[Cloud9...68]

" If I could do it over, I would have started with a Miata, the high hp cars actually slowed my learning curve.





Yes, I can see how this can happen. With a less powerful, well-balanced car like a Miata (or a 968), you're forced to carry more speed through the corners to keep up with the more powerful cars, which forces you to learn good cornering skills in a hurry. You can always add power later.

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[RS Barn]

My Firehawk GT is getting a few things tweaked for this season. It will be putting down some laps at NJMP soon. See you there.

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[Scott Collins]

PEEEEEEEETE!!!!!

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[RS Barn]

Scott.

What I should say is lets get lots of 968's to NJ. I know of 10 DE/Race cars within 2 hrs of NJMP.

That's 5 rows on the grid.

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[Langley968]

[quote name='RS Barn' timestamp='1333292847' post='124275']

Scott.

What I should say is lets get lots of 968's to NJ. I know of 10 DE/Race cars within 2 hrs of NJMP.

That's 5 rows on the grid.

[/quote]



That would be a cool sight...

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[benspeeder]

I will be racing the Pro IT on the NJMP Grand Am weekend Gonna be a blast!

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[RS Barn]

Ben,

I will be away in Florida with my daughter at National event. I'm so bummed I can't be there. Pablo will be racing in PCA event also. I'm sure you both will kick butt.

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[pmcrespo]

Wow... You guys really hijacked the hell out of this thread!.. But Ben! What up big daddy! Indeed, May 11-13th. I am signed up for the support race with PCA! 50 of us in a million different classes. Mainly a Cup Car field so I will be driving with my mirros all race. Did u do the Lime Rock race that just passed? I am scheduled to be up in Lime Rock this Friday and Saturday for the car first outing this season. Plus my first time ever to Lime Rock...

RLIPS... Post some new Pics and reclaim your thread!

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[flash]

yeah- let's get this back to his build

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[benspeeder]

Crespo! I will be there to cheer ya bud - we can compare lap times for 968 Forums NA champ!



Havent raced yet but did test at LRP and was under a minute! Then the rear bearing failed so I was glad I tested. Figure that was what got me at watkins at the end of the season.



Always something just got it back from the shop and a tap tap in the motor. Just had the rod bearings serviced. Will take it around the block and see if it pulls right. Maybe cold oil.....but not happy. RS Barn always had the car in premium shape, the new shop not as good.

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[rlips]

Well folks, really bad news. I have not been here much, do to the fact that my (nearly new) engine expired late April at the front straight of Lightning. Upon examination, we found the crankshaft had broken in half at the #2 journal. We suspect the dreaded # 2 bearing issue. Oh well, at least I managed to pull it right off line with no damage to anyone, so that's good.



Here is a picture of the damage:



http://www.flickr.com/photos/52152243@N03/7612209232/





It was fun for the twelve hours it lasted, here is a lap, the car is not set up well here, and I have a 200 lb passenger, but you can get a sense of what it could do



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaUgFfZyNmw





So what next? We are stuffing a Corvette LS3 motor and turning it into a DE only car.



More to come....

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[Cloud9...68]

Wow, so very sorry to hear that, after completing what looked like a fantastic build. But to try to put it into perspective, in all the years I've been following the forums of these cars, keenly focused on the racers, this is the first time I've ever heard of a crank snapping. As terrible as this is, my feeling is to chalk it up as a freak, once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and, if you have the financial means, buy a used motor, build it up, and install it in your race car. But of course this is a decision only you can make. Best of luck either way.

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[tamathumper]

Holy Crayola! Reminds me of the time my 454 Merc blew a hole through the side of the block with only 150 hours on the boat/motor. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/whine.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Sorry for your loss. The only worse picture I've seen is from our European friend whose car caught on fire while test driving it.

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[rlips]

Ah. Not to worry, this is not a real problem. We can summarize it like this: "my toy is broken, boo hoo"



There are a lot worse things that can happen. People get sick. People get hurt, etc. a broken race car does not rate up there.



Anyway, we think that the number 2 bearing spun, then the crank broke. Data from that run shows 1.3 to 1.4 sustained g's comming out of the light bulb, and we think that without a dry sump, the same thing is likely to happen again. And a dry sump system would add 50% to the cost.



So, for now, it's getting American v8 muscle. Half the price, twice the pier and the same weight.



When we are done we will have a 2650 lb 480 hp de car. What's not to like?

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[Cloud9...68]

Sorry, I misread your post. Somehow I thought you were considering an LS3 swap, but I see you're already well on your way, so disregard my post above. Let us know how it turns out. The fact that you've got a full cage in the car should really help deal with the supernatural quantity of torque your new engine will blow through your unsuspecting chassis...



Wow, that's a lot of g's. I've just finished rebuilding my engine, and it's back in the car, but not fully hooked up yet, so I'm interested/concerned with your experience. I've installed Lindsey's hinged sump baffle plate/oil pickup screen collar kit, I've had the pick-up tube itself reinforced, and I'm installing an extra oil pressure warning light with an adjustable level that I think I will set to something like 3.5 bar to give me as much advance warning as possible of a low oil pressure situation. Plus I won't be running slicks for awhile, so I'm hoping I won't be in the oil starvation danger zone.

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[Cloud9...68]

Just thought of a question - what is it about the LS3's design that makes it less susceptible to oil starvation than the 968? Or are you going with a dry sump, which I'm sure on an LS3 costs a fraction of what it does on a 968?

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[rlips]

It's not so much that the LS3 is less susceptible, it's that the #2 bearing on the 968 has always been more susceptible. There have been a number of tricks to try to figure out why, but they have varying degrees of success.



We are going with an accusump on the LS3. A crate LS3 can be had brand new for about 7k, with no core charge. That's new, not rebuilt.



About the same as 4 sets of Hoosiers.....



Same weight, twice the power, less than half the price.



Also, we expect about 480 hp at the crank, and this is a mild LS3. It will be loafing at those power levels. Levels approaching 600 HP and beyond are easily attainable with this motor.



I think 480 in a 2650 lb car will be sufficient, for now

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[Cloud9...68]

OK, thanks for the clarification.



I've always been against V8 swaps into 968s, but you have a unique situation (blown engine, racing chassis) where it actually makes sense. Best of luck with it - let us know how she runs.

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