midgetracr

Josh, Did you see my two PM's? John

The LS3 needs a dry sump big time when serious G's are involved.

Josh, Did not see your PM. Please try again. Note that midgetracr is spelled without the second "e". John

Sciff, I like and share your approach. I had very similar goals as my Stalker has evolved. In addition, I have always believed that Classes are great for excuses but do not determine the best builder or driver. “Let’s just get it on and see who is fastest” makes a lot of sense to me. Tell us more about your RX7/LS 1. Is it injected? Which VCM and tuning software are you using? I seriously doubt if your New England roads are worse than my Illinois roads. As most people know, my Stalker has had many mods to its chassis, driveline, suspension and engine setup. No car including the Stalker is perfect. This includes the multi zillion $ Formula 1 missiles. Each year the F1 builders find new ways to improve them. From my perspective, the Stalker is an excellent product that was a great place to start from. I have attempted to build the Ultimate Hi Performance Seven. I am pretty sure that it is Americas Fastest Seven. My Stalker’s race results speak for themselves. In addition to winning GRM’s UTCC and Run and Gun multiple times my Stalker has run a ¼ mile at 9.94 seconds and 141.5 MPH. To your questions: I think the GM LS series engines are a great combination of low weight, high horsepower, wide power band, reliability, docile driveability and low cost. My LS3, even with a steel NHRA legal bell housing and Tremec TKO-600 trans weighs less than the cast iron Supercharged V6 and T-5 trans in a Super Stalker. It also makes well over 500 HP at the crankshaft! As a crate engine from GM it came with a 24 month 50,000 mile warranty. The only negative of the latest LS engines is that it is difficult and very time consuming to tune the stock GM computer for good power and drivability when the inlet and exhaust tracts are modified to fit an aftermarket application. Brunton has done this for the V6 engines but I don’t think that they have accomplished this for the V8 yet. Because the latest LS engines use a different type of Mass Airflow (MAF) sensor and Gen IV engines have a different method of calculating VE’s, this is a formidable task. Re the IRS vs. solid rear axle question: IRS may offer lower unsprung weight. This is good and can be beneficial on bumpy roads. Total weight may or may not be lower than a solid axle. The negative to IRS is that it is difficult to keep the tire patch flat to the road as bumps occur and the car leans when cornering. It is obvious that if the tire patch is not flat on the road when stressed, traction will suffer. If the tire is not in contact with the road there is zero traction. The F1 designers use IRS with very limited suspension travel. F1 tracks are also very smooth compared to real roads in areas that get cold in the winter. Therefore F1 cars do not need much suspension travel. Ride quality is pretty much a function of spring and shock stiffness plus available wheel travel. Not IRS vs. solid axle. My approach was to increase available wheel travel and carefully tune shock valving and spring stiffness. The result is a car that actually rides better than my Lexus IS-350 and handles beautifully. Note that an IS-350 is Lexus’ version of the BMW M3 and is sprung pretty stiffly. I do not think that a T56 trans is the best choice in your application. It is heavier and will not shift as quickly as a TKO-600. With a 3.23 rear end gear my Stalker has exceeded 170 MPH on track. That 170 MPH is with the removable wing set at MAX downforce and max drag. With a 3.08 or lower gear it would run way over 180 if you had a long enough straight. Without the wing it would go even faster. If you want the better fuel mileage of the 6th gear, you should buy a Prius not a Stalker. On the other hand you already own the T-56. I have no experience with LoCost. Other builders also offer quality products. In summary I think a modified Stalker would be an excellent choice for your stated goal “to go as fast as possible on track, while driving the car to and from the track, and that goes for the drag strip as well as a road course.” You could certainly build a Stalker that would more than fulfill your goal. I think that would be an excellent choice. On the other hand you could simply purchase mine. It already does everything you asked and is for sale. John Meyers midgetracr@sbcglobal.net

GM LS series V8's are very reliable have tons of torque, "almost enough" HP and are cheap. It is easy to make 600+ HP if "needed" and mine weighs only 357 lbs. Probably to big for a Berkin/Caterham but they do fit in Stalkers. They are also lighter than the cast iron Superchaged V6. Only way to go for the power addicts in our midst. GM crate engines also come with a 2 year/50,000 mile warranty. For the exotics, the Hartley V8 is a very neat piece. It fits beautifully in an original Seven, can make almost 500 HP and weighs less than 200 lbs.

Fnr n urz

I could not figure out a good way to mount a proper front wing, continue to see the track ahead and still open the hood. The mid wing adds both front and rear downforce and is adjustable front to back. It is also in clean air for max downforce and minimum drag. After adjusting for balance it ended up about an inch to the rear of what my calculations suggested. Pretty close for a backyard dummy with only open wheel experience on circle tracks. John

Thanks for all the kind words guys. My speed thru the uphill s's was well over 120 MPH until the final blind left hander. I was consistently not doing that turn properly and losing speed down the straight before Oak Tree. A comment about Pete Challinor's Caterham: He would have been faster if not plagued with engine problems. I think Pete and I are both looking forward to next year. With more time on track, better lines and cooler weather a time of under 2:00 should be realistic for me. Fun day with fun people. Thanks to all involved including Grass Roots Motorsport. John Meyers