2011 Coupe for the 25 Hours

[David]

Karen, congrats! Pics look awesome.... Great to hear Hanks mods worked out great. I knew they would, an honestly, I think your control arm issues are a thing of the past now. Just too much stress from those crazy high spring rates needed for this level of racing.

It looks as though you might be able to use a tad more rear camber from the posted images. Where are you running it now?

Time for chassis mods up front? Let me know if you want any help on this. I think following the pattern on my thread should net you over 2X improvement.

David

[vnmsss]

April 11, 2011 Update

We ran the Coupe at California Speedway in March in the same configuation as our February run at Infineon. We decided to leave the same set-up as CA Speedway is CCW (opposite of Infineon), and presents somewhat different/increased stresses due to the addition of the high banking dynamic. We also wanted to collect data from the reverse direction before moving on with further changes with the suspension. The car performed well, however we noted that it did not want to hook up and track out as well in turns of more than 70 degrees....It would turn in fine, but the throttle had to be feathered significantly while you waited for the front end to hook up, so the translation would be mid corner push...Once it hooked up, the car would accelerate and track out steady, smooth and fast....

Following the significant rear shock modifications, we had begun the process of lowering the spring rate on all four corners of the car, and with our first enduro slated for April 9th at Buttonwillow, the decision was made to soften the springs further (front and rear). We also reset the ride height, and made the decision to disconnect the rear swaybar completely.

As a frame of reference, the #28 Coupe weighs 2650 lbs. with no driver and 1/2 half tank of gas (16 gallons)....Yes, those roll bars (front, rear, door bars) and a volumous 32-gallon cell capacity add some significant weight. We also have one honkin big bumper in the rear which we fondly refer to as our Miata bumper (no offense to the Miata guys, but we've found that they do tend to bump draft now and again, and one look at the tail of the Coupe would tell anyone why that's just a bad idea for our car). The Coupe hit the track with 700 lb springs front, with 450 lb LR, and 400 lb. RR. Rear camber was set at -2, and the front at -2.25......Caster at +6 (running PS).



Test and tune on Friday, April 8th went very well, with the Coupe easily turning 2:01 flats consistently, which would mean a good qualifying position for the enduro the following day. Saturday morning we took the car out for a TT session, and the best the car would turn was a 2:06.....The car seems to push a bit more, and suspension was checked, a wheel bearing tightened, and a reset of toe. Qualifying time: 2:04.x, which would place the Coupe 14th on grid. had we been able to get to the 2:01 from the previous day, we'd have been 10th on grid.

David Borden's most recent post in this thread proved prophetic.....Dave Brown and I would co-drive this event, with Dave in 14th position at the green flag. By the end of the first lap, the Coupe had moved up to 9th position overall. We were in 8th position by lap 2, and running a solid 7th place and turning 1:59.x laps at 40 minutes in when.........The left front UCA decided to let go......Fortunately, the car was still driveable, and Dave brought the Coupe in for repairs. UCA was changed in roughly 20 minutes, but of course, we were down some 10 laps at that point. Karen got in the car and drove for the next 1.5 hours, and managed to gain back 7 of those positions by the time the final stop and driver change was accomplished. Dave strapped in and gained back one more position for the team before the checker flag fell at 9:10 PM....Final race results.: 6th in class, 17th overall.

Buttonwillow 3-Hour Enduro Race results: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=1832399

Team PDG was there, and hats off to team driver Mike Holland for a valiant effort in driving the GTM....The car looked great, and while they had their challenges, it was great to see it back on track after the 25....Awesome work guys!!!

Big kudos and thanks to Team Thunder Valley Racing crewmembers Roman Vaisman, Ryan Althoff, Bill Roberston and his lovely wife Brenda, Tracy Marshall, and our newest crewmember (and GTM owner) Tom Kendall, who made the long trip up from Fontana area to crew with us at the enduro. It was also great to see Factory Five's own celebrity owner/builder Mike Eastin (aka AC Mikee, star of Speed Channel's recent feature on Factory Five) who spent the weekend at the track with us!! Thanks Mike!!! We also owe a big thanks to Team Vogel Boys Racing ownesr/drivers Mike Vogel and his son Patrick Vogel who spent the evening in the pits with Team TVR. Fellow FFR owner/builder Doug Rossier was also on hand for the enduro, and it was great to have their support and encouragement this weekend!!! Thank you!!

We look forward to seeing all of our FFR friends at the upcoming AHA Show in Pomona on April 16th, and of course, we can't wait for Huntington Beach!!!! The Coupe will be there freshr off the track from its latest endurance racing adventures.....

Thanks again to everyone for your continued support and encouragement! The Coupe draws big attention at every track event, and it's a complete blast to drive! We consider ourselves lucky dawgs to be out here campaigning what we think is one of the coolest cars on the track! We know there are at least four other Coupes being developed by individual builders from around the country right now, and it will be one cool day when we have a nice group of Coupes running at a track event.....See you guys at AHA or HB, or if we're lucky, we'll see you in our mirror on track! ;.)))

Big thanks to Dave Smith and everyone at Factory Five Racing......THANK YOU! You guys rock!!

Lucky Winner.....This one's for you! Karen

[Russ Thompson]

Karen looking forward to seeing you at HB, I decided to fly down this year and see everyone!

[vnmsss]

It will be great to see you Russ!! I've been meaning to call you, as we need a gas pedal for the orange Challenge car....We're planning to bring the car to HB, and it works better if it has an accelerator pedal...;.))) Have a bunch of meetings today, but will try to give you a call later in the afternoon....
Karen

[vnmsss]

It was very cool to have three Factory Five race cars representing in the E1, E0 and ES classes in the enduro this weekend!

As mentioned earier, Team Prototype Development Group burned the midnight oil many a night leading up to the race. In the weeks and months that followed their great performance at the 25 Hours, which had been cut short by an unfortunate incident on track, the PDG crew rebuilt the GTM and had her track ready this weekend. Unless someone has truly experienced the massive effort it takes to rebuild a racecar following a devastating incident such as they suffered, it's hard to appreciate just how much strength (physical and emotional) it takes to bring a car back. It was great to see the PDG rig pull into the pits...Kudos and hats off to everyone....And Mike....You 'da man! It had to be 3 long hours!

Challenge Series drivers Tom Coon and Jeff Awender teamed up in Tom's spec racer to compete in the E1 class, and did a great job out there on track!!! Jeff and Tom had kicked around the idea of co-driving in an enduro earlier this year, and the plan was hatched last month at the Infineon race. They worked tirelessly over the last three weeks to get the car ready, including fabricating a lightbar for the night race. The car performed flawlessly, and they drove very well day and night. Team Thunder Valley Racing was glad to provide "valet" pit service for your outstanding effort.....Congratulations Tom and Jeff.....You now officially hold the title of endurance racers!!!



Karen