Question about LRP test day at Lime Rock

[Rabbit05]

Does anyone know that an Annual Tech is required for a test day ? I am planning on attending the test day Tomorrow and the car has not yet been threw annual tech yet.

The car should pass as it has the current updates and the car has been raced since 1993. (I have 2 old Logbooks). I have been thru the rule book and cant find anything that I have missed.

I have been teetering on whether on not to go..it looks like track time is aplenty according to the Test day supps.

[gran racing]

Give the track a call? :shrug: They certainly don't do a tech like SCCA events and I don't rememer ever having to show a log book (although they do want your comp license).

[anthony1k]

As Dave said, I' don't remember anyone ever looking at the car too closely. But you will have to show your competition license.

I will be there too. Usually there are very few cars and plenty of track time. Although tomorrow might be more crowded that usual because of the upcoming vintage races.

[Rabbit05]

I called the track anyways, just to be safe. And, they are fine with the car. I have my comp license in hand and ready to go. I figured that it might be a bit crowed too , with vintage cars and all. Maybe it'll be to hot for them ?
I'll see you there Anthony !:) I'll be there in the 84 Audi Coupe , I'll be paddocked with a friend in a VW Golf.

Dave,
If all goes well ..I look forward to racing with you out at the Glen. ITB seems to be a good crowd of really good drivers , and I cant wait to throw my hat in the ring ....
...or four rings...;)

[StephF]

Welcome back John! Hopefully we'll see you at the Glen too.

[DaveITB1]

Hey John,

Welcome back. If I exclude me, than yes, ITB has a bunch of great drivers. :happy204:
Give me a heads up as to when you are heading south/west for the Glen in October. Maybe we can caravan.

I hope your test day went well. See you in October!!

[StephenB]

I know its a lil early but you'll be home soon. Give us an update on how the car went!

Stephen

[RSTPerformance]

Audi!!!!

How did it go?

Raymond

[Rabbit05]

Steph,
Thanks its good to be back !! Its good to get behind the wheel again ! I'll see you at the Glen .:eclipsee_steering:

Dave,
I'll definately let you know about the Glen in Oct. I will be going down for the Fun One double for sure. But, tentively ,it looks like i might be sharing a car for the Enduro. :D But I am not sure if I am going to bring the Coupe for the Last Chance or not.

Stephen and Raymond,
The car went ok. Although I spent the first 2 sessions just trying to remember how to drive. And like always , I ran across a couple of issues. A shift linkage grommet broke. The little ball and socket off the transmission...I missed the third session as I only had 2 and 4 gear.....but with the help of some Zip ties..fixed.

But here is the real issue. The car would sputter/misfire at full throttle . Even going down the front straight. It even sounded like a bit of backfire, like it was too rich. This occurred between 5000rpm- 5200 rpm. I messed with the timing a bit..it would rev to 6000..but after about the third lap it would start the misfiring issue again. But the motor felt better after the timing adjustment.

So you guys think ith might be an spark issue ? Mind you, the plugs and wires came with the car. So I am going to get all new wires/plugs and possibly a coil. All the grounds looked ok too.


But all in all, It was a really good day, I got down into the low 1:06's in 4 sessions. And I drove the car onto the trailer. :023:

And many thansk to Greg Amy too..man those tires work great !!


PS: I forgot to metion how nice the new pavement is at Lime Rock !! Sooo smooth...!

[StephenB]

John, sorry about your misfortunes! A few concerns that you want to adress sooner than later as they will get you again! The transmission linkage did plague us in the beginning because we thought it broke because it was old and worn... then we thought we installed it wrong... this went on and on for a few races then realized it was actually caused From the exhaust heat melting the rubber bushing that holds the linkage in place. A simple heat shield solved the issue and we haven't replaced a linkage in years! Another issue is breaking transmission mounts. Make sure the stayrod on the front of the engine is solid and does not allow the engine to rock. Remember our engines are sideways and if the engine rocks ALL the pressure is put on the transmission mount. We broke several up at nhis with the transition coming out of three. Another issue is the exhaust has to have a flex section because of the same rocking issue above. If you don't over time it wears through the connection point on the downpipe to the exhaust where the donut is. I am sure I will remember other issues but your linkage concern reminded me of these three growing pains way back when!

As far as the sputtering... are you using the stock fuse box and relay system? I assume you are and you may have an issue with the wrong fuel pump relay. You may also have an issue with the fuel pump getting hot and not pumping fast enough. Or its possible your coil has a bad connection... did you install a tachometer? If you did you need to send it to the manufacturer to have it calibrated for 5 cylinders. Raymond had a ton of sputtering issues that plagued him for years. In the end I think it was a bad head that he replaced after years of fiddling with everything else but I will let him chime in if he thinks it is something else. My guess is a bad ground or bad wire somewhere.

Stephen

[Rabbit05]

Stephen ,
I can't thank you and Ray enough for sharing info about the Audi's. I will be writing all this stuff down in my "race binder" and I will make sure to check all these possible problem areas.
Now when you say you broke the transmission mount..you mean just the rubber mount ..or the arm coming from the transmission that holds the mount ? All the mounts on my car need to be changed. Visually they look old and mushy.
And I think I have found my misfire culprit. I pulled the cap and rotor off, and well lo and behold, either the rotor OR the cap was offset on the distributor . The rotor had actually cut into 2 of the brass points, AND cut a gash into the rotor cap itself. I think that may have caused a slight problem. :blink:

[pfcs]

John-did you receive the transponder I sent you?
(I kinda expected a thank-you)
Good luck!\Phil

[RSTPerformance]

Before anyone gets panties into a bunch we did not add a solid stayrod to the front, we make sure the front mount is ajusted to prevent the motor from rocking under acceleration and braking. Generaly the rubber part of the tranny mount breaks but the aluminum part has also broken. make sure you keep a spare of all motor mounts, it would be a waste to have that ruin a good weekend of racing if one broke in practice or qualifying. Add a heat shield for the linkage and keep a BRAND NEW spare.

I have had several cap/rotor issues, not sure why but we keep a spare cap as those seem to give us trouble from time to time and they are an easy check. Wires are generally not an issue.

Obviosly the biggest week spot is the axles, wheel bearings and hubs. Axles are easy to change as are the hubs and bearings. Unfortunatly the hubs and bearings need a press, we have bought one and keep it mounted in the enclosed trailer. We also had some tools made to make pressing them in/out easier. It takes about 15 minutes and costs $50 at a local shop. The press and education on how to do has paid off a million times over. if you don't have one and have an issue at the track and we are around we would be glad to do it for you... it will only cost you team orders to let us pass ;) lol

Glad to see you got into the 6's first time out... you will be in the 4's in no time! Did you find it easy to drive? it amaizes me how hard it is to get the back to rotate!

Raymond "Long live the Audi's, please post a pic!" Blethen

[Rabbit05]

Phil,
I got the transponder ...and didnt mean to leave out. Check your PM's ,I got a surprise for you.


Raymond,
I was looking at getting a Front wheel bearing tool kit from Harbor Freight. They are about $80-$90. I have used one similar to it when I broke a Rabbit hub at LRP. It was super fast and easy to do. I apprciate the offer about the press....now do I have to let just one of you guys pass by...or both ?:D

It was...weird. I didnt think it was to bad. Does it push ? yeah a bit . But I was still just trying to orientate myself to new car...and not racing in 4 years. Plus the alignment was still a bit off. I had about -2.0 degrees camber in the right front. I should of stood it up more. All in all ,I liked the way it went thru most the turns . The rear has no shims, But I am not sure ,as the times drop, that I'll need a bit more camber back there.

He is a pic of it in the driveway...the Coupe to the right is next years car.:023:



http://i123.photobucket.com/albums/o314/Rabbit051977/0829101808.jpg

[RSTPerformance]

I like the original color look... Also just a FYI on our set-up; At Lime Rock we run 4+ in the left front and 3+ in the right front. Most people may argue againt this but most people don't have most of the weight of the car infront of the front tires!

If you are making a new car for next year what will you be doing with the old caged car? Also where did you get this one? Trying to remember was it Phil Phillips, the one that ran in the DC region or did you build it on your own?

Raymond

Raymond

[Rabbit05]

Yeah I was going for the old Audi sport colors. This car came from Cincinnati. You guys were helping out the previous owner with this car a few years back.
And what I am going to do is transfer all the race goodies from this shell to the other. I plan on keeping anything that is good. Essentially getting the car down to a bare shell .Then get rid of the shell. But I have some mods and painting I need to do to the other car before I start swapping things over.

I am restricted to how much camber I can run on this car due to no camber plates. So I think around -3.0 is max for me.

[lateapex911]

Did you find it easy to drive? it amaizes me how hard it is to get the back to rotate!

Raymond "Long live the Audi's, please post a pic!" Blethen

Imagine that! A car with 80% of it's engine in FRONT of the front axle line...hard to rotate! Whoda thunk it! ;)

Also, panties in a bunch? isn't adding an engine stayrod completely legal?

[Rabbit05]

Yeah I thought you were allowed one engine stayrod ?

And Jake,
I think its more like 100% of the motor and like 10% transmission...a wee bit portly out the front .. a car that has enjoyed one to many Hofbrau's....:birra:

[StephenB]

Allowed to add a stayrod but you can't change an existing one into a permanently attached stayrod if it was never attached on both ends... I think this is what he was saying...?

Stephen

[raffaelli]

Does anyone know that an Annual Tech is required for a test day ? I am planning on attending the test day Tomorrow and the car has not yet been threw annual tech yet.
................



Did they ask for the log book? Mine is expired. I will get an annual at the LRP event but will be doing the practice day prior.

[Rabbit05]

Chris,
No they didn't ask to see the log book. The guy at the gate just needed to see a valid racing license. I did call the track and explained my situation, just to be safe. I didn't want to tow 2 hours to be turned away at the gate. The person I talked to just asked if the car was safe and would pass tech now if it was done today. I replied yes to both and he said see you tomorrow.

You should be fine. But I would call the track to be sure.

[JLawton]

I will get an annual at the LRP event but will be doing the practice day prior.

it's about time you got out there again!! :)


I've seen cars running without roll cages on their test days..... including a Ferrari!! :blink:

[StephF]

it's about time you got out there again!! :)


I've seen cars running without roll cages on their test days..... including a Ferrari!! :blink:

Back when I was there, the rule of thumb was however the car had been configured to run, it had to conform to that standard (be it VSCCA, SCCA, EMRA, PCA, etc) And there wasn't any sort of tech or inspection of the car prior to the event either.
I used to cringe watching drivers 6" taller than the rollcage of their formula cars come flying by. But...there really isn't any way to mandate common sense now is there?

And on a related note, some of the worst shunts I ever witnessed happened at test days....

[raffaelli]

it's about time you got out there again!! :)


I've seen cars running without roll cages on their test days..... including a Ferrari!! :blink:


Whew......been a long year.............Back on my feet....time to play - No more monkey business with junk yard engines :023:. I dropped the new mill in yesterday. Need the test day to break it in.

[anthony1k]

Interesting T&T last week. At one point there were several interesting vintage race cars on the track, including a 1960s Ferrari GTO, all running at parade speeds. I made sure that I stayed at a safe distance.