New Balance and Jean shorts..non typical C5 build

[hinrichs]

Wow I have been slacking on an update in here. Sorry guys.

So the first race at Pagoda was an interesting weekend. We had a very bad crash happen on the first run on saturday. I was one of the first 7 up the hill and then we ended up sitting for about 2 hours. Everyone was a little shaken up from it. We only got 3 runs saturday due to the delay, but the full 5 on sunday. Overall I got 2nd in my class which was a fun battle on Sunday. Some pics I stole from other people. I also forgot to turn on my go-pro all weekend.

IMG-3959 (1) by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-3958 by minthinrich, on Flickr

After the race I decided I needed to finally do something about the exhaust. I couldnt stand the look anymore of the 2 single tips, so I ordered another borla s-type. I think my old setup was the borla stinger. Anyway the new exhaust came in 2 days from amazon even tho it was said to be 1 week, so I threw it on right away. It sounds a lot better at full throttle and is just enough when cruising to not be noticed.

IMG-3969 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Pulled off the Targa to see if I liked driving without it which I can do at races. It was kinda cool but I will be keeping it bolted on. I bet it looked wild on the road tho.

IMG-4020 by minthinrich, on Flickr




Now for the exciting update. I was reading through my rule book once again to try and figure out hood vents and if they are legal or not. Still working on that one, but I did find an answer to something I thought I would have to jump to the next class for. Coilovers !

M.For cars originally equipped with transverse leaf springs, spring type
may be changed to a coil spring. Spring perches may be added to shock
absorbers for mounting coil springs in a “coilover” configuration.

I was originally going to go with the LG Motorsport Bilstein G2 coilovers, but after really thinking about it for my current driving level I didnt need $3500 coilovers. After reading a lot of reviews and looking around, I settled on some Silvers Neomax. I went with the upgraded swift springs in 12k/10K. The install really was not bad at all. The rears kind of suck with the upper mount. Front are 6" spring length, rears are 7" length just for size reference. C5s have very short shocks.

64961590140--BF0CA2A5-2490-4801-82F4-CEB2A48E10DF by minthinrich, on Flickr
64963298253--C3A79289-9CFC-43DC-A061-FB5D7D945FD5 by minthinrich, on Flickr
64963299238--17EE4B26-DBBE-4FD6-8925-86D8DDC78395 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[hinrichs]

Thankfully after getting the car back on its own weight, it sat just about the same as before. The rear was a little low so I raised it up to get a little rake going.

64969235978--7E087CB0-0503-4779-8D0F-D02BF2D4F57D by minthinrich, on Flickr
64969236836--AE83C5F3-A077-45E0-97CC-900ADA1F47CC by minthinrich, on Flickr

Got the scales out, and was very happy with the new suspension out of the box. I measured like crazy on heights and it paid off. I didnt go crazy but here is the setup.

IMG-4145 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Loaded up the car for the weekend race down at Polish Mountain in Flintstone, MD. http://pahillclimb.org/about/the-cou...lish-mountain/

IMG-4158 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Boring ride alone, 3-1/2 hour trip. I was following my buddy and I wish we stopped at this pass through. Next year I will check it out.

IMG-4159 by minthinrich, on FlickrIMG-4160 by minthinrich, on Flickr

The first day went well outside of a knocking noise that I did not have all week prior to the race. Typical car issues that always come up at the wrong times. Only ended up getting 4 or 5 runs satruday which was supposed to be a lot more. Got the car parked for the night and decided to pull a rear coil which I had my suspicion it was loose somehow. Well I was right, the upper nut for the shock itself was loose which explained my noise. Its sure fun working on grass/dirt with a jack and stands.

IMG-4176 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Hung out all night with some good food, lots of beer, and good friends.

IMG-4177 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-4178 by minthinrich, on Flickr
image000001 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Sunday was kinda a crap shoot with my driving at first, but figured it out towards the end of the day. I managed to get my time down 5 seconds overall, ended up with a 70.120 which was driving me crazy trying to break into a 69. Loaded up the car and headed home after getting my plaque for the tool box.

IMG-4185 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-4182 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[saturnstance]

hell yeah! awesome updates.

[mgpdoc]

Love this

[hinrichs]

So I am not sure if I mentioned the dust at the race, but it was bad. I guess it was better than torrential downpours which usually always happen in years past. I wanted to take the E36 down in 2019 but it was canceled 2 times due to flooding and mud. Here is what the car looked like even after driving through some pouring down rain on the way home.

IMG-4188 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-4189 by minthinrich, on Flickr

First thing to fix once I got home was the rear axle. It was throwing grease all weekend and creating a mess. The internet said pulling the axle was so hard. Yeah only took maybe 30 minutes. Yes the lift makes it very easy, but it would be just as easy down on stands. Maybe I am just getting fast at pulling the rear suspension now.

IMG-4237 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Old axle vs used. The one I got locally on ebay looked basically brand new. I didnt go aftermarket new simply to a few sizes listed and not knowing what was correct.

old axle by minthinrich, on Flickr new axle by minthinrich, on Flickr

I finally washed the car after doing the axle job. Inside still needs some work but thankfully was easy with just dusting it with a microfiber.

IMG-4241 (1) by minthinrich, on Flickr

[SebastienPeek]

God this looks mean as hell!

[hinrichs]

God this looks mean as hell!

Your going to like the next update.

So with continuing cleaning and generally checking over the car from the last race in prep for this weekend, I noticed a little grass on the ac core. Decided to throw the car up on the lift, and I was kind of amazed at what I found. Cleaned it out the best I could and got it back together. I will be swapping to a larger upgraded radiator over winter after seeing the size of the stock one. It works perfectly but seems small.

IMG-4282 (1) by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-4283 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Next up was to install the exhaust hanger 3d printed parts. Kind of cool someone makes these as you can see my stock rubber was gone. Cut it out and now the exhaust is sitting better and solid.

hangers by minthinrich, on Flickr

Now onto something actually fun and exciting. I was desperately searching for some used wheels as a spare setup for better tires. I test fit 315/30 at the last race so I knew I wanted to get tires for the big race of the year. I almost ordered another set of replica wheels in the standard z06 or another simple 5 spoke but I just could not commit to another set of heavy wheels. I also kind of **** the wheels on the car currently with cleaning and the color still bothers me. So I stumbled on MOMO website trying to find a different wheel, and ordered these.

IMG-4250 by minthinrich, on Flickr

18x10.5 et 55 which is almost perfect fitment all around. Of course 2 showed up as 17s but the correct 18s will be here sometime today. I think I read they weigh 22.5 lb each which really isnt bad. They sure feel light compared to my other wheel/tire combo. Threw one on for testing and decided to also paint the calipers which I regret brushing. I will redo them after race season or just get some wilwood calipers instead.

IMG-4271 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-4271 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Last night I ran to Exton to grab some Hoosier A7 scrubs. 3 heat cycles will last a decently long time for what we do. I am not at the level of driving to need new ones yet. $600 is a lot better $1800 for a new set. I might try some NT01 or something similar next year but not sure. They are a little wider than the 285s haha.

IMG-4291 by minthinrich, on Flickr
IMG-4294 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[cblock406]

Those new wheels are going to look killer!

[SebastienPeek]

Ummm those Momo's, meaty tires, can I get a ohhh yeah!

[mgpdoc]

Mmmmmmmeaty

[hinrichs]

So I was able to pick up my tires Friday at 2:00 pm. Nothing like almost last minute parts installs before your race.

IMG-4304 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Also my front air inlet thing (doesnt do much) showed up as well. It replaces the front license plate cover and can be pulled with 2 screws just like oem which is nice. I plan to eventually put an oil cooler behind it.

IMG-4302 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Took the car up to registration on the slicks to clean them off a bit since my wife said she would pick me up. Typically I drive the car up on street tires, hang out a little, then go home and swap to slicks for the morning drive it. It was kind of nice leaving it this time. Saturday mornging I remembered to take a picture in the pits. I really love the way the 315s look and fit on the car.

IMG-4310 by minthinrich, on Flickr

1st run Saturday was slick as hell with the road being cold and the tires not warm. Next 2 runs were better once the tires had heat and it held hard in corners. I had a shift knob under my seat which kind of ruined one decent run since it went under my foot. I will now check the driver side better before an event. It ended up starting to rain on my last run so I only got 2 decent runs Saturday. Sunday was canceled due to Fog on the hill. It was also wet so no one ended up running which is a shame. Here is an un-edited video of one of the better runs. I lifted a lot since I was not used to the new setup.

[hinrichs]

One pic from one of our local photographers. Glad the black looks so good at speed on the wheels.

IMG_4358 by minthinrich, on Flickr

[mgpdoc]

Car looks and sounds awesome. Definitely room for improvement when u lifted, totally understandable the fact you are getting used to each new setup.

Gives very positive vibes, at least on camera, to give u confidence to push harder.

Keep it up mate

Cheers

[hinrichs]

So long time no updates on this thing. More or less got F*CKED over by work and found out that I can not use my truck to tow anymore. Insurance BS....I was dumb and asked to get a bigger truck. Lets just say I missed 2 events I really wanted to attend cuz I would not have been able to drive the car and get all my extra gear to the races. Needless to say I now need to find my own truck, not doing a company vehicle anymore, so I have a very big purchase to make soon. Not really looking forward to that at all.

Anyway I pulled the numbers and work logo for the winter and to be able to drive it here and there. I dont see the work one going back on again.

IMG-5157 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Plans for the immediate future is to get the cage repainted (missed a few big spots), and sort out the squeak from the cage touching something. Also was to get the back sealed off.

[hinrichs]

Tow rig acquired.

IMG-5349 by minthinrich, on Flickr

Now to start working on the car again. I have a really annoying squeak that is first up on the list. Then some cage painting once the weather is a little warmer again.