Building our Lemons/Chumpcar (Page 7/29)
DonP JAN 06, 03:38 PM
Rich continued working on the Fiero wiring harness. We were aided enormously by the resources
found via the PFF. Darth Fiero had some very useful files that he made available on the net.
http://www.gmtuners.com/files/index.htm The Ogre's Cave had good solid information on his site
http://home.comcast.net/~fierocave/ as well.

For safety reasons the rules require a master kill switch that could be reached from the outside of the car. The kill switch is required to kill the engine and all electrical devices when disengaged. We purchased a 4-pole master kill switch from Longacre Racing Products. http://www.longacreracing.c....asp?id=477&catid=14 We started the wiring by running a battery cable from the positive side of the battery to the upstream side of the kill switch. We ran an additional battery cable from the downstream side of the kill switch to the starter. For the grounding, we ran a battery cable from the negative side of the battery to a 3/8” stud welded to the chassis close to the battery box. From the 3/8” stud we ran a battery cable to the back of the car to another stud welded to the chassis and then a battery cable from the rear stud to a clean area on the engine block. In addition we welded several 1/4” studs to the dash bar behind the instrument cluster so the gauges, dash lights, and relays could be properly grounded. Many electrical problems can be traced back to poor grounding so we took special care with this aspect of the wiring.

To keep the car from running off the alternator when the master kill switch is disengaged, we ran the charging wire from the alternator to the pigtail of the battery cable clamp that ties directly to the positive post of the battery. This put the alternator charging wire upstream of the kill switch.

From the downstream side of the kill switch we fed all of the “hot at all times” fuses in the fuse block. These are the fuses that are hot even when the main ignition switch is turned off. We wanted to be able to turn on the interior light, head lights, run the cooling fan, use the two way radio, and bump the engine over without turning on the ignition switch.

From the downstream side of the kill switch we also fed the main ignition switch. This switch controlled a relay that provides power to all the “hot in run” fuses. These are the fuses that feed the ECU, coil, and dash lights.

When we gutted the car, we removed all unessacary items like the turn signals, radio, air conditioning, heater, and OEM dash lights. With these items and their wiring removed, we only used about one half of the fuses in the original fuse block.

With the steering column and original keyed ignition switch removed, we made a new pod for switches on the left side of the steering shaft and original instrument cluster. The switch pod contained the master kill switch on top. On the front is a toggle switch for the main ignition providing power to all the “hot in run” fuses. The starter button is a push button momentary contact switch that engages the starter when pushed. The other 3 switches control the cooling fan, interior light, and headlights that will be add later if we decide to enter a 24 hour race. We did wire the headlight switch to the tail lights, so that is already done.

The master kill switch, and indeed all the switches must be within reach of the driver when belted in with a full 5 point harness and you can appreciate that the switches were JUST within reach for Robert. The master kill switch MUST be reachable from the outside of the car in case safety workers have to kill the engine after an accident. Placing it as shown in the photo meets that requirement.




Gauges were next on the list. We wanted to use the original instrument cluster, but it did not have the oil pressure and the water temp gauges was suspect. These gauges were originally located in the dash above the console, and that dash was long gone. We started with a fairly inexpensive set of gauges that we picked up at Summit Racing. http://www.summitracing.com...un-cp8218/overview/. We decided to create a new dash to mount the oil pressure, water temp, and volt meter gauges. If you look, you can see the beads that were rolled into the top of the dash. This added quite a bit of structural rigidity. You can also see that we used a step die in the bead roller where the top and face meet. We tried to make sure it was clean with less of an exposed lip at the overlap.


The top of the new dash is removable to allow access. If you define access as almost impossible to work on.




We elected to add a mechanical oil pressure gauge. The oil pressure system in a Fiero is also tied to the fuel pump for safety reasons. We wanted to keep this feature so we put a tee in the oil pressure line coming out of the block. From the tee we ran an oil pressure line to the mechanical oil gauge located in our new gauge panel. We also put an additional tee in and added a low pressure switch and red indicator warning light to the oil pressure system. We used a kit from speedway motors http://www.speedwaymotors.c...earch-604-50604.html If the oil pressure drops below 20 psi, the red light on the upper left side of gauge panel comes on alerting the driver.

We also chose to go with a mechanical water temp gauge and warning light system. The probe for a mechanical water temp gauge is only 60” long and would not reach the rear of the car. To solve this problem we took two 1/2” pipe couplings and welded them into a piece of 1 ¼” tubing that was 6” long. We made sure to weld a ridge on the ends of the tubing so the hose would not come off under pressure. We put the tubing with the couplings in the radiator hose just before it went into the intake of the radiator. The two couplings allowed us a place to put the temp probe for the water temp gauge as well as a place for the sensor for an indicator light. We had to ground the 6” piece of tubing for the sensor to work. If the water temp goes above 230 degrees, the sensor turns on the red light on the upper right side of the gauge panel alerting the driver. After chasing down the couplings, drilling, cutting, welding, and painting our piece, we found that Summit Racing, just down the street sells what we needed. Can’t beat that internet!




The voltage meter gauge is wired to a “hot in run” fuse. This allows the gauge to be off when the ignition switch is in the off position.

As mentioned earlier, we eliminated the thermostat switch for the cooling fan and replaced it with a toggle switch so we could manually control the cooling fan. We also needed a reminder to turn the switch on after the car was up to temperature so we used a two pole single throw switch and a couple of relays for the fan control. When the ignition switch is on and the cooling fan switch is off, the yellow warning light in the lower left of the gauge panel comes on to alert the driver. When the ignition switch is on and the cooling fan switch is on the yellow warning light is off. To wire the cooling fan switch we fed the switch pole for the light from a “hot in run” fuse through a relay and the switch pole for the fan from a “hot at all times” fuse through a relay. This wiring configuration allows us to run the cooling fan with the ignition switch off and have the light off when the ignition switch is off.
DonP JAN 07, 12:05 PM

Because Rich was busy trying to finish up on the wiring and Robert was busy with trying to paint body panels, and we had less than a week until the first race, I was allowed to stop sweeping the floors and actually work on the car.

I drove over to Tirerack and picked up new tires. The Lemons and Chumpcar series both allow us to run any tire we want. Almost. Two requirements are that they be DOT approved tires with a hardness rating on 200 or higher. In essence, real street tires. Researching the LeMons and Chumpcar forums led us to the conclusion that two tires were the preferred choice. The Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec and the Falken Azenis 615K. Each of these has a hardness rating of 200 and have excellent reviews from other drivers. You really couldn't go wrong with either tire.

We chose neither one of those. Instead we went with the Dunlop Direzza DZ 101. The Direzza has a hardness rating of 300. By way of comparison, those ultra sticky Hoosiers have hardness ratings of 40 but are illegal. TheDirezza were cheaper, and we were fearful that it would require two sets of the softer tires for the weekend and we couldn't afford that. I picked up 4 tires for the 16" wheels we planned on running. In addition, we picked up two 15" star specs to be our spares. Rich has a tire machine, so he burned precious time changing out tires.





While Rich mounted tires, I jumped on the interior a bit. We needed a cover for the center console. There are just too many sharp edges to leave the console open. I laid out a template in cardboard and then started bending sheet metal. We made a break at the back of the shifter.



Just a word of caution. Inside the center console is a metal tube that supplies vacuum from the engine to the brake booster. Should you decide, as we did, to pop rivet the console cover to the spine, take care to avoid drilling through the tube. Call this the voice of experience. We actually did not notice that I had done this until removing the cover well after the first race weekend and hearing a loud hiss.



Another project that I was allowed to work on was creating an air dam for the front of the radiator. We wanted to create a high pressure area directly in front of the radiator and force air through the fins. I started by making a floor to the structure. I cut a piece of aluminum to fit the contour of the aero plastic nose. The nose has a cutaway that's a bit wider than the actual radiator that starts a couple inches behind the nose. I cut the aluminum about 3/4 of an inch wider (on each side) than this void. I bent the extra material up on a brake so that it fit the void. I could then pop-rivet the 3/4 lip to a mating lip that exists on the stock nose. Putting the bends in as opposed to just overlapping the material and riveting this area created a stiffer structure. And it looked smoother and more finished. Finally, on the trailing edge which extended an inch or so past the front edge of the radiator, I placed a bend that matched the angle of the radiator. There are 5-6 small bolts going through the radiator support under the radiator itself. Here I used those bolts to secure and seal the back of the plate. In addition, I placed a couple bead rolls in the aluminum sheet metal to again add rigidity and strength to the structure. No picture but it looked something like this.



I have no drawing skills whatsoever, but the next image should give you an idea of what the next pieces looked like. Inside the front structure behind the nose, we fabricated a couple side pieces to the air dam. We did our best to create side panels that would seal enough to direct the airflow through the radiator. What is not show is the bumper structure behind the nose. But we conformed the front of the side panels to that structure and riveted it all together. All in all, riveting each of these panels together created a remarkably solid structure suitable for the job.
DonP JAN 08, 03:48 PM
The Lemons races require a way to communicate with the driver. It can be as simple as a pit board flashed at the driver on the track. But the best solution is to use a two way radio communication system. At that first race in the Mustang, one of the guys was able to borrow a couple radios from work. In the past, all the series that we had been involved with specifically prohibited the use of radio communications. Now we needed to scope out a new system. Not to promote anybody, because we had no experience to base an endorsement on, we checked out several two way radio systems including http://www.racingradios.com/ http://www.ruggedradios.com/ http://www.clubracingradios.com/ http://www.racingelectronic...tem=motorola_systems http://www.racingcommunications.com/ http://www.planetheadset.co...orcycle-headsets.php

What we learned, besides the fact this would be expensive, was that UHF radios deals with obstructions like buildings, better. VHF has longer line of sight range. About the same time that we were trying to figure all this radio stuff out, a whole thread was building on the LeMons forum. http://forums.24hoursoflemo...iewtopic.php?id=8326 Of a couple threads going, this seemed to be the most informative. A lot of people were looking for the cheapest yet effective way to talk with the driver. Eventually we jumped in and talked with Troy Hogan out of Texas. Troy is the first poster on this page. http://forums.24hoursoflemo...opic.php?id=8326&p=3 And he was starting to build cheaper mic and earbud systems to work at the LeMons price point.



He had some more images here http://angiem357.smugmug.co...i=1169787229&k=st4Y6


There are several choices when it comes to the radio itself. And several price points. Because of our initial experience was with the borrowed Motorola CP200 radios, we had some confidence in them and we elected to go that route. Ebay, here we go. We picked up two 16 channel, 5 watt VHF radios on e-bay for about $100 each.



The downside, and what we experienced while driving the Mustang, is that the normal speaker/mic combo clips onto the safety harness. And it's sometimes difficult to find the mic button because it's out of sight and you are wearing gloves which hamper the tactile feel. The up-side is that when you use this type of setup, your arms automatically look like the cop's in the picture. But you are wearing a long sleeve driving suit, so nobody sees.

Ideally, you want both the microphone and the ear buds inside the helmet. Unfortunately, the Motorola comes with a funky two-jack connector that you can see in the image above. We needed an adaptor, and that's where Troy came in. Troy was building a couple different adapters to fit different radios. I pulled a couple pictures that he had posted, combined them into a single image and placed an order with Troy.

I ordered one of the harness labeled "A" This is the main harness that plugged into the radio. Coming from the top two-prong Motorola plug, it drops down to a T. Off the side of the T, just above the A is a Push-To-Talk (PTT) button. Past the T is another PTT followed by a 1/4" jack. The jack then interfaces with other options. So this is the main harness.

I ordered two parts labeled "B." You can see a small microphone which is velcroed to the inside of the helmet, near the driver's mouth. And another small jack to connect to in the ear buds. Two of us have molded earpieces which I'll talk about shortly.

For the other drivers who do not have personalized ear buds, I ordered two "C" harnesses. The same microphone as the B harness, but also a larger speaker that can be shoved inside the helmet in the ear socket.

And finally I ordered one "D" assembly. This is a larger PTT that can replace the PTT button on the main harness and then be attached to the steering wheel. Never really used this because of fears it would be ripped out with the removable steering wheel.

I won't say what Troy charged, but he was way too cheap! He helped to keep the costs to a LeMons scale.



As I mentioned, two of us already had custom molded ear buds. If you do a search, you'll find a couple big name buds with correspondingly big prices. http://www.srcproducts.com/...uctId=8&categoryId=6 http://www.earplugstore.com...fJ2bQCFWlxQgodhnoA6g http://pitstopusa.com/i-508...s-w-x-long-cord.html

What we elected to use was the kit from Fuze custom Earphones. http://www.earfuze.com/index.html Their direct price right now is $45 with some adequate ear buds.



Since that time, we found an article on-line for what might be a cheaper alternative. http://www.howtogeek.com/57...our-in-ear-monitors/ and It's likely our other drivers will build their own molded in the ear buds.

We ran out of time for our first race weekend, but we intended to build a box out of aluminum to hold the radio in place. Just too much to do.
SCCAFiero JAN 08, 07:17 PM

quote
Originally posted by DonP:


On the subject of brakes, we spent a lot of time following threads here on PFF concerning brakes. I believe in brakes, and am willing to spend money on them. Brakes are not calculated into the $500 value of the car. There's definitely a dearth of aftermarket brake components available for the Fiero. I spent time at Summit trying to find something to work with, and went away empty handed. The only thing we could find was a set of EBC brake pads, and they were advertised as street pads. Finally, with time running short, we followed the most common recommendation here on the PFF.

We purchased the Wagner Thermo-quiet MX-378 brake pads. Yes they are standard street brake pads. I can testify that they work great under race conditions. We could out-brake many other cars with no fears. Today, with 4 race weekends, a couple open track days and a couple auto-crosses in the bank, we are still running the same set and will just be taking a new set to the next race as back-ups.




WOW. I am really surprised your brakes lasted that long. I guess sticky tires make a huge difference in brake wear since I typically only got about 300 miles before the pads were less than 1/16" remaining on my car. The best brake pads I ever ran were KFP purple pads. KFP Golds are pretty good as well. Summit does not sell them. The EBC green pads were decent for stopping power but I only got about 60% of the pad life since they started to break apart after that and lose chunks of material.

Unless of course, you were not going fast enough to get the brakes hot enough to wear out. Kidding. Car looks good.
DonP JAN 08, 08:08 PM
Going too slow is always a possibility. But typically we could pull many of the cars off the corner (once we were straight) and still brake later and harder than most of these admittedly street cars. But we've been thrilled with the brake performance and longevity with the Wagner brakes.

KFP purple pads. I tried doing a Google search but could not find an application page. I did see several BMW, Corvette and Porsche inquiries. Are you running stock calipers brakes on your car? I guess I could go back and check your build thread. I'm interested as we are doing an engine swap for this coming March and might be gaining speed. Oh, and yes, sticky tires change everything.

Don

[This message has been edited by DonP (edited 01-08-2013).]

SCCAFiero JAN 08, 09:36 PM
I have not purchased them for a couple years now, so you will have to make a phone call to check availability. They were around $135 per axle. I ran stock front calipers on all 4 corners of my 88. Stock, over the counter rotors. Wagner 5.1 brake fluid and stainless flex lines. I used 1/4 bolts with steel lock nuts to hold the pads in for quick pad changes. I never had any brake fade issues even during enduros.


The pad color description can be found here.


http://www.racing-stuff.com/kfp%20magnum.htm

2005 - Black Color * Average coefficient of friction .650. Stable friction at all temperatures up to 1200 degrees F. Designed for open wheel or cars with good ducting. Requires less pedal effort. Use with new or reconditioned rotors.

2003 - Purple Color * Average coefficient of friction .500. Good stable friction at all temperatures up to 1200 degrees F. Use with new or reconditioned rotors.

P1101 - Red Color Average coefficient of friction .530. High torque with moderate wear, for use in applications where thermal saturation is low. For use when under 600 degrees F operating and under 1200 degrees F spiking. Popular for formula cars with large and/or vented brakes. Not for use on aluminum.

P4211 - Blue Color Average coefficient of friction .490. Moderate torque with low wear rate. For use in applications where thermal saturation is low to moderate. For use when under 800 degrees F operating and under 1500 degrees F spiking. Common uses are rear applications for OEM based road race vehicles, small caliper formula fords.

P42A - Gold Color Average coefficient of friction .470. Moderate torque with low wear rate. For use in applications where thermal saturation is moderate to high. For use when constantly over 450 degrees F operating temperature. Has the broadest thermal zone of these materials. Commonly used as a front pad material choice on larger vehicles and custom relining brake shoes, such as on the popular road racing vehicle, Formula Vee.Formula Vee Champion KFP lined racing brake shoes
Fierology JAN 09, 01:42 AM
looking good! I eagerly await the continuation...

-Michael
DonP JAN 09, 02:02 PM
Thank you Michael. The initial build is coming to a close, maybe by tomorrow. But we had some adventures that required additional work as well as stuff we just didn't have time for. And the work on a track car nevr really stops.

Don
DonP JAN 09, 02:10 PM
With time running out, Robert pulled out the big guns and called in Paula to assist in the paint efforts. Rich doesn't do paint. He was too busy in any case. I had more sweeping to attend to. So Robert and Paula jumped on it.









Yes, we did it with rattle cans. And working outside meant that we had to work around the Northern Nevada winds. That means we had a window of opportunity of about an hour a day. The base paint for our theme was white, so that's where we started.


With less than 40 hours until we needed to load up and go, we had a white car.




It was about this time that we installed the hood vents you saw earlier. Robert , whose job requires him to get up at 4:30 a.m. did a big final push and started adding some color to the car. We couldn't make it to our hoped for paint scheme, but needed to do something.
thesameguy JAN 09, 02:18 PM

quote
Originally posted by DonP:

Obviously we needed to make the seat mount adjustable. Kirkey does make an adjustable seat mount, but using that mount would make Rich's head too high. We had to make our own. I failed to get a clear picture of the seat bracket on its' own. But I think you can see what we did in the following pictures. Basically, we have a couple 1/2" holes going through the side of the seat. These mate up with holes in the side of the bracket. When we have to move the seat for a shorter driver, we remove the bolts and select a pair of holes positioned for him. Yup, it's a pain but quickly done with air tools. We aren't talking Grand Am speed driver changes here. It also dictates the order for the drivers in order to minimize the number of changes in a given day.

We purchased a cam-lock style safety harness from Summit Racing. The cam lock is definitely the preferred mechanism because it's so much easier to use than the older over-center latch style. We looked at several and chose the G-Force harness.



We ran into the same seat adjustment "considerations" on our Lemons car using a similar Kirkey seat. Our drivers compromised a little on seating position to minimize the number of seat changes - we only had to change it once per rotation. In the early Lemons days moving the seat around wasn't a big deal, as we would get our driver strapped in while tires and fluids were checked and we refueled, but when they changed the rules to require the driver out of the car while gas was being poured, protracted seat adjustment periods had to go!

We also switched from a latch-type to a camlock belt, and that dramatically improved our pit times. It was really pretty stunning to see how pit stops could ruin a good race... we spent lots of time in several races in the top 5, and a slow pit would blow us out to the teens! Anything you can do to reduce time in the pits is critical... and that brings me to:

What are you doing about a fuel tank? We actually swapped from a 16 gallon to 20 gallon tank off a later car to save pit-ins. 20 gallons would last us perhaps 3-4 hours, so we would refuel at every two hour-ish driver change to ensure enough gas if we kept a driver in longer. The Fiero has a tiny, tiny tank and isn't particularly fuel efficient... You might find your race time limited by gas and not fatigue.