Prep Work for Summit

Over the break between races I accumulated a stock of 2"ID springs in a variety of rates from 350-750#.

I also decided to fit new fule injectors and a 10 Micron version of the XRP filter than came with the HPD kit. The 10 micron filter is the same external dimensions so it was an easy bolt in swap. Removing the injectors was easier than I thought it would be too. I just popped off the top half of the intake manifold and access was fairly easy.

New rear springs (now also in the correct rate). A quick scale check suggests that the springs are good for a couple of pounds weight savings between the front and rear. They look much better too.

I really wanted to mount a camera after watching all of the cool VIR videos. But, I struggled on how best to mount it given the minimal options on the Citation bodywork. In the end here is what I came up with. I will try it out at Summit this weekend...

Sean

VIR Complete

And so after two fairly successful races, it was time to pack it all back up. The #99 Citation had performed flawlessly all weekend. It was one of those rare races where I just made minor tuning adjustments and added gas. I ran more and more competitively all weekend, and finished 9th in both races - leaving me 8th in points going in to the Watkins Glen rounds in June.

VIR Weekend (continued)

Dad arriveed with his Swift DB1 mid day on Thursday. Fortunately the garages at VIR are more than adequate for two FF cars. In fact we had the scale platform in there as well as a lot of tools and supplies.

Fellow FF racers Mark Walthew (crouched over the cockpit) and Karl Barbru (holding up the wall) came out for the weekend to help out. With 7 Practice sessions, two qualifiers and two races over four days, there help was much needed and appreciated.

Unfortunately my dad's weekend got off to an eventful start. In the first session Friday, he had the lower bolt start to back out of the left front upright. It rubbed his new Panasport rim until it exploded in Turn 5 - sending him spinning off into the weeds.

In the second session, the upper rocker arm suffered a material failure at the outer bearing race. The suspension collapsed with a "Bang!" by his report entering "Oak Tree" - once again sending him spinning off of the track. This time into the tirewall on the outside. It was not looking like a good weekend at this point. Two sessions - two wrecker rides.

But with a little help from our friends (Karl shown here) it came back together. Dad had most of the spare parts needed. A tie rod was borrowed from fellow Swift pilot Russ McBride, and after a late evening Friday, the car was back together in time for Saturday qualifying...

Arrival at VIR

By dumb luck I managed to finagle a garage at VIR. This was extra fortunate since we needed to fit the new Penske shocks to the car on Wednesday night prior to the first practice sessions Thursday morning.

Pictured is intrepid race engineer and fabricator Eric Langbein. It is about midnight, and we have just finished the job.

Sean

Been away for a while...

Well I got pretty busy on several fronts after the VIR race in April.  The race itself went really well, and I brought the car home 9th both days.  Afterward it has been hard to get the time to come back out here on a consistent basis...

But with the Summit Point National looming I am back in the garage again.

I will post some more photos soon, but here is what I have been working on...

Fuel System - I was running increasingly lean through the VIR weekend.  So I replaced the injectors and installed a new 10 Micro version of the XRP fuel filter.  The old injectors definitely showed signs of clogging and will be sent out to be cleaned and flowed professionally.

Shocks and Springs - For VIR I made do with slightly less than optimum 2.25" ID springs on my new shock's 2" perches.  So over the break I built up an inventory of 2" ID springs and installed the correct sets on the car.  Probably good for a 5# savings overall! (and they look much tricker).

Camera - After watching all of the in-car action from the VIR race, I decided I needed to do something.  I liked Russ McBride's video (lens smear and all) and the price was right so I bought a ContourHD unit and fabricated a mount to attach it the the side of the main roll hoop.

Other Maintenance - I changed the oil and filter (test day plus the VIR weekend) it still looked pretty good but I figured it was cheap insurance.  I also replaced a few of the teflon washers in the suspension that were getting pretty chewed up from the shock and suspension adjustment process.

Brake Pedal - Eric Langbein noticed that the brake pedal was pretty far over center - leading to the need for increased pressure.  I readjusted the pushrods and brake bias to aleviate this problem.  Hopefully this will make the brakes a little more user friendly.  (I must have missed this section in my Carol Smith books, but apparently it is bad practice to let the pedal come over the 12 'oclock position because it decreases the leverage the further it goes)...

Tomorrow night I will recheck the corner weights and time and weather permitting, load the truck and trailer up for Summit...

Sean

Photos to follow shortly...

Ready for VIR! (?)

Well it is Sunday night, and I have pretty much met all of my preseason goals.
- The car is done and tested.
- The last minute prep work has been completed (new gearing, swaybar, patches on drivers suites, car washed and waxed...)
- The truck and trailer are all packed up and ready to leave later this week.

Everything is quiet now in the Maisey garage. Time for a little cleanup.

First up was the long suffering Yamaha. It has been sitting patiently in a corner while all of my attention has been lavished on a new toy. In the process it was getting pretty grungy. (Kinda reminds me of the Velvetine Rabbit story I used to read to my daughter).

But the bike has feelings too, so tonight it was time for a little love for the Yamaha. A thourough wash also allowed me to mop the floor of the garage as a side benefit. So now she sits all clean and shiny, with a promise of an 80+ degree tomorrow good day for a ride to work.

So not much Blogging to come this week, it is time for a little rest and relaxation (and a few good nights sleep)...

Wednesday night/Thursday morning I will be making the trek to VIR for the opening races of the season. I have packed up the scales and alignment platform (and almost every tool in the garage - again). With some luck, I should be mounting the new Penskes and doing a final corner weight/ride height setup at the track in the morning Thursday - not my preference, but with the tight timeline it is the best we can do. Otherwise all is as ready as I can make it.

The car looks great resplendant in the F1600 Series sponsor stickers and fresh polish and wax job. I have a good feeling about the weekend.

Let's hope all of this hard work pays off.

TTYL,
Sean

Sway Bar Swap Out

So tonight I took to the garage with grand ambitions. I was going to get all of the boxes out that came with the car and get organized. In one of those boxes I was told was a smaller diameter front sway bar - more appropriate for use as a FF.   Then after that small diversion, I would be more organized and have room at the back of the car to do the gear change.

So after about an hour and a half of rummaging through spares in about 5 different boxes, I had it all better organized and the essential spares packed up in one plastic crate. At the bottom of the last crate I unpacked were two alternate sway bars - yea! One larger and one smaller unit.

Even though the hour was already getting a little late, I decided to tackle the sway bar swap. How long could that take? Right? Well keen observers may notice something that I didn't until I went to put the new bar into the car.

Can you spot it?

Guess what the new bar didn't fit. The pivot bores were a little larger than the bar that came out. The new bar was simply not going to go into the existing pivot blocks.

I decided that there must be an alternate set of aluminum pivot mounts somewhere in the spares that I had overlooked. (There was a LOT of stuff)...

But half an hour later, with all of my chassis and suspension spares strewn around the back of the garage floor, I begin to think this whole idea might have been misguided.

I walked back around the car, thinking I would just remount the blades to the original bar and go back to where I started....

At this point I remembered the bushing that was used in the front shock bearings.

Hmmm, I wonder if there is a bushing like that in the sway bar pivot blocks? Of course, there was.

So a brief break while I removed the other pivot block from the chassis, puncturing my right index finger on the "C" clip on the front shock, and bled all over everything. (are we having fun yet?) and I was in business.

I pressed out the two bushings using my elaborate shop "press" setup. (an 8" vice and two appropriate sized sockets)...

After this it all went together with no drama. I am sure I can repeat the procedure now in a few minutes now that I "get it".

I guess this is yet another reason we why we should do this stuff in the garage the first time :)

Pictured (above) is the original sway bar with the plastic bushings slipped over the ends. Back into the spare parts bin.

Three hours later, mission number one accomplished...

I am too tired now to think about a gear change. Looking at the newly cleared back of the car, it looks like I need to remove at least all of the rear bodywork to do the job. I may need to take off the undertray as well. Probably not a quick procedure the first time either...

Tomorrow night,
Sean