Plastic Fantastic 2

phantomjock said:
I was late to the meet. Did you get any track time? Anybody nearby there have parts? Not familiar with the Optima - would they let you "rejoin - are are you dun?
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think I answered... could I have bodged it together? yes, maybe... but the more I looked at it (and factored in the car was warm on the practice track lap the night before), it wasn't worth the risk. I could have got it back on - would have been hammer and zip screws.... if I was day 2 and needed one more lap to set a time? sure, but there's no guarantee the pipe would have stayed on - and if it came off... I won't do that (not being a hero - just not something I was willing to risk).

There's always next year, and heck, there's even still this year if I can swing a run to Daytona or Virginia International... and focus on the 'was competitive' .... I really was... and they're going to be at Thunderhill again (which I enjoyed) or Portland next year... maybe even hit Leguna Seca? I've ordered the new header kit, so maybe I can even run there.... If I do run Thunderhill, I'm going to rent a dumpster and go practice before the event (still a bit annoyed I got convinced to sell my CTS)..

also, as I told another friend, I'm not going to miss SEMA - maybe by 2024, I won't care as much about that... but for now, that is my premier event.
 
okay... this will be mostly boring because it's a lot of A/B testing on inserts
first, the damage
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this was after beating, crushing it with a trailer jack.... but oval and twisted
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and I'll say it again, if I could have gotten it on the car so it was safe... I'd have run it... I guess next time, in addition to electrical stuff, I'll take metal-working stuff?
also, new scratches - this came from transport
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this came from the pipe coming off
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while I'm at it, I might as well fix paint issues - the front has a lot of chipping
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and of course
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ages ago, I picked these up at Summit Racing's return bin when i was in Reno...
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so before we go further, let's shut down the trolls - this is how far that sidepipe was slipped over the header. You can't make this solid, otherwise it will crack the pipes due to the motor moving....
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also, as a side note, need to increase some tire pressures on the front... the X they put on to check the tread wear and date
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this broke... likely starting the events... but it never should have .... the weld was okay and I look for stuff like this failing... missed it, obviously,
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it really annoys that the camera doesn't save in order - but hopefully I get these right... I reserve the right to amend these
how loud was it? (all of this is at idle)
119 db at idle
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straight pipe with no insert
117
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with cone insert 114
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those who've been watching for awhile know there was a PF1 - where I bought a variety of inserts... include the very quiet, very power robbing inserts. what you see behind it is what comes out of those (not the cone). The inserts are wrapped in fiberglass so they're very restrictive.... but cut them apart, and you have inserts that might work just fine.
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another view
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this is what got me to 104 - it may be too restrictive
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This is just with the flow-through insert... problem is it may be too restrictive too
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the dual cone I tried awhile ago ... too much restriction as well at higher rpms....
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next will be some testing... my neighbors are going to love me

there are a couple, final words. First... with this setup I can get to Leguna Seca level quiet - I did test a bit with the cone and right at the car - it remained at 104 (no news yet on what it does to performance). I can also have different inserts for different tracks.
 
and pictures of the event
track time
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start of autocross
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if you look closely, I'm missing the driver's side pipe
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how to go from 107 db to 130 db in one turn
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I think picture explains it all... pipe hit, broke the tab off, then came off - but lord the lean, the new sway bars were supposed to be better....
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end of run
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basically I got a couple runs around the track, and 4 runs on the autox... then on the trailer...

It may have hit on the off-road section to get to my camp... or it could have been vibrating loose and finally let go there... I dunno... for now, I have new mufflers so I could continue running for the season (which holds some sway for me)... I don't know.
 
When stuff like that happens, I always think sabotage. Any signs of a grinder?

On the side pipe muffler, if I ever get to it, I was thinking of making the muffler section diameter a bit bigger so sound dampening material could be added. Just a thought.
 
rtj said:
When stuff like that happens, I always think sabotage. Any signs of a grinder?

On the side pipe muffler, if I ever get to it, I was thinking of making the muffler section diameter a bit bigger so sound dampening material could be added. Just a thought.
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no sign or chance of sabotage.... I was either driving it or parked right next to it in my RV.... that said, the tab was not as good as any of the other manufacturers of sidepipes....
 
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Ok, glad it wasn’t, never nice to feel targeted.

One other suggestion on noise cancellation, look at mufflers with a Helmholtz resonator. There is room to hide one on the inside lower area. Should be lots of examples on YouTube.
 
Yeah agreed, BBShark.

Looks like you are living the dream now SBG.
 
removed the last vestiges of Optima 2023.... put the wing back where it belongs
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time to start considering what the front is going to look like - I don't think I'm getting enough air for cooling and adding more hp isn't going to help on that front (yes 511 ci is in sight)
time to make the second baffle...
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I'm going to fasten this differently - not sure how, yet, but it's important to get this all together
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because I dug all this stuff out
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Paul's C3 - its motor is about ready to come out and several bits from my C3 are going on his motor...
my plan is to get the hard parts on the motor - though I may get dead stopped because I'm not 100% sure I have an intake gasket
 
time to do this
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pictures to give a reference for putting all this stuff in Paul's car
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I hope this fixes the oil pressure problem - it certainly looks like it might be too much lift... but there's another problem and that's they were just too tight in the bores. The Comp lifters are much smoother
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and I'm just going to pretend I didn't see the cam.... billet cam. It'll be fine. Or it won't. I'm not doing anything with it at the moment....
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wow, even room under the hood
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one thing for certain, small intake runners
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but whatever, time for glue
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assemble intake
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do not like the path of the crossover...
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time to order parts - I bought the wrong injector harness, can't find the coolant tube where the fill is in the hose.... nor do I have any idea where my intake coolant elbows are (but the few I have probably are wrong)... and I need a throttle cable... I have plenty to do while waiting
 
One bite at a time... cooling
as much as I don't like chrome, it fits
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then fix the coolant bypass.... for whatever reason, the FiTech coolant hole is about 1" closer to the water pump
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rant ON
I paid money for a throttle cable adapter for this manifold. It simply doesn't work.... hell, I'm not even sure the pieces bolt together.... I've been apologetic about FiTech but this is quite literally it. Never use them.
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the bracket needs to be 5/8" wider to clear the throttle body.... now I either have to make or buy something else...
in an effort to calm down....I dropped the cam sensor in place - not the right place, but the place where the cat won't knock it off the bench...
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but that is progress.... but now I need another bracket, and the more I look at it, the more likely I'm going to re-engineer the cooling system. I'm tired of cooling problems...
 
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the more I look at it, the more likely I'm going to re-engineer the cooling system. I'm tired of cooling problems...
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Fans? Ducting? Hood exits? Bigger? Higher pressure system - like NASCAR? Do tell.
I've been in the "Skunk-Works" working front uprights, so can't share that.

Cheers - Jim
 
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