Road Race Build: BBRTuning Time Attack/NASA TT 99 GSX

[eclipsegsx1736]

Ok, you guys win, I've finally started a build thread! When I bought this car (Binkie is her name.. don't ask ) back in 2004, I knew I would modify it, but I would have NEVER dreamed that the car would come as far as it has now. The car was my daily driver for years, even when it was around the 450-500whp range. I drove it in that trim every day. Sure, some stuff broke - but overall, producing well over double the factory HP, the car was damn reliable. After a few years of working on these cars, you sort of learn what it takes to keep them held together. It just takes a few of the right parts, and a few tricks here and there that you learn along the way.

About a year ago, I picked up another fun and reliable GSX as a daily driver, and I finally made the big never-turn-back decision to take Binkie off the road for good and prepare her for Time Attack competition, specifically the 2012 Global Time Attack Street AWD class. Why the "street" class? .. Have you seen the cars in Limited (the next level up)? "Street" class cars in TA these days are full race cars. You need 500hp to even stand a chance. Full cages, aerodynamics, the whole lot, all pushed to the limit of the rules. Limited cars are in the 600-700hp range, and add DOT R-compound race tires to the mix, which results in some HUGE costs to allow the car to handle those G-loads. You're talking at a minimum AccuSump systems, and ideally dry-sump conversions for such high G's. This is why I chose the street class - at least initially. Who wants to compete in a class that you just have NO chance of competing when you're on track with full sponsor-backed shop race cars?

As I've quickly been realising, preparing a car (and myself) for Time Attack is an ENORMOUS undertaking. The GTA rules are specific and strict, and GTA in particular runs under NASA CCR rules, which again are very particular, especially on safety. The tech inspections are nothing like a drag strip - they really look at everything, even using ultrasound-type devices to check wall thickness of roll cages. Another big hurdle - you have to be at least NASA HPDE-4 approved, and ideally have a NASA TT (Time Trials) certification. This means at least attending several NASA track days driving in HPDE, working your way up through the classes, each time getting signed off by an instructor, by demonstrating proper driving, safety, passing and racing lines, etc. And we haven't even discussed building a car that's fast enough to even compete.

It's also expensive. The entry fee alone is $500. Road racing in general is expensive. Expect to wear a set of tires out in maybe 3-4 weekends, and, depending on your brake setup and your driving, expect to replace your pads (race pads too - $500+ for a car-set or so) every other event, or worse.

But, there's nothing like it. I used to drag race. It's a joke compared to road racing. You want horsepower and straight line speed? That's what the straightaway is for. Who wants to play car bowling? Ever watched an F1 or an ALMS race? Circuit racing will take over your life and you'll roll your eyes at drag racers. It's not elitist.. it's just that much more fun.

If you want to catch up on the custom radiator ducting system I built, as well as see a some video/pics from me driving in NASA HPDE in my daily driver, attempting to make my way up through the HPDE system, here's the link to that thread:

My ducted radiator setup - road racing

Finally, a picture of Binkie hitching a ride on the U-Haul Express on her way to have the cage built!:

[eclipsegsx1736]

Anyway, onto the build!

The first GTA event at Buttonwillow is on April 21/22nd. The weekend before that, April 14/15th, is a track day at Buttonwillow. I know I'm cutting it close, but in order to get everything done in time, I've set that weekend as my one (and only) shakedown/test of the car with the new setup. Not only will it be a HELL of a time getting the car ready for that test day, but only having one weekend to shake down the whole car and dial in the suspension alignments, brake balance, aero balance, etc. It's going to be nuts. Anyone who wants to come watch or support/pit crew is more than welcome

The car is currently at [removed] getting a full cage done, mounting my new Sparco Evo and 6-point belts, mounting the APR GTC-300 rear wing to the chassis, aluminum sunroof insert, as well as installing Kevin's (greengoblin on here) badass fender braces. I will of course be updating the thread with pics of this work as soon as I can!

Immediately after the cage is installed, I'll be taking the car to have the entire suspension overhauled. This includes:

-install Adam Porto's F/R subframe + rear diff bushings
-replace all suspension arms, wheel bearings, tie rods, links etc with new OEM units
-Prothane full bushing kit
-spherical bearings in front lateral arms
-corner balance/full race alignment

From there, I'll be tuning the car on the AEM EMS on the dyno, myself of course . And, finding time for the rest of the misc work to do (I'll be using this list as a checklist for myself as well )

-install AQ-1 datalogger system, GPS unit, all engine sensors etc
-install fire extinguisher
-JMF oil & coolant catch cans
-Fluidampr crank pulley
-finish building dash panel/gauges/warning light system etc
-loom up any remaining un-sheathed wiring in cockpit
-rear tow hook
-build IC/rad duct for front bumper to feed exit duct
-front splitter + dive planes + mounted to chassis
-Evo 8/9 rear diff if anyone has one, please let me know!!

Here are some pics of random goodies that just came in for Binkie:

Sparco EVO FIA seat + Sparco FIA 6-point HANS harness:



Federal 595 RSR in 255/40-17. These are the next best thing to Hankook RS3 for the price, which are the best tire right now for "street" class, which mandates a tire treadwear rating of 140 or higher.



Obligatory parts-build picture.

[eclipsegsx1736]

A few weeks ago, I did a NASA track day at California Speedway in Fontana, CA in HPDE-3 just for the track time and the experience I drove my daily-driver 98 GSX in this event since Binkie wasn't quite ready. It was cool to drive on this track, being that it's host to one of the big NASCAR races. I don't watch NASCAR, but the idea of racing on the same oval (or at least, we use half the oval and the inboard road course, usually called a "roval" layout) as NASCARs and the same track that millions of fans watch every year was pretty neat to think about.

The car has Megan coilovers, RM ARBs, GT30R (turned down to 12/13 psi for this event to keep the engine cool), stock engine, etc. I also mounted a set of Continental race slicks that were take-offs from a Grand Am race car that I had on Binkie before - wow these tires are pretty crazy Pulling avg 1.1-1.2G through the unbanked turns. This is with almost no front camber, and these tires need 2.5-3.5 degrees typically. As you can see from the pics, I stole the hood off the white car just to get some extra venting for the radiator. Obviously, there's no accompanying radiator duct on this car but a hole is better than nothing, eh?

Video is from a Go Pro. All data is collected from an AEM AQ-1 Datalogger, an invaluable tool for any racer. You'll learn SO much about your driving and your car for only a few hundred bucks.. For instance, I was a bit scared to push the car harder around the oval bank. It was my first time on that track and the first time in that car on a track with 100+ mph turns. From looking at the data, I was leaving a LOT on the table through that turn. I could have easily gone 10 mph faster and still been under the limit of the car. At that speed, though, it's much harder to tell where the limit is.

Speed data is collected from a Garmin 5hz GPS in case anyone's curious. The AQ-1 has it's own built-in 3-axis accelerometer. AEMData data analysis was used to collect the data and create the track map. The rest of the data is tapped from the ECU (DSMLink on this car).

Video link (watch in HD!):

Eclipse GSX at Cal Speedway roval NASA HPD3 Sunday 4 March 2012 - YouTube

[greengoblin]

It's great to see you doing a build thread. I look forward to watching your progress!

[asian312]

Keep it coming! Love using Kevin's and your car as inspiration.

[danielsl1999gsx]

Finally!! I was waiting for this since i PM you. I just wana say thank you for making DSM known for something else than drag racing.

[snowborder714]

Glad to see you finally gave in, Beau!

Looks like a pretty nice plan you have laid out. A couple questions for you.

1. Do you plan on mounting the wing directly to the rear deck, or more securely to the frame rails?
2. Any reason you're going with a vented catch can over a sealed catch can?
3. Do you plan on having the inboard pickups on the front crossmember raised (Robi mod)?
4. Are we going to get more pictures of the duct setup?

[eclipsegsx1736]

Originally Posted by greengoblin

It's great to see you doing a build thread. I look forward to watching your progress!

Originally Posted by asian312

Keep it coming! Love using Kevin's and your car as inspiration.

Thanks Kevin(s)! Well, the feeling of inspiration is mutual!

Originally Posted by danielsl1999gsx

Finally!! I was waiting for this since i PM you. I just wana say thank you for making DSM known for something else than drag racing.

Thanks for the support! Although, luckily there are a lot of other DSMers to thank for this now than there used to be.

Originally Posted by snowborder714

Glad to see you finally gave in, Beau!

Looks like a pretty nice plan you have laid out. A couple questions for you.

1. Do you plan on mounting the wing directly to the rear deck, or more securely to the frame rails?
2. Any reason you're going with a vented catch can over a sealed catch can?
3. Do you plan on having the inboard pickups on the front crossmember raised (Robi mod)?
4. Are we going to get more pictures of the duct setup?

1. The wing supports/uprights will be solidly mounted to the chassis, meaning that nothing will actually be touching the trunk. The trunk metal is pretty weak on these cars, so even making a support for the trunk isn't enough IMO. While downforce will of course push downward on the trunk, the drag created by the wing will work to pry the wing and trunk backwards, which is very hard to brace without mounting direct to the chassis, especially for the high wing angles typically used in Time Attack cars due to their higher horsepower..

2. Good question..The vented catch can is for several reasons. I change the oil after every event, so I'm certainly not worried about fuel vapor contamination (side note: even when I daily-drove the car with a vented can, after 3000+ miles of hard driving on E85, I've sent oil samples in for analysis and they've come back perfect with no contamination). Also, since I’m in boost the majority of the lap (typically avg. throttle position of 60-70% for the whole lap at most tracks), a PCV-based system would be almost useless, as it only vents vapors with manifold vacuum. I’ve thought about other methods of proactively venting crankcase pressure and vapors using the intake pipe vacuum, etc, but a simple vented can is much easier to deal with and works perfectly for now. I haven’t had any crankcase pressure issues even at close to 30 psi.

3. I am planning on doing that mod, although at the price for the mod I’m going to hold off on it a bit until I feel how the car is with the new setup. Also, the rules in “street” class on that subject are somewhat of a grey area. Exerpt from rules: “On strut type suspensions the outer end of the lower control arm may be adjusted a maximum of 1-inch. On vehicles where the above is not possible by OEM design the inner pick up point may be adjusted a maximum of 1-inch.”. We don’t have “strut” type suspensions, hence the grey area..

4. Yes! Certainly. Once I get the ducting for the front bumper inlet finished, I’ll post more pics for sure! I’d love to do a yarn-tuft demonstration on the flow patterns around the duct too but this is tough with a car that’s not street legal.

Beau

[98mitsgs]

Wow nice! That video made it look like a game/racing sim. Good work

[arrowhead]

Wow, what a tremendus build, wish I had seen all of that before, specially from someone with experiance on these cars.

There are a lot of similarities between your car and experiances about road racing, as I tell a lot of my DG friends, once you get into a RR you will never look back.

If you can, take a look at my build under RR, I am starting with what I know and giving me more time about the rest of the car, your opinion will be most welcome.

May suggest something I noticed in your video and you may have to change your steering wheel for that, but try to keep your left thumb around the wheel like you are doing with your right, many things can happen and that wheel is going to go where it wants to.

Anxious to see more.

arrowhead

[snowborder714]

Originally Posted by eclipsegsx1736

1. The wing supports/uprights will be solidly mounted to the chassis, meaning that nothing will actually be touching the trunk. The trunk metal is pretty weak on these cars, so even making a support for the trunk isn't enough IMO. While downforce will of course push downward on the trunk, the drag created by the wing will work to pry the wing and trunk backwards, which is very hard to brace without mounting direct to the chassis, especially for the high wing angles typically used in Time Attack cars due to their higher horsepower..

This I knew, so it's good I'm thinking on the right path. Just wondering seeing as John (black 2g with Drew's kit) mounted his to the trunk, so I'll be curious to see how the two compare. Nothing against John or the shop, but I hope that doesn't cause any major issues once he gets it out on the track.

I'm very interested to see how you accomplish this. I'm guessing you'll just notch the hatch around the edge to allow a brace to pass through and then bolt to the frame rail?

Originally Posted by eclipsegsx1736

3. I am planning on doing that mod, although at the price for the mod I’m going to hold off on it a bit until I feel how the car is with the new setup. Also, the rules in “street” class on that subject are somewhat of a grey area. Exerpt from rules: “On strut type suspensions the outer end of the lower control arm may be adjusted a maximum of 1-inch. On vehicles where the above is not possible by OEM design the inner pick up point may be adjusted a maximum of 1-inch.”. We don’t have “strut” type suspensions, hence the grey area..

Exactly why I was asking I want to know where the line for the grey area is. Drew has the mod done though, so is it still really a grey area, or is he running in a different group (non-GTA)/under different rule set? Last I knew he was doing RTA which I think still used the CCR as a base rule set.

[eclipsegsx1736]

Originally Posted by arrowhead

Wow, what a tremendus build, wish I had seen all of that before, specially from someone with experiance on these cars.

There are a lot of similarities between your car and experiances about road racing, as I tell a lot of my DG friends, once you get into a RR you will never look back.

If you can, take a look at my build under RR, I am starting with what I know and giving me more time about the rest of the car, your opinion will be most welcome.

May suggest something I noticed in your video and you may have to change your steering wheel for that, but try to keep your left thumb around the wheel like you are doing with your right, many things can happen and that wheel is going to go where it wants to.

Anxious to see more.

arrowhead

Thanks! I’ll definitely check out your thread.

Yeah, I know what you mean on the steering wheel grip. Annoyingly, the Momo hub I has the steering wheel not quite straight (about 5* off from straight or so), so subconsciously I find myself having an uneven hand grip on the wheel so my hands are level with each other. I took this wheel/hub off my white car, which on that I had the car aligned to compensate for the slightly offset hub.

Originally Posted by snowborder714

This I knew, so it's good I'm thinking on the right path. Just wondering seeing as John (black 2g with Drew's kit) mounted his to the trunk, so I'll be curious to see how the two compare. Nothing against John or the shop, but I hope that doesn't cause any major issues once he gets it out on the track.

I'm very interested to see how you accomplish this. I'm guessing you'll just notch the hatch around the edge to allow a brace to pass through and then bolt to the frame rail?


Exactly why I was asking I want to know where the line for the grey area is. Drew has the mod done though, so is it still really a grey area, or is he running in a different group (non-GTA)/under different rule set? Last I knew he was doing RTA which I think still used the CCR as a base rule set.

Yeah, the hatch will have notches cut out so the supports go through the trunk. It’ll mean I’ll have to remove the wing element to open the trunk, but there’s not thing really back there so I shouldn’t need access much. If I do, though, it’s 4 bolts so it’s quick.

I believe Drew last ran in what is now called the “Limited” class which allows those types changes. Last I heard, he’s planning on being at the same Buttonwillow GTA event as me in the Limited class. Very exciting stuff if that’s true!

PS - I edited the post with the Cal Speedway in-car video and added some pics I forgot to include!

[arrowhead]

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news to anyone, but if you mount any wings to any car on the trunk unless you do some pretty hefty reinf. to back it up, once you really start cooking, it will be bent, torn or worse.

That should fall under safety rules somewhere.

I have seen them fly and it is not pretty.

[greengoblin]

I have been thinking/ dreaming about wing mounts for some time. I left year sketched a few designs n decided I really wanted to have them come down behind thr deck lid and tie into s bumper like support. this would give the wing a better mechanical advantage and also feed the loads directly into the chassis. I just recently saw a picture of the greddy gtr and really like how they have it done.

Nissan GT-R : Since 2007: Ben Sopra GT-R

[arrowhead]

Originally Posted by greengoblin

I have been thinking/ dreaming about wing mounts for some time. I left year sketched a few designs n decided I really wanted to have them come down behind thr deck lid and tie into s bumper like support. this would give the wing a better mechanical advantage and also feed the loads directly into the chassis. I just recently saw a picture of the greddy gtr and really like how they have it done.

Nissan GT-R : Since 2007: Ben Sopra GT-R

That would work.

[eclipsegsx1736]

Originally Posted by greengoblin

I have been thinking/ dreaming about wing mounts for some time. I left year sketched a few designs n decided I really wanted to have them come down behind thr deck lid and tie into s bumper like support. this would give the wing a better mechanical advantage and also feed the loads directly into the chassis. I just recently saw a picture of the greddy gtr and really like how they have it done.

Nissan GT-R : Since 2007: Ben Sopra GT-R

I've always liked that method as well, although there's one thing that I'm curious about. I'm not sure the mechanical advantage is really an "advantage" in this case, especially on our cars. It would seem to me that applying a downward force aft of the rear "axle" would tend to lift of the front of the car, essentially reducing front downforce which is exactly what we don't want on our front-heavy and cars with driven front wheels. Try pushing down on the trunk of a model car; the front will lift off the ground. If you push down directly on the axle or rear shock tower area, this doesn't happen. Thoughts?

I suppose this is the thinking behind World Racing's FWING Scion. The front wing plane is so far out front it has the same effect but on the front end, which of course is needed on a 1000+ HP FWD car!

[greengoblin]

I do not think this would be an issue for me with the aero work i have on the front of my car. Last time I talked to Drew he need more down in the rear. I suppose it "might" be an issue on a more stock car but " think" with good aero work done to the front it would not matter. This would be a good question for Drew.

[elo95DSM]

nice video bro!

[greengoblin]

Update?

[eclipsegsx1736]

Not worth posting, unfortunately I've had various issues with shops doing some work on the car but I should have an update any day now and will post as soon as I do. The current plan is to have the car ready and tuned for MOD 2012 (Mitsu Owner's Day), then schedule in a few Buttonwillow test days before the next GTA event also at Buttonwillow in November!

[greengoblin]

Damn! That suck. Was it more than one shop that has failed to deliver?

[eclipsegsx1736]

It's mainly centred on one shop, which I've already told you some about. I'm not going to post specifics on here with the intention to not bash any shops. The important part, the quality of the work, is good, it's just how much longer it's been taking than originally promised.

[eclipsegsx1736]

Finally! A wild update appears! What a process this has been. I had a lot issues with the fab shop I first brought the car to. The work was good, but grossly behind schedule. It caused me to miss the first event I had planned for the car, and set me back a few months of build time/testing. However, the work was good, and in the end it came out nicely, so I've removed the name of the shop to avoid bashing.

I ended up pulling the car out of there with the work about 2/3 done and took it to another local shop. I had a much better experience there, the work got done quickly and I was happy with the work!

Mitsubishi Owner's Day is this Saturday (14 July), and I have only one day (tomorrow!) to get the car "ready". I say "ready" because I planned on having the car soo much further along than it currently is, but at this point the objective is to bring the car out there and throw it on the dyno (Mitsubishi sponsors Road Race Engineering to bring their AWD Dynapak dyno to the show to spice up things a bit).

It's not yet fully tuned on the EMS, so tomorrow Binkie heads to FSR Motorsports Creations in Montclair, CA for some tuning! The guys at FSR are going way out of their way to give me free dyno time on their AWD Dynojet dyno! I'll try to have some video of me tuning her for you all to see, I'm hoping for about 500whp and close to 500wtq, which should be attainable at about 27-29 psi on E85. Beyond that boost level, the .63 hotside becomes way too restrictive. Unfortunately, I won't have time to swap in my set of FP3 cams, so I'll still be on the FP2s which will be holding me back a bit up top at the power levels I'm going for. Wish me luck!

Below are a few pictures of where the car's at now. I still need to paint the cage and clean up the interior. Next on the list of big things is to replace basically all the components in the suspension (Robispec front roll centre mod as well), install the Evo rear diff, get the car aligned, and finish the front bumper air ducting as well as build the front splitter and dive planes.. The car is filthy inside and out right now, but I'll certainly post up much better pictures once I clean the car out and paint the interior!

Beau

[snowborder714]

Glad to see an update! I've been wondering what you were up to. Looking forward to some numbers!!

[greengoblin]

That looks great! I really like the wing mounts. Do post up some dyno vids after your done.

Also it was really nice to meet you when you where up here in Idaho. Next time your up this we feel free to stop by again.

Kevin

[snowborder714]

I didn't even notice the wing mounts. Are they the angled braces that run right next to the parallel bars in the trunk area? More pictures of how it's mounted would be great.

[eclipsegsx1736]

Originally Posted by snowborder714

Glad to see an update! I've been wondering what you were up to. Looking forward to some numbers!!

Originally Posted by greengoblin

That looks great! I really like the wing mounts. Do post up some dyno vids after your done.

Also it was really nice to meet you when you where up here in Idaho. Next time your up this we feel free to stop by again.

Kevin

Thanks guys! I'll try to get some better pictures of the wing mounts with the trunk open. In the pictures below, you can see the vertical support struts that are located by the 2 bars that kick back from the shock tower bar. There's also a diagonal bar from the driver-side shock tower to the passenger-side wing support strut that's on heim joints which prevents lateral movement and to allow for fine adjustments for fitment and to add some preload. The driver-side support strut is kept from laternal movement by the wing itself. You can literally tow the car from the rear wing supports!

The cage ended up being finished Thursday night, with Mitsu Owner's Day being early Saturday. I only had a few hours Friday morning to quickly look the car over and made sure she ran before loading her onto the trailer to go to FSR for tuning. On the dyno, everything was looking good at lower boost levels (405whp at 19/20 psi in 102F weather just after a rain) but we ran into problems when increasing the boost much beyond that. The car had what could only be described as a significant boost leak, as well as a head-to-manifold exhaust leak that would have taken too long to fix. I suppose I deserve that for not running the engine hard in almost a year and not spending any time going over the engine/turbo system..

With a decent base tune and not enough time to get her fixed for further tuning in time for MOD, we unfortunately had to call an end to the session, but the car/engine is just fine so it could have been worse. The guys at FSR Motorsports were extremely helpful and generous, inviting me back to finish the tune once I get the FP3 cams in and the little issues fixed.

Despite not being ready for the dyno, I still brought the car to MOD to generate some interest in the car etc and had a lot of positive feedback, despite the car being nowhere near finished. Some pics (last pic courtesy of Tonus2012):







Beau

[Flash]

Looks great Beau! I can't wait to see the interior painted!

[Atuca]

I thought I go ahead and bump this instead of asking you in PM because this car deserves more people's attention.

Did you ever get around to taking photos of how the wing mounts to the car? I am interested in prety much all aspects of it: from the how its tied into the cage, to how it goes through the trunk deck, to even.. did you fabricate the mounts on the wing, or did they come included with the purchase of your wing?

Very interested in the details if you are open to sharing

[eclipsegsx1736]

Originally Posted by Atuca

I thought I go ahead and bump this instead of asking you in PM because this car deserves more people's attention.

Did you ever get around to taking photos of how the wing mounts to the car? I am interested in prety much all aspects of it: from the how its tied into the cage, to how it goes through the trunk deck, to even.. did you fabricate the mounts on the wing, or did they come included with the purchase of your wing?

Very interested in the details if you are open to sharing

Thanks, no unfortunately I haven't taken better pics of it yet. Things have been moving a bit slowly on the car lately mostly due to financial reasons, but the car really is close to hitting the track! My friend (roostinds) and I pulled the entire rear subframe out of the car, pressed in Adam Porto's solid rear subframe and diff mounts in, and I had the full set of Prothane inserts pushed into the rear suspension. I chose urethane for time and cost reasons, I may go full spherical in the future but for now I'll be focusing more time/investment into the front suspension components.

We also got an Evo rear diff and restacked the stock clutch plates for more locking power. We're hoping to have the subframe back in the car next weekend. Once that's in, and the turbo assembly is back in the car, she should be ready to fire up and will be back on the dyno for tuning! After that, it's track time. Pictures will come as soon as she's out of the garage

Pictures will demonstrate the wing mounting better, but we designed plates which sit directly under the trunk lid which are made to accept the original APR wing supports. I figured this would make it easy to adjust the height of the wing element, as it should accept any of the off-the-shelf APR mounts. In the end, though, I might end up making my own supports/uprights and possibly integrate them into the structure itself.

There are 2 vertical support struts that come from the frame rails in the trunk, straight up to the mounting plates, 2 bars that come straight back from the rear shock towers that attach to the vertical struts, and then one diagonal bar (adjustable with rod ends) that triangulates the whole assembly so it doesn't try to "walk" laterally. The small adjustability accounts for any variations in the mounting of a few millimetres either direction. You can see some of this in a couple of the pictures earlier in the thread.

For now, we cut 2 narrow slits in the trunklid so the APR wing supports just squeeze through. We weren't sure how clearance would be as far as opening the trunk, and it turns out that we'll have to slot the holes larger to facilitate opening the trunklid, not that I'll be needing to do that much anyway though. Eventually, opening the trunklid will consist of undoing 4 bolts for the wing element (may change to pins if needed to make this quicker) and then sliding the trunklid over the supports.

Beau