KnifeySpoony

Ok so I got new bearings installed. Pushed back the caliper pistons this time just in case. Old bearings out on bench - they seem fine TBH. Not really sure now - maybe it was just pad drag the whole time? Either way, peace of mind is easily worth the cost of bearing and 2 hrs for swapping them. Except now I noticed a small weep of brake fluid from right side rear caliper piston... so ordered a new caliper from CC. Rebuild kits aren't cheap and swapping the whole caliper is easier, and I'm lazy. Hoping to get back to Sonoma 10/6 and 10/15.

I have the JAL LED rear lights in standard (clear) housings. When I ordered my 420R, it was ordered without holes for reverse/fog lights. I simply never mounted them. Certainly the new CC LED lights are slick and can help you be legal with a really clean look. They are a bit too modern looking for my tastes, however. If you plan on them, definitely ask for no holes in your back panel.

Those look brand new!

In the Bay Area proper, just about every third car is a model 3, or at least it seems that way.

I don't street drive much, I'm usually up there on a bike. I'm sure I'll be up there again at some point though, especially after this heat passes. Always fun to run around on track with another 7 as well, so hopefully we'll cross paths on track at some point.

Ah yes, the Prisoner car. We met at Alice's.

I wonder if the 888 compound is different in 13" sizes, because when I ran them on my Exige, I felt they did not do well on street, as they were hard to get heat into and it was understeer city. Sonoma is a pretty technical track so some expert instruction will take you far. Most people I see there are running bad lines. I love Sonoma in the 7- it's really the perfect track for a 7. Thunderhill west would be great too. I still love Laguna, but the 7 really comes a live on a flowing, technical circuit. It just transitions so much better than a big heavy car. Remind me what 7 you have?

Which Sonoma day are you going to? I've found ZZS to be very capable on track, they don't really leave a lot to be desired TBH.

In my opinion, a size 12 foot is a serious hindrance in an s3 pedalbox. I am a 12, and even with proper, quite constrictive full-on racing boots (literally the only footwear that even gives me a chance to drive the car), I have real issues with fitment. My right foot is always wedged against the tunnel when on throttle to avoid the brake. And when braking, I have to make a conscious effort to be on the far-left side of the pedal to not hit the throttle pedal, although I still do it frequently. I've been procrastinating modding my pedals to allow better fit. My plan is to bend the brake pedal to shift it to the left about 5-10mm. Keep in mind if you look at images of pedal placement online that RHD cars have very different pedals and spacing than we do. And even with LHD cars, things have changed over the years.

What is your inseam? I have an s3 with lowered floors. I am 6'1" with 34" inseam. I have a carbon seat, and it is all the way back...

I actually haven't really street-driven the ZZR, other than to/from track. They don't feel particularly unsafe going around corners, although they don't have much grip when cold. However, neither do ZZS actually. You can't properly heat up a ZZS on the street either, so either way grip is suboptimal. I'm running more camber with the ZZR so the outer 1/3rd of the tire isn't even on the ground with street driving, which I'm sure doesn't help front grip.

That definitely crossed my mind. I did not push the pistons back, but the caliper/pads slid easily back over the disc. Also, if the disc was dragging enough to heat like that, wouldn't I feel resistance to rolling? And yeah, no brake smell. And to me the smoking gun is the extra resistance in rotating the inner bearing race on the bench. Like, if it took 5x as much force to turn as the healthy outer race, then it stands to reason that it will produce 5x as much heat, right?

There seems to just be a gap between the races - images on CC parts site shows it as well. After putting the hub back on, the bearing felt like it turned fine without resistance or noise. I never actually turned the airborne wheel after torquing the axle nut, but I just rolled the car back and forth once back on the ground (I figured under load would be a better test), and it rolled without noise and without any extra perceptible friction. In fact, once everything cooled down, it rolls again without squealing. It only squealed when it was hot. I'm not sure I understand what happened, but I'll be replacing both sides just to know they are healthy.

Bad news. Sonoma day tomorrow, took the car out this evening to fill up the tank for the AM drive. At walking pace could hear a high pitch squeal (kinda like a brake squeal), not super loud. At speed, couldn't hear or feel anything. It was only a ~2mi drive there and back to gas station, Vmax ~50mph. When I got home I pushed the car forward and back in neutral (without excessive resistance, btw), and pinpointed the sound to right rear. Felt the hub and brake disc and they were quite hot. Much hotter than the left rear, and the fronts, which were barely lukewarm. Pretty sure the bearing is toast. I don't have any reason to suspect this is from brake drag. So my day is shot tomorrow. Will order new bearing and proceed...

I'm guessing an EV prototype/vaporware experiment

ewwwwww... then again I never really cared for the look of any of Ariel's cars.

Also, I put copper grease on the axle to prevent this from happening next time I disassemble. Hopefully this is not contraindicated. However, next time I pull the bearing, it will likely be to replace the bearing anyways, so even if it splits, no biggie.

Update - OK I bought the HF puller and drift sets. I was able to get it off easily with that. After reassembling the bearing, the inner race turned with significantly more friction than the outer. A bit concerning. So then I went to the other side - used the puller to pull on the bearing housing rather than hitting the axle with hammer. Worked a charm although... the bearing split apart again. However now with the housing out of the way I could use the puller to engage the inner race and easily pull it off the driveshaft, with the seal still in place. I reassembled again, and even though it popped in nicely, and the undamaged seal was not binding at all, the inner race once again showed increased friction.

Thanks, that is my plan. Fingers crossed! Supposed to drive the car this coming Friday. Don't want to forfeit trackday fee.

Also, is this bearing salvageable, or not? Is the ring seal being slightly bent a deal breaker? Or will it flatten out if pressed back in?

OK update- i got it off... KIND OF. The fukn bearing split in half. So now the inner half of the inner race is stuck on the driveshaft... I tried to tap it off of the driveshaft- the thin ring came off (and got slightly bent in the process), but the race only moved a bit and got stuck. Looks like a need a proper bearing puller - I hope it will be able to fit into that small gap.

So I went to install my new 2deg De Dion ears (replacing the standard 1.5deg ears). I can't get the bearing off of the driveshaft. I also note some play in the bearing when I grab/move the drive shaft. It's odd because with everything intact, grabbing the tire and checking for play I didn't notice any. Is my bearing knackered or will it go tight again with the hub/axle nut back on and tight? Also, any tips for removing the bearing? I tried whacking the driveshaft with a deadblow hammer but not sure what else to try other than hitting it with some PB blaster and trying again later. I didn't grease the driveshaft during my build - I wonder if I should have to ease this process? Thanks

Putting a stiffer front bar would only increase the likelihood of lifting your inside wheel... For the OP - Stiffer bars will mitigate roll, but the question is why do you want less roll? Contrary to popular belief, increased body roll doesn't really mean you have more weight transfer. Adding a stiffer bar at the front only might induce crippling understeer. If you like the balance you have now, you will need to be careful to maintain that as you increase the roll stiffness. There are 2 longstanding camps on how to control roll on a car. Soft springs/stiff bars vs stiff springs/soft bars. There are always compromises, and light dual-use cars such as ours can be hard to set up I think. Typically I would recommend going to stiffer springs. The standard suspension is softly sprung and good on-road (from what I hear). If you are tracking a lot, I would recommend more track-appropriate spring rates.

IMO there will still be myriad exemptions for industry, the wealthy/connected/powerful, and hopefully SB100 will live on. I don't fear the new vehicle ICE ban much. I fear for when CARB starts going after more "off-road" vehicles. Once they do that, all our legacy ICE track/race cars are at risk. And if that sounds far-fetched, try riding a 2 stroke dirtbike in the state. While track activities and dirtbikes may only make up a tiny fraction of pollutants/greenhouse gases, they will always go for low-hanging fruit without a good lobbying body first...

Even if the sleeves are same length, the fastener only clamps onto inner sleeve, so the effect is the same. If both sleeves were clamped by the fastener, then no movement would be possible at all.