IT LIVES! My Z/LE ZL1 + 1LE + 2SS = Z/LE ;o) LSA SC [COTW 2/09/15]

[hammdo]

Z28 mount vs my stock 11 mounts... We'll see when I change them. Could be a good alternative. GM spent a lot to figure those out so, I figured if they are good for the Z, go for it. Got 'em for $90 each so not bad!

Gonna prep the car for tracking, so have the body temp cover I'll install. That should be fun!

Cooler temps at BG should make it a fun day!

-Don

[Mrbowtie26]

Hammdo,
I'm sure we've all finished at least one job with an extra bolt left over or part.......lmao...... any idea what this seal is I can't recall for the life of me....maybe something above or below the radiator ?

[hammdo]

Yep, that looks like it goes on the top of the radiator towards the front. I may need to see the other side to be sure, does it have a 'groove' in it? There is also one on the bottom I believe. That looks like its for the radiator deflector so air is directed to it.

My ZL1 upgrade changed a lot of that so, I don't have it anymore ;o)

-Don

[hammdo]

Prepping for track day, I purchased this great product:

Trakk Tape!



from here:

http://www.trakktape.com/

How to apply:

http://www.trakktape.com/installation-tips.html

I was able to get a discount from the Miata forum! He may still honor that if you get a lot like I did...

Better than painters tape, like a 'clear bra' but only for about 2 weeks. You can even layer these to make it thicker! I like that for the trip and racing...

-Don

[Mrbowtie26]

Originally Posted by hammdo

Yep, that looks like it goes on the top of the radiator towards the front. I may need to see the other side to be sure, does it have a 'groove' in it? There is also one on the bottom I believe. That looks like its for the radiator deflector so air is directed to it.

My ZL1 upgrade changed a lot of that so, I don't have it anymore ;o)

-Don

Yes it has a groove in it on the other side.

[hammdo]

Should go here:



In the front of the radiator cap, top

-Don

[Mrbowtie26]

Originally Posted by hammdo

Should go here:



In the front of the radiator cap, top

-Don

Ahh alright thanks !!

[hammdo]

Trip and Trakk ready!



I'll add more once I get there, but for the drive there and back, this should keep me from all the 'little' nicks from road grim!

Looking forward to the event!

-Don

[hammdo]

Well, rain has shown up -- hope it clears out! Do have the GoPro this time so lets hope everything lines up!

-Don

[hammdo]

NCM is just an awesome track! Weather in the AM was a bit wet, but dried out great later. The HPD event was fantastic.

I did however experience something I didn't expect (axle popped out of the diff on the driver's side):

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...21#post9339121

Rather than put it on my build thread, I'll document it above. NCM and the instructors (J.D was my instructor today -- great teacher and was awesome to work with) were awesome as well as Danny Johnson and his wife were great help when this happened. Danny and his Wife are just special people for sure.

Once I find out why the above happened, I'll fix it and then do the Second HX, Z28 motor mounts, plugs and fluid changes (again). Brakes will be re-bled with new brake fluid (Motul or, I may just get it over with and get the Castrol DOT 4 fluid).

This day was much better than 'bench' racing for sure! So much fun...

-Don

[hammdo]

So, since I popped the axle back in, no issues. Seems to be staying put, of course, not running it as hard as I did at NCM and 4 sessions ;o)

As far as how the car did outside of the axle, temps were great! IAT temps were fantastic even with the heat soak from sitting between sessions. We had 4 sessions (I only recorded the last 3 as the first one was to drive around the track with the instructor and learn the areas -- at a faster pace that is ;o). Trans, coolant, oil temps were great.

I'll post some vids when I get the chance...

Get out there!

-Don

[hammdo]

Great day at NCM (but not my car -- more later)... Andy Pilgrim showed up today to give rides -- in OUR cars! The whole day was amazing -- NCM is an unbelievable track and I can't imagine a more technical track to learn.

The Corvette Club had a track day and were very gracious to allow Andy to take my car out -- what a thrill for me. I have a picture with Andy in the car and VIDEO!.

Now the bad part:

I'm beginning to suspect the retainers on the axle hubs may not be able to take the force of the 'sink-hole' @ NCM. After the third lap with Andy, the axle popped again -- I was meatballed and Andy had to move off the track. We did get it back to pit row and I was able to once again, see the axle popped 1/2 inch again -- just enough for the axle seal to emit a little gear lube. Well I popped it back in (Danny Johnson heard it pop in again too) and I filled it up with Gear Lube. Drove it around, circles/figure-8s, no problems at all.

I did call DSS twice today, and the second time I explained that Andy popped the axle this time. I'll wait until I get to Texas and I'll pull the axle hub to see what the clip looks like. When I talked with Andy, we discussed the g-force the sink-hole places on the suspension. I did let him know how the bushings were (solid) as well as all the changes (including the carbon fiber drive shaft). We both think either:

The clip is not strong or 'big' enough to stay put or, the diff is flexing (the bushings are factory) and my be 'twisting' enough to apply a 'prying action' to pop the axle. With the grip, solid nature of the rear cradle, the only 'original' bushings are in the diff. Its un-nerving to see this happen twice, and after only 6 track sessions. DSS want's me to pull the hub and inspect it and send them pics and if necessary, the hub. We'll see what's going on.

I had the exhaust updated and it appears the guys forgot to bolt down the 3 to 2.5 inch reducer and it came loose -- fixed that and will need to update the exhaust for that.

One GREAT thing about tracking the car, it will find ALL the weak points -- NEVER thought it would have been the diff/axles. Car ran awesome. Andy said it had a lot of power on tap, just have to update the sway bars and toe/camber to get it to be more neutral. Considering I had a 'street' setup, totally get that.

ALL IN ALL, a fantastic track, fun day, GREAT people @ NCM. I think I've hit a big part of my bucket list (racing wise) @ this track. Danny and his wife and the folks @ NCM are fantastic and very helpful. Lots of expert input from them..

I'll post a pic of Andy in my car (about to take it out) and the VIDEO. IF you ever want to take a trip and do and HPDE event, THIS is the place -- I so wish we did the Festivus for the RestofUs -- V6'ers could have done that also... shame, everyone would have loved it...

More later as I'll have some things to assess now that Andy gave me fantastic feedback... Should help when I do the next HPD event...

-Don

[hammdo]

Here is an image of the track, and where we suspect the axle popped:



The load on the axle starts at turn 18, gets deeper as we 'gas' it from 19 and then really squeeze the curve tight to the left from 20 into turn 21. The force is highest when we hit 20 and its @ that point we believe the forces 'pop' the axle. The force continues into 21 and 22 and we hammer it coming out of 22 into 23. This course really taxes the left side of the suspension.

I also notice a couple of other things, the diff with the posi-mod is probably NOT the best setup for this track. When I post the vid, you'll see several times Andy pushes it and when the trans shifts (we were in sport mode) the car will 'snap' the rear just enough to see it move sideways. Now I know the trans has been tuned by Ryan so, not sure if that may contribute to it, but I'm heading towards a different setup for the guts -- we'll see after I get the axle situation sorted out. I don't want to change the diff until I know the axles can handle this track setup (including how my suspension is configured)...

-Don

[Mrbowtie26]

Nice sounds like a great time minus the axle popping out. That sucks hopefully you figure out the issue soon.