[Anchorman]

I'm starting to prepare for my fifth DE at Watkins Glen. I started doing these with TracQuest because they were the only organizer I could find that would allow a cabriolet w/o a roll bar on the track. TracQuest has since been acquired by Chin Motorsports, but the same rule still applies. It is now less relevant to me as I have the Flash "Chassis Stiffener", which - with the experience of three two-day sessions - allowed me to move up out of the novice group.



So - if there are owners of cabs without roll bars that believe they can't participate in DE events, check out www.chinmotorsports.com - with which I have no affiliation.



I've getting the car prepped. It'll visit RSBarn next week to get one sway bar bushing replaced (destroyed by a PS fluid leak), a Variocam inspection, and some miscellaneous other stuff. Can't wait for the event, as I had to miss the fall session - actually, there was no fall session because the Glen closed early for repaving. Has anyone driven it on the new surface? Any warnings?

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[mike]

While it is true that Chin does allow cabs w/o rollbars as long as the driver signs an additional waiver, and I don't want to sound too preachy, and I don't set the CMS policy, and I don't want to dampen your enthusiam for doing DEs or enjoying your car, I would highly recommend a roll bar and 5 or 6 point harnesses for cabs. And...I do have an affiliation as a Chief Driving Instructor for Chin for the past 3 years. One of my duties as a CDI is to assign instructors to novice students and it can become a challenging issue sometimes to find an instructor who is willing to instruct in a cab w/o a rollbar. As I said, I don't want to be preachy or dampen your enthusiasm so I will just say



Good luck Anchor!! Have fun and be safe.



mike

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[Anchorman]

Mike, no problem with dampening enthusiasm. I now have the Flash-designed "chassis stiffener" installed in my car, but even before that I only had one instance where an instructor wouldn't ride in the car because of the lack of a roll bar. The reason I started this thread is that, to the best of my knowledge, Chin is the only organizer that offers the opportunity for drivers of non-bar equipped cabs to get the taste of DE. At the Hershey Celebration, I met several folks that thought they could never do a DE event because they have non-bar equipped cabs so I want the option to be known. Re the 5-6 point harness - that is a step I have no plans to ever implement, and if that stops me from doing DEs, I guess that'll be it - at least for this car. I have learned how to lock the shoulder belt so that it really holds me in the seat, but since this car is my daily driver, further race-oriented modifications are not in the cards.

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[Jason Judd]

Mike,



I've been with Anchor at Watkins Glen, and I can say that I've felt very comfortable with him...Good line, aware of (and comfortable with) the traffic around him, and able to pass and be passed safely.



Of course that doesn't address the safety issue you importantly mentioned.



I was more frightened to be in the passenger seat of a Z-06 (that had race seats, roll bar and harnesses for both driver and passenger) with some kid from Staten Island who wanted to unleash the NOS he had installed hidden under the carpeting in the back, because somebody passed him.



Now, that was the first time I asked to be removed from instructing a student.



Holy Crap!



Jason

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[Anchorman]

Jason, I'm blushing...



Seriously, I understand the pleasure and the risks of being on the track - and the potential risk is not just to me, but the risk that I can be to others. I go to the track with two major objectives - Have Fun, and Drive The Car Home (looking pretty much like it looked when I got to the track). If I've accomplished those objectives, it's a successful outing. I don't time laps (but the closer I can get to 120mph on the back straight at the Glen, the better I'm doing in turn 1 and the esses).



Looking forward to driving - and riding - with you in 12 days.

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[RickP]

First, thanks to all who instruct. You make a favorite activity possible, and are greatly appreciated.



Anchorman, have you been able to do a PCA DE with the brace?



Rick

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[Anchorman]

I have not tried to do a PCA DE. So, in answer to what I think is the unspoken question - I don't know if it will pass a PCA inspection or not. I may try in the fall, but not before then.

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[vnarma]

Without a rollbar that passes the "broomstick" test, I don't know of a PCA DE that would pass you for Tech inspection. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[Anchorman]

I've never tried the "broomstick" test. When I'm at Watkins Glen in 10 days, I'll do that.

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[Anchorman]

Well, things don't always turn out as planned (but you didn't know that...). I drove to Watkins Glen Sunday evening, got to the track bright and early (and cold - 33 degrees) Monday morning, and was looking forward to a great (and warmer) day. The first track session for the intermediate group was from 9:30-10:00 and was...fast. I decided that for the next (11:00) session, I'd start out at the back of the pack, reducing the need to spend to much driving the mirrors and signalling faster cars to pass. This was working really well, until I exited the bus stop on the second lap. I felt a lurch in the steering and realized that I no longer had power steering. I slowed a bit and pitted at the end of the lap.



As soon as I opened the hood and saw three belts lounging around in the engine compartment, I knew I had a problem that was more than just a broken PS belt. In fact, the PS belt was not broken. The six-ribbed belt that drives the A/C compressor and the alternator had split so that I now had two ribbed belts - one with two ribs and one with three (the sixth rib was history along the split).



I borrowed some hydraulic jacks, got the front up in the air, removed the belly pan, and soon found that the A/C compressor was flopping around, hanging from the A/C lines and swinging on the tensioner. It seems that both A/C compressor mounting bolts had failed - the 8mm was completely gone (it must have vibrated loose, backed itself out completely, and ended up who knows where), the 10mm had a piece left in the threaded compressor mounting lug, and the split belt must have dislodged the PS belt, as that was the only problem with the PS system.



To make a long story short - it was the rest of Monday, and all of Tuesday morning to get the compressor out, drill out the broken bolt, get new bolts and new belts, and get everything back together.



So, the two day track outing ended up being about 34 minutes of track driving (compared to the more than 4 hours that was available to me), and about 8 hours (or so it seemed) under the car.



At least I drove the car home, 4 hours with the top down.

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[mike]

Bummer...Sorry to hear the bad news. But like you said, the good news was that you were able to drive the car home. Better luck next time.



mike

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[94SilverCab]

Anchorman,



Sorry that your track day(s) didn't turn out as planned...at least you had a good 33 minutes and the opportunity to DRIVE IT HOME (What a beautiful day it was).



Best of luck on your next outing.



Regards,



Jay

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[Anchorman]

Driving it home became my #1 objective. The car was finally drivable at lunchtime Tuesday, and there were a couple of afternoon sessions that I could have participated in. However, I was pretty much physically beat by then (too many hours under the car) and I also wasn't willing to take the chance of something else happening and the "driving it home" becoming "not". While I'm not a fatalist, I did have more than one thought of "this wasn't meant to be". And, with all that has to get done this week, not driving home was simply not an alternative. So, now I have to look forward to VIR in November (and, possibly, Watkins Glen in October). We'll see.

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[mike]

Anchor,



While Chin does not require a roll bar for cabs, there are certain tracks that do have more rigid requirements and VIR is one that does not allow cabs without roll bars. The following is from the Chin website regarding roll protection at VIR:

CONVERTIBLES/ROADSTERS/CABRIOLETS

VIR has a requirement for fixed 4-point (or better) roll bars, or 3-point hoops behind the seat for roadsters.

This is a strict track standard. Street convertibles and cabriolets with OEM roll protection

are generally NOT ACCEPTED. This standard is a firm VIR policy.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news...especially in light of the experience you had ad WG.





mike

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[Jason Judd]

Anchor,



I'm just back from WGI myself and I'm glad to hear you made it home in good shape!



Sorry we only got to see your feet sticking out from under your car for most of the 2 days at the Chin event...Andy was certainly a gentleman.



I'm truly amazed at your continued positive outlook/attitude the entire time.



Best,



Jason

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[flash]

mike - the "chassis brace" meets those requirements as specifically stated in that quote - in fact, it is actually a 6 point unit - if there are further specific requirements (length, angle, thickness, curve radius, etc), there may be an issue, though it was designed to meet both PCA and SCCA design requirements



he has the "base" unit, which won't pass for racing in those classes, and would require the additional "x-brace", but it should pass DE requirements

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[mike]

[quote name='flash' post='35615' date='May 18 2007, 08:39 AM']mike - the "chassis brace" meets those requirements as specifically stated in that quote - in fact, it is actually a 6 point unit - if there are further specific requirements (length, angle, thickness, curve radius, etc), there may be an issue, though it was designed to meet both PCA and SCCA design requirements



he has the "base" unit, which won't pass for racing in those classes, and would require the additional "x-brace", but it should pass DE requirements[/quote]



Thanks for the clarification flash...I sometimes just skim over some of the cab specific topics like the "chassis brace" and did not realize that it also provided some roll protection. If it meets those stated requirements, then I would hope that would suffice. But it is still the VIR track officials that make the call. I have a friend who made the trip from Tampa to VIR in his Boxster a couple of years ago only to be refused to run on the track. I know the Boxster roll hoops don't meet the criteria in that description but it is just an example of how serious they take it.



Anchor,

Sorry for lecturing to you regarding having a roll bar when you had the "chassis brace"/ roll bar all along. Dohhh!!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/ohmy.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



mike

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[flash]

no worries - i said all along that the base model will be up to the steward's discretion - it lacks the diagonal of the race spec, and the contact point of hoop to legs is a little bit lower than it should be (couldn't be helped if the windscreen was to be used)



but so far, i think there are only 2 DE events (can't remember which ones right now)that require full spec units



with the x-brace installed, it meets or exceeds every one of the pca and scca requirements for a roll bar



but, that's why it's called a chassis brace

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[Renn68]

Anchorman - I've got warning bells and flashing lights going off after reading about your ancillaries falling off !!! Please get the balance shaft timing checked out.



These were the first events I identified in my path to engine failure - mine had got 180deg out of phase and in addition to PS and Alternator coming loose, the oil pickup pipe developed a fatigue crack ultimately resulting in a #2 bearing and rod thru the pan and block..........

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[flash]

ouch - i am having flashbacks of rods shooting through my pan and pistons going out the side of the block when i blew up one of the race motors



good idea to verify everything that might have caused the failure

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