crash
09-11-2012, 02:03 PM
Just a little update.
As many of you know, we had a test session yesterday at Thunderhill.
We had MANY new systems on the car to try out, along with quite a few older components. No major issues with any of the new components, but we did have an issue with one of the older components. We had never had any issues with the harmonic balancer slipping with the old engines, but we sure did with the new one! Even though it was a messy, oily result, the failure was relatively, at least as far as we can tell from the data at this point, minor. (I will note that all the front engine accessories were switched over to our new engine by me from the old engine, and that the engine builder had nothing to do with the fact that the balancer had some issues. It was simply the result of too much horsepower on a part that wasn't properly designed for such use.)
We went faster (with a little explanation) than we ever have at Thunderhill, and the new engine sounds really good through the new exhaust system. It may even be quiet enough without adding any more mufflers for the stringent 25 hour race. We will see.
Now for the explanation...For some reason, the organization that put on yesterdays event put up barrels in the middle of the corner leading onto the front straight. Very peculiar, but it effectively stopped you from getting a good run at the front straight for top end speed. However, we still managed to go within 1 MPH of our fastest straight away speed, and did it with MUCH better fuel mileage. Our split times had us going faster in many places on the course than we have seen previously. I, myself, had a couple of sections that were particularly difficult for me in the past that I completely obliterated in terms of my previous performances. I credit this to two things. One was more horsepower from the new engine built by Danzio Performance and also some instruction I took from David Ray during a training session with www.hookedondriving.com just a few weeks ago. We did some side by side personal coaching, and the results have been very visible and quantifiable in vehicle data that we collect with MPH and G meters. So BIG THANKS to both our engine builder Danzio Performance, and to David Ray, who is not only the owner of Hooked On Driving, but one of the regular drivers of the Mendeola Transaxles Baja Designs FFR PDG GTM.
Not saying we had the best test day, or that we aren't going home and fixing some stuff, but the numbers and results based upon track times speak for themselves. We had a good test day in that regard. :)
I might also add that Karen was out in a beautiful NEW FFR Coupe and seemed to be having a very good test day. I believe she talks about it in the Coupe area of tis forum. ;)
As many of you know, we had a test session yesterday at Thunderhill.
We had MANY new systems on the car to try out, along with quite a few older components. No major issues with any of the new components, but we did have an issue with one of the older components. We had never had any issues with the harmonic balancer slipping with the old engines, but we sure did with the new one! Even though it was a messy, oily result, the failure was relatively, at least as far as we can tell from the data at this point, minor. (I will note that all the front engine accessories were switched over to our new engine by me from the old engine, and that the engine builder had nothing to do with the fact that the balancer had some issues. It was simply the result of too much horsepower on a part that wasn't properly designed for such use.)
We went faster (with a little explanation) than we ever have at Thunderhill, and the new engine sounds really good through the new exhaust system. It may even be quiet enough without adding any more mufflers for the stringent 25 hour race. We will see.
Now for the explanation...For some reason, the organization that put on yesterdays event put up barrels in the middle of the corner leading onto the front straight. Very peculiar, but it effectively stopped you from getting a good run at the front straight for top end speed. However, we still managed to go within 1 MPH of our fastest straight away speed, and did it with MUCH better fuel mileage. Our split times had us going faster in many places on the course than we have seen previously. I, myself, had a couple of sections that were particularly difficult for me in the past that I completely obliterated in terms of my previous performances. I credit this to two things. One was more horsepower from the new engine built by Danzio Performance and also some instruction I took from David Ray during a training session with www.hookedondriving.com just a few weeks ago. We did some side by side personal coaching, and the results have been very visible and quantifiable in vehicle data that we collect with MPH and G meters. So BIG THANKS to both our engine builder Danzio Performance, and to David Ray, who is not only the owner of Hooked On Driving, but one of the regular drivers of the Mendeola Transaxles Baja Designs FFR PDG GTM.
Not saying we had the best test day, or that we aren't going home and fixing some stuff, but the numbers and results based upon track times speak for themselves. We had a good test day in that regard. :)
I might also add that Karen was out in a beautiful NEW FFR Coupe and seemed to be having a very good test day. I believe she talks about it in the Coupe area of tis forum. ;)