nice Jane, hope to sneek out watch end of March...keep me posted...I questions for your tech inspection people....looks great...

 

How much modification did you have to do for the KW's to fit. Needswings website mentions notching or cutting which has me looking elsewhere.


Les: Here is the draw back of a girl who just wants to drive. I personally don't do the work. My racing mechanic, Tom, who is also a open wheel racer and a Benz mechanic does the work. I'm a very lucky girl to have this man so close to me. There are two new bolts underneath the hood and there are two new bolts in the back where he cut out the carpet to make an opening so I can adjust the suspension. I'm not sure about adjusting it, so I've got a lot to learn at the track. I can give you his email address if you ever want to talk with him about what he did during the installation of the brakes and suspension.

Thanks for your kind words. I'm still on a learning curve with this car and with racing, so I'm humbled that you find my threads of interest.

Wish I could be in PR; what a great place.

Jane

 

Hey Doc. Miss you. I'm hoping to get in for Speed 100 at Putnam on March 28th. Come down if you can and help me figure out the susupension. I need some eye upon the car during my turns. Otherwise, I'll see you at the Dragon.

Jane

 

You are real fortunate to be able to concentrate on driving. It's so easy to put the cart before the horse when you do it all without help. Wrenching can be rewarding, but the fun comes after the wrenching is done are the results are good. Driving is fun even if the results are less than spectacular.

So, the Stoptech brakes are only on the front or did you get the rears too? Are you running stock tire sizes? (notice how I slipped in a few questions)

Being real new at this racing stuff, I only have Goodridge SS brake lines, Porterfield R4S pads and Motul 5.1 brake fluid on the way. After my first track day the brakes were unaffected but all involved at the track recommended these changes for safety.

I got lucky and they let me drive the track alone with an experience driver in the passenger seat. All this was before the track was open. Perhaps because I showed up 10 minutes before the track personnel arrived to open the gates. Anyway, the guy was like, I need to get one of these! Just before lunch break the man's brother, who is an instructor went out with me, gave me great tips and guidance. My next event is the 22nd of march and I dream about it every night. I even searched and printed the local tracks to study. (Thanks to Google Earth) (I could do Putnam if you'd like)
Anyway, back on topic, I'm inspired by what you're doing and the patient way you've gone about it. I'll be rooting for you when you go racing next time.

Les

 

Les: The fronts are only stoptechs. In the rear, I have stock rotors (brand new as I warped the last set) along with Porterfield racing pads. You are right on with your braking mods. I love the Porterfield pads as I didn't burn them up like I did all the rest. Now, the next thing will be tires. I'm running with 18" in the front and the 19" in the back, on the stock rims. However, when you get good and fast, you are going to want to stick. Depending on your finances, consider Michelin sport cups. Otherwise, Michelin PS2s are good and very durable. But, what ever you do, let the air out. You'll need to work on your temps as your tracks are much hotter than ours at times. When the tires get hot, they get fuller and more convex and more likely to slide and squeal. The sport cups don't make noise and give you no warning when they cut loose, but they stick. I start out at 25 PSI and come off the track at 32 PSI which is when they are good and sticky. My sport cups only last 3 days at the track. Ouch.
For autocross, usually you have a bit more air in the tires to help keep the sidewalls up, but even with autocross, I still let some air out so I'll stick better.

I'm so glad you are working with instructors. I've worked with instructors from the beginning and each one brings something to the table. I would imagine you are doing High Performance Drivers Ed, which is what I do. Take your time and gradually build and change your car. Learn about racing concepts; be safe and not cocky. The first time I got cocky, I got myself into a Jesus Take the Wheel Spin, so never again. I've had near wreck experiences and almost caused one from my stupidity. I've been driving now for over 1 year, but still very much feel that I'm a rookie and always humbled by the risk I'm taking. My poor patients are always telling me they are praying for me and my safety on the track.

The test for me this year will be to tow my car to Mid Ohio and see if I can apply my racing knowledge to another track. What will be so cool is that my very first instructor at Putnam will once again be my instructor at Mid Ohio. That certainly reduces some of my anxiety about instructors, but I know he will be great and calming for me as I learn and memorize a new track.

Les, have fun this year. Our Crossfires are very intriguing to the other drivers. In fact, your instructors will just like to ride along, just to be in the car. And if your instructor say you are "smooth," please take that as a great compliment.

Jane

 

No notching or cutting was done on my KW V2 install. I'm not home to check if the part number is the same for what I bought and what's on sale on NW site.

 

the knotching notation is more of a "off road use only" statement, kw has it on their website so we have to have it on ours for the rare cases when it would be necessary

 

It's never a dull moment when you are trying to get a car ready to take to the track. Just found out that 3 of my 4 front rims are bent from racing which is the cause of the shimmy(ing) of the steering wheel. I was able to take a good look under the car today and was able to take pictures of my brakes and suspension. I'm going to try to attach these pictures. They were taken with my cell phone.
Now the next hurdle is finding a trailer and getting this car on it and secured. There are not many places to attach tie downs underneath.

 

Just a suggestion, Jane, I've never used these myself because I don't have a trailer... yet. But there are tie downs that are made to go over the tires. One strap goes over the centerline of the tire, with tie-downs on each end, and then another strap connects the centerline strap around the sides of the wheel/tire. I see them all the time on the professional car carriers, and it makes sense. The only thing is that your trailer would have to have tie-down points along the path of the tires.

 

When they strapped me to the dyno they winched the car down by the rear axel and on the front by running the straps through the wheel spokes. I don't see why that wouldn't work on a trailer. But I would make myself some wheel chocks just to be extra safe.

Les

 

Yes, I'm aware of the tire ties. I'll let you all know how I end up taking this car to Mid Ohio. The car is so low now, I'm concerned about how I'll even get the tire tires over then. Each step poses a new challenge. If I had a ton of money, these challenges would not be so bad, but I'm feeling the pinch as well and am trying to be smart about my spending in regards to racing.

 

Jane,

Glad to see you are still going at it... I'm actually surprised you changed out the front calipers, but I suspect it's because you could not get tough enough rotors without doing so. Is this correct?

I haven't had any problems with my Disc Italia rotors warping and I had excellent stopping power. And, I'm glad to see you are enjoying the benefits of the Porterfield R4 compound pads too.

Lowering looks great, can't wait to get your feedback on the performance change through slaloms and other twisties...

Cheers!

 

Hey, MMZ!!!

So good to hear from you. I probably could have continued with the front porterfields, just needed to keep changing the rotors. If you need some front porterfield pads, metal brake lines, I have them. Porterfields are still in the back.
But, I really wanted bigger brakes and these guys are indeed amazing and I will have a lot more confidence on the track knowing that I'll be able to stop/slow down without running off the track. I'll soon be working on adjusting the suspension and look forward to finding out what a lowered car and tighter suspension feels like.

Also, when I was at the track, another driver, engineer type and very experienced was very insistent that I do the following: Stoptechs and lower the car. So, I finally listened. Rob at Needswing did more of the homework and then my mechanic did the work. So, I'll give it a try this month and hope I made the right decisions. It is always scary to modify a car and wonder if you did the right thing. One modification leads to more adjustments. Getting the tires to a -2 camber took more mods. It just never ends.

So good to hear from you and hope you are doing well.

Jane

 

From what I've read the biggest reason for bigger rotors and calipers is not for additional stopping power but for additional cooling. With the stoptech big brakes on the front I doubt you will ever have your brakes fade or loose effectiveness during an event. Lowering the center of gravity is huge too. I can't wait to hear how things work out for you this season. I love your honesty about your racing. Can you use honesty and racing in the same sentence?
All the best and keep the fun factor alive.

Les

 

Ah, so you WERE warping the front rotors... I will have to keep an eye on mine at the next track event. Maybe I lucked out by Cryo treating mine. We'll see if I ever warp them. So far it's been four events and no warping, so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Cheers!

 

Les: You know it has been very interesting being in the racing culture. One of the aspects of the sport is to listen, but not taking everyone advice. So, instead of jumping into a mod real quick, I've worked my way into it. Many of the people that talk to me at the track seem sincere and interested in the car. Their advice is with good intentions. Also, I'm usually at Porsche car club events which are a lot different than the cut throat NASA events where the guys there are working their way up into the real racing world. So, yes, I think you can use honesty and racing together, or at least I'm going to naively think that.

I'll let you all know how March 28th goes. Thanks for your kind words.

Jane

 

Keep us posted Jane. I'm interested in getting into other forms of racing beside drag, so I can't wait to hear how you make out. Except yourself and MMZ, there aren't many that post about any racing other than drag, so it's a treat to read about it.

 

Good luck this weekend Jane. Have fun and let us know how you like the new brakes and KW's. Fotos and video are always appreciated too when possible.

Les

 

Jane, duty calls, have to work today, so hope when you read this, you are having fun learning the new mods, I thought about coming out late, but I have a 3rd shift to work. You know how that is...I am interested in coming to Mid-Ohio though...that would be a fun time...keep us posted...have to support our XF racers...

 

Well, I made it to the track and had three really good runs. The Stoptech brakes and suspension were so nice. I didn't have to work so hard to right the car to get into the next turn. Lee Grimes watched the car and said it looked good and I was "smooth." Now, being told you are smooth is always a good compliment at the track. I almost ran out of gas, (yes I wasn't keeping an eye on the dashboard like I should have been), so I had to cut out of a session and get gas. So, when I went back out, it was really rainy and more slick, so I did a bunch of laps in the rain, slowly and then I had enough. Now, when I was driving at good speed and sticking, I still was getting the vibration with braking. So, now I know it's not the brakes or the rotors, it's the bent rims.

So, now what is next? Well, driving the car to and from the track was horrible, and I mean awful. The vibration and wobbling of the wheel was way too much and even scary at times. I'm going to get my rims repaired ASAP. That is the only thing left that I know to do to stop the wobbling and vibrations.
So, now I have one month to get my rims taken care of to be ready for Mid Ohio. Yes, I'm going to Mid Ohio; my dream is going to come true. I will have a crew chief and we'll be trailering the car over there. My instructor will be the first one I ever had at Putnam Park, so I'm thrilled with getting to work with him again which will make me more at ease at such a big, awesome track.
So, more homework to get my rims fixed.

I'll see many of you at the Tail next week. I can't wait. I'll be free from work as I really need a break right now.

Jane