xcarguy

Tom, What in the 'devil' is all this 'brake early' nonsense? :devil: . . . . I didn't think you braked at all! :jester:

Brit, When I purchased the car back from Sharkey, the restraints was one of the first things I addressed on the car. I followed, to the letter, the G-force instructions. The link to my install: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=21959

z, Keeping the car pretty much the same with exception the cage design and a different steereing rack. Scott is fitting a modified Coleman Racing steering rack to my car. Not so much because the rack is better (will further reduce bump steer), but more so due to the fact the Chevette racks have become all but impossible to find/get.

Skip, Therein lies the problem; my bushel holder has a big hole in the bottom. :jester:

jack, Been watching #10 for a few years now. I trust your son will have just as much fun with it now as when the two of you were autocrossing together.

Mike, 'Tis possible. Here is a photo or two of Mario's classic, complete with retro'd w/ PB's.

ROAD COURSE MSR Cresson 1.7ccw: in 2013, my fastest lap was approximately 1.23. I ran this lap on a square setup—15x10 Avon A11 compound slicks front and rear; 85ᵒ day; stock LS6 w/ speed density tune (370 rwhp/360 rwtq w/ mild street tune), headers, cold air intake and wet sump setup w/ Improved Racing oil pan baffle and LS1 F body oil pan; TKO-600 tranny w/ face plated gears; LSD w/ 3.23:1 gearing; front and rear aluminum wings for down force. Here is a dyno run video for the tune mentioned above: Here are two video from MSRC with the car running the abovementioned setup. In the first video, I used third and fourth gears while on track. In the second video, I drove the entire session in fourth gear. While no onboard data is available, the best time for each of these session was around 1:23 In March of 2014, I returned to MSRC and once again ran the 1.7ccw. The high of the day was 55ᵒ. It rained for the first half of the day and then misted till around two that afternoon. Afterward, the track dried out and everyone got in a couple of decent sessions. On the last lap of the last session, I ran just under 1:17 (1:16.8). To provide some perspective, there was a fellow there that day who had a spec race Ariel atom (stored the car at the track) and he told me that his best time for the 1.7ccw was 1:19. However, this time around, I had arrived w/ several mods to the car. Instead of a square tire setup, I ran a larger, staggered setup—16x10 Avon A11 compound slicks up front and 16x12 at the rear; Bogart Racing wheels; mildly modified LS6 w/ custom grind cam shaft from SNL, stage II heads (stock 243 GM castings and head work by TEA), ported throttle body, 42# injectors, speed density tune (425 rwhp/424 rwtq w/ mild street tune), headers, cold air intake and wet sump setup w/ Improved Racing oil pan baffle, windage tray, crank scraper, LS1 F body oil pan and a three quart Accusump system w/ a 35-40psi electric valve; aluminum drive shaft; same TKO tranny and same rear gearing; front and rear carbon fiber wings w/ an improved design and more down force. Here is a video with two laps from the session w/ the last lap being the 1:16.8: In July, 2014, I ran the car at NJMP w/ the same aforementioned setup (Lightning course, 1.9cw). During my last session on day two, I ran four fairly consistent laps that were in the neighborhood of 1:09; this, of course, was due to the fact that I had been driving for two days under the superlative tutelage of such on-track talent at Croc, yellowss7, kitcat……and many more. The video for NJMP: In November, I ran at COTA, 3.4ccw. After NJMP, I started experimenting w/ aero (CF windscreen and roll bar fairings), but never realized any measurable improvements. While at COTA, it rained the entire time (both days) with the high for the first day hitting 45ᵒ and a high of 50ᵒ for day two. During day two, just before the last session I would run for the day, the rain stopped briefly, the wind picked up a bit and the track began to dry. This lasted for about the first two laps of my session. While it’s nothing to write home about, during those two ‘good’ laps, I managed a 2:37 and a 2:34 (F1 cars are turning out 1:30’s at COTA). I ran the entire weekend on slicks….tricky, to say the least. Even with less than desirable track conditions and poor traction under acceleration (wet track), I was able to hit in excess of 150mph on the long straight during many of my laps that weekend. Here’s the COTA video from that session: 1/4 MILE DRAG STRIP Nothing to report here. The only dragging I do is when I ‘drag’ my a$$ out of bed in the morning….no racing involved. :jester: WEIGHT One evening, a couple of good ole’ boy dirt trackers brought their Longacre scales over to the house. We corner weighted the Stalker and it came in 1733 lbs. w/ a nearly-full tank of 93 octane (15 gal tank) and sans the driver. This weight was pre carbon fiber wings, lighter weight wheels, aluminum drive shaft and the carbon fiber windscreen. Never got the opportunity to weigh the car again afterward, but I’m guessing in the neighborhood of 1700 (1890 with me on board and fully donned in track attire). As for weight bias, w/ me out of the car, it had a front/rear weight balance of approximately 51/49. 0-60 Time Again, nothing to report here. Although, when Mike Sharkey owned the car, he told me he recorded some 0-60 times of approximately 2.5-2.6 sec using a stop watch. Still, no firm data to substantiate....but it does make for good conversation when downing a cold one and swapping lies with like-minded bretheren. :jester: G-force When I was running the square setup at MSRC, I’m quess-timating that I was pulling a max sustained G-force of 1.3. My best reasoning for this is that when I first ran MSRC, it was without an after-market baffle in the oil pan which led to my experiencing low oil pressure (below 20-25psi) in some of the LH turns. Afterward, I installed the IR baffle (good up to 1.3 G’s) and this mod cured the low oil pressure issue. However, once I switched to the larger staggered setup, sustained G-force increased to 1.5 (confirmed by logged data). This assumed increase (no data logging w/ the square setup) in G-force also caused my low oil pressure issue to return which I cured, once again, w/ the Accusump system. And that's enough truth stretching for one night. :cooldude:

It may mean bending new panels, but here is what I did originally on #85.

Kevin, Took mine off road.......not a good idea. :jester:

Well, Skip, Seams like the Velocity Rail is a complete bust in the looks department. A'dune buggy' ugly, light weight, exoskeletal car with a high powered V8. Well, who really needs skin when your bad to the bone :devil: ......may fate allow me to drive an LS9 variant.....whenever someone finally builds it. :jester:

I agree that an off-road excursion is far less likely to happen while driving on the street, but it can (and does) happen as is echoed below in coffee’s post regarding his acquaintance and the Ford wagon. And I would dare say that any run-off area (if even available) would have the potential to be far more precarious than what I dealt with at TWS; culverts, ditches, embankments, high shoulder, etc….any of these have the potential to put air under the car.

Foam in the seat bottom will be a 'must' for me. Loren, your 2" foam compressing a full 1" is in line with what Hi-Tech told me; compresses to about 50% when sat upon. And I have to say I've been toying with the idea of putting something underneath the seat.

A friend of mine, though not a 7 guy, but 70+ year old car guy, and a fabricating/car building genius in his own right, came up with the idea of mounting the seat on engine valve springs. Thoughts? :rofl:

Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look.

coffee, Thanks for sharinig. And you're right; we can't make it foolproof. When I was in the Air Force (Security Police), we security guys had a saying; expect the worst and hope for the best. I think the true 'lesser of two evils' would be to not try at all. :cheers:

Tom, Run a fast lap for me! :cheers:

Steve, Sure wish I could be there....next year, my friend..........:lurk:

Dean, Thanks for joining in. I think a molded bead seat (as suggested by Croc in my accident thread) would compliment your idea well. https://www.kirkeyracing.com/category/MOLDED%20FOAM%20INS/molded-foam-seat-insert-kit https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/productselection.asp?Product=4525

A couple more photos from today.

While not exactly a spy photo, here is a shot of the new chassis currently being built for #85. In the photo, the chassis is in the jig with the full cage (traditional, halo style) and finish welds to go. To recap, my car was involved in an accident in February, leaving the frame severely tweaked and well beyond any 'reasonably safe' repair (MHO). I think I’ll rename my Storker 'The Phoenix'…that is, as long as Suave doesn’t object. :jester:

As some of you here already know, since my accident at TWS back in Feb, I’ve had well-earned concerns about seating. I’ve been involved in some pretty good discussion on a couple of other forums, but nothing much here….so I figure I’d get the ball rolling for interested parties. To recap, I suffered a severe back injury at TWS from a vertical drop during an accident; four broken vertebrae put the ‘ball’ in motion for me regarding seat safety. :ack: When my accident occurred, I was fastened snugly into an aluminum shell with no padding except for the seat cover. :banghead: The shock from the impact transferred all the stored energy upward through my spinal column….not fun. :cuss: Much of my research has lead me to a type of seat foam known as Confor Foam. As I type, Janice at Hi-Tech Foams is sending me out samples of all densities offered: http://www.seatfoam.com/index.html Confor Foam is available from a handful of aviation supply companies; here are a couple more of them, and the kch site has a very informative table addressing the foam’s application based on individual weight: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cmpages/conForFoan.php http://www.kch-inc.com/KCH_aviationsupplyonline/Information.php Confor Foam may be familiar to several here, especially those who are involved with experimental (home built) aircraft. Personally, I had never learned of the foam (shame on me) until just recently; wish I had known about it four months ago. If you are running a race-shell type seat (as I did) and are currently sitting on nothing more than the seat bottom (as I was), I implore you to consider, at the very least, some type of seating material that has energy absorbing properties in the event of a verticle impact. But don’t let this thread be simply about seat foam. I’d like to see/hear about what you are currently using; feedback regarding seating types, seating angles, thoughts on Hans use, seat belts, etc…anything of interest that may very well make all of us a little safer as we drive. I recently received a pm from a concerned forum member regarding seat belt (shoulder belt) mounting as well as the use of a Hans device during an accident such as mine; I do hope he will read this thread and perhaps put that information on the table for discussion. Shane :cheers:

Tom, You bolt'n Storker parts on that pair o' Cats? :jester:

Lee, Skip does have a talent for finding interesting info and luring you in. :jester:

Jefferson, Good to hear from you. And hey, if you get a chance to run at TWS again before the gates are locked for the last time, would you see if you could find my LF spring? :jester:

Way to go, Brit!!!! :hurray::cheers: