We're Running An Ex-Unitech 350z In Koni!
05-23-2008, 08:12 PM
#82
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Posts: 40
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
will you guys be at mosport? i'll be up there coaching a driver, ill stop by and say hi...
rich - we'll have to find some drivers to co-drive w/ me
robbie montinola
www.montinola.com
rich - we'll have to find some drivers to co-drive w/ me
robbie montinola
www.montinola.com
07-13-2008, 09:33 AM
#84
Sorry to leave you guys hanging on this thread, it's time to bring it back from the dead!
The new bodywork was approved thanks to Rich's really hard work, we're currently still using the older bodywork and will use the older stuff at three rivers, but will have the new stuff on for VIR at the latest.
We had a race at mosport and for our first time in professional racing, I like to think we did pretty well.
So here's the story in short, starting with the lead up to the weekend.
Organizing everything for a professional race is much different than a regional race. Everything must be perfect, spot on. 100%. Because you know everyone else out there has brought their A-game and you know they are mostly all better drivers than you. Add to that the fact that its your first time ever going to a pro race, and you have a problem. Being 100% prepared for something you've never done isn't exactly easy.
But boy was it fun (and hilarious!). Leading up to the event there were a number of things that were not yet finished and were completed a little last minute. It was exciting to say the least. Here's a few of the many things that still had to be recieved/installed/purchased the day before we left:
-Decals on the car
-Crew shirts
-Crew fire suits
-Transponder + driver ID system
-Delphi Light system
-Koni Decals
-Tire purchasing
-Shock replacement and setup (new, unknown valving)
-Fender swapping
-Front and rear bumper swapping
-Fuel rig vent tube
The day before we left:
That's not to mention all of the other prep work the car and crew and team had already gone through. Unfortunatly SRP was only able to get us the rear dampers back, so we were running on half blown half broken front shocks that were designed for 700lb springs and we are now using 1300lb springs. The rear springs got 2 steps extra rebound over valving that was designed for 480lb springs and we are now using 900lb springs. 2 steps only worked out to about a 60% increase, not quite the 200% we were aiming for but time was too tight to revalve again and get them back to us!
So we're out there and the car is bucking around and bouncing and doing the chicken but on the new hoosiers the car actually felt pretty amazing! It was really really hot and had just rained, the track was slow. Everyone was about 1 second off their pace, and we were doing mid-low 1.33's. 2 weeks prior at mosport we were in the low 1.32s, on old tires, so it just goes to show how slow the track was. Unfortunatly we were still about 2.5 seconds off the pace of the leaders, but it wasn't our goal to come out and win in our first event.
Qualifying went smoothly, we went out and did 1 warm up laps and 3 hot laps. All 3 laps were within 1 tenth and our best was a 1.33.679. We were using the same new set of tires we used all throughout thursday and friday practice, and these hoosieres really seem to go off. Excuses aside though, we were still pretty much the back of the pack, and normally it would be really depressing however for some reason I didn't feel too badly about it.
Now its race day. We were taking our time and relaxing, not big rush we had pretty much everything we needed organized and were just taking it easy and keeping the stress levels down. For one reason or another, we missed the race start. I'm not sure exactly what i was thinking, but stupid me decided i would go up for the start of the race right as the race was starting! oopsy, little late?
So we start the race from the pits, about a half lap back haha. Lucky me, I get to start the race with all the ST cars. So i'm trying to carefully navigate my way through the ST cars without taking out any of the front runners or getting in anyones way too seriously. Our car wasn't handling all that great, so we were actually holding them up in the really slow corners. I felt bad. Anyways, got past the front running ST cars and was on my own for a little trying to catch the GS pack. Oh wait. The radio is telling me I have to pit, Grand-Am wants to have a word with me.
So i come in, it looks like our overflow was chucking out a little bit of fuel around corners, the officials thought we had a serious fuel leak and wanted to inspect. Upon inspection they realize it is a harmless vent overflowing from an entirely full fuel cell, and they let us go back out. Back of the ST pack once again! Full lap down now boys!
So again I try to carefully navigate my way through the ST pack, again being really careful not to mess with anyones championship runnings etc in ST, knowing my place in this series I give lots of room to the front runners and dont make any stupid decisions
Then a yellow flag comes out due to one or two cars off the track. Well now my radio brings me good news! I get to get a lap back! Wooo!! So i'm driving around everyone, half the GS cars are trying to run me off the track as i'm passing them, I fly around the track to re-join the pack at the back happy as can be that i'm back on the lead lap. So we're not doing so bad after missing the start and having to pit, we're back on the lead lap again. There is about 20 minutes left in my stint until I hand the car over to Andrew. I get a few spots back and we are, funny enough, in 22nd position again (where we qualified) when another yellow comes out, close to the middle of the race. It's a tough call whether or not I think we can make it on fuel from here to the end of the race, but i figure there are going to be a few more yellows so we'll be ok.
Pause.
From this point on in the race, if things kept going at this pace, we would have finished in the 12th-17th range. Lots of cars crashed, a bunch got penalied for pitting at the wrong time due to a slight rule change that got a lot of the feild off guard and the fact that once we were full of fuel and everyones tires had started to go off, we we're that much slower than the rest of the pack, only about 1.5-2sec.
So we do a good driver change and the fueling went fantastic. We didn't do a tire change because we hadn't had enough practice at the shop doing the pit stops with tire changes so we opted to just run the full 2.5hr race on one set of tires. Andrew gets in the car and starts ripping and i'm giving high fives and hugs to the crew i'm so excited, we're back in this thing and picking them off one at a time.
5 laps late andrew comes on the radio and reports that his seat feels broken and he's moving around a ton. His dad looks at me with the most grim serious threatening face you've ever seen and says "if its not safe, I want you to bring him in." as if thats not bad enough his girlfriend looks at me like shes seen a ghost and is worried shes going to lose the love of her life. So I try to ask andrew whats going on and to bring it in if its not safe, not fully understanding the extent of the seat problem. Well it turns out one of the 4 bolts holding the seat in had vibrated loose.
It was heartbreaking. Andrew brought it in and drove it straight into the paddock. We meant to get him to stop in the pits but there was a communication problem. So after thinking our race was done and having being told that once you go to the paddock you cannot resume the race i was pretty bummed. But we got the seat fixed and decided to finish the rest of the race regardless, as I was quite sure that you could infact resume the race from your paddock. So having lost 15min in the pits, we were the last place car that was still running, but at least I was back out ripping. We finished the race and that brought back some sort of satisfaction out of the whole ordeal and although it was stupid that a bolt in the seat would come loose, I was happy that the rest of the car held together flawlessly.
After inspecting the car post race nothing looked like it was seriously in pain or about to fail, all the fluids looked clean and nothing was about to vibrate itself to bits, so that was good news as well. Mosport is a hard track on drivetrains just because you spend a ton of time at full throttle fighting drag and it was a hot shitty day, so for the car to stand up to that, well i'm confident we've got a decent endurance car underneath us!
So that's our Koni Challenge story for Mosport, only a month late. Our next race is in Three Rivers in August and we've already been out testing at a local track that resemebles Three Rivers and are currently waiting for shocks to come back that have been revalved once again, hopefully now with enough rebound. Shock pots are in and will be installed as well, allowing us to perfectly setup the dampers.
The new bodywork was approved thanks to Rich's really hard work, we're currently still using the older bodywork and will use the older stuff at three rivers, but will have the new stuff on for VIR at the latest.
We had a race at mosport and for our first time in professional racing, I like to think we did pretty well.
So here's the story in short, starting with the lead up to the weekend.
Organizing everything for a professional race is much different than a regional race. Everything must be perfect, spot on. 100%. Because you know everyone else out there has brought their A-game and you know they are mostly all better drivers than you. Add to that the fact that its your first time ever going to a pro race, and you have a problem. Being 100% prepared for something you've never done isn't exactly easy.
But boy was it fun (and hilarious!). Leading up to the event there were a number of things that were not yet finished and were completed a little last minute. It was exciting to say the least. Here's a few of the many things that still had to be recieved/installed/purchased the day before we left:
-Decals on the car
-Crew shirts
-Crew fire suits
-Transponder + driver ID system
-Delphi Light system
-Koni Decals
-Tire purchasing
-Shock replacement and setup (new, unknown valving)
-Fender swapping
-Front and rear bumper swapping
-Fuel rig vent tube
The day before we left:
That's not to mention all of the other prep work the car and crew and team had already gone through. Unfortunatly SRP was only able to get us the rear dampers back, so we were running on half blown half broken front shocks that were designed for 700lb springs and we are now using 1300lb springs. The rear springs got 2 steps extra rebound over valving that was designed for 480lb springs and we are now using 900lb springs. 2 steps only worked out to about a 60% increase, not quite the 200% we were aiming for but time was too tight to revalve again and get them back to us!
So we're out there and the car is bucking around and bouncing and doing the chicken but on the new hoosiers the car actually felt pretty amazing! It was really really hot and had just rained, the track was slow. Everyone was about 1 second off their pace, and we were doing mid-low 1.33's. 2 weeks prior at mosport we were in the low 1.32s, on old tires, so it just goes to show how slow the track was. Unfortunatly we were still about 2.5 seconds off the pace of the leaders, but it wasn't our goal to come out and win in our first event.
Qualifying went smoothly, we went out and did 1 warm up laps and 3 hot laps. All 3 laps were within 1 tenth and our best was a 1.33.679. We were using the same new set of tires we used all throughout thursday and friday practice, and these hoosieres really seem to go off. Excuses aside though, we were still pretty much the back of the pack, and normally it would be really depressing however for some reason I didn't feel too badly about it.
Now its race day. We were taking our time and relaxing, not big rush we had pretty much everything we needed organized and were just taking it easy and keeping the stress levels down. For one reason or another, we missed the race start. I'm not sure exactly what i was thinking, but stupid me decided i would go up for the start of the race right as the race was starting! oopsy, little late?
So we start the race from the pits, about a half lap back haha. Lucky me, I get to start the race with all the ST cars. So i'm trying to carefully navigate my way through the ST cars without taking out any of the front runners or getting in anyones way too seriously. Our car wasn't handling all that great, so we were actually holding them up in the really slow corners. I felt bad. Anyways, got past the front running ST cars and was on my own for a little trying to catch the GS pack. Oh wait. The radio is telling me I have to pit, Grand-Am wants to have a word with me.
So i come in, it looks like our overflow was chucking out a little bit of fuel around corners, the officials thought we had a serious fuel leak and wanted to inspect. Upon inspection they realize it is a harmless vent overflowing from an entirely full fuel cell, and they let us go back out. Back of the ST pack once again! Full lap down now boys!
So again I try to carefully navigate my way through the ST pack, again being really careful not to mess with anyones championship runnings etc in ST, knowing my place in this series I give lots of room to the front runners and dont make any stupid decisions
Then a yellow flag comes out due to one or two cars off the track. Well now my radio brings me good news! I get to get a lap back! Wooo!! So i'm driving around everyone, half the GS cars are trying to run me off the track as i'm passing them, I fly around the track to re-join the pack at the back happy as can be that i'm back on the lead lap. So we're not doing so bad after missing the start and having to pit, we're back on the lead lap again. There is about 20 minutes left in my stint until I hand the car over to Andrew. I get a few spots back and we are, funny enough, in 22nd position again (where we qualified) when another yellow comes out, close to the middle of the race. It's a tough call whether or not I think we can make it on fuel from here to the end of the race, but i figure there are going to be a few more yellows so we'll be ok.
Pause.
From this point on in the race, if things kept going at this pace, we would have finished in the 12th-17th range. Lots of cars crashed, a bunch got penalied for pitting at the wrong time due to a slight rule change that got a lot of the feild off guard and the fact that once we were full of fuel and everyones tires had started to go off, we we're that much slower than the rest of the pack, only about 1.5-2sec.
So we do a good driver change and the fueling went fantastic. We didn't do a tire change because we hadn't had enough practice at the shop doing the pit stops with tire changes so we opted to just run the full 2.5hr race on one set of tires. Andrew gets in the car and starts ripping and i'm giving high fives and hugs to the crew i'm so excited, we're back in this thing and picking them off one at a time.
5 laps late andrew comes on the radio and reports that his seat feels broken and he's moving around a ton. His dad looks at me with the most grim serious threatening face you've ever seen and says "if its not safe, I want you to bring him in." as if thats not bad enough his girlfriend looks at me like shes seen a ghost and is worried shes going to lose the love of her life. So I try to ask andrew whats going on and to bring it in if its not safe, not fully understanding the extent of the seat problem. Well it turns out one of the 4 bolts holding the seat in had vibrated loose.
It was heartbreaking. Andrew brought it in and drove it straight into the paddock. We meant to get him to stop in the pits but there was a communication problem. So after thinking our race was done and having being told that once you go to the paddock you cannot resume the race i was pretty bummed. But we got the seat fixed and decided to finish the rest of the race regardless, as I was quite sure that you could infact resume the race from your paddock. So having lost 15min in the pits, we were the last place car that was still running, but at least I was back out ripping. We finished the race and that brought back some sort of satisfaction out of the whole ordeal and although it was stupid that a bolt in the seat would come loose, I was happy that the rest of the car held together flawlessly.
After inspecting the car post race nothing looked like it was seriously in pain or about to fail, all the fluids looked clean and nothing was about to vibrate itself to bits, so that was good news as well. Mosport is a hard track on drivetrains just because you spend a ton of time at full throttle fighting drag and it was a hot shitty day, so for the car to stand up to that, well i'm confident we've got a decent endurance car underneath us!
So that's our Koni Challenge story for Mosport, only a month late. Our next race is in Three Rivers in August and we've already been out testing at a local track that resemebles Three Rivers and are currently waiting for shocks to come back that have been revalved once again, hopefully now with enough rebound. Shock pots are in and will be installed as well, allowing us to perfectly setup the dampers.
Last edited by SGSash; 07-13-2008 at 09:37 AM.
07-14-2008, 05:50 AM
#86
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Anaheim Hills
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Car & Driver just had an article on what it took to run their Z in the Koni Challenge. I was amazed at the cost to run a car in the series for just one race.
Last edited by RKnight; 07-14-2008 at 09:57 AM.
07-22-2008, 08:07 PM
#88
I dont like thinking about how much money I spend racing. The way I look at it, the more money I need for racing the harder I work to grow my shop to make enough money to go racing?
We were just at Shannonville testing again last weekend, got the shock pots mounted and wired and with re-valved shocks in the car, she felt fantastic. That was before the shock tuning began. Here is a video, some pics and some data screenshots for you nerdy guys like me.
Need more rear rebound
And some roof cam and incar video, pacing andrews s2000 and then doing some hot laps. The car was running so well guys, I just want to get back out there right now!!!
Google Video In-Car Sasha Anis Koni 350z Testing!
Any input is always welcome!
We were just at Shannonville testing again last weekend, got the shock pots mounted and wired and with re-valved shocks in the car, she felt fantastic. That was before the shock tuning began. Here is a video, some pics and some data screenshots for you nerdy guys like me.
Need more rear rebound
And some roof cam and incar video, pacing andrews s2000 and then doing some hot laps. The car was running so well guys, I just want to get back out there right now!!!
Google Video In-Car Sasha Anis Koni 350z Testing!
Any input is always welcome!
Last edited by SGSash; 07-22-2008 at 08:36 PM.
07-22-2008, 09:16 PM
#91
Registered User
iTrader: (9)
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: CA
Posts: 1,151
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Nice video, thanks for sharing your progress!
The handling looks very similar to mine (I also have a unitech setup with increased spring rates) being slightly loose on exit, especially when the tires heat up..
Car looks great! Gotta love the 1.6G spikes in your plot.
The handling looks very similar to mine (I also have a unitech setup with increased spring rates) being slightly loose on exit, especially when the tires heat up..
Car looks great! Gotta love the 1.6G spikes in your plot.
07-23-2008, 06:54 AM
#92
great stuff Sasha!
I hope to be anywhere near what you are doing in the next 5 years or so. That looks like a blast!
Those CCW's are doing awesome by the way, had my first PDX on them a bit ago and they were the best wheel/tire combo ive ever been on. Thanks!
Neil
I hope to be anywhere near what you are doing in the next 5 years or so. That looks like a blast!
Those CCW's are doing awesome by the way, had my first PDX on them a bit ago and they were the best wheel/tire combo ive ever been on. Thanks!
Neil
09-27-2012, 08:35 AM
#97
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 118
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
09-27-2012, 10:25 AM
#99
Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Vancouver BC
Posts: 118
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
