[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by Flycaster

How're you getting that much without the camber plates? Or am I missing something?

camber bolts (unless I'M missing something (isfh)

Originally Posted by Flycaster

Oh yeah, sure. Our local bimmer club was not very pleased when the PDXTuning boys buried every M-Series bimmer on the circuit around PIR. I imagine your local club will be completely *ecstatic* after they see you run. Just remember to be courteous: make sure to wave when you pass.

i will be on my best behavior (first couple laps, anyway)

[donmei]

Bruce,
Just a heads-up. Check out SCDA - www.scda1.com .
They run several events at Lime Rock each year. This month and next they're running at NHIS - a.k.a. Loudon/Laconia to us old guys. Then they're running at Limerock in Nov. I may be able to convince the wife to let me track the STi by then. (or if she's traveling on business, I'll have the pick of the STi or the Miata, heh, heh)

Most dates are $235/day.

Don

[sachin]

How does the clutch feel compared to stock? Any complaints?

[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by sachin

How does the clutch feel compared to stock? Any complaints?

no complaints once i got used to it. as donmei observed, it has a very narrow engagement band and is a bit grabby. however, it is very streetable and easy to manage.

hey don, thanks for the track info.

[donmei]

Sure. Let me know if nail down any track dates. I'd be happy to come up and do lap times/turn wrenches, whatever. I've even got one of those cool chinese harbor freight knockoffs of the fancy aluminum racing jacks. and its blue to match the car. (orange jack stands though)

Don

[Neanderthal Racing]

afterbirth update

i've got 800 miles on the beast in the last 6 days. it just had its 2nd oil change this afternoon.

on thurs, fri and sat i completed 3 back-to-back 150 mile roundtrips to westchester, ny, after getting it on the road for the first time wednesday. actually i took it out for the first time tuesday night but i had to return to the shop prematurely because the fan was making light contact with the intercooler plumbing. (i solved the problem for by taking a die grinder and trimming each fan tip back by a few milimeters). it's a pretty exciting trip from gardiner to westchester with a couple of great ways to get there; interstates (thruway and rt 84) lots of changes in elevation, curves and long stretches of sweepers and straights (taconic and bear mtn parkways). the rest of the time i've been cruising the back country roads of the mid-hudson valley. life doesn't suck.

as i said in a prior post, the contribution of the gt spec bracing components to the car's, already, extraordinary handling has been really impressive. the entire car is so balanced and (this might sound strange) professional-feeling. the quality of life in the cabin as far as vibration is concerned wasn't diminished as much as i anticipated by the harder cusco engine and tranny mounts. i've been driving with the windows open all of the time with the exception of some of the interstate driving. the b&b catless exhaust note at every rpm is incredible...loud but incredible. i'm barely interested in listening to music or anything else. all i want to do is drive. i've been hipnotized.

the kartboy ss now has the full compliment of kartboy and tic bushings. together with the cusco tranny mounts the shifter and shifting is absolutely perfect. there is nothing left to change with it. it almost shifts itself. thank god it doesn't; it's too much fun rev matching downshifts to give the job up.

tomorrow i'll post a review of the motor and i'll try to get some pics of the beast up. i've already talked to phil about bringing it down to maryland for a dyno tune in a few weeks. phil says he'll have the aquamist set-up ready when i come down. he still wants to try out a few things with the aquamist system but his car is down (blown tranny). naturally, i volunteered mine to be the mule if it's needed.

i'll be headed to limerock for a driving school and some track time on oct. 29th. i'm also planning on getting it to englishtown for a run or two before the season ends.

[eatV8]

Awesome stuff Bruce!! Can not wait until she is 100% tuned and complete

[stituner420]

Originally Posted by BruceChapman

the quality of life in the cabin as far as vibration is concerned wasn't diminished as much as i anticipated by the harder cusco engine and tranny mounts.

It was my impression that the (group n) tranny and engine mounts actually added NVH. Did Cusco claim something different? I was interested in these in the near future.

[Neanderthal Racing]

Originally Posted by stituner420

It was my impression that the (group n) tranny and engine mounts actually added NVH. Did Cusco claim something different? I was interested in these in the near future.

let me clarify: the mounts didn't add as much nvh as i expected them to. you should have a high threshold for sound and vibration, in general, if you want them. there is nothing quiet about the beast, even with the windows rolled up.

let's put it this way; your kid's are unlikely to fall asleep in the back.

[stituner420]

Originally Posted by BruceChapman

let me clarify: the mounts didn't add as much nvh as i expected them to. you should have a high threshold for sound and vibration, in general, if you want them. there is nothing quiet about the beast, even with the windows rolled up.

let's put it this way; your kid's are unlikely to fall asleep in the back.

Luckily I don't have any yet! Thanks Bruce.

[wdb]

Originally Posted by BruceChapman

let's put it this way; your kid's are unlikely to fall asleep in the back.

Well dang. There goes my big plan to duplicate your car, right out the window.

[Ver7wannabe]

Bruce(in all seriousness), could you pick up a copy of the new Sport Compact Car magazine and enter your car for next years Ultimate Street Car Competition? I will vote for you.

[Flycaster]

Originally Posted by Ver7wannabe

Bruce(in all seriousness), could you pick up a copy of the new Sport Compact Car magazine and enter your car for next years Ultimate Street Car Competition? I will vote for you.

I would too. The problem is they look for "show", not so much "go." Methinks Bruce has built a car that is ALL "go!"

[Neanderthal Racing]

afterbirth update - the motor

the beast is exactly one week old today. it's had 2 oil changes and a thousand problem-free miles in virtually every warm weather driving condition except the city. i still managed to get 5+ miles of bumper to bumper driving on the taconic.

tonight we plugged little ricky's laptop into hydra and observed the ecu and it's tuning board in realtime. it is way cool but i wouldn't begin to say much more. i have a lot to learn.

i have a warning to those who want to build a high hp motor: there is a lot here to scare the crap out of you.

power - the crawford s4 shortblock is truly amazing. when you go for a big turbo there's a high potential for big lag. i hate lag, which is why i went with crawford's stroker. i wanted to make up for any lag at the lower end and that's is exactly what this motor does. it provides a big increase in grunt during the normal off-boost every day driving. it pulls progressively harder, linearly (and much harder than stage 2) to 4 grand. then there comes this moment when the turbo spools crazy fast and youre shot out of a cannon with the tach, speedometer and scenery blowing by...whoosh. want to scare yourself? just downshift from 4th to 3rd on a pass leaving yourself at 4000 rpm and floor it. unfreakingbelievable. the best part; i'm only using 15 lbs of boost. 15 FREAKING POUNDS! what's 30lbs. on c16 and water/alchohol injection gonna feel like? it boggles my mind. i could keep it right here for a long time and be perfectly happy (but i won't).

oil - i'm using lots of it. i suggest turning away if you tend to get queezy - like a qt per tankful. YIKES. why you ask? two reasons; because the oil inlet to the turbo is deliberately unrestricted by (phil's) design and because this power level is producing plenty of blow-by. there is absolutely no smoke coming from the tailpipe - none.

egts - (look away now!) i'm seeing peak exhaust temps of 1000 celcius/1800 f at the top of the hardest 5th gear pulls. when i told phil (with my knees shaking) about the exhaust temps he said to get used to it. he's been on a track for up to 3 hours in a day doing 150 and he's seeing the same temps the entire time. oh my god. pray for me. i had to reset my defi egt gauge warning light to come on at a higher temp just for my own sanity.

i'm driving down to washington dc on wed., oct. 19th to go to a funeral at arlington. i'll stop in to see phil on ingress or egress for my dyno tune. he says the aquamist-hydra interface will be finished and ready to install.
yee ha.

here are some pics of the engine bay under a sunset:

[Neanderthal Racing]

some exterior shots under that same sunset: