Topic: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

And that secret is starting with a 254k mile daily driver. This is the story of Futility Motorsport's new car.

I tried not to say much about this car publicly before the NH race, because I wanted to see the reactions in person. I knew it was going to be funny. We showed up with a really nice looking 2008 Saab 9-5 Aero Wagon. How? It was my dad's daily for 8 years. Back at the beginning of this year he finally accepted that he should get a new car. The saab had a lot of problems that made it annoying as a daily. Every time you turn it on you get to clear out a bunch of warnings about things being broken. Like the backup sensors, the auto leveling headlights, the tire pressure warning system, the fuel level sender, and a few other nice to haves. But none of these matter in a race car right?

We threw the idea around a few times, looked at cost, joked about it, but I had said I was taking the year off while I try to save up for a house. Finally My dad called mid summer and said "I"ve got a budget, I think we can do this for not too much." And, well, I already missed racing. So screw it, let's do this. We dragged the car up to my apartment early September along with 94ft of 1.75" DOM and I set to work.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160826_090506.jpg

Now I've never built a cage. I've never bent a single tube in my life. But I have watched a lot of youtube, studied many cars at the track, and I've spent the last 2 years getting decent with a MIG welder. So really, how hard could it be? The answer is kind of hard. I worked on the car almost every day for 3 weeks to get the cage done. Dad came up at least two nights a week to help. It was exhausting, but damn it if I'm not proud of the results.

Three Pedal Mafia was kind enough to lend me one of their benders. I rigged up this gloriously ghetto stand for it. I wasn't allowed to permanently attach it to the space I was working in, so it pins to some tube I bolted to the loading dock bumpers.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160912_213431.jpg

A few various pictures from the build process.
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160912_213405.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160915_221419.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160917_145426.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160919_210557.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160921_221901.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160927_195846.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20160929_214106.jpg

I finished the cage at the very end of September. It took me until the race to finish all the rest of the work. Over the following weeks I worked on building seat mounts so that we could have the seats on the stock power bases (with functioning memory positions!)

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20161003_215105.jpg

Removing the sunroof and covering it. Removing the stock fuel system and installing the fuel cell out of the daytona.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w116/cegan09/saab%20build/20161018_213447.jpg

Finding brakes, mounting harnesses, figuring out where to punch a hole in the firewall for a kill switch, all the little crap that takes way more time that you ever expect. Thursday before the race I actually installed the brakes, changed out a leaking coolant bypass valve, dropped the fuel tank, plumbed the fuel cell, and ran kill switch wires. Friday at the track I installed the kill switch. Amazingly all those things worked perfectly on the first try. Sometimes I amaze myself.


Up Next, Race weekend.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Race Weekend.

First, our team. Since this car came from family, we ran an all family team. Myself, my dad, my brother, and my sister. My sister raced the daytona once in NJ, my brother has never done any racing ever. This was going to be fun.

I knew going into this that we were going to get some funny looks for the car. How could we not? It's a fairly clean modern car that looks like it should still be a daily driver. But we had our story together, and it's all true. The best offer Dad got on the car was $1000. Most dealers begged him not to trade it in. We managed to sell just about $400 worth of interior off before the race, and I'm still actively selling more of it. So it's not that far off from being a legit $500 car. Still, it sure looks like a "$500 DOLLAR CAR MY ASS!!" car. Oh well. We packed up friday morning, and rolled into Loudon around 9am.

When we arrived we still didn't have numbers, or anything on the car signifying that it was in fact a race car. you had to look to notice the cage. I'm sure we threw a lot of people for a loop that morning. We settled in working on the last items that needed help, like the kill switch final install, the numbers, general clean up, etc. Around 1pm we were ready and rolled into tech complete with Yakama Ski Box on the roof to complete the "we just got lost and ended up on the track" look.

Pre-roof box picture
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14691171_807950246013541_5470997809175165470_o.jpg

Tech was a breeze. A few cage complements, some fuel cell complements, and all passed. Those long nights paid off I guess.

BS Inspection I was prepared for some hell. Judge Phil was back for the first time since '14. Based on some other modern cars that have come to Lemons I was expecting Class A, and about a billion laps. We were ready to counter with give us whatever you think the winner will do, and we'd like to see how close we can get to zero. Apparently our reputation is just an animal however, because not only did we not get threatened with laps, Phil put us in B-Class. (admittedly this was a spot on placement). We did bribe for the first time ever. Dad found some russian bayonet for phil knowing his fascination with that part of history. And for Rich we brought a truly magnificent sports coat. (plus some booze). Bribing gets you far folks.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14721708_10209659396575940_7827648277350869139_n.jpg?oh=9967b1d90a1f5432a0cecb5458b96c9d&oe=58A03AE5
https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14680867_808010906007475_2845104351070905082_o.jpg

I went home to grab the last few items I had forgotten, and My Dad sent my brother out for some practice since he's never seen a race track in his life. He did well, though traction control did save him a few times in the rain. The rest of the day was uneventful. And we even managed to go to bed before the Three Pedal pool Party got out of control. Stupid us, being responsible and sleeping.

Saturday:
I was my usual nervous self. I run on a combination of adrenaline and panic all race weekend because I'm sure everything is going to go wrong. But we lined up with the car quietly idling away, and off dad went. Lap after lap, the car just turned. With the daytona the fastest we ever managed at loudon was ~1:42 second laps. By lap 25 Dad clicked off a 1:39.6, in the wet. He came in once for a PUY flag that a lot of people got caught in, but that proved to be our only flag of the weekend. 3.5 hours later we were gearing up ready to refuel and change drivers.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14713092_808719769269922_6744102131849571735_o.jpg

We wanted my sister to get in before the heavy rain came, which we thought was going to be later in the day. LOL NOPE. The second she started the car to head out of the hot pits the skies opened. She ran 1.75 hours in some crazy rain, and handled it like a champ. She had one minor contact where I suspect she was either dive bombed, or she cut the nose off someone. But without knowing which car it was, I can't confirm. Other than that, a really consistent and well handled stint.

My brother got in for the closing 1.75 hours on saturday, and promptly went at it. He was clicking off 1:40 second laps consistently and we knew he was pushing to beat dad. Watching from the Turn 1 stands we saw him push harder, and harder. He made some decent passes on a few cars (and maybe one or two that was a hair aggressive), and finally he came in a little hot and put two wheels in the grass. I jokingly called him on the radio and asked how the grip was. "Yea, sorry. Should I come in for that?" "Absolutely, go have a nice chat with the judges". No flag was ever called for the off, but we reported anyway, and off we went.

We finished Saturday in 37th place, way higher than I expected us to be. The car was fine. It had lost 1/3 of a quart of oil over the whole day, and never hinted at overheating. The car was a rock star. Even the original 254k mile clutch felt fine. So we rotated the tires and settled in for some saturday night fun.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14650763_808719752603257_5630376448987575096_n.jpg?oh=20309b38d56d23ffd3b4793e08c9b31e&oe=588F55EC

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/t31.0-8/14682099_808719732603259_3805686476110320352_o.jpg

UP next, sunday.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Sunday.

After a rough night sleeping in my car because I couldn't bring it on myself to fire the generator at 1am and wake everyone to re-inflate my air mattress in my damp tent, I got up early and set about checking the car for Sunday. Dad had already beaten me to it, so I sat down and did nothing instead. Sunday was dry, and the sun was threatening an appearance. We strapped my brother in to open and I reminded him that I wanted a stint at the end of the day. The green dropped, and within an hour he promptly set fast lap of the weekend for our car with a 1:38.8. Dad was so thrilled to be beaten. He finished with a 1:38.5 personal best.

We got my sister in the car for her dry stint,  and she set to work laying consistent quick laps. By the end she had put down a number of 1:40.x laps, and set a personal best 1:39.9. She's going to turn into a properly quick driver with a little more seat time.

Finally, around 1pm, I climbed into the car that I'd spent so long building. With no idea what to expect, I pulled out onto track, and had the biggest case of deja vu. This damn thing drives just like the daytona. I mean it's quieter, and it has fewer clunks and bangs, but it's nose heavy, it pushes like a freight train, and it rolls a fair deal. In short, I was at home. The only big difference is that where the daytona had no brakes at all, the saab had phenomenal brakes. This was strange. This was amazing. Suddenly I could wait until 2 or later on the straights before slowing instead of starting at 5. Where have these brakes been all my life?

I settled in for my 3.5 hour stint. Around an hour in I called in asking for a check on how my lap times looked, because I sure felt slow.
Dad - "you've been in for an hour, and your fast lap is a 1:38.2, so you're officially the fastest of the weekend"
Me - "Thank you, and I'm sorry"
Dad - "no you're not"
Me - "you're right"

I hope he forgives me.

My stint was awesome. It's such a different experience actually being able to chase down and pass cars. I had some fun catching, passing, and holding off the DNF Miata, as well as playing with the Three Pedal Mafia Hombre. There were a few other cars that I know I had some good racing with as well, and I truly hope I didn't piss anyone off. I did have two code brown moments. First  The white and green Datsun tried to go for an outside pass  coming out of the turn 1 esses while I was being pushed out also going for an outside pass on someone. I did not see him until I had almost pinched him into the wall. I'm glad I did notice and we all got out clean. Second was the Chevette spin in the same esses. I got caught directly behind the spinning car, and managed to stop without contact. Glad everyone got out of that one too.

I got a call towards the end of the day that I'd clicked off a 1:36.8, further improving fast lap of the weekend. Dad sounded less than happy. I managed a 1:36.7 a few laps later. With 15 minutes to go the car finally threw it's first tantrum. As I grabbed second and tried to turn up the hill I just got nothing. The check engine light was flashing and I had maybe 5% throttle. Limp Mode. As I crested the hill I went back to normal, but then did it again through the bowl. Not worth risking a ruined engine, I came in to the pits. The code reader showed a P1300 misfire code, which most likely means our ignition control cassette is finally going bad. No big deal, it's a known failure point.

When I came in we were in 28th place overall. In the last 15 minutes we dropped down to 33rd with 426 total laps. I have to go back and check all my notes, but I think that's the most laps we've ever turned at Loudon. In a brand new (old) untested car with new drivers. I could not have asked for more.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14718717_809291462546086_4619803725783167485_n.jpg?oh=8f5254f4de304c50f328f0cdd50f643c&oe=5898BFF2

So what do we do now? Well the car isn't dead, so I guess we keep racing. It needs a few degrees of camber in the front, it needs a new ignition cassette, it needs a fuel pump since the one in the car is starting to sound weird, and maybe it needs some sway bars or springs. Other than that, we're going to keep rocking with the family saab, even while I build my stupid cheater car this winter.


So, if you want a car that just turns laps for most of the weekend, go find yourself an old daily driver with a 254k mile clutch.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Awesome writeup. Nice to get the details of this car.

5 (edited by fleming95 2016-10-25 10:57 AM)

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

And the secret is to drive a Saab!


$$$500$$$ dollar car my asszZs!!!1  smile

I'm not secretly jealous at all.  Nope.  I'd thought for a LONG time that a 9-5 would be a great Lemons car, since there's 8+ years of them in the junkyard right now - and I didn't think there'd been any in Lemons.  And then you go and bring an 08 Aero Wagon like 300+hp with a tune and traction control and all you had go wrong is an _igntion cassette_ and it's a manual I want one as a daily driver in my driveway next to my 900 arrrgh!!?

CheatersZZ!!Z!

(but congrats - after the trials with the Daytona you deserve it - and making it a family affair sounds really great.)

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

I loved seeing your car out on the track all weekend! What better fate for a beloved owned-since-new daily driver than to put it out on the race track?

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

I wish this thing had 300+hp. Fact is it is probably a little down on power compared to from the factory. It's not slow, but it's sure not super fast either.

I put it on some scales at the track, and it's sitting at 3378lbs with no driver and a half full fuel cell. Not exactly the lightest car.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

TheEngineer wrote:

...rolled into tech complete with Yakama Ski Box on the roof to complete the "we just got lost and ended up on the track" look.

Very nice, but judging from the other photos, why didn't you race with it?

1982 MG Metro 1300: IOE 2015 Pacific Northworst GP, Longest Distance 2010 Cd'L Box Wine Country Classic
1980 KV Mini 1: Worst of Show and Fright Pig Supremo 2009 Concours d'Lemons
1978 H Special: Second-Round Elimination 2010 Lemons Pinewood Derby at Sears Pointless
1967 SAAB 96: IOE 2012 Pacific Northworst GP, Organizer's Choice 2022 Hell on Wheels California Rally

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

mharrell wrote:
TheEngineer wrote:

...rolled into tech complete with Yakama Ski Box on the roof to complete the "we just got lost and ended up on the track" look.

Very nice, but judging from the other photos, why didn't you race with it?

Box belongs to my dad, and he actively uses it. We weren't sure how it would handle the multiple runs to 100mph alongside the wind predicted for sunday. Wasn't worth the risk of breaking it. That particular box bounces around in the wind enough at 60.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

TheEngineer wrote:

That particular box bounces around in the wind enough at 60.

Ah. That may explain why we've never had issues with ours on track.

1982 MG Metro 1300: IOE 2015 Pacific Northworst GP, Longest Distance 2010 Cd'L Box Wine Country Classic
1980 KV Mini 1: Worst of Show and Fright Pig Supremo 2009 Concours d'Lemons
1978 H Special: Second-Round Elimination 2010 Lemons Pinewood Derby at Sears Pointless
1967 SAAB 96: IOE 2012 Pacific Northworst GP, Organizer's Choice 2022 Hell on Wheels California Rally

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Good job. Love race wagons. Nice write up too.

Chris

Swedish Mafia Racing
Volvo, Drive it like you hate it.

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

I swear by high mileage daily drivers as race cars. By that high of mileage you knows the maintenance has been good(plus it's yours) and all the kinks have been worked out.

Very cool car! Great job Chris

Planet Express
"IOE" "C Win" 4834.701 Race Miles and counting
Toyocedes
"Least Southern Pickup Truck" "IOE" "C win" "C win (again?)"

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Hmm, we actually have one of those sitting behind the shop. It has 269K, but runs fine and was a DD before Ricky bought it for $400. I think he wants to make a rallycross car out of it.

Everybody grab your brooms, it's shenanigans!

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

So, just a technicality, but the rules actually state that team mates can't sell cars to each other to achieve some artificially low car cost.  The base cost should have been what your Dad paid for it, not what it was worth after he finished it up.

That said, who cares!  Nobody is going to sweat you for showing up in a high mileage Saab.

Very nice write up, and well done for the weekend!  Oh, and that's a really good job for a first cage as well.

bs

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

bshorey wrote:

So, just a technicality, but the rules actually state that team mates can't sell cars to each other to achieve some artificially low car cost.  The base cost should have been what your Dad paid for it, not what it was worth after he finished it up.

That said, who cares!  Nobody is going to sweat you for showing up in a high mileage Saab.

Very nice write up, and well done for the weekend!  Oh, and that's a really good job for a first cage as well.

bs


Appreciate the cage complements.

We know you can't just hand things around to each other and claim "oh it was cheap". That's why we tried to find a real world value for the car. We said we'd take the highest trade in offer he got on the car, and use that. Hence the $1000 starting point. He did "sell" it to me simply so I could get a NH Temp plate and drive it between my apartment and the space we were building the cage in. I think he wrote $100 on the bill of sale, but we had no intentions of using that number for it's value. We weren't trying to fool anyone too much with this, it's obvious that it's a modern car that may appear a hair cheaty without knowing it's story.



In other news, I drained the water last night and filled with coolant again because it's getting down into the low 30's at night here. The engine makes a few new noises that seem to quiet as it warms up. Sounds like I'm going to peak inside when we pull it to replace a clutch.  I'd love to see how long the engine goes without any major work, but there are a few things that need to happen.

At a minimum the balance shaft chain needs to come out as those are known to let go and ruin your engine without warning.

The oil pan needs some extra baffles. I was noticing some pressure drop on more aggressive corners. Never to zero, but it did drop 10-15psi at times. I think as long as an oil analysis comes back clean we'll leave the engine alone minus those two things.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

16 (edited by fleming95 2016-10-27 12:24 PM)

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

What did use for brakes and tires to keep 'er stopping and turning?

Oh, and you probably could dial the power up a few notches, especially if you opened up the exhaust and went to E85 and T7Suited it . . . but down that road lies blowuppitiness...

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

ST43 pads on regular old standard steel blanks. They worked amazingly well.

For tires we just grabbed some Continental ExtremeContact DWs since they were cheap (sub $100/tire), and we thought maybe they'd last longer on the heavy car. We need better tires next go around. And some camber. We ate the outter edge like mad, and the tread blocks wore on an angle. Camber is not adjustable on this car, so shims and camber bolts it is.

https://scontent-lga3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/14702260_809957782479454_4444400859254888103_n.jpg?oh=2c63403d02e52f58fe120cc4407d1bcf&oe=5897376D


I don't think we'll play with power. Stock is fine, and just getting the tires and suspension in line will gain us a couple seconds of potential. This is an awesome car to get my siblings involved with in it's stock form.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

DW's just wear out there. I think it's a diffrent compound on the shoulder that just isn't up to lotsa laps.

I run DW's on my main car, this is always the first area to wear down, especially if you do a track day. The DW does not want to be on the track.

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

19 (edited by jrbe 2016-10-29 12:22 PM)

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Looks like the outer edge of the tire was rubbing on something, likely the screw holding the inner fender liner on up top. If that screw is all shiny that's your likely tire eating culprit. The lines in the tread are evidence to something digging at them.

I think it's time to roll the fenders a bit.

DW's aren't great with heat. They definitely wear a ton if the suspension isn't great. You can get surprisingly high g's out of them if you can keep them cool and have the suspension set well enough to not wear unevenly.

-Killer B's (as in rally) '84 4000Q 4.2V8. Audis never win?

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

<snip>

TheEngineer wrote:

We know you can't just hand things around to each other and claim "oh it was cheap". That's why we tried to find a real world value for the car. We said we'd take the highest trade in offer he got on the car, and use that. Hence the $1000 starting point. He did "sell" it to me simply so I could get a NH Temp plate and drive it between my apartment and the space we were building the cage in. I think he wrote $100 on the bill of sale, but we had no intentions of using that number for it's value. We weren't trying to fool anyone too much with this, it's obvious that it's a modern car that may appear a hair cheaty without knowing it's story.

<snip>

Oh, I get that you were making a sincere effort to get a real world value, but it's actually spelled out in the rules:

4.1.2: Lame-Ass Rationalizations About Parts: Same deal. "Free" parts, parts given to you by your buddies, parts left lying around the shop...that crap doesn't impress us. It's worth whatever the last real guy paid in the last real purchase. Don't think you're clever.

I watched somebody get bagged a few years ago at Stafford, running something that had been somebody's daily driver and been retired.  Maybe an SHO, my memory on the car is fuzzy.  They asked what had been paid for the car originally, which was whatever it cost when new, and that was the value.

Again, not trying to bust your nuggets, just pointing out that there is an actual rule that covers this.  And I'm glad the judges ignored it in your case..

Cheers,

bs

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

jrbe wrote:

Looks like the outer edge of the tire was rubbing on something, likely the screw holding the inner fender liner on up top. If that screw is all shiny that's your likely tire eating culprit. The lines in the tread are evidence to something digging at them.

I think it's time to roll the fenders a bit.

DW's aren't great with heat. They definitely wear a ton if the suspension isn't great. You can get surprisingly high g's out of them if you can keep them cool and have the suspension set well enough to not wear unevenly.



Not rubbing, the wear like that isn't around 100% of the tire. This is purely from being a nose heavy pig, on soft sidewall tires, with not enough camber. We'll go with better tires next race when we aren't trying to save as much money there.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

I do wonder how well the DW's are as a "does anyone ever remember a time when it wasn't raining?" tire. They are great on the street in the wet. Wonder if that would keep them cool enough?

Mistake By The Lake Racing (MBTL)
88 Thunderbird "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!", Ex Astris, Rubigo / Semper Fracti
A&D: 2014 Sebrings at Sebring (NSF), 2014 NJMP2 Jurassic Park (SpeedyCop), 2012 Summit Point J30 (PiNuts)
2018 Route Sucky-Suck Rally Miata, 2019 World Tour Of Texas 64 Newport

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

The DWs are an amazing wet tire, I'll admit that. They just don't seem to hold up too well in the dry in our situation.

20+ Time Loser FutilityMotorsport
Abandoned E36 Build
2008 Saab 9-5Aero Wagon
Retired - 1989 Dodge Daytona Shelby 2011-2015 "Lifetime Award for Lack of Achievement" IOE, 3X I got screwed, Organizer's Choice

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

TheEngineer wrote:

The DWs are an amazing wet tire, I'll admit that. They just don't seem to hold up too well in the dry in our situation.

This was exactly our conclusion after running DWs on the Mercedes on One Lap.  Our wet skidpad results were only .02g difference wet to dry. .88g wet was good for 6th overall wet skidpad, .9g dry was something like 50th. They did survive the event though, mostly due to all the rain and only doing 3 laps at a time.

Chris from 3 Pedal Mafia

Re: I've Found The Secret To Lemons Reliability

Nice writeup! You guys were one of the hoopties we could hang with once we got our rear end sorted, so it was nice to duel a couple times wagon to (focus) wagon!