I like SPG panels, but not for this car.

Well the 2013 Pagoda Hillclimb is now in the books as another successful event.

Saturday was good, the only time I had to open the hood was to show off the motor to those who asked about it. Struggled to feel out the car with all the changes since last year. The Bilstein HDs were definitely the right move, and I should have done it years ago. The Quaife LSD is THE SHIT! Absolutely no tire spin exiting the corners. I was able to go way deeper, and trust that I could put the car where I wanted it.

I may want to change the primary gears out. While it has way more grunt, I find myself shifting into 3rd and back to 2nd in short order. In other corners I find myself letting it wind out to 7500 rpm approaching the corner instead of short shifting. I actually get into 4th on the straight section, where previously I would stay in 3rd. It is probably great for AutoX and RallyX. I will likely try a few events before I make up my mind on this issue.

I had a problem with the rear suspension that I am glad I noticed (right before a run). I decided to up the rear tire pressure by a pound. And since I had the gauge in my hand, checked the pressure in the Air-Lift bags. One had 35 lbs and the other had none. Quick solution was to drop the pressure of both bags to equalize the pressure. When I got back to the pit area, I proceeded to pull the rear apart and remove the bags. I will probably just put in a stiffer spring instead of replacing the bags.

At the end of day 2, I checked fluids before leaving to go home. Oil levels were all good, but I noticed a little oil in the coolant, that was just changed last week when I pulled the motor. It is only a trace amount, so I am just going to keep an eye on it for now. But I should probably pull the head, and send it to be freshened up.

I am getting a small 2-3 inch oil drop overnight, that I believe is it is coming from the shift shaft seal. But it could also be coming from the crank seal above it. Ill blast it all clean at the car wash, and investigate further.

As far as my times go, I was about a second above my best time last year on my first run., and managed to get it down to about .4 seconds above my best hill time. After the suspension problem, I must have gotten some motivation from the red mist. I took my run, littered with problems,... the bags, steered around debris at turn 6, and avoided corner workers jumping out of the way at 7. Was all bent out of shape when I got out of the car at the top of the hill. When I returned I checked my times, and ended up breaking my best time for the event, and bettering my previous run by 1.5 seconds, for a time of 99.484. This run moved me from 4th to 2nd. At that point I was happy with my results, and relaxed a bit for the last run. Of course Gary Reider, and John Burke were giving me some serious competition all day, and Gary managed to steal back the 2 spot on his last run with a 99.402. Although I am a little disappointed by the nudge, I am happy that it was Gary (in another SAAB) to take the podium spot.


And last but not least, much to Seth's disappointment, the splitter and airdam worked flawlessly all weekend. But I did not get to test the with/without results.... Sorry Bro! Now to add some brake ducts, and maybe a cold air intake ducted to the airbox.

Outstanding. All your hard worked paid off.
The Quaife is a nice addition to a 900c. Either you have nice sticky tires of you need more torque.
Congrads on your new times and keeping it on the road.

Definitely needs more power, and some stickier tires wouldn't hurt either.

I am running against...

An 83 Scirocco. (???hp)
A new Mini Cooper S (185 whp)
A 92 900S Turbo'd and T5'ed (145 whp ?)
A Mazda 3 with (220 whp)

I dyno'ed at 110 whp right after building the current motor.

SMF is a tough group to beat with an N/A 8v car.

Time to start putting together the 2.5 stroker motor...

Pics and videos are starting to pop up on the net.

This one is pretty nice. Exiting turn 7. I am leaning on it pretty hard here, and no splitter contact with the pavement.

A photog told me that he snapped a shot of me braking hard for a turn, and the splitter was nearly touching. I hope that shows up on the net.

SwedeSport wrote:Pics and videos are starting to pop up on the net.

This one is pretty nice. Exiting turn 7. I am leaning on it pretty hard here, and no splitter contact with the pavement.

A photog told me that he snapped a shot of me braking hard for a turn, and the splitter was nearly touching. I hope that shows up on the net.

I don't remember seeing all those tire walls at past events, is that something new? I will bring a trunk load to donate to the cause next time.

Luke wrote:

SwedeSport wrote:Pics and videos are starting to pop up on the net.

This one is pretty nice. Exiting turn 7. I am leaning on it pretty hard here, and no splitter contact with the pavement.

A photog told me that he snapped a shot of me braking hard for a turn, and the splitter was nearly touching. I hope that shows up on the net.

I don't remember seeing all those tire walls at past events, is that something new? I will bring a trunk load to donate to the cause next time.

Jason happened

CJ tire is the major event sponsor,... so there is no shortage of used tires...

The tire wall has expanded over the last few years. I would venture to say that 60-70% of the incidents are @ turn 7. Some of the faster cars hit 125-130 down the straight section before 6. The braking zone between 6-7 is really short.

The car looks great! How long is this hillclimb and how much elevation change is there?

John

Pagoda event is 1.35 miles, Duryea is 2.3

Elevation change is about 450 feet for the shorter version, 800 feet on the longer course

I think this pig needs to go on a diet.

I bet that is a whole lot lighter than my car! Good to hear everything is working out with the changes. I do plan to make it down there at some point for a hillclimb, unfortunately probably not this year.

Its almost as light as my sprinter van

I can't believe I had a whole week off and all I accomplished was mounting the dual tone Hella air horn in the car.

Motor seems fine, the trace amounts of oil have been nowhere to be found, so I'm not going to worry about it.

I have an AutoX and a RallyX at the end of July. I am going to replace the 16v oil cooler with one from an 8v. The 16v unit sticks down out of the front and worries me at RX events. The 8v unit mounts up higher and out of the way.

I plan to do a valve shim adjustment and work on some CIS related driveability issues as well.

Otherwise no new mods before Duryea.


I did , however, mount the Federal 595RSR tires on the gray Sunburst 15 spoke wheels and the old dry Falken RT215s on the back. Should make for some drifty fun at the next autocross.


And finally I am proud to announce that I have a sponsor,... eEuroparts has accepted my application for their motorsports program... Did I mention eEuroparts?.... Lol!

Now I need to find someone who will buy me some new Hoosiers... and maybe one to pay my entry fees.

Thanks for selling out Jason, I knew I could count on you

By the way,.... eEuroparts.... !