Tech Tips: All information contained here has been acquired through trial and error. Some advice still needs to be tested and fine tuned to each engine, car, and driver . Tech tips are given to help  each competitor in this Endurance  Racing Series, Race strong, survive and possibly win. Good Luck!!

 V8 pure stock.

Carburetor tech/tips:  ( the Quadrajet) . A common mistake is to remove the choke pulloff.  Leave it on, this can be used as a metering valve. Adjust the Spring tension for Back air valve at ¾ of a turn. This is adjusted with very small allen wrench or torx underneath the ledge that holds choke pulloff rod at top butterfly.  Make sure the carburetor secondary Butterfly opens up completely. If NOT,, This can be adjusted by dismanteling the throttle linkage arms and filing(Longing) the slot on the secondary shaft. Care needs to be taken when doing this. If you want to take it to the next step,  Buy an air fuel ratio meter . Most commonly known as a wideband O2 sensor.  At wide open throttle, you should read 12.5-13.1 on the gauge. Mix jets , power rods and vacuum springs until you get the numbers. Questions?  Call Mike at 608 393-6705

Chassis:   It is recommended to have solid steel engine mounts , Stock mounts will not take too much abuse, A neoprene, energy transmission mount should be used . Do not mount it solid. All suspension should move freely with no binds or trouble. Removing all suspension mounting bolts and all suspension atleast one time per year is important. Stock rubber a-arm and trailing arm bushings are sufficient, You do not need neoprene/poly bushings to make your car fast. You should use neoprene/poly grommets for the sway bar links though. Setting the RF wheel at 4 degrees negative camber  1 ¾ inches .is a good start for tire optimization. Upper rearend trailing arms should have washers welded to the outside of stock arm bolt holes, where arms are limited in strength. This prevents the holes from Egg shaping and distorting. Leave right rear lower trailing loose, to rotate easy.  Tighten left rear lower trailing arm tight, so rubber bushing becomes added spring strength when rotating. Questions?  Call Mike at 608 393-6705

Oils/Fluids:   Pack your wheel bearings after each race. Use a synthetic wheel bearing grease.Use synthetic gear lube for the rear axle, Use a good quality engine oil(Brad Penn) OR  an OK 20-50 oil with an additional Zinc additive to help engine longevity. The use of cheap transmission fluid is OK, but make sure the cooler is working/not plugged  and keep the fluid level up. Pure water is good for the radiator and cooling ,there is a product called (Water wetter) as an additive  but if you are having troubles keeping cool it might be an issue with your Pulley sizes or a combination of timing , fuel, and or radiator size.  A 185 degree thermostat will help slow the water movement through the radiator so it has a chance to cool while in the radiator;s air stream. questions?  Call Mike 608 393-6705

Seat:  One common mistake I have made and seen by others, Mounting the seat in the wrong position. First, have a comfortable  seat, sounds easy enough but it is more than what it seems. Your seat should hold you secure and,support your body so you can relax. At the same time, you do not want your arms to rub on the rib supports and you do not want to have your arms fully extended to hold the  steering wheel. Closer is better.  Relaxed, in position for a Nice Sunday drive.  Questions? Mike 608 393-6705 

Driver:  It is important to Hydrate yourself prior to a race event and to stay Hydrated during. Add more water to your liquid intake atleast one week prior to the race event. Drinking a lot of water the day of the race, is not the best way to stay cool and alert.  The first race I finshed the full distance, I couldn’t remember what day it was.(lack of water). Someone should give you water at every pit sequence. Make sure you have someone who does the job. Making sure your body is in shape is always a good thing too. Exercising  3-4 times a week for 20 minutes  each time, will do wonders. Questions?  Mike 608 393-6705 

Tires: The Goodyear Regatta 2 is a good tire .it is a preferred tire in most street stock classes at the local tracks but it is hard to find, since they  are not produced anymore. Running the two largest tires you have on the outside of your car and running the smallest tire you have  on the left front will  help car stability in the corner and tighten  the car on exit.   Tire pressures (40-45 psi outside tires) and (20-30psi inside tires) works well . Shaving tires, is recommended to help tires last longer. A slight diagonal cut is best.  RIck Johnson, Located in Fort Atkinson WI can help shave tires . His phone number is (920)563-5806 

Gear ratio:  How many RPMs are good for the most Power?  5200-5700 is a good range to stay  in for longevity and Ok power.  A final Gear ratio of ( 6.00 for Rockford Speedway) ( 5.80 for the Dells ) (6.60 for Columbus 151) recommended. Questions? Mike 608 393-6705

Small Car, For FWD cars, run 1/8” toe out front on asphalt tracks as a good starting point. Run about 45-50 psi RF if you are running sumitomo tires,  so that they don’t fold under. Oh, and shave them to 4/32 or 5/32 for the best durability and grip.

 This Additional information has been given at WWW.IRACEISS.com  (A small car enduro series also running many events in Wisconsin) .

 Tire Pressures

What are you doing?  I need 44 PSI in my right front.  I hear others as low as 35, some as high as 50.  When you drive it in deep and the left rear comes off the ground, where does all the weight of the car go?  Pump that right front up to take the load and not roll under so much.  The tires I run, Sumitomo HTR 200’s are listed as max 51 PSI.  I figure starting at 44 they must get somewhere close to that when warm, but I’ve never checked them after the race.  For the right rear, it depends if the car turns good or not. If I have the same size tires on all 4 corners, then I put the same PSI in the right rear as the right front to keep the diagonal in check.  Otherwise she’ll get a little pushy.

Tire Sizes

To be clear, we allow different tire sizes (usually referred to as stagger) in the ISS.  Same rim size but any combination of legal tire sizes.  On dirt tracks I always try to run one size (or two) larger on the right rear.  Then I can lower my right rear pressure.  So let’s say a 185-70 is on the right front, I’ll put a 195-70 on the right rear.  I’ll still run my 44 PSI up front, but then only about 30 in the right rear when I’m staggering the tire sizes like that.  Works on blacktop as well, but you don’t want to be too loose on asphalt, makes for a real long day.  Also, your tires should be appropriately sized for your engine RPM.  If you are hitting the REV limiter halfway down the straights go up a size or two, or consider a smaller tire and 3rd gear. 

Tire Shaving

Brand new tires don’t work that well, at least not on the right front.  Tread that is full depth wiggles around a lot under heavy loading (cornering!)  Eventually, it “chunks out” and the car’s handling really goes away.  When you are setting up for your next race, choose a right front that is wore down to the wear bars or further.  That will be a longlasting (and fast) tire.  Fast guys sometimes find the perfect tire in the junkyard, but usually they just buy a brand new Sumitomo HTR 200 and shave 2/3rds of the tread off before they even put it on the car.  If you are shopping used tires, look for the lowest “treadwear” number you can find.  A long-lasting tire (high number 500-600) is made of hard rubber and won’t be real fast.  A soft tire (like a Sumitomo) will have a treadwear rating closer to 300. 

Camber

The reason I am so quick to allow camber in my series is that it saves the front tire.  Some series/tracks won’t even allow a quarter inch.  I can’t run 100 laps without junking out a right front tire, let alone 200-300.  Now I know there are other ways around the tire wear, like slowing down (never happens) or rear steer, but camber just makes sense.  It put’s all the rubber down at once when you need it most.  The rules allow up to 1 inch.  GET EVERY BIT OF IT! Keep the right front tire on the car!  Some cars are more easily adjustable than others.  GM makes an ecentric bolt kit. NAPA sells expensive ball joints for Hondas.  Escorts are the easiest to camber up (imho).   Often, camber involves the use of a die grinder to oval out some holes.  Sometimes we have to tack weld “adjusted” pieces in place to hold them there.

Brakes

Hello – you use them 600 times in a 300 lap contest just to turn laps.  (Plus red flags and obstacles.)  They better work and I do mean all 4.  The fast Escort GT’s almost always have had their rear calipers replaced.  You may not have rear discs, but you better have working rear brakes and adjust them up!  Front brakes only will really make a car push. 

FLUID – I never could get away with regular DOT 3 fluid.  My brakes are always flushed out and well bled with DOT 4 fluid.  Some guys even buy the expensive “racing” brake fluid.  I bleed my front brakes in between every race.  Always seem to get a few bubbles out.  Maybe you’ve noticed after a red flag the brake pedal isn’t always there on the restart!  Maybe takes a few laps to come back – use better fluid

PADS AND ROTORS - I always put a fresh set of pads on the front for an asphalt race.  Another one I learned – never use a $10 China rotor on the right front (they break out the center).  I’d rather have a used OEM or I break down and buy a $40 brand name one.  China rotor seems to be fine on the left front.

HEAT? - One last thing.  Are there any bind or tight spots in your caliper slides?  I always wire brush slides/surfaces and antisieze them up well.  You’d rather they were a little loose than dragging down the straightaways and getting hot for no reason.  On the old GM rear wheel drives we would always take out the antirattle o-rings and yeah they would bang around compared to a street car – but they never had any drag.