redtopz

We had hopes for possibly 10 T1 corvettes for the first race this year, but as usual the numbers dwindled down a bit due to car troubles. Jim T. still needs a new engine, Ken is finishing a blueprinted LS3, Chuck had clutch problems, Oli fixed his clutch then lost his hood, Carl was halfway through his control arm work, Brent was working, etc. etc. However, we still had a good showing of 7 T1 corvettes including a new C6 driven by Al Camano. We had rain Saturday morning gradually drying out in the afternoon and then nice weather for the national on Sunday.

As you can guess (and see in my vid), with the exception of Oli, none of us have much experience in the rain. I have avoided wet track days and have never tried rain tires. So I had a great time trying out a set of new hoosier wets. I was very impressed with the grip compared to my limited experience on A6's and street tires in the rain. I picked up another 12 seconds for the national qual session on the wets.

Here are the vids. The first one is Saturday's regional qualifying and race. I was trying out some new goodyear A compound tires in this race, but the rears had a couple sessions on them and ended up cording during the race. They are as grippy as A6's, but don't seem to last as long. Oli took the checkered in this race and Bob Kahn and I finished up the podium.




The next vid is my first national race where Oli lost his hood on the 2nd lap. It flew right over my car at about 150 mph. If you watch my mirror as I come out of the oval, you can see plumes of white smoke from the excess oil working it's way up to the head and puking into the throttle body. This continues for half the race until the oil level gets lower. Don't ask me what happened at the start. I was trying to stay behind Oli, but he just kept accelerating. After redlining 2nd gear I shifted to 3rd and when the flag went I was already on the gas trying to keep up and was surprised to find myself getting around him so quickly. But it didn't last for long .

I'm running the Hardbar AP brakes and as you can see, they get the job done . Oh and I was back on my trusty hoosier A6's for the national race .

flink

(Oli's hood flies off at the 2 minute mark)

I'm impressed at how quickly the guy behind him reacted - instantaneous. And his savage dart to the left at 150MPH looks pretty scary.

PA Z06

so I can watch tonight

Olitho

Here is the link to the thread with the video of my crazy "Flying Hood" incident at the SCCA National Race at Auto Club Speedway this past Sunday:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...-incident.html

froggy47

What failed the hood fasteners or the plastic itself?

Olitho

The fiberglass frame underneath the hood skin on the passenger side. Then everything else got ripped out.

froggy47

I thought you T1 guys all had pinned hoods & took the hinges out to cut the weight, I run DE's there with stock hinges, do I need to do some reinforcement to that area?

My CF hood (z16 2004) moves all over the place (flutters) at speed. It is adjusted correctly & fits perfectly when sitting still.

Olitho

Our T1 cars are mostly stock, although in recent years they have allowed headers, removal of catalytics, 4-piston front calipers with two-piece rotors, and most recently Delrin/poly bushings. Other than safety equipment, DOT-R tires and the specified springs/sway bars our cars are stock.


Oli

redtopz

You should not have a problem. Our cars were designed for high speeds. However, things you can do to reduce the chances are making sure you have your stock weatherstripping in place beneath the hood parallel to the windshield. That will help prevent air from entering under the hood from the high pressure area at the windshield. Also, taping off the front air dams. We are not allowed to do that in T1 or I would do it. It also helps with aero/downforce.

MJM

Thanks for the videos.

Nice driving on everyone's part.

Matt

froggy47

Thanks, the weather strip in place, you mean the front air intakes, right? With the wire on them?

Bimota Guy

Congrats on your first National win...in your first National race! It was fun to watch in person and relive here. But you need to move that lap timer so use voyeurs get a better view!

redtopz

Thanks Steve! That was a fun weekend with an unexpected yet thrilling finish for me. Thanks for your help and support. Too bad you will be missing the next few races. I had a great time hanging out with the gang again at the track and getting beers/dinner afterwards.

Oh, and you are right about my lap timer. I was a little disappointed when I saw my vids. I'll have to move it next time.

Bill.

Bimota Guy

Nope. The seal on the bottom of, and at the back edge of, the hood (near the windshield.)

froggy47

I don't have anything attached to the hood except the "sound mat"?

I have rubber attached to the cowl that seals to the hood.

Maybe the CF seal is different?





Above is seal on cowl ^^^^^






Above is hood with NO SEAL I am pointing to the spot where the cowl seal hits the hood CF ^^^^^^

Bimota Guy

No, you're right. The seal at the base of the windshield is not on the hood. This is what happens when you can no longer go out to your garage or trailer and look at your own Vette before posting.

el es tu

So are you running the original floating calipers on the rear? If so, have you had spread problems with them?

froggy47

No worries, I just want to make sure I had whatever the seal was, as my cf hood does "flutter around" a bit.

I know when GM tried these lightweight hoods out on the 2004, they kept the stock hinge struts (gas pressure). The struts have so much pressure (to hold the heavier hood) you really have to shove down to get it to close with the cf hood.

redtopz

Yes, stock rear brakes. They work fine and my pads are not tapering. They seem to do better once you remove the parking brake hardware to allow more cooling. They also work better when you remember to install new pads before they go metal to metal like they did in the Pacific Coast Championship. Doh!

I'm impressed with the AP T1 front brake kit. It looks like rotors will last a whole season or close to it and the pads seem to last around 3 race weekends. Of course that depends on what kind of pads you run and how hard they are on the rotors. I'm running the Ferodo wide pads in front DS11.1.

redtopz

Thanks Matt. Are you taking your car up to Fuller Fab for a cage? I'm telling you, that guy is a real craftsman and you can't beat his price. He will build whatever you want and do a top notch job.