Dman's Race Car - GT-S Ministock

Finally got some pics of the race car up on photobucket. The 2008 season starts Mother's Day (May 11th), and the car is still covered in snow. It will look the same this year, aside from some new racing wheels. Some serious suspension tuning and weight reduction is also on the way. My goal this year is to get the car running sub-18 second laps.






This pic shows all four Celicas that are currently at my place - the race car, my brother's silver GT-S, my sister's GT (it's black now), and my blue GT way in the background. The Camry I drive now is parked directly behind the race car.



The ATL racing fuel cell in the trunk.



I had lots of questions and comments about the "Your Ad Here" decals but sadly no new sponsors resulted.



Got camber? That's 10 degrees you're looking at there.



This is an old pic from my first season (2006). I don't have many action shots from last year. This year I am hoping to make a few racing videos with the help of my brother, including in-car footage.

 

It does have a bit of a front air dam now (not in the pics), but I would really like to make a fibreglass piece to close the grill, replace the stock bumper skin, and extend the front closer to the ground.

Edit: There is also a heat issue to consider. The engine runs at 4500-6000 rpm the entire race (about ten minutes). In the summer when it's 30-40 degrees outside the temp gauge can get fairly high, over the half way point. If I want some sort of aero nose on it I need to get myself a 2 row radiator to handle the cooling with the reduced airflow. The point of my current air dam was to channel more air to the rad.

Currently I'm looking at a mk2 supra rad as an option, I believe it was ST165 that said they are very similar in size. Just needs a bit of fabrication for the mounts.

 

nice pictures, racing that looks like it would b a ton of fun!

 

Lol thanks but I'll skip the scoop. The car is looking pretty beat up after two seasons of racing. I bought some replacement body panels for it but I don't have time to install or paint them.

And yes it's very fun - imagine driving at highway speeds through very tight turns with full contact allowed (we normally try to avoid being too rough as the cars tend to get wrecked) - the competition is usually very intense.

 

NICE! So what year and trim are the other 2 I see in the background?

 

Basically it's like rye said, since there are only left turns, the car can be setup to turn in one direction very well. There is 7 degrees on the right front wheel, and some postive camber on the left side wheels. It helps to keep the wear and heat even across the tire, without it the outside edge gets chewed up very quickly. As it is right now I'd like to have 10 degrees on the front wheel as well, but it's a lot harder to get more camber in the front.


There are actually 3 celicas in the background of that pic:
Silver 86 GT-S
Burgundy 87 GT
Blue 86 GT

And 2 camrys
Dark Green 92 LE
Brown 83 pile o'rust - now in its final resting place

 

I was hoping to post a video of the first start of the car this year today, but it was not meant to be. On Sunday after working hard on the car all day, I was filling the rad with water when I heard water dripping out. The seals on the water pump are gone. Hopefully we can get a new one in there before the race this coming Sunday.

 

Well I got a vid up on youtube of the first start of the year. Got it going on the first try.

Celica First Start of 2008

I had it out at the track on Thursday for some practice laps, and to try out my new zero offset racing rims. It was running some pretty quick times considering that the track was very dusty due to lack of use over the winter, and it was a bit cool outside. Sunday (Mother's Day) is the first race of the season. There should be about 20 cars in my class this year which will make for a good time.

I'd like to avoid spending more than $100 on a rad, as there is always the chance that it could be severely damaged in a collision or by debris. The cheaper the better, it's just hard to find a used rad that isn't heavily corroded.[/url]

 

Dman's Race Car - GT-S Ministock - May 11th Race Results

Well it seems like the car is performing about as good as it was last season. I switched from 185 to 205 tires, and that really helped keep the tires cool at the race on Sunday.

Fourteen cars showed up to race in my class. I'm pretty happy with my results:

Heat Race: 8th place
Qualifier: 5th place
Feature: 5th place

The feature was nearly a 4th place finish for me, I was kept out by about half a car length.

 

nicely done, sounds like really exciting racing.

 

Second race night of the season and the car is wrecked

The car was running great Friday night, I had a 6th place finish in the heat race, and 5th place in the qualifier.

The feature race was looking good for me, and five laps in I was vying for third place. I was passing on the outside when the guy inside lost control and came up into my car. I think his front right tire got jammed behind my front bumper. Both cars went into the wall, with mine taking the majority of the damage. He was able to continue the race, but the damage was too severe on my car.


The ball joint was ripped from the right lower control arm.


Both inner tie rod ends were bent. It took a while to realize that the left one was though. My dad straightened the right one, then we put the tire back on.


And the car is not looking too pretty.




The front rails are bent badly. So badly that they pinched the altenator belt, so I couldn't start it up again.


This is where the other car's tire got stuck.

Thankfully I am perfectly fine, but they made me go get checked out by the paramedics anyways. Which was good in the end cause one of the paramedics happened to be a hot blonde 8) .

Once we had the altenator belt removed the engine started up right away, sitll running nice and smooth. Now we just have to get everything straightened out before the next race.