project:BDR 2006 Evo STU build thread
Sep 30, 2012, 08:46 AM
#292
Finally got around to pulling all the pics off my camera and pulling other people's pics off facespace. Here are some of the other ones I liked:
Wednesday: Finally sleep at the Super 8 in Indy
Sunday: finish line at the Pro
Tuesday: out on the West course (that antenna has got to go)
Tuesday: paddock shot from a friend's iPhone
Wednesday, grid shot
Wednesday, course shot from Perry
Wednesday paddock shot
Wednesday - DC Region @ Sonic
Thursday, headed home
Back home Friday, fighting through DC to have a beer with the wife
Car was surprisingly not that bad even on terrible DC streets. Not saying I recommend it of course
But it's nice having all that horsepower when you know your lane is ending.Oh yeah, I also installed a Torque Solutions antenna. At NEDIVs this year, the wind got hold of my popped trunklid and slammed it into the antenna, which cracked my OEM gurney flap on the spoiler. I wasn't going to fix the gurney flap until I neutered the antenna. The car no longer looks like an RC car!
What? What? WHAAT? Sorry, I have to call you back
One of the streetability things I had been meaning to fix was adding Bluetooth to the car. Maryland has a hands free law and the car is really loud inside, so when the phone rings, you have to frantically turn down the stereo, raise the windows, swipe the phone to answer it and then hit the "speaker" button on the screen. At which point, you just have to scream into the phone while keeping it low enough that it's not visible from the outside. Or ignore the law and risk the ticket. (Note that I don't have long phone conversations while driving, because it's distracting, but it's even more distracting when you have to yell and you have to strain to hear everything). Also, I wanted to be able to do Pandora, Ustream, Audible.com, etc. Ustream was nice to have on the way back from Nationals and Toledo.
So after checking in with the nice people at Crutchfield and pulling everything apart to do the wiring, I had something that looked like this
I did blow the radio fuse at some point in the wiring process (I use - of course - butt connectors for everything and was using the wrong size so a couple fell out) which led me to a discovery in the engine bay. It's kind of clever - the fuses for the accessories can be temporarily disconnected very easily just by pulling up on the yellow box (not my picture):
So if you have a lightweight battery that dies a lot, pulling up on the yellow box will pull the radio fuse (and one other accessory fuse, forget which) so that the battery should have less drain. I have a Braille that has sit for 3 weeks and not had any issues so I am not worried about this but if you are running something lighter it might help if you store the car and you don't disconnect the battery / use a trickle charger.
I ended up putting the mic on the steering column - seemed to do pretty well in limited testing.
The final configuration is:
CDA-9887 head unit
KCA-SC100 (Alpine specific Sirius adapter)
SCVDOC1 (Sirius car dock kit)
Sirius Sportster 5 (original setup from before I had head unit integration)
KCE-BT400 (Alpine bluetooth adapter)
My old KCE-422i iPod cable has to be replaced with a KCE-433iV though since it's now chained through the Bluetooth box. With Sirius, Pandora, etc I'm not sure I need an iPod anymore but if anyone finds this thread via google it's something to look out for. I think that the newer cable can also charge the newer iPods/iPhones too, at least the ones until they changed the connector entirely.
Not totally silly season yet
The car hasn't been driven in anger since Wednesday at Nationals. The next step is to go to CBRD to get some custom brake line brackets fabbed up. I want a more reliable solution than my current seven zip tie per side arrangement.
After that - one more Autocrossers Inc event - one or two events at Hershey, possibly one or two Philly events, and after that probably retired for the season.
Oct 9, 2012, 06:27 AM
#294
Event #21: NASA @ VMP: 10-7-2012
Target of opportunity autocross! I was going to wait until I got the brake line situation figured out before autocrossing again, but it was a lazy Sunday and it had been a full month since Nationals which had me in a state of jonesing. It was pouring when I left the house, but in true addict rationalization, I convinced myself that my car tramlining dangerously down the highway was okay because I needed wet practice (having not autoxed in the wet since April). Yeah.. that’s it.
Due to site restrictions, VMP can’t start cars on Sunday before noon, but it was a low turnout event so that worked out fine. Each heat had maybe 25 cars in it. Both heats got 8 runs apiece, in about an hour and 45 minutes per heat.
My progression went like this:
57.9
56.3
57.1
56.1
54.6
69.1 (2 spins)
53.9
55.0
My best was that 53.9 -
I did a double take after the results were posted. No cones in 8 runs?
With drying conditions, really only your last run or two matter, and I got sloppy on the last run and wasn’t able to make up for it on the back half. For comparison, Martin K and David W in their ASP STi ran 51.9 and 52.9 respectively so PAXwise (have to calculate this since NASA has their own classing system)
Martin - 51.962 * .863 = 44.84
Me - 53.919 * .841 = 45.34
David - 52.914 * .863 = 45.66
Not sure how much the Hoo-Hoos were really helping in these conditions though, it was pretty slick and there were deep puddles in a couple key spots on course. There was a Z06 that got a 51.6 in the 2nd (much dryer) heat. So I ended up 4th in raw time and fastest on street tires.
Notes from this:
* Went down to 26/25 on pressures (and full soft all around)
* Need to look ahead
* Don't let up on your last run thinking you're close enough!
Next up - a trip up to CBRD to get some brake brackets for the struts
Target of opportunity autocross! I was going to wait until I got the brake line situation figured out before autocrossing again, but it was a lazy Sunday and it had been a full month since Nationals which had me in a state of jonesing. It was pouring when I left the house, but in true addict rationalization, I convinced myself that my car tramlining dangerously down the highway was okay because I needed wet practice (having not autoxed in the wet since April). Yeah.. that’s it.
Due to site restrictions, VMP can’t start cars on Sunday before noon, but it was a low turnout event so that worked out fine. Each heat had maybe 25 cars in it. Both heats got 8 runs apiece, in about an hour and 45 minutes per heat.
My progression went like this:
57.9
56.3
57.1
56.1
54.6
69.1 (2 spins)
53.9
55.0
My best was that 53.9 -
I did a double take after the results were posted. No cones in 8 runs?
With drying conditions, really only your last run or two matter, and I got sloppy on the last run and wasn’t able to make up for it on the back half. For comparison, Martin K and David W in their ASP STi ran 51.9 and 52.9 respectively so PAXwise (have to calculate this since NASA has their own classing system)
Martin - 51.962 * .863 = 44.84
Me - 53.919 * .841 = 45.34
David - 52.914 * .863 = 45.66
Not sure how much the Hoo-Hoos were really helping in these conditions though, it was pretty slick and there were deep puddles in a couple key spots on course. There was a Z06 that got a 51.6 in the 2nd (much dryer) heat. So I ended up 4th in raw time and fastest on street tires.
Notes from this:
* Went down to 26/25 on pressures (and full soft all around)
* Need to look ahead
* Don't let up on your last run thinking you're close enough!
Next up - a trip up to CBRD to get some brake brackets for the struts
Oct 10, 2012, 06:37 AM
#296
I usually lower them 6-7 from normal dry pressures but at Hershey this year in the wet we went all the way down to 26 and Josh had top PAX over Sam and Tony S (who ran in much dryer conditions than us but still wet). If you think about people chalking their tires to check for rollover, that's the thinking I was using.. wrong though it clearly was.
Apparently this is even on Tire Rack's website
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=58
For both autocross and road racing, increase tire pressures 6-10 psi from what you would normally run in dry conditions. Hydroplaning occurs when a wedge of water develops between the tire and road surface. This wedge can actually lift the tire off the road and eliminate traction. Increasing the pressure rounds the profile of the tire by decreasing the deflection of the tire. This results in a smaller contact patch - narrower and shorter. It also helps keep the grooves in the tread open so they can channel the water out from under the tire.
Oct 10, 2012, 01:17 PM
#299
Good thing it wasn't wet at any important events this year
I usually lower them 6-7 from normal dry pressures but at Hershey this year in the wet we went all the way down to 26 and Josh had top PAX over Sam and Tony S (who ran in much dryer conditions than us but still wet). If you think about people chalking their tires to check for rollover, that's the thinking I was using.. wrong though it clearly was.
Apparently this is even on Tire Rack's website
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=58
Well, I learned something today... thanks!
I usually lower them 6-7 from normal dry pressures but at Hershey this year in the wet we went all the way down to 26 and Josh had top PAX over Sam and Tony S (who ran in much dryer conditions than us but still wet). If you think about people chalking their tires to check for rollover, that's the thinking I was using.. wrong though it clearly was.
Apparently this is even on Tire Rack's website
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=58
Well, I learned something today... thanks!
If i had to pick any car to race on index in the rain, it would be an STU car (although probably an sti, but an evo isn't bad either). They're so tire limited in the dry that they barely slow down in the wet and will DESTROY everyone on index, even with wrong pressures.
