Time Trial Build Thread (aero, widebody, any other nonsense)

[truegearhead]

I made it back from VIR with good news and bad news. The good news I didn't die... the homemade control arms and various other one off suspension changes didn't break. The bad news is it was slower... by 5 whole seconds. The first heat the car was incredibly loose, its now square (front track is equal to rear track) the front is 7 inches wider than stock and the rear is 4 inchs wider than stock so I expected this to be a big change. I stiffened the front sway bar several times through the day and ended up close to a balanced car. Its still on the narrow 235 series time trial tires so I'm going to wait for wider tires before I make any more adjustments. As it sits its still loose which resulted in a spin at Oak Tree but overall it has far more grip. If I took the widebody off (with its huge fender intakes) I'm sure the car would be faster, I'm loosing a lot of speed down the stretches. I'm now weighing engine swaps, the Audi W12 is an interesting option. Its the same length as the boxster motor and would bolt up to the Boxster S transmission.



Here's a couple shots from the weekend, it was a small social distancing event so the organizer let me and the buddies I run track days with try and recreate the Car and Driver Lightening Lap photo. Super fun weekend, it was great to get out there and bring back a working car.

[paulofto]

Originally Posted by truegearhead

The bad news is it was slower... by 5 whole seconds.]

But it LOOKS faster!

[78F350]

Best looking car in that group shot.
Can you get any sort of analysis of the airflow to see what is helping with grip and what is just creating extra drag? Maybe you could recruit an engineering student to do a CFD model - I'm thinking of the groups that do the $2000 challenge like Georgia Tech or similar.
Engine swaps can be enticing, but most of the cases I've seen, when they are done and all sorted out the cost/benefit is not much different than just going with a higher power Porsche engine. Maybe you should try cutting a deal with some jerk on the forum who keeps pushing his rebuilt engine at a highly inflated price.

I'd love to see your car with the W12 sorted out in it.

[truegearhead]

Originally Posted by 78F350

Best looking car in that group shot.
Can you get any sort of analysis of the airflow to see what is helping with grip and what is just creating extra drag? Maybe you could recruit an engineering student to do a CFD model - I'm thinking of the groups that do the $2000 challenge like Georgia Tech or similar.
Engine swaps can be enticing, but most of the cases I've seen, when they are done and all sorted out the cost/benefit is not much different than just going with a higher power Porsche engine. Maybe you should try cutting a deal with some jerk on the forum who keeps pushing his rebuilt engine at a highly inflated price.

I'd love to see your car with the W12 sorted out in it.

I've done a few engine swaps and ya, they never go well. The 3.4L 911 motors are starting to get cheap but I'm really looking for more power. If there was a cost effective Porsche solution I'd go for it. That being said I also really like the challenge of something odd like a W12, building the car is half the fun for me.