OFFICIAL: NICOclub Time Attack S13 Build Thread NOW WITH VIDEO

[180sxfaktory]

You gotta forgive me for being the old guy who was doing this when we didn't have such tools at our disposal. I still go by feel, having been in the S chassis for over 7 years now with a great amount of time on tracks, albeit not in the USA.

Even with all of the fancy tools, it will all fall back on the driver's ability. It's just like in fighter planes. We have all these neat state of the art components and we are trained to maintain flight within certain parameters. Some pilots will stay well within the safety zone of the flight envelope, and then there's those of us who will push it to the ragged edge just short of getting outside of it. Pushing it to the ragged edge takes confidence and experience, and theres no amount of datalogging that anyone could come up with to measure pilot or driver performance.

I've been reading up on a few dataloggers just to get current and that stuff is just really neat and would definitley benefit a driver and a team in so many ways.

[AceInhole]

I've been reading up on a few dataloggers just to get current and that stuff is just really neat and would definitley benefit a driver and a team in so many ways.

I definitely hear you on the "it comes down to the driver" philosophy, but at the same time it's difficult to adjust a car based solely on a single driver's opinion (and almost impossible when two drivers are telling you different things!). Also, there's the reality that "feeling fast" doesn't always equate to being fast. For example, I like the car to have decent turn-in while trail braking through a corner, so I might raise compression damping up front for more initial bite. This in turn might feel great going into corners, but losing a point of pure grip through the rest of the corner could be slowing me down overall. On the other hand, without that intiial bite, I might be fighting the car too much to plant it into the turn, which kills consistency (and in the end, time).

The great thing about modern dataloggers is that you can distinguish between the car and the driver. It helps to get a real idea of what sections of the course you're consistently fast on and where you have to look to change something. For the above example, it comes down to looking at the log and seeing if my line deviates much, and making a decision of if I can change my "style", or if it's worth it to tune the car down. The downside is: it sometimes gives you too much info.

However, I don't see that as being necessary for a while. It'll take some time to work out all the bugs that inevitably pop up, and you'll be making some large overall changes in the beginning, while developing your driving (I'm not sure who your driver is, so forgive that assumption if it's incorrect). I just hope you have better luck than my friend's shifter kart from this year :P Even the simplest things can be a huge PITA.

[180sxfaktory]

Totally agree that it is hard to discern or interpret between driver and the car, and damn impossible between two or more drivers (LeMans is a perfect example). In this case, Sean and Mark are the drivers. I am merely a supporter from far away. It's funny while reading this I was thinking shifter karts and then you mention it in the last paragraph! Karting is big here in Bahrain, as well as other forms of motorsport, and the guys who are into it are the ones who first exposed me to dataloggers.

Totally spot on that this is too early to be thinking of such things, since the guys won't know how the car is gonna perform mechanically and structure-wise. The whole point is to have fun and to explore the side of the S chassis that most just read about, as well as to develop personal driving skills. If I am off the mark guys, correct me!

[AceInhole]

It's funny while reading this I was thinking shifter karts and then you mention it in the last paragraph! Karting is big here in Bahrain, as well as other forms of motorsport, and the guys who are into it are the ones who first exposed me to dataloggers.

Those shifter karts are crazy, and TONS of maintenance. Prepping for a race is so involved, especially with open bearings, but generally you do coolant flushes, oil flushes, bearing maintenance, chain maintenance, and hope your carb is jetted right for the weather (and fine tune it while running). You'd never think of it just looking at one, untill you start looking closer.

Then you start to realize, you've got a lot of open bearings on the new suspension parts, and tons of work in an engine, as well as plenty of wear items (clutch, brake pads, rotors, etc) that need attention on a race by race basis, plus attention to EVERY mod you've done to the car (solid stuff = vibration = loose nuts/ bolts). If you've ever been to club races, you start to see how much there is to learn about reliability and maintenance.

Once all that is down to second nature, you can start tweaking

Anyways, I'll hopefully make it to the NH meet. I'm hoping to get together with a few of the "old school" ONE (240sx Owners of New England) guys afterwards. And on another note, I'm on my 7th year of 240's as well, since July.

[180sxfaktory]

Yeah, definitely more than meets the eye! My Aussie friend owns the biggest Karting shop in the Middle East, and I've actually bought stuff from him to use on my cars, such as a throttle cable for the 200SX. I'm using a JUN intake with Q45 throttle body, and the original cable just doesn't quite make it, but the new throttle cable I got from him does just fine.

[DJButton]

Well this thread needs some serious life! We took a bunch of pictures this weekend hopefully someone will put them up soon! No engine in yet, the car still looks pretty sad... it's beginning to morph into my garage floor I think, but it WILL be done soon!

[eazye2000]

Get on that 'ish man! If you need any help, let me know. Me and my boy will be there in an hour!

Gitter' Dunn!

[NSR_s30]

Can't wait to see it all done.

[DJButton]

Ditto!!

[MagikDragon]

Well guys, I've been busy, so I haven't done a photo update yet, so here goes!

Donor Parts! (Thanks Jake)sombody didn't take his medicine....fabrication discussion...we go a 1JL swap(Its super rare...)POWER TOOLS!mmmm... SparksLook at that fitment...New parts (courtesy of 240SX Motoring!)Look at that forhead (he'll give alichia a run for her money)This is why you don't screw with Bees..Jakes new toy...working on many s-chassis' at once..nice s13'swe had a guest worker..Red white and Blue baby!!structural ridgity!!! Yay!!new frame rail!!! Square within a tenth of a degree and a 32th of an inch!! Ya Baby!Ichiba Hubs, Swift Springs!Don't mess with this guy...That is the Business end of a really nice powerplant!!nice....

Well guys thats 2 weeks of updates, Look forward for the Meet pics soon and thanks for the support!!

[x240xdrifter]

whos red hatch is that? its super sexy hehe

wheres the pic of look in the "bunghole" of the SR? hahaha

[MagikDragon]

Monkey Butts anyone??

[NSR_s30]

Progress looks awesome. I wish I lived closer cause I'd definitely lend a hand man.

[x240xdrifter]

awesome

[DJButton]

That picture is great!

Wish I live closer to you guys bro... I need a ride in that S30!

[x240xdrifter]

Those NSR guys know whats up

[eds13]

looks sick guys! good to see some progress

[PapaSmurf2k3]

See you guys tomorrow!

[AceInhole]

I've gotta catch up on some work tomorrow, but I'll be heading up to hang out with some friends in the area, so if you guys are still around I'll try to stop by.

[keith0486]

hey so what did u end up doing with the lsd i sold ya?

[DJButton]

Put it on the car!

If you're up here def feel free to stop by man!

My cell is 603-738 - 6666

[kyles1988]

good progress guys.

[x240xdrifter]

well deserved....

[eazye2000]

So.. How about that airbag?

[x240xdrifter]

haha one word............priceless!

[eazye2000]

Ok, thread hasn't moved in a couple days. I'm 'assuming' there has been forward progress..?

Anyways, here's a little clip of what happened to a leftover airbag that didn't get sold at the swap-meet we held. http://one.revver.com/watch/415127

[DJButton]

Well if those with the pictures would actually post them *cough cough*

[x240xdrifter]

hahaha ummm ya I'm lazy, they'll come soon

[the converted]

It hasn't moved to much because we have all been down at VIR for GT live whoopin on our other cars

[eds13]

all of you are bums!!! get back to work! hehehe