Rumors of the return of the "stars and stripes" car!!!
10-05-10, 12:02 AM
#52
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Here are some facts about the car...
The car was purchased in 97 as a weekend driver. The first ever import event in Dallas was at the Motorplex in 98. It was an import/ domestic event and we were able to qualify for the quick 8 with an 11.7, that was some exciting stuff in those days. I don't think we got past first round but it was still really exciting.
We didn't have a truck and trailer until sometime is 99 so until then I had to drive the car to and from the track. The car went as fast as 10.3 while getting driven to the track. The trailer made things a little easier in case something went wrong.
After the 99 season we decided to step things up so we removed the bolt in roll bar and installed a weld in cage. In March 2000 the car ran 10.01 twice on ET streets and 9.62 on slicks at IDRC in Houston. Later in the year the car ran 9.58 at an IDRC race at Maple Grove on ET street tires.
Class rules were changed in 2001 to radial tires, the NHRA came into the scene and used many of the IDRC rules so radials were required there also. The mitsus did well, the automatic Supras did good and we slowed down. The fastest that car ever ran on radials was 10.18, never in the 9's. At some point along the way we were allowed to replace the factory trans but not allowed to step up to a clutchless so we got clutch assisted 4sp dog box.
In 2005 we started going to some of the Nopi events. The NDRA street class required a stock trans case but allowed the gears to be changed. We tried to get Paul from Libertys to build us a gear set but were never able to get any. The closest we could get was to rebuild the trans with fresh bearings and synchros and polish up the synchros to they slide in easier. Not dog engagement but better than an old trans.
Eventually NHRA shut down and Nopi stopped running a national series. We had no local events to run so going drag racing became much less exciting. Over time, little by little, business slowed down. We needed to cut some of our overhead so we reduced our staff. At one point we had 12 people on the payroll, now we have 5.
Having less people around means that everyone wears more hats. We do less business than 10 years ago but things seem to be very hectic. Beyond the changes at the shop, I've had some personal things happen that influenced the choices I make about my free time.
A while back my dad, which lived in Dallas, got sick and started taking cancer treatments. His condition was stable for a period but eventually started to degrade. I expected to out live him so I decided that I would do whatever I could to help him and spend as much time as I could with him. It was a little selfish of me because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life facing any guilt. I wanted to absolutely guarantee that I will have no regrets about not doing enough. At that point drag racing took a serious back burner in my schedule.
My dad passed in late March of this year, a little over 6 months ago. I took a little time to get myself together but am now finally getting his things organized. He wasn't married and has only one kid that lives in the US. My sister lives in Australia so she's not going to be able to help much right now. Before I get back to racing, I have plenty of personal stuff to resolve that is not rotary business related.
It seems like this started as some facts about the car and grew into some facts about me... sorry.
Anyway, some more stuff about me has to do with road racing. I've always known that I'm not a good driver. I could do well in drag racing because I had a good machine not because of driving skills. This year I was introduced to 24 hours of lemons and chumpcar. Those promoters put on endurance races for $500 cars. What a blast!!!!
What I enjoyed about drag racing was the team effort and comradery. Even when there were other rotary guys in the field, we would always try to qualify in a way that would set us against each other in the later rounds of competition. We never wanted to see each other in the first round, that meant that only one of us could move ahead. I found that team spirit in the "crapcan" endurance racing. I've raced a friend's car and am considering putting together my own whenever I have time. Maybe I like it because it's new and different, maybe because I know that my driving skills can use a lot of help...
I still like drag racing and intend to run again but I'm having even more fun helping my friends that are drag racing these days. I suspect that it's like a dad helping his kid run a junior dragster instead of his own bracket car. I had plenty of fun and success in drag racing and really get a lot of enjoyment when I get a call from the track and help someone solve an issue. It's just nice to share and help other enjoy some of the fun and success that I had. I get calls on the weekend, I get calls during the week... I'm not shy about offering up information and sharing from my experiences. Anytime someone threatens to go faster than me, I'm full of encouragement and ask them "what can I do to help?" I've helped some of the guys on this forum, they know who they are. I do want to see rotary powered cars doing well out there, I just can't do it right now.
well... this is really long now. I guess when you post once every year, you should make it count. I'm sorry if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm to tired to check. I'll follow up with one more post about the car and finally go to bed.
The car was purchased in 97 as a weekend driver. The first ever import event in Dallas was at the Motorplex in 98. It was an import/ domestic event and we were able to qualify for the quick 8 with an 11.7, that was some exciting stuff in those days. I don't think we got past first round but it was still really exciting.
We didn't have a truck and trailer until sometime is 99 so until then I had to drive the car to and from the track. The car went as fast as 10.3 while getting driven to the track. The trailer made things a little easier in case something went wrong.
After the 99 season we decided to step things up so we removed the bolt in roll bar and installed a weld in cage. In March 2000 the car ran 10.01 twice on ET streets and 9.62 on slicks at IDRC in Houston. Later in the year the car ran 9.58 at an IDRC race at Maple Grove on ET street tires.
Class rules were changed in 2001 to radial tires, the NHRA came into the scene and used many of the IDRC rules so radials were required there also. The mitsus did well, the automatic Supras did good and we slowed down. The fastest that car ever ran on radials was 10.18, never in the 9's. At some point along the way we were allowed to replace the factory trans but not allowed to step up to a clutchless so we got clutch assisted 4sp dog box.
In 2005 we started going to some of the Nopi events. The NDRA street class required a stock trans case but allowed the gears to be changed. We tried to get Paul from Libertys to build us a gear set but were never able to get any. The closest we could get was to rebuild the trans with fresh bearings and synchros and polish up the synchros to they slide in easier. Not dog engagement but better than an old trans.
Eventually NHRA shut down and Nopi stopped running a national series. We had no local events to run so going drag racing became much less exciting. Over time, little by little, business slowed down. We needed to cut some of our overhead so we reduced our staff. At one point we had 12 people on the payroll, now we have 5.
Having less people around means that everyone wears more hats. We do less business than 10 years ago but things seem to be very hectic. Beyond the changes at the shop, I've had some personal things happen that influenced the choices I make about my free time.
A while back my dad, which lived in Dallas, got sick and started taking cancer treatments. His condition was stable for a period but eventually started to degrade. I expected to out live him so I decided that I would do whatever I could to help him and spend as much time as I could with him. It was a little selfish of me because I didn't want to spend the rest of my life facing any guilt. I wanted to absolutely guarantee that I will have no regrets about not doing enough. At that point drag racing took a serious back burner in my schedule.
My dad passed in late March of this year, a little over 6 months ago. I took a little time to get myself together but am now finally getting his things organized. He wasn't married and has only one kid that lives in the US. My sister lives in Australia so she's not going to be able to help much right now. Before I get back to racing, I have plenty of personal stuff to resolve that is not rotary business related.
It seems like this started as some facts about the car and grew into some facts about me... sorry.
Anyway, some more stuff about me has to do with road racing. I've always known that I'm not a good driver. I could do well in drag racing because I had a good machine not because of driving skills. This year I was introduced to 24 hours of lemons and chumpcar. Those promoters put on endurance races for $500 cars. What a blast!!!!
What I enjoyed about drag racing was the team effort and comradery. Even when there were other rotary guys in the field, we would always try to qualify in a way that would set us against each other in the later rounds of competition. We never wanted to see each other in the first round, that meant that only one of us could move ahead. I found that team spirit in the "crapcan" endurance racing. I've raced a friend's car and am considering putting together my own whenever I have time. Maybe I like it because it's new and different, maybe because I know that my driving skills can use a lot of help...
I still like drag racing and intend to run again but I'm having even more fun helping my friends that are drag racing these days. I suspect that it's like a dad helping his kid run a junior dragster instead of his own bracket car. I had plenty of fun and success in drag racing and really get a lot of enjoyment when I get a call from the track and help someone solve an issue. It's just nice to share and help other enjoy some of the fun and success that I had. I get calls on the weekend, I get calls during the week... I'm not shy about offering up information and sharing from my experiences. Anytime someone threatens to go faster than me, I'm full of encouragement and ask them "what can I do to help?" I've helped some of the guys on this forum, they know who they are. I do want to see rotary powered cars doing well out there, I just can't do it right now.
well... this is really long now. I guess when you post once every year, you should make it count. I'm sorry if there are grammar or spelling mistakes, I'm to tired to check. I'll follow up with one more post about the car and finally go to bed.
10-05-10, 12:55 AM
#53
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The car wasn't built as a full out race car, it was a street car that was used to show off the parts we sold at the shop. We only started to travel because the car was competitive. It wasn't built to win races, it was built to show what we do.
The parts we used on the were the same parts we sold. It worked!!! During 2000-2002 we sold tons of the same parts that were used on that car.
Everything from E6K to greddy turbos including jacob's ignition and bonez clutch. That car even has the same 3.75" exhaust that we were selling.
Here are some car facts... finally.
In 2000, the car ran a best of 9.58 on ET street tires using a stock, untouched mazda trans and a mazda diff with mazda 4.3 gears using a kaaz diff. The axles are still using the original CV joints with updated shafts.
In 2005 the car ran a best of a 9.27 with the same R/E setup but had a fresh trans using all original mazda internals with our own attempt at polishing the synchros for smoother operation. Tires on that pass were also ET street, DOT wrinklewalls. 26x11.5.15 (26x10"tread)
The car was never tuned for maximum power or peak ET, it was tuned to be consistently fast. When we started working on the suspension to get the car to leave harder, we ran into CV joint and axles problems. We were also replacing the mainshaft in the trans after every event because it was cracking.
Any harder launches than 1.40 60' would result in reduced reliability was what we discovered. Our goal wasn't to be the fastest in the field but to be the fastest one that makes it to the final. It worked.
Do I think that someone could go faster these days? Absolutely!!! Even I could go faster with these days.
We are all better, more experienced tuners now and we have much better ECUs. The E6K runs batch fire with wasted spark... funny stuff!!! We also have better, stronger, bigger parts, not to mention today's turbo technology. The Greddy turbo was always durable but never known for being on the "cutting edge" of performance.
If we didn't have to worry about the rear end or trans breaking we could have been pushing harder. If we didn't have class rules we could have run different parts. I also expect that my "Ari modified" Mazda synchro doesn't shift quite as good as a libertys modified trans. We didn't have great parts back then, we just had a lot of motivation, we carried the torch for the rotary community. It was awesome!!!!
Enzo and I have some mutual friends, so I get an occasional call from the track with updates. I'm absolutely happy every time Enzo breaks a personal record. It's great to have rotary guys out there, it's good for the rotary community, it's good for business, it's good for Mazda. I also get really excited every time I get a call with an update from Ernie, Lee, Karl and a number of other guys that are out there, spending their own time and money.
I want to take this time to thank you guys for pushing and for allowing me to be involved. I'm looking forward to seeing more records fall, including my own. It's not personal it's progress, it's exciting!!!
Let's start helping each other more and plan on a strong 2011 instead of beating our chests and bragging about how big our intake ports are...
By the way, if any of you guys would like to contact me, a phone call would be best, I don't get on PMs much.
Thanks for reading all this stuff and good luck with everything.
Ari
The parts we used on the were the same parts we sold. It worked!!! During 2000-2002 we sold tons of the same parts that were used on that car.
Everything from E6K to greddy turbos including jacob's ignition and bonez clutch. That car even has the same 3.75" exhaust that we were selling.
Here are some car facts... finally.
In 2000, the car ran a best of 9.58 on ET street tires using a stock, untouched mazda trans and a mazda diff with mazda 4.3 gears using a kaaz diff. The axles are still using the original CV joints with updated shafts.
In 2005 the car ran a best of a 9.27 with the same R/E setup but had a fresh trans using all original mazda internals with our own attempt at polishing the synchros for smoother operation. Tires on that pass were also ET street, DOT wrinklewalls. 26x11.5.15 (26x10"tread)
The car was never tuned for maximum power or peak ET, it was tuned to be consistently fast. When we started working on the suspension to get the car to leave harder, we ran into CV joint and axles problems. We were also replacing the mainshaft in the trans after every event because it was cracking.
Any harder launches than 1.40 60' would result in reduced reliability was what we discovered. Our goal wasn't to be the fastest in the field but to be the fastest one that makes it to the final. It worked.
Do I think that someone could go faster these days? Absolutely!!! Even I could go faster with these days.
We are all better, more experienced tuners now and we have much better ECUs. The E6K runs batch fire with wasted spark... funny stuff!!! We also have better, stronger, bigger parts, not to mention today's turbo technology. The Greddy turbo was always durable but never known for being on the "cutting edge" of performance.
If we didn't have to worry about the rear end or trans breaking we could have been pushing harder. If we didn't have class rules we could have run different parts. I also expect that my "Ari modified" Mazda synchro doesn't shift quite as good as a libertys modified trans. We didn't have great parts back then, we just had a lot of motivation, we carried the torch for the rotary community. It was awesome!!!!
Enzo and I have some mutual friends, so I get an occasional call from the track with updates. I'm absolutely happy every time Enzo breaks a personal record. It's great to have rotary guys out there, it's good for the rotary community, it's good for business, it's good for Mazda. I also get really excited every time I get a call with an update from Ernie, Lee, Karl and a number of other guys that are out there, spending their own time and money.
I want to take this time to thank you guys for pushing and for allowing me to be involved. I'm looking forward to seeing more records fall, including my own. It's not personal it's progress, it's exciting!!!
Let's start helping each other more and plan on a strong 2011 instead of beating our chests and bragging about how big our intake ports are...
By the way, if any of you guys would like to contact me, a phone call would be best, I don't get on PMs much.
Thanks for reading all this stuff and good luck with everything.
Ari
10-05-10, 12:56 AM
#54
Original Gangster/Rotary!
iTrader: (213)
Definitely appreciate you taking the time to post all of that Ari. My condolences on the passing of your father, and both you and Chris have been very helpful to me over the years. My public thanks for that 
10-05-10, 12:59 AM
#55
Rotary Enthusiast
I can relate to Ari story then and now......i have had enjoyment racing for years and now watching my Drift teams race and help out to make the car faster is a good feeling.I love drag Racing too will be back some day again like Ari but dont forget many poeple in the rotary world paved the way for all of us to follow.
10-05-10, 08:06 PM
#61
Living life 9 seconds at a time
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Ari doesn't need to pound his chest. His accomplishments speak for themselves. He has a wall of trophies from events thats he's won. Not many here have even won an event let alone multiple.
Last edited by ErnieT; 10-05-10 at 08:29 PM.
10-05-10, 10:50 PM
#63
The car wasn't built as a full out race car, it was a street car that was used to show off the parts we sold at the shop. We only started to travel because the car was competitive. It wasn't built to win races, it was built to show what we do.
The parts we used on the were the same parts we sold. It worked!!! During 2000-2002 we sold tons of the same parts that were used on that car.
Everything from E6K to greddy turbos including jacob's ignition and bonez clutch. That car even has the same 3.75" exhaust that we were selling.
Ari
The parts we used on the were the same parts we sold. It worked!!! During 2000-2002 we sold tons of the same parts that were used on that car.
Everything from E6K to greddy turbos including jacob's ignition and bonez clutch. That car even has the same 3.75" exhaust that we were selling.
Ari
10-06-10, 06:56 PM
#66
The problem with rotary drag racing is that there is no financial backing.. Most rotary drag racers come out of pocket and sponsorship is very minimal. There is no demand for Rotarys so there is no money to be made for big sponsors to lean on guys like ari or enzo or any other record braking guys. This is why drag racing events are dominated by Honda and Toyota and these company's that sell cars like hot cakes.
10-07-10, 12:30 PM
#67
The problem with rotary drag racing is that there is no financial backing.. Most rotary drag racers come out of pocket and sponsorship is very minimal. There is no demand for Rotarys so there is no money to be made for big sponsors to lean on guys like ari or enzo or any other record braking guys. This is why drag racing events are dominated by Honda and Toyota and these company's that sell cars like hot cakes.
Ari my condolences to you and your family. Hang in there buddy.
