Well, time is getting short and we still have A LOT of work to do. Drivetrain is going back in the car, refreshed and tweaked by Jon @ TRE. After 2 hard years on my TRE trans all looked great - just put fresh synchros and whatnot in while we had it apart. The OEM rear diff cover/bearing had developed some play so Jon tossed in one of his new heavy dury rear diff side covers with larger bearings.

Here are some pics of the rebuilt rear diff - note how it looks even better than a brand new factory unit! Also check out the rear cover with a sight glass installed where the original fill hole was. This allows you to fill it up just a tad higher and to see the condition of the fluid.









To do list includes:
- install new CBRD turbo
- install new DHP rear diffuser
- install new custom exhaust (thanks Jacob!)
- build custom trailer hitch
- retune for pump, 100 octane, and E85
- redo graphics
- order tires
- shake down runs at MidOhio and Autobahn

More updates coming soon as work progresses . . .

Dropped the car off at PURE TUNING in Toledo Ohio today for some final install and tweaking before the big race. TO DO list includes the following:

• install new HKS headgasket (preventative maintenance)
• install new CBRD Turbo
• fab and install hitch for mini-trailer (to haul tools and spare parts we hopefully won't need!)
• new ECU mapping for pump gas, E85 and 100 octane

Should have it all up and ready to go for the NASA event at Autobahn, and maybe even the Mid-Ohio event. Looking forward to getting some track time in at Autobahn as it is one of our last stops of OLoA. I have watched races there and seen TOO MANY cars destroyed. I want to be as well prepared as possible as I will be driving that leg of the event, so it will be great to get some time in behind the wheel and I will try to get some instruction from some of the NASA gurus.

This year I will be running the EXEDY HYPER COMPE-R clutch. I would like to thank Exedy again for their awesome support over the years. Here is a quick write-up about the clutch:

I started running this clutch in 2007 - before Exedy USA had much information on it. Back then it had to be imported from Japan. The Exedy Hyper Compe-R clutch differs from the normal Exedy Twin in that it has a lightened chromoly flywheel, lightweight unsprung friction discs, and a different disc-drive mechanism. It weighs approximately 7 pounds less than the standard Exedy Twin/HD Twin. The Compe-R is in my "race" car that is now driven maybe a thousand miles a year on the street and the rest on the track - although we will be driving about 3500 street miles in the race car this year for the One Lap of America race.

As far as clutch engagement goes - it really feels pretty similar to the standard Exedy Twin and HD Twin. My buddy had an HD Twin and he thought mine with the Compe-R was easier to drive and easier to slip. I had another friend with an Exedy Stage 2 single with the 4 puck disc and although he daily drove it - it was HORRIBLE as far as lightswitch on/off feeling. It was pretty much impossible to slip at all.

In my opinion - there are three "downsides" with this clutch. First, it is a lot more $$ than the SD Twin or HD twin - it goes for around $2200. The performance advantage to me is NOT worth the $$ for a complete street car, but it IS worth it on the track. Secondly, it is REALLY noisy. It is much noisier than the normal Twin and sometimes I get embarassed when I am sitting at a red light with the clutch in and everyone's wondering why my car is broken. Third - the unsprung hubs don't absorb back and forth "rattle" or slop in the drivetrain - so that is all transferred to your transmission. This, over time, beats up the soft bronze alignment gates on the synchro assemblies (not sure of the correct terminology, but Jon @ TRE showed me) and will make it slightly harder to get into gear as they get worn more and more. I get my trans rebuilt every two years with fresh syncros and have not noticed any shifting problem, and I race the car HARD and am NOT good at rev-matching and heel-toe downshifting. After two years you can SEE the wear on the synchros - but I have yet to actually FEEL any real-world side effects of that wear.

Exedy's model number for the Hyper Compe-R for the EVO VII-IX is MM022SBL or MM022HBL, depending on the clamp load of the cover. The "S" has a clamp force of 10,800N and the "H" model has a clamp load about 15-20% higher. For comparison - the standard Exedy Twin has a clamp force of 9,800N . . .

So since you have to drive from race to race (ouch) what fuel are you going to be running, since e85 isn't readily available everywhere? Sorry if you posted it and I missed it.

We will try to run E85 as much as possible, but I think that may be a pipe-dream. In reality we will probably run 80% of the event on pump gas. Will definitely try to run E's or 110 for the drag races in Gainsville. I plan on having a map for E's, 110 and pump as well as 3 boost settings on the e-Boost2 controller.

Here is a picture comparing actual weight of the MM022SBL vs. the MM022HD (normal HD Twin) . . . about 7 pounds difference verified! Mind you the pics are not of the EXACT weight - my shaky hands while trying to hold the clutch and snap a pic leads to slightly bouncing weight number . . .

Here are some pics of my OLOA tires that just arrived. Yokohama Advan Neova 285-30-18. These things are HUGE! At least as wide as Hoosier A6's in the same size, and a very large, square contact patch.











Getting them mounted tomorrow on the new WedsSport TC-105n's that I picked up a while back. I went down to Pure Tuning in Toledo today to do a little work on the car and check up on the progress. While they were installing the new headgasket (had a cooling issue end of last year) they noticed that there was a gouge in the head right by one of the cylinders. Also, one of the intake valves is sitting pretty low in the seats, so it looks like it is time for a new head. I called a couple shops today to see if anyone had a new E9 head in stock, but could not find one. Unfortunately we don't have time to get a new head built before One Lap, so we are going to take it as-is and hope she holds together.

The CBRD BBK-Full went on the car today. Already have the new Exedy clutch, TRE transfercase, transmission, rear diff, as well as new Girodisc rotors on it and ready to go. Should hit the dyno tomorrow to get a pump gas map and either an E85 or 110 map.

If any of you have a trailer hitch setup for an EVO - I desperately need to find one to buy/rent/borrow for One Lap. We were going to build a custom one but have just run out of time. Please PM me if you have a line on a hitch.

More updates soon - the race is getting close!!

EVOlutionary

15 days is plenty of time to put all of that together. Now is the time we start scrubbing off our best laid plans and going with what works.

Nice tires. I think you will do well with those.

The Yokohama AD08's certainly worked well for me last year, and my weekend at Summit Point went well with Paul's MR that also is running them. They offer good feedback at the limits and the car was balanced and tossable with slight oversteer if you wanted it.

Hopefully you can get everything lined up on the car, time is tight for sure and I'm scrambling to get my own car situated let alone get updates about the progress posted.

Excellent choice in tire! I've had two FTD's in autocross using these street tires in the past year and a half...same size too!

Chad at CBRD - your PM box has been full and I have not been able to get ahold of you by phone. If you read this - I need some CBRD decals for the car!

We got the car back from Pure Tuning a couple days ago. I don't know if I'll have time to get the dyno graphs up before the race because we have a LOT or work to do to get ready, but I will surely post them once we get back. The results of the CBRD BBK Full turbo are nothing short of spectacular. We made MORE power vs. the FP Green at LOWER peak boost levels! The turbo spooled up a few hundred RPM quicker, made more Torque at lower boost, and held more boost on the top end (less boost taper) than did the FP Green. We had some BBK runs around 450WHP as compared to the best the Green ever did around 430WHP.

More to come soon!

Email is probably best.

Nice numbers! What kind of fueling were you using, as I checked into carrying E85 around with me to the tracks and apparently you can't store any fuel outside of an approved fuel cell.

I think it even applies to having a 5 gallon container of emergency fuel in case you get caught out in the middle of nowhere so it limits fuel types that can be used. I'm pretty much planning on only getting 93 octane and maybe using some 100 unleaded at the track pumps when it is available but we'll see.

It's crazy to think we have less than 4 days left before we need to depart for Southbend!

The way I read that rule I think it means you can't have a homemade fuel cell in your trunk to allow extended miles on the highway without stopping. An "auxiliary tank" would be like the big tanks diesel trucks put in the bed of the truck so they can hold 100 gallons. I don't see how a gas can could be considered an "auxiliary" fuel tank. . . I guess we'll find out in a couple days. . .