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It was a pleasure following this thread during the car's build, and it's nice to see how you're enjoying it. Makes me want to plan for something similar one day. Maybe a Daytona coupe or something.
Are there any top options for the Cobra that you would consider?
It was a pleasure following this thread during the car's build, and it's nice to see how you're enjoying it. Makes me want to plan for something similar one day. Maybe a Daytona coupe or something.
Are there any top options for the Cobra that you would consider?
No. The COYOTE + TKO-600 seem to be the pick of the litter for powering the cars. They have added the new Mustang IRS as an option but its pretty pricy & so far I can't tell if it out preforms the competition 3 link solid axel that I am running. .
I did add a few things over the past year but they are all in the thread. Most are unnecessary, just pure extras but that appealed to me, don't think any item was over $500. Have gotten into Auto-X so I expect to add electric power steering to the car & a Kirkey Vintage car racing seat.
Car is competitive without them but they will reduce driver work load. Since the driver is an old fart I would appreciate that. If I was not doing Auto-X would leave the steering manual.
Only thing on the original kit itself I would change would be to get the vintage style instrument package. Still might pick up a set if I can get them for a good price.
The Daytona is all new this year both chassis & body. If you ever decide to get one the air conditioning option should be considered a must. Without it the car will cook you quite efficiently
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Jan 6, 2017 at 01:17 AM.
There are convertible tops with side windows available from FFR & a few other suppliers. Also there are a few 3rd party detachable hard tops. Here in NC I don't know anyone who has either but up north they seem to be in use. Depending on tires the cars are not good gad weather cars. All the guys in our group have semi race street legal tires that are temperature sensitive & get weird under 40 degrees. In rain you need to drive carefully & smoothly.
Weather here is good enough you can drive the cars all year round with out a top. I have a Tonneau cover that zips down the middle & holds the heat in pretty well when its cold. DOT fasteners hold the cover on. Only a few of us use them. In the pictures the cars with the studs around the cockpit have Tonneau's roofs or both.
Warm & dry the cars will pull over 1G without breaking a sweat. My rears are NITTO 555R 315's with 100 tread wear rubber compound & when heated the car have no trouble getting in the low 3 high 2 second range to 60mph. Guys with more grunt then mine are running 9 second 1/4 miles. Any COYOTE package will put the car into the 11 second class which will get you booted from an NHRA 1/4 mile track. The car is too quick & too fast for the onboard safety equipment - they want a full roll cage. You may be able to run a test & tune night, depends on the track.
Track day & driver school you are generally good to go with the stock car. For drivers school where an instructor will ride with you you need two roll bars or a full width bar. On a shorter road course 1 mile of so the car will run heads-up with a Lamborghini Gallardo. Lack of aero aids on a street car will cut its safe top speed on a course with long straights. Very hard tp manage in the upper 150's. With aero aids top recorded speed is a bit over 200mph at Daytona..
Car is legal for.SCCA Solo Auto-X. The car runs XP (X-Prepared) class. This is a cubic inch to weight class not a production class.. Original Cobras & cars like the Mosler, Nobel etc run in the class
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Jan 6, 2017 at 03:16 AM.
Street tests of my NITTO 555RX555R (100TR) went well. Striped all 4 tires with white shoe polish. Ran as hard as I ever intend to on the street & the stripes showed even use across the tread & no roll under on the front wheels.
The ability of the tire to maintain its contact patch in a hard turn was a concern. Think the fact that the car is almost a ton less than the cars that the tire is designed for might contribute to this.
Air pressure is F23PSI R24PSI.
Will not get a chance to test the tires in an Auto-X until the THSCC Cary, NC event on April 8 which I am registered for.
Had hoped to do a Charity Laps run at VIR's full course week after next but think the weather will not work for a car with no roof.
FWIW the 17" 315 NITTO 555R on the rear have just shy of 6,000 miles on them & are still in good shape. Fronts 17" 255 NITTO 555R were just swapped on last week.
These were taken after an 80mph run over country roads. Almost zero traffic so it was pretty safe except for me.
FRONT
REAR
Stripes are unretouched from when I parked the car. Was thinking about a 1 or 2lb drop on the front ones. Any thoughts/suggestions on the tire pressures?
Yeah, the NITTO 555 are 200 tread wear & the 555R are 100'sWas running 555 on the front & 555R on the back since I got plates for the car. Doing more track & Auto-X this summer so wanted more grip on the front without going to sway bars. Was pushing the front end last year on hard sharp turns.
The NITTO 555 are 200 tread wear & the 555R are 100's Class wise any 100 tread wear tire puts you into XP which is the top displacement to weight class. In other words from the point of view of a 5.0 engine its an open class with as much power as you want to bring.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Feb 25, 2017 at 03:57 PM.
One of the guts sent me this, good explanation of under/over steer :
I'm not getting gray, I'm adding chrome....
“Under-steer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and over-steer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall and torque is how far you take the wall with you.”
-- Jacques Schnauzee "World Famous Racecar Driver"
"If you can make black marks on a straight from the time you turn out of a corner until the braking point of the next turn, then you have enough horsepower."--Mark Donohue
End of Page 2 beginning of page 3. had a DNF at the last Auto-X. Developed dome kind of a rub or interfearence on full lock right turns. Trying to chase it down, going to one of our group members house on Thursday to use his lift. Have a training school coming up at the Danville Va airport on the th of May. If I cant clear the problem will have to bring the 135IS. Daughter is bringing her 911 & if she hands me my butt will never live it down.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Apr 18, 2017 at 11:16 AM.
Obligatory pics because it did happen at the PCD + M4 Rat Race vid
Picked up the 440 at the BMW Performance Center Delivery program in Greer SC on Wednesday. Lots of fun & one excursion into the grass. Car is a little dirty after 250 odd miles. So theses are quick & dirty pictures.
Some background:
Brought the 440 home from the BMW PCD system today. The car has the usual options + the M Performance Power & Sound Kit (MPPSK) & the Track Handling Package (THP).
Lots of dynos around for the 440 MPPSK/THP in the 368/372WHP range. Will dyno this one after 1200 miles. Followed the 135is being driven by my daughter, there is a reason she led & for 233 miles average speed 79MPH the car knocked down 31MPG with 10 miles on the clock to start.
Daughter lead because she had a better all clean runs during track time. Your friendly Car Talk poster & ace driver managed an somewhat un-controlled drift that took out 14 cones & ended in the grass. That said my clean runs were all faster than hers, you believe me right?
Was looking for a picture to help out a builder & noticed a lot of time has gone by. One of the guys suggested I post a before & after shot.
Before
After
Have 12,000 miles on the car since getting the license plate in March 2015 & its still as much fun as it was on day one. Been very reliable, goes out almost every day year round, think I did better then some new car manufacturers. Have added some parts & upgraded the tune since I built it, now at 488WHP on a DynoJet.
There is a penalty for the extra power. Have used up the original tires & the clutch needs to be upgraded.
New
12,000 miles.
Will replace the Nitto 555R with street legal Nitto NT01 DOT compliant road course tires. Staying at 315 in the back but increasing the fronts one size to 275.
New clutch with 687 - FT/LB capacity splined to match the TKO-600.
Brake pads will also be changed during the annual inspection, fluid & filter change. The only fail in 12,000 miles was a dead fuel pump that was replaced under the parts warranty.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Jan 3, 2020 at 04:51 PM.
Hardest part coming up will be to shut it down for a few weeks to do the upgrades. Keep putting it off everytime there is a nice day to drive it. Checked the mileage on the 440 & its under 10,000 after 2.5 years. Cobra really cut into its use.
For me, it'd be a tough call between a Cobra or a Caterham.
Both so iconic, the lines, the grit
Can't go wrong either way
I'm a big fan of the Super 7 / Seven
I'd probably go that route if we're talking big boy toys
I'd be a little reluctant to not have a windshield on the street though
I am quarantined & so its the car. Using the time to do a fifth year replace, repair & upgrade so the car is sitting on jackstands looking sad. Work on it a few hours a day & hope to be done in a few weeks.
Fortunately have another 2 seat Roadster to run the NC moonshiner roads with the top down during the virus timeout. Have 280 miles of the 1200 mile recommended breakin done, starting to get a tan so all is well in the sunny south.
2020 Z4 M40i Triple Black. Sub 4 second 0-60 by my Dragy & 12.3 @ 116mph 1/4 mile by C&D road test.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Apr 7, 2020 at 12:21 AM.
You drive it so much you needed a clutch? Or just smart to do ahead of time.
You are a bad motherfucker, Bear...I hope you have the wallet that says so.
You drive it so much you needed a clutch? Or just smart to do ahead of time.
You are a bad motherfucker, Bear...I hope you have the wallet that says so.
Clutch was OK with the original power settings. Added a tune & a few parts & exceed the clutches torque rating. Track days & AutoX tend to beat up parts & eat tires. Check out the tire with the date card on it. Tire has 12,000 miles on & its at the wear blocks. Actually for 100 treadware tires that is pretty good mileage because the car is so light at 2250lbs.
If you can pay you can't play. About $2,500 this time. Tires $1200 with mounting & balance. Full set of brakes & discs. Clutch assembly, Instruments $850, fluids filters etc. Good thing is it's the first money I put into the car since I built it. So compared to a street car repairs after the warranty is done it's pretty inexpensive.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; Apr 8, 2020 at 11:14 AM.
Meanwhile the OE tires on my Mercedes were toast in 16k miles of normal DD duty.
I usually get about 25,000 miles on the OEM Michelin PSS summer tires on my BMW's. New car has 255X40X19" & 275X40X19" Michlen Pilot Super Sports non run flats
Sounds more like the replacements I put on the C.
The OE Conti run-flats were terrible for tire wear. Replaced with Bridgestone non-Runflat & it was an improvement in every way.
Agree. In the past with 36 month lease cars I drove the RFT through break-in (1200mi) then swapped to non run flats on my dime. Stored the RFT in my shead till the Non RFT wore out then used the RFT for the rest of the cycle & lease turn-in inspection. If the car was a purchase ran the 1200mi then sold the OEM tires & added Non-RFT. The OEM tires sold quick because BMW required the RFT marked with a star for lease turn in.
With some E series & G series 3/4 cars BMW has been putting non run flats on the performance version of each line as part of the Track Package option. With the E cars it was just with 18" wheels, it has been expanded to the 19's" with the G series. Not sure about the bigger wheels like 20/22". On the Z4 M40i the PSS are standard equipment as the track package is built in.
Interesting that they chose to go with the PSS instead of the PS4S. I am very happy with the PS4S on my BRZ, though I have no experience with the PSS to compare. From all accounts they are very similar.
RFTs are inferior in nearly every way other than convenience. Even then, that is debatable.
:
My mind leans more toward the Caterham/Lotus 7 side, I imagine all of the above area pricey build.
