Formula D Pro/Am Round 5 preparations Part 1

So Round 5 will be our biggest event yet.  After not qualifying or placing in Round 2 from our transmission failure, we had to play catch up.  We have so far qualified mid range and finished 1st in the other rounds.  How we qualify and finish this round will determine the winner of the overall series.  We are currently 2nd in points standings.  However, if Tim (the current leader) qualifies higher and finishes slightly lower than us in Round 5 (say we get first and he wins second), he retains the overall points leader position, winning the series.  SO...game on.

We've been discussing a few things, and I won't disclose everything that's going on.  We have a "secret weapon" that we hope will give us the edge we need.  It's not something I'll disclose until the event, but it'll be pretty neat.

With our engine seeing compression as low as 112, we were averaging about 120.  Those are on the very low end of the spectrum, so we knew that it was getting weak.  The fear was that we would go out on the track, and the engine would just give up.  We definitely didn't want that to happen.  So the search began.  We ended up with CP Pistons and Eagle Rods, both of which received great reviews and had good prices.  Oil pump, water pump, and a few other goodies that came when we bought the engine will be swapped just in case.  We didn't want to get in a situation where either of these components failed during competition.  Although we had 10-15 minutes between runs to "fix" the car, we didn't want to be in that situation again.  Our manual boost controller was a great tool, but it still allowed for boost spikes.  So an EBC (electronic boost controller) is being installed for more control over the boost spectrum.

As of today, the motor is out.  Rods, Pistons, and the "secret weapon" have arrived.  ARP head bolts are on their way.  So to the machine shop the engine will go...

Overall, this will be a fun event, and we'll see what happens.  We are all on edge to see what will happen, and I'm sure our competitors who have read or seen our Facebook posts are all curious to see what we are doing.  Our little 350hp (estimated) SR20DET has done well keeping up with these 2JZ and other motor swapped cars with double our power.  We shall soon see who will be the victor in this year's battles.  It certainly has been an exciting one, and no matter the results, we plan on entering this series for the 2014 season as well.

Bryan Lin
CEO, The Motorsports Authority, Inc. | MSAStore.com | BCRacingDirect.com

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Rewind...Power Cruise USA - Motorsports Ranch Houston: Travel Woes

What a good time this was. However, just like the other Drift events, travels to this one was no smooth ride.

The Power Cruise originated in Australia with a very large number of people showing off their vehicles is a variety of ways - drifting, car show, short drag races, and burnout competitions. In addition, those who wouldn't normally have the opportunity to drive on a race course are able to during the events (with a specific set of rules, of course).

For once, we finally left at a decent time. We weren't scrambling. We didn't do any last minute changes that made the car unpredictable. The drive down there however, was a different story.

After about 4 hours of driving, we noticed a loud ticking sound coming from under the motor.  Tried to find it, and without success, we decided to continue and hope we found the situation.  We trucked onto Nacgadoches, TX and stopped for gas.  The ticking noise was louder and only occurred under low rpm situations.  So, we looked and looked...checked piping, heat shields...everything looked bolted on securely still.  The next possibility was the transmission.  Out of curiosity, Axle pulled the inspection plate from under the transmission.  After some looking, we finally discovered that a flywheel bolt had come out completely and was being thrown around.  He pushed it out of the way, and we fired it up.  Still the ticking, but it wasn't as loud.  Thinking it might be that one still hitting, we had 5 more left to go and kept trucking.  5 miles later...rev.  Gas and rev.  I've completely lost my torque converter.  Axle pulled the inspection plate off again, and we found the same bolt still there and an additional bolt.  Without any other parts hanging out, we only assumed the remaining were sheared off.  However, with how the Allison transmissions are designed, there was no way of telling without pulling the transmission.

After some thought, we said why not.  We started to pull parts apart and researched what the bolt size was to turn the crank pulley.  With these Allison transmissions, you pull the starter, and that leaves a hole for the flywheel bolts.  You then turn the crank and pull/install the bolts one at a time through the starter.  Our plan was to make sure every hole had one.

Problem 1: We didn't have the correct socket to turn the crank.
Problem 2: Even if we found a solution for the crank, we didn't have flywheel bolts.

It was now 9:30pm, and we were hot...  Pulled along the side of the road between Nacgadoches and Lufkin, we located an O'Reilly's that closed at 10:00pm.  We pulled out the drift car, and Axle and Lindsey drove to the O'Reilly's to be greeted with a few guys that were of no help.  They appeared ready to go home, didn't have the parts, didn't offer any help, and referred them to the Advanced Auto down the street.  Unfortunately, they had closed at 9pm.  So at this moment...we were stuck.

Scrambling to find out how we would make it to Houston, I was able to get of the shop guys to bring a truck down.  The truck had a water pump leak and bad U-joints, so I was scared if we would make it there and back.  However...we've made it this far, let's go.  He arrived around 8am.  We unhooked the trailer, pulled my truck forward with a tow strap, and hooked the "backup" tow pig onto the trailer.  Called the wrecker and they brought out a flat bed.  I have to admit.  Watching my truck with a 7"ish lift on a flatbed was interesting.  We went on to the nearest GMC dealership and dropped off the truck.

Then on to Houston.  I leave out some of the other details...but in a nutshell, I couldn't find a rental to get my guy back home.  He couldn't stay the entire time, so as a last resort and only option....we rented the smallest Uhaul I could find.  It was quite entertaining to rent a Uhaul just as transportation.  But that's what needed to be done.  We finally arrived to MSR Houston approximately 3-4pm and tried to finish out the rest of the day.  By that time, several of the driver's were done and out with car issues.  It was a bummer, but we made it safe.  Next >>>> The drifting.

Bryan Lin
CEO, The Motorsports Authority, Inc. | MSAStore.com | BCRacingDirect.com

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T-Minus 4 Days - Mexican Standoff Preparation

I believe it's important to at least attempt to keep a balance of normal life to drift life. Drift life, as some of you may know, is staying up all night working on your car. It's dumping every last dollar into making it happen. It's missing out on friend and family time, or time with your spouse. I've found my way to to keep things in check is to set aside big blocks of time for both sides. When I get home from an event, normal life begins, yards are cut, date nights are had. Depending on the amount of work required for the next event, one to two weeks before the event weekend begins DRIFT LIFE. So lets begin, we head out Friday, and this is Monday nights catch.

 

The car took a pounding at the last event, literally. Drifting at Houston Motorsports Park (video here!) 

 

A new 3 inch turbo dump tube was installed right before the event, but poor studs and nuts backed off mid way through the day, so I started there for Monday night. I ordered new studs, locking nuts, turbo to manifold, dump tube, and exhaust gaskets. I don't think I've ever been so excited to install new fasteners.

  

 

One of the worst feelings as a driver is lack of confidence in your car. These simple maintenance items and a few proven practices leave me completely free to focus on my driving instead of what might break next. Upgrades to power or suspension are always nice, but a reliable car is more important! Lots of SR20 owners have issues with turbo to manifold nuts loosening via all the weight, vibration, and heat created by the turbo. I have only encountered this issue once, and upon checking the car none had loosened. I thought for some extra confidence I'd tack them down.

Love the looks of these copper nuts!

Here you can insert lots of tight wrenching, the kind that leaves your hands cramping in places you were unaware could cramp. Turbo setup is reinstalled onto the motor without a thorough exterior cleaning, as previously stated time is an endangered species around here. Stainless steel turbo coolant and oil lines make installing a breeze. Most other items are left OEM, as they are proven to work and there's no sense in making a cheap upgrade that's going to break and cost us a great finish at this event (fingers crossed!).

There's plenty left for the rest of the week. I'll be building the car some new knuckles, adding a flex pipe section to the exhaust setup, and a few other maintenance items. Somewhere in there I have to sneak in some body work!

Alexander "Axle" Riser

Driver / Competitor/ Builder, Team MSA | MSAStore.com | BCRacingDirect.com

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