car battery

on troubleshooting

• it's indication of failure is not like that of the flashlight battery that it slowly dims.
• volt meter should read 13.2 +/- when car is off or 14.0 when engine is running. if it does not, either replace it or wait for it to fail totally while your parked or driving.
• don't think that if it's new it will not fail. battery life can go from 1second up to 9years. have it checked.

on replacing

• disconnecting: negative first. connecting: negative last.
• don't try to charge a dead battery with the alternator. it requires battery to work properly.
• mind all the parts that uses electricity(alarm, ecu, audio equipments, etc)

downforce

basics of downforce, simplified. from: http://superhachi.com/theory/downforce/

big three upgrade

big three upgrade means:

1. lowering the resistance of a cars electrical system
2. stabilizing voltage which will reduce dimming and lessen voltage drops
3. less stress to your charging system

the big three got it's name from the three wires that needs to be upgraded, which are(in no particular order):

1. alternator to battery positive
2. battery negative to chassis
3. chassis to engine

now, visit big3 upgrade thread on sounddomain.com forums for more read. try visiting this page back for updates

ae86 coilover conversion

part1



part2



part3

rally pace notes for noobs

ever wonder how rally drivers and navigators talk? here's a simplified tutorial video for newbies from rallynotes.com

wikipedia also has an entry about pace notes.

crash.net also gave a translation of petter solberg's co-driver phil mills pace-notes from 2004 acropolis rally:

It's well known that top WRC drivers need accurate pace-notes in order to win - but it's not just as simple as telling them which way to go. Look at a co-driver's notes on paper and they look like hieroglyphics. Hear them read out and instructions like 'left tightens', 'right plus' and 'over crest into short' don't make much sense either. So here Petter Solberg's co-driver Phil Mills translates a bit of the language that's used by professional rally drivers and co-drivers...

Pace notes from Acropolis Rally 2004: SS4 / SS7 Pavliani:

1. Start, 30, Keep left over a crest into short 4 right plus opens, 60, crest and 6 right plus and don't cut short 6 left minus.

2. 60, line into 2 right minus over a bump tightens to a hairpin over a ditch.

3. Into 6 left long opens over a crest, 30, 6 right into 3 left plus long don't cut tightens to 1, into a short 1 right plus and short 2 left minus tightens at junction (junction 2 at 0.6kms) 20.

Translation:

1. Start, drive 30 metres then keep left over a crest into a fast fourth gear right-hand corner, accelerate for 60 metres to a crest, then stay in the middle of the road for a sixth gear left hand corner in half throttle.

2. Drive 60 metres, keep to the left hand side of the road for a second-gear right-hand corner, which tightens very badly over a bump, at the same time brake hard for a hairpin over a drainage ditch.

3. Accelerate flat out into a sixth-gear long, left-hand corner over a crest, drive 30 metres then into a sixth gear right-hand corner, brake hard for a third gear left-hand corner in half throttle. Stay in the middle of the road for their are some bad rocks on the inside, and then brake as it tightens to first-gear, immediately changing direction into a fast, first-gear right-hand corner. Then accelerate into a second-gear left-corner past a junction (junction No 2 in the road book at 0.6 Kms), carry on for 20 metres.

article source: team talk: pace notes explained

roll cage article: from safetydevices.com

a good read about roll cage from safetydevices.com

some of its pages:

Step 1: Road or competition

Step 2: Bolt-in or weld in

Step 3: Choose options

Roll cage certification

the inspiration

i came across hodrod magazine - jan 2009 issue and the pics on page 26 gave me the chills: tubular space frame chassis! so there's no turning back now.

with a little research, i found the thread of this great build. i was in awe while looking at the pictures.

read the build at bruning auto design's '70 challenger w/ twin turbo hemi & c5 suspension thread on the lateral-g.net forums

and see some pics at hubgarage.com

rauno aaltonen talks about mini

pic from wikipedia

"the rally professor" rauno aaltonen, the inventor of left-foot braking, talks about good'ol mini:

part 1 of 3


part 2 of 3


part 3 of 3


and here's a bonus on basic stuff on rallying by rauno himself

tube frame car build

from: lotustalk.com - visit the page My Tube Frame Car build for other pics

i can only say this is a great inspiration for me. and now the video:

fia intl sport sporting codes regulations

appendix j to the international sporting code: link for the safety equipment regulation - like seats, harness, chassis, etc.

article 253-2010: safety equipment

4g13 modifications

since my mirage is fitted with a 4g13 mitsubishi engine, i searched the interweb for it's specs - mainly, it's weight. i need to know the engine weight for the calculation and triangulation of space frame. i don't know if it's fortunate or not. but, it lead me to some modifications for the engine

here they are:

• ben9166.com
• malaysiancarenthusiast.blogspot.com

how to break-in

1. from: custompinoyrides.com

page: Engine Tech: How To Break-in your High-Performance Street or Racing Engine written by Ben Alameda

If you have a High-Lift Camshaft, Start and bring the engine to Racing Temperature (160 degrees at least). Then let it cool down on its own and re-start the process again “half a dozen times or more”. If you have the patience to do this. The reason is for your “NEW” valve springs to be slowly “heat conditioned to its stressed environment”!

Once you have gone through your heat/cool cycle, Go out and slowly accelerate your engine to mid-RPMs and immediately let go of the gas and let it “Engine Brake” with out forcing it too much. Next go out to a faster speeds and let-off the gas and down-shift without forcing it from 4th to 3rd to 2nd and finally to 1st!

DO THIS ABOUT 6-12 TIMES AFTER YOUR HEAT CYCLING HAS BEEN DONE. AND IF YOU DO A “LEAK DOWN” CHECK – THE ENGINE RINGS WILL BE SEALED!

(This Engine ritual takes about 15 minutes and 4-8 miles)

2. from: mototuneusa.com

page: What's The Best Way To Break-In A New Engine ??

The Short Answer: Run it Hard !

Why ??

Nowadays, the piston ring seal is really what the break in process is all about. Contrary to popular belief, piston rings don't seal the combustion pressure by spring tension. Ring tension is necessary only to "scrape" the oil to prevent it from entering the combustion chamber.

If you think about it, the ring exerts maybe 5-10 lbs of spring tension against the cylinder wall ...

How can such a small amount of spring tension seal against thousands of

PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) of combustion pressure ??

Of course it can't.

How Do Rings Seal Against Tremendous Combustion Pressure ??

From the actual gas pressure itself !! It passes over the top of the ring, and gets behind it to force it outward against the cylinder wall. The problem is that new rings are far from perfect and they must be worn in quite a bit in order to completely seal all the way around the bore. If the gas pressure is strong enough during the engine's first miles of operation (open that throttle !!!), then the entire ring will wear into

the cylinder surface, to seal the combustion pressure as well as possible.

sparco seat and sabelt 4pt harness

back to the storage room to check out some parts. the red sparco seat i bought last year struck my eyes and i decided to mount it on the lancer. removed the railings it came with, i took off the shoulder and lap strap hole cover(whatever that is) and stitched the gaps to make it presentable. added a nice sabelt 4pt harness and "viola"! a nice bucket seat waiting to be mounted.

scoured the net again about diy installation for the seat and harness. and much to my surprise, it's very technical...

here's an exerpt from the clubgti.com forum

1) MSA requirements:

• Racing requires FIA homologated safety harnesses. Must be 'in date'. The expiry date stitched onto a label on the harness is the last date the harness can be used in MSA / FIA regulated competition
  • FIA Appendix J - Art. 253 states that "one anchorage point for two straps [is] prohibited for shoulder straps." Since the MSA refers to the FIA for racing, 3-point harnesses aren't allowed for UK racing.

• Sprinting / hillclimbing requires:
  • 3 point safety harnesses for Road-Going Production and Road-Going Specialist cars
  • 4-point safety harnesses for Modified Production ('Mod Prod')
  • 6-point for Hill Climb Super Sports Cars, Sports Libre and Racing Cars
    (all as defined in the MSA Blue Book)
  • ... but does not appear to specify FIA Homologation (please shout if you know this not to be the case)

• Rallying requires FIA Homologated 4 point safety harnesses (minimum)

• Rallycross and Autocross requires 3 or 4 point safety harnesses (minimum) but does not appear to specify FIA Homologation (please shout if you know this not to be the case).

However, the MSA encourages FIA-compliant harnesses:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MSA Blue Book Where safety harnesses are mandatory, it is recommended that those described in [C(c)] 45 are homologated by the FIA and carry their label.

2) Trackday harness requirements:

• Subject to any event officials checking cars, eg whilst noise testing, none

Rough guide to types of harness in existence:

• EEC Approved
• Latch closing mechanisms
• Turn buckle release mechanisms
• Push button release mechanisms
• FIA approved harnesses

Also, design differences:

• 2 inch straps, 3 inch straps, or 3 inch shoulder and 2 inch lap
• Clip on harness straps, designed to fit over eye bolts
• Non-clip on harness straps, which are 'permanent' fixtures
• 3-point, 4 point, 5 point and 6 point harnesses

for more pics and details visit their thread: Motorsport harnesss installs - forum info compilation / FAQ

other sites also have their own version of this. but what am i gonna do? since, im gonna use it for motor sports, i might as well follow fia/aap (philippine local governing body) rules...

off for further research

more on fog lamps: piaa

source: piaa.com

driving lights

"Typically, driving lights are mounted above the front bumper about 14-30 inches from the ground to provide extra high beam illumination. Driving lights can be mounted below the bumper, although they will not be as effective because the light will hit the ground sooner and reduce the range of the light.

Visual aim is made with the center of the beam hot spot 1.5 inches below the lamp center at 25 feet with the lamp facing straight forward. (See below.)"

fog/foul weather lights

"Traditional fog lights are usually mounted under the front bumper about 10-24 inches from the ground. There are two important issues to address when installing fog lights, the first is to minimize the amount of return glare into the driver's eyes, and the other is to minimize glare into oncoming driver's eyes. Both must be accomplished while putting as much light as possible on the road.

These fog/foul weather light aiming instructions are suggestions taken from common practice and the S.A.E. standard J583. Some modifications to these instructions may be necessary to minimize glare.

Visual aim is made with the top of the beam 4 inches below the lamp center at 25 feet with the lamp facing straight forward. (See below.)"

how to choose your lights

picture from: gizmosforall.com - visit their site for a crash course on automotive lighting.

what i've learned?

3 types of light

1. driving light - midrange throw. enough for cruising. (eg headlamps)
2. fog light - short range throw. installed below the bumper, less than 24" from the ground
3. pencil beam light - long throw paired with driving light. ideal for rally and racing exceeding speeds of 80mph or 120kph

Fog Lights Installation

i'll be installing a pair of fog lights and i need a diagram to follow. where do i go? the net, of course! then i found the site: old burb club. the specs on the page is identical to what i'm working on. so, i'll post it here just in case. many thanks to the site and all people involve.

"This is the right way to wire a set of fog lights. The relay switches the heavy current to the fog lights with big wire, while the dashboard switch wiring can be very small. This keeps high current and large wires out from under the dash and in the engine compartment where they belong. A typical set of 55 watt lights will draw about 8 amps for the pair. The dash switch will pull only about 0.3 amps to operate the relay.

Be sure to run extra ground wires from the fog lights themselves. Don't depend on the cheap spring or case ground to work. Take the light apart if necessary, and add a real ground wire. Run these to the frame somewhere handy. This will keep the lights from being intermittent.

This diagram shows the wiring using a Bosch relay. These are found just about everywhere."

electrical diagram sources

i've been studying and working on some electrical wirings for my '86 lancer and found a great source of information over the net:

national t-bucket alliance (ntba)

my mopar

wiring legends from ntba

additional source:

from speedy jim's homepage inside netlink services - schematic diagrams

tip#1: know what you remove

removing parts is easy. putting them back is the hard part. well, i haven't done this so i don't really know. but if you think about it, it will take more time to put things together when you don't have any clue at all. that's unless you have a hayne's manual of your car. then you don't have to worry and make a mental note of every screw, nuts and bolts location.

if you cant employ creating a mental picture of every parts, then another way is labeling. label every screw, parts, accessories, etc., insert them on a ziploc and vacuum it before sealing tight (that's to prevent the continues rusting of metal parts)