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2021 NASA Great Lakes Schedule has 3x Mid Ohio event, 3x NCM.
I plan to run this car instead of Button at one of each purely as a change of pace and proof of concept. It will be available for HPDE/TT/CompSchool rental at the others.
How it started:
1992 Black and Tan
Goals:
1. Fun
2. Win a race/set a TT record for the least amount of money possible.
3. Embarrassment Factor. You ever been beat by a car with a stupid name on street tires and alibaba coils?
4. Sell it in late 2021 and not lose a bunch of money.
We've done a few projects together in the past, and this one is going to be in a similar vein:
- Rolling shell saved from the scrapyard.
- Used/salvage mix and match of the best OEM components, wide open update/backdate 90-05.
- Heavy 80/20 rule applied to $/speed, probably with some questionable/hilarious parts choices. PowerStop Evolution brakes?
Reasons for confidence:
- I know that a 2200-2250lb ST5 car with 145 peak WHP is really fun/fast and can win. I raw timed and was back and forth with the eventual 2018 Nat Champ before suffering a throttle body asplosion at 2250lbs/138avg whp on 205/8".
- We have a couple high $$/speed parts laying around that are damaged or used.
- I know the ruleset well and will spend only in the high value areas.
Early/Initial Build Plan:
- NA6 tub (lightest)
- NB engine (bestest)
- NB front subframe/arms/spindles (improved geo)
- NA8 rear subframe (stiffer, retains NA exhaust compatibility vs NB sub)
- Sport front brakes, 1.8 rear (proven upgrade over na6 brakes, sufficient for 145whp ST5/GLTC usage)
- 5spd/4.7 Torsen (cheaper than a 6spd/4.3, easier to shift/drive for renters)
To be decided:
- Aero Depends on class, which depends on power capabilities of our salvage/Frankenstein engine.
- Tires: Depends on class/power, budget(kinda) and most importantly; embarrassment factor.
Early/Initial Build Plan: - NA6 tub (lightest) - NB engine (bestest) - NB front subframe/arms/spindles (improved geo) - NA8 rear subframe (stiffer, retains NA exhaust compatibility vs NB sub) - Sport front brakes, 1.8 rear (proven upgrade over na6 brakes, sufficient for 145whp ST5/GLTC usage) - 5spd/4.7 Torsen (cheaper than a 6spd/4.3, easier to shift/drive for renters) - Yonaka Race coilovers
To be decided: - Aero Depends on class, which depends on power capabilities of our salvage/Frankenstein engine. - Tires: Depends on class/power, budget(kinda) and most importantly; embarrassment factor.
In the time since my thread creation, the Nankang CR1 has proven to be REALLY fast. I really think a 225/45 CR1 will be faster than a 205 AO52. I was hoping for a 245/40 RT660 or CR1 as well, but neither have officially launched yet. All three of these are cheaper than Toyo RR, and can fulfill dual duty at local autocrosses.
So, where does Scuba Steve sit?
Here is a clue to how my last week went:
The donor shell is straight, but has been sitting outside on a gravel pad for a couple years. Surface rust has attacked the underside, and the springs are ALL collapsed.
Parts table:
The new junk:
Alibaba shocks:
Got into a rhythm and forgot to take photos of the full suspension hung on a springless damper...
bump travel for days.
New where it counts, not new elsewhere. lol
I was able to repurpose lines from the na6 master and nb2 master to make it play nicely with the Wilwood prop valve:
The completed roller. Stage 1 of my duties, complete.
1314lbs:
One more for the fun timez to come. Cool factor, fun, and embarrassment factor will all come in to play with Stevie boy here:
Hood: Covered below.
Aero. Leaning toward wing/airdam for TT5 fun. That will make it easy to dip down to 6 with a quick wing removal and airdam removal. I'll hang the undertray from cables like Button and rivnut the face of full OEM front bumper so it is BTM-aero-capable in 3 minutes.
Fender rolling: Left rear done. Right rear had a hardware problem and I moved on. Front tabs whacked and 1 remaining liner trimmed.
Hood: CCP, integrated lids, fiberglass. No hinge hardware, so it will need 4 pins.
Locate the pins. I set the pin height, then laid the hood on top of them. This creates a gap with the hood elevated above where it will eventually sit, so you can look in from the front/side and mark the pin location.
Trace the cutout with the backing plate, cut it out.
I put the latches in to drill the retaining holes as a guide.
Once the front was secure and well-located, I put a couple normal pins on the cowl rail:
The Yonaka Post.
I am hiding this in my build thread so nobody gets the impression these are any good.
From their site: Featuring: ~2-3" height adjustment travel distance Fully threaded mono tube shock absorber (17% larger piston diameter than our street coilovers) Inner bump stop to prevent damage caused by rapid compression impacts Wide range of height adjustment without changing the spring compression Bottom of the shock is threaded to allow height adjustments without having to shorten the suspension travel Rubber dust shield protecting piston for long life Adjustment tools included Spring rates: Front springs: 12kg / 180mm Rear springs: 8kg / 200mm
The spring rates, price and these two photos ******* GOT ME. I was duped. If you don't pirate their anti-right click-save as photos, you might quickly assume they were a cheapo alibaba coilover with a fixed length rear damper. SIKE!
I sprung for these for a couple reasons:
A. Never MisterR
B. No Techna launch
C. Half the price of the next questionably capable Taiwan shocks.
Thought process on the ultra budget coilovers: It just wouldn't be a fun/funny story competing, earning an occasional podium or even a track record on custom Feals/Fortunes, Bilstein internal'd BCs, etc. Those "custom" or upgraded mid level setups are out there, but come too close to single spring, OEM tophat Xida money. DIY Billies wouldn't prove anything either way, good or bad. That is a well documented 80/20 alternative to Xida.
From my measuring:
Stroke F: 90mm
Stroke R: 82mm
Body Length F: 206
Body Length R: 193
Body OD F: 45mm
Body OD R: 38mm
Shaft dia: 14m
Bumpstop: 25.4mm/1"
A few observations in my two evenings spending WAY too much time trying to optimize a Yonaka Race:
1. Bumpstops are too short, front springs too long. Both due to cost cutting. Cheapo springs lack spring stroke, so you have to increase free length to gain stroke length. Bumpstops identical to the rear, and ( I assume) identical to most of their entire coilover catalog. This causes problems when correctly set up for max bump travel. You end up with the spring perch resting on the upper control arm, tons of negative preload, and too high of a ride height. As soon as you start shortening the damper body, you introduce tire-chassis interference. They go really low, but need droop deleted to get "race" ride heights, which then requires bumpstop spacers.
2. The rear damper is just really, really tiny. They threaded the lower mounting cup for the spring perch, which hides the 2pc construction method well. This might have a benefit in allowing them to put a longer rear cartridge and really bottom it out in the cup. Another local guy claims his set of yojanas have 100/99mm of stroke. So maybe some of them get the top secret Sake Bomb Garage, Winning Formula style long body Ohlins upgrade. I dunno. Regardless, this requires the rear damper to fit inside the OD of the front shock body(the spring perches are identical front to rear.) Rear dampers are only 38mm external dia. Itsy Bitsy.
All in all, I'm hopeful that they'll at least function. They will allow me to achieve camber and bump travel goals, which I can make work for a TT lap. I can't wait to drive it.
I saw this update on FB/IG and it guilted me into finishing my Xida install. Its amazing how much progress you make while continue to support customer cars as well. Keep up the great work
Long time no update, but Scuba Steve has a running and driving 6D block/4W head frankenBP installed with squaretop and RB header, and is at the cage builder(McMahan Autosport, the same builder who did my car Button)
I hope to have it back and wrapped up for a late season HPDE or two this year still...
Since the timeline is too short for GLTC @ Mid O to happen in this car, and GLTC rules are always in flux, I may as well spill the beans here since i'll probably never use it in real competition at this point.
Gridlife GLTC has a unique tiny rear aero allowance for zero p:w penalty. In theory, to allow small ducktail spoilers and the like to run for free. However, the 250sqin area is allowed to be airfoil as well, so there was a very small, single production run of 6" chord wings made. They're no longer available.
I also bought the normal ~9" chord foil for NASA ST/TT usage. 9x40" pictured, 6x40 on the shelf.
JGTC inspiration for the endplate mount shape, and we have this:
Neither myself nor MWMP were in a hurry to get this car home this summer, so a miscommunication with the cage builder meant he didn't even start on it until after he felt the offseason slow down. Good news, cage was pre-paid at pre-covid price increase level.
It's now finished and ready for pickup. I'll go snag it soon and re-evaluate the build/usage plan with the new/upcoming 2022 rules.
This is awesome.. makes me want to wrench on the car again..
With my K24z3 swap looking like a Q2 reality, i'm very glad to have Steve around to play backup. Although, i'm also really really tired of even needing backup engines and backup racecars...
Rear fenders rolled flat, 15x9.5" test fitted.
Ride height still a headache. The springs are so long they sit on the upper control arm, so i've had to start shortening the shocks to lower the car, which puts the tire into the framerail before bumpstop engagement.
I am not enjoying these Yonakas. I am considering pulling the upper rubber springseat out to lose 12mm of stack height. That would create the negative preload I need to get ride height where I want it(for camber) without moving the entire wheel travel range up into the engine bay.
Stumped by the yonakas. The rear lower cup being the spring perch adjuster means that rear ride height is essentially NOT adjustable if your car weighs less than 2300lbs. This is because the spring perch quickly runs into the CV joint boot/halfshaft as you remove preload(ride height). Ive already removed the secondary lock collars in order to get below 4.75" rear. Same problem in the front, but able to reach ~4.4" pinch. This introduces a pretty severe camber limitation, even though I've swapped to all NB underpinnings. I need to be able to reach ~4.125-4.25" front for ideal camber range without investing in offsets or paying the penalty(and money) for ELBJs.
I am investigating backup super-budget suspension options and am between a ratty set of DIY bilsteins and a new set of Tein Flex Z. The Yonakas were something like $480 shipped on black friday in 2020. They appear to have risen since then, and Flex Z aren't too far away. DIY billies need to happen for sub $700 to be relevant.
I don't want to sacrifice safety or too much quality in order to save money on this project, so i'm sticking with 2" shoulders, FIA rated, 3D sub strap, etc. The Oreca/TurnOne harness in my own car doesn't meet my criteria to be worth the time/sweat equity to move it from car to car for zero dollars, so I gambled on this thing...
Scroll the photos in order without seeing the last one.
2" shoulders, 3"adjusters, 3" lap.
A pretty nice camlock, really nice compared to my oreca/turn one set
Contrasting pull loops
Good quality adjusters
Pretty surprising quality for the $198.33 MAP.
12-20-2020, 08:41 PM
Scuba Steve: Super Budget STx/TTx/HPDE/GLTC
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