Venturing down the slippery slope - SKYHI Motorsports SE

[SKYHI]

Loving the look of them but nothing to really report in regards to performance at this stage. Was a very quiet drive out in the spitting rain and with my partner in the passenger seat I suspect I really won't get a feel for them until I hit the track.

"Time Attack" is really just another sprint day where everyone is put into timed classes, so it's as safe as any club day. It's all about how much you want to push. Take it slowly and just drive well within the limits until you get some confidence.

[Magpie]

TCR or ManiacLachy let me know when you are thinking of doing a track day as Racepak could be sending me out one of their new CL1's (https://cl1.racepak.com/) to use. I would be interested to find out how quickly it could be put into a car and start to be used, plus I would be able to post a review and see what it's capabilities are...

[SKYHI]

Will do mate. Very keen to try it out, as I have dabbled with data before using a Race Technology DL1 and Aim Solo DL in other cars, and have been researching using a RaceCapture Pro and tablet to connect to the Megasquirt Pro PnP using CAN, but funds are limited at the moment.

My problem is having the experience to analyse the data properly, so it would be beneficial to have someone like yourself to help in that area, and you definitely know the Racepak stuff.

Data is very under rated by a lot of people

[SKYHI]

Just watched a Racepak videos on the CL1 and it looks really promising. I'm hoping to have my car ready for its track debut in a few weeks.

[Magpie]

Just watched a Racepak videos on the CL1 and it looks really promising. I'm hoping to have my car ready for its track debut in a few weeks.

It does, will also be running it in my car as part of Team Racepak 2018! However I do not have the ODB2 and at the moment there are no ECU specific CAN cables, but these are (if rumors are true) being developed...

[SKYHI]

Yeah right. I have OBD2 in the SE but obviously not worth connecting to with the Megasquirt in the car

[takai]

Without OBD2 does it take other CAN type inputs, such as say the Racepak USM4s?

[Magpie]

Without OBD2 does it take other CAN type inputs, such as say the Racepak USM4s?

Not at the moment, however there is a CAN input for future expansion. I can keep you updated as this develops.

It has out of the box:
12 user defined OBD2 inputs
8 total external sensor inputs through 4 connectors
4 user programmable Analog
4 user programmable Digital

[takai]

Without OBD2 does it take other CAN type inputs, such as say the Racepak USM4s?

Not at the moment, however there is a CAN input for future expansion. I can keep you updated as this develops.

It has out of the box:
12 user defined OBD2 inputs
8 total external sensor inputs through 4 connectors
4 user programmable Analog
4 user programmable Digital

Yeah, if it could take the USM4s then it would be great. But without an OBD2 connection it is a bit limited as you have to use most of your external sensor inputs for basic ECU stuff.

[greenMachine]

Without OBD2 does it take other CAN type inputs, such as say the Racepak USM4s?

Not at the moment, however there is a CAN input for future expansion. I can keep you updated as this develops.

It has out of the box:
12 user defined OBD2 inputs
8 total external sensor inputs through 4 connectors
4 user programmable Analog
4 user programmable Digital

Yeah, if it could take the USM4s then it would be great. But without an OBD2 connection it is a bit limited as you have to use most of your external sensor inputs for basic ECU stuff.

Magpie, subject for its own thread?

[SKYHI]

Data logging solution to be continued, but for now, back to updates

Finally pulled my finger out and got around to looking at fitting the Sparco seats. I'd been putting this off because I needed to sort a solution for the seat belt buckles. These are attached to the seats in an NB, so I was sure I'd need to get a set of NA stalks to install in the car or try to come up with some sort of adapter bracket for the standard buckle, but thought what the hell let's just see how they fit.

I'd purchased these adapters from Jass Performance to retain the standard sliders on the Sparco seats, as I want to try and get them mod plated at some stage, and I'd heard it made fitment a lot easier than trying to muck around with drilling or adapting the standard rails to suit the mounting holes in the seats etc.



Started with the drivers side and fitted up the adapters to the Sparco, easy.



Next I unbolted the rails from the standard seat and transferred them onto the Sparco. These are held down with nuts onto the adapter, so I used a bit of threadlock for peace of mind.



This is when I discovered that the plate that the seat belt buckle is attached to, is part of the rail itself (hadn't really thought this through up until this point). This meant that the seat belt buckle sat alongside the Sparco seat, and whilst not in a perfect position, didn't work too bad. Once the buckle is clipped in, it sits flush with the top of the seat bolster and the seat belt itself comes straight across the top of the bolster.



Then it was simply a matter of dropping them in, connecting the wiring under the drivers seat and bolting them back in. All done in about an hour.





As far as weight savings goes, the Sparco seat with the rails was only about 1.8kgs lighter than the standard seat, but at least it's another 3.6kgs out of the car.

I never really liked the feeling of the standard seats, always felt like I was sitting on top of them rather than in them. Not any more

[ManiacLachy]

Nice. The car is really coming along now. Will you add a harness for track duty? Do they sit you any lower than stock?

I wonder how your other half will find them, she seems to like coming on drives with you, and buckets can be a bit uncomfortable. My girlfriend hates even my Elise seats (well, she's not a fan of the car in general).

[SKYHI]

Yep, harness is next on the list of things to do, as I want to use my HANS device on track. Hoping to order one this week.

Once that's done it'll just need a wheel alignment before hitting the track, although I may investigate my options in regards to getting some decent amount of camber adjustment before the wheel alignment is done.

I do sit a little lower in the car now. Once I'm in the car with a helmet on, the top of the helmet should be about 50mm below the top of the roll bar.

The 'other half' jumped in last night after I installed them and said "Ohh, they are more comfortable", so that's a thumbs up for now. I've had them before and know they can get a bit uncomfortable on longer drives, so time will tell.

Initially she wasn't a real fan of the car either, but now that I've added the wheels and the seats she's coming around to it. Saw some CF hardtops installed on a couple of cars at the Jap Nats last week and said my car needs one. Just a coincidence that I'd planned to get a Lightyear CF top at some point, so I've got her on side for that at least

[ManiacLachy]

Lucky man. It's much easier when the other half is happy with the car and the changes.

Look at the Bauer Extended Lower Ball Joints (ELBJ), they should give you an instant -2* up front, which is where we're limited. You probably don't want max camber, but somewhere between -2* and -3* is what I've heard is good for street dríven occasional track cars. I have a set to go in eventually, I ordered from 949/Supermiata.

[SKYHI]

Yeah, I'm trying to remember what I'd previously done to my NAs to get that sort of camber. Might have to do some digging through old paperwork or threads. Ideally looking for about 3 degrees rear and 2.5-2.75 degrees up front.