M. Harmony Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Well, we are almost at Button Willow Racetrack for the Ultimate Track Car Challenge and the Ultimate Green Car Challenge. Exhausted and weary from driving since 4 a.m. Thursday (you would think we would be used to this by now ... sigh) we are excited about practice tomorrow. We will also be picking up our slicks tomorrow afternoon and mounting them on Mojito ... do you think she is thrilled with this mounting concept? We shall see if she is Sunday when she has to perform and out run some serious competition. But I am not worried ... I know that Kevin will be awesome! I love watching him drive Mojito! (I wonder if he will let me drive this time seeing as I get much better time in the excursion than he does Of course, when he is sleeping he does not like the fact that the gps shows that I might be going 93 mph with the trailer on ... I think that it is malfunctioning) http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/141290063_IMG_0157.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Harmony Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 Kevin with one wheel off the ground, cool, huh? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/141964474_wheel off ground.jpg But where are his eyes? I think they must be closed ... hee hee hee - I know mine would be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Kick ass K & M...btw, has Kevin ever thought about going pro? I mean, he might as well.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locostv8 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Looks to me the rear tire on the same side is just a bit off the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitcat Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Looks like the driver's side hit the curbing and bounced up. Excellent use of curbs to stop the slide. Maybe the suspension's a bit on the stiff side if, instead of compressing with the bump, it launched the car upwards. Slicks: what size, manufacturer? Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RDROCKT Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Slicks? Nope, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup. WestTexas knows the sizes best. Kevin is busy just now. Suspension too stiff? This is a car that has to traverse thousands of miles of public highways just to get to the tracks. How would you tune the suspension? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandurath Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 seat of the pants feel i would wager Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MHKflyer52 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Kevin with one wheel off the ground, cool, huh? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/141964474_wheel off ground.jpg But where are his eyes? I think they must be closed ... hee hee hee - I know mine would be LOOKS more like the effect of LOTS of HP an TRACTION to me instead of wheel bounce. Go get them Kevin. Thanks for keeping us all up to date with your adventure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 Hoosier R6 are destined for Mojito. 275 in the back and 255 in front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Locost 5.0 Posted June 7, 2008 Share Posted June 7, 2008 http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p3/beergodrod/RodsLocost50057-1.jpg Buttonwillow, Kirks car in front, Kevin's in the back. Thanks for the ride Kirk, made my day. Kevin and Harmony, thanks for your hospitality, I'll try to get back tomorrow to see you run. Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rv-4mike Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Kirk, I see you got the front fenders mounted since Knotts. Any issues with that? Sorry for hijacking the thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Harmony Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 Well it is 1:30 a.m. and we just finished repairing the car! Can you believe it, during the 3rd practice session when Kevin came onto the straight away, he stood on the throttle and felt the rear end kick out. At the end of the straight away when he stood on the brakes, the left rear tire started wobbling violently. He nearly lost control of the car. He crippled it off the track and once in the pits we found that he had jerked one of the inboard suspension pickups completely out of the frame. We have it all welded back together and all we have to do is complete a front end alignment and we are back in the race We have the new slicks installed and we are ready to rock and roll. We will post more pictures tomorrow. Cheers!http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1860705841_weld job.JPG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjslutz Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 You folks sure are the leading edge of the WCM test program. With all fo the added torque, HP, speed. and track time, if it can fail you will find it. This could have been a progressive failure. It sure brings up the question of how do you inspect and how often, an entire skinned frame for these things? When do you just repair and not reinforce these and other areas? Are you able to stress relieve the welded areas? These are some of the issues we have had with on aircraft that get worked very hard and have not been subject to stress reviews. These 7 type cars are experimental as much as some of the experimental aircraft I have been around. If they had all the R & D spent on them, they would cost as much as an F1 car. Be careful out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestTexasS2K Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 The plan last night was to build supports that spread the load further out. They were going to do both sides while they were at it. If one side tore dont want to take a chance on it happening again on the other side. I will talk to Kevin this morning to see if it is all ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Harmony Posted June 8, 2008 Author Share Posted June 8, 2008 It's is all fixed Kevin is at the race shop getting the alignment completed ... ! The guy who welded our car is apparently is apparently a welding genius. It is always a good feeling when you say "so and so" worked on our car and everyone goes - wow! He's the man! So once again we were very lucky. Our first event is at 9:55 - practice run ... then 3 more events after that to determine the Ultimate Track Car Challenge. Grinding away ... http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1500018625_grinding away.JPG welding away ...http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1813907696_welding.JPG more to come ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Best of luck. Looking forward to more updates. :blueangel: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Well I spent most the day with Kevin & Harmony today (Sunday). All I can say is they have a lot of perseverance... I don't want to steal their thunder but Kevin had a slightly off track excursion in morning practice that lead to a cracked oil pan and a couple tubes of JB Weld:leaving: He had to miss the first track session and had to cut the second one short due to his fuel tank not venting resulting in fuel starvation. He got several laps in but I didn't get his time/postion before I had to leave. Hopefully 3rd time (session) is the charm and he will have smooth sailing. I do want to thank them for letting me hang around. They are very friendly/nice folks and Kevin is lucky to have such a supportive wife (which he readily admits). He did give me a quick spin (like quarter mile drag race)in his car and I can tell you without a doubt it is the fastest vehicle (car or bike) that I've ever been in. I've had fantasies of a supercharger but can tell you I'm not worthy:o. The thing, hooked up with slicks, took my breath away :willy: And that was just in a straight line, I'd probably have to change shorts if he took me for a ride on the track;) So I figure I have plenty of time to save up for the upgrade as I have a long ways to go before being ready for anything close to that:thumbs: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondo Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Oh, I almost forgot. He helped me adjust my fuel gauge too.... as I ran out of gas a mile or so from the racetrack Saturday afternoon:ack: . Seems I adjusted the gauge for full but not empty and it said half a tank when I ran it dry... Now the empty is adjusted correctly. Kevin (with his trailer) and a guy with a group of Atoms came out to me with fuel. There were some awesome cars there: 3 or 4 Atoms, a superfast Morgan, a fast Caterham (until a U joint/driveshaft went thru his tunnel into the passenger seat area:nonod: and perhaps a toasted Quaiffe sequential tranny):ack: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 until a U joint/driveshaft went thru his tunnel into the passenger seat area:nonod: and perhaps a toasted Quaiffe sequential tranny):ack: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobDrye Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Well it is 1:30 a.m. and we just finished repairing the car! Can you believe it, during the 3rd practice session when Kevin came onto the straight away, he stood on the throttle and felt the rear end kick out. At the end of the straight away when he stood on the brakes, the left rear tire started wobbling violently. He nearly lost control of the car. He crippled it off the track and once in the pits we found that he had jerked one of the inboard suspension pickups completely out of the frame. We have it all welded back together and all we have to do is complete a front end alignment and we are back in the race We have the new slicks installed and we are ready to rock and roll. We will post more pictures tomorrow. Cheers!http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/1860705841_weld job.JPG 7evin: My tow bar failure looks like this. It's not the weld, but that the material that it attaches to that is not strong enough. You got it Bullet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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