I Love You Mom (But racing comes first)

I'm a horrible horrible son. Mother's day was on Sunday and I woke up at 6am to check wheel bearings on the US-Spec Skyline GT350 (shhhhhhh..... ). With everything checking out, we took a small team down to wreak havoc on FCSCC.

All I can say is: Hankook RS-3's LOVE heat. The hotter they got, the better, and 3300 lbs of Nissan couldn't work the new 265/35R18 tires enough to keep them happy in 60deg weather. Looks like we'll need Dunlops next year until T-shirt weather.... and here I thought street tires were supposed to be simple?

Things started off well enough, with the ST car giving us issues with braking. Braking issues generated flat spots which made issues worse, but we finally raised the front enough during the event to keep the wheels from locking up (and I'll probably raise the SM car 1/8th just to be sure we don't have issues there, too). After fixing the brake issues, the car called it quits and the fuel pump went lethargic. The car ran, but couldn't hold fuel pressure.... more on that later.

Photo by Said Hu

The Skyline on its 18x10's performed well enough, despite just being on Tein drop springs. With some real race springs and some shock adjustments, it could be a real contender. When I get some 18x9 wheels it'll get the easy-street STX index, where I think it might actually stand a chance. It'd be a fun local car at the very least, although I think when the ST car is at full power, it'll be close.

Photo by Said Hu

Yesterday, I got around to checking out the Panda engine mounts and the ST car's fuel system. While waiting for the ST car's fuel soaked o-rings to dry, I figured out that I could turn the motor mounts on the Panda to move the engine back a half inch. With additional slotting of the motor mount brackets and some shimming, I think I can push it back the rest of the way, taking a lot of fab work out of my week. All that's left to do is make a custom transmission mount and hope the new driveshaft comes in in time. The order is in through 240sxMotoring, and they haven't let us down yet.... no pressure, it's only the entire season at stake!

Getting back to the ST car's fuel system, I replaced the fuel pump, fuel filter, fuel injectors, fuel rail, and fuel pressure regulator all to no avail. The car still wouldn't hold fuel pressure. Finally getting to the wiring, I discovered that the fuel pump was only getting 12v (and not battery voltage). Seems like there's a crossed wire or corroded connection somewhere, and I think the tires eating through the fender liners may have something to do with it (the wiring harness is located directly above the liners). Getting around to that today, and patching up some loose ends on the car. Fun times!!

NNJR autocross at the Meadowlands this coming Saturday, with the NJ Pro Solo right after that! Are we worried with both cars still non-functional and a boat-load of work to do? Nope.... this is G-Fab.