corners. Bottom line, 195's are just not going to get it done, he's going to need something much bigger, I'd say at least 225's. Then he might be able to use a decent FWD set up, until then he's going to be severally traction limited. Won't be able to use enough spring, swaybar and geometry, particularly on the rear, it'll just try and swap ends on him on turn in and any throttle position changes will have a dramatic effect.

So be careful with duplicating your set up until he puts a decent sized tyre on it.


Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

Ha Ha ok 1:08's sounds more reasonable/achievable. Re the Clio setup wow! Never would have seen that coming. We'd thought the opposite that he wouldn't be traction limited on getting power down and that trying to spin too much wheel/rubber would just sap the little torque he has, so went for lighter rotating weight. He's going to be spewing - he's just spent a fortune on 6.5in rega's and brand new 195/50/15 A050 mediums. So basically his setup should be designed around holding higher corner speeds than what I'm doing to make up for his power deficit and needs the bigger rubber for lateral G's. He's just ordered a strut tower kit to get him more castor (allows you to change springs from the top too- sick! and toe/camber shims for the rear -he's going zero toe/2 degrees neg). He already has the most beautiful roll centre/steering correction with sphericals and rose joints. He's going to have a man cry when I tell him this.

[sambb]

Now you've got me thinking about tyre selection for Bathurst. I've got 195/55/15 A050 softs and 205/50/15 A050 mediums. Am I better giving away a bit of a compound advantage of the softs and running the widest possible rubber even though its medium compound? The mediums came in very quickly at Wakefield but still nothing like a soft. Or how about mediums on the front, softs on the back and a dirty big burnout to get the fronts sticky? ha ha

[sambb]

Ok so the linkage is finished. The quickshift was finished a few days ago and is a shorter than a quickshift in its throw but because I have an extended gear stick it feels about the same as a forge quickshift on a shorter standard gear stick so very happy with that.
The side to side linkage has been treated to a new set of dieselgeek bushes for the shaft and a new solid nylon slider that is rock solid once clipped on and is a flush fit and much longer. While I was at it I knocked out the side to side linkage pin and slotted the hole along its axis. There were two pins that came in the forge quickshift kit so I installed the smaller of the two and happened to have a small diameter cable bush end in the garage. I drilled it out to fit this pin. So now both linkages are shortened shift and the side to side linkage is adjustable. I drove home from work on it last night and it is perfect. The taller gearstick falls to hand and now the throw and widths of the gates match each other and it also flows nicely from one gear to the next with the springing in the floor assembly. I'm glad I retained some counter weighting which really helps this and has cancelled out a lot of the notchiness. Last pic is the linkage in 3rd and its a million times more secure in there now that its been modded and shouldn't be a problem again.

[Sydneykid]

Ha Ha ok 1:08's sounds more reasonable/achievable. Re the Clio setup wow! Never would have seen that coming. We'd thought the opposite that he wouldn't be traction limited on getting power down and that trying to spin too much wheel/rubber would just sap the little torque he has, so went for lighter rotating weight. He's going to be spewing - he's just spent a fortune on 6.5in rega's and brand new 195/50/15 A050 mediums. So basically his setup should be designed around holding higher corner speeds than what I'm doing to make up for his power deficit and needs the bigger rubber for lateral G's. He's just ordered a strut tower kit to get him more castor (allows you to change springs from the top too- sick! and toe/camber shims for the rear -he's going zero toe/2 degrees neg). He already has the most beautiful roll centre/steering correction with sphericals and rose joints. He's going to have a man cry when I tell him this.

It's more a torque deficit than a horsepower deficit, you have 50% more torque for accelerating similar weight. Conceptually less rotating unsprung weight is a good thing, but there is a limit for a 1220 to 1300 kgs car and 195's are way below it.

I wouldn't throw the A050's away, I'd wear out the 195's and then get 205's. Or use the 195's on the rear. Maybe 215's would be OK, we won a State title with a Sprinter that I set up for 215's on 7" rims. The 225's would be way too baggy for 6.5".

Toe out, talk him into it, even if it's only a little bit to start off with.

Cheers
Gary

[Sydneykid]

Now you've got me thinking about tyre selection for Bathurst. I've got 195/55/15 A050 softs and 205/50/15 A050 mediums. Am I better giving away a bit of a compound advantage of the softs and running the widest possible rubber even though its medium compound? The mediums came in very quickly at Wakefield but still nothing like a soft. Or how about mediums on the front, softs on the back and a dirty big burnout to get the fronts sticky? ha ha

Could be worth a try, mediums on the front (easy to get heat into) and softs on the rear (won't need as long to warm up).

Cheers
Gary

[sambb]

I'm thinking i'll try that. The 50 profile 205's feel like they keep their structure better if you start them at 27/28psi cold better than the 195/55 softs. Last year at Bathurst I ran the 195's all round but I'm sure I can get sufficient heat into the 205 mediums especially now that I have the LSD which will work them harder and do a proper 2 wheel burnout for legitimate warming. Softs on the rear in the narrower size will be perfect I reckon. Cold 205 mediums would probably be scary on the back and as you know in hillclimbs you have to go hard right off the bat so a bit of rear security given the much stiffer rear end will be good I reckon.

[Sydneykid]

Yep, it's the reverse with the RWD, no problem heating up the rears, but with cold fronts it wants to understeer towards the concrete walls for half way up the hill. On sunny days I have been known to jack it up, take the front wheels off and stick them in the sun between runs. Probably too old for that effort these days, maybe I need to take some pit crew with me

Testing a FWD Improved Production car at Eastern Creek today, the new track surface through turn 1 hasn't got a lot of grip. Hope it's got some rubber down for Round 1 in March, otherwise we will be changing driver's underwear between races

Cheers
Gary

[metalhead]

Nice work on the shifter! Gonna make it to Ringwood on Sunday?