The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Our Crappy Race → 24 Hours of ECR--is it too soon to talk about it?
There are three neons in my local Pick N Pull, checking today...
Parts ye shall have, and there will be much rejoicing.
Oh ye of the dark, indeed...
Any SRT Neons in that lot?
X-args wrote:There are three neons in my local Pick N Pull, checking today...
Parts ye shall have, and there will be much rejoicing.
Oh ye of the dark, indeed...Any SRT Neons in that lot?
Mine, all mine!
battyman wrote:What happened to the Antlers on the Pink RX7?
Weren't they only for the Christmas Time Race last year at ECR?
Yeah - had bunny ears and tail for Easter at ECR,
Then we had a stoplight nose and antlers for Christmas.
Team BenzGay wrote:BenzGay is out for ECR.
Lack of diffs or lack of interest?
Memorial day knocked out three of the four drivers. Started working on the diff this afternoon. After draining a murky metallic goo I could peek inside and see teeth resting on the bottom of the case. That's my problem rait thar!
I will still be there and my wife is coming to help. She knows more about cars than I do and my name is Carr. Well she was jumped into the gang but still it will be nice to have her there to fetch speeding pit lane drivers.
Anybody know if we'll be allowed to camp at the track AFTER the event? I won't be looking forward to a three hour drive home after staying awake that long and then helping pack the car up.
Anybody know if we'll be allowed to camp at the track AFTER the event? I won't be looking forward to a three hour drive home after staying awake that long and then helping pack the car up.
I've actually been wondering this myself. Coming from Chicago... It's a LONGgggg boring haul back to Illinois. We're thinking just grabbing a hotel and calling it a day then heading back the next morning honestly.
On another note. What are people running for lights? Saw the updated event listing. no more than 6" above the stock headlight housings. What if we run lights in the factory fog light housing area? Don't want to be too bright, but don't want to be too dim either. Anyone know if there's used el-cheapo HIDs for sale somewhere we can just mount to the hood of the car somewhere? I know I saw a post a few months ago...
A few of us stayed at Sunday night after the December race. As long as they will allow it, I plan to do the same thing again.
EriktheAwful wrote:Anybody know if we'll be allowed to camp at the track AFTER the event? I won't be looking forward to a three hour drive home after staying awake that long and then helping pack the car up.
I've actually been wondering this myself. Coming from Chicago... It's a LONGgggg boring haul back to Illinois. We're thinking just grabbing a hotel and calling it a day then heading back the next morning honestly.
On another note. What are people running for lights? Saw the updated event listing. no more than 6" above the stock headlight housings. What if we run lights in the factory fog light housing area? Don't want to be too bright, but don't want to be too dim either. Anyone know if there's used el-cheapo HIDs for sale somewhere we can just mount to the hood of the car somewhere? I know I saw a post a few months ago...
I think there's a "LindaLou" user who IS the ECR track. Try messaging her?
usaf-lt-g wrote:EriktheAwful wrote:Anybody know if we'll be allowed to camp at the track AFTER the event? I won't be looking forward to a three hour drive home after staying awake that long and then helping pack the car up.
I've actually been wondering this myself. Coming from Chicago... It's a LONGgggg boring haul back to Illinois. We're thinking just grabbing a hotel and calling it a day then heading back the next morning honestly.
On another note. What are people running for lights? Saw the updated event listing. no more than 6" above the stock headlight housings. What if we run lights in the factory fog light housing area? Don't want to be too bright, but don't want to be too dim either. Anyone know if there's used el-cheapo HIDs for sale somewhere we can just mount to the hood of the car somewhere? I know I saw a post a few months ago...
I think there's a "LindaLou" user who IS the ECR track. Try messaging her?
Yup no worries, you can plan on staying an extra night. See you at the track!
Racin_G73 wrote:usaf-lt-g wrote:I've actually been wondering this myself. Coming from Chicago... It's a LONGgggg boring haul back to Illinois. We're thinking just grabbing a hotel and calling it a day then heading back the next morning honestly.
On another note. What are people running for lights? Saw the updated event listing. no more than 6" above the stock headlight housings. What if we run lights in the factory fog light housing area? Don't want to be too bright, but don't want to be too dim either. Anyone know if there's used el-cheapo HIDs for sale somewhere we can just mount to the hood of the car somewhere? I know I saw a post a few months ago...
I think there's a "LindaLou" user who IS the ECR track. Try messaging her?
Yup no worries, you can plan on staying an extra night. See you at the track!
Thank you, Linda. It was a great relief to be able to spend that extra night back in December, so I'm happy we can do that again.
LindaLou, what is your preferred bribe? We appreciate how much you take care of us LeMoners.
Anybody have good information on what lights to buy and how many we need to run? I assume our stock 130 amp (I think) alternator will be able to power 3-5 auxiliary lights outside of the stock headlamps. What brands/models are good, how many do we need, any other tips?
Anybody have good information on what lights to buy and how many we need to run? I assume our stock 130 amp (I think) alternator will be able to power 3-5 auxiliary lights outside of the stock headlamps. What brands/models are good, how many do we need, any other tips?
Generally, IMHO, you get what you pay for when it comes to most aux lights. The cheap Hellas that they sell at Wal-Mart have plastic housings and only one screw and cleat that holds the lens in the housing. That screw strips out the plastic housing pretty easily, and then the cleat falls off and the light escapes the housing.
You only need a couple lights, especially if you're using your stock headlamps. Just get good quality bulbs, those make a real difference. aim a couple lights low and to the outside so that you can see the apexes while still on the straight, and then a couple low and straight so that you have good downrange lighting and you'll be fine. Just make sure they're not excessive/dazzling or Lemons will make you fix them.
This might be a stupid question.... but how are flags handled at night? This will be my first "in the dark event," so are the flagging stations lit to be able to see what the flags are? Anyone have any footage from previous all nighters?
Your 130-amp alternator will be more than enough. Proper aiming is more important than raw wattage. I wouldn't spend money on LED or HIDs, plain halogens should do just fine.
As Pat said, apex lighting is key. Hit the junkyard and find some factory fog lights and then mount them pointed outward at an angle. Proper fogs already have a low and wide pattern so they're great for apex lights.
Our light rig altogether for $200 plus wires & relays. Thanks to the fog lights on the bottom and careful aiming of the rest it provides 160 degrees of illumination. Total draw is 45 amps.
There is a strip of yellow lights on the flag stands, and black flags are a light waved and pointed at you.
LindaLou, what is your preferred bribe? We appreciate how much you take care of us LeMoners.
No bribe needed just excited about this 24! I'll be happy to have a cold one with you guys after the checkered flag though..
LL
Anybody have good information on what lights to buy and how many we need to run? I assume our stock 130 amp (I think) alternator will be able to power 3-5 auxiliary lights outside of the stock headlamps. What brands/models are good, how many do we need, any other tips?
You should probably think about putting each pair of lights on a separate relay and switch, too. That way if you start overloading your alternator, you can just shut down one set of lights rather than the entire array. Plus they draw more when first turned on than when running (I think) so you can stagger the turn-on sequence so that you don't max out the alt. But with a big alt like that, it may not matter as much. The MR2 has a puny 80 amp alt so I have to give this a little extra thought sometimes.
Proper aiming is more important than raw wattage.
But can't I have both?
What brands do you recommend? As far as beam type, what do you run on the fronts? I am planning on having three auxiliary lights between the two stock headlamps, what beam pattern should they be?
If you're going to do 3 aux lights, then I'd go for two flood/wide style so that you're getting the apexes and then one pencil beam for the middle for a long-throw pattern down the track. The other thing to strongly consider is putting some really high-quality bulbs in your stock headlight assemblies, like some Sylvania SilverStars. They aren't colored beams or anything, but they give a really bright and white light. I've had them in my DD's for at least 10 years and I'm a big fan.
In terms of brands, the major brands for aux lights are Hella, PIAA, Cibie, KC. There are probably more than that, especially if you want to look at the LED lights.
cpchampion wrote:Proper aiming is more important than raw wattage.
But can't I have both?
What brands do you recommend? As far as beam type, what do you run on the fronts? I am planning on having three auxiliary lights between the two stock headlamps, what beam pattern should they be?
Hah. 
If you have lots of wattage then aiming becomes even more important.
Pat's suggestions for 1 spot and 2 floods are good ones, and heed his wisdom of separate relays so one loose wire won't knock out half your lighting. The alternative would be three spots and dig through the JY for fogs to be apex lights-- just make some crude brackets and tag 'em to the bumper corners.
While they aren't going to be amazingly durable, I'm happy enough with our Hella 500s. Not pricy and a good beam. They do have a plastic case and only one mounting point, but they're fine for the infrequent night races.
Speaking of lighting...
Does anyone know if the hot pits will be useable during the dark hours? Can we bring portable lights to hot pits for fueling purposes? Last 24-hour Chump Car race allowed actual permanent pit setups up and down the hot pits...
Batteries and Alternators are reasonable safety exemptions for a 24 hour race, right?
nope. just items that will let you race safely at night.
So only exempt at night.
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Our Crappy Race → 24 Hours of ECR--is it too soon to talk about it?