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FD Road Racers ONLY: Your Upgrades and Your Rationale

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Old 04-29-04 | 02:26 PM
  #251  
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Anything more than 12 psi on a road course is kinda pointless as the cars are grip limited anywhere but on the straights. And since lower lap times are made up mostly in the corners is it really worth it...IMO nah
I run 12 psi on the track, 10psi when ambient air temps approach 90degF and for the most part the only cars that are faster than me are the other RX-7's
Crispy

Last edited by CrispyRX7; 04-29-04 at 02:29 PM.
Old 04-29-04 | 04:22 PM
  #252  
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EXACTLY, Chris All the '99 Type RS Rx7s made ~11 psi stock, so I figure 12 psi for my '99 spec twins setup with decent ambient temps were fine. Since I'm usually the only FD Rx7 out there (@ a PCA event), I pass often--even with students riding along as passengers (as an instructor, I find demo rides for the students more effective at getting a point across, than me chatting away in their ears over the communicator LOL )
Originally posted by CrispyRX7
Anything more than 12 psi on a road course is kinda pointless as the cars are grip limited anywhere but on the straights. And since lower lap times are made up mostly in the corners is it really worth it...IMO nah
I run 12 psi on the track, 10psi when ambient air temps approach 90degF and for the most part the only cars that are faster than me are the other RX-7's
Crispy

Last edited by SleepR1; 04-29-04 at 04:31 PM.
Old 04-29-04 | 04:28 PM
  #253  
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psi is overrated. Just make the danged thing go faster around the track than the other guy! I love passing 300+ hp cars in my "stock" FD
Old 04-29-04 | 04:31 PM
  #254  
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Well, that's true to a certain point. When my cat clogged last Sept, my J-spec twins were making only 5 psi, and believe me, I was missing that boost, DamonB LOL
Originally posted by DamonB
psi is overrated. Just make the danged thing go faster around the track than the other guy! I love passing 300+ hp cars in my "stock" FD
Old 04-29-04 | 04:41 PM
  #255  
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Originally posted by SleepR1
When my cat clogged last Sept, my J-spec twins were making only 5 psi, and believe me, I was missing that boost, DamonB LOL
I been there too. My original main cat disintegrated and clogged at the track and the car definitely slowed down I still didn't get run over though, I just couldn't run away as quickly
Old 04-30-04 | 11:40 PM
  #256  
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Good thing I "fixed" that problem with my clogged cat The reason I'm shooting for such high boost is I'm using the fastest car in the world as a benchmark, the Enzo, and I don't think I'd be able to compete with it at 300rwhp. On certain courses like Willow Springs Raceway, all that extra power really does come in handy!

Btw, I'm surprised no one's called me on my 13-14 AFR yet!
Old 05-01-04 | 12:46 AM
  #257  
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Originally posted by Chronos
Good thing I "fixed" that problem with my clogged cat The reason I'm shooting for such high boost is I'm using the fastest car in the world as a benchmark, the Enzo, and I don't think I'd be able to compete with it at 300rwhp. On certain courses like Willow Springs Raceway, all that extra power really does come in handy!
Not at Willow Springs. People think that just because the average speeds are high that it's a "horsepower track". Not even close. All the horsepower in the world won't do you any good there if you're not able to carry momentum through Willow's long, fast corners.
Old 05-01-04 | 01:18 AM
  #258  
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Regardless, a high powered car certainly has an advantage over a under or even moderately powered car...
Old 05-01-04 | 10:22 AM
  #259  
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Pirelli says "power is nothing without control". Chronos, go to your first driving school, and get some seat time. Worry about horsepower later LOL.
Originally posted by Chronos
Regardless, a high powered car certainly has an advantage over a under or even moderately powered car...
Old 05-01-04 | 12:13 PM
  #260  
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Originally posted by Chronos
Regardless, a high powered car certainly has an advantage over a under or even moderately powered car...
Heh, yeah, maybe about 15% of the time during a lap at Willow. The instant you brake for the first corner, you'll be gettin' schooled by well-prepped Miatas puttin' out maybe, what...180hp to the rear wheels?

"The quality of the crate matters little; it's the person behind the controls that makes the difference..." -Baron Manfred Von Richtofen
Old 05-01-04 | 05:48 PM
  #261  
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Manny, the power is there already, I'm not doing anything special to get it I'm only running stock boost afterall!

Still no one calls BS on the possibility of running 13-14 AFR???
Old 05-02-04 | 12:28 PM
  #262  
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Originally posted by Chronos
Regardless, a high powered car certainly has an advantage over a under or even moderately powered car...
With everything else being equal - yes.

However, everything else is rarely equal.

A good driver can take a well prepped "under powered" car and do laps around you with it.
Do driving schools for a few years and you may start to understand this.
Old 05-02-04 | 12:37 PM
  #263  
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As a followon to that, I personally feel that novice and beginning track drivers are actually at a disadvantage running real high horsepower cars.

I think one of the most educational times I had on the track was when I had a flakey solenoid and made only 3-5 lbs of secondary boost. Being so down on power really made me pay attention to smoothness and control in the turns in order to carry good speed out. I couldn't muscle myself out of a bad turn exit.

-bill
Old 05-02-04 | 06:17 PM
  #264  
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Well, since I have a datalogit and powerFC, I just might give lowering the boost a try and compare lap times...thanks for the advice.
Old 05-03-04 | 07:21 AM
  #265  
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Originally posted by wrankin
As a followon to that, I personally feel that novice and beginning track drivers are actually at a disadvantage running real high horsepower cars.
Excellent point. Horsepower can fool a novice into thinking he is "fast" because he can stomp the go pedal out of the corner and take off, regardless of how fast he actually went through the corner.

Maintaining momentum through the corner is key. The faster you go through it the faster you come out and then when you stand on the go pedal you go even faster yet! He'll fully appreciate it when he gets literally blown off the track after a corner by a car with much less horsepower

There's nothing I hate more then being on the track and riding a slower car's rear bumper for an entire lap waiting for a safe place to pass. Then on the straightaway he wants to dragrace his big single turbo (or whatever other high powered car it is) against my "slow" stock motor I normally give them a lap or two to fall off the track under the pressure and that usually works If not I'll drop back three or four car lengths so I have room to make a run on him out of a corner onto the straight and win the dragrace
Old 05-03-04 | 07:27 AM
  #266  
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Originally posted by Chronos
....and compare lap times
If you haven't done this much don't even bother with lap times. Lap times don't matter. All lap times are going to tell you is that you are faster than Guy A and slower than Guy B; that doesn't mean anything.

Drive and develop a level of comfort with the track. If it's a brand new track to you it will take a couple sessions just for that. Then pick a portion of the track to improve on and master that one. Then pick another. Then another and so on...

I would completely ignore your lap times. You will know yourself if you are getting the hang of it and speeding up. Don't pressure yourself to take off another second or two of time, pressure yourself to drive the next corner smoothly and perfectly, getting on the throttle at the right time and feeling the car pull itself across the track. If you do that the lap times will take care of themselves.
Old 05-03-04 | 10:07 AM
  #267  
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Originally posted by DamonB

There's nothing I hate more then being on the track and riding a slower car's rear bumper for an entire lap waiting for a safe place to pass. Then on the straightaway he wants to dragrace his big single turbo (or whatever other high powered car it is) against my "slow" stock motor
That's why I like the group I run with (speedventures). They don't put up with that ****. You WILL see Vipers letting Miatas pass them on the straights at the events I go to....
Old 07-27-04 | 07:29 PM
  #268  
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Same with the Tracquest events I go to. The one OBVIOUS point that a novice on a track should remember is that if there's a car in your rear view mirror, chances are he/she didn't just show up there, so plan on letting the car pass at the next opportunity, even if it is a underwpowered Miata, and you're in a Viper.
Old 07-27-04 | 10:38 PM
  #269  
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Ahh, Todd Serota's TracQuest events. They're awesome. Love the open passing rule in the instructor/red run group. Great food, with high quality participants. I'm hoping my new motor will be broken-in and tuned by the Labor Day/Sept 7 Mid Ohio TQ event!

My motor popped at the Memorial Day Mid Ohio TQ event. Car's been down soooo long. I'm going through Rx7 withdrawal!
Old 05-14-06 | 07:52 AM
  #270  
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Originally Posted by SleepR1
Finally, someone who road races using the Apex FMIC!

Please do elaborate on your FMIC setup! Spare no words or letters...I want it all

I noticed Cam Worth runs an FMIC on his no. 72 race car (at least from what I can tell from my 2002 Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development calendar...Cam's car is "Miss December" )...

I'm interested in either the HMIC from Rotary Extreme or the FMIC from Apex.

I read about the delta fin cores of the Apex FMIC allows more cooling air to the rad...is that true?

My only limitations are that I must have A/C; I want to use an Anfini Y-pipe, and I prefer a cold air intake of some sort. I see that the Apex kit provides us with an intake already. In your opinion, is that intake ok to use drawing hot air underneath the hood? Do you use a vented hood?

What FMIC setup is Cam Worth using on his GT racer?

FWIW, I have a Koyo already ordered from the Rx7 store. Can that Koyo be mounted vertically with the A/C condenser and fans hooked up using the Koyo while having enough room for the Apex FMIC?

What about all the bends, and the length plumbing that's involved with the Apex FMIC (or any FMIC for that matter)? Is the lag noticeable, or overestimated?

As for the HMIC...it seems to be a good compromise between an SMIC and FMIC. Chuck Huang has one in development. His V-mount appears to be the best compromise solution, but I lose the A/C with the V-mount IC/radiator setup Here's a thread on HMICs... read the last few pages regarding Rotary Extreme's HMIC and V-mount setup:

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...58#post1267858

Pettit's ex-racecar (white FD) is now here with us in Belgium and I'm frequently visiting the team because I amke some carbon parts for them. The car came from the US with the big front mount intercooler but has been converted to a V-mount setup after the first year because it was running to hot.

Please bear in mind it is being used as a full GTB race car and no road driving whatsoever.

Intake air temps have dropped significantly ever since... now onto all the other problms... ummpf
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