6 Hour Car Prep

Car is pretty much ready to go for 6 hour. Some pics of mods for this race;

Hefty blower for demisting and cooling
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp355/NZGTRA/6HourPrepPhotos006.jpg

Dry break set up
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp355/NZGTRA/6HourPrepPhotos005.jpg

Dry break access with boot lid on
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp355/NZGTRA/6HourPrepPhotos004.jpg

Head light installation from rear
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp355/NZGTRA/6HourPrepPhotos003.jpg

Headlight installation from front and cold air system below
http://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp355/NZGTRA/6HourPrepPhotos002.jpghttp://i427.photobucket.com/albums/pp355/NZGTRA/6HourPrepPhotos001.jpg

Rock on Kel! :ylsuper:

I was thinking of making a splitter attachment out of aluminum just like you did. Did you feel a difference?

Have fun!

Rock on Kel! :ylsuper:

I was thinking of making a splitter attachment out of aluminum just like you did. Did you feel a difference?

Have fun!

Jim, it was a little hard to measure the exact gain as due to time constraints around development & testing, we had to break the cardinal rule and make more than 1 change on the car at a time.

We picked up around 1 second but this may have been a combination of the benefit of additional track time as well as alignment and aerodynamic improvements.

The other aero aid that I am going to add for the 6 hour, if it is a very wet track, is a Gurney Flap to the top rear edge of the wing. Very easy and inexpensive to do and will boost rear downforce with little additional drag.

Kel.

The other aero aid that I am going to add for the 6 hour, if it is a very wet track, is a Gurney Flap to the top rear edge of the wing. Very easy and inexpensive to do and will boost rear downforce with little additional drag.

Kel.

I also have that on my list. I have not decided how I am making it. It needs to be adjustable and removable. My race show says they tape them on their ALMS cars???? How are you thinking about making it?

I also have that on my list. I have not decided how I am making it. It needs to be adjustable and removable. My race show says they tape them on their ALMS cars???? How are you thinking about making it?

Brian, I have made mine using guidance from Carrol Smiths book "Tune to Win". He recommends not using a flap with a height of more than 1/4" unless the wing is quite inefficient.

I have assumed that our wings are moderately efficient and so have used a simple right angle aluminium extrusion with 3/8" legs ($7 from my local hardware store). I have filed a radius on leading edge of the leg that sits against the top surface of the wing. I have drilled approx 8 x 1/8" holes to attach the angle section to the wing. The trailing edge of the wing is solid (explains why it is so damn heavy) so no worries about crushing the trailing edge when you fasten the angle.

At this stage I will use aluminium rivets to attach the angle and will put the flush heads on the underside to maintain smooth'ish airflow on this surface.

On another subject, what changes in set up (suspension) do you normally make Brian for wet track running?

Kel.

Wet setup:
michelin rain slicks are truely amazing
no sway bars front or rear
install defogger fans on the windshield a MUST (I see you did that....it might not clear in front of the driver from the other side..mine didnt.)

Wet setup:
michelin rain slicks are truely amazing
no sway bars front or rear
install defogger fans on the windshield a MUST (I see you did that....it might not clear in front of the driver from the other side..mine didnt.)

Unfortunately Brian we have to run DOT tyres for the 6 hour. We have Kumho Victor Racers for drys (255/40/17) and Dunlop Direzza O3G's (same size) for Intermediates/Wets. We may yet mount up some good road tyres as a 'super wet' option.

We are running the front sway bar on the soft setting as a compromise. Do you back your shocks off at all?

Have you had any issues with any significant water ingress into the car? Any areas of the car that water ingress has been a problem (electrics etc)?

Thanks, Kel.

Kel, did you make the carb intake setup or was it purchased? I am converting my ls1 over a carb setup and wanted to fab some sort of setup like that.

Kel, did you make the carb intake setup or was it purchased? I am converting my ls1 over a carb setup and wanted to fab some sort of setup like that.

Eric, we fabricated this one. Due to varying engine deck heights & inlet manifold/carb combos used (on non GTS cars) most of us will need one with a different height for the sides.

We put long studs in the back inlet manifold bolt holes and ran these up through the back of the tray as supports. Also added the 'wings' to the sides of the inlet mouth of the tray. This is an attempt to deflect the hot air coming out from the engine bay out the back of the hood away from the cold air inlet area.

I can say that it has added som speed though as our RPM was up around 200 down our long straight and the jetting needs to be fattened up slightly.

Kel.

The dry break access and headlight installation is awesome! Great job Kel!

The dry break access and headlight installation is awesome! Great job Kel!

Thanks. I wanted to keep the dry break as simple and cost effective as possible. Dont know about in the States but each pair of dry break fittings is the best part of $1,000 over here in NZ. Most systems use a pair, one for fuel in and one for air out.

We have used a far smaller vent line with a smaller lighter and way less expensive dry break arrangement (the black fitting sticking out on the back right of the car). In testing in the weekend we were getting 115 liters in in 45 seconds. This is faster than the driver change / car check so will easily suffice for our needs.

The headlights are out of a 3 series BMW with bracketry made up out of inexspensive aluminium extrusions. I wanted to try to keep the headlights faired in as we need every bit of hp we have!

Kel.

YES...we have had tons of water coming thru around the perimater of the plastic windshield. Also, all over on the firewall and the doors....its seems water is every where. We used a bunch of high temp metal tape and covered everything we could find. I also removed the windshield and replaced the gasket with something better (truck cap gasket material) and then siliconed the windshield to the body. That all made it better.

We dont have too many electronics so we didnt have any failures. Just visibilty and a wet fire suit. I have replaced the wiper motors in both cars and the new ones SUCK too.... They are not very strong. Hard to install. Get stuck on bodywork (we fixed this with ugly wiper stop brackets)....

You've really done an awesome job with that car.

Ditto on the rain problem. The cars leak everywhere and you will get soaked. First puddle and the windshield will fog over. My GTRA ("school car") had an internal and external wiper...maybe a solution. We ended up using Rain-x and a rag to get through a test day in the rain. These are tough cars to drive well in the rain (IMHO). As soon as rain hits the headers wave of steam fills the cab and windshield. Not sure if the blower will be enough, but would like to know.

My experiance with rain tires is unless it is raining or standing water stay on slicks they will be faster. If its misting, rained recently and not still raining, track wet or occasional shower etc. stay on slicks. Full rain tires are very slow and only needed only with continuous wet conditions.... My $.02. If not sure stay on slicks.

Kevin

Ditto on the rain problem. The cars leak everywhere and you will get soaked. First puddle and the windshield will fog over. My GTRA ("school car") had an internal and external wiper...maybe a solution. We ended up using Rain-x and a rag to get through a test day in the rain. These are tough cars to drive well in the rain (IMHO). As soon as rain hits the headers wave of steam fills the cab and windshield. Not sure if the blower will be enough, but would like to know.

My experiance with rain tires is unless it is raining or standing water stay on slicks they will be faster. If its misting, rained recently and not still raining, track wet or occasional shower etc. stay on slicks. Full rain tires are very slow and only needed only with continuous wet conditions.... My $.02. If not sure stay on slicks.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin, will let you know how the blower works. It is a grunty sucker, actually a 4" dia bilge blower for a boat. Very light but moves a ton of air.

I am also planning on using rain X on the windshield and anti fog on the inside. We have started to coat the windscreen up with this already as it can be layered I am told.

Good point about the header steam. Hadnt thought of that but yes can see that making life interesting.

When you say they are tough cars to drive well in the rain Kevin, what characteristics have you found they exhibit?

Kel.

Kel,
Not to answer for Kevin. I drove mine testing & DE in the wet. It was not pouring, but varied from full wet to a dry line with wet patches. By far the biggest issue was the windshield. The inside fogged up solid as soon as I hit the wet track. I have the dual wiper system, but the inside wiper motor was inop. I ended up loosening my shoulder belts and wiping the inside with my gloved hands. This had some effect on my enthusiastic driving! I believe the big issue was the steam off the shorty headers and side exhausts. There is quite a bit of air coming into the cabin from the front wheel wells past the door hinge areas, right where the wheel spray is vaporized on the exhaust. I was so busy with the front view and trying to survive long enough to find the pits that I didn't pay much attention to the second big issue: seeing overtaking traffic. There isn't very good vision out the rear window and the fogging and spray did much to make it even worse. The side mirrors seemed to be useable, but marginal. Your huge blower looks like a good bet, but I would move the outlet to focus more directly in front of the driver. The GTS cars have a splash shield that extends from the engine fire wall outward to the front fenders. This definately helps with the direct wheel spray past the door hinge areas. Might help keep out some of the stream. I think those and an additional shield behind those and sealed to the side panel extension that serves as the front door jamb would be much more effective.

As far as the handling, I had the shocks full hard on the back and one click from full hard on the front. No rear bar and front bar on hard. I have the 550/350 springs. I was running about half used up school full treaded 17 inch Perilli's. I thought it was reasonablly predicable on a drying track with little rubber. I don't think it was fast (and neither am I). It seemed to me to be oversteering, especially corner off. I had to catch it several times and once it caught me instead. I would think a wet set up would include softening the rear shocks as a minimum. It tracked well through the wet and braked well. I was having fun and didn't consider it evil. I'm easily entertained, even at slow speeds with the Miatas passing me. With your horse power (mine is stock), the corner off is a much bigger issue in the wet than it was for me. I don't plan on any more wet tracking as the visibilty was just horrible.

Mike

the blower will work! you might need two. We mounted them vertically blowing directly into the windshield without any ducting. Works fine. We drove for 2 days in the rain about 2+ hrs. of track time each day and the fog was cured. Rain-x in layers on the outside and the anti fog on the inside.

Personally I thought the cars with the right setup are amazing in the rain. It all comes down to setup. We brought a ALMS lead setup engineer with us and he did the setup and it was an eye opener. As long as the michelin rain tires stayed wet they are WAY better than any other tire. They are super sticky.

I was thinking of using some ducting/piping like pvc or something with slots cut into it to function kinda like the defoggers on street carts and then pushing air into it with a blower and some ducting. Just a thought. Or maybe using a bigger pipe like a extension tube from a shop vac...cutting slots in it as well. I will let you know if I play with any of my crazy ideas.



the blower will work! you might need two. We mounted them vertically blowing directly into the windshield without any ducting. Works fine. We drove for 2 days in the rain about 2+ hrs. of track time each day and the fog was cured. Rain-x in layers on the outside and the anti fog on the inside.

Personally I thought the cars with the right setup are amazing in the rain. It all comes down to setup. We brought a ALMS lead setup engineer with us and he did the setup and it was an eye opener. As long as the michelin rain tires stayed wet they are WAY better than any other tire. They are super sticky.

Ugh... yeah the fogging sucks. I almost missed my first session at Synergy last year because the entire inside was fogged up w/ condensation. Luckily the temps came up enought to clear it out in time. Good call on the rain-x and anti-fog. Might need to fab up a blower setup.

All of these "little" things make me appreciate tracking my Corvette... didn't have to worry about trailering in the rain or driving in the rain etc. Oh well... the Panoz is a blast and it's cheap fun.

I solved the rain problem..... i just don't drive in the rain! :-D

dont do the tube or hose with slits....tried that. you need a strong high pressure fan to get enough pressure out the slits....

Do exactly what kel did but mount it vertically shooting directly at the middle of the windshield. one in front of the driver (I mounted right to the sheetmetal dash cover in front of the wheel) and another on the passenger side if you care. I only did the drivers side. IT WORKS, its simple it easy...

http://i614.photobucket.com/albums/tt222/panozracing/IMG_78731.jpg

How about removing the roof and winshield all together:thinkerg:

How about removing the roof and winshield all together:thinkerg:


and racing with one of those really cool leather flying helmets on by any chance...............!1??

All the fun stuff in the dry (rear wheel vs AWD, high torque) make them a bit of a beast in the wet. Maybe to be expected but HP can be a big adversary in the wet. Always tempting to get too fast (maybe in the dry too) and not much room for error....smooth and consistant, like Jenson right??

So could you explain the cross over header in the picture (looks like a wrapped exhaust pipe behind the engine block in the picture). Common here on Nascar type (GTA etc) cars, but never seen one on a Pz what is the rational???

Kevin

So could you explain the cross over header in the picture (looks like a wrapped exhaust pipe behind the engine block in the picture). Common here on Nascar type (GTA etc) cars, but never seen one on a Pz what is the rational???

Kevin

Kevin, thanks for the rain feedback.

Regards the headers, I have pulled the drivers bank across to the passenger side via a 3" collector across over the bellhousing as you have spotted.

Rationale for this is to pull the 2 x 3" collectors together in a tuned fashion and merge them into a single 4" pipe prior to entry into a 4" muffler. This set up provides far better tuning possibilities and boosted the torque of my car dramatically. In the lower RPM range the boost was as much as 20% over the std dual 2.5" pipe set up.

I have always merged my twin pipe V8 race cars in some way, normally prior to the mufflers. This was a little hard on the Panoz so we had to get more creative to get the result we were after.

Kel.

Just don't do this http://vimeo.com/3454006

I was recently told by the west coast Panoz rep. that the tires I was using were the ones Panoz uses to transport the cars on. He said they never on race them; ever. I used them in a pinch as they were the spares that came with the car. Expensive mistake!
Couldn't be bad driving skills could it?:chair:

Same as Kevin I have the interior wiper. It works really well. I have the sheet-metal barrier inside before the doors, but the steam really blasts in when the headers get sprayed.

Kel, awesome work, as always. :bigthumb:

Good luck!

I removed my interior wiper setup... it was a joke... did't even wipe an area in my line of sight being 6'4".

I removed ALL my wipers! i just don't drive in the rain! lol

a little rain-x on the outside of the window and who needs wipers? Rain sheds quite nicely at above 40mph

Haha... I agree. I have kept the outside one, but FYI Rejex is even better than Rainex.