Here is my October/November update for the Fiero SS IMSA Racecar I have built. Enjoy! I think it will be the last one. Please forgive the spelling. Thank you for your comments and wonderful feedback over the past year! Paul
Fiero SS Project
October / November 2003 Report
Another two months gone. Wow how time flies! October and November proved to be exciting. Now that the car is drivable and track worthy, the fine-tuning can begin. Part of the fine-tuning to be done is in the suspension and fabrication; the other is in the driver. Getting acquainted with the car was half the battle. The end of September was the first time I had raced (autocrossed) the car. In fact it was the first time that I had done any serious turns at all in this vehicle. As you may recall, I did well, but needed to do some fine-tuning. The gear shifter needed to be adjusted and the sway bar size dramatically increased. Also, my speed shifting was poor due to my familiarity with the Porsche 930 tranny. My goal was to set the car up for the October 26th (and last of the year) autocross. As I placed orders for equipment went out my wife and I began the final stages of an event that we had waited nearly 9 months for, our first baby! On October 7th at 9:39 am, my wife and I had a beautiful little girl weighing 6lb 14 oz (my wife was happy J) and very healthy! Both mom and baby are doing just great. Dad (me) is still trying to get his bearings. The fact that all went well and with no complications what so ever makes us truly thankful. I have never felt so lucky. As part of the plan, one week after our baby girl was born (Calista Evelyn) my in-laws would visit and stay for a week (to help support while I was at work) and then my parents would come for a week as support. Total support time: 3 weeks. Fortunately during this time, I was able to prep the car. I ordered a Speedway Engineering front and rear sway bar with arms. The front and rear bars are both 1” in diameter, but the wall thickness on the front bar is slightly less. They are 0.095 and 0.120 wall thickness respectively. This will help compensate for the 10% weight difference from front to rear. There was a lot more fabrication to this than I expected. First I had to turn new bushings (out of Delrin) on my lathe. Next I had to bend the 1” thick aluminum arms and cut them to the proper length. Last, I had to drill multiple holes to allow for adjustment of the rod ends. Sound easy, but with the time constraint of work, it took a week. I also shortened the shifter and angled it forward. I decided that in the process, I would use a shift lever and knob from a junkyard Fiero. Once it was complete, the car definitely started to feel more like a real live (on steroids) Fiero. The last St. Louis Autocross this year was held on October 26th. I was fortunate enough that my entire family was able to attend. My wife, Calista, Mom and Dad were all able to attend. While getting the beast into it’s starting grid position, I found that I was placed between two awesome cars; a 2003 Viper and a yellow Z06. I had to back the car into place, so I was nervous to say the least with the limited visibility out the back. Once in my spot I let the engine idle until it reached 180F. I looked over at the guy in the Viper and said (joking with him) “That thing got a Hemi!?” He and I laughed. J. The results of the autocross were not that spectacular, but I did win my class (one car entered, me) and finished higher overall than the last event. Through the help of a friend, I met a gentleman by the name of Bud Scott. He told me about an event on November 15th at Gateway International Raceway that would give me an opportunity to run my car on the 1.6-mile road circuit, AT SPEED! I was excited. A few days later, I signed up for the event. I also told a friend of mine about it and he signed up too. Jim has a Superformance Cobra with a 460ci motor. NICE. Needless to say, neither one of us wanted to tear up our cars, so we were happy that this even incorporated “gentlemen’s rules”. No passing except in certain areas and drivers were encouraged NOT to take lap times as this promotes racing. The big day arrived and my best friend and I set out for GIR. The weather was questionable, but promising; 20% chance of light rain, and 46 degrees. After a tech inspection and a drivers meeting, we were allowed out onto the track for a follow-the-leader style introduction. There were a total of 7 sessions for 20 minutes each. The first session was simply to get drivers familiar with the track and to allow more time for some damp spots to dry out. During this session, I noticed that the car was darting from side to side with no steering input. Figuring that it was alignment related, I decided to toe the front inward ¼ turn on the tie rod. Also noticed that the idle was WAY too high (3000 rpm) I spent the entire time at idle speed going around the track and still had to use the brake to keep from getting too close to people. I adjusted this too for the next session. During the second session, I still had the darting problem and a witness to prove it. One of the instructors was riding with me. He could barely fit in the car. I suggested talking with Steve, one of the road race guys. By this time I had a good guess as to what the issue was. I had set the caster too close to zero. I needed much more. Steve agreed. I sat out the 3rd session to make an emergency alignment change. Boy it was ugly! I hadn’t brought my alignment tools, so I was doing it by eyeball. I moved the upper “A” arm back and the lower one forward to induce some camber. At lunch they allowed drivers to take “non participant” riders around at a slow follow-the-leader rate. This would be the chance to test the alignment. I took my friend Rich along and we decided that it was much better, but still needed adjustment. So at the break, I made another adjustment in the same direction. The 4th session proved drivable! I decided to turn on the in-car cam. Although still misaligned, the car performed well and felt very solid. Feeling some of the old joy of kart racing coming back, I pushed a little. Not too much. The track is still 46 degrees and with loose asphalt (recent patching) in the bank, and damp places, it is still a very dangerous place. I estimated my speed on the straight to be about 125mph. After the session, I decided to that I would push harder for the next 20 minutes. In the mean time, Jim was also getting good track experience and getting faster by the minute. We had planned to ride with each other later in the day. The bad part is that we would each have to give up a session of driving to do so because we were in the same class. During session 5 I was pushing just a little too hard. Although my driving was better, I got going too fast down the main straight to make the first turn and had to bail onto the oval. I think I got up to about 140, but let off too late. No problems, but the track officials didn’t like it. (I was doing what I was told! If we went into 1 too hot, we were suppose to bail onto the oval.) The next problem I had was just after passing Jim. (Sorry, Jim L) I passed Jim on the main straight after he waved me by and I proceeded into 1 with caution because I had over run that turn just 2 laps before. Still I was too hot into 2 and as I let out on the clutch (down shifting) I lost the back end. A few swerves later I found myself in the grass. Oops. Instead of trying to drive back on, I waited for the safety truck. I felt that there was no point in causing an accident. Once they arrived, they asked me if I could drive out. I said I would give it a shot. Believe it or not, my car drove out of the wet grass on slicks like it had 4 wheel drive! No problem! I proceeded to the pits to check on the mechanical of the car fearing that I had broken something. It was a good thing I had removed the lower front air dam just after the 4th session. If I hadn’t it would have been killed for sure. During my inspection I found that the DS axle was loose. 6 of the 8 bolts had backed out about ¼” and several on the other side were also loose. Not good. I tightened them down and made a note to safety wire them this winter. The 6th session was fantastic. I got the opportunity to ride with Jim in his Superformance Cobra. This car has the side exhaust, spinners, wood steering wheel, and everything else you could want to make the perfect cruising machine. We ran the full 20 minutes and were consistently hitting 110mph on the main straight. It really felt narrow inside. With the top down, it was better than any convertible I had ever ridden in. I never was a Cobra fan until I rode in this car. Now I understand. Session 7. The last one. Jim managed to squeeze into the passenger seat. I drove conservatively, but pushed were I felt confident. After the session, I noticed that the front tires were worn (too much camber) on the inside 60%. Wow, what would it have handled like if the alignment were even close to correct. The plan is to fix the alignment, and a page of other issues I have made. Then I plan to disassemble the car so I can paint the chassis. After the car has been re-assembled with the changes, I will consider paint. I plan on some track days in the spring. By next year’s annual show in Topeka (Wheatstock), I will be ready to Autocross, Drag race, participate at the Track Day, and show the car too.
I intend for this to be my last monthly (bi-monthly) update. I have really enjoyed sharing this experience with you and hope that you have enjoyed it too. Feel free to e-mail me with questions, comments, or (if you dare) advice. My door is always open.
Paul 11/22/03
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10:49 AM
PFF
System Bot
R Runner Member
Posts: 3691 From: Scottsville, KY Registered: Feb 2003
well, let me be the first to say congratulations on not only building the car, but having a good first season. I wish you the best of luck next season also.
that is an awesome car by the way, i can't even imagine what it would be like to ride in.
-Fish
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12:51 PM
malacite Member
Posts: 2213 From: Casselberry Fl 32707 Registered: Oct 2001
Looks REAL nice!!! Sorry If I've missed this question being asked, but is that an IRM closed mouth front nose spoiler with something attached? Or what kind of spoiler is it???
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www.freewebs.com/fierogti
<>{RazorWing}<>
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03:58 PM
fieromadman Member
Posts: 2217 From: Oconomowoc WI, USA Registered: Jan 2003
Just a minor suggestion. In my past racing experience I found that it was much easier to know what was going on with the car if all the guages were clocked in a fashion that all needles pointed at 12 o'clock when in the normal operating range. This makes it easier to get vital info in a quick glance. I hope this helps. BTW awsome job on the Fiero. I had looked at the ebay auction and wondered what would happen to it. Here is a cyber pat on the back for a job well done.
Steven
[This message has been edited by BV MotorSports (edited 11-24-2003).]
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10:54 AM
R Runner Member
Posts: 3691 From: Scottsville, KY Registered: Feb 2003
Fieromadman, video is on the way. I need to talk to Boom. BV Motorsports, I was going to do that, but I wanted to make sure I knew where "normal" really was. Fuel Pressure would be the first though. All of my other gauges move through a pretty hefty sweep. Razor_Wing, nice catch The spoiler below the "IRM" (actually this one is an original DGP) closed mouth spoiler I made one weekend. There is a 1/2" square tube frame to support it behind the 1/4"-20 bolts. The airdam itself is just plastic from the local dirt car shop. I was looking for maximum air efficiency, but as you may notice, I took it off later due to ground clearance. I'll shorten it and try again. Jncomutt, Dude.... you have my sister car! I like the way you have yours setup. Clean!
Fierox... I've been checking out your writeups for some time and I really must say I am impressed. I still need to find time to check out the video!
Paul
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09:02 PM
Nov 25th, 2003
Gordo Member
Posts: 2981 From: East Guilford, NY, USA Registered: Mar 2002
who was the cobra driver? I know this might be a childish question but was he or wasn't he happy about the fact he had a Fiero hanging with him? Cuzz in that one picture he does not look too happy.
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08:34 AM
R Runner Member
Posts: 3691 From: Scottsville, KY Registered: Feb 2003
That's my friend Jim. Actually his car is intended to be a street car not a racer. The car is perfect in every sense. He took me for a ride on course. 110 mph in an open vehicle on the track is a real rush! Just a bad picture. He was in good spirits. I took him for a ride in the IMSA and he had a blast. However, I will say that I thought it would be more difficult to pass him (500 hp) in the straight than it was.
No, actually the car has the stock (well, 94") wheelbase. That's one of the reasons that it is unique. It was tough to get a race motor with front pullys in there. The pullys are between the seats. The rear 1/4s are drag race sails. Someday I want to get the wide body tube chassis shell for the rear. Then I can go to 14"s
I think it will be the last one. Please forgive the spelling. Thank you for your comments and wonderful feedback over the past year! Paul
