STANG KILLA SS Goes Racin

[4wd4ws]

Sexay!!!

We're rooting for ya!

[STANG KILLA SS]

Made the 8.5 hour drive to Hallet in Oklahoma last weekend.
All new track id never been too. A small short narrow track. Not exactly a corvette track. Luckily they split the classes into 3 groups, instead of two, so it wouldnt be so crowded/dangerous. Was supposed to rain but we got lucky and it stayed away during races. PLENTY of it towing though.






Saturday:
Practice, Qualifying and two races. 20 and 25 minutes long. The average finish from those two races determained your starting position for the Sunday 50 minute Championship race. I picked up a vibtration early. the new wheel weights didnt stick and also warped the new rotors. i didnt bed them at all ahead of time. I just beat out my ST1 competition in both races, winning my class and 6th overall.






Oil Cooler:
this had me worried Saturday. Temps rose REALLY fast. but the more testing we did it seemed to do ok. Outside temps were only 82ish and its a short slow track so not really a big test. But the oil definitely heats up really fast. But once it reaches about 265 it really starts to slow down. In the 20-25 minute races it peaked at 275. in the Sunday race it peaked at 277. COTA in July will be the true test. LONG straights and 100* air temps.





Hoosiers:
So glad i had them. there was no way i could have brought the fight on this track on street tires. They werent the "holy shit" everyone discribed. but on the other side of the coin i never once had to worry about grip. i could do whatever i wanted and they just stuck. A track with more fast sweepers would have probly shined more. I also didnt find the first two laps when cold to be sketchy.


Brake Temps:
First time checking them. Ive always wondered if i was over-cooling them. cause i seem to go threw rotors every 2 weekends.







This pic describes the entire weekend



David Vs Goliath:
$75,000 Vs $750,000
Jeep Vs Semi Truck Toter
20' flat bed Vs Double stacker elevator race trailer
GM C6 Vs Maserati GT3
Harbor Freight Jack Vs Air Jacks
Sketchers Vs Gator UTV
Craftsman Hand box Vs Tool Cart
Hoosier DOTs Vs Pirelli Slicks





Sunday:
I put new pads on Sunday morning before the 50 minute race. No way to bed them. I tried to do a bit on the formation lap. i do remember seeing smoke pouring from them on the first couple laps. I was REALLY worried if the stock 18 gallons was going to be enough to feed the 7 liter for 50 minutes. i put every last drop of fuel in i could. Then spent about 10 minutes putting in a shot glass at a time after the filler clicked. Car weighed 3195 lbs Post race with me in it. Car was a serious oven, gonna need to address that some more. Had a GREAT battle with the Maserati GT3 in my ST1 class. See Video.





What a weekend!, had an absolute blast despite the long drives towing threw all the rain.

[meatmonkey]

Goes to show that preparation and skill will ussually outrun money.

What are the plans to keep yourself cool on 100* track days?

Did your super fancy custom wheels shed any weight? Or just add the dimensions and I assume strength you were looking for?

Any concerns over the long haul regarding the shock mounts being used to support weight with the coil overs as opposed to just dampening the movement as it was with the stock setup?

[Zukiiholic]

Congratulations.
Great race and glad ya kept that Maserati in his place.
behind ya.
Like the commentary during the race.

[Mopar man]

Congratulations!! What a great video thanks for sharing. Great job of putting that American muscle on top.

[4wd4ws]

Congrats! Great pics!

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by meatmonkey

Goes to show that preparation and skill will ussually outrun money.

What are the plans to keep yourself cool on 100* track days?

Did your super fancy custom wheels shed any weight? Or just add the dimensions and I assume strength you were looking for?

Any concerns over the long haul regarding the shock mounts being used to support weight with the coil overs as opposed to just dampening the movement as it was with the stock setup?

haha thanks. I think all my Sim racing plays a big factor too.

we tested two bottles of cold water straped to my chest inside my suit during this race. it did seem to help, at least for the first 10 minutes or so. going to try a thinner bag, and not sure how but need to find someway to get frozen bottles, but all we have is an ice chest. there all melted by final day. also planing to get a nicer suit. i bough the cheapest one on the market it was like $250. well to make it cheap AND meet SFI fire ratings, they just make them super thick with a bunch of layers. so there hot as ****. It like wearing a furniture/moving blanket. gonna drop the coin on a sparco suit. sadly there like $900. but they are single layer and meet SFI fire codes, and breathable. luckily they do not expire like all the safety equipment in the car thats only good for 2 years. oddly wearable fire protection never expire.



good question. while the mounts were not designed for it, they have been proven over 20 years by thousands of cars to work and hold up. there is even a video of a race car on coilovers running over a 4x4 peice of wood at speed repeatably to test the mounts.

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by Zukiiholic

Congratulations.
Great race and glad ya kept that Maserati in his place.
behind ya.
Like the commentary during the race.

thanks it was a ton of extra work. took two evenings to make. but it helps keep the boredom down. i tried to cut out as much as i could when there was nothing happening, there was probly another 2 laps i could have cut looking back.

[STANG KILLA SS]

Originally Posted by Mopar man

Congratulations!! What a great video thanks for sharing. Great job of putting that American muscle on top.

Originally Posted by 4wd4ws

Congrats! Great pics!

thanks guys!

[meatmonkey]

I would so like to see a video of a coilover Corvette smoking a 4x4". Thats real world testing right there. Way better than when the engineer says "it was thoroughly tested in simulated models".

That's borderline insane money for a fire suit, but I guess it beats burning to death, and if it keeps you more comfortable the rest of the time its probably worth it. These are perfect examples of operational costs of a racecar that many people overlook when they get started. I asssume you gotta have fancy shoes and gloves as well?

[hpiguy]

Hell yes, congratulations Cory! And my freaking PROOF that flappy paddles aren't as good as a gearbox. (JK, I know they're faster).

[STANG KILLA SS]

NASA @ COTA
Whew what a weekend!

Clutch & Torque Tube:
3 days before race day, we replaced the clutch and rebuilt the torque tube. First time going threw this ordeal.



replaced the bearings and rubber couplers on the torque tube itself

Installed Fidanza flywheel. 13.3lbs vs 26lbs stock

I had ordered a RAM Powergrip HD clutch which i had used and liked on the SS, but when it was time to install it didnt have the dowel holes, and was 1/2" too tall in height. apparently i had ordered a LS1 version, not an LS7 version. Luckily we had also ordered another stock LS7 clutch just in case. Had to install that due to time, its what was in the car before and worked fine.



Heat Sheild:
In my 3 year quest to minimize tunnel heat this was my last phase. had to wait for torque tube to come out. Used some Heat Shield Products self adhesive shield on the front half of tunnel, 2 layers. on the back i used some non sticky DEI shield that was twice as thick.


I wrapped it up the firewall behind the motor, and in front of both foot wells.



For the first time, this actually worked. it made a noticeable difference in cabin temps.

Race Day:



Vibes:
From the very first lap of racers warm-up Saturday morning, it was obvious something was seriously wrong. i had MAJOR vibrations when i would hit 75mph and above. They were massive. I could see the roof moving 1/4" away from the cage. the doors, steering, mirror, hood, the entire car was trying to destroy itself. All speed based, not RPM. It was obvious we had put something back together wrong in the driveline. Im really suprised the windshield survived. i had to double zip tie the mirror to the cage to keep it from vibrating off.




Oil Temps:
The rest of the weekend i was also fighting oil temps. they would pass 300 degrees in just a few laps. and i would have to back off, and just limp around trying to keep them hovering around 300.
My dual coolers in the fenders simply didnt work.
Tried blocking the opening between the engine bay, and the fender cavity, to keep the hot header air out. Made a little block off panel in the hotel the previous night.

That didnt help so eventually removed the entire rear/lower fender liner.

also added a little ghetto gurney flat to encourage the exit

sadly none of this helped. either there simply wasnt enough air passing threw, or it wasnt cool enough air, or the ebay coolers were simply junk.



FIRE!
Race #4 was the final race on sunday and was 40 minutes. It was 95 degrees out. For the last 20 minutes i had already been at half throttle, and shifting at 4-5k trying to get the 300 oil back down to 270 ish. On the last lap coming into T12 i started smelling something toxic smelling. Like chemically. Ie not clutch/brakes and not a burning smell like wood or paper. Made my eyes burn to the point i couldnt keep them open. Not smoke like, just more chemically/stinging feeling.
By T19 and 20 i had smoke in the car as i took the checkered. As I approached T1 it was getting worse. I knew i had to stop. Luckily been to all the GT pro races and know theres always a truck parked inside fence of T1, and the run off and stand in T2 would be the best spot for fast help.
I pull over and get out. Still just smoke, no fire. Good news, as i get to marshalls stand for a few coughs and for some reason shaking my head trying to get rid of the eye stinging so i can keep them open, I turn back to the car to see about 8" ball of fire in the drivers collector/oil filter area. ie the bottom of the drivers firewall area. i run back to the car to grab my hand held extinguisher. Things arent out of hand yet. All that was needed. Well it takes me awhile to remove it. by the time i get it free, things had escalated and flames were coming out of the hood i had luckily poped on exit. I go to spray the flames but the extinguisher runs out really quickily. Rescue gets there and pulls me away from the car.
Seconds seemed like minutes as they fiddled with the hose as the flames continued. They get to dousing it finally but it keeps wanting to come back, but finally its out.


From up top no noticeable hot spot as deep as you can see. Random melted bits, wires, coil pack, plug wire, injector harness, and hoses, brake reservoir etc. Surprisingly not alot of damage.

I knew nothing about the fire on the pedals until i watched the gopro that night. but this is where most of the damage occured, the firewall gromet, column and pedal harnesses all got burned up. Even the steering column bushings melted.

Also during the fire i lost the clutch. its just a free swinging pedal now. Inside theres a melted hose hanging that matches the brake booster hose and white fitting under the hood, and my wife also found a 2x3" melted circuit board just laying in the floor board that night. So i have a hunch behind the gauges is a melted mess. Water hose probly didnt help as power was till on. I noticed The auto blip had constant power so i assume it melted to a live positive above the pedals.

But the car survived and will be back. Bummer for how the weekend went as i had family and freinds come to watch and support at this one race since so close to home.

Once back home and on lift we go underneath to our surprise there is no damage, it looked exactly as it had when we did the clutch and torque tube.
we did find a Fuel leak. where the 12" rail braided line, meets the main hardline at the firewall. Later at Gspeed this end was found to be damaged beyond use. My guess the vibrations were rubbing metal on metal (thin) and the joint finally gave out. its also visably heated/burned the braided stainless fuel line.


The Good news is the car is already at GSPEED and repairs are already underway. and if the current pace continues it looks like there may be a shot at saving Nationals in just a few weeks at Daytona! #bucketlist

Notes:
-3 Rear Comp
+1 Rear Rebound
-3 Front Comp

Cold pressures for 34F/32R hot
LF 25
RF 24.5
LR 23
RR 23

[STANG KILLA SS]

Update time!
Car is repaired and back up and running.
I Let GSPEED handle all the fire repair and driveline issues. not many pics as i wasnt there. but was a TON of work involved they got knocked out quick so i can still make Nationals.











The Replaced list:
Brake master cylinder
Brake reservoir
#4 coil
#4 plug wire
#4 injector harness
brake booster vacuum hose
Main fuel hard lines to tanks
Short Fuel line to rail
column harness
pedal harness
misc dash harness pigtails
TPS
clutch position sensor
Brake pedal sensor
throttle pedal assembly
Clutch master cylinder
Clutch reservoir
PCV crossover tube
brake booster check valve
firewall fiberglass repair
brake pedal sensor bracket
entire steering column
firewall/column seal
clutch return spring
hood release cables
solid torque tube couplers
clutch slave cylinder
SKF front race hubs
new plugs
IPC ground
AutoBlip


drivetrain vibes was a bent input shaft on Torque tube. didnt need a micrometer for this one....



got the car home late on a Saturday night, and first thing sunday morning at a buddies shop me and my old man tore it apart again to remove the old oil coolers and install Gspeeds dual coolers setup.
coolers and shrouds installed and plumbed.







fans installed



in an effort to prevent the airflow problems my in fender coolers had, i drilled two 3.25" holes in the front fender liners and added mesh to add additional exits for the out flow of air.



Since the new oil coolers took the spot of my old brake ducts (fog light holes) i had to relocate the brake ducts to the grill.
drilled holes



added 3" subwoofer ports



removed horns and rerouted new brake duct hoses






connect ducts to grill ports


while in there i also sealed up all the radiator duct holes, any spot air could get out and not be forced threw the radiator.




with the car back together i had alot of new parts, and alot of the car torn apart. i needed some testing. Buddy Kent got me on track at ECR for some testing. only got two sessions in but the car performed great, no vibes, no fires, temps in check. i wasnt out there after lap times or apexes, just to drive the car hard to see if anything didnt hold up. threw on some blued street tires and just made laps. other than an O2 sensor fuse the car was perfect. such good news. really anxious to retry new oil coolers at COTA.





up next: Nationals!!!

[4wd4ws]

Originally Posted by STANG KILLA SS

...on track at ECR for some testing.

Wow, that's a sweet track, man!

[hpiguy]

Glad you got it all sorted out Cory. That's quite a parts list.

[STANG KILLA SS]

DAYTONA NATIONALS!

what an experience! more on that.....

First was the trip, we were leaving during, and following the exact path of Tropical storm Nichols that later turned into a Hurricane. To help with this we decided to drive 3 hours straight north first to get on the northern edge to minimize the monsoons, many of the places on the southern direct root were already flooded, no hotels, no gas etc. But still we drove in more than our fair share of monsoons over the 3 day tow.

But we finally arrived, what a place!


Unloading and first Test session Friday, we had an issue that would set the tone for the weekend. despite my test day at ECR that went perfect, and loading it on the trailer 100% ready to go and healthy, when we unloaded and first test session, I had a flashing engine light, and was a down cylinder.


Ill never forget my first time on the banking. i said "holy shit" out loud in a car all to myself. the feeling of your right side tires being higher than my head was unreal. words just cant describe the steepness. at pace speeds i was seriously worried about oil pick up. pics from outside the car confirm the steepness cause your looking at the roof!

one of the craziest experiences was being passed by Daytona Prototypes...at Daytona. there speed was just unbelievable. id be doing 150 and they would thunder by like i was sitting still!




We first thought bad gas, as the station we used was tiny and pumping slow, suggesting it was the bottom of the tank. bought two bottles of VP octane boost. this turned out to be a blessing. another session lost, while it didnt fix the problem, the octane stain on the plugs let us know quickly exactly what cylinder it was. cylinder #4 passenger side.





Another lost session, and another trip to Oriellys, we decided to replace everything on cylinder #4, injector, coil, and plug wire. plugs were already new. sadly no luck. same flashing engine light. same jack hammer exhaust note. same 7 cylinders.





This time we had Lee from Gspeed hook up HP Tuners to see if any red flags. we did some logging driving around pits, and did have some knock. pulled some timing and a few other bits to try to help. Sadly when done we left the accessory mode on, draining the tiny 3lb race battery. unknowingly went out on next session and on the first lap in the bus stop the car lost all power and shut off motor. was showing 8 volts. battery was shot, and the alternator trying to keep up also dook a dump. another trip to Orieillys for a battery and alternator. we also bypassed the kill switch, as it was acting weird.



Gspeed Garages


by this time it was sunday and the Final championship race. we had done all we could do, the car was running but still on 7 Cylinders. we hadnt hardly turned any laps all weekend, just wrenching, and at this point, we just wanted to finish the race. make some laps. take in the awe of Daytona. and after the weekend we had it felt like a win. we took the checkered! and even on 7 cylinders didnt finish last!



Despite the terrible weekend, my family and Gspeed freinds where there helping and supporting me the whole way. without that i probly would have thrown in the towel.





seemed like it all went by so fast. time to head home. 2500 miles round trip it was all over.




spent alot of money and time to make this event, and either way it was a hell of an experience, but sadly didnt go our way. not sure if life will ever take me back to Daytona, but if it does, id like the chance to show it what ive got.

[hpiguy]

Damn, that's bittersweet Cory, but at least you got to go and have the experience.

[4wd4ws]

Fawking awesome, man! Great pics!

[STANG KILLA SS]

New car!



well sort of... bought this 1995 M3 nearly a year ago. The vette is my NASA sprint car, and this will be my WRL Endurance racer. With the goal of lots of seat time, and renting to drivers to help pay for racing.



Its been sitting under a cover since, with the goal of the WRL final race at COTA this december. sadly registration opened while we were on the road back from Daytona. and it sold out in 18 minutes.



So ive decided to go ahead and get the car out and start learning and testing it. and getting it some track time so its proven once the enduros start.



Main Mod List:
S54 motor swap (from E46 M3, OBD2)
Moton Clubsport remote coilovers
Stoptech brakes front and rear w/ ducts
BimmerWorld Race shifter
AIM MXG Dash logger
Composite doors, hood, trunk, mirrors, wing, and canards
Full Cage and fire suppression
CSF Radiator and Setrab Oil cooler
OSgiken LSD diff with 3.91s
Alumilite splitter
Coolsuit setup
Adjustable suspension arms
two sets of APEX 18" wheels
Motorola Race radios



Took it out for its first shake down at MSR Cresson on the 3.1. havent run here it close to a year.



It was a bit unnerving taking out a car i knew nothing about, nor the build quality or maintenance. just went out blind. Hell the first session i didnt even know where redline was, and was shifting at 6500. 2nd session learned it was at 8400.



in the 2nd session i finally got to start pushing and testing the car. and WOW. the car was so good. so balanced, and the lightweight and only 320 hp made the entry speeds much safer so i could really push the car. i really enjoyed that. in the vette im always just trying not to be murdered.



its gonna take some time getting used to not having gobbs of instant torque on tap, but it will teach me a new driving style. i REALLY enjoyed the short time in the car.



Sadly in session 3 after lunch, the extra heat caused the car to drop a cylinder and the day was done. was told coils/plugs are common causes in these cars.



A few notes i jotted down after the first day:
-VERY stiffly sprung, more than the vette even. bouncing was costing me time and confidence. including inducing a spin coming of a curb ive hopped a thousand times.
-odd clutch leg fatigue from steep angle
-long soft brake pedal, yet never showed a single sign of fade
-pedal spacing, gas/brake too close
-no torque
-gearing seemed both too long and too short at same time
-gotta get used to checking mirrors more with the lower power.

vettes best street car(full interior) time on 200tw tires 2:23
M3 best lap after only 3 hot laps 2:26. i feel like a 2:25 would have been easy even on first day.

[STANG KILLA SS]

Well the whole point of buying the M3 endurance car was for the WRL 8 hour races at COTA.
Sadly registration for the WRL COTA race opened while we were driving home from Daytona...and sold out in 18 minutes :(

Two weeks out from the race i messaged my buddy Matt Peterson to see if he was gonna be racing there, to come out and help and hang out. He wasnt racing that event but had a freind with a similiar C5 that possibly had an open seat. Some emailing and zoom interview later, i was on the team! couldnt believe it. such last minute as the cota race is the biggest of the year, seats are rarely available.

Day 1.
With the Manual Brakes and loose rear i never could get comfortable. hell i looped it 3 times on my first lap. Decided right then and there i would back down and just do slow safe laps all weekend, returning a perfect car for my teammates to get into. and thats exactly what i did. didnt even use 2nd gear and tip toed into braking zones and threw corners. just make clean laps, stay out of wrecks. ended up going 4 wide on the back stretch on the first lap of my first stint.



after lunch the car broke the pulley off the water pump, put us in the garage for a couple hours.



during my stint we started loosing the throttlebody and the car would go into reduced power mode. 1500 rpm only. a power cycle at first would bring it back to life. oddly it always happened in T11, the lowest rpm turn on the circuit. during the end of day 1 we started having fuel issues. overheating the system.



never comfortable with the manual brakes and loose rear i putted around just keeping the car safe for my teammates.



Day 2
we repaired the throttle body, and added some ice bags over the fuel lift pumps to help keep them cool, as well as adding some fresh air vents. this seemed to have the car back working. however we had lost the tach. no longer working.




we had some troubles at the end of sunday again. i cant remember what. maybe fuel again. we got it patched back together with just 20 minutes left to go in the race. after the weekend wed had we just wanted to finish. taking the checkered actually felt like quiet an accomplishment. all of us were cheering and stoked.



The Team!




Huge thanks to Kaz and KBT Racing for the opportunity!