Oh and nice pajamas! Lol I have been known to do that too...
Oh and nice pajamas! Lol I have been known to do that too...
Chris Rallo "the kid"
-- "wrenching and racing" -- "will race for food!" -- "Onward and Upward"
Hey Jake and Ron - hoping you guys are feeling better. Fantastic workmanship - I can't wire anything beyond red and black...:-)
BenSpeed
#33 ITR Porsche 968
BigSpeed Racing
2013 ITR Pro IT Champion
2014 NE Division ITR Champion
Feeling much better, almost 100%.
I got mucho more wiring done and tested. The panel was installed, checked for drains and so on, all good as I knew it would be. So, I continued with the fab work and now it is completely done and tested. Notice the power mirror switch - yep, the mirrors will work when connected.
I questioned keeping the power mirrors but when I took them off the car I couldn't believe how little they weighed. The entire assembly is light weight plastic with a tiny motor, 1.2 lbs each. The glass is paper thin that is mounted to a thin plastic substrate. So, if you got to have mirrors the stock ones are pretty good. Now, considering aero they might have to go but that remains to be seen.
Still, the mirrors are on our weight reduction at all costs list. Other items that populate that list are the engine fan, data/camera/gauges, wiper motor (EDIT - THE WIPER MOTOR CAN UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES BE REMOVED FROM AN IT CAR, THEREFORE, IT IS NOW REMOVED FROM OUR WEIGHT REDUCTION AT ALL COSTS LIST), fan blower motor, fire system, and cool suit plus some other odds and ends. Clearly some of those things you'd like to have, but if 40 lbs is the difference between competitive and non-competitive we could toss that stuff.
Last edited by Ron Earp; 04-13-2012 at 01:18 PM.
I think we have all seen that 40 lbs is not the difference between competitive and non-competitive. In fact, I would never consider chucking the fire system over weight, and the cool suit (in my opinion) adds competitiveness by keeping you comfortable in the car.
In the past, with the cool suit, there were races where I was dying for the checkered to come out. That doesn't happen now. I'm generally as fresh getting out of the car as getting in.
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
I too think that 40 lbs isn't going to make or break a car. And I for sure as heck want those items on the list in the car.
I believe we're going to be racing at about 100 lbs heavier than an RX7. I don't think that is too bad from a power perspective as I think we'll have more peak power and area under the curve than those cars, but that remains to be seen.
But the weight on the stang is not good with respect to tire loading. We do not have nearly the balance of an RX7 but we're running the same size tire. My rough calculations show we'll be loading the front tires about 20-25% more than an RX7 thus ultimately we'll high a significantly higher load per square inch of tire.
A larger tire, like a 245, might help. But I just got off the phone with Rodney at App Tire and he says that size on a 7" wheel is problematic. He indicates they used to put them on the BMWs in ITS back in the day but the weird thing was they would not always seat properly on the wheel, sometimes they would seat off center and there was nothing that could be done to correct it. When that happened they were worse off than the 225s and had a wheel/tire that was basically unusable. He advised to not totally rule them out, but be forewarned if they don't mount properly there isn't anything that can be done. However, at only $8 a tire more than the 225s it might be worth looking into for the larger side to side and front to rear contact patch. I'd like to mount one up and chalk it at pressure and under load to measure the actual contact patch.
I asked him about 275s and he says they won't even mount those up for a customer. They're pinched too much on a 7" wheel and he claims the side width tire contact patch will be no better than a 225, although the front to rear contact patch might be larger than a 225. I told him Jeff Y has used them and liked them, but he wasn't sounding too convinced. So I suppose they're off the table for the stangs since they won't mount them anyhow.
Well.....
D.3.e. Air conditioning systems may be removed in whole or in part.
In my shop manual there is a picture of the air conditioning system and it is the entire manifold, with blower fan, flapper valves, evaporator, etc. I can remove it entirely, or in part. I chose to remove the evaporator but the leave the plastic manifold and blower motor so I'd have some defrost action.
Wiper motors, I've still got mine but I think there is some language coming, or recently put in, that allows removal of wiper blades and systems, including the old faithful washer bottle. Mine is staying, both of them. The washer bottle weighs <1 lb and can become my catch can.
Last edited by Ron Earp; 04-13-2012 at 01:08 PM.
I think Rodney is the best tire guy in teh world, and App Tire one of the best companies I've ever dealt with.
I also think they are dead wrong about the 275 on the 7" rim. I had mine mounted up by NTB since App wouldn't do it. Clearly affected the grip balance of the car. At Roebling, I had so much rear grip I literally scrubbed brand new front 225s clean -- meaning no tread -- in 2 sessions. I had so much rear grip, I'd get on the throttle and work the fronts so hard it killed them. Car at Roebling was much faster and consistent with 225s all around.
BUT, at CMP where you work the rears so much harder on corner exit, particularly in the carousel, the 275s never built up crazy heat and stayed way more consistent on the rear there.
Only track I will run them is CMP but the work like a charm there, mainly in consistency rather than overall grip. I think they handle the heat better and "stay good" longer.
Sounds like you may have the same issue with your fronts. Go 245 or 275 and see what you get.
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
I like App Tire too, but you know me, skeptical unless I do the testing myself. So of course we're going to mount some and chalk them loaded to see if we get a larger contact patch than a 225. If we do then we'll use them. I'd also like to do some rolling friction tests with the larger tires and see how that works out.
Don't worry fellows, we'll take that wiper motor off the list. As I wrote, mine is in the car and isn't going anywhere.
Whew, you fellows do read these build threads don't you - not so much for the build but for procedures, protocols, and rules. Eight pages of Mustang build and nary a peep, a mention of a contemplated rules violation and IT rule misquote - bang, five new posts in a day.
Last edited by Ron Earp; 04-13-2012 at 01:19 PM.
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