Back into the big leagues: Project FRC

[niterydr]

Went back to the track this weekend. Terrible weather for drag racing, but still productive.

Density Altitude was 3056.9
82.9 Degree air temp
13.8 mph cross wind
49.4% humidity
62 degree dew point.

Everyone I talked too was down 2-3mph from normal. Still set a personal best, but more to go on it.
1.939 60'
5.431 330'
8.262 1/8
87.33 1/8 mph
10.687 1000'
12.733 1/4
110.25 1/4 mph

Not setting the world on fire, but making progress. I'll upload a video with a graph later. Next step is renting the dyno for a few hours to validate the tune and then getting some drag radials on this beast. I think I can still get this car down to low 12's with tires and tuning.

Next run I got eliminated. Improved the 60' to 1.931 and ran a 12.831 @ 109.91mph. The rest of the day I ran 12.99 two times and 13.2 two times. It is all in the launch with these cars. I did break a 2.0 60' 3 times. (1.995, 1.939, 1.931).

Next time I get to go will be late October. Hoping for cooler weather and stickier tires for a final hurrah of 2017.

[93gtpeater]

Some sticky tires you should be able to get into the low 12s. Street tires shows who can drive a car...... good times. You just barely beat my best time.

[niterydr]

Some sticky tires you should be able to get into the low 12s. Street tires shows who can drive a car...... good times. You just barely beat my best time.

Healthy competition for "neighbors". Time for you to go back and best me.

I hope with a better DA and a stickier tire I can crack 12.3 or better. I REALLY want to leave it bolt on until I go 11.xx, and I am stubborn enough to probably just do that.

Launching on street tires is a PITA compared to the AWD grip it and rip it days. I've learned that for my car it likes a burnout, likes about 26psi in the rear, and I need to leave at 3k. A slip with a progressive clutch feed out and throttle feed in to keep the rear wheels rolling and the noise pointed is good.

I need to line up some tuning gigs to pay for a rear tire setup, otherwise I'll be back out there one last crack, if good weather, in October, on these tires.

[93gtpeater]

Lol I might go again this year. Taking the bike on the 7th to rockfalls for a test day. Trying to get that thing ironed out for next year. If all goes good I will take the vette out next time I can. See if I can't beat your time. Would be one hell of a heads up race.......

[niterydr]

Well I never made it back to the drag strip. I think with some additional tweaking and a better launch on a cooler day I can break 12.5 in this car. Will find out in the spring.

Final tally came back for MOWOG series.

http://forum.mnautox.com/results/mnautoxreports/reports/static/2017/2017_MAC_MOWOG_Standings.htm

I ended up 10th overall in the Z class (of 48 entries). The car moved from STU to CAM-S mid way through the season, and I think with some off season tweaks it will be competitive.

Driver of the year I ended up in 44th of 330. There are a lot of people that only went once. Overall it was a good first full season of autocross, but I have learning to do.

http://forum.mnautox.com/results/mnautoxreports/reports/static/2017/2017_MAC_DOTY.htm


In reviewing the year in the vehicle I am pretty happy with it's performance. A few cosmetic things I want to clean up over the winter, but I think next season will be focusing on improving the nut behind the wheel.

I will most likely keep the staggered 17/18 setup on the corvette and try to get the maximum size tire I can get on there that match. Hankook RS4 seem to fit that bill.

I ran:
Bridgestone RE-71R
Sizes:
245/40/17 Front
275/35/18 Rear
Width:
8.6" Front
10" Rear

Hankook Ventus RS-4:
Sizes:
255/40/17 Front
285/35/18 Rear
Width:
9.4" Front
10.6" Rear
(or go with a 295/40/18 rear and have 11" rear width)

I think the extra width will help with cornering grip. I've thought about going the next size up for RE-71r's, but they run a bit smaller than the RS4's and I cannot find any first hand comparisons between RE-71's and RS4's. It really sucks trying to find tires in the 17/18 staggered sizes, maybe something new will come down the pipeline this winter that meets the criteria:

<$1000 a set
>200 tread wear
Ability to street drive and get over 6000 street miles
Keep the diameters so the fronts are smaller than the rear


So beyond tires I plan on entertaining a few other ideas:
Power:
Porting the LS2 manifold more
Porting the throttle body more
Swapping out the 75mm MAF for a 85mm MAF
Dyno time

If I can shake down a money tree, I'll add a mild cam/spring setup, that is all it needs for power until the driver gets better.

Reliability:
Cooling: I'd like to add an oil cooler and brake cooling ducts to the front and rear calipers

Aero:
I think a rear wing within rules may help with downforce. Not at autocross speeds but on the road course. I plan to try my hand at HPDE with this car next season. There has been a lot of research on this and I believe that if I add a spoiler with a 8" or smaller chord length I won't need a front chin spoiler, which is good as adding one of those is aesthetically pleasing but a pain in the ass when you have a bottom feeder car.

Interior:
The factory seats suck. Aftermarket options seem to suck. Still researching this, I really don't want to add weight, I want to stay FIA complaint, I don't want to ruin street manners, and I'd like to add a harness to keep me bucked in. More research required on this setup.

Driver:
The most important mod. Ryan beat me all year. Yes Ryan has been doing this longer, but that shows that the driver/owner isn't as capable as the car is. More training needed for this guy.

[niterydr]

Bringing this back from the dead.

Well I am settled in now in Elkhart, Texas but still plan on hanging out here. The corvette has developed a slight coolant leak at 86k miles on it...so might as well tear it apart.

Going head/cam on it here and just got done spending all of the money :(. I hope it is all worth it.

Spent a good 6 months debating the future of this build, but driving it around on the back roads here and looking at my track opportunities reinforces my love for drag racing and want to get it on the road course. Autocross is fun, but it isn't as available where I live now; so might as well upgrade the car.

Next week I should have PRC 225 As cast heads. Milled them down to 60cc chamber should give me around a 10.9:1 compression ratio (was at 10.0:1) I was debating of going down to 58cc chamber, but this way if the stock .051" GM MLS gaskets give me troubles when I add nitrous, I can go to a .040" cometic and be in around 11-11.2:1 all in. Will see how it does (hoping for sub 11.4's) on the head/cam before talking spray. That and 3.90's are probably next year.

Cam is a TSP 228/232 112+2 .600/.600. Should lope good and provide decent power. I don't really care about numbers, but anything over 420 should be great, I've seen some setups put down as much as 480!

Add in ARP everything and new gaskets/new SFI approved dampener and a CHE Trunnion bushing upgrade; well I only hope to do this once. Going with a LS6 oil pump and rollmaster ls2 single roller aftermarket timing chain setup.

Stay tuned :)

[93gtpeater]

Sounds like a good head cam combo. Last year I bought another vette that had a 408 ls made 530 whp and was a blast to drive. I am sure you will enjoy the extra rpm and added hp.

[niterydr]

Sounds like a good head cam combo. Last year I bought another vette that had a 408 ls made 530 whp and was a blast to drive. I am sure you will enjoy the extra rpm and added hp.

That's awesome!

[Goat Blower]

I miss my Vette, I'll have to get another. They sound so good.

[niterydr]

I miss my Vette, I'll have to get another. They sound so good.

They do sound great.

I really wanted a C6 Z06. Hopefully with this package the performance will be closer to one of those (stock versus modified I know, but work with what you got).

That's really the end game. ~450rwhp on pump, broad power range, mid to low 11's in the 1/4 mile, great handling, 28+ MPG.

Will see come spring. Parts are all coming this week.