Ford Racing ABS Installation

[marshall_mosty]

Okay folks, I'm back from testing. The day was cold (55-60-deg), so there wasn't enough heat in the track to get the tires up to good temp, so no track records fell today. I was approx 2 seconds off my lap record, but my brother (CMC driver) was also off pace an equivalent amount, so I figure we were still at "qualifying" lap speed. The ABS system works as designed and here are my thoughts:

Initial bite:
Much more agressive than the SN95 unit. It felt like I was going to suck the fillings out of my teeth. Very nice.

Feel "in" the ABS:
This was very different from the SN95 unit. The car "hunted" around quite a bit, especially the rear two channels. After watching years of Continental Tire and Koni Challenge and seeing the cars be very twitchy under braking, I now understand what they are feeling.

Release:
Well, this is an area that you have to be careful with. If you aren't too deep into the ABS, it isn't too bad, but if you are heavy into the unit, the release is very abrubt and will upset the rear of the car (I looped it once under heaving braking to see what would happen). I think that a pad with a little softer release characteristics may help out.

Overall Impression
This will take a bit of time to "learn" the characteristics of the system. I'm not 100% convinced that it's a "class killer", however I will need to evaluate again in the rain. The local track I used (Motorsports Ranch - Cresson) is a HIGHLY polished ashphalt track that is down right "ice rink" in the rain, so I can figure out how it works under "extreme" conditions... more to come on that point.

All in all, I had approx a little over an hour of track time today so there is a bunch more that still needs to be worked out for me to utilize the system 100%. Also, this was my first time on track since early October, so I was shaking off the cobwebs a bit myself...


A note on my setup:
'89 Hatchback
316/332 HP/TQ
3100lbs
Splitter/Wing
StopTech ST40 13" with PFC01's (Front)
Stock GT Varga 1-piston with PFC97's (Rear)
425lb front coil overs
325lb rear coil overs
SN95 V6 front bar (endlinks almost completely loose)
No rear bar
Maximum Motorsports K-Member, Foward Offset FCA's (SN95 length)
Racecraft 2" drop spindles
Griggs Torque Arm/Panhard Bar

[MPHoldway]

Good feedback Marshall...thanks for all the details and keeping things as transparent as possible.

Looking forward to seeing how the new rule set plays out this season. With all the different setup options in AI now it should make for a pretty good chess match of different cars being faster in different places on track but hopefully ending up with close lap times and race wins credited more to the driver than the car.

Edit - this is Casey. Forgot I was logged in on Mindy's computer.

[marshall_mosty]

Casey,
I think it will definately mix things up. I've also added ballast in a different location (80lbs under the car on both sides = 160lbs) instead of having 120lbs on the floorboard, so I'm overweight (again) and didn't retune for it. It will be hard for me to tell true differences in the system until I get back to the proper power/weight.

I'm excited to see how it is going to work out.

[MPHoldway]

Interesting idea putting the ballast under the car....I like it! Never occurred to me but the lower the better right? Just watch out for those curbs

Running no ABS and having a passenger seat now essentially lets me pull all the ballast out and add 10hp. Curious to see how that changes the balance of the car though. It "felt" better when I first put the ballast in for ECR but I made a few other changes at the same time so who knows? Should be amusing to see us all scratching our heads and thrashing around to dial things in those first few sessions

Edit - dammit, keep forgetting which computer I'm using. This is Casey, not Mindy.

[GlennCMC70]

I have never liked the idea of balast under the car. If it comes unbolted while under the car, it puts your fellow racers at risk. If it comes unbolted while inside the car it really only puts you at risk. And since you are the one who is likely at fault for the poor install, you should be the one at risk instead of those who had nothing to do w/ the install at all.

That said - I'll be very strick w/ ballast installed under the car.

[Rob Liebbe]

I have never liked the idea of balast under the car. If it comes unbolted while under the car, it puts your fellow racers at risk. If it comes unbolted while inside the car it really only puts you at risk. And since you are the one who is likely at fault for the poor install, you should be the one at risk instead of those who had nothing to do w/ the install at all.

That said - I'll be very strick w/ ballast installed under the car.

Yeah a twenty pound block of steel coming through the windshield would suck. But so did a 3000 pound block of Camaro come to think about it.

Make sure undercar ballast is SECURELY restrained, like welded, bolts can break, even really big ones.

[marshall_mosty]

Guys,
There are two 5/8" grade 8 bolts holding four 20# plates. I have this setup on both sides of the car. There is a 0.100" steel backing plate welded to the inside of the car and the bolt head/washer combo is welded to that. I have nylock nuts, loctite, and torque seal on the nuts holding the ballast plates, so I can use the torque seal to easily do a visual for tightness. I'll invite anyone to crawl under the car and bitch...

If I get a bunch of backlash, I can add a "ballast safety loop" out of steel strap, welded to the car. This ballast, for me at least, will be considered permanent because it was a bitch to install.


I DID try to convince the AI Directors to allow me to build a ballast "tub" that would fit through a hole in the floor, so the ballast would be contained. The directors didn't like the idea and thought bolting it under the car would be fine.

[Alien]

Interesting idea putting the ballast under the car....I like it! Never occurred to me but the lower the better right? Just watch out for those curbs

Interesting that I thought this was only allowed in AI and not CMC. But looking at the CMC rules again, there isn't anything specifically against it.