More Exhaust and Roll Center

The new transmission checked out perfect. Shifts great! I couldn't really get the full experience of it as my neighbors don't enjoy me running through the gears at wide open throttle though the kid infested streets :)

Productive weekend though. Among other things I ended up getting the Lime Rock Legal exhaust setup and re-did my previous axle back to make it a bit more free-flowing with less abrupt direction changes. You know I'm stuck waiting for parts when I start breaking out the paint, haha.

Also, I installed a new Roll-Center Correction Kit from GTSPEC. The Whiteline one I had before was OK, but I needed a bit (a lot) more correction to compensate for the front end drop I need to do to get the splitter to work.

Once I get some items to make the new headers work I'll start rebuilding the rest of the exhaust.

And Lime Rock Only Version:

Transmission Work Almost Done

Last night I went to town on the transmission. Took the installed gear stacks and set the pinion depth, measured the tolerances and she's ready to go back together. I changed the front diff to a Helical JDM LSD type (version 5) and changed the ultimate final drive to a 4.44. Also acquired a viscous 4.44 R160 rear diff to match to the transmission. I need to open the center diff and make sure the guts are still in good shape. Following that I should be ready to seal her up and install it back into the car.

The process was a bit painstaking, but I think it should be worth it.

Fog Inlets

Small Update - Got some parts in from Bakemono. Great company by the way. Trey is a guy who knows his fiberglass/carbon work. he built to order these fog ducts. They are based off the P1 ducts, but 3" inlets to work with my brake cooling piping. A little nicer setup than the ghetto market light setup I had last season (to the right of the fog lol). Gear stack should be ready to go soon.

First Winter Project: Transmission

Here are some pictures from the recent project I’ve started:

First step – On the bench with the tail housing (Center differential housing) off and draining.



Once I got the case open, Inspection suggested that a broken 5th gear was the cause of this “noisy” transmission I got for free as a donor case. Not sure how it was driven at all like this but good thing I have an extra.




With the gear stacks removed, I laid out the old “donor” parts on the right with the new JDM parts on the left. Going to have to some mix/match to make sure the bearings and gear ratios are what I want. Overall I’ll be upgrading the front differential (just to the left of the case halves) from an Open differential to a helical LSD differential. I’ll use the pinion shaft out of the JDM transmission to move the final drive from 4.11 to 4.44 to get better acceleration on the track.



More to come. Let me know what you think.

Season End - Results In

I've been slacking a bit on posts... Ok, more than a bit - a lot. This winter will bring some interesting mechanical changes to the car and some new sponsors who you'll like to know.

2011 was a good season and the final results are in! I ended up securing a regional class championship (NASA Northeast PTC Champion) as well as a podium spot in the overall regional drivers championship (Over 150 drivers). I missed out on Rookie of the Year by a measly 10 points (out of a total of 950 or so) but I won't complain too loud about runner up. All-in-all it was a great year.

Some new things to look for on the blog soon enough; Aerodynamic Modifications, Transmission Modifications, New Suspension and Spring Rate Setup and more. Should be an interesting rush for the first shake-down of the season in April!

New Improvement

Battling with some other "quicker" cars I've come to realize the RS really struggles on the straits. Although I'm dealing with some aerodynamic issues (driving a brick), a lot of the challenge has been just being 40-50 down on horsepower. The solution was to change a few items on the suspension to gain back some class "points" and modify the motor's compression ratio in exchange. Now to see how she does on the dyno. I'll also be changing a few aerodynamic items including removing the hood scoop and adding an under-tray but larger modification will take some time - most likely in the off season.

Another Trip To Pocono

So another trip to Pocono Raceway ended the same say it did last year... bent wheel. Same corner of the car, same date, same track. Arg, at least the suspension and other bits are ok. Onward to wheel repair shop...