No I wish I could, I have a wedding I have to attend on Saturday. The Reno Autocross would have been a great way to try and qualify for the end of year Goodguys finals...

Ok so after last times loss, my co-driver and I decided to make a serious attempt to finish this season 1-2. We lowered the Valiant one more inch in the rear and fabbed up a Panhard bar to attach the top of the bellhousing to the frame. It held for my co drivers four laps, and my first lap, then promptly ripped out of the frame on my second lap. Ill conceived and too short a bar, the forces generated were just too much. We were back on the old Hankooks, but I still ran 2 laps fast enough to win, except for one cone hit each time to keep me just behind the 550HP TCI Camaro.... Here is a rare shot of both cars at the same point in the same turn:

The car felt really good with the rear lower, and I couldn't tell a lot of difference with / without the Panhard...

Awesome job, Tom. Sorry about the panhard letting loose!

would the mount have held better if the tabs were attached to a plate about 4-6" in length contoured to the chassis wall section and rounded at both ends? it appears the rail is pretty thin in that section and the load needs spread over a greater area. just my opinion. i am no expert by any means. just offering an observation.

Plating the frame rail would've made it in destructable for sure. But if the car didnt gain anything before it failed, then why bother.

But how long was it before it failed? Maybe right away? Then nobody would have known if it helped on not.

Did you happen to feel it break/fail?

You guys are exactly right, it definately needed a plate to reinforce it. I felt it go on my second lap, which was after my co-drivers four laps. It felt tight, but didn't feel "better" to either of us. The rear end moves side to side just enough to rub one side when I tried the 315/30/18 Rivals on the rear. It's a little crowded on that back axle with the shocks, leafs, helpers, rear sway bar and brake lines all fighting for space. I'm not sure it's worth it to re-engineer it particularly since I'm going back to the 275 Bridgestone on the rear anyway....

The next race my co-driver ordered us up two new Bridgestone RE-71R so we went to the new lightweight forged 18x10.5 wheels and the 275 RE-71R on all 4 corners. The result was fairly remarkable. The car felt transformed and seemingly could do anything, turn in on a dime, and the tail never wagged. I honestly felt like I wasn't even at the limit of the tires ability, I couldn't wrap my head around the corner entry speeds that were now possible. Remember this is a torsion barred leaf springed Hotchkis TVS equipped 260 HP car with one usable Autocross gear (2nd), going up against a pretty well driven 550HP LS powered TCI/DSE suspension 6 speed Camaro on 315 Falkens. The Valiant won today in what could almost be considered a blowout, 1.3 seconds on a 47 second course...

CONGRATS on the win!



Im a big fan of not overtiring! and I'm glad thats working well because thats my target size wheel and tires ;-) I presume you are spraying those stones a good amount between runs?

Thanks! It was about 80 degrees, and we had maybe 5 minutes between laps. The Falken guys (2nd and third) were spraying after every lap. We forgot to bring ours so didn't spray all day. I honestly don't know if these Bridgestones like it better cold or hot because they felt great every lap...

We'll see how well I do when I come back with the Dart. Lol. I highly doubt I'll be up there with you guys.

you need a pyrometer. The word on the street is that the stones will last longer with a moderate heatcycle before abuse. And wont cycle out as fast if you keep it under 135F

Keep an eye on them and let us know how many runs etc.

That's awesome Tom. Great job as always!

Thanks Wade and Samy, and thanks Trojmn for the temp tip!

Tom,

Your tinkering keeps paying off, we all love the underdog!

Just a note... The RE-71R is now offered in the same tire size as the Super Sports that are on my Dart.

Tom -- great results!! congrats! certainly your driving skill says a lot!

Thanks for the kind words, but I do think I could be better, and the car can go faster. I just signed up for the Optima Fontana event in October so that will certainly be the cars biggest test to date. I'm hoping to at least do well at the Autocross, and the speed stop should be ok, but the road course will be a big test with only 260HP!

Im curious to see how the Stones like the hot laps. As usual Tom thanks for waving the Mopar flag!