12:05 Garage- ’70 Duster build
I've been getting my 5.7 Hemi torn down when I have time (and when I'm not nursing a F-ed up shoulder). For some reason my 18 year old daughter seems to be showing interest in cars now. Of course, now she's interested just before she's about to move out for college... Anyway, I had her pulling pistons/rods out over the weekend when she had a few minutes to hang out with dad. Up to this point, I knew the motor was in good shape, but the bearings tell the real story. They seriously look brand new. I also pulled one main so far and it looks the same as this.
I went to autocross over the weekend and had decided to try adding air psi to the tires. There's so much mixed info on the internet, and there isn't anyone local to me that autocrosses a "heavier" car to talk to for advise. My drag racing brain has always told me to run a lower pressure in the tire, but that's not the case here. I did read a comment on an old forum about someone that explained that the tire is a very small adjustable spring rate. This seemed like valid information given the way it was described. So given my problems with understeer I studied the tread wear on my tires and it seemed that the tire was folding over slightly and not using the entire contact patch. What other way to fix this than to put more air in the tire to make it more firm. I decided to put this theory to the test and put 2psi more in the tires than I ran previously, 38psi. On my very first run, which wasn't super aggressive, I could tell immediately that the car liked it. I continued to push the car harder every pass and improved by nearly 2 seconds over 5 runs. I'm blown away how much better it is. Who would have thought 2psi would make such a difference! The tires ended up having 39.5psi in them by the time I was done. I did get some understeer on my last of 6 runs, but I think the tires were starting to get overheated since we ran 6 runs in a row. I'm also feeling the rear end move a little. Not in an oversteer kind of way, more like a tire slip type of way. I really don't know how to explain it, but I know from some track driving instruction, that's a good thing. It also tells me the front tire is gripping enough to make the back end start to move.
This truck was there. It's a full custom tube chassis, purpose built race truck. He told me he won the truck class at LS Fest last year. I'm happy to say I was only 1.5 seconds slower than him. Can't complain about a factory style suspension passenger car almost keeping up with a purpose built race truck.
I've been getting my 5.7 Hemi torn down when I have time (and when I'm not nursing a F-ed up shoulder). For some reason my 18 year old daughter seems to be showing interest in cars now. Of course, now she's interested just before she's about to move out for college... Anyway, I had her pulling pistons/rods out over the weekend when she had a few minutes to hang out with dad. Up to this point, I knew the motor was in good shape, but the bearings tell the real story. They seriously look brand new. I also pulled one main so far and it looks the same as this.
I went to autocross over the weekend and had decided to try adding air psi to the tires. There's so much mixed info on the internet, and there isn't anyone local to me that autocrosses a "heavier" car to talk to for advise. My drag racing brain has always told me to run a lower pressure in the tire, but that's not the case here. I did read a comment on an old forum about someone that explained that the tire is a very small adjustable spring rate. This seemed like valid information given the way it was described. So given my problems with understeer I studied the tread wear on my tires and it seemed that the tire was folding over slightly and not using the entire contact patch. What other way to fix this than to put more air in the tire to make it more firm. I decided to put this theory to the test and put 2psi more in the tires than I ran previously, 38psi. On my very first run, which wasn't super aggressive, I could tell immediately that the car liked it. I continued to push the car harder every pass and improved by nearly 2 seconds over 5 runs. I'm blown away how much better it is. Who would have thought 2psi would make such a difference! The tires ended up having 39.5psi in them by the time I was done. I did get some understeer on my last of 6 runs, but I think the tires were starting to get overheated since we ran 6 runs in a row. I'm also feeling the rear end move a little. Not in an oversteer kind of way, more like a tire slip type of way. I really don't know how to explain it, but I know from some track driving instruction, that's a good thing. It also tells me the front tire is gripping enough to make the back end start to move.
This truck was there. It's a full custom tube chassis, purpose built race truck. He told me he won the truck class at LS Fest last year. I'm happy to say I was only 1.5 seconds slower than him. Can't complain about a factory style suspension passenger car almost keeping up with a purpose built race truck.