TJ Bain
10-15-2009, 12:30 AM
Sorry to come invade the Texas playground without ever having raced with you guys, but I wanted to give David Love some ideas and it won't let me post in the rules section.
I plan to upgrade the 27 car and still run in AI, but there is no way It will be in the true "spirit" of AI or near National level. Any 3rd gens in AI?
Things I have:
Motor (@360 RWHP) - Plenty of HP, you might want to tone it down some and run lighter. My little 305 doesn't make that much. :lol:
richmond 5 speed (heavy mf'er) - That should be sweet. I wish I had the coin for one. I finally got my 4 speed working well and it's not broke, so it'll probably stay a while.
Things I must do:
rebuild diff and get rid of 4.11 gear - I run a 3.64, and I'm probably going to put together another center with a 3.3x or 3.4x for big tracks (Road America, Mid-O, etc.)
do something with current unreliable brake setup Wilwood FSL 4-piston calipers with 1 5/8" pistons and C6 base rotors. www.flynbye.com for the brake brackets. You'll have to speed back up to make it to the corner the first time you use them. I told a TT'er about them earlier in the season and he raved about them at the last event this year when he got them on the car.
Things I can do:
find weight savings (currently 3,380 with 175 driver) Get rid of everything that doesn't make it go, stop, or turn. My car can weigh as little as 2920 post race with 225lb driver and 5-6 gallons in the cell. Only composite is the fiberglass hood and it's all still factory glass. There's still ~100lbs I can remove if I want to get crazy.
build splitter If you think you need it. I don't with a spoiler.
build spoiler (wing is too expensive) Cheaper to buy one unless you already have lexan laying around. Buy a spoiler for a dirt Late Model and trim 6" off each side. I got mine from Speedway Motors for ~$100.
Things I can't afford:
K-Member Don't need one. Expensive and fragile.
coilovers Don't need 'em. Not enough tire clearance up front and not enough room to fit them in the back. They want to hit the axle tubes at full compression unless you make a really long shock mount, then you'll have to make new sway bar frame brackets. Might fit with small-body Penskes and 2.25" springs, but wasn't worth it to me to spend the money to try.
shock package Have Koni Yellows re-valved for your spring rate in the front. Koni makes a circle track shock that works awesome in the back. Maximum motorsports charges the Mustang guys a lot for them. ;) I've picked up two sets on ebay for $120/pair.
big brakes Already told you how above. Don't mess with the rears unless it's to go lighter. '89-'97 PBR brakes work great.
bigger tire/rim package for bigger brakes C5 Z06 front wheels are the lightest factory wheels, 19lbs. I put 2 sets together for $400/set a couple years ago.
Yes. TJ Bain in the Midwest Region just won the Championship w/ a 3rd gen Firebird. It is built very light and runs a 305. He's sourced most of the parts on it off Ebay from Nascar shops. It has lots of Titanium parts and Nascar stuff. He runs big Wilwoods and Corvette 18's all picked up very cheap off the internet. I drove it this past Sunday and it's wicked. Very small clutch/flywheel that makes taking off out of the pits all Indycar like. His closest rival was Dave Algozine who finished 5th at Nationals. At Road America this past spring Rusty wasn't even in the same timezone with his ABS & Traction control.
Sidney
CMC #64
The parts are Magnesium, not Titanium. ;) My bellhousing cost less then buying a new AL one. *shrug* All of my "race" parts were bought on ebay, nothing special there.
The big Wilwoods complete cost less then a set of rotor rings from Stoptech. I ran 8 events this year with half of them being 3 race weekends (2 30 min races & 1 40 minute) and an 1.5 hour team race and I have two sets of used front pads, one set at 40% and one at 60%. They cost $155/set, less if you get the Hawk Contingency. :D
I picked up the 18s to run $60/tire World Challenge take-offs. The R888s sucking bombed that idea. It does give me another size of used tire to buy now though.
ABS and traction control are hard to beat in the rain, but I'm going to put up the good fight.
Hope this helps dude. I'm going to try to make it to Hallett next year if you want to check it out in person.
-TJ Bain
Midwest AI #134
I plan to upgrade the 27 car and still run in AI, but there is no way It will be in the true "spirit" of AI or near National level. Any 3rd gens in AI?
Things I have:
Motor (@360 RWHP) - Plenty of HP, you might want to tone it down some and run lighter. My little 305 doesn't make that much. :lol:
richmond 5 speed (heavy mf'er) - That should be sweet. I wish I had the coin for one. I finally got my 4 speed working well and it's not broke, so it'll probably stay a while.
Things I must do:
rebuild diff and get rid of 4.11 gear - I run a 3.64, and I'm probably going to put together another center with a 3.3x or 3.4x for big tracks (Road America, Mid-O, etc.)
do something with current unreliable brake setup Wilwood FSL 4-piston calipers with 1 5/8" pistons and C6 base rotors. www.flynbye.com for the brake brackets. You'll have to speed back up to make it to the corner the first time you use them. I told a TT'er about them earlier in the season and he raved about them at the last event this year when he got them on the car.
Things I can do:
find weight savings (currently 3,380 with 175 driver) Get rid of everything that doesn't make it go, stop, or turn. My car can weigh as little as 2920 post race with 225lb driver and 5-6 gallons in the cell. Only composite is the fiberglass hood and it's all still factory glass. There's still ~100lbs I can remove if I want to get crazy.
build splitter If you think you need it. I don't with a spoiler.
build spoiler (wing is too expensive) Cheaper to buy one unless you already have lexan laying around. Buy a spoiler for a dirt Late Model and trim 6" off each side. I got mine from Speedway Motors for ~$100.
Things I can't afford:
K-Member Don't need one. Expensive and fragile.
coilovers Don't need 'em. Not enough tire clearance up front and not enough room to fit them in the back. They want to hit the axle tubes at full compression unless you make a really long shock mount, then you'll have to make new sway bar frame brackets. Might fit with small-body Penskes and 2.25" springs, but wasn't worth it to me to spend the money to try.
shock package Have Koni Yellows re-valved for your spring rate in the front. Koni makes a circle track shock that works awesome in the back. Maximum motorsports charges the Mustang guys a lot for them. ;) I've picked up two sets on ebay for $120/pair.
big brakes Already told you how above. Don't mess with the rears unless it's to go lighter. '89-'97 PBR brakes work great.
bigger tire/rim package for bigger brakes C5 Z06 front wheels are the lightest factory wheels, 19lbs. I put 2 sets together for $400/set a couple years ago.
Yes. TJ Bain in the Midwest Region just won the Championship w/ a 3rd gen Firebird. It is built very light and runs a 305. He's sourced most of the parts on it off Ebay from Nascar shops. It has lots of Titanium parts and Nascar stuff. He runs big Wilwoods and Corvette 18's all picked up very cheap off the internet. I drove it this past Sunday and it's wicked. Very small clutch/flywheel that makes taking off out of the pits all Indycar like. His closest rival was Dave Algozine who finished 5th at Nationals. At Road America this past spring Rusty wasn't even in the same timezone with his ABS & Traction control.
Sidney
CMC #64
The parts are Magnesium, not Titanium. ;) My bellhousing cost less then buying a new AL one. *shrug* All of my "race" parts were bought on ebay, nothing special there.
The big Wilwoods complete cost less then a set of rotor rings from Stoptech. I ran 8 events this year with half of them being 3 race weekends (2 30 min races & 1 40 minute) and an 1.5 hour team race and I have two sets of used front pads, one set at 40% and one at 60%. They cost $155/set, less if you get the Hawk Contingency. :D
I picked up the 18s to run $60/tire World Challenge take-offs. The R888s sucking bombed that idea. It does give me another size of used tire to buy now though.
ABS and traction control are hard to beat in the rain, but I'm going to put up the good fight.
Hope this helps dude. I'm going to try to make it to Hallett next year if you want to check it out in person.
-TJ Bain
Midwest AI #134