2 SCs & M3 at MSR

Doug Franklin

Registered User
Russel Rudduck showed up in his 91-5 Red SC with his son in an M3 and did 2 sessions. I only did one session in 95-5speed. Russ was fast and WOW is his car a looker. 2nd session his son was faster in '95 M3, staying up with a Spec Miata which is saying something at this track. Burnt up some good tires doing that. Russ had brake problems and had to let the M3 go. After staying behind Russ 2-3 laps I had to let him go. Don't believe I could have cought either one of them no matter which car I brought.

Did not get car I used at club day finished in time because I found the front sway bar was not working on FR, and the arm attaching frame to lower suspension arm had no rubber where it hooks behind the lower ball joint on LF. So I took the 95-5 up there and ran one session even though it has low compression in one cylinder. What a pig compared to that old 90. I have to do some changes or maybe drive it faster in fast turns to keep up. 90 I can get 100-105 on strait. I could only manage 90mph in 95-5. Had a terrible time with handling. I recall being surprised by 90, I did not realize what a handfull the 95 is and that is with new Firehawk SZ50ER stock size. The 90 had wore out all season tires. But I like the 95 SC better than the SS Camaro's I took a class with.

Also seats don't support as well as older SCs. So I was holding myself upright while cornering. Left wrist hurting yesterday. Over inflated front tires, came in and reduced them. FR was super hot as well as brake. So hot I had to use a long pin to let out air and not get burned. That was after 10-12 minutes. It did a lot better after that and I continued. But car just not smooth like the 90, or it was me with no confidence. Lost brakes totally in one corner. I have noticed the 95 looks to sit higher than all the older ones. Russ pointed out that spindles were different shape going to top ball joint and maybe changing the geometry.

Believe I will leave 90 AOD alone. Fix up the 89-5, & 90-5 as planned. Not sure what to do with 95 other than just fix engine and leave for street or sell it. That or I need to drive it different. One thing for sure is that one must come off corners fast to get higher speed on strait. I just could not do that or too chicken to try it. Hmmmm

Would have been nice to have had some more SCs or SHOs. Anytime anyone of you want to go to MSR let me know. I can get 2 in on my membership per day. It is way better to have other cars on the track.

Doug

Here is only pic I took all day. Russ in the Rattle Snake.
 

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I'm getting jealous now Doug, track season is all done up here now for the year. :(

Looks like I'll have to take a road trip to Texas one of these days !! ;) :D



cheers
Ed N.
 
RussellR posted on this thread about MSR on 11-29-03.
http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37472

Ed, Come on down. I see with your response to Russ' post above that you have the big brakes. I was wondering. Looking at your membership page I see you have lowering springs etc. I have a set of ebock and Sus Tech. Was going to put the ST on the 95 but since it is more of a street car then maybe the eibach. Your membership page answers a lot for me as I find the 95 incredibly unstable compared to the 90 in pure stock everything. But that being said when I went into a turn at 80mph with no brakes the car stuck. I don't think it was when I took out the pylon but maybe. Too sick with flue to remember presently. Since you run the 95 I was thinking of you all last Saturday.

I got behind Russ or son for awhile and stayed up due to one section where I made up for the rest of the track and then went all 4 off on a big sweeper made up of 3-4 little turns (wagon wheel I think). The SC just does not want to spin or it is very controlable as far as keeping it from spinning. I still had power on in the grass and just continued but let the other car go after that.

Hopefully will get 89 and 90 5 spds fixed and stripped so I can push hard. Maybe I just don't want to hurt the 95, since I had it since new. Rattles my confidence or ability though. I did not even think about asking Russ to drive it for his impressions. Maybe he will accomodate next time. But I hate to run it with the backfiring untill I get head reworked.

Come on down.
 
Doug, I never had my SC out on the track in stock form, so I can't really comment about what you're experiencing with the 95. I know that the shock valving, and stab. bar rates are softer on the 94 - 95 than the earlier cars, maybe that's what you're feeling. First time out with the car I had Dynomax cat-back exhaust, the Mark VIII brake upgrade as mentioned, 3.27 gears, and Eibach springs with Tokico Illumina 2 shocks. I also had 255-45-17 Bridgestone RE71 tires on ROH 17x8-1/2" wheels, and later 255-50-16 Hoosier race radials on Mark VIII wheels, for the track only. That was about 3 years ago.

I'll certainly agree that these cars are very stable in this environment ... it would take a real bonehead move to put one of these cars around I think. ;) The combination of the long wheelbase and wide track does a great job.

Suspension Techniques might be a better choice than the Eibachs for a car seeing open-track duty, with the linear front springs. I had thought about getting a set to put in when we were installing the Konis in the front of my car this past spring 2003.

The big brakes are fabulous. As I mentioned, I did go through some front pads, but the pedal remained rock hard for as long as I was out there, the rotors still look almost new ... and the track where the SVTOA event was held can be a real killer on brakes. I remember absolutely destroying pads and rotors on my 87 Mustang there when doing Solo I events. Of course, I was a bit younger and braver at the time, so I was likely trying a bit harder too. :p

So if you're looking for the simple bolt-on stuff to make the SC work decently around the track, I'd sugest good springs with Koni shocks (nice for adjusting the front-to-rear balance on the car), good exhaust, upgraded cooling system, and at least 13" Cobra brakes. All the rest would be gravy on top.

cheers
Ed N.
 
Thanks Ed

What I bought originaly for 95 was the ST springs, and what ever the shocks were from SCP. I got the largest ADCO sway bars. Got an IC fan. Got a 3.27 rearend. Got rear poly bushings. Solid motor and tranny mounts. Bought drilled KVR rotors. Then had the engine trouble so I kept it stock and started buying older junker SCs.

I have my hopes this winter for this 89-5 with 55k on the engine. But it has a broken balancer so hope there is not metal in the engine. Got 4 BHJs enough to be a dealer. tbird88 is opening some manifolds and down tubes. Exchanging Porterfield R4-S pads for R4 for older model. Getting aluminum radiator from Mike. Will use the above parts except for rotors. SHO guys who road race say the O'Riley life time warranty solid rotors work great, no worping. I ordered the K-member.

I have to follow up on an old offer on some big brakes from Huoston 6 piston. Probably too late for the price. RussellR has a lead on 13" as well. Not sure what wheels to get but want to change to larger bolt pattern for more variety.

90-5 is getting real stripped, longer project. Will have a cage put in. Want manual sterring and manual brakes. Would love to use steel wheels with hubs moved in so it fits under fenders. Want biggest tires I can get for this one. Body is dinged enough to cut out wheel openings etc.

In mean time hope to keep 90 AOD running for track time.

Russ says a drivers edge is coming up at MSR run in reverse direction.
 
I probably should say that it has been 9mo to a year since I had the 95 on the track. I learned in it so was somewhat surprised when I took that 90 out. Believe I improved my driving in the 90. I pushed it hard and could adjust to tire wear and brake fade and still sneak up on or hold my own against others. I was very surprised when reminded of it's handling Saturday. Don't mean to trash the newer models, because I felt under control when learning. Also noticed a big diference when I put new tires on back then, knew I had a bad engine so I drove hard not carring. Attitude makes a difference.
 
Re: Thanks Ed

Doug Franklin said:
Want manual steering and manual brakes.


Hmm ... not sure if the manual steering is such a good idea, Doug. With the weight of these cars, plus the amount of positive caster they have, I'm pretty sure you would end with a very heavy steering wheel. Have you ever driven an early 911 Porsche on the track ? Like that, except with a thousand extra pounds over the front wheels. ;)



cheers
Ed N.
 
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