Season Ended with a BANG!
 

Well it was our last race of the season yesterday and it ended the way it started! We had gone out in the morning and it was very cold, my temp gauge was either not working or it was that cold havent figured that out yet. The morning races were okay, in the G70 race we went from 28th to 9th overall and 3rd in class. The car ran well I set my fastest lap ever but was fighting it all the way. In the GT race we went from 33rd to 9th and was about 3/4 second slower than the 1st race the handling was worse. We switched to my last set of sticker tires for the final G70 race. Wow! The car was a missle! We went from 9th overall to 3rd and 1st in class, I had the whole back straight lead on the second place car and was closing in for 2nd overall when it went wrong. There was a strong smell of oil and then the power slowly started going away. Once in the pits we found that the engine had pressurized the crankcase and blown about a litre or 2 of oil all over and even inside the car! The engine did not want to rev cleanly so we know its hurt bad. In that last race when the engine went away we set the fastest laps the car has ever gone with a string of laps in the 1.36's not just one quick lap. We will tear it down this week and find out what went wrong. Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Further proof "A Rotary Race Car's Fastest Lap Is Always It's Last".

Sucks to hear man. When I was there you said you would still race that car if everything held up next year..... so I guess you need to start building the widebody?

Swap in an LS1 goddamn it...we gave her so much love and care, and thats what we got back...T_T

Wow... that's was quite the result you were working on there. Congrats on the first stint... and here's to hoping there there isn't too much damage to the engine.

When do we get to see the video's? :D

The DV go kaput in the 2nd race too...will process it soon...

Well my temp gauge is working so its our own fault for running it too cold. Anyone want to come by tomorrow night and help pull the engine out? My engine builder will have it fixed quickly if we didnt wreck a housing etc. There are a number of reasons I dont want to do the LS1 swap. 1st and foremost I am a Mazda dealer! 2nd if we put a V8 in it or even a 3 rotor I cant run the car in any Vintage races anywhere, which makes the car worthless.

Lets make the Rotary Park meet tomorrow cruise down to Scarboro Mazda. It might be hard to pull some of the guys away from the beer and pasta though. If you offer that Al, you would have a pack of RX-8 owners

Sorry cant do beer at the dealership, those days are long gone thanks to political correctness etc.

Never mind its back on the engine is ready to come out!

wow, what a bitch..

Then taking out the engine we shall.

We pulled the engine down last, and it wasnt as bad as 1st thought. It was a side seal on the rear rotor that failed because the epoxy that plugs the stock ports was expanding out and finally took out a chunk of side seal. So nothing major was damaged or hurt. Now to do a little bit of exhaust work on the rotor housings while its apart................hee hee.

glad to hear it's nothing too serious then. I wanna see that beast on the track in person early next year :D

Some pics of the inside of the car after the crankcase pressurized..............

I smell Josh's work here.

Damn that's a nice FC

paragraph ftw.

1:36 at Mosport?
Not too bad, but I would have thought the car would have more in it.
What are the numbers for weight and power?
Gotta be over 170hp to the wheels and about 2200lbs.
Are you able to run flat through turn 4, and 8?

It is wild watching the ALMS cars hit 180mph into turn 8.
Even cooler watching them flat 3 wide around turn 2 at the bottom of the hill.

1:36 just seems so pedestrian compared to real race cars.

Not to take anything away from 1:36 - that's quite respectable I guess for an that angry sewing machine you have in your car.
I mean the bridgeport sounds the part - just doesn't go fast.
But to look at some competition - KONI ST class 2008 Mosport

An RX-8 ran under 1:35..
I mean - you can't even beat an rx-8 that ran a 1:34.7 ??:lol:

Your FC stripped down race car gets beat up by a family grocery getter that runs a sealed stock engine?

Don't use those BIG BUDGET excuses either. Your car should be under 1:30.

Get it fixed and come back next season to represent the rotaries.

Well I guess we can count on your sponsorship dollars for the seqential Saenz and the Moton shock package. Thanks, just send them to my attention and Im sure we can drop another 2-3 seconds a lap and get into the times you figure we should be running! If not come on out and race with us and see what kinda times you are capable of.......we would love a few more rotaries in our field.

Meyer Motorsports
2004 Mazda RX8 without sunroof
1.3 L 2 Rotor by Stewart Engine
MazdaSpeed intake and pulleys
Custom header and exhaust
Mazda LSD w/Mazda 5.12 ring and pinion
Setrab oil coolers
Stock ABS with various Hawk Brake compounds
Mazdaspeed front and rear swaybars
AIM MXL display
Recaro seats and Schroth belts
6 speed trans by Tex
Mazdaspeed Aero kits
9.0 X 17 Enkei wheels with 225/45/17 Grand Am Hoosiers
Koni Challenge spec shocks with Hyperco Springs
2,650 lb. dry weight

We would LOVE THAT ONE!!! We can even put your name on the race car if you can sponsor us :)

Moreover, the lap times are in race condition with 40 other cars at times...which means Al will get blocked by slower traffic a lot of the time.

Regardless though, I do believe we can drop a few more seconds...when shes back to full health and we can find a good gear box solution...:)

Were you driving the caged and gutted RX8 with full Mazdaspeed parts and Bridgestone RE010R tires that we passed at Mosport with the stock one? The RX8 RACE CAR that couldnt get under 1.48's all day? If not please disregard.

I dont know anyone on this fourm... I know AL and to do 1.36 or faster in a car that has no torq up the back stright you have to have balls.. I am sure Al can do another 2 second faster in his car right now... but when you dont have the budget pro teams do, or have bodys laying around or given to you by mazda, you kind of brake in 2 and 8 lol...

race car rx8's have better handling and braking than a 2nd gen rx7. well at least my car anyway

I have never seen a non tube race not brake or let off down two or eight. and coming out of the corner still looking the same.lol Maybe in gt c,d cars

I have been around the track at 1.33 in my bro race which was crazy for my 3rd race session with no practice days there... Still a bit off his fastest time at 1.27

Marlon I am sure you will be right on Curt with more seat time and maybe beat the "old timer" some day soon! Our car in its present form with me driving is about as fast as we are going to go unless we get some big cash for a shock package and proper racing trans. I am very happy that my team has given me a car that has gone faster than anyone previously in the car with all the good parts that were taken off when we bought it. We are at the point where we are able to get on the podium or win everytime we go race in GTB or G70.
Its guy like you and your brother that make going to the track fun, and between us we can all keep the "rotary banner" flying. For those of you that dont know Marlon, he and his brother/family own Can-Saf Auto repairs in Oshawa and race a 3-rotor periperhal port 3rd gen RX7. The car is bullet fast and phenominally prepared! They also have a street driven 2nd gen turbo 3-rotor that just made 604 RWHP!

Al - All that matters is you are competitive in your class right?
What I don't understand though is how you have these Koni cars - such as a miata pulling similar times?
Say all you want about suspension, and transmission - but really what are we talking about?
Mosport is a FAST track. There isn't that much shifting going on.
Sure you could run a full sequential and shave a bit of time but 2-3 seconds?
Are you shifting a tractor?
Suspension? SCC did a suspension test with an S2000 - not identical cars - so the test is a bit flawed. Here is the cover

The FC is a museum piece - any suspension setup should be well sorted by now.
Are you telling me it is just money that is preventing you from breaking 1:30?
What is wrong with clever engineering, and damn good driving?

These guys in the KONI challenge are working with new platforms with rules - albeit much bigger budgets.

Kensai Racing was able to produce some very competitive cars when they were running.

Keep the rotaries running on these circuits. It's just too bad that they can't dominate in the same way the 787B did.

Like I said I dont know who you are or basing your expertise on Road Racing. Obviously you know me and wont share your identity with us. Be that as it may I will share a few thoughts with you. With a 4spd trans we are shifting 11 times per lap right now with a synchromesh transmission. Think about how much time that takes. If you think a sequential gear box would only save 2 seconds a lap think again. Also think how much faster the car would be with another usuable gear.

Now also think about the fact that if I write-off my car my racing career is over. Unlike possibly you or pro teams that run in Grand-Am I cant just run "balls to the wall" without the fear of the circumstances of doing so. That in itself is always worth a couple of seconds a lap at least. We have run 4 years so far and not put a scratch on the car. You can call that being a pussy if you want. For some reason I get the impression that you think my ego says I am the best driver out there, which is so far from the truth its not funny. All I can say is that for the budget we have I think my team gives me one of the best prepared cars in its class, and I try my best to go as fast as I can without taking unnecessary chances of contact or wrecking my car. Comparing my car with a Koni Challenge car or otherwise is just ridiculous, they spend more in a weekend than I do in 2 years.

Comparing my car with a Koni Challenge car or otherwise is just ridiculous, they spend more in a weekend than I do in 2 years.

QFT. We can get tons of hotties to hang around our pit with those money Al!!!

Actually...maybe we should ask the local TableDancing Clubs for sponsar...hm...let me check their numbers

That's your problem right there - all the money is being spent at the local Ballet rather than on the car :yelrotflm

Drivers do make a difference - but I'd say with identical cars - experienced drivers on good dry surfaces the differences would be 1-2 seconds max.

All my posts are merely opinions. References to the KONI cars are merely for comparative purposes as they carry the same kind of power/weight ratio as your FC. At no time am I comparing my skills to yours, or suggesting that driving skills are the issue. My question merely is that given cars with identical power/weight the lap times should be pretty close.

What you are saying is in order to be fast your need $$$, or a don't care attitude.
I am saying that this is only valid to a point.

A car such as yours has had a few years of development now. You should have an advantage now in knowing what works and what doesn't.

At the end of the day what really matters - you have fun doing whatever you enjoy and are happy with the results.
Sounds like this is the case.

To throw some gasoline into the fire - what kind of street car with street tires would be doing under 1:30?
Or -
Take the stock RX-8 example at Mosport.
Stock Everything - say 1:42?
R-Compounds - ??
R-Compounds + suspension - ??
R-Compounds + suspension + 200 lbs deleted - ??
R-Compounds + suspension + 200 lbs deleted + seam welded body + cage - ??
above + sequential dogbox

Seems like pretty minor mods to me.
You have some ricers out there with far more goodies.

Just curious though - how much are these MOTON coilovers selling for?
They appear to work quite well on track.

I remember looking into a WRC gearbox for an evo and it was something like $35K USD.

Well you are definately entitled to your opinion. All I can tell you is $$$$ buys speed and lots of it. The $$$ allows you to have spare cars etc. You talk about the years spent developing the car, we run the car about 4 times a year, pro teams run 10-12 times a year minimun plus god knows how much testing. The shock package is worth about $2500.00 per corner (for Dynamics, thats $10,000 total). If you have some extra money, we would be happy to put "Rotator" down the sides of the car and try and run in the 1.29's. A certified check for about $100,000 would be fine, please make it payable to Alan Balinsky Racing.:)

Give me about another week or so for this baillout to start, and I'll write you one in American dollars (should be worth about $2.53 Canadian by that time)

Moton 2 way adjustable's cost $6500 CDN built specific for the RX-8. The 4 way adjustable's cost $12,000 for a set.

#84 could use the FC optimized ones vs. the RX-8.

I think a set of those - and improving shift speed will help.

Let's see - in the drag racing world - shepracing.com was using a synchro tranny running under 10's. He produces synchro trannies capable of pulling 8's in the 1/4.

So the 11 shifts at mosport - are you counting downshifts?
You only have 4 speeds - I doubt you are going into 2nd in any corner but possibly 5a/b, and 9.

Ever watched those best motoring videos? They shift like lightening. I would imagine their speeds are in the 200ms range clutch in/out.
What is interesting in watching the in camera views of their races are that it doesn't really matter much the guys who shift really fast vs. the guys that shift slower.
Watching them run the Touge course with street cars, no cage and helmet is just plain insanely stupid.

Do you run any datalogging software to analyse the race data?

Something like a racelogic vbox synchronised to an engine datalogger and some incar video would be very good analysis tools to see where you can gain time. Not expensive either.
If I remember your car is pretty simple from an electronics standpoint having a carburetor and not fuel injection.

These things are cheap enough now that you don't need an F1 budget to do some pretty quick analysis.

One thing I would like to know is how you get away with the car being as loud as it is???? You have to be over 110dB @ WOT.

Bit off topic - but ever watch the ROC races?
Interesting to see how different drivers from different disciplines stack up in different cars. Especially cars that aren't theirs.

Wonder how much different speeds are when you don't have to foot the bill if you stuff the car into a wall?

Dude you really arent familiar with close ratio 4spds (lol) I am in 1ST GEAR in turn 5 up to the top of 4th going into turn eight, down to 3rd then down to 2nd in 9 &10. Back to 3rd for 1 and 2 then back down to 2nd for turn 3, then back down to 2nd for 5A and 1st for 5B. My ratios are 1st 2.01:1 2nd 1.57:1 3rd 1.27:1 and 4th is 1:1. You cant compare drag racing to road racing, drags is 3 or 4 shifts then nothing for 3 hours. The gear oil barely gets warm etc.

I can flat foot my shifts to save time (learned from drag racing since I was 16) but my trans would live about 5 minutes if that. Part of the reason for slow shifting is again your favorite word BUDGET.

Anyways we can go back and forth for ever and ever, just build a car and come out and support the series and rotary's.

Like I said before anything you wish to donate to the cause would be greatly appreciated, if not pick another post to pester:)

Al I got a motor package that will put you around 1.20 and i will give you the car for free if you buy the engine lol... 600 plus hp in a 2300 lbs car that would be crazy... i might even put in our 14" brake kit...

For those who don't know, this is how a "showroom stock" or World Challenge, Grand-Am Cup cars start out life. Pretty close to a tube chassis car...................

What sort of Grand-Am car are you talking about?

Our tuner works for Karl at Compass 360 Racing and the cages they have in their Grand Am cars are a very simple 6 point cage with some added braces, no where near as complex as that^

I think there must be a miss understanding of what a 6 point cage is! The 360 cars were the Kensai cars at one point and Ronny O'Brien did the cage. These were like 12+ point cages when I saw them being built. The car is the picture is a World Challenge GT car, Corvette I think while it was under construction.

Yeah sorry, I guess the roof points count as points as well.

Compass runs in the ST class....much less involved in the ST cars compared to GT lol.

Grand-Am Koni Challenge was a whole lot less than World Challenge Touring in the past years. A Koni car would only cost maybe $100,000 (lol)

That's one strange looking vette.
So much for the illusion of these being showroom stock.
The hydroformed rails must be stock though right?

The Koni Cars are pretty limited to what you can do.
I can't see it costing $100K to put together a competitive car for that series.
Not when you start with a donor car you can pick up for $10K or less.

Rules are HERE

Mazda RX8
2004 5.12:1 17.9 2650
Tire size: 225/45/17. RPM limit TBD. MAZDASPEED aero
#QSEA-50-020-X1, QSEA-51-96Z and QSEA-70-900-X1 are allowed.
Allowed exhaust header. Allowed oil cooler vent in trunk. May use
aftermarket ECU.


On a whole other note - totally off topic - How about that Caparo T1??
922 bhp/ton
672kg with 610bhp.
Cough - Street Car - Cough

There is a car with a weight about 250kg less than an LMP1 car, and just about as much power.

Like i said before in many previous posts, until you start to build a car you have no idea how much it costs until your paying the bills. Just a cage and shocks would be about $10,000. Aside ffrom the cost of just parts alone, what about the hours of labor to build a car? What about the transport costs? The list goes on and on and on and on. Call a couple of top flight Koni teams and ask what their budget is for one year of racing. To rent a seat for a weekend is usually about $30,000 for a GS team, and thats not including your costs of getting to the track, food lodging etc. God help you if you crash the car! Then it really gets expensive.

FYI: My costs for my little side seal failure at the end of last year is at $3500.00 not including labor, and any misc parts I still need to buy.

That Sucks.... $3500+ buys a lot of BEvERages.

Does Mazda Canada pony up any funds for exposure in Canadian events?
I think they did the targa newfoundland, but what else?

Mazda Canada has supported various team/drivers (including me lol)through dealerships in Canada, they also support a wide variety of events from Canoeing and Kayaking to Outdoors shows etc. To my knowledge other than the Meeting of the Mazda's they have not supported any race events other than Targe Newfoundland in the last few years.

It's too bad they weren't more involved. Considering MNAO shows the ads on the US stations about how supposedly more Mazda's are racing on Sunday than any other Automaker. I guess the US gets more budget for those types of things.
Judging by the pricing disparity of parts, and even vehicle prices between Mazda US and Mazda Canada - you think they could afford to buy some exposure up here.

Honda Canada has some involvement with the CCTC series.

Seems like a good promotional tool to me.

Personally I am not in favor of Mazda supporting a series per say, I would much rather see them support the individual teams with a contingincy program if some kind. I had a long conversation with the Motorsports Team Development Manager of Mazda USA. They have sold through Mazdaspeed 2500 MX-5 Cup kits to prepare the cars in the USA. We have not sold 2500 MX-5's in Canada between 2007 and 2008! That is why we dont get the same support as our USA counterparts. I would just like to see the Canadian drivers/teams get some of the press coverage in Mazda's advertising that the grassroots drivers from the USA get in Mazda USA's advertising.