The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → New Seattle Team "Half Life Crisis"
We are still planning everything and prioritizing activities / cost / work load. The current (haha) assessment is the reduced high amp wiring of the remote switch and easier expandability is preferred to the philosophical superiority of a hard switch. We haven't finalized that as the solution.
I hadn't considered the possibility that the always on draw might cause difficulty when doing diagnostic work.
We are still planning everything and prioritizing activities / cost / work load. The current (haha) assessment is the reduced high amp wiring of the remote switch and easier expandability is preferred to the philosophical superiority of a hard switch. We haven't finalized that as the solution.
I hadn't considered the possibility that the always on draw might cause difficulty when doing diagnostic work.
There is a reason that (most) teams use the same 'tried-and-true' high-amp wiring and robust mechanical switch.
The relatively small extra cost to run the higher gauge wire is not enough motivation to use an unknown switch.
If that thing fucks up at the track and you need to replace it to salvage your weekend,you'll wish you you had spent the extra....
Just my opinion,I could be wrong.....
SO many discussions of shut-off switches here:
1. Failure if used too much; use the ign. key as normal.
2. Some are put on the negative cable(!?!). Hey - it cuts off all electric, and that's the requirement.
3. Pagel (posted in this forum) puts both battery and alternator on one large post; everything else goes on the other - simple and straightforward. Presumably any surge *which could damage an alternator* gets dumped to the battery at shutoff.
I pulled BMW battery cables at the nearest P-n-P; they're inexpensive, heavy duty, in great condition, long enough, and most are still there with both OEM connectors.
Again, I've had high-current solenoids fail at extremely inconvenient times. And at all times up until that time, they worked ... well, without fail; "up until that time" being the key concept.
There's a lot of knowledge and opinions about cut-off and dual-battery switches, and solenoids, here, and in the RV and Marine communities.
Good luck with your choice.
I have a dumb idea.
I went out and got wheels and tires. The previous owner actually had 15" wheels (195/65r15) on and OE is 16...
Anyway. Would it be dumb to get 195/50r15 RS4s for the old wheels that are 2.2" smaller (diameter) as an alternate set of wheels (225/50r16) or even just for the front to rake the care and get more torque?
Probably better to just have them all the same size.
You can use tire size to change effective final gear ratio. There are calculators online.
I've never made huge changes doing this and it can effect contact patch I think, like I said always made small changes so hasn't mattered to me.
As for varied sizes, on a 2wd car you can do that but might screw with abs if you have it and also then can't rotate tires.
Find a tire size that you like and is readily available from most manufacturers.
Run a square set-up, meaning same size each corner.
Tires are an ongoing expense that can get costly.
A square set-up means that you can switch fronts and rears without worry.
Since FWD tires get chewed-up in front, and hardly any wear in back,
you're able to get max life and max performance for the lowest cost.
15" tires tend to roll over a lot while cornering.
16" tires are better, but start to become size limited.
17" is the preferred tire for most cars today, so availability is high.
18" are too heavy IMO, but allow bigger brakes. Tires are expensive.
My 2¢
Yeah, I think I'm likely to stick to the 225/50r16 and get a couple more wheels/tires for spares before the race. That was the original plan.
If I do my dumb idea, I'll keep it square. 195/50r15 and 225/45r15 RS4s will both fit on the old wheels (15x7) but will be smaller by 2" in diameter. I can do that all the way around.
I'm limiting myself to the RS4.
https://hankookmotorsports.com/products … 0594832551
Thanks again for the advice, this is something that will marinate a little longer.
Back to my original plans instead of musings on spare tires/wheels.
The transmission pan was missing the level tube which is why the level was low and the transmission was slipping. New pan/tube, and it should be good to go!
I added a transmission cooler and also did the transmission reset for the 01M. Not only is it shifting cleanly at speed, it is going into 1st and reverse faster from idle as well. I guess the fuzzy logic that runs the transmission can get "confused". No slipping, no delays now. I think this thing has a chance to make the whole race.
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → New Seattle Team "Half Life Crisis"