Bad Idea?? (AutoX + Helmet Questions)
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I have been thinking about the subject more and more. I have a feeling once the Olds is on the road it will be entered in a few autox races.
I encourage it. It really is fun. It's fun to try to beat your previous time by thinking of ways to improve your technique. How to work the pedals, how to come at a turn and set yourself up for the next one, etc. And it provides a great opportunity to have fun with your steering wheel instead of just your gas pedal. If you're ever gonna accidentally put your G-body into a powerslide, an autocross is one of the better places for that to happen. :lol: I'll never forget that!rebelgtp said:
Hey wanted to ask you how things go with the car when you autocross-does your trans get hot at all? I also just re-read your build, do you worry about not getting oil to the bearings or your pickup? Just was curious....there was a good letter in car craft this month about setting up an engine for auto x, got me thinking about that stuff, wondering how your car was on the course...
Well, I didn't encounter any issues. Thing is though, My car only has a speedo and a tach for gauges. That's it. I haven't bought any aftermarket temp gauges yet so I can't tell you what the temps got to. Hopefully my trans cooler was doing a good enough job. To be totally honest, I wasn't too worried about breaking the trans or engine. Not just because I intend to replace them sometime anyway, but because I felt that my runs were pretty "low impact" on the car and there was a substantial cool-down period between runs. I was pretty confident that nothing was going to get damaged. But like I said, I have no way of really knowing. One thing I did notice was a couple unexpected up-shifts with the shifter still in the "1" position (I believe at high rpm). Not sure what that was about. Admittedly, I don't know much about the trans from an operational standpoint. (maybe some sort of governor?) I have done a lot of in-town and highway driving with the car since then and everything is still operating just as it did before the event if that says anything. *shrug*85Frankencar said:
Also, I haven't looked into things like baffled oil pans or specialized mods because really building a dedicated track car isn't in the budget yet. For the time being, it's geared towards becoming a peppy street car, but I am trying to keep up the handling aspect for occasional outings like this.
So where are the pictures?? 😉
How was the body roll? Mine rolls like a **** and I need stiffer springs all around. A friend of mine has Afco adjustable spring perches which let him run really cheap springs and dial in spring rate independently from ride height. These cars are front-heavy and like to understeer, so we need more rear roll stiffness. Ideally, we need to fix the weight imbalance and get as much tire under the car as we can, but you don't want too much tire for your wheel width.
How was the body roll? Mine rolls like a **** and I need stiffer springs all around. A friend of mine has Afco adjustable spring perches which let him run really cheap springs and dial in spring rate independently from ride height. These cars are front-heavy and like to understeer, so we need more rear roll stiffness. Ideally, we need to fix the weight imbalance and get as much tire under the car as we can, but you don't want too much tire for your wheel width.
I wasn't able to get any good action shots. My friend was right before me in the grid and my mom wasn't too good with the camera.
Body roll wasn't bad and I give credit to my sway bars for that. My suspension was only half finished but the rear section was done. That's what ended up giving me oversteer, actually. I had my adjustable shocks cranked up way too high for my stock front springs and rusty CarQuest front shocks. I softened them a couple clicks and got a better lap time. Tires were an issue. Not much traction, especially in the rear. I was hoping to go out with it again this weekend with my new engine but I'm not gonna make it. Hopefully Oct. 20th will work out, and maybe I can have my coilovers in then.
Body roll wasn't bad and I give credit to my sway bars for that. My suspension was only half finished but the rear section was done. That's what ended up giving me oversteer, actually. I had my adjustable shocks cranked up way too high for my stock front springs and rusty CarQuest front shocks. I softened them a couple clicks and got a better lap time. Tires were an issue. Not much traction, especially in the rear. I was hoping to go out with it again this weekend with my new engine but I'm not gonna make it. Hopefully Oct. 20th will work out, and maybe I can have my coilovers in then.
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what chamber settings do you have and which way are your upper A arms pointing at neutral postion
Couldn't tell ya. I haven't messed with it yet but it should all still be stock. While installing the coilovers I'm hoping to also install drop spindles and taller upper ball joints. That way hopefully I can lower the car without having the upper arms pointing too far down. (I've studied A-arm geometry a little bit and learned about camber curves but I haven't looked into what a good base camber would be. Come to think of it, it might have been you that provided the article on unequal length control arms.) I don't think drop spindles are allowed in the "stock" or "street modified" classes for SCCA solos in my region (though I could be thinking of "street touring") but my engine swap already put me in the "prepared" category since it was never optional equipment. At this point, the driver still needs more mods than the car, but I might as well install the last of the parts I've already bought.pontiacgp said:
You want the uppers to be pointing up so the camber is constantly negative when your compressing the suspension. It all has to do with changing the roll center of the car and stock G body has one about 6 feet out of the car, you want to get the rolol center as close to the car that you can to get it to handle. The picture gives you an idea where the roll center on a stock set up would be with the uppers pointing down. Also for the camber run my street car with 3/4º negative camber and it helps the handling. Stock is 1/2 - 1º positive I think...the other thing that will help since the track is flat is the biggest front bar you can find.
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