Yesterday I signed for my house so I started ordering some of the parts I need to get ready for Nationals. So far I have ordered:
-Prothane Rear lower control arm Poly Bushings (going to be modified for less bind)
-Hellwig/Strano 25mm rear bar bushing replacement kit (replaced for free by Hellwig!)
-Fays2 rebuild kit (4 new rod ends and O-rings)
On the docket to be ordered tomorrow:
-Ford Racing Diff Cover M-4033-K (this is the finned diff cover on Boss 302/Track Pack/SVTPP cars)
-Cortex Racing torque Arm
Filip at Cortex Racing was NOT comfortable designing a Torque Arm that mounts to the stamped steel diff cover. Why is beyond me as I'm having a hard time understanding what additional forces would be going through the diff cover that the stamped steel one wouldn't deal with. The rotational forces are transmitted through the bolts on an axis shared with the axle shafts which would be a push/pull force and not really a torsional force. Part of the axle rotation force is carried by the differential housing as the other mounting points for the Cortex Arm are bolted to the cast diff housing. At any rate, the diff cover will be legal next year, so if the Torque Arm turns my car into a BMW/RX8/Fresh Breeze/Integra eating monster, I'll just DQ my runs. The chances are SLIM.
You'll notice the Torsen T2R is missing. There are going to be a few people screaming at their screen "NO WHISKEY! YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG! BAD WHISKEY!" but hear me out. The bushings in the control arms are SHOT. Literally done. Unfortunately due to having to add a few appliances to the house, the money isn't there for a T2R this year... once again... Instead, my buddy has offered to rebuild the Traction Lok, again, under powertrain warranty, for free. I owe this guy kegs of beer at this point. He is going to try and put the GT500 Carbon Fiber plates in instead of the organics so that will hopefully help make things last longer back there. I will also have him look at the whine I'm getting as well as the "drivetrain" slop and see if it's bushing related (soon to be cured via Poly bushings in the LCA's and the Torque Arm) or the driveshaft is fubar and in need of replacement.
All that said, priorities being what they are, the Torque Arm/Poly Bushing route is a bit of a necessity to keep from further damaging the rear end of the car and the rebuild seems to fit the budget a lot better (it costs me time, but nothing else).
The good news is that all of this should hopefully be here before the Midwest Divisional Championship the 16-18th of August. The Midwest Divisional Championship starts basically 4 straight weekends of events:
August 16-18th - Midwest Divisional Championship at LAP-N
August 24th - Pre-Nationals Test'n'Tune at LAP-N
August 25th - Solo Points event at LAP-N
September 1st - Evolution School Test'n'Tune at LAP-N
September 5th and 6th - STX Solo Nationals Run days at LAP-N
After that, there is a whole month long breather in the Nebraska Region events to get a cool down from a month solid of events.
I would like to point out that in the middle of all this nonsense I have to put all the new parts on AND move from my apartment from the house while juggling the full time job TOO. Holy crap, this month is a bit stressful but now that I've signed for the house, it can be less stressful! :)
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