Fireball Racing

The beginning of the season has just been about delays.  From a long, long transmission hassle, to a bad outcome on the shoulder surgery, and to some crazy amount of work hours, I haven’t had nearly the amount of time needed to finish the ToDo list.

I have since updated the ToDo list from what is already been done to what still needs to be done yet.

I am getting antsy, so I need to get going on the work and get done what I can get done.  Keep visiting over the next month to see the progress!

After a long time wait, Jon @ TRE has finally come through and completed the 6spd transmission build for the car.  I can’t wait to get it installed and feel the difference compared to the one that is in there, which has gone through 2+ race seasons w/o a rebuild or a transmission cooler. 

He sent along some pictures which appear to be the new parts going into the trans.  He said more to follow:

Well, it’s about that time.  Time to create a todo list to keep track of things I’m trying to get accomplished.

You’ll see it appear up on the top bar, as a page, since I can’t seem to get any decent WordPress ToDo list working.   *argh*

Jon @ TRE has the following to say:

Holy busted 4th gear.
You only tore 1 tooth off that gear but it damn near split the gear in half. Cracked it 
really deep, all the way to its I.D. where the needle bearing resides.

What twin disc clutch are yo using? It's tearing up the input shaft splines.
I hope to have it done by Friday.
Jon

Well, I told him that it wasn’t mine before, but he’s going to fix it.  Can’t wait to hear the bill on this one.  lol

FedEx picked up the spare 6spd Transmission I had, and it’s on its way to Jon @ TRE.

Now is the waiting game… like giving birth, you want to know what he finds, what it will take, and how good he can make it.  Without having to take out a 2nd mortgage.

I have been running 1/2″ spacers in the front only for the last 2 seasons, coupled with ARP Extended Studs.  It has been working wonderfully, adding the “stingray” effect, where the front has a lot wider track than the rears.  This, along with sway bars and other types of suspension work, has virtually eliminated that stereotypical “PUSH” that most Evo owners experience.

This year, new secret weapon in the spacer war.  1″ bolt on spacers.

It has yet to be seen how this will work with my ARP studs.  I may have to move them to the spacers, and run the normal studs in the hubs.  But we’ll see how that goes.

*edit* Well, it doesn’t quite fit.  They do look great on there, but I’ll need to swap the studs around.  What a PITA that is.  *edit*

Since the transmission will be coming out entirely, I decided now would be a good time to replace the clutch as well.   The Exedy single plate Heavy Duty clutch is what I went with, seeing as how I don’t expect to exceed much further than 420whp.

 http://www.exedyusa.com/

 Along with the Exedy clutch, a lightweight flywheel will go in as well, since the current flywheel in the car has seen 2 clutches now and is due for replacement.

The old custom bastardized original battery tray that I had been running to hold my Odyssey PC680 battery finally had enough the end of last year and broke.  Now, I have a new CNC Nisei Eng. Battery tray in Nisei - Red.  

Quality on this piece is outstanding!  I can’t wait to get it in…

Finally after having to borrow trailers or rent them, I bought my own so that I can travel further for races and not have to worry about breaking or the horribly uncomfortable ride to the track.

It was quite the experience just getting it back home.  I had to wait for the weekend to get it, and turns out that we had one of our lovely Wisconsin snow storms near the end of Feb.  Was pretty stable driving with it, even in the snow, with the exception of some really dumb old ladies pulling out infront of a full size Suburban and car trailer.  Smart move.

Details:  18′ Kirk Trailer, Dove Tailed, 7000 GVWR, Elec Brakes

I plan to add a tire rack and some sort of system to hold my toolbox.  Perhaps even welding up a canopy system.  Currently am starting to build the ramps for it.  Having an Evo w/ a 3″ ground clearance is difficult.

Just received a couple new AMS goodies! 

AMS Moustache Bar Eliminator - The AMS VII/VIII/IX Moustache Bar Eliminator not only eliminates that annoying rear differential “clunk” under hard shifts but also shaves 13 lbs. from the rear of your car. Made from 100% billet 6061 aluminum and CNC machined for accurate tolerances, this dual purpose piece provides the best bang for the buck in weight savings available! This piece comes anodized black and includes two solid bushings for the side of the rear differential to allow even less differential movement and clunking!

AMS Brake Cooling Kit, Front - The AMS EVO VII/VIII/IX Brake Cooling Kit was designed for heavy braking situations like those experienced during road race and autocross. In factory form, the brakes on the EVO provide great stopping power but after sustained heavy braking they can begin to fade. By forcing airflow directly through the rotor vents this kit drastically reduces the temperature of the rotors, brake pads and calipers. Reducing the temperature of your brakes defends against brake fade and provides longer pad life. By installing the AMS Brake Cooling Kit you will have consistent stopping power throughout your whole session.

This kit replaces the factory dust shields with tighter fitting stainless steel shields and caliper ducts which forces more air to exit through the rotor vents. Very tight tolerances with the caliper ensure that all incoming air must pass through the rotor veins to cool the caliper. High temperature flexible silicon tubing is provided instead of cheap and weak dryer vent hosing that will deteriorate quickly. The aluminum air scoops provided are designed to be universal and fit in just about any opening in the bumper cover, even aftermarket body-kits.

Jon @ TRE has accepted to rebuild the spare 6 speed transmission that I had purchased last year.  He is confident that he can produce a 6 speed system that will withstand the rigors of track time combined with the power that I’m planning on making.

 His site, Team Rip, is located:  http://teamrip.com/

Recently found out, a not-even-announced AMS sponsored track date at Road America is going to be May 25th.  It is in conjunction with Laps, Inc. 

This was going to be my first track event of 2009, if I can have everything (or most everything) ready by then.

*edit* Always things that have come up, found out this track day is $295 for 1 short day, also check the ToDo list, not sure if I’m going to be ready *edit*

I’ve decided that I’ve had enough of Mobil 1 and the OEM Mitsu fluids.  I think they’re ok for normal use, but I really think you need to use something more suited for racing when that’s really the only thing you do with the vehicle.

I’ve moved to Amsoil products, which is one of the top tiers in quality for fully synthentic oil products.

For engine oil, they make a motor oil specifically for Race applications:

AMSOIL Dominator® Synthetic 15W-50 Racing Oil (RD50) provides superior performance and maximum protection in high-performance and racing applications. Formulated to withstand the elevated RPM, high temperatures and shock-loading common to racing applications, Dominator Synthetic 15W-50 Racing Oil delivers superior performance and maximum protection in extreme conditions.

For transmission fluid, I’ll use their synthetic 80w90 gear lube:

Synthetic Gear Lube SAE 80W-90 (AGL)
High quality replacement for applications specifying SAE 80W-90 conventional gear lube. Synthetic construction provides improved cold flow properties, high viscosity index and heat resistance. Contains an over treat of high quality additives, exceeding the minimum standards. Provides excellent wear protection and long equipment life

And for the transfer case and rear differential, I’ll use their severe synthenic gear lube:

SEVERE GEAR® Synthetic Extreme Pressure (EP) Lubricant 75W-90(SVG)
AMSOIL SEVERE GEAR® Synthetic Extreme Pressure (EP) Lubricants are premium grade gear oils specifically engineered for maximum performance in severe duty applications. These state-of-the-art AMSOIL formulations feature an exclusive blend of high viscosity, shear stable synthetic base oils and an extra treatment of high-performance additives.

Here’s some pictures of how the car sat at the end of last year and the trip to Gingerman, late of 2007.

Seeing as my plans for the car and racing competitively has changed somewhat, my garage just doesn’t work anymore for a place to work, tear apart, and store the car when not racing.

I was lucky enough to find a place fairly close to me which has some very large storage units for, what I consider, a VERY reasonable price.  It’s a 10×30 storage unit, with free electrical hookup!  This means I’ve now hung lights and have heaters, and tools in the mini-shop.  

This is where the car will reside when not racing and where it’ll be stored during the winter months.  It’s also where I work on it.  Here’s some pictures:  (excuse the quality, taken with my phone)

Some of the pictures from a few of the events last year…

Road America with NASA Midwest, running in TTA:

@ Gingerman Raceway:

Here is where you’ll find the ongoing report of progress on building a time attack car and particpating in events.

Keep a close watch on this, it should be a very good ride.