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Don't get one of those overpriced ChillOut systems. You can build a DIY coolshirt box for like less than 200 bucks instead of spending thousands. I've also heard of 3 of those systems now that have failed and started pumping hot water instead, one of them during an endurance race that almost sent the driver to the hospital because they didn't have the ability to turn it off and tried to stay out.
Uhhhhh, holy ****...that's crazy. DIY coolshirt sounds like a winner. The price of the ChillOut was a huge deterrent anyway, but the masses seem to love it. Definitely hadn't heard of those failures, thank you for sharing.
Originally Posted by Arca_ex
As for the swap, if you've got car counts in classes that you can be competitive in with the BP then stick with the BP as long as you can. Wait until you either feel like you really want more power, or if the increased power can get you into classes with better car counts. For me, there's no one locally to compete against in ST5 or ST6. But ST4 has pretty good potential to get some people racing, so that was the largest motivating factor. As well as being able to run at GLTC events, where a naturally aspirated BP is just not up to the task.
Originally Posted by George Jorge
yup. st4 is the hotness. GLTC crossover is just a detune/map switch away.
Unfortunately there's not much car count in any ST class in the MA region except ST3 it seems. NASA MA has great Spec series participation along with some good GTS2 and HC car counts, but ST classes haven't seemed to catch on quite yet. But, I do think the current plan will be to stick with the BP for now just to see what shakes out and keep developing my driving. Then as I develop I'll just see what feels right as far as car development goes. Whether it be K-swap or mild turbo build (though heat and less reliability are still of concern there) ST/TT4 and GLTC is definitely where I think I want the car to ultimately end up. I'll also be starting to branch out to other regions to try some new tracks here in the future, starting with Northeast and Southeast. Then once I can replace my aging tow rig in a few years I'll start expanding even more.
Even if I can't make a bunch of track days I'll come out and pit crew for you or just come to BS
Hell yes.
Good luck with your search! If you have any questions about neighborhoods/locations in the Richmond metro area let me know. I've lived all over Richmond and surrounding counties and my work has given me insight on quite a few areas that you might not learn as much about through internet research hahaha.
I'm glad you shared that...not much negative feedback out there on the MR units from what I've been able to find. But floppy is exactly the opposite of what I want haha. Will try to continue looking into it for more user reviews.
I wouldn't say it's bad, just that it could be better. I like it better than OEM shifter, but the MR regular-sized did better for me.
Also +1 for driving slow car fast instead of dumping money and bunch of time into swap.
Uhhhhh, holy ****...that's crazy. DIY coolshirt sounds like a winner. The price of the ChillOut was a huge deterrent anyway, but the masses seem to love it. Definitely hadn't heard of those failures, thank you for sharing.
Here, my buddy made this DIY. Sub $200 coolshirt box. I accept cats in return for this awesome link...
Also note that this is a "hack" for extra ballast if you need it as well, so size your cooler accordingly. If you have the maximum amount of ballast allowed by the rules, a coolshirt doesn't count towards that limit.
Might be a noob question, but do you find cool shirts to be effective? I can see how they would be useful in an enduro, but are they useful for 20-30min stints?
It might not make a huge difference where you live but here in AZ I wish I could wear one for the entire duration of the event inside and outside of the car. I've never been lucky enough to have one in my car but I'm definitely putting one in before it hits the track again. I used to resort to wearing a 15lb ice pack vest and at the end of a 15 minute time trial session the ice packs are completely thawed and at about room temperature.
When it's approaching 90 degrees outside, the trans tunnel is cooking you even though it's insulated, and you're sitting on grid roasting in layers and layers of fire resistant safety gear with absolutely zero airflow through the cabin, that's when you don't care one bit about how much a cool shirt system costs you. It can be a life saver for even 20 minute sprint races here.
I can definitely see that. Luckily here in the North East, the majority of the events I've participated in have been pretty perfect weather. The last event at Palmer was a nice cool 65*. I'm sure I'll look into a cool shirt once Im in VA
I'm pretty fit, run and mountain bike several times a week in Southern California heat. I still find the Coolsuit to make a huge difference in overall comfort and fatigue during/after an event. It's definitely a "nice to have" versus a "need to have" though.
Also +1 for driving slow car fast instead of dumping money and bunch of time into swap.
That's been the entire goal so far, so you're right that nothing should change for now. But you know how it is...idle time makes our adrenaline junkie brains always thinking about more power haha.
Originally Posted by Arca_ex
Here, my buddy made this DIY. Sub $200 coolshirt box. I accept cats in return for this awesome link...
Also note that this is a "hack" for extra ballast if you need it as well, so size your cooler accordingly. If you have the maximum amount of ballast allowed by the rules, a coolshirt doesn't count towards that limit.
Awesome, thank you! You've been clutch with links and pictures to everything I plan on doing!
Originally Posted by Z33Taxi
Might be a noob question, but do you find cool shirts to be effective? I can see how they would be useful in an enduro, but are they useful for 20-30min stints?
Just wait until you come down to VA and hit VIR in August. 95 degree ambient with 70% humidity is rough. Add in a hot race car, track temp being higher than just ambient, and a full fire suit and a Coolshirt quickly becomes more than just a luxury even over 20 minutes or so haha. I've yet to use one, but I know it's a worthy investment. Even with me being used to wearing much heavier fire gear in much hotter conditions, the race track heat combined with the concentration of driving will certainly wear you out.
Black Friday: such a dangerous time of year as always. But, as this off-season will be involving moving over to a much nicer chassis with a beautiful rollcage, I decided that such a fresh start deserves a slightly better budget. In the beginning of this "racecar" adventure the goal was cheap cheap cheap just to get on track as quickly as possible. Now that things have progressed to where I have better safety equipment, at least a tiny bit of driver skill, and a desire to at least get into an actual "racing" class, I figure it's time to buy some nicer stuff and build this thing right.
So, incoming for the chassis transition thanks to Black Friday deals are the following:
- Oil pan baffle and formula mirror mounts from Kazespec Engineering
- Heel plate from Racebred Components
- Aluminum undertray and side trays from LRB Speed (my plastic undertray got completely destroyed after some two-wheel off excursions)
- Reinforced sway bar mounts from AWR
- Sparco Competition leather steering wheel from OGRacing (my current suede MPI wheel is extremely matted and slick where my hands sit after three seasons of use. Still usable, but I've been wanting to try a leather wrapped wheel to see if it gives better grip and longevity)
- Organic puck clutch and lightweight flywheel from Supermiata (no more slipping clutch! And my first ever lightweight flywheel)
- Wilwood rear brake proportioning valve from Supermiata
- New vinyl numbers, class designation, tow/jack point decals, driver name, and windshield sun banner from Spinnywhoosh
- Coolshirt system from both Discovery Parts and Coolshirt (combined deals from both sites for the cheapest overall price. Decided that with everything else I need to do this off-season that this was easier than putting together a DIY system. Might as well splurge every once in a while!)
I still have quite a few wants/needs as I want the car to ultimately be prepped to ST safety standards in case I want to make the jump after doing TT for a bit. So I still need battery cutoff switch, fire suppression, center net, etc. I also still very much need an exhaust as my stock system is falling apart and I don't really want to run the risk of it not making it through a weekend. Still leaning toward Racing Beat.
I haven't touched the car since October, but my goal is to start tear down the week of December 8. I have plenty of other goodies that I've already accumulated that will be going on the new car as well. It's going to be a long off-season of wrenching, but I should have a pretty decent car at the end of it all...goodbye budget! Good thing I just got a promotion with a decent raise at work, I'll need to really start raking in some more overtime!
I've been using a leather Momo wheel for probably 7 or 8 seasons worth of driving and it's still in great shape. I like it a lot better than suede/alcantara.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to the leather wheel. I had a suede wheel years and years ago in another car and really liked it so I gave it a shot for this car too, but I must have forgotten how quick it gets matted and slick. I still like the way it feels with my gloves on, but I think the leather should work out much better as I'm starting to lose a little grip with mine.
Went ahead and splurged a bit again and added a MiataRoadster extended shifter to my list today. I was torn between the extended one and the normal shaft, but I figured I'd give the extended/angled one a shot. I think I can always go back and buy just the shorter shaft later if I find I don't like it. You never know what you like unless you try new things!
Made progress early this week. Interior completely stripped, body panels off, and engine/trans out. Tomorrow I should be able to get the underside all taken apart. I'll probably not work on it much during week of Christmas, but after that it's game on and I'll finally be starting to attach parts to the new chassis once I swap in the SadFab bronze bushings into all the suspension arms that have been sitting on my workbench for months.
Got some work done last week: deleted some emissions/fuel system stuff, deleted the coolant line that goes from the head to the oil warmer, throttle body, and front water neck, and ordered some refresh stuff (gaskets mostly) for the engine. Going to leak down test this week just to ensure everything looks okay for another year and start stripping the subframes apart to get the SadFab bearings in. Also hoping to pick up a used Racing Beat header that's local-ish sometime this week.
Hopefully I'll have the subframes back together and into the car by the end of the month along with maybe having the new Supermiata clutch and flywheel on and the engine back in. Then it'll be on to making a rear brake line so I can get the prop valve in the cabin. Don't have too many free days in January, so that might be all I can get to. After that it'll be a scramble to keep working to try to make the start of the season.
But hey, at least I'm to the point of bolting parts on to the new chassis as opposed to just tearing stuff off the old one.
Just got the rest of the Racing Beat exhaust in. Hoping for some good progress next week with the goal of finishing up the SadFab bronze bushing retrofit install, get both subframes in the new chassis, and getting some small things buttoned up on the engine before it slides into its new home (oil pan baffle, new exhaust manifold studs, few small maintenance items, etc).
10-23-2020, 08:40 AM
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