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View Full Version : Neon weight in race trim?



Woody
11-07-2005, 02:19 PM
Does anyone running a retiered SSC car in ITA know how close they are to the minimum weight of #2450? Is it possible? I am converting one to run in SN/ITA and I have all the interior and such removed, I just don't have access to scales right now and was wondering how close the car might be? Thanks in advance for any help.

Dave

Matt Ferratusco
11-07-2005, 07:45 PM
My SSC logbook shows the car (weighed by previous owners from the Neon Challenge) is already near that weight. I haven't scaled it, but it should be under w/o driver once gutted.

EDIT: Just checked the logbook, and it shows 2320 without driver, as an SSC car! I'm VERY surprised it's that light in stock form, plus a cage. Just doesn't sound right...

Rabbit07
11-07-2005, 09:40 PM
My car without fuel is under weight.

m glassburner
11-07-2005, 10:35 PM
My 98 acr in street trim,w/1/4 tank,spare tire,stereo,me not in it..2440 lbs...that's a coupe,I've heard the 4 door is slightly lighter ???

Woody
11-08-2005, 10:57 AM
Hey guys, thanks for the info. Just what I was looking for. Now I have an idea of where I might be. My car has a pretty serious weld in cage that is probably a bit on the heavy side, but it is certainly safe! At least I know that I will be able to get close.

Thanks again guys, after 10 years of formula cars this is my first attempt at a closed wheel car, so I might be asking alot of questions over the winter.

Dave

Speed Raycer
11-08-2005, 11:26 AM
Originally posted by Woody@Nov 8 2005, 09:57 AM
Hey guys, thanks for the info. Just what I was looking for. Now I have an idea of where I might be. My car has a pretty serious weld in cage that is probably a bit on the heavy side, but it is certainly safe! At least I know that I will be able to get close.

Thanks again guys, after 10 years of formula cars this is my first attempt at a closed wheel car, so I might be asking alot of questions over the winter.

Dave

64896


If you're anywhere near the St. Louis Area, I've got a set of scales you can rent ;)

Woody
11-12-2005, 01:51 PM
If you're anywhere near the St. Louis Area, I've got a set of scales you can rent

Thank you for the offer, I think Michigan might be a little far. :D

Mattberg
11-16-2005, 02:27 PM
My SSC car is underweight without fuel. I run the spare tire during enduros because I don't refuel and finish almost empty (a little too close a few times :rolleyes: ) and I have +-6 pounds to spare. I think I could get to around 2300 pounds dry in ITA trim without much effort.

Woody
11-16-2005, 06:18 PM
My SSC car is underweight without fuel. I run the spare tire during enduros because I don't refuel and finish almost empty (a little too close a few times ) and I have +-6 pounds to spare. I think I could get to around 2300 pounds dry in ITA trim without much effort.

I would be interested to here about your enduro experiences. I am converting a SSC car for SN but I am very interested in running the car in ITA in enduro's. :023: Did you find the car to be a good enduro car? Any reliability issues?

Thanks,

Dave

Mattberg
11-16-2005, 08:00 PM
Great enduro car! :023: One tank of gas does the job. I would suggest replacing the hubs before and probably after as well. Brake heat can be a problem at certain tracks but Andy Porterfield gave me a solution to that. I haven't had a problem since. Fact is the Hawk and Carbotech pads just don't seem to work for the car and the blue stuff for some reason is not as good as the Motul. The perfect combination turned out to be the Raybestos NASCAR pads and the Motul 650. The only reason I'm sure is I had to put Hawks on last race because that's all I had and sure enough... lost pedal and lotsa' fade. Also make sure you replace the ceramic inserts in the calipers with the Mopar ones. They disintegrate and turn to powder when you least expect it! :119:

Matt Ferratusco
11-18-2005, 11:25 PM
Originally posted by Mattberg@Nov 16 2005, 07:00 PM
Great enduro car! :023: One tank of gas does the job. I would suggest replacing the hubs before and probably after as well. Brake heat can be a problem at certain tracks but Andy Porterfield gave me a solution to that. I haven't had a problem since. Fact is the Hawk and Carbotech pads just don't seem to work for the car and the blue stuff for some reason is not as good as the Motul. The perfect combination turned out to be the Raybestos NASCAR pads and the Motul 650. The only reason I'm sure is I had to put Hawks on last race because that's all I had and sure enough... lost pedal and lotsa' fade. Also make sure you replace the ceramic inserts in the calipers with the Mopar ones. They disintegrate and turn to powder when you least expect it! :119:

65615


The pedal goes to the floor on my Neon, yet they work fine if you press hard enough. We've bled them several times but the issue remains. We suspected a bad master, so I'm installing it tomorrow. We have Hawk pads, but I'm not sure which compound. Are you saying it could be the pads and/or fluid causing our problem?

Matt Ferratusco
11-19-2005, 09:03 PM
I replaced the master cylinder today but the pedal is still long and spongy...long as in still goes to the floor. I have Hawk Blues on the car and I'm using Motul 600. A friend of mine had the same problem with his ITS RX-7 and replaced the same Motul fluid with AP 600 and voila!, problem solved. Could it be the brake fluid, or maybe the calipers?

Mattberg
11-19-2005, 11:57 PM
Originally posted by Matt Ferratusco@Nov 20 2005, 01:03 AM
I replaced the master cylinder today but the pedal is still long and spongy...long as in still goes to the floor. I have Hawk Blues on the car and I'm using Motul 600. A friend of mine had the same problem with his ITS RX-7 and replaced the same Motul fluid with AP 600 and voila!, problem solved. Could it be the brake fluid, or maybe the calipers?

66019



Call Andy Porterfield and ask for the same package he sent me (Matt Weisberg, Ft. Lauderdale, FL). You're having all the problems I did. Haven't had them since until I had to put the Hawk pads on for that one race, not to mention they ripped apart a rotor. Just too aggressive.

Rabbit07
11-20-2005, 01:10 PM
Are the caliper pistons in good shape? Are the caliper sliders in good shape? Are the pads new? Is the pedal long only when you push on it when you are not moving? The pad is usually not the cause of a long pedal. If the pad is deflecting then yes, but that rarely happens with a new set.

Eagle7
11-20-2005, 01:15 PM
Originally posted by Matt Ferratusco@Nov 19 2005, 09:03 PM
I replaced the master cylinder today but the pedal is still long and spongy...long as in still goes to the floor. I have Hawk Blues on the car and I'm using Motul 600. A friend of mine had the same problem with his ITS RX-7 and replaced the same Motul fluid with AP 600 and voila!, problem solved. Could it be the brake fluid, or maybe the calipers?

66019

Or more likely, something in the line with the fluid (air).

Matt Ferratusco
11-20-2005, 03:56 PM
We've bled the entire system several times so there's no air in the lines. I'm going to pick up a rebuild kit for the calipers, I'm sure they're due. The pedal is long whenever the car is on, moving or not. When the car is off, the pedal will build up firm pressure, but when you start the engine it goes to the floor.

Mattberg
11-21-2005, 12:24 AM
Originally posted by Matt Ferratusco@Nov 20 2005, 07:56 PM
We've bled the entire system several times so there's no air in the lines. I'm going to pick up a rebuild kit for the calipers, I'm sure they're due. The pedal is long whenever the car is on, moving or not. When the car is off, the pedal will build up firm pressure, but when you start the engine it goes to the floor.

66087



Make sure you get the metal ones. The ceramic ones are crap.

m glassburner
11-21-2005, 11:40 AM
Wait...you said the pedal will get hard when sitting(engine off ?? ) and soft when engine on ??? It could be the vacuum booster.

Rabbit07
11-21-2005, 02:05 PM
Time to play the rules nerd here. If you decide to run anything other than the production caliper pistons, then you would be cheating! I personally don't care, but some might. Keep in mind that the phenolic pistons are better for heat transfer ( no boiled fluid! )

It is true that the pedal will seem longer with the engine running. Have you actually seated the pads on the rotors?

GregM
11-21-2005, 08:22 PM
Originally posted by Woody@Nov 7 2005, 01:19 PM
Does anyone running a retiered SSC car in ITA know how close they are to the minimum weight of #2450? Is it possible? I am converting one to run in SN/ITA and I have all the interior and such removed, I just don't have access to scales right now and was wondering how close the car might be? Thanks in advance for any help.

Dave

64794


Our cars will be scaled shortly and I'll let you know what we come up with. We have 3 ITA Neons at our shop. Making the weight isn't a problem.

Matt Ferratusco
11-22-2005, 01:38 AM
Originally posted by Rabbit07@Nov 21 2005, 01:05 PM
It is true that the pedal will seem longer with the engine running. Have you actually seated the pads on the rotors?

66160


The pads were on before the problem developed.

I considered the vacuum booster but was told by one of the guys at Blackforest Tuning that it wasn't the problem. Sounds to me like it would be, but I'm still in the learning stages when it comes to working on the cars. I just drive 'em! :D

GregM
11-22-2005, 11:26 AM
I have raced many endurance races in a SSC Neon and we never had any braking issue's ( 12 Hour Summit Point, 10 Huers Du Mans, 12 Hours Homestead and countless smaller enduro's).

If any of you need brake fluid or brake pads contact Edwin at www.raceshopper.com not only does he have the best prices around but he's a Neon racer himself with an ITA Neon and a stock 01 ACR. He is very knowledgeable as its his business.

I myself away's use Castrol SRF and have never had fluid issue's. I use Hawk Blue's up front and HT-10's out back. Never any issue's. Replace those pistons when they wear and you should be all set. They do as Chris said dissapate the heat better.

Woody
11-22-2005, 11:39 PM
I have raced many endurance races in a SSC Neon and we never had any braking issue's ( 12 Hour Summit Point, 10 Huers Du Mans, 12 Hours Homestead and countless smaller enduro's).

Greg, were you with the Neon that ran the 10 Huers Du Mans this year?(I think there was only one)


Dave

GregM
11-23-2005, 11:11 AM
Originally posted by Woody@Nov 22 2005, 10:39 PM
Greg, were you with the Neon that ran the 10 Huers Du Mans this year?(I think there was only one)
Dave

66417


No I wasn't there this year. I've been really busy and have missed out on running all the enduro's lately.
As soon as I figure out how to get 28 hours into a 24 hour day I'll be fine. Thats why I am trying to get this ITA conversion sorted out well before the season begins.

Woody
11-24-2005, 11:29 AM
Originally posted by GregM@Nov 23 2005, 03:11 PM
No I wasn't there this year. I've been really busy and have missed out on running all the enduro's lately.
As soon as I figure out how to get 28 hours into a 24 hour day I'll be fine. Thats why I am trying to get this ITA conversion sorted out well before the season begins.

66447


Yes, I fully understand the 24 hour day problem! I ran the 10 hour Gingerman race this year for the first time(Spec Miata) and what a blast. That was probably one of the biggest influences to me buying the Neon, the Miata may not be availible next year and I want to run that race again! I am suprised that with all the sucess the east coast Enduros seem to have that there is not a waiting list for the Gingerman race. I thought Midwestern Council did a great job running the event.

GregM
11-24-2005, 08:31 PM
Originally posted by Woody@Nov 24 2005, 10:29 AM
Yes, I fully understand the 24 hour day problem! I ran the 10 hour Gingerman race this year for the first time(Spec Miata) and what a blast. That was probably one of the biggest influences to me buying the Neon, the Miata may not be availible next year and I want to run that race again! I am suprised that with all the sucess the east coast Enduros seem to have that there is not a waiting list for the Gingerman race. I thought Midwestern Council did a great job running the event.

66567

They did do a great job running the Gingerman race but its far and not much near there. Homestead seemed to have the same problem with being so far down south but the track is great and the Florida SCCA guys that ran it did a great job too. Very low turnout I thought.
Now the 12 Hours at Summit Point is a lottery no less.
We did have an SCCA 3 hour enduro at Lime Rock but now thats at NHIS, another long haul.