The Maxton Monster

[Fheckro]

The tranny is in with a 26/22 for third gear.  I got a deal on a used set from Hitower in Greenville. It's not what i thought would be the ideal ratio but it's close and the price was right (+ what do i know about "ideal ratios" anyway). The transmission looked to be in very good condition. I was a little concerned cause it was an impulse buy from ebay. Turns out the previous owner was mistaken about their set up. Jerico main drive sets are unique in every case except there are two that are sisters. 25/24 and 24/25. The case was marked with ratios from the 24/25 main drive column but upon dis-assembly i found the main drive set to be a 25/24 ( ha ha). Well maybe that is why they dumped it. who knows.

The new set will give me a much better step between gears ; 32 - 18.5 - 15.4 for first to second, second to third, third to forth. which beats the heck out of the previous set.  before when i shifted to 4th the pore thing would dog out and  never would recover till just about the time i passed through the trap.

Also i have re-designed the front suspension. It is now 2in lower (with capability to go lower) while maintaining a better kinematic relationship. Before the stock suspension was unaltered and the springs were just cut to obtain the lowered stance. Result; crazy handling. + the car couldn't go any lower because it was on the bump stops (shaved !). So i undid all that and installed a set of drop spindles and relocated the upper control arm pivots (which led to  the rerouting of the header pipes) to help eliminate bump steer. I was able to build in some extra caster and it will now sit at 0 camber. Also i installed a set of beefier springs.  Before the suspension travel was 0 down and about an inch up. Now i have about an inch up and down. It will buttom out at about 1.5in above ground. Hope to see a vast improvement in handling at Wilmington.

Other than that i haven't had much to do. 
Looking forward to seeing you all in Wilmington.


Fred

[Fheckro]

The new suspension is much better. I am happy with the improved performance ( having a real third gear was an immense help). I went 170+ change but wasn't able to really get the mixture tuned. She was way fat on Saturday and still fat on Sunday but we only got 2 runs all weekend and were concentrating on other things. The car handled well but still seemed a little light at speed. I  am putting the car on corner scales this weekend, I already was messing around with them and discovered there is a big uneven loading corner to corner. This weekend will be the real weight and balance session. Also i think i will lower it down another 0.5in or so.

Ordered a Stroud parachute from Joe. I will have that on for the next round.  Ordered a stock monza 2+2 rear spoiler for whatever that's worth. That might be on there if there is time. 

Next on the HP agenda  is to port the LQ4 "317" heads.



Improvements to car: all 4 wheels planted firmly + A few extra HP from porting the heads.

Improvments to environment: less dense air

Net:  Goal for July ... 175...+ 

[redhotracing]

Ever consider going to rectangular port heads+intake, i.e. LSA heads, Vic Jr.
carb intake? Gobs more CFM stock than a heavily ported 317. We upgraded
from a LS6/317/ZO6 cam combination to a Vic EFI/LSA/Virginia Speed combo,
expecting another 125+hp N/A. We were making appx. 25hp/psi on our old
setup, hoping for 30+hp/psi with the new junk. At 20psi, 1000whp-ish? 

[Peter Jack]

Also i think i will lower it down another 0.5in or so.

How about lowering just the front to give it a bit more rake. That may help plant it a little more firmly.

Pete

[Fheckro]

Ever consider going to rectangular port heads+intake, i.e. LSA heads, Vic Jr.
carb intake?

Yes, but then reality set in.  I think i am going to stick with the 317s for now and get what i can out of them NA. The plan is to turbo it after we get the chassis working and all the parts moving in the same direction. Actually the 317 heads work very well with turbos.

Thanks for the tip though

Fred

[Fheckro]

[/quote]

How about lowering just the front to give it a bit more rake. That may help plant it a little more firmly.

Pete
[/quote]

Yes that is the plan. I can adjust the rear height very easy so if it needs to go up or down that can be done at the track. Front suspension is pretty much a full dis assembly type job.

Thanks

Fred

[redhotracing]

Yes, but then reality set in.  I think i am going to stick with the 317s for now and get what i can out of them NA. The plan is to turbo it after we get the chassis working and all the parts moving in the same direction. Actually the 317 heads work very well with turbos.

Thanks for the tip though

Fred

They do work well, even with light porting. LSA/L92 does have an advantage, though. Any tips for the turbo set-up,
let me know. We've learned a LOT in the past 3 years of LSR with a turbo LQ4.

[Fheckro]

what was the turbo LQ4 in?

[redhotracing]

We have a 98 Camaro, running C/BFALT. Stat sheet as follows:(I'll try to keep it short  )

Old setup-
LQ4, 364ci
Diamond pistons, Compstar rods, stock crank
Z06 cam, LS6 intake, 317 heads
S488 turbo, A2W intercooler
Jerico 4 speed w/ QM 7.25" clutch, 9" rear
Running HPtuners w/ stock ECU
745whp/712wtq @ 15psi (kept losing traction past 5K on dyno, so who knows)

New setup-
LQ4 bored .30, 370ci
Wiseco pistons, Compstar rods, stock crank
VA Speed 246/248 @ 115, Vic Jr. EFI intake, LSA heads
Same turbo & intercooler, same tuning & ECU
Same trans/rear
Looking for over 1000whp/1000wtq @ 18+psi

Best Maxton - 196mph Best Loring - 201mph (motor went kablooey in Maine)

[redhotracing]

The old setup made good power, but didn't ever seem to run "right".
We found a leaky BOV, why we weren't building boost quickly under load,
and suspect boost creep on the wastegate was making things lag, too.

Fixed the BOV, added a Hallman MBC to address the creep problem.

What size/brand turbo are you thinking about using? Ours is a Bullseye T6 flange S488, 1.32 AR.

[Captthundarr]

Best Maxton - 196mph Best Loring - 201mph (motor went kablooey in Maine)

Luke, u sure it went kablooey and not kapow or blam?

[redhotracing]

Luke, u sure it went kablooey and not kapow or blam?

Maybe Ka-Pow, or Ka-blam... Made forged rods into nice crescent-shaped pieces 

[Fheckro]

Just received my Stroud chute.
I am thinking i want the handle near the steering wheel for easy access...
 but that would have to be a direct pull rearward ("T" handle like the fire handles in a DC8)

Question.... Which is better, lever type  or direct pull handle?

                                         Forward pull or rearward pull?

Any reason one is better than the other?

Fred

[Stan Back]

I don't know -- but I always figured I'd be grabbing things in an emergency.  Fire bottles, chute, fuel shut-off -- grab anything you can find to get outta this mess.

[dw230]

TRy to make everything that has to shut off go in the same direction. Push to dump parachute, push to fire bottles, push to turn off fuel, etc.  Or pull.

DW