chassis Stiffening -- racing
 

I might be going with some really hard springs and shocks for racing, so hard that chassis stiffness might become an issue. Any racers out there think a stiffining system is need for these cars, something like sub-frame connectors or the like, or is it "good enough" as is. it kind or raises an eye-brow when i go over a curb and hear some creaks comming from the back of the car, or is that just a loose hatch or somthing else? I cage is not need for the kind of racing i do (solo) and i rather not put a cage in my car if i dont really have to, as the car is driven on the street...

Also, who makes some good adjustable sway-bars for these cars, and urathane bushings.

Energy suspensions makes the bushings. Don't know about the adjustable bar.

Todd

You really need a cage.&nbsp The cage would give you the most stiffening for the price/labor.&nbsp You could inject expanding urethane foam in the hollow rails, but this does not come close to a properly built/installed cage.


-Ted

arg! is there any weld on sub-frame connectors, "camaro style" or anything? Getting a cage welded in by a pro is big bux! I got a friend putting his own cage in and let me tell you, thats a tuff job. parts need to be trimmed and bent a little more then how they come. its not exactly plug-and-play.

OK, I'm confused. Which category were you planning to race in with your "90' GXL - All stock"?

Anyway, if you do a lot of racing, you should get sponsored by Mazda Motorsports. They have urethane bushings, sway bars, etc. I'm rather surprised that you didn't hear about this program at the track.
http://www.mazdamotorsports.com

A weld-in cage is not big bucks. It's only about $1,000 - 1,500, which is much less expensive than a good suspension setup. Whether or not you want to deal with a cage for daily driving is another issue.

BTW, if you think your car creaks now, just wait until you get those race bushings installed, LOL.

Buy a bolt in cage or at minimum a bolt in 4 pt roll bar. Kirk racing makes them that are as close to plug and play as anyone can. They are somewhat easy to install and stiffen the chassis beyond belief. BTW: the owner of KirkRacing ITS races an FC.

I have a welded cage in my FC, it made as much as an improvement on how the car handled as the coilovers made in the first place.

Ha ha ha, I got the cage welded for my race car by a pro for 450 bucks, installed, and including materials. Excellent construction too. 6 point cage, three drivers side door bars and three vertical bars, plus two passenger side bars as well

Yo,


This is what Ted was talking about:

http://www.geocities.com/dorifto/urethane.html

That is my buddy's Jon's GTUs. He's hardcore!

Kevin
1989 GTUs "Dorifto timmme!"

DON'T buy a bolt-in cage for stiffness.. at least that's my opinion.. if you're going with a cage, get a fully welded one customized to your vehicle. If it is legal in your racing series to have cage mounts attach to the front struts and/or firewall, then do it.. basically ask someone who knows about cage building. And although it makes for no passengers (unless they're a contortionist), get a petty bar put in from above your head to down a bar at the passenger footwell area.. it'll trainguate in 3 dimensions.

so autopower is not a good idea i was thinking 6 point with the diagonal cross bar behind the seat????

I have the autopoer 4 point cage in my FC simply cuz I got it for 150$ delivered, but I DID notice a difference, not huge but a difference.

Rarest RX,

Do you have information to order the urethane form? I couldn't find anything on his site except that it was imported from Japan...

any serious racer won't buy a bolt-in cage because it doesn't stiffen it as much as weld-in

i dont know how you can be confused with racing a stock car.

i do an autocross under the Midwestren Councel. I race my car in class C stock in the Madison autocross series.

Placement in a class is a points based system and determined by car, the more mods you do, the higher class you get bumped into.


what do you race in with a 20b? something unlimitd? or do you even race?

we use that expanding urthane foam in mold making for composites. You can get it form any supplier of fiberglass. It comes in different densitys.

Sweet. :D
My brother had said something about doing this to his Eclipse and I couldn't find anything on the 'net. It seems that I was looking in the wrong places.

that autopower race roll bar looks "good enough", looks like i could probably weld it in myself too. I found it for around $300 DOM, i wouldnt use anything but DOM tube. Anyone know where they can get it cheaper?
One of the complaints i heard when talking to a guy that put a bar in his car was that it made it so he clouldnt recline his seat as much and when he wore his helmet it would really hit the headliner. I have the same problem and i dont even have a bar. ill have to see how much room it got behind the seat.

If you dont have alot of good fabricators around you one option is to buy a bolt in cage, and modify the mount points and weld it in.

If you're really worried about safety you need a rollbar/cage with a one peice main hoop.

Pretty sure Evil WILL be in an unlimited class, but he's not racing to be competitive, just to have fun.

can the autopower 'race roll bar' be converted to a 6 point cage later on by adding 2 side supports that go to the front?

From autopower, probably not.
But all you have to do is have someone bend a couple pipes and weld them on.

energy susp.for bushings. suspension tech is alright for sway bars.and autopower for rollcage!!

Right now I'm racing old age, LOL. Things will move along on my project again once I get the transmission issue figured out. Getting out of my temporary job and back into a real job again will also help with the cash flow issue. Man, this economy is rough on the aviation industry right now. :(

Yes, I just race for fun. The 20B car will go to "open" events, like the Nevada Open and local club racing events. I would eventually like to work my way into SPO if I find the time and money for such a venture. Also, after seeing the world's most lame burnout contest at the last Nopi event, I'm considering entering the contest next year, as this will be about the only thing I can do without the wide body kit.

Check out the SPO rules - just about as restrictive as WWF wrestling, LOL.
http://www.calclub.com/reg_rules/s_p.pdf

Here is an example of local club racing, which is sometimes vehicle or manufacturer-specific (NSX, Porsche, etc.), but they usually allow any car in track events so that it less expensive for everyone to rent the facilities. There is also a link to the Nevada Open on this site.
http://www.nsxflorida.com/