Time Attack Project Update

[Humble]

Since Germanlook.com is still down I toss up an update here so everyone can get their fix, I know I could use one.

Firstly I finally have all of my safety gear, the last piece was the def-n-der head and neck restraint which I really like but its not made for big shoulders (i'm 22" across the shoulders and 46" around the chest). I 'm worried that it's going to dig into my shoulders once I'm belted into the seat.





Now for the good stuff! I got my race tires as well and stuck them on the car yesterday. They are Yokohama A048 R, 235/40 18 front and 285/30 18 rear on 8' and 10" rims respectively. They look perfect on the car and really give the rear that "I'm hiding something big" stance. For grins I tried a rear 285 on the front and it's a perfect fit. I can also turn lock to lock without rubbing. How many bugs do you see that can tuck a 285 without rubbing, on the front?! I can go bigger on the rear if I move the oil filters and I could go as big as a 315 without moving the oil cooler. Even if I put the rear tires on the front, the rear is still wider than the front by a couple of inches. The front wheels are still using a 1" spacer but the rear wheels bolt directly to the hubs.

For reference, that's the old rear tire a 225/50 16 on the right.










And the 285 on the front, oh it's mean!







Full lock and I still have an inch or so to play with.


On the wiring front I have 5 more wires to run and then I'm done wiring. I have to replace the starter before I can start it because the kick solenoid isn't working, buit I expect to have it running this weekend.

[wrenchnride247]

Looking good. Alot of us have been in dire need of a "fix" recently...thank's.

When do we see track time video?

[Humble]

Keep your fingers crossed for soon. There will be a "it runs" video, then "it drives", then "at the dyno" then paint, and first race, but the last 2 my swap depending on schedule.

[wrenchnride247]

You may want to race it once before you paint it. That first run can be even more nerve racking with fresh paint.

[69project]

Hey, Thanks! I needed that.

Looks great!

[NO_H2O]

Lookin' good Humble. I too would kike to see the videos.

Is it just me or could Humble be "THE STIG" LOL

[Wally]

Some say.... he really drives a beetle in his spare time...
All we know is....

Love the aircooled engine
Hope the WI can keep the intake temps down long enough.

[Humble]

Lol, I've been hitting the gym for the last few months so I don't look like the Stig's fat american cousin. I'm not exactly a small driver at 6' and 228lbs, but so far so good.

The WI should keep the intake temps down low enough with a 50/50 mix of water and alcohol. My biggest worry is oil and head temps skyrocketing under extended boost. I'll know for sure when I get to the dyno since I'm breaking in the motor and tuning it then.

I think paint will be the least of my worries really. I know from experience that I'll want to go easy on everything since it's a new race car and baby it once it's completed to make sure nothing fails. But I also know, from experience, that's not going to happen. I'm gonna ride it hard and put it away wet every chance I get. If something breaks a stronger replacement goes in, I just like pushing the envelope.

[55superbeetle]

I believe I have talked to you before and even autocrossed with you at marina (not sure if your the same guy? I was in my toyota starlet..) I'm not trying to rain on your parade but that motor is going to melt in about a lap and a half if your planning on making more than 200hp. I autocrossed a 2332 turbo ghia and it was hard enough to keep it cool for the 50 sec runs. Another worry is when I crewed for a time attack team a few years ago the rules stated no pushrod engines. The rules might have changed since then but im pretty sure it was done as a pathetic attempt to keep the vettes from embarrasing all the jdm ricermobiles. I dont know what fuel your planning on using but e85 would be a good choice and would aid in cooling. Other than that its bitchin and I would love to see it go around a track.

[Humble]

Yeah I've talked to you a few times, at bugformance and down in marina. I've been racing the bmw in marina because the bug wasn't ready yet. I've got a few contingency plans if temps become an issue but so far so good. I spent a little time on the dyno last week but we ran into a problem with the fuel injection ecu of all things. Doing small boost (5psi) pulls repeatedly for 1.5 hours trying to sort ignition problems didn't even get the oil up to temp (<100*) and the heads stayed around 250*. I've got a 5 gal oil sump and water/alki injection to help mitigate temps but if that doesn't work I'll switch to E100. If all else fails I'll go back to N/A.

As far as I know there's no direct rule against push rods in time attack, and several LSX swapped cars have run, though I don't know if they got points.

[akokarski]

it's been a while any updates?

Anton

[Humble]

Not too much to update unfortunately. I've been unemployed for 4 months now with no relief in sight so not much has happened with the race bug. I did rebuild the motor to solve a low power issue (bad math) and sorted a few nagging ignition problems but she's having a hell of a time with cold starting. Once I get a job again she'll be heading to the dyno for a good tune and then to the track. Here's a few more pics of her...

[volkdent]

That fender doesn't look to bad from the road rage! What ever happened with that? Where did you get the wing from? It looks sick.

I'm still not happy with my cold start either, but I'm going to finish fabbing up the exhaust before I take it back for more dyno tuning. It's in body work now, but the guy is being REALLY flaky, so we'll have to see.

Jason

[akokarski]

job situation sucks, especially before new year, but hang in there something will turn up hopefully soon. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

Let me know if you need to find a place for dyno. One of my buddies just dynoed his gti and price seemed to be fairly reasonable.

Anton