boardkat's Daily Driven CAM-C AutoX Slayer!

[ssyellow]

Great thread and nice work.

Going way back, what was the culprit of your OPG failure? High G-forces, oil starvation, high revs, etc.?

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[DickR]

We got caught in a thunderstorm yesterday on the KS turnpike in Wichita on "more than half worn" 275/35x19 RE-71R's. I would have hated being on Rivals!

 

[boardkat]

Great thread and nice work.

Going way back, what was the culprit of your OPG failure? High G-forces, oil starvation, high revs, etc.?

most likely a combination of all things. i was revving to 8250 on a stock engine - bad things were bound to happen eventually. at least it didn't take the heads or the block with it when it shattered into pieces.

 

[DocWalt]

most likely a combination of all things. i was revving to 8250 on a stock engine - bad things were bound to happen eventually. at least it didn't take the heads or the block with it when it shattered into pieces.

yeah, dropping a valve would be much worse... as I'm sure your codriver that year can attest to.

 

[boardkat]

yeah, dropping a valve would be much worse... as I'm sure your codriver that year can attest to.

Poor Simmons :(
I blamed him for bringing his bad mojo to Lincoln :lol:

On a similar note, I don't want [MENTION=19845]Rexpelagi[/MENTION] bringing his bad transmission mojo with him to Packwood when we do the pro together next month, so I am now the proud owner of a broken MT-82 myself!

Previous owner rebuilt it with stock parts and it locked up on the first dyno pull, so it didn't cost and arm and a leg. Of course, it won't STAY broken for long - as luck would have it, the tranny is currently living less than an hour away from Ben Calimer, so it's getting dropped off for a rebuild this week and I should have it in my hands and on the car in time for my next event.

Thanks, John, for breaking and making me finally bite the bullet! It's nice to finally have a brother-in-arms on the ever-present path of destruction :ford:

Sidenote: it seems 11-14 MT-82s are cheaper than 15+, but they aren't a direct bolt-on for an S550. The tailshaft requires a swap, but Ben told me it's trivial. I'll find out very soon if that's truly the case for this shadetree mechanic!

 

[boardkat]

- because shiny is obviously better
- because who needs 1st gear when you have a built MT-82 and 700/550+? ;)
- because (3) rear ends isn't enough, why not (4)?! :lol:

 

[boardkat]

Since some were asking offline, it's a US Gear 4.11 Lightning, which has an Isotropic Superfinish to reduce friction/wear/heat, among other things. Also interesting to note is the pinion only has (9) teeth, while all the other FDs I've run (3.31, 3.55, 3.73) have 11 - even the FRPP 4.09 (which US Gear also makes) has 11. I'm not a materials engineer, so I'm curious why Ford Performance decided to go with an exclusive ratio and thinner teeth - seems like that wouldn't be as "strong", but what do I know

Edit: to close the loop on this, straight from a conversation I had with US Gear -

"The 4.09 gear was designed for Ford to meet emission standards in California. It’s very similar to our current offering, but due to the design of the Ford 4.09 it does have a bit higher tooth count and greater level of tooth contact."

 

[boardkat]

Mentioned it elsewhere but for my own ease of recollection later...

G-Force Transmissions (https://www.gforcetransmissions.com/) is legit. Ben ordered (10) MT-82 gearsets, which are exclusive; he’s taking delivery of the first (5) fresh from the machine shop next week, after a very long wait for them to iterate and tool up. Rated for “a lot” of torque (was told the 650-700wtq I’ll eventually be putting through it won’t be a problem - check their gearset ratings for other transmissions to get an idea of how stout they build them); ratios are:

1st: 3.49
2nd: 2.32
3rd: 1.61
4th: 1.26
5th: 1
6th: 0.62

Since my donor tranny ended up having completely trashed internals (who forgets to put a snap ring on when rebuilding?!), I’m onboard and in line for this. Once I’m putting 700/550+ through the drivetrain in the off-season, planning to experiment with all (4) of my rear ends (3.31/3.55/3.73/4.11) and various combinations of 1-2-3 and 2-3 to figure out what works best. The fun ($$$$$$$$$$) never stops :lol: :(

 

[Schu]

I'm wonder why you didn't get rid of the m82 completely?

 

[boardkat]

I'm wonder why you didn't get rid of the m82 completely?

Several reasons:

1.) Weight - 30-35lbs is considerable when efforts are being made to get down to minimum class weight of 3250
2.) Significant existing investment in driveshaft/clutch/flywheel/shifter
3.) Type of usage - autox/dd, so not exposed to the same kind of conditions (shock, heat) as track/drag builds that the MT-82 gearset has known issues with. That said, this point is somewhat mootnow for my build, since the materials and quality control on the G-Force gearset is much higher and more robust than the OEM option (but was a real consideration when I thought I was going to be able to REM-coat and cryotreat them).

 

[boardkat]

Welp, it finally happened. After over a decade competing, and witnessing numerous hamfisted moments, I had one of my own. The video will do a much better job of explaining:

[ame]

Yep. That's what happens when you go full throttle on an unsettled car with a nearby wall! Oops :doh:

In my defense, I was on the next tenth to one of the very best drivers in the sport, and trying my best to catch him. The red mist is real, folks!

The only positive thing to come out of it was validating the new mic for my SoloStorm setup - and as the video above clearly captured, no wind noise and a sample of some glorious V8 noises! Yay? :first:

I tore into the car early the next morning, and after (10) straight hours of unbolting the entire front and rear ends checking parts, I only ended up needing to replace a few spherical bearings and a hub - oh, and the wheel was trashed (but the tire ended up fine and is already remounted!)

Luckily I just received another (4) wheels from [MENTION=27078]Paul@PKAUTODESIGN[/MENTION] - so no down time waiting for a replacement at least. Even discovered a failing rear hub on the opposite site of the car - these things are only good for 1-1.5 seasons in my experience, so no surprise there. Extra fun bonus (from a daily driving perspective) was finally ridding myself of some creaking, due to several hard-to-get-to delrin bushings that needed some grease.

Back up (2) days previous at the same location, when another local club was gifted the site for a day at no-cost, where I played hooky from work for the day and got to try all sorts of different setups (wheels, springs, tires, shocks). Finally dialed-in a bumpy asphalt setup ahead of the Packwood NT/Pro next month (after resisting a soft setup for YEARS, much to my detriment everywhere save for Lincoln/Crows Landing), and looking forward to seeing where the car ends up against a very talented field of drivers. With a little luck, I may end up with another front bar from [MENTION=25806]SteedaTech[/MENTION] in time to experiment with even less front spring (or more front bar), depending on how the rest of the setup works.

 

[boardkat]

Ouch, sounded like just the wheel hit. Did you get any body damage?

Oh it hit alright! Right into a metal conduit:

Some will tell you that wheel poke is bad - but in my case, its sacrifice (from being slightly outside the body line) most likely saved a rear quarter panel from getting mashed - no body damage at all. So there's that too (on a positive note), I guess

 

[boardkat]

What's the Mic setup for audio? I am chasing down a crackle noise and I think its just a cheap mic.

I ordered a stereo mic with a wind sock. I can't take credit for it though - a fellow competitor tried various setups and found this one to work best on the track, so I knew it'd be great for autox, too. More info here:

https://www.autoxandtrack.com/autocross-track-videos-sound-amazing-external-mic/

Nobody seems to stock that mic any more, so I had to wait a few weeks for it to arrive from Japan. Worth the wait though! FWIW, I have a Hero6 and the wind noise cancellation they tout - yeah, doesn't work very well. To top things off, that stupid adapter GoPro sells is the *only* way to use an external mic (for the low, low price of $49 - uggh), but at least it has a power port on it too, so I can keep it hardwired and not fight battery drain after only one session.

 

[kz]

Welp, it finally happened. After over a decade competing, and witnessing numerous hamfisted moments, I had one of my own. The video will do a much better job of explaining:

Ouch. While I never attempted to design a course (nor I am close to being experienced enough to do it) I think the fact that people will spin at the finish should be taken into account. We had very experienced autocrosser (ran F-mod for years) totaled brand new Grand Sport by hitting a parked truck - airbags deployed, pieces of fiberglass everywhere, car was a wreck - it was terrifying and we were lucky nobody was in the way. Later in the year another car ended up in the fence. Glad you had relatively little damage.

 

[NightmareMoon]

I agree that finish was a absolutely sketchy being that close to a concrete barrier. Spins through the finish are very common and that course was ripe for somebody to hit there.

BoardKat is lucky for those wide wheels and a lucky slide angle saving his body panels.

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