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1996 LT4 Corvette Coupe
This is the Corvette Coupe I bought for weekend fun. The color can only be described as "Arrest Me Red". We used to have a Mustang convertible but wanted to get a more refined sports car. My good friend Alan Chavis calls this the "WOW!" factor. I think he is right on.
12-14-03
The 'vette is faster than ever with a few suspension mods that include the Vette Brakes and Products Xtreme sport springs.
03-30-03
NeOkla had a very fast autox cross were I was able to test out the TCOS and Z51 springs. The TCOS kept the ASR traction control worry's at bay while the killer springs stepped up the pace on the LT4 quite a bit. They also made going fast easier. This Corvette is getting wicked!!!
03-28-03
Well the autox season is on. I've made several changes to the Corvette in the last few weeks including installing some killer Z51 springs and an ASR override that sets the default to OFF. I have the Accusump and oil cooler on the bench but haven't had time to get them installed.
Traction Control Override Switch TCOS INSTALL
01-29-03
VW SANDRAIL PROJECT
I've been promising the Elf a go kart for about a year. Follow along here as we build a sandrail step by step.
01-18-03
here's a link to some pictures from the SVTOAOK Meeting this month. Over all it was a great meeting that included a shop tour of Stephens Brothers Racing! They had lots of cool race cars getting ready for the 2003 season.
Everyone at the meeting was talking about all the up coming events this year. There's actually an autox in OKC on 01-26-03 (AUTOX CANCELLED) and High Speed Touring starts next month.
The garage is up and running now with only minor things left to do. The main focus is getting the LT4 running again with all the motorsports starting early this year I have to get moving!!
01-03-03
With the garage up and running I've started the rebuild on the LT4. You can see the pic's and write up as it progresses here.
12-25-02
The shop is built and the inside wiring is almost done. The lift is installed and will be operational tomorrow. We are ready to move the air compressor and tire machine from the old garage.
I hope to start on the 'vette engine soon seeing how its only two months to the first green flag.
09-24-02
The concrete contractor set up the forms and laid the re bar in today. Hopefully they will pour the floor this week!
09-21-02
THE NEW GARAGE
I finished up the dirt work for the concrete pad and laid out the under ground plumbing for the new garage.
08-17/18-02
GOOD NEW/BAD NEWS
GOOD NEWS! The clutch is working flawlessly and the LT4 is cornering harder than ever. So hard in fact all the oil stayed on the side of the motor and I sucked al l the oil out of the pan with predictable results.
BAD NEWS! During my first run on Sunday I spun 3, yes 3, rod bearings. I guess taking the high speed sweeper on the rev limiter sucked all the oil out of the pan. I noticed the 'vette didn't have any power after about half way through the run. When I pulled into the pits there was an ominous knocking coming from the motor.
I pulled the motor apart hoping for a quick fix. No such luck. Three rod bearings spun and turned the big ends of those three rods blue from the heat. I'm starting to build a new garage and don't have time take the heads off and replace the rods right now.
I'm going to wait until the new garage is build and move everything into it for the repairs and re-assembly.
In the mean time I'm looking at a oil pressure light and an accu-sump to prevent any more oil starvation problems. Class rules don't allow windage trays or high volume pans.
08-09-02
CLUTCH PROBLEMS ARE CURED!
The Corvette has bee sitting on the lift with the drive train out for about 6 weeks. I knew the clutch was soft when we bought the 'vette. I kept hearing a persistent clicking sound that kept getting louder. I took the car apart hoping for the best, but to no use. Every thing in the bell housing was worn out. Someone has been in the bell housing before. It looks like a new clutch plate was tossed in and, get this, used an angle grinder to surface the flywheel. The dual mass flywheel uses springs like a clutch disc. When its bad your supposed to put in a new one. Whoever had it apart decided to touch up with the grinder.
The good news is the slight rpm dependant vibration is gone and the clutch bites like Godzilla. The steep price of a new flywheel, clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and pilot bearing will soon be forgotten with the new found smoothness and hopefully more power to the ground for autox!
With the double header NeOkla event coming up I didn't have time for photo's.
Slim Shady said it best. "I'm Back!"
05-18/19-02
NeOkla Drivers School and Autox
The weather was great and everyone was having tons of fun as long as they didn't look at how fast those expensive tires were wearing.
The driving school was good. Lots of seat time and a great value for $25.00 including lunch served up by the NeOkla girls. Several people were wanting more seat time with an instructor, me included. In fairness the Evolution school had about the same amount of instructor time and it cost $175 per day.
The bad news started early when the big course was set up. The abrasive/grippy surface started taking its toll on tires.
Due to the reclassification into A-Stock tons of C4 corvette's are showing up at events were there didn't used to be any. The ranks are starting to grow! I see big improvements in some of the C4 drivers (BigTodd) as they get a handle on their 'vettes.
I did enjoy battling with Chris Gant (M3) and Martin Henry (Z06). These guys are fast! The pursuit (and fun) continues!
You can view the results here
05-11-02
SVTOAOK DRIVING SCHOOL
The SVTOAOK invited me out to help instruct with their driving school held at the Oklahoma County Sheriff's training facility. The SVT people are top notch and drive some of the finest and fastest vehicles on the street!
The day started out with some basic maneuvers including shuffle steering, controlled braking, evasive and serpentine or slalom. After everyone had a chance to hone their skills on the basic maneuvers the main course was opened up for some runs to put all the skills to use.
I was impressed with the degree of control everyone exhibited while exercising their SVT vehicles. Precision driving is a skill that takes a high level of maturity, patience and practice.
I enjoyed making new acquaintances and renewing friendships. Thank you for letting me participate.
04-28-02
HALLETT MOTOR RACING CIRCUIT
The Elf and I met up with Alan Chavis and Jonathan Blevins for a great spring day of open tracking.
Alan brought out his super cool 99 FRC and was tearing up the track all day. Jonathan brought his wicked Mustang 5.O track car for a shake down and to scrub in a few tires for the upcoming Open Track Challenge.
This was the first track event with the new Z51 sway bars and Ecsta V700 Kumho's and the first time at Hallett with the new Hal shocks. I also fabbed a set of brake ducts out of a plastic bucket that was laying around in the garage and a $10.35 trip to Lowe's.
Don't bother with the high dollar brake duct kits. Its simple, easy and cheap to make you own that work extremely well. I am going to write up the materials and construction asap and post on this site.
The LT4 was an animal on-track. With Alan showing me the line he and I were posting some 1:35's dicing it up in traffic. The brakes stayed up and showed no signs of over heating. I didn't even flush the fluid out before going. I was probably braking at about 70% since it was an open track have fun event. I am not willing to R-U-N-N-O-F-T the track and scuff up the Corvette. With the few modest up grades listed the Corvette is showing its potential. The Corvette ran all day with no complaints.
04-21-02
The hitch is on!!! I was able to loosen the bolts on the spare tire carrier and move it forward enough to clear the hitch without cutting it up!
A good tip to know is to put the spare tire in the carrier and use the carrier to hole the hitch in place while you mark the holes. The holes will be lined up correctly and you don't have to hold the heavy hitch up while you mark the holes.
I left out the small spacer bushings between the frame and hitch. That allowed the hitch to be 1/2'' higher and better hidden.
The first test drive with the new sway bars on was way cool. The car does not ride any rougher and is much quieter now. The bushings that came out with the bars were worn enough to let things slap around. The 'vette has almost zero body roll and seems to stick like glue.
04-19-02
The sway bars are on! Two hours tops that included rearranging the garage to be able to work on the 'vette and putting in new sway bar end link bushings. No test drive due to rain.
24mm tubular front bar- 5.5 lbs
30mm solid front bar-15lbs OUCH!
I did a test fit on the Reese Hitch. Its looks great if you want an ugly black bar hanging below you rear valance. I can hear the comments now. "Gee look Ollie, that guy is using a Corvette as a tow vehicle".
I'm going to cut it apart tomorrow to rework it so only the flat female receiver part is showing. It may take a few hours but at least I won't have to back up to a wall to park to avoid the embarrassment of a big tow hitch hanging off the back. I think I can rig it where it comes off easy as well.
No test drive with the big bars yet as its raining
04-18-02
Several new things are happing with the LT4. The big news is the new Ecsta V700 335x35x17 autocross tires are ON! No rubbing, no buffing with the 11x17 ZR-1 rims. The first impressions are STICKY STICKY STICKY. Only the next autocross will tell for sure. The front Ecsta V700's seem to have cured out from the last event and are very sticky.
Next in line is the new 96 Z51 sway bars. They are very heavy but should help keep the 'vette from body rolling all the negative camber out in the turns. The are scheduled to go on this weekend!!!.
Last are the factory Grand Sport all inclusive-do-nothing-but-drain-my-wallet rear fender flares. We have dubbed them the "cheesy flares".
04-14-02
The Elf and I drove the Corvette down to the Oklahoma Region's 4th event of the year today. It was such a nice day we decided to forego the trailering routine. Instead we threw a few things in and headed out.
I must admit the Oklahoma City Region had their act
together this event. The first car out was around 1045am. Things stayed moving all day. The last car had its runs in by about 3pm. After
trophy's (decals) there was even time for fun runs.
If OKSCCA can keep this standard the events are well worth going to assuming you don't mind tight courses.
I didn't bother with the race tires this weekend. I took the win by default in A-Stock being the only A-Stocker present. My best A-Sock run was 48.445 on the tight course.
I am also getting a handle on setting the Hal Shocks. While the next 6 cars in the heat were running I softened the shocks from 8 to 6. I raised the front pressure from 46 to 50 hot. The rear remained at 41 hot. This balanced the Corvette to neutral steering and gave the rear great bite off the apex.
I did a little better in Pax with a 47.657. No bad considering that's on the street Kumho Ecsta Supra 712's with a 300 tread wear rating.
I believe FTD was a 43.xxx by a tricked out Mazda RX7. The next fastest times were in the mid 45's.
Sadly my racing buddy Alan wasn't able to make this event. I did enjoy meeting Chris and Shawn from the Green Country Motorsports Board.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'll now change my OKSCCA rating from "P" for pathetic to "A" for action.
You can view the results here.
03-17-02
Hold on to your steering wheels motor sports fans, NeOkla's autocross season opener was a full throttle, adrenaline pumped event. The NeOkla Region has managed to reclaim the Davis Airfield site in Muskogee, Oklahoma. The site is a large, smooth semi-abrasive concrete hangar apron custom made for divisional/national caliber autocross. Brad Holiday of the NeOkla Region put together a 60 plus second top notch pedal to the metal, flowing course that demanded top effort from drivers to score fast, clean runs. According to the rocket pilot John Joyce there were 139 entries posted at the close of registration. Due to the large turn out there were four heats.
Remembering the Evolutions School from last weekend Alan and I arrived early to get in an many course walks as we could. We prepped the two Corvette's then hit registration in record time. Soon we we were walking the course and taking notes on the points to look at while driving. We walked the course 7 or 8 times and had 12 points picked out. Brad threw in a particularly mind boggling twist. The back stretch consisted of parallel slaloms. The outside slalom was clearly the long way around but the slalom cones were spaced further apart. We chose the outside slalom since our Corvettes are wider than the average autocross car.
We signed up to work the first heat and run heats 2 and 3. We planned on loading up and heading out during the 4th heat since we were looking at a 2 hour drive. As usual the first car headed out onto the course on time. The course was long enough for three cars to be on course at one time with out interfering. Several times during our work assignment we would go through our list of visual points for the course.
I had made a couple of changes to the Corvette since the last autocross. I ordered a new set front Kumho Victoracers for the front. When the tires arrived they were the new Ecsta V700's. I didn't get a chance to heat cycle them. Hummm.......add in one unknown. I also decided to leave the targa top in for the added rigidity. Hummm....add in the second unknown. The concrete apron was smooth so I set the front shocks at 10 and the rears at 8. I've never set the shocks this stiff so add in unknown number 3.
Alan and I gridded across from each other so we could catch our runs on video. During our work assignment we heard run times in the mid 60's with a few low 60's posted. Alan's first run netted a low 60. My first run felt like I was running on grease and netted a 59. Not bad for a first effort considering the Corvette did not feel settled or hooking up. As the runs progressed and the heat built up in the tires grip improved on the rear. The fronts would be good the first half of the course then get greasy. Alan scored a 58 while I scored a 57.5. Martin Henry had FTD set in the mid 55's in his screaming Electron Blue '02 Z06.
During the break to change corner workers we talked over strategy. We were both having trouble looking ahead during the runs. We went over our visual points again vowing to look further ahead. Air pressures were adjusted and final strategies planned out.
The third heat fired up and we started our pax runs. Alan posted a 57.0 early on. I crossed the finish line after the first run thinking I had a sure 56 something. I about fell out of the car when the announcer said 58.0. The run felt much faster than my previous 57.5. Alan finished up with a best 57.0. I managed a best of 56.7 on the last run. I have no clue why my time dramatically improved from the high 57's to the high 56's. The 56.7 run felt rough to me and I was off the driving line more than I care to admit. I kept the squeezing the go pedal little by little to the point the Corvette was slightly under steering most of the way around. I could set the car into the corner but each time I would ease into the throttle the front would respond with understeer. I sure there was at least a full second left on the course. There were several places I was just coasting and two places I was not on the best line.
When we left during the 4th heat Martin still had FTD in the low 55's. Brad Holidy had posted a 56.3 run in Ann Vogel's S2000 Honda. I had the 56.7 and Alan had the 57.0 for 3rd and 4th fastest overall
I am convinced the Evolution School helped. It is going to take a few events to apply what I learned.
You can view the results here.
03-08/10-02
My racin' buddy Alan Chavis and I went to the Evolution Driving School this weekend in Mineral Wells, Texas.
We took all three phases. Anticipation and expectation ran high. The instructors were definitely qualified and up to the task. The school started on time and for the most part stayed on schedule.
Our instructors were Gerry Terranova, G.H. Sharp, Andy Hollis and Rob Faulkner. There were about 12 people in each phase on each day.
Phase 1 consisted of each student getting a 20 minute session with the instructors in the morning an a 20 minute session in the afternoon. An initial morning briefing followed by one during lunch and one at the end of the day. Timers were set up at different segments of the 45 second course.
Phase 2 consisted of the same amount of time with instructors. No timers were used in Phase 2.
Phase 3 consisted of about 10 runs during the day.
You can view the detailed write up here.
02-24-02
I took the LT4 to the Oklahoma Region SCCA's first event. Alan brought his beautiful red '99 Hardtop C5 out for the first time. From watching Alan drive I can see he is going to be a contender in his Corvette.
The HAL shocks performed flawlessly making the LT4 fly clean and smooth through a course tighter than it was ever made to run on.
FTD was a 46.5 second demonstration of skill run by none other that Chris Gant in his BSP 17 M3. Alan ran a sizzling 48.8 for his first ride in the C5. I ran a 47.7. The 'vette was definitely waiting on me this time out.
There is a more detailed write up on the tech page here.
You can view the pictures Alan took here.
02-20-02
SOLD
Heads up! My buddy is selling his super slick 280Z plus tons of spares. Autocrossers, open trackers and road racers need to look this over! I would be all over this if I didn't have the 'vette! Click here to check it out! Spread the word!
02-10-02
Winter project time. I took a few weekends to get a few minor things back up to racing specs. The list includes getting a radiator leak fixed, new plugs and wires, new hoses, a new serpentine belt and thoroughly cleaning the throttle body.
The Corvette will be sporting a new set of HAL adjustable shocks. The write up is on the tech page with links to a few pictures I took along the way.
01-01-02
Well I guess Corvette Fever is running wild! My good friend Alan Chavis is sporting a new C5. Check out the pictures here. Alan traded off his 96 Cobra for this beauty.
Super Stock is going to be wild in 2002!
12-25-01
Check out Bobby Jasan's new C5 Corvette Coupe on the Pics/Video page. It looks like a screamer to me! Congratulations Bobby!
11-20-01
Several people were wanting copies of the video from the last event. I managed to get together with Alan Chavis and get some of his video as well. You can view the video's here.
I have been working on updating the tech page with the suspension changes coming up this winter.
11-11-01
Last race of the season! The NeOkla Region event #7 had a fantastic turnout of 159 entries! The day was perfect with the temperature in the low 70's and a light Southern breeze. The course was challenging and fast!
My good friend Alan Chavis brought the twisted snake out for its last ride. Alan piloted the screaming 4V Cobra to a best of 48.38! Alan's Cobra has the best sounding exhaust I've ever heard bar none!
The Super Stock class at NeOkla is growing rapidly. At the beginning of this season I was the sole entry in Super Stock. There were 9 entries in Super Stock for the final assault on Tanger Mall. Now, sadly the C4's are being sent to A-Stock for the 2002 season just as the Super Stock class battle heats up. So I am passing the Super Stock torch to my good buddy Alan. WELCOME TO SUPER STOCK, ALAN!
Bobby and Pete Jasan are getting the feel for their sexy red Super Stock RX7. They posted times of 47.3 and 49.4 respectively.
Todd Young brought his new purple 94 Corvette out and ran it hard even though he picked it up just the day before. Todd finished with a best of 52.3 on the original (read hard) Goodyear GSC's! Todd will be a serious contender when he shows up next year with race tires.
The Henry brothers Martin and Sam upped the bar in their well driven C5's. Sam posted a best of 45.6 in his black C5. Martin was the top gun in Super Stock in his immaculate 2002 Z-06. Martin posted a 45.0 in Super Stock and a blistering 44.3 in pax that stood for FTD!
The LT4 and I did well posting a best of 47.2. I later got my act together and ran a 45.9 in pax. After watching the excellent video tape The Elf took, it's definitely suspension time! Over the winter we are going to upgrade to '96 Z-51 specs. A set of HAL QA1 double adjustable shocks will replace the worn out stock 61k mile Delco-Bilstein's
You can see the final results here
You can see the pictures Alan Chavis took here.
You can see the pictures on the NeOkla Region web site here.
10-21-01
The Elf, Alan Chavis and I met up at the NeOkla Region Event #6. Hats off to Brad Holiday for designing yet another fantastic course that combined speed with technical sections usually only found at Divisional and National level events.
Alan unleashed his twisted snake on the course punishing the Kumho's to a smokin' 59.666. Alan's open track Cobra over powers the tires at the flick of the ankle.
The Super Stock LT4 carried me to a 57.16. We had to leave before trophies were awarded. The Corvette definitely had more time in it. I could see the improvements in the line. I just wasn't able to see enough of them in time for FTD.
Brad Holiday wrestled the FTD away from several contenders with a 57.07 in his A-Stock MR2.
You can see the pictures of the event that Alan took here. You can view the results on NeOkla's site here.
The video The Elf took confirms the suspicion that there a loose nut behind the wheel on Super Stock 66, now where did I put that monkey wrench.......
10-20-01
HALLETT MOTOR RACING CIRCUIT
HIGH SPEED TOURING EVENT
The Elf and I took the Corvette to Hallett for the first time today. We ran counter clock wise. We arrived at the race track at about 0900. We started looking for my good racin' buddy Alan Chavis and his twisted snake. We spotted Bobby Jasan and his killer Nissan Altima.
It was foggy and about 60 degrees when we backed the LT4 off the trailer. I was secretly wishing the cooler temperatures the radiator and brake fluid from boiling. I would later learn half my wishes would come true.
Bobby and I went to registration then pulled the Corvette up to get the required tech inspection and door sticker. I heard the loud speaker announcing the drivers meeting. Hopefully we could get tech'ed before the meeting. There were people hustling here and there, but apparently our tech inspector was currently in the "there" position because he wasn't "here". Bobby located a worker with a radio who said he would contact the tech guy. The loud speaker crackled to life and gave a last call for the drivers meeting. We left the Corvette parked at tech and hurried up stairs to the drivers meeting.
I saw Alan on the front row already in his blue drivers suit. The drivers meeting was extremely informative and interlaced with wit and humor from Mr. Mike Stephens, the track manager. Mr. Stephens went over the rules of the road that included the meaning of the flags the corner workers may wave, passing area's and the basic late apex corner that will keep you from testing your cars off road abilities.
Mr. Stephens and the owners of Hallett Motor Racing Circuit do an outstanding job of offering very affordable access to the race track for owners of high performance vehicles wanting to drive at speed with out the risks of such adventures on public roads.
After the meeting we hustled back to tech and found the tech guy was finishing up. We also met Martin Henry and checked out his new 2002 Electron Blue Z-06.
We ran all 4 sessions. The first was a little short as the pace car showed us the line for a couple of laps. We were at the back and everyone was off line by the time we were in the turns. The second session was much faster. I learned the LT4 is an awesome track car and that our shocks and springs are much too soft. The third session Alan was showing me the way around and of course I had to keep trying to dog him. He was polite and kept slowly increasing the pace until the back of his twisted snake danced further and further way. A check of his lap timer showed us putting down some 1:34's before he drove away. Alan has went as fast as the 1:30's.
I also found the limits of the J55 brake option on a 96 Corvette. The first turn that I noticed a problem I backed off. A half a lap later the brake pedal felt like stepping on a plum. I pulled into the paddock and saw the checkered flag was out signaling the end of the session. We only lost a half a lap. I stopped at the tower so The Elf could get something to drink. As we climbed back in the Corvette a guy walked up and handed me one of the plastic center caps off our wheels. Apparently the heat of the brakes melted the plastic cap and it fell out while we were inside.
Bobby cracked a rotor on his Altima. He helped me bleed the front brakes during the break. The fourth session went without trouble. The brakes felt better than ever and didn't fade. To my knowledge the car has the original brake pads.
Only the right front tire showed wear after about 90 miles of high performance driving.
You can see the pictures Alan took at the High Speed Touring Event here.
10-17-01
Woooo Hooooo!!! Looks like a fantastic weekend coming!
Hallett Motor Racing Circuit on Saturday followed by the NeOkla event at the awesome Stroud Tanger Mall site.
10-07-01
Autocross time!!! The Oklahoma Region hosted their 9th event of the season at the OKC-OSU precision driving range this Sunday. The event was held following a drivers school on 10-06-01. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the drivers school.
My racin' buddy Alan Chavis was away on company business and was unable to attend.
The LT4 performed extremely well on a course it was never designed for. The course was very tight. I believe my top speed was in the 35mph range. Especially if you consider the lack of shocks or stiff springs. I was about 1.5 seconds off FTD. It was an excellent exercise in patience. The faster runs were just over 30 seconds. I stuck to my primary class to save enough tires to make the 10-20-01 High Speed Touring at Hallett.
The factory clutch locker is apparently gone, I now have an unlimited spin differential. Each touch of the throttle is instantly rewarded with the rpm's going up combined with a little tire shake and no forward thrust.
09-16-01
The Elf and I took to LT4 to Colorado for a weeks vacation. We drove 1915 miles and averaged 26 miles per gallon according to the car's computer. I set the odometer/mpg read outs to zero when we drove away, then took the readings after I backed into the garage when the trip was over. I am extremely impressed with the gas mileage numbers we got. I also am impressed with how much power this engine makes even in high altitude. We set the cruise control and stayed in 6th gear going through the high passes. The only times we had to slow down were for safety considerations.
Among other places we stayed a day in Silverton, CO. elev. 9300ft. We got some real strange stares driving a Corvette around town. I guess they don't see too many Corvettes that high.
Believe it or not we made a few of the scenic back roads around Silverton. They were smooth, well maintained pea gravel. Some were steep enough that we could not start from stop and go up hill. It was really fun to get up some of those back roads and see the city people cruising the high country in their SUV thinking they are really out there then they spot the Corvette! You should have seen the expressions on their faces!
We had a great time going up Pikes Peak. We had the top off on the trip. At the entrance gate the park ranger is grinning when when we stop to pay up. He turned to his buddy and asked if he thinks our car has enough power to get up the hill. I told him we would put it into four wheel drive if it got too bad. He looked funny leaned over to look inside. I slipped into first and pulled away.
At the top the wind was blowing about 30mph and the temp was 39 degrees. We took coats but it still was a shock to your system. I had altitude sickness and vertigo while we were there. When we reviewed the video tape taken at the top someone had photographed a strange white walled canyon with a waterfall. I didn't know there was a water fall at the top of Pikes Peak? I wonder if I could get that water fall named after me? Anyway always review your tape before showing it to friends. Other wise you may never live it down!
Coming down we went slow using the gears to keep the speed down so we could film and see the sights.. At the mandatory brake check in Glen's cove the park ranger did a double take when his pyrometer only read 109 degrees. We hadn't used the brakes except to stop there.
At about half way down some one started dogging us. There were several places to pass but instead they wanted to tailgate. I just slipped into the next gear and stayed off the brakes. They must have seen something pretty to look at or got a cell phone call and pulled off because we didn't see them any more.
All in all we had a great time with the C4. I would not have missed taking it. The power and handling were outstanding. Our car has 60k on it and the seat stuffing is a little thin. That combined with our worn out shocks made the ride on broken roads a little rougher than most would like on that long of a trip. There was plenty of room to stretch and move around but cargo space was limited.
I would definitely take the Corvette on a weekend hop. I would have to consider it before I took it on a weeks vacation again.
08-25/26-01
The NeOkla Region SCCA held a two day event at the Tanger Mall site this weekend. There were 37 entries at the event on the 25th. For the first time ever I had the FTD with a 53.8 second run. The next closest run was posted by the rocket pilot John Joyce of NeOkla Region fame with a smokin' 54.46 in his pax runs.
It's too bad I don't remember 25th. I had only 4 hours of sleep on Friday night. I was having sinus trouble and had taken some non drowsy (yeah, right) sinus medicine so I could breathe. The Elf thinks the lack of sleep kept me from being too hyper and overdriving the car. Several people commented that I looked smooth so I guess being asleep at the wheel has some advantages.
You can view complete results from the 25th here.
The turn out on the 26th was much larger with 58 entries. The pressure was definitely on to repeat the FTD on the second day so I got plenty of sleep. When the alarm went off Sunday morning I had the car on the trailer and sipping coffee in about 15 minutes. Boy was I ready!
I signed up to work early so I could run as late as possible. There were enough people to make 3 heats. I watched the time crawl by as the two heats ran. Finally the 3rd heat was called to grid. Boy was I ready!
I wound up being one of the last in grid. The grid worker pointed to me and sent me up to get in line. I double and triple checked to make sure the ASR (Automatically Slow Results) was off, plenty of gas, seatbelt cinched down, seat adjusted just right, steering wheel just right. Only one car in front now. Drive smooth, be calm, look ahead, easy on the gas, remember the tires are cold. Boy was I ready!
Now I'm up. I watch the starter to signal me to go and think one last time to drive e a s y on the first run. I get the signal and take off gently letting the clutch slip enough to keep the motor from getting ahead of the big Kumho's out back. I notice they feel a little cold and slippery. The first turn comes up and the back wags about 2 feet further out than planned. That set the stage for the rest of the run. Easy in, slide all over the place, scrub speed, back online, squeeze the throttle, spin wantonly. There was one good thing about the run. It finally ended!
I idled back to grid thinking how poorly I had driven. As soon as I shut the car off I heard the cell phone ring. Uh oh! I bet its not Ed McMahon with a big check! I pulled off my helmet and punched the answer button on the phone. The Elf was already talking asking me why I was hot dogging and not trying to be smooth!
The second run was much better as I forced myself to go s l o w, s l o w and was rewarded with a good time. Alright! Now I'm ready!
The third run started off in grand style just barley skating the fat Kumho's. Cool, now we are getting somewhere! The last two turns are a 180 degree left hand sweeper followed by a 90 degree right that carries you through the timing trap. I completed the 180 left on a super line apexing just at my turn in for the dash to the finish. I had the LT4 in the upper parts of second gear. I drove up the line until I could see around the 90 degree right hander. I turned in to the right and squeezed the throttle just enough to put some weight on the back. The big Kumho's didn't like the transition and let goooooooo! The instant I turned in I knew I was a passenger in a runaway rocket. Speaking of passengers, my side seat passenger reached for the ejection handles and found out Corvettes don't have any.
I noticed the arc we were traveling intersected the timing trailer. I guess the people gathered around the timing trailer had that figured out too because they were all running like hell! I resisted the urge to counter steer and instead dialed in more to make the car go on around. Clutch in, brakes on. The Arrest Me Red Corvette slowly rotated 180 degrees and ground to a halt. There was at least 5 full seconds where no one moved or spoke. I held up my hands and idled back to grid while trying to get all of the grit, dust and tire out of my eyes.
I went back later and saw a very small wave in the pavement where the back let go. Several other's had similar spins in the same place. I learned a valuable lesson about watching where other are having specific trouble.
The Elf had been filming all day but unfortunately some one walked up and was talking to his when I cleared timing trailer. Hopefully someone else has it and will come forward.
The fourth and final run was smooth and fast. I know there where 3 specific places I could have shaved time. At least this time I could see improvements in the line.
FTD stayed just out of reach by 0.3 tenths with Brad Holliday flogging his A-Stock 61 MR2 to a best of 49.89 seconds to the Corvette's best of 50.12 seconds.
The Corvette was definitely capable of the FTD that day had I been able to smooth up.
You can view the complete results from the 26th here. You can view event pictures from the 26th here.
08-12-01
The Oklahoma Region SCCA held their 7th event of the year at the OSU-OKC Precision Drivers Training Center in Oklahoma City today.
A big thanks goes to course designer extraordinaire Brad Holliday. Its always fun to run on a course Brad designs. Brad ran his Black MR2 (A-Stock 61) to a smoking 30.1 second time.
My racin' buddy Alan Chavis recently visited the dyno shop in his twisted snake. After the smoke cleared the counter read 428 rwhp!!!! Alan is an open tracker come autocrosser who is getting very fast. Alan went 30.153 seconds.
I ran a string of low 30's and ended with a best of 30.153. I wanted a 29 but could not see where to make the improvement on the line. The Corvette did its job exceptionally well. The extra camber in back seemed to keep the rear planted as long as I kept some throttle on. The pyrometer said the camber was about right for this course.
I will post more on this event tomorrow along with some pictures and at least a couple of video's.
My elf The Elf caught Chris Gant pulling his inside front tire off the ground while coming out of corners. Chris set FTOD with a 28.823 in his beautiful BMW M3 (B-Street Prepared 17)
You can view today's results here
08-03-01
I managed to get the Corvette in the alignment shop to add that extra camber. I wanted to go -1 degree camber. Once the shop had it on the rack they phoned and said the rear camber was -1.25 already. I know from wear and temperatures I need more camber. I decided to err on the side of caution and add another -.25 degree. On the drive home I didn't notice any difference in the way it handled but I didn't flog it. I still have the class and numbers from the last autocross and didn't want to attract any official attention.
07-28/29-01
What a week end. Two days of auto cross fun at the 38 acre Tanger Mall in Stroud, Oklahoma. The two day event was hosted by the NeOkla Region SCCA . The each day was scored at a separate event.
The course on the 28th was open and very fast. I was still having trouble getting the back of the Corvette to hook up on turn in. I have that going my now. Check the Tech page for details. FTD was a 64.6 second run by a F-prepared car. I managed a best of 68.9 seconds that was good for 6th fastest raw time.
On the 29th the course tightened up a bit but was still a lot of fun. FTD was 48.6 in the shifter kart and 51.4 for an E-mod. My fastest time was 53.6 second run that was good for 4th fastest raw time including the kart.
here's the complete results for both days.
I'm ready for the next auto cross on 08-12-01 at the OKC-OSU range hosted by the Oklahoma Region.
07-15-01
Autocross Time! I want to start by giving my elf The Elf a super great big THANK YOU for prepping our Corvette while I was tied up with tech inspections.
The Elf and I met up with the gang at the Oklahoma Region SCCA's 5th event of the season. The Oklahoma Region holds their event at the OSU-OKC driving range Oklahoma City. The turnout was good with 52 entries.
My good friend Alan Chavis piloted his twisted snake to a best of 73.4 seconds.
This is our 3rd autocross with the 96LT4, and the 2nd with the ZR-1/Kumho combination. We took first by default in Super Stock as there were no other entries in class. The surprise came in "pax" or index class where we took 3rd place.
The first run was a 74.6. After checking the air pressure and tire temps the second run netted a 73.0. Wow, quite an improvement, if the times would just keep dropping we would be gettin somewhere. The chalk scrubs on the tires looked good off we go for run number 3. The time slip said 72.6. Not the big drop of the previous run but still improving. Gremlins appeared in the 4th run.
While powering out of turns the engine would not pull for a few seconds. The gauge showed a half tank. I put 4 gallons in. The engine would pull but I had a few sputters. Any way the fourth run netted a 73.3.
In pax class we stayed in the same range of 73.1 to another 73.6. I think the corvette could go faster, I just couldn't find the improvements on the line.
here's the complete results for the event.
There's more information on the tech page for tire temps, wear etc.
I didn't get that extra camber dialed in or get the car washed like I planned last Friday.
I'm getting the hang of driving the Corvette. I have learned it will turn in exceptionally well when I do my part.
After the last run we loaded up and went to the Outback Steak House for beer and steak!
07-13-01
WOW! What a Friday the 13th! All good luck here. It all started with a call from Alan's elf Cheryl. She wants us all to go down to the drags at Thunder Valley Raceway in Noble, Oklahoma.
We get to TVR at about 7pm. Alan has already made a pass or two in the mid 13's with no traction.
As soon as the sun sets Alan makes a 12.77 pass at just over 113 mph. He then backs it up with a 12.88 at 114 mph. He is still skating the autocross tires pretty bad. I saw Alan's mid 13 pass and thought oh well I'll only be a bit more than a half second behind him.
I took the LT4 off the trailer. I went through tech and right up to the line. A quick check showed the oil temp at 111 degrees. A/C off. ASR off. I flogged the 315 Kumho V700's until they dried off then pulled to the line. I'm trying to think of what rpm to leave at when the lights start falling.
WHAT! The lights are falling! WAIT! I rev the motor too high and let the clutch out too fast. I get the dreaded wheel spin, but wait, the Kumho's are digging in! I squeeze the go pedal as the tires bite harder. The tach whizzes up towards the 6000 rpm mark where I'd planed on shifting. When the needle touches the mark I row to second just barley lifting. The big Kumho's don't like the shift and let go enough to step to the right. A little steering correction and we are back in line pulling hard to the 6000 rpm mark. I row to third lifting enough to catch the rev's if I miss. The shifter seems to know where its going and clicks right in. I can see the finish coming but I'm already on the 6000 mark so I row to fourth and lift. I'm thinking maybe a 14.0 and hoping for anything in the 13's.
I pull to the timing shack and try not to look worried. The guy hands me the slip and I pull away. I check the slip and see a 13.465 @ 104.82. I'm happy!
The Corvette is at least running close to factory specs and still needs a tune up. Well to finish up I run a string of 13.50's all just over 104 mph. I cooled down and ran one more 13.495 @ 104.82. I trailer'ed the car and headed for home at about 10:30 pm.
On the way home I kept thinking about all the cars I modded to get in to the 13's and this Corvette will run mid 13's in need a tune up. Hmmmmm... gears, headers...12's..... Hmmmmm..... nitrous......of hmmmmmm... 11's????
No....Wait.......I'm an autocrosser. I make a mental note to wash the Corvette and get that extra camber dialed in before Sundays autocross.
07-08-01
What a great day! A large turnout combined with a good safe (read curb less) site resulted in a top notch autocross put on by the NeOkla Region SCCA.
here are some pic's of the event. here's the results for the event.
Hats off to Brad Holliday for designing a fast, flowing course that challenged the cars and drivers alike!
This was my buddy Alan's first time out with his Cobra since he put the Vortech on. Massive wheel spin, a screaming exhaust and a great big smile pretty much describes his runs. Best of all the Cobra ran cool all day. Alan was definitely one of the faster cars. Open up the course and give him a chance to put that 397 rwhp down and he would be the car to beat.
My buddy Scott Edwards spanked his shiny black pony hard stopping the clocks in the mid 48's which secured 2nd place. Quite a feat for a stock 96 Mustang GT in a large field of GM F-bodies. Had there been a car show with the event Scott's car would have been the car to beat.
Ok, how did the 96LT4 do? We were the only Super Stock entry so we took first place by default. I'll use raw times for comparison. We were about 6th or 7th overall raw times with a string of 47.4's. I believe the fastest time of the day was a 45.9. The Corvette did its job admirably. The big Kumho's hung on great with the back being a little looser than the front. I'm adding camber in the rear as the tire temperature was about 10 degrees hotter on the outside.
The car is handling great. This is the second autocross we've taken the car to. I'm still learning how to drive the car. The last car I had under steered badly. The Corvette front end sticks like glue. I'm having to adjust accordingly.
We took some good video of the event. I will post some of the runs when I have time.
The event was over at about 4:30 pm. We all went to El Nino's in Stroud, Oklahoma for cold beer and Mexican food.
07-07-01
Tomorrow's the first autocross at old Tanger Mall in Stroud, Oklahoma. An interesting bit of history goes with this site. The F5 tornado that swept through the Oklahoma City metro area traveled up I-44 and leveled Tanger Mall on 05-03-99. This will be the first autocross on the old parking lot and foundations.
This will be our second time out with the Corvette and our first time out with the new ZR-1 rims mounted up with Kumho V-700's. I'll add a link to the results when they are posted.
07-06-01. CLEANING DAY!
YUCK!YUCK!YUCK! Today I spent 4 hours cleaning all the gunk from the drivers side fender wells and suspension components. I had previously sprayed armor all on the plastic liners and other components about 2 weeks ago to loosen all the junk up. It had done its job. I sprayed a little power clean on and wiped every thing off. I have only done the drivers side so far. I ran out of time and energy. I peeled a couple of layer of skin with the power clean. I strongly recommend rubber/latex gloves. There's still several hours of work to do but until the I get the shop built and the lift installed it will have to wait. There's racin' to be done!
06-07-01
My friend in the brown truck delivered a set of AFS ZR1 rims today. I chose the polished aluminum so there would be no hassles about chipped paint or peeling chrome. The fronts are 17x9.5 for the Kumho V700's in 275x40x17. The rear's are massive 17x11's for the Kumho V700 315x35x17. They look awesome on the Corvette
06-03-01
Today was the first autocross with the Corvette! The Oklahoma Region SCCA held their fifth event of the year at the OSU-OKC's Precision Driving Training Center. Alan Chavis and I had a great first outing in the "Arrest Me Red" C4 placing 2nd and 1st respectively.
06-01-01
Alignment time! I found a great local shop that will use my alignment spec.'s. The owner races Legend cars and understands the need for speed! You can see the specifications in TECH
Thank you for dropping by.