JPR AutoSports

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.

Ok, I was wrong. I posted up about a Ford Expedition as the new vehicle. I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t like the way it drove or felt. Too soft, too harsh, too truck like, too boxy, too whatever. At the last minute I backed out, leaving a deposit and the fully prepped and ready to go vehicle on the lot. It was an extremely difficult decision process and one I would choose to never repeat. Lot’s of angst, soul searching, whatever. All over a car…so to speak. Since the vehicle change was only due to towing needs it was had to justify any change, much less to one giant boat of a vehicle I didn’t even like. That said, I did buy a vehicle. I found a black Toyota Sequoia with a 5.7 motor and 10k towing capacity with very low mile. A little more expensive then the Expedition but, in my opinion, better looking, a little smaller (at least looking) and it drives MUCH better. It will tow extremely well with 410 lbs of torque, which, by the way, is about 55 lbs more torque than the similarly weighted Expedition. It get’s better gas mileage too (by 1 mpg!). It’s a nice vehicle and I’m happy with the choice. Let’s close this issue, there’s work to do.

Well, I did some thinking about the towing situation and determined that the Jeep wasn’t going to cut it. In fact, if you want to tow with an SUV there are really only a few that are rated to tow a loaded car trailer. I ended up with a 2009 Expedition Eddie Bauer. It’s big as hell and will tow 9000 lbs, which is plenty. Nice enough too, inside. I would have loved a Toyota Land Cruiser, rated at 8000 lbs or so, and good looking. They are VERY expensive though and I just couldn’t justify the spend. I do a fair bit of driving so am concerned about the mpg and carbon footprint and all. I’m not sure yet how to adjust for the impact of the big Ford. I’ll miss the Jeep too, as it was a good size and nice inside. I think the Jeep is nicer then the Ford, but I didn’t feel good about spending any more on the Ford and the one I found had the tow package, leveling suspension, and so it seemed a good solution. It’s dark red w/ tan and tan leather. I hope I (and the family) get used to it…

It’s here! Well, almost. I picked it up in VA yesterday and drove it back to Highland NY. I left it with Havaspeed, so Andrew can use it for storage of the car parts as he preps it for the Cage. The trailer is very nice, looks good and rolls very well. I will say it is BIG, at least compared to the open trailer with which I am familiar. It’s not really that much heavier but the wind resistance has a profound impact on my tow vehicle. I haven’t towed the trailer yet with the car inside, so we’ll have to wait and see how we do. I might have to think about a more robust tow vehicle. Nonetheless, the trailer will be very nice. Here are some pictures from this morning, at Havaspeed.

This weekend is currently slated for picking up the new enclosed trailer. This is an important step as it will, ultimately, allow me to store all the stuff in the trailer when not at an event. Also the car should load and unload more easily (famous last words) and will stay a bit cleaner then when pulled on an open deck. It turns out that the South is some sort of mecca for these enclosed trailers, with companies all over the place. I didn’t imagine there was such a market for enclosed car trailers to justify the number of manufacturers, I was wrong, there is a hotbed of trailer activity! Nonetheless, mine is coming up from SC on Saturday by way of my father, as he’ll meet me in PA or so, half way, for an exchange. With some luck we’ll get this done safely.

Here’s a pic.

I know, the shot is none too pretty. Funny, trailer companies don’t have the same photography aesthetic as many do (mind you, I have no skill, just the aesthetic). It will look better with EFI Logics and related stickers…

I’ve been speaking with Geoff and Jon over at Full-Race. Chris, head tuner at EFI Lggics, indicated I should touch base as Geoff has developed some incredible solutions for the Evo X. Specifically, I wanted to discuss their manifolds as the Evo X stock exhaust manifold isn’t bad but flow could be improved, and Full-Race has done the right research to determine how to maximize the air moving from the motor to the turbo (remember, the hot exhaust air spins the turbo, which makes more air for the engine to breathe). Here’s some pics comparing the stock manifold to the Full-Race manifold.

Beautiful work. Geoff and Jon are great to work with and forgot yesterday more than I’ll ever learn about engines and exhaust flow. My new manifold arrived yesterday and will get bolted in with cams and springs (with any luck) in late March. The idea here is to improve the flow and provide EFI Logics the flexibility to meet my HP limits on pump gas. This should save a ton of money and actually increase engine reliability by running on lower boost. Needless to say, I’m excited – Hats off the Full-Race for an impressive piece of craftsmanship. If you haven’t yet, check them out.

Here are some Dyno results showing the benefit of the manifold over stock.