SUPER EVO BATTLE!!

Love this old skool vdo!

What the?

Just had a look at the balaclava I wore at the last sprint and what the?

I guess this is the result of tailing other turbo cars with the vents & windows open? not sure what else it could be as it didn't go anywhere near where it could pickup this much #$%^!

It did its job though, easier to wash the sweat off the balaclava than the helmet, plus there's the safety element to it.

Just some useless post anyway.

Wet track

Last night was the last No Limits sprint of the year and unfortunately it was a wet one. I didn't really look forward to the wet conditions while driving to the track in the rain and was a bit concerned of the tyre softener making things more greasy for me.

Things didn't look too promising when I spun out on the warm up lap in the 1st session, I was only lightly accelerating for the main straight. Then again, I think half the cars had some sort of off's during the night. Luckily no major incidents and I think everyone made it home safe.

The track dried out considerably towards the end of the night and times dropped closer to the dry times. I didn't manage to improve my PB or gauge the performance of the tyre softener but overall I enjoyed sprint.

Diff oil change

Decided to change the diff oil today after coming home from work. Pretty straight forward as long as you have some strength left after a hard day at work.

Undid the filler bolt first in case I couldn't get it undone. As soon as I unscrewed the filler bolt the fluid started to flow out from it. Either the car wasn't level enough or the workshop who worked on the diff decided to overfill it a little. No probs, I already had a small container ready.

Filler plug & drain plug undone

I then proceeded to undo the drain bolt and it was actually quite easy to undo, also magnet on the drain plug bolt had collected some material. Will compare this with the amount collected in the next flush after a sprint event.

Metal shaving on the magnet

The fluid that came out of it is supposively the same oil that I'm putting in according to the workshop receipt and it looks pretty dark and dirty. Hopefully it won't look like this next flush and this is just a breaking in of new plates.

Quite a difference in oil colour

Hopefully not as bad next time

About 600ml of old fluid came out so pumped in the same amount plus a couple of quick pumps when it started to flow out of the filler hole.

Pump it! pump it!

I wanted to do the transfer case as well but did not have the strength to crack open the filler plug, photo quality suffered a little too...so next time.

Snake Oil

I have 3 sets of used R compound tyres all at least 2 years old with about half tread depth. Too good to just throw them out but not really in satisfactory condition for track use. These have gone hard enough that you couldn't leave a finger nail mark on them without breaking your finger in the process.

As an experiment, I picked up a 1L bottle of GRIP tyre softener from Revolution Racegear and applied it to a set of Dunlop DZ03G's I used at the last NoLimit sprint. I'll use the same set again at the sprint next week.

Snake Oil

This softener is suppose to lower the durometer figure by 20, I think this is equivalent of the difference between streets and r-comps. But I wouldn't get too excited with any quoted figures off the bottle label yet.

Gave up on scraping...too hard

Application is relatively easy, just scrape off any rubber pickup on the tyres and brush several coats of the blue liquid on and let it soak and do its magic over 4-5 days...longer for old tyres. I plan to give them 6 coats over 2 days and let it sit for a week before the sprint day.

Just brush it on!

I'm not expecting any miracles, but after just 1 coat I could feel the rubber surface soften up already. It'll be interesting to see how this changes in a couple of days time when the liquid works its way deeper into the rubber.

Tyres soaking

So we wait and see for now, will report back in a week.

More nomex stuff

Also added to my safety gear is OMP nomex balaclava.

Control Arm Bushings

Front control arm bushings have arrived, both innner front and inner rear.
Hopefully have them installed this weekend

Front control arm inner front part#W51988

Front control arm inner rear part#W52662

B Class vehicle transfer with DoT

Just went through a little hurdle with the vehicle transfer of ownership on the car. The previous owner and I thought the transfer process of the 'B classed' Evo V was same as a regular car. So, we filled in the usual Red and Green form from DoT and mailed them in. 

Two Weeks later I received this letter :

I had a look at the rego papers and noted the condition codes which I failed to see before:

See condition code 004

So, I contacted the seller and asked him to get an approval from director general as per the letter. Of course both of us had no idea what the process was for obtaining the mentioned approval. The seller contacted DoT couple of times before actually getting someone who was able to help. 

This is the reply I got from the seller :

"Spoke to Alison at the DPI, I called the number from the letter you received.

What is needed is for you to take the car and all the papers I gave you to Welshpool. All they need to do is a check to ensure that the car is still as it was when first registered and for you to confirm that you will only use the car as per the restrictions.

They may ask you to change the rego plate as they have now a new system which the plate is a "Rally ###" but I would not suggest anything, wait for them to advise."

I wasn't prepared to drive the car all the way to Welshpool licensing centre without confirming what was actually required for the vehicle transfer. So, I just took all the paper work I had and went to Welshpool licensing centre, without the car.

It took them about an hour to work out what was needed to be done and go through all the paper work etc.

Luckily, there was a nice and patient lady at the general enquiry counter who looked after the whole process.

In the end I had to

- sign an immobiliser exemption form and pay the fee

- present my CAMS license (L2S) + logbook for record copies

- pay the transfer fee

- no vehicle examination needed, thank god!, didn't want to be in the queue for that

- no rally plates needed, I asked them about it and they said this is something organised through a club?? So I just left it at that.

Immobiliser exemption receipt

But somehow I get a feeling that if I went to a different licensing centre they may interpret what's on the letter and the rego condition codes differently and take a different path for the transfer, or may not be able to accomodate the transfer at all if they aren't familiar with the process. So far, I got 3 different responses on how to do a B classed car transfer, all from DoT.

Now that the vehicle transfer process is all sorted, I read into the rally plates a bit further.
Apparently, there is a 'Dedicated Rally Car' (DRC) program arranged between DoT and CAMS.

I contacted CAMS office for further information and looks like a fair bit of work is involved which I may or may not have to go through. I'll need to do some more research and put it into another post.

Evo V information

Found a good site for sourcing information on Evo V's
Evo V site

Bumper II

Bit more work on the bumper. Assembled the grille back onto the bumper. Some liquid nail action here and there, should be much more secure than before.

Liquid nailed and using tools to hold it in while it cures

Best to do this inside while the wife is away

Bumper

Currently in the process of freshening up the front bumper. Nothing new or rice, just painting the grille, replacing missing screws and fixing bent frame etc.

Removed the water spray setup all together which wasn't going to be used.

Also need to come up with a way to stiffen up the bottom and sides of the bumper. May be with some aluminium tubes and carbon fibre DIY splitter/undertray, job for later.

Matt black spray cans again

Oh look! it's a bumper

Oils aint oils

Ok before I forget what I've been reading so far on gearbox, transfer case and rear diff oils, I'm gonna have to post this for my future reference.

Redline MT90 in the gearbox is OK, it is GL-4, so brass synchro friendly

Redline Shockproof anything is BAD, it has a very specific use, need to know your tranny well, so safer not to use it.

US guys run Redline cocktail mix of 2x MT90 + 1x MTL to thin it out a bit to meet factory spec, this resolves notch shift when cold... non-issue for warm climate in Aus or race cars.
Redline also makes MT85 which is equivalent to the cocktail blend, but people still report not as good as the DIY blend.

Factory DiaQueen is GOOD, can't go wrong I guess. Have not read about prolonged use on track.

Castrol Syntrax however is a BIG Question mark. I read people running them in their boxes for both 5 and 6 speeds. Also read people telling others to stay away because it is GL5, a brass syncho eating formula, some sulfur in it eating up any yellow metal or something... Then I see tuners, respected ones too, recommending and using them, including in my gearbox currently. 

Either these tuners are not aware? (can't be??) of brass synchro issue or don't think it is a problem??

And it seems people/tuners running it don't seem to care to comment about the issue. I guess it may be isn't an issue since I haven't read anything on premature synchro failure due to the Syntrax.

Castrol SAF-XA is OK for use in my transfer case and rear diff ie no ACD, AYC but with LSD in both front and rear.

So looks like MT90 is a goer for my gearbox.

Will drain and see what state the Syntrax is in too...

Sniff sniff

Sniffing more cans of paint today, finished off the rear wheel arches. Nice and black now...

Next is underbody clean up.

Also picked up a bottle of Castrol SAF-XA for transfer case and rear diff. In theory 1L bottle should be enough for both but will see, the shop only had 1 in stock.

I also have some MT90 lying around given to me by a friend. There's enough of it for 2 gearbox flushes.

The gearbox currently has Castrol Syntrax in it, which is GL5 and the MT90 is GL4 and I may have an E8 gearbox.

So I will need to do some more research before dropping any fluid.

Sunday therapy

Quiet Sunday, home alone, wifey 10,000km away... what else but work on the car a bit more.

My therapy

Task for today was to clean up the mess under the wheel arches. The white paint under there was not in the best of conditions and what's left of the plastic guard was horrible to look at.

So, I hit it with matt black paint and took off the plastic guard remnants. If I can source replacement guards it'll be good, if not I'm not too worried running without them for now. Only managed to do the fronts today but seeing the wheel arch cleanup nicely was very rewarding and therapeutic...almost..haha

Before

After

Cooler makeover

Worked on straightening the oil cooler fins. Targa must be real hard on front facing coolers, these coolers were smashed up pretty bad and offroad excursion don't help either. Again I did my best to straighten the fins where possible and gave it a once over with matt black paint.

Can't do much about the bent bits, will have to do for now.

Also relocated the horn to the side.

After

Before

Before

After

Todo list

Todo before next trackday:

1. Gearbox oil - 3L Castrol Syntrax ($30 x3)
2. Transfer Case oil - Castrol SAF-XA ($30 x0.5)
3. Diff oil Castrol SAF-XA ($30 x0.5)
4. Buy oil filler pump ($25)
5. Engine oil -  Castrol 10-60w ($70)
6. Fix bent oil cooler bracket
7. Try to fix oil cooler fins
8. Fix bent bumper brackets
9. Remove intercooler spray setup on bumper
10. Set rebound on rear struts
11. Replace front control arm inner front + rear bushing ($50 + $90), waiting for delivery)
12. Replace Brembo nipples ($??)
13. Brake fluid flush ($60)
14. Spanner check
15. Wash car

Coolant change

Next on the fluid change list was the coolant. Too easy... out goes the yellow/brown/green stuff.... and in goes the glowing green stuff...

The bottle says it'll last 4year / 250,000km... I'll change it out after 5 events and see what condition they are in, will be interesting to see anyway...

Out

In

Intercooler debug

Next on the todo list was fixing up the sad looking intercooler. It has been through hell, but not bad enough to be replaced just yet. So I removed all the remnants of 200 different bug species and one by one re-straightened all the fins as best as I could, relatively a simple task but tedious. After the debuging and straightening I gave it a good wash with my Karcher.

The oil cooler however will need more work, or replacing. Update on that later...

Before

After

Scoping things out #2

Here's what I have and know about the suspension so far.

The front Coilovers are DMS 50mm, very well respected and expensive item. Looks like it has seen some action as expected, GTP and Targa.

The rears are Proflex's.

Front springs are 500 lbs (8.9kg/mm)
Rear springs are 450 lbs (8.0kg/mm)

I have been given spare springs with higher rates for track use:
Fronts: 700 lbs (12.5 kg/mm)
Rear: 950 lbs (16.96 kg/mm) - probably because of the stock swaybar
Just not sure if re-valving is needed to used these.




Front DMS 50mm

Rear Proflex



Front spring 500lbs (8.9kg/mm)

Rear spring 450lbs (8.0kg/mm)



Spare front 700lbs (12.5kg/mm)



Spare rear 950lbs (16.95kg/mm)



Front Control Arm Ball Joint Boot

Split boot before replacement

Started to look at the suspension for bushing wear and #1 on the immediate replacement list became the front right control ball joint boot. It had split and the grease was everywhere but where it should be, inside the boot.

$8 Part

Replacing it was a relatively simple task.  Picked up a similar looking boot set with same hole sizes from Veale in Welshpool for $8

Packed it up with some high temp grease and installed it in no time.

Next to replace are Front Control Arm Inner Rear Bushings. The left side looks too have collapsed. I have ordered a Whiteline replacement.

Boot replaced with fresh grease

Scoping things out #1

So after the shakedown at NoLimits Sprint I've compiled below list

- Suspension creaks and clunks on weight shifts, minor but bushing replacement was on the cards anyway.

- There seems to be excessive whining noise, initially thought the diff pinion/ring gear whine, then the wheel bearings. But I'm told the Ralliart diffs and wheel bearing were done 500km ago and are good as new.  I've check for play in the wheels and there were none. Got a comment on the forums saying old R-comps will make that noise, and it seems more likely the cause at the moment.

- Rear end hops on exit from the left hander up the hill. This corner loads the rear right on exit before the crest. My suspension experience from bike racing tells me I need to dial up the rebound in the rear. Not sure how it would apply to cars but will try it anyway.

- Looking at the video, I'm reving the 4th gear high into the redline unnecessarily sometimes hitting the limiter. Will need to short shift into 5th on the front straight and before the basin so I don't get too busy with the stick and brake at the brake markers.

- Need ("Like to Have") quick release for the steering wheel. Since I'm a short guy steering and the fixed bucket seat are placed very close to each other.  This makes it very difficult to get in and out of the car in a hurry (Safety issue?) especially with the cage work covering the half the door opening as well.

- My tyre pressures didn't get up to optimal on the night and I was too lazy to pump it up. I started with 25psi cold for both front and rear and it didn't even reach 30psi on the night (probably the cause of the tyre noise). It got upto around 28-29psi, should really be 31-32psi for the Dunlops I was on. I should really have recorded the ambient temp vs tyre temp/pressure..... next time.

- The forged engine did use a bit of oil, I need to watch the oil level and make sure it's warmed up good and proper before each run and cooled down afterwards.

- GoPro sucks in low light, only footages from Canon G11 were usable.

- Need to be gentle with the brakes when the tyres are cold. No ABS meant lockups, especially the rear.

-  Somehow, my rightfoot got really fatigued and had cramps towards the end of the night. The unsual foot angle during heel & toe might have triggered this over the old bike injury I reckon.

Scoping things out

Next few coming posts will pretty much be on scoping things out on the Evo 5. After an oil and filter change, I took it to No Limits sprint night (20/11/2011) at Barbagallo Raceway for it's 1st shakedown run. Things went pretty well considering I was still running 2 year old r-comps left over from Targa West.

Suprisingly, PB's were set for both long and short track that night. My driving was pretty sloppy as all my attention was spent on learning to drive a manual and getting use to the brakes & suspension setup.

Videos from the night:

 

Got the bug, here we go again...

Here's how it all began....

Wife in the X

Bought an Evo 10 February this year for casual trackday use, did the minimal tyres, brakes & suspension preparation and hit the track every month. 

8 Month later here's where I ended up...
It's an Ex GTP + Targa runner bought from a WA owner.

Evo

My new office chair

No Smoking

 My own race car.... finally... :)