Aarons Drag CQ: 3-29 anodized and welded stuff. AN lines

[speeding-g60]

wow that thing was pretty cool.

and yep sure enough, being bored is no fun. 3/5 names banned on Vortex already!!! LOL

there is soooo much i want to do, try to do, but i know i have to stay off my tools for a fair while.

thanks for the support!! we go for walks every day, as i am supposed to walk as i am able.

this was part of a clip from the other day.


Link to video

this was today.....


Link to video

[speeding-g60]

did a lil wiring.... slowly moving along with what i can when i can

made some decisions too.

wife and i took off the passenger side door, and weighed just the shell. had to have her lift the stuff while i did the bolts, i dont want to be pushing it too much more than i already am. and they weigh 38 lb no window or frame. i am getting FRP/fiberglass doors that weigh 13.6 lb each, and am thinking about doing the windows in the doors in lexan as well. savings of door skins alone 50 pounds!

rear quarter glass i will do lexan and save just over 10 pounds together.

hatch glass i will do lexan and save probably 20-25 pounds or so. we will see.

[speeding-g60]

aaaaand, figured out the "no-ignition to ECU" i was having a problem with. just because, i turned on some power and was testing switches and relays. and didnt have ECU ignition. so i had to find it naturally.

one thing i finally did was delete the COP wiring. and apparently the ignition lead to the ecu went out to the COP harness and looped back LOL. took me about 30 minutes of troubleshooting, looking at the diagram, testing wires, and stuff. it finally clicked that i deleted that harness, and it must have been in there so i looked at the harness i cut out and sure enough, there it was. right past where i isolated the wiring from the harness, it was looped together. so i made it like it was, and VIOLA i have ecu ignition, which also allows the fuel relays to be triggered.

yay!!! beer time!

[speeding-g60]

never will i just "sit still". and yes, i am taking things very easy, only doing little bits at a time, light stuff.

but, i replaced the rear quarter glass with polycarbonate, and saved 10lb 3oz!!!! that is decent for a couple hours of my life and $20 in material!

the V8 A6 haul-mobile at it again!



made a pattern, checked it and modded it, then copied it for the opposite side.



then i laid out a trimline, just like OEM does, to hide the under crap. and i only do it on the inside so it stays unscratched and looks smooth and no paint line. peel back and hit it lightly with some 600 grit to promote paint adhesion.







spray ultra super mega flat black, and let dry.





test fit, and fab the brackets that secure it in place

[speeding-g60]

also ordered the new rods and billet mains and hardware, i need to move forward now on the new bottom end. also sent a head in to Integrated for their CNC head porting program, if i can come up with enough $$$ to cover that as well.

and i did have, totally out of the blue, one of the companies that provided me with some parts, contact me and ask if they could send me some $$$ to help this year. i thought that was AWESOME and appreciate every little bit of help i can get; whether it is free parts, cash, discounted parts, parts at cost/below cost, parts carried that are from another company and given with no markup, labor, etc. every little bit helps.

i am about to push the ORDER button on the fiberglass door shells, too. i just need to make sure i can get shipping squared away from Germany. if anyone has any suggestions feel free to LMK. thanks!!

[mr_aj_johnson]

Cool!

Where did you find lexan for 20 bones? and how thick?

Also any pics of a completed dash? I'm doing mine out of ABS plastic but I'm scared of sun glare. Plastic is matte colored I just don't wanna screw up the angle.

[Highlander]

I hope everything goes well with your back surgery Aaron.

For guys like us the slow road to recovery is the hardest. There is always so much
cool stuff to be doing. I'm sitting here on the couch, I broke my ankle in 3 places last week,
surgery,screws, plates the whole nine yards.........the pain I can take no problem, the mind set of being
immobile is so much harder to adjust to.

Good luck.

Craig

[speeding-g60]

Polycarbonate was from the local Target Plastics. and i shop in their "drop" rack, cut offs and leftover pieces. i told them i needed 1/8" or so. will be getting another good chunk here soon for the new rear hatch i just picked up to gut, and i am going to attempt to do the front windows as well.

also, Justin is almost done with the shift tower. cant wait to get that in and tested



Joey helped me pull the hatch from the Pick n Pull, and wifey helped me pull it from the car at home. i CAN do it myself, i just really SHOULDNT. this whole "downtime" and "light duty" stuff is killin me, just as you said, Craig. it plain SUCKS!!!!

[speeding-g60]

and Derek came over as he wanted to try and save the glass. so we spent a lil time and got it out in one pc.

full hatch with trim and wiper = 62lb 12oz. gutted my way with no glass 28lb 9.2 oz.

but a solid measure on the bare glass itself is 21lb 4.2 oz..... and if i spent $100 for the new hatch AND the polycarbonate sheet to fill it with and saved 25 pounds, it would be a great trade off, one that i would do multiple times over if i could.

[speeding-g60]

an idea popped into my head as i have been trying to think how i am going to design a method to control the amount the car lifts on the launch. i have been mulling over limiter cables and straps as an option, with nothing really "popping" so to speak. and then late last night, i had an epiphany. we will see how it works when the whole weight of the car is on it.

made a bracket and am going to try a 5/8" all thread thru the hole in the Forged control arm. the top will have a 1.8T 20v exhaust valve spring to keep the tension on the rod when not under load.

i dunno, but its kinda neat and i hope it works. in chatting with some of my faster DSM buddies, they use the strut as the limiter and it lifts only ~ 3/4" or so... if i could find a shorter strut that would work, then i could try that. but i dunno what to try. Derek mentioned a VW Rabbit strut is shorter but by how much i dont know. also this will help with Toe-out when the front lifts up, as it has a good amount with the new steering setup.


Link to video

[mounty]

reminds me of the electrical setup my dad had in his 56 drag bug.

he is a plc builder/programmer.

[pkw]

that threaded rod is just bolted through the lower arm? you kiddin me? should be a spherical mount style or at least a clevis style.

[pkw]

also if you are bored and okay with a lot of work for a little gain on the drag car then skip shipping fg doors from europe and make your own kevlar ones.

[death 4kqt]

that threaded rod is just bolted through the lower arm, you kiddin me? should be a spherical mount style or at least a clevis style.

methinks this might just be a prototype to test theory.

[pkw]

hope so. it also should not need to be 5/8" either. no pickin - just trying to help.

[mounty]

what about a strap on the front like seatbelt material? too hard of a stop?

[speeding-g60]

it is an exercise, experiment, whatever. i have been thinking about this for months, too.

yes, the hole in the LCA can take a 3/4" rod but not with any movement, and i could get 1/2" as well. and yes, it has a locknut above and below the LCA. it cant go anywhere, and it has a little play so it doesnt bind up.

looked at limiter straps for like offroad 4x4 trucks and sandrails. mounting would be much the same way, bolting thru the LCA. its not like i am using stamped arms that i can just weld some tabs on and use heim rod ends or whatever.

what would be the problem with the rod thru the LCA hole? just curious why you would say "you kiddin me?" in that tone.... honest question.

also, called and talked to Bilstein. can get Sport inserts that are shorter than stock, and even have them rebuilt and have spacers added internally to limit rebound length ability. or machine the shaft down to a shorter length. this would be more costly though. this can also be done with HD struts, too, BTW. rebuilt and shorten the stroke. i might just send one of the ones i have now (they dont have 100 miles on them LOL) and see about getting it shortened.

[speeding-g60]

aaaaaand, i guess you must have missed the "light duty" work ability lately?

also if you are bored and okay with a lot of work for a little gain on the drag car then skip shipping fg doors from europe and make your own kevlar ones.

not for nothing, but 50 pounds is a lot of gain. and making my own is way too much work.

i have a really good grasp on my money>:<work ratio and i know what i would rather buy than build, and vice versa. and this is easier to buy for me. i do not want to make 4 molds ( inner and outer for each side) to then need to make 4 parts (again, inner and outer each side) and spend all that time and money on material just to make one set. and no i do not plan to put anything into production, this is still just my hobby.

so if i spend a grand on FB doors shipped from Germany and it puts me that little bit closer to my goal, then it was a good thing.

i budgeted (a realistic number not something i just guessed at) $15,000 dollars to go from 9.34 to 8.xxx and i am HOPING i come in close to it.

but i thank you all for your efforts in helping me with this project, with other views and theory, etc. i spend countless hours looking at stuff, reading stuff, trying to expand my view on how things work in relation to this car.

[my2000apb]

GO AARON! keep pushing that time down

[Hank]

Google anti squat and anti dive suspension design AAron. Subaru guys in particular mess with control arm pickup to limit the amount of squat or dive to keep a car flat. Might be worth looking at.

[HT Motorsport]

I like it as an Idea, I like that it is easily adjustable more so than a strap.

[Tomis]

Just thinking it loud. I think it is not going to work with that front suspension limiter, you might going to lift the front tires off the ground or not. Why not just old school wheelie bar at the back with less clearance like fwd guys do.

[HT Motorsport]

A lot of drag bike guys replace their rear shock with a solid bar for the same reason. Tomis is right that you will lift the front wheels if you have enough grip in the rear.

I suppose as the car is a bit nose heavy (in theory) if you can stop weight transfer to the rear it will be good

[speeding-g60]

yeah i will read about that stuff Hank.

and thanks H. it is worth a try.... but if no wheelie bars are working just fine for these DSM/EVO guys, then why cant using their methods work for me as well. same limit, different approach. i can spend $500 on a pair of custom shorter shocks and if that didnt work it is money wasted. but this is free.

the weight of the car is (was last year anyhow) ~1600 front and ~1000 rear. i hope to drop more than 150 pounds overall, and move it towards the rear a little at the same time.

and yeah i spent about an hour looking at stuff, and man my head hurts trying to absorb it all.

[mr_aj_johnson]

I like the idea of playing with suspension valving and spring rates a whole lot better than the limiter. A bit of playing with valving and spring rate (with emphasis on droop) will probrably help a whole lot more than a limiter. In an effort to maintain contact with the ground your limiter seems to be a step in the wrong direction. call me crazy if need be but I'd think that some stiff compression valving and nice stiff spring would do more to maintain stiction, and prevent major fore aft roll between shifts.