JPR AutoSports

Despite some early weather reports that looked like rain the day was warm and sunny. Almost too warm, by noon it was well into the 80′s and humid. The day, ultimately, turned out to be a mix of good and bad. Some good was that we had two fast sessions in which the car ran very well and provided some good info on set up and performance. EFI Logic’s tuning and setup continues to be rock solid and very fast. This was our first trip to Lime Rock this season and we are still very much in set up mode. Despite that we produced a couple of :59.6 laps, which are not bad but a full second off of last year’s best laps. Top speed on the straight was 136, which is a few mph faster then we’ve seen; the new cams produced some very good power right up to 7500. The Goodyear RS tires are spectacular and produced a ton of grip, though some rubbing needed to be managed and inhibited a more aggressive attack of the track.

Unfortunately, toward the end of the second session, the serpentine belt slipped and was ripped in half. The alternator, water pump and power steering went to Mexico, all at once and so things were a little scary for a moment. Recovered, the car was pitted and our day complete. Another great NASA NE event. Some new pictures, here’s one from the day.

This is a great track in a beautiful setting and so we are excited about the upcoming NASA track event. This is not a TT and so we’ll use it to get some additional data on the car and try to sort out the front tire/ fender rubbing issue. Please let us know if you can get out there for the day as it would be GREAT to see you there!

Slowly we are getting the trailer set up. Focusing on the car, there’s been little time or interest to get the trailer organized. The process will be in three steps, Tire/Wheel management, Flooring, and then Cabinets and Storage. The object is to keep it simple, as trailer build costs can get very expensive very quickly.

Tires – Three sets are needed for each event (one set is on the car). Two “drys” and one “rains”, allow for heat cycling and keeping a fresh set for competition use. The length of the trailer is 20 feet, so there is not enough room on the walls for two 4′ tire racks (the trailer door is in the way). From the pics you can see one is mounted on the far wall. The hood of the car extends about 18″ underneath the rack. Cabinets will go in the front V, and so this leaves little room to locate another 4 tires safely.

Using a 1 1/2″ pipe and floor plates bolted to the frame solved the problem. The pipe is in two pieces and attaches with a threaded collar to make a 48″ pole. It comes apart to make the tires easy to stack. The wheels fit easily over the pipe but can’t move much at all. A top collar makes sure that a tire couldn’t come flying off in the extremely unlikely event that a tire could come up and over. A low “wall” offers an additional protection to tire movement and is a handy place to attach track maps, schedules, etc. All in all step one came out pretty well and still permits cabinet space up front. Stay tuned.

Last year we had some good success winning three events and setting two course records in the AMS built EFI Logics Time Attack car. Here:

The car is extremely competitive and we knew that it was time to take the build to the next level in both performance and safety. A number of projects took place during the winter, and later I’ll post details regarding RobiSpec’s new full racing coilover setup from KW. This is a significant change from his extremely good V3 solution. We also won’t yet discuss EFI Logic’s work using Greg’s GSC S2 cams and new valve spring, or Full-Race’s exhaust manifold.

What I did want to introduce tonight was our roll cage project. This is no ordinary cage, but a full cage build from Andrew Havas of Havspeed. He does spectacular work and one of the only certified installers in the US for a full FIA homologated and MSA certified cage from CustomCages in the UK. The cage easily exceeds US standards for racing but, as the tubes are metric and such, we worked with NASA right from the start to make sure the cage would meet their tech. The process involves tests of the welds, video and paperwork and results in an FIA certification, documentation and id plating, allowing the car to run here or in Europe. Most importantly, it’s safe and light.

As you can see from the pictures, this is a project that is not for the faint of heart. It took time, patience, and was expensive. And, as in most things in life, you get what you pay for. Andrew Havas is a craftsman like no other and so if you are considering a cage and are committed, he’s the best. Period.

On with the show.

I delivered the car on my rains, bumper removed; I had thought I was so helpful in removing the headliner and the sun visors. I had no idea what was to come…

Let’s get this party started

This is what your dash looks like…

This is what Andrew meant by, “John, can you clean out the car a bit?”

Get the sound material out with dry ice

No going back

And it begins

The wood doesn’t stay…

More

Want to see some welds? I’ll show you welds. Full TIG welded cage.

The install begins in earnest

Bored yet? I hope not!

Coming together pretty well now

These bits look important!

Closer, almost looks like a car

It IS a car!

And now, with no glass, or door cards, and the suspension just bolted in but no longer set up, off to EFI Logics in Bethel. EFI’s team dove right in and finished the set up and started in on the cams and tuning. More on that later.

As you can see, this was a big deal. There are a lot of cars with cages some good, some bad, some downright dangerous. I figured, if I was going to do a project as big as this one, I should do it right.

The car is getting VERY close to completion and we are scheduled to head to the Poconos Long Course on Saturday for some testing with PCA. Should be fun, thoguht he weather is iffy. Let us know right away if you can come out to see the car in action. EFI Logics has spent a ton of time dialing in the suspension, cams and tune so it should be interesting to see the difference.

Have a look at our tire review from the end of last season. It’s been tucked under the writing section. Let us know what you think.

Tire Comparison final

Car is with EFI Logics in Bethel. it really couldn’t be in better hands. I’ve been over there a couple of times to check in. My goal is to stay out of there way but they are quick to include me int he discussion, update me on the car’s status and give me a blow by blow on any challenges. The cams were going in on Thursday and might be done by now. Door cards were next, glass install and then tuning, brakes and the rest of the normal set up. It’s been a long road and I can, almost, see the light at the end – I’m hoping it’s not a train…. The casual professionalism EFI Logics applies to everything they do is such a welcome relief I can’t help but be excited about the car’s completion.