Our 24 Hours of LeMons entry...
Our 24 Hours of LeMons entry looked exactly the same on the outside, but a little work on the brakes made a world of difference on the racetrack.
A couple of issues back we chronicled our entry into the 24 Hours of LeMons race series. Beginning with a '90 Honda Accord destined for the crusher, we showed you how the car was transformed into a racer (Sept. '09 issue) and then how we did in the April race at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, SC (Oct. '09 issue).
Long story short, despite brake issues we had an absolute blast. In case you missed it, you can check out those installments online at www.circletrack.com. Just search for "lemons."
So, when the low-cost racing series returned to Carolina Motorsports Park, so did we. In honor of one of our punishments from the spring race (a metal pig was welded to the roof of the car), we changed our team name to "The Pig Rig" and had grand plans for a new paintjob themed around The Other White Meat.
Unfortunately, those plans fell through due to laziness, but we did manage to make a few improvements to the race car based on the hard knocks we experienced at the racetrack previously. If you remember, brake failures sent us off the track three times. We went through four sets of front pads over the course of the two-day event and wasted way too much time bleeding the brakes because we were constantly boiling the DOT 3 fluid. Otherwise, the car ran very well.
Despite R2D2 as a co-pilot,...
Despite R2D2 as a co-pilot, this BMW still managed to cause quite a traffic jam when it spun in Turn 1 in front of a lot of traffic.
So, to help keep things cooler we made a couple of changes based on recommendations we received from other race teams. While replacing the old rotors (which had warped from the heat), we removed the back plates and rigged up some cooling hoses that pulled air from the front bumper though holes where the turn signals used to be and directed them to the calipers. We also upgraded the pads from over-the-counter pads at our local chain auto parts store to a set of performance pads our friends at Performance Friction recommended for us.
The pads, Carbon Metallic PN 0465.20, turned out to be the best decision of all. Braking throughout the 14 hours of racing was consistent, and there was plenty of material left on the pad after the checkered flag flew. Otherwise, besides changing the oil and charging the battery, the car was practically unchanged.
At the track, we made it through tech without any trouble. The LeMons BS judges dinged us for 75 penalty laps the first time around, but cut the residual value of the car because it had already been through the LeMons ringer once and allowed us to start on the lead lap.
One-hundred thirteen cars started the race, and the carnage started right away. When trying to race $500 cars, something is bound to happen, and this crew didn't disappoint. We counted four fires, one flipped RX7 (broken wheel studs), and innumerable blown head gaskets. Thankfully, our Honda stayed together and improved brakes helped keep the car on the track. We did suffer one cut tire which unexpectedly cost us pit time and one visit to the penalty box for making contact with another car. The final result: Over the course of two days of racing Team Pig Rig finished 309 laps, which was 20 laps down to the winning RX7. Still, we were Sixth of 113 cars-even better than we had hoped after our 43rd the first time around.
 Themes are popular at the...  Themes are popular at the 24 Hours of LeMons, but this Honda had one of the best. That's a real Cessna wing on top, and the coolest part is the team used hydraulic struts so that parts of the wings lowered on the straights and then stood back up to provide more downforce through the turns. Did it help? Hard to tell because other mechanical problems kept it in the pits for much of the race. |  Although we solved our brake...  Although we solved our brake problems, that doesn't mean we don't have other areas we need to work on. Mainly, we can't get enough negative camber into the left-front wheel. The track is mostly left turns, and if we don't protect the tire this is what we wind up with after a long run. |  Another interesting car we...  Another interesting car we enjoyed racing. This BMW was done up in honor of some famous road racing car. As dedicated circle trackers, it went right over our heads, but we still appreciated the result. |