SCCA T4 Build thread

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

I'll be down at the Portland SCCA Majors are this weekend at PIR (Then next weekend at Seattle).

There's a Track Night in America on Friday night that you can attend if you want to get on track. https://www.tracknightinamerica.com/...ortland-may-17 Looks like registration is via SCCA instead of MSR.

You and any other FT86 folks in Oregon are invited to stop by my (humble) motorhome, have a beverage and chat. I'm only coming down and setting up Friday evening but Totemo_Hayai will be doing the TNIA with his new T4 FRS which will be its maiden voyage in preparation for the race weekend.

Sat/Sun are expected to be wet and dry which will make for some interesting racing.

I'll try to stop by this weekend. We had a rental house go empty that needs fully gutted so time is short right now. If you guys happen to need any spares this weekend let me know. PIR is about an hour away depending on traffic for me. I have everything from spare CV axles and hubs to a complete longblock.

[Rampage]

Congrats on the 2nd place in the Sunday race.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Rampage

Congrats on the 2nd place in the Sunday race.

The better story is Totemi who showed up to the track with a "not-yet-complete" race car and finished it on Saturday morning so the Saturday race was his very first time the car was driven in anger and he took 3rd from me - that was pretty crazy.

I've learned a valuable lesson - even when buying parts from a reputable vendor - CHECK THEM. The 55mm restrictor plate I purchased and installed was pulled and inspected by SCCA Tech due to my Sunday result and it measured between 55.1 and 55.27mm on 3 different calipers. Even though I was the slowest car and none of my competitors cared about the measurement it still resulted in a DQ and SCCA confiscated the restrictor plate. The vendor has agreed to send me another one and double check it prior to shipping. To top it all off, a trailer tire exploded on the tow home.

I found 3 seconds in the car (really the driver) throughout the weekend, there's another 2 seconds without a doubt and I'm confident I can run 29's - but I've found that 245 tires on the 7" wide wheels really don't allow the car to work well in transitions - which is critical at PIR, but I'm closer to finding the sweet spot for pressures and temps. I will step down to a 235 or 225 in the future and may get to mount a set of 235 take-offs a competitor offered me to see how they work with the car. Next up is Pacific Raceways this weekend and it only has 1 section with a quick left/right/left transition so my fat tire disadvantage is less prominent.

[Rampage]

^^^^ I was not 100% sure that Totemi = Gizman so I did not say anything about his drive and your battle with him Saturday.

Sorry to hear about your DQ but at least the weekend resulted in learning something about the car and set-up that should serve you well going forward.
I watched what I could on the static cams and of course was not privy to the after race inspection results.

[rice_classic]

Pacific raceways

SCCA T4
TRACK RECORD!


1:36.136

[rice_classic]

I finished 3rd yesterday and 2nd today. I was in contention yesterday but a T3 car decided to get between us all in the last 2 laps solidifying my 3rd place.

Today I started on pole, but the RX8 was simply too fast on the top end and Totemo was a tad better in the sweepers and was able to use the draft to his advantage. Unfortunately, drivers were too willing to set tires off the track often, spreading debris on the racing surface. The result of which is Totemo and I both lost our windshields while he also lost his radiator and running lights (we hope the engine is OK). The RX8 also committed avoidable contact, which earned him a reprimand by the officials but unfortunately for me, they didn't penalize him and let his finishing position stand.

The 1 positive takeaway I have is that earlier in this thread I said my goal was to reset the track record and I have achieved that...for now. I'm sure someone else will improve upon it soon, but I did it. I also think I have another 1-1.5 second in this car as well. Video of the race coming soon.

[rice_classic]

[mistople]

Congrats on the lap record! Super cool to see you guys sending it out there. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit jealous. Racing looks like tons of fun.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Unfortunately, drivers were too willing to set tires off the track often, spreading debris on the racing surface. The result of which is Totemo and I both lost our windshields while he also lost his radiator and running lights (we hope the engine is OK).

I was talking with a guy at the ridge who had a porsche and was a member of PCA. He was telling me PCA had a track day out there and a bunch of guys lost windshields and it got ugly. Hopefully they rectify that soon. Greatly enjoy watching your vids while cooking

[mistople]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

I was talking with a guy at the ridge who had a porsche and was a member of PCA. He was telling me PCA had a track day out there and a bunch of guys lost windshields and it got ugly. Hopefully they rectify that soon. Greatly enjoy watching your vids while cooking

I was one of the first cars to run PR after they repaved it. I have a ton of fresh new chips from a miata who chose to explore the entire dance floor, so to speak.

Has it always had gravel alongside the track? Or is just after the paving?

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by mistople

Has it always had gravel alongside the track? Or is just after the paving?

After paving. There was always a 'bit' of gravel but it was primarily sand/dirt/grass. After the repave they clearly used gravel. The video simply doesn't do the reality any justice. The RX8 set tires off in T8, T9, T2, T3a/b (multiple times) and T6. He then went 2 tires off at 3b only to return to the track and hit the B-Spec car (which affected that driver's race result btw).

[rice_classic]

I built the thing I wanted to build and achieved one of the things I set out to achieve therefore, it's time to bring this thread to a close.

First let's talk why T4/CT4

• Touring focuses on racing and driver development as opposed to car development and deep wallets. Stock engines, transmissions, brakes.. etc. Yet it's still pretty fast lap times and terrifically close, exciting racing.
• T4 is a national class. Runoffs are a thing you can do with Touring, not all SCCA classes are Runoff eligible. Something to consider.
• Due to the level prep and speed the car is still operating mostly within it's manufacturer design intent. Therefore consumables last for a long time - brakes, axles, drivetrain, hubs and bearings.
• MONEY! Everyone knows racing is expensive but T4 = low build/prep costs and low operating cost (except tires, they're always expensive).
• Room to grow: This can easily be prepped up to T3 for a little more speed without having to spend exponentially more $$$. Also I race primarily with ICSCC (not SCCA) and we have a class called Conference T4 (CT4) and the grids are larger there vs SCCA. A few weekends ago we had 14 cars in CT4, 10 of us separated by 2 seconds - awesome racing.

So let's talk build costs

• $16.5k. I could be going the same speed for about 3k less - I'll explain.
• I took my car to a local builder in WA state where the cost of material is high and so are the taxes. If I took it a cage builder in Oregon I would have spent about $1800 less.
• I bought RPF1s - there's other wheels like the Motegi M131 Traklites I could have started with to save a few hundred.
• I didn't use the Raceseng rear top hats - had I known I would be able to use them I would have saved $430
• Wheel hub/bearings - my original ones felt like new when I removed them. I didn't need to start with brand new units on all 4 corners which would have saved me $465 up front.
• Could have spent less on the seat, didn't need the gauges, and probably didn't need to change out the engine harness and coil packs.

That's ~$3200 in upfront savings bringing my total build cost down to $13.3k. OUTSTANDING. I could have bought a high mileage or salvage title car for <$10k sold off stuff I don't need and had a ready to race car for <$24k - with pretty nice stuff.

Before becoming a race car, the Engine/Diff/Transmission/Axles all had 86k street miles (ironic, I know) and I've done 2 test days and 4 race weekends where I raced multiple times (9 races total). Car still runs strong and is getting faster! By end of the year I'll probably spend almost as much on entry fees than I did building the damn car and that's AWESOME. I went from racing my old ITA Honda CRX to racing a much nicer car with larger grids that goes faster, cost less to build and the same to operate - yes please.

Some lessons learned...so far.

• The 17x7" wheels required by the rules are too narrow for 245 tires. I should have started with 225 or 235s. I just ordered a set of 225/40/17 Hoosiers today which I'm hoping to find time on. I'm comfortable and experienced on HoHos and I should have just bought them from the start. I may test some 235 BFG's in a couple weekends but it's likely that i'm going back to Purple Crack.
• Measure your parts! The 55mm restrictor plates we ordered from Dynasty Racing in Florida were >55mm and I ended getting a DQ at the Hoosier Super Tour as a result.
• Coming from FWD, especially a short wheel base car I have to re-learn how to maximize this car and part of that is a rear slip angle greater than anything I used in the previous race car. I've been studying my video and data and I've found a second or more in driving and another second or so in tire setup.
• There still some gains to be made with power but I won't share those secrets here. I'm happy with the 'reliable' power I made with 92 octane, even with the restrictor plate but I think I can squeeze a tad more out than what I have.
• This board and members on it, such as CSG and others, have been a huge a help. Building the car and sharing here was a joy.
• If you're building a car, and buying new parts - wait for black friday sales. I probably saved over $500 when I spent ~$4k with vendors around black friday. Same with using vendors that give discounts to SCCA members.
• I will probably put more $$$ into MCS shocks next year

I look forward to continuing to dial in the car and I expect to find another 1+ second before the end of the year. As of now I am still planning on attending the 2020 SCCA Runoffs @ Road America so I can scratch that off my bucket list while I still have enough time/money/youth to make it happen. After all, that was a primary driver for building the car. I've been racing for ~15 years and this car has made me fall in love with it all over again.


Damn. Good. Fun.



PDXSuperTour_May_2019-5003-(ZF-9855-65346-1-001) by Rice Classic, on Flickr

[mistople]

Love it. What an insanely good cost:fun ratio.

[ka-titties]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

Damn. Good. Fun.

Thank you for this. This puts so much in perspective. Especially when you're surrounded with people telling you you need to have the best of the best of everything and be making 200% more power than stock just to get out on track. You've proven and explained clearly how you can have a ton of fun with not a lot of capital up front.