Cool, it'll probably be fine once you get the new one.

 

Now the next trick is to see if I can get back on the dyno for a low power tune. I can do 200hp and rs4s, but would rather run r7s this weekend.

 

Still waiting in my slave cylinder, should have it tomorrow now.

Decided that my front splitter wasn't worth the 5hp in GLTC rules and cut it off. I was going to take the time to make it pretty, but oh well...

 

You doing GLTC this weekend?!

 

How are you going to secure the splitter now? Just to the bumper now that its essential BTM?

 

Of course. You mean, its not normal to finish the car 31.5hrs before you're going to be on track?!




I put the undertray portion back on with the sturdy bois. Just got rid of the splitter section.

 

Put the new trans on and was in the same situation of essentially no space between the throw out bearing and clutch. Less that the 0.045" screwdriver tip. To get by for this weekend, I put some carefully engineered 0.080" washers between the trans and the adapter plate.

I absolutely hate this solution, but I wasn't putting it back together again just to have the clutch slip and kill the weekend again.

 

Well, successful road test this morning. This is the most normal the clutch has ever felt. Dropped the car off at the dyno for a GLTC tune. Unless something goes catastrophically wrong, should be at the track tomorrow morning.

 

I'm way overdue for an update from two weekends ago, ill write something up later. But it was a very successful weekend. 2hrs, 40min HPDE plus quali and 4 races.

 

I was watching you out there, looked to be in great form

 

Thanks!

 

So as I said, the car ran great all weekend. U checked the trans bolts a few times, but they never came loose. The extra space fixed all the clutch slip issues.

Friday for the Winning Formula test day, I started on the S80s, but killed them after 3 sessions with a massive flat spot. Finished the day on my RS4s and actually ran my best time on them. Marcus and a few others pushed me and I got over some mental blocks in the high speed stuff and dropped time. Apparently I can run Turn 5 with a little lift instead of a brake jab.


Saturday
Car ended up weighing less than I thought at 2380lbs. I loaded my 175whp tune to stay GLTC compatible. Ran the R7s for the first time in qualifying and they may have ruined me forever. So much grip. Ran a 2:19 with a ton of time left, mostly under braking. The GLTC field is fast and made me realize how slow I am.

Went into Race 1 in the afternoon and that was a huge learning curve. I have no idea how to setup a pass. Got stuck behind an E46 all race running 2:25s. Overall success though because my main goal for the weekend was just to finish the races without incident.

Sunday
Ran the last 3 races and continued to improve. Ran a lot with Josh in his Kmiata and Freddy in the VW. Stayed clear of the big Race 3 wreck and finished the weekend with my most fun race in 4. Started to finally set up some passes on Yo (NC) and Freddy. Few more laps and I could have caught up to Josh and Marcus.

Only issues all weekend were in Race 3. I left the car idling too much on the Red Flag shut down and ran out of gas on the final lap. I got into the pits, but just barely. I also lost the O2 bung plug from my header. Check those things, a few other guys have lost them.

 

It takes a few events W2W to fully get into the "this isn't a HPDE" mind set where you give people WAY too much leeway to make passes. After that HPDE's with out a purpose are annoying.

 

I did forget about a few issues that cropped up:
1. Car was jumpy when I was at light throttle. Made turns like the sink hole difficult. My tuner was out Saturday and fixed a lean tip in and it all went away.
2. I forgot I had a pinhole leak on my valve cover and it expanded to a small line of oil. Duct tape to the rescue! Need to replace it though.
3. Undertray started drooping below the air dam. Put a screw between the two at the bottom corner. Undertray needs replaced with all the water exposure and I need a longer air dam to fully cover.
4. Oil all over the back of motor. Time for catch can.
5. Previously mentioned O2 bung. I've now pulled that out, damaged the thread, and reinstalled. Should fix the issue. That was another k24z3 owner's recommendation.


One thing I didn't have issues with was brake pads. I'm so glad I went with the huge caliper. I think I have 7 hours on these pads now.

 

Can anyone think of a reason not to switch to a 5 speed/4.3 combo? Benefits:
1. Definitely should go with a higher ratio rear end, my 3.9 is pointless.
2. Do not need the higher HP limit of the 6 speed.
3. 5 speed shift feel is so much better.
4. My 6 speed hates the 8k rev limit. 4th is especially hard to shift into.
5. Maybe this will fix my clutch space issues? Ton of 5 speed cars with no issue there.

I'm really struggling to see a downside here

 

Why not go with a 5 speed and keep the 3.9? Without the ratios handy, I think that would be closer to the tried and true 6spd/3.6 route many take. I don't see a downside if you're below the torque levels that would roast a 5 speed and don't mind the longer gears for the track(s) you frequent.

 

This is a racecar I don't know why you'd want to go with the super tall ratios. A lot of the faster K swap guys are running 4.77 with the 5 speed and just don't use second gear pretty much ever. With an 8k shift point maybe consider 4.57 gears. Me I'm probably going to be shifting at 7800 and am going to use the 6 speed and 4.3 gears. I won't ever use 1st or 2nd gear on track.

Punch stuff into a gear calculator and see how it works out.

 

I'd be interested in your 3.9 Torsen if you do decide to switch.

 

Figured it would really depend on the track ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In any case, you would certainly know better than I.

 

Yeah, I'm sold on the 4.3. 3.9 is way too high for track stuff with an 8k rev limit.

If it wasn't for the clutch issues, I'd probably just deal with the terrible shifting 6 speed.