24 hrs of LeMons
12-24-08, 08:54 AM
#7
Hopefully you've got an aluminum hood on that thing as we know that car did in fact come with one! 
*hint hint*
Here's another hint in regards to weight savings. There's a reason they used the car they did:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqpics/roadrace/ep01123lb.jpg
Get creative! If you would like my ideas/mods on the engine let me know. It doesn't involve buying anything. It's just labor.
*hint hint*Here's another hint in regards to weight savings. There's a reason they used the car they did:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqpics/roadrace/ep01123lb.jpg
Get creative! If you would like my ideas/mods on the engine let me know. It doesn't involve buying anything. It's just labor.
Last edited by rotarygod; 12-24-08 at 08:57 AM.
Trending Topics
12-24-08, 09:07 AM
#8
^^^
It started life as a 4 lug base so its the lightest FC to begin with.
The inside is gutted to the firewall and all interior removed. No sunroof assembly mechanism and its getting steel wire to cover the open hole per lemons rule.
Under the hood there is no AC or power steering and if it doesn't run the car - its been ****-canned.
All glass except the windshield is coming off the car.
I don't think the hood is going to be an issue for the 20 lb difference.
It started life as a 4 lug base so its the lightest FC to begin with.
The inside is gutted to the firewall and all interior removed. No sunroof assembly mechanism and its getting steel wire to cover the open hole per lemons rule.
Under the hood there is no AC or power steering and if it doesn't run the car - its been ****-canned.
All glass except the windshield is coming off the car.
I don't think the hood is going to be an issue for the 20 lb difference.
12-24-08, 01:23 PM
#9
Remove the whole roof, windshield and all and see how much it weighs! That car needs to be a roll cage with a few pieces of car holding it together. Every bit of weight counts. 20 lbs is 20 lbs. Lighter isn't only faster. It's easier on everything else too from suspension to the tires. I'd even take the dash out and just zip tie the instrument cluster to the steering column. Cut out the inside of the doors too. You only need the outer skin. Take the rules to the extreme! That's the intention. If you try hard enough you can probably get that car under 2000#'s.
12-24-08, 01:38 PM
#11
dorifuto soko!
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: winston salem NC
Posts: 123
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Hopefully you've got an aluminum hood on that thing as we know that car did in fact come with one! *hint hint*
Here's another hint in regards to weight savings. There's a reason they used the car they did:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqpics/roadrace/ep01123lb.jpg
Get creative! If you would like my ideas/mods on the engine let me know. It doesn't involve buying anything. It's just labor.
*hint hint*Here's another hint in regards to weight savings. There's a reason they used the car they did:
http://www.mazdatrix.com/faqpics/roadrace/ep01123lb.jpg
Get creative! If you would like my ideas/mods on the engine let me know. It doesn't involve buying anything. It's just labor.
i'm sure you already thought this all out, but that doesnt hurt the aerodynamics at all?
12-24-08, 01:43 PM
#12
How fast are they really going to be going out there and for how long? Most of the effort is going to be wasted accelerating the car, not holding top speed for extended periods of time. They aren't driving down the Mulsanne straight. I'd personally rather lose an extra hundred pounds rather than worry about 1-2 mph on the extreme top end for a couple of seconds. These aren't sprint races anyways.
12-25-08, 12:41 AM
#14
If you build a cage properly, an Ambrams tank could run into you, flip you over, roll over you, and you could get out and laugh about it. Please tell me the cage isn't where the shortcuts will be taken!!!! They give you 2 different options for tubing size. My recommendation is to figure out which is heaviest and use it. You don't have to be a heavy car to be a safe car. A heavy car with the minimalist cage vs a minimalist car with a cage designed with true driver safety in mind aren't even going to be a competition when it comes to impacts. I'll take the minimalist car anyday. You need to think differently from everyone else if you want to beat them. Everyone seems to have the same ideas and no one is truly stretching the rules. At least not where it counts. If you look at real race teams, it's all about interpretation of the rules.
12-25-08, 02:05 AM
#15
The Cage was bought from a company that makes roll cages and trust me it is not wimpy, it is a 10pt
I believe the company is S&W
I was thinking the rules say that any work that you do does not count towards the 500 buck, so I was thinking about building a full BP motor using all used and old stuff. I am pretty sure I can make a solid motor that would be a *** kicking thing.
I believe the company is S&W
I was thinking the rules say that any work that you do does not count towards the 500 buck, so I was thinking about building a full BP motor using all used and old stuff. I am pretty sure I can make a solid motor that would be a *** kicking thing.
Last edited by Rx7_Nut13B; 12-25-08 at 02:08 AM.
12-25-08, 02:09 AM
#16
Administrator
The top speeds for the race are less than 80 mph... in general the cars might be doing 50-70 mph at MSR. At the last race I think they raced for 6 hrs and 8 hrs, if you get penalized you can see as much as an hour lost off that time.
The key to winning the race is not getting penalties, decreased fuel stops/driver changes and running reliably for the duration of the event. The winner of the last race was a gutted Corolla FX16 that managed to run the entire race with zero penalties.
The winner:
The key to winning the race is not getting penalties, decreased fuel stops/driver changes and running reliably for the duration of the event. The winner of the last race was a gutted Corolla FX16 that managed to run the entire race with zero penalties.
The winner:
12-25-08, 02:11 AM
#17
Administrator
Screw the BP Chuck... figure out how to save gas and increase low end acceleration.
A 4.30 rear end might be a good swap vs porting and increased gas consumption.
A 4.30 rear end might be a good swap vs porting and increased gas consumption.
12-25-08, 11:44 AM
#19
The key to gutting as much is possible is getting the car as light as possible. That means using less fuel. Aerodynamics just aren't going to come into play at the speeds that these cars go.
Any work that is done for safety such as tires, cage, brakes, etc does not count towards the $500 total. However anything else can not go over that. Meaning if you buy a car for $400, you only have another $100 to use. If you sell anything off the car, you can use the money from that though. If you sell $200 worth of parts, you have another $200 to spend on it. If you paid $500 for the car, the only money you can spend is on safety.
If you want to do motor work, the key is to take it apart, do what you want to it, and then put it back together with the exact same old used parts. This isn't hard to do except for the water seals. You can get away with using the McMaster-Carr seals here but you'll still top about $80 or so. The intake manifold can be cut, chopped, hammered, welded into whatever you want it to be. I know exactly what I'd do to an S4 manifold and I've never seen anyone else do it before. Remember on an n/a, all the porting in the world won't mean a thing without a good intake and exhaust. Don't even waste your time with a bridge on that car. You'll ultimately be pretty slow and you'll just waste through gas. Bridges just aren't all that for every situation. This is a prime example. It won't be too hard to have too much power for the car's handling abilities anyways. Get the weight down first. That helps the power to weight ratio. Intake and exhaust mods will do more than porting will here.
Fortunately if you do all of your own work, your labor is free. If you pay someone to work on your car, that amount goes towards your $500 total. I'd keep very detailed logs and receipts of everything. Basically put a project log together that keeps track of everything you do, when you did it, and how you did it, right down to pictures of every step. In the end you've got to convince some judges of what you've done and how you've spent your money. There will be people who spent more than $500 who will bs their way in so be creative but keep it believable. If you just show up and tell them what you did and how much you spend and you have nothing documented, you won't get very far.
Any work that is done for safety such as tires, cage, brakes, etc does not count towards the $500 total. However anything else can not go over that. Meaning if you buy a car for $400, you only have another $100 to use. If you sell anything off the car, you can use the money from that though. If you sell $200 worth of parts, you have another $200 to spend on it. If you paid $500 for the car, the only money you can spend is on safety.
If you want to do motor work, the key is to take it apart, do what you want to it, and then put it back together with the exact same old used parts. This isn't hard to do except for the water seals. You can get away with using the McMaster-Carr seals here but you'll still top about $80 or so. The intake manifold can be cut, chopped, hammered, welded into whatever you want it to be. I know exactly what I'd do to an S4 manifold and I've never seen anyone else do it before. Remember on an n/a, all the porting in the world won't mean a thing without a good intake and exhaust. Don't even waste your time with a bridge on that car. You'll ultimately be pretty slow and you'll just waste through gas. Bridges just aren't all that for every situation. This is a prime example. It won't be too hard to have too much power for the car's handling abilities anyways. Get the weight down first. That helps the power to weight ratio. Intake and exhaust mods will do more than porting will here.
Fortunately if you do all of your own work, your labor is free. If you pay someone to work on your car, that amount goes towards your $500 total. I'd keep very detailed logs and receipts of everything. Basically put a project log together that keeps track of everything you do, when you did it, and how you did it, right down to pictures of every step. In the end you've got to convince some judges of what you've done and how you've spent your money. There will be people who spent more than $500 who will bs their way in so be creative but keep it believable. If you just show up and tell them what you did and how much you spend and you have nothing documented, you won't get very far.
12-26-08, 08:33 AM
#21
^^^ Read the rules mang.
If the car is worth more than $500 - you are hosed.
Anyhoo - we didn't make the initial cut but we made the Waitlist - for whatever that is worth.
Last time I checked the website for the teams registered for the event there were 110 cars on the list total. I'm not sure how many were picked and how many will get to race. I'm pretty bummed BUT we are going to finish prepping the car just IN CASE.
Maybe some of the teams won't be able to get their **** together or raise the money.
We will have a prepped car for the June race coming up in Lousy-ana though if they don't pick us for this one.
Its also a long way off - but there is a FULL 24 HOURS ENDURANCE RACE in Ohio in October.
We are hopeful that we will get to race. Who would have thought that this would become so popular? I'm thinking that part of our problem is that we are racing an RX-7. Quite frankly - how exciting is that? I think these quys want real beaters and unconventional "race" cars simply for the spectacle.
If the car is worth more than $500 - you are hosed.
Anyhoo - we didn't make the initial cut but we made the Waitlist - for whatever that is worth.
Last time I checked the website for the teams registered for the event there were 110 cars on the list total. I'm not sure how many were picked and how many will get to race. I'm pretty bummed BUT we are going to finish prepping the car just IN CASE.
Maybe some of the teams won't be able to get their **** together or raise the money.
We will have a prepped car for the June race coming up in Lousy-ana though if they don't pick us for this one.
Its also a long way off - but there is a FULL 24 HOURS ENDURANCE RACE in Ohio in October.
We are hopeful that we will get to race. Who would have thought that this would become so popular? I'm thinking that part of our problem is that we are racing an RX-7. Quite frankly - how exciting is that? I think these quys want real beaters and unconventional "race" cars simply for the spectacle.
12-29-08, 09:42 AM
#22
Anyway, if you need any help with a Houston race, I'll gladly help. I won't be able to do too much of the prep work (due to distance), but I would be glad to help in the pits for the race. I have a lot of experience fixing/rebuilding FC's.
12-29-08, 11:49 AM
#23
^^^ I know that there are lots of 7's in the lemons races.
I think thats the problem and that they are inundated with them - but thats just my opinion.
We had our entry in VERY early but still were not selected. I guess they want something a little more beater if they can get it. If they pick us late, we can always use knowledgeable pit crew. Its $75 to be pit crew vs $40 for spectator for two days.
I think thats the problem and that they are inundated with them - but thats just my opinion.
We had our entry in VERY early but still were not selected. I guess they want something a little more beater if they can get it. If they pick us late, we can always use knowledgeable pit crew. Its $75 to be pit crew vs $40 for spectator for two days.
12-29-08, 12:42 PM
#24
^^^ I know that there are lots of 7's in the lemons races.
I think thats the problem and that they are inundated with them - but thats just my opinion.
We had our entry in VERY early but still were not selected. I guess they want something a little more beater if they can get it. If they pick us late, we can always use knowledgeable pit crew. Its $75 to be pit crew vs $40 for spectator for two days.
I think thats the problem and that they are inundated with them - but thats just my opinion.
We had our entry in VERY early but still were not selected. I guess they want something a little more beater if they can get it. If they pick us late, we can always use knowledgeable pit crew. Its $75 to be pit crew vs $40 for spectator for two days.