Spyder Update w Dyno new bits and such

I bought a set of EBC Yellow Stuff brake pads for my wife's Porsche Macan. Being that they were ceramic they did make some noise because she isn't an aggressive driver and the pads never got warm enough to eliminate the noise. EBC fully warranties their brakes so I exchanged them for some EBC Red Stuff pads. Those do not make any noise and stop very well. They aren't as dusty as the OEM Porsche pads so they keep the wheels cleaner. I imagine the EBC Green Stuff pads will be just fine for your application.

I have found and used EBC (at BuyBrakes) materials and find them top notch.  Very instructive website, and human agents there seem to know what's up.  I found that my '18 Honda accord that I use to flat tow my speedster was having some trouble with brake pulsations when descending long hills with the Speedster in back. Local dealer said that Honda was having trouble with uneven heat dissipation  under heavy braking loads and that they had fixed this on other models but not the Accord.  Service guy suggested getting some up-market grooved disks.  Which I did do and got EBC materials.  Excellent replacement, they work perfectly and no issues on those long downhills.  And the bit about less brake dust is real.

A careful reader might wonder: why not fix this brake issue on the Accord?  Only reason I can think of is that this car is rated at very low towing capacity.  actually, the small engine version (1.5l) is not rated at all: NO TOWING!! I have the 2.0 l turbo and the book says maybe tow 1500 lbs.   There is no way I can see why a 3300 lb car with 256 hp able to get it to 60 mph in less than 7 sec could not possibly tow 1800 lb with no tongue weight.  Unless, perhaps, the brakes were suspect.  I have somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 mi of flat towing the Speedster with really no issues, other than the brake upgrade mentioned.  My gas mileage suffers a little but not all that much.

On the clamshell latches, they need to be adjusted just right. Failing that, Vintage Motorcars sells modified latches that usually alleviate this problem.

On brakes, unless you are doing track work, you don't need to get extreme pads. You don't need dual masters and/or a balance bar.

I have a full Airkewld disc setup, drilled solid rotors all around. 4 piston Wilwoods up front, single piston rear. Stock pads on the rear, Wilwood ceramic track front(I don't remember exact pad). I have a single master(I think it's 20.6mm). I never experience fade, and I can lock them up if I want, plenty of power.

Believe me, you'll run out of traction before you run out of brakes. I've done 30 minute sessions at Lime Rock, with me and another big dude in the car. All-up about 2000 pounds. I've attacked the most twisty roads on the east coast at 9/10 or so.

Oh yeah, torque and power curves look REALLY nice.

@Chappy posted:

Hi All.

+snip+

has anyone ever had issues with their clamshell springs/latches not staying secured? Even after adjusting the clam it would not stay closed while driving so I think I’m going to look at cleaning the unit and sourcing some heavier duty springs.

Cool beans, Chappy. Is that a chassis dyno or engine?

Re the latches: Yep: they give trouble to most of us from time to time.

@DannyP has a fix that involves adding a second set of springs. I think he's found that keeps them secure ever since.

I started by welding the tabs on mine. Later I added the extra springs.

In my experience, the latches would work consistently and then one would start popping off, and I'd pull it and fiddle with it or replace it. Then, after some fiddling and adjustment, it would work again...and then it (or its opposite) would act up again like a year later.

Never regretted having the leather straps, and am even happier to have a copies of the turn-key latches to back up the VW/Thunder Ranch/Beck/Vintage mechanisms.

Once adjusted correctly, the Vintage-modified latches have never failed me, once.

They came with the car, so maybe I cheated a little?

@DannyP posted:

Oh yeah, torque and power curves look REALLY nice.

Thank you!

Curious if you think the 175/70 will be sufficient or if the 185/70 might be the better way to go for the fronts. From tire calculator the difference is pretty nominal so I’m thinking it shouldn’t matter much with the stupid sticky rears.

@edsnova it’s a chassis dyno. There is certainly room for a more aggressive tune but this feels pretty good to me.

185/70R15 will rub in the front. The 175/70 should be adequate, Beck uses(or at least used to) 165/80R15 without trouble.

I would just adjust the steering stops so there isn't any rubbing.

Those are chassis dyno numbers? I'm really impressed. Pretty much dead-flat torque (always 160+) from 2000- 5000 RPM.

Well done, sir.

Yes...that's an engine for which a stock gear ratio'd 4 speed with a 3.44 would be ideal. Shift at 5500 and you're always marinating in torque.

@edsnova posted:

Yes...that's an engine for which a stock gear ratio'd 4 speed with a 3.44 would be ideal. Shift at 5500 and you're always marinating in torque.

T

Trans was done by German Transaxle who mostly does GT race car type stuff. It’s is a 3.88 with gearing suggested by Greg. Also added a Guard TBD and used upgraded GT Gears and new case.

the carbon was kinda used in jest since we added “all that weight of the radiator” but still makes me chuckle.

That's probably better yet. Your initial ratio is 12:1 whereas my 3.78/3.44 combo gives 13:1. Your final drive is 3.18 where mine (with the .93 4th) is 3.20. So your gears are spaced a little closer than mine.

Plus you could employ an LSD, which with the 3.44 R&P is tricky at best.

I think if I had 200 horsepower in a Spyder I'd want that.

@edsnova posted:

That's probably better yet. Your initial ratio is 12:1 whereas my 3.78/3.44 combo gives 13:1. Your final drive is 3.18 where mine (with the .93 4th) is 3.20. So your gears are spaced a little closer than mine.

Plus you could employ an LSD, which with the 3.44 R&P is tricky at best.

I think if I had 200 horsepower in a Spyder I'd want that.

Makes sense. The guy at GTA talked me out of the Quaife which I originally planned on adding and into the Guard TBD. I understand the basics and principles of how the two function but that’s about it.  The Quaife also cost more & had a longer lead time and we wanted to get the trans done. He had the TBD available and highly recommended the Guard so I went with that.

I hadn't heard of the Guard Torque Biasing Differential and I think, after three minutes of Googling, that it might be the better choice for most of our cars. Very cool.

Basically, of all my cars- the spyder is the one she does not like. At all. In her mind, no airbags = dangerous. Ironically, of all my “fun cars” it’s the one that gets driven with most caution and the slowest.

So by adding all the “upgraded safety components & measures” that I’ve described in detail to her, while she blankly stares at me, it makes her feel better while I’m driving it.

That is until my 10 year old whose favorite car by far is the Spyder tells her “dad really ripped into the straightaway near Skyline and took a corner super fast mom! It was awesome!”. Meanwhile I’m doing probably half of what I would be in one of the 911’s. Kids…

That's pretty much the same engine and transmission set up I'll be running in my coupe. Rancho built mine with Weddle gears, and we used a Peloquin TBD. The only substantive difference is that it's IRS and not mid-engined. Should be rolling this spring.

Extra bonus, I only live a couple miles from Chappy!

@Chappy posted:

Makes sense. The guy at GTA talked me out of the Quaife which I originally planned on adding and into the Guard TBD. I understand the basics and principles of how the two function but that’s about it.  The Quaife also cost more & had a longer lead time and we wanted to get the trans done. He had the TBD available and highly recommended the Guard so I went with that.

From my memory, they are both TBD, so not understanding the advantage of one over the other. I mean, they both use sun-planetary gears, right? Theoretically, they vary torque bias from 1% to 99%.

Now if it is XX-percentage limited slip with clutches, that is a different animal.

I went with 3.44-1.93-1.32-1.0 with a 3.44 final, it's in boxes in the shop. I'll be building it soon, gathered all the pieces finally. But my power and mission may be different than others. I have a potent and free-revving type1 and want close ratio gears to pull out of mountain switchbacks.

Right now I have stock gearing(3.80-2.06-1.26-0.89) with a 3.44 final. The 2-3 drop and 3-4 drop are a little too wide for my liking.

@DannyP posted:

From my memory, they are both TBD, so not understanding the advantage of one over the other. I mean, they both use sun-planetary gears, right? Theoretically, they vary torque bias from 1% to 99%.

Now if it is XX-percentage limited slip with clutches, that is a different animal.

I went with 3.44-1.93-1.32-1.0 with a 3.44 final, it's in boxes in the shop. I'll be building it soon, gathered all the pieces finally. But my power and mission may be different than others. I have a potent and free-revving type1 and want close ratio gears to pull out of mountain switchbacks.

Right now I have stock gearing(3.80-2.06-1.26-0.89) with a 3.44 final. The 2-3 drop and 3-4 drop are a little too wide for my liking.

Yeah, I worded that poorly. Was originally going w an LSD. Then decided on the Quaife which in turn talked into the Guard.

I could be wrong but I think not having to worry about alleged understeer w LSD, while the TBD is supposedly maintenance free for the most part compared to the LSD is the better choice for my car.

And truth be told, they’re both probably overkill for my use.

Very cool. Paul Guard makes good stuff.

And overkill, yes. But good enough isn't really US, is it?

How are we feeling about this chrome delete gentlemen?

Im not a huge silver fan so this makes it much more tolerable for me until I decide on a wrap color for the body. My buddy and I did the work over the course of a few hours each day this weekend.

knock on wood but we are looking at 65-70 and sunny coming up in the next few days and she is finally road ready just in time!

Since you asked, @Chappy:  it's not my jam, but I'm glad you like it.

It's a big tent - you do you.

PS: I'm digging the shop. Yours?

@Stan Galat posted:

Since you asked, @Chappy:  it's not my jam, but I'm glad you like it.

It's a big tent - you do you.

PS: I'm digging the shop. Yours?

Honesty is always appreciated, and I know it’s not everyone’s cup o tea.I figured this will help differentiate with the casual car fan that it’s not in fact a real 550. I’m also not a vanity plate kinda guy but to aid in the asking of that question along with the black out, my new plate of FUGAZI should be arriving this week!

That’s not my shop, it’s a good friend of mines place. I moved into a new house recently and unfortunately the garage has been the last thing to get worked on.

Right now space is super limited with cars and things yet to be unpacked, camping supplies etc. the garage is high on the proverbial list of things to finish/upgrade/set up but my list does not seem to jive with the wife’s, nor ever enough time in the day.

I have my tools, and most of my odds and ends car stuff at that shop though, as it’s close to where my other cars are currently being kept due to space limitations. (and current  older neighbors that aren’t quite fond of  the glorious engine sounds said cars tend to make when driving through our quiet neighborhood)

It’s nice to have access to that shop even if sadly, he is using my tools more than I am nowadays. Added bonus of - hey sweetheart I need to run to the shop for something, turning into an unplanned leisurely solo drive isn’t the worst thing ever either.

Anyhoo, I’m hoping to finally be able to put some decent mileage on the new motor this weekend and even the small mods make it feel “new” again which is always an added bonus!

Looks great, Chappy. It's a Spyder!

@Chappy posted:

Honesty is always appreciated,

That's very gracious, and almost never true.

But I was serious -- the only person you have to please is yourself. Nobody else has to get it. If a thing is cool to you, it'll be cool no matter what anybody else thinks.

You do you.

Seeing what you have done to your Spyder, reminded me of this Speedster that I always thought was somewhat cool:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/...s/72157632580459327/

The owner, Matt, had Henry 'hide' all the chrome on his build.

Me, I had all mine powder coated silver.