Porsche 914 Conversion - Dedicated AX Racecar

[Matt Monson]

Every time I see this thread bump up I die a little inside. I cleared all the boxes off the top of my 914 a few weeks ago. That's progress, right?

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[scubynoob]

Video?

[Britain]

I just sold the Smartycam and got a Go-Pro...I will have video after this weekend and will be sure to post a clip.

-Britain

[Britain]

I know it has been a while since I have updated this thread...but it has been a long, great summer of racing. The car is running great and the new suspension is phenomenal.

Couple of updates. First off, bump steer! After everything was built and the car was up on the alignment rack I determined that I had made a small mistake in my calculations and induced a bit of bump steer that I was unable to account for in the adjustment range that I incorporated. This was partly due to the changes in the suspension geometry as compared to a stock Lotus.

Anyway, the remedy was to convert the stock Lotus tie-rod ends to heim-joints. I located a kit from a company in the UK and decided to use that as a starting point. After a little bit of modifications to the supplied kit, we got to the end result which is zero bump! Here is a picture of it installed.



Secondly, I installed a simple launch control set-up on the car to allow faster Pro-Solo type launches and to put less slip on the new clutch set-up. Here is a cool video of the system in action...plus 100ft burn-out are cool no matter who you are.

YouTube (Short URL)

YouTube (Short URL)

Finally, here is a cool video that I put together at a recent event where they allowed me to run without the front and rear hoods to get a good shot of the suspension in action. Let me tell you, the car was nearly impossible to drive without the rear hood on and the lack of a rear spoiler.

http://youtu.be/A3C1Re--oTw?hd=1

Enjoy,
Britain

[Jaxx]

wow the fluid in your master clys moves around alot

[BlueSTI4Me]

Very nice setup and thanks for sharing.

[jsquared]

Freaking nice!

[RSti_Spyder]

What is the weight of your flywheel versus one from Kennedy? Any idea? Can your flywheel work with a 930 trans?

Thanks

[Britain]

Hey Guys, the Where2Race Motorsports Porsche 914 ran the 2012 Siskiyou Club Fall Enduro this past weekend, taking TTOD and setting the XP class track record at 3:42.007secs (beating the previous XP record by 10secs). I was less than 3secs off the overall track record set by an A-mod and with a little aero improvement and some more aggressive driving I think I could have gotten it.

Here is a video of my run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy2kCsOYFyc&hd=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy2kCsOYFyc&hd=1

With only one shot at the course, you can't afford any mistakes so I ended up driving a little conservative as you can see with my early braking points. You also go out "cold turkey" so that first lap is challenging as the tires and the brakes get up to temp. Either way, it is a great event and can't wait to give it another try next year.

-Britain

[RSti_Spyder]

OK I'm headed to the shop to work on my car now...

[sti4rs]

Originally Posted by Britain

Hey Guys, the Where2Race Motorsports Porsche 914 ran the 2012 Siskiyou Club Fall Enduro this past weekend, taking TTOD and setting the XP class track record at 3:42.007secs (beating the previous XP record by 10secs). I was less than 3secs off the overall track record set by an A-mod and with a little aero improvement and some more aggressive driving I think I could have gotten it.

Here is a video of my run.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy2kCsOYFyc&hd=1

With only one shot at the course, you can't afford any mistakes so I ended up driving a little conservative as you can see with my early braking points. You also go out "cold turkey" so that first lap is challenging as the tires and the brakes get up to temp. Either way, it is a great event and can't wait to give it another try next year.

-Britain

Man, I wish my car was running so I could have competed with you.

[Britain]

Next year man!

[K.Linchpin]

with a little aero improvement

Some skeptics say that wings and other various aero aids are of no help at the speeds achieved by an AX car since a significant effect can't be seen at speeds below 80mph. Have you ever measured the effects of wings and what not on your car? Do you feel otherwise?

[Britain]

It is kinda funny that people still believe that aero is not effective at AX speeds. I recently drove my car thru a course without the rear decklid/spoiler and it was virtually undriveable. Aero definitely makes a difference!

-Britain

[RSti_Spyder]

Well a Piper Cub can fly above you at 40mph so I guess lift or negative lift is more a question of the lift to drag ratio. When you look at unlimited autox cars with their World of Outlaw wings or a Pikes Peak car that does not top out all that high, one has to think downforce is a good idea even 80 or below.

[Britain]

Exactly!

[RSti_Spyder]

I will be running a Porsche RSR 3.8 rear wing up front and a Dauntless Sports Racer rear wing when we are out being serious...

[icanfly]

Britain.
I've really enjoyed following your build and just have a quick question.

Can you talk a bit more about the parts list for your hydraulic throwout bearing setup? I've been trying to find something like this for my build (05' sti engine bolted up to a 911 sourced 901 transmission).

Did you put this together? did you have someone design it for you? is it working well? Can I get contact info for whomever might be have put it together if it wasn't you? If it was you, do you have details for replication?

Thanks so much and keep up the brilliant work!

Originally Posted by Britain

As I mentioned when installing the pedal assembly, I decided to go with a hydraulic throw-out bearing. Here is the Tilton Hydraulic throw-out bearing assembly fit in the 901 transmission. This is a completely custom set-up with custom parts. It is actually a SAAB bearing.



And finally, the transmission reinstalled with the assistance of my wife. VSS sensor wired up and hydraulic lines routed.



I actually filled the engine with oil/water last night and cranked it over. I got it to start for about 5secs before it would stumble. I have some ideas on things to check, but the good news is that is started. It was about 11:30 last night when I was cranking it and decided that I didn't want to push it with the neighbors, I will try again this evening.

-Britain

[Britain]

Couple of updates of what I have been working on. There is going to be a nice addition going on next week and I will post those pictures then.

First, I decided to strip the multiple years of undercoating, grims, etc. out of the fender wells. A quick coat of primer and they look much better.



Rear fender well stripped and primed. Gotta add another fender support that will go out horizontally just before the wheel opening. I hit a few cones this last season and actually cracked both rear fenders.



hated the duez fasteners that were holding the front hood on so today I replaced the outside four with Aerocatches. I had to redo all the mounting brackets and cut holes in my carbon hood, but overall weren't too bad to install. They are very nice parts, pricey, but nice.





Aerocatches on the front bumper. I will fill the old DZUS holes and clean all that up.



Front fenders freshly painted and mounted. I also cleaned up and spray painted the inner fender wells to match. It is much cleaner and brighter in there now.



Front view of freshly painted fenders mounted, aerocatches in the hood and front bumper. Need to replace the splitter, I have to source a new supplier for Alumacore or Alumalite.



Degreased and powerwashed the engine today. The JDM intake manifold looks so much better with the engine clean.



That is a lot of yellow. The car is all cleaned up and ready to hit the dyno next week for a retune.



-Britain

[scby rex]

Looks good and like alot of fun!

[Britain]

Well, if I can't make it go faster, I might as well make it pretty. Painted the cage in the front and sprayed some yellow on sheetmetal.




Then...Murphy's Law strikes again!! Getting the car ready for a dyno session on Thursday so I took a few laps around the block only to find oil squirting off the back of the motor. See the hairline crack just above the banjo fitting. This is the AVSC line on my engine.



-Britain

[RonW]

simple fix, hack it off and tig it closed

looks awesome btw!

[RSti_Spyder]

I have been using Britains ideas for R&D, Ripofff & Duplicate! Very inspiring build!

[Britain]

Yep, I am going to do that in the morning. It just sucked because I had to tear half the motor apart to get that line off...including unbolting the cross-over pipe so now I have to rebleed the damn thing which is not that much fun in my car.

-Britain

[RonW]

Originally Posted by RSti_Spyder

I have been using Britains ideas for R&D, Ripofff & Duplicate! Very inspiring build!

youre not the only one. and impressive in person. bummer it was on its way to LA when we hooked up a no time for a ride. next time. will be visiting Portland in September, maybe i can bum a ride then