It was great weather last sunday, I'll update later some more. In short I gained a lot on my time and even got a prize!

http://www.rpmvision.nl/pictures/fea...f3cc6fa62c.jpg

Post a couple of photos when possible. We love to see the best turbocharged type iv beetle in action.

Sure will, but it usually takes a few days until all track photographers have published their pictures ;-)

nice pic's. did you notice any differance with having the rear wing fitted?

Ooooooooooohhhhhh I like that one!

I knew someone was gonna ask me that ;)
Unfortunately, I have changed about 6 seperate things (LSD, stiffer front springs, different brake balance, bit more boost, removed 40lbs front seat and the wing) on the car before this final. I drove 2,5 seconds of my lap time compared to last month on the same track. It was also quit a bit warmer (more tire grip) and I may have driven a bit more agrressive, so you tell me what caused it by what percentage..?
From my (very) limited seat of the pants feeling, I'd say the higher boost, more grip from the warmer tarmac and my driving made the most difference.
The LSD did not give more understeer at all (to my surprise), but did make the car brake hard more stable. It didn't wiggle its tail anymore under hard braking, even though my top speed at the end of the straight was now 210 km/h (131 mph in 4th gear, approaching 7K rpm) and 5 km/h faster then last month.
There was a point where I (finally) felt the rear tires blocking and I immediately adjusted the Tilton brake bias adjuster (for the first time I ever needed it!) a few clicks. Also a few times on WOT accelerating out of a tight corner in second gear, the rear wanted to step out a little, but I think the LSD also made that exercise a little more controllable, if not for having prevented a spin alltogether.
So, not sure the wing did anything. But its my own basterdized wing, so it doesn't mean _a_ wing would not help. I think it does, but a little better design then just the flat sheet of alu that I used, might work better :-)

Even so, compared to other (modern) cars with much less hp, I am still relatively (very) slow!! I can only conclude I probably cannot drive and/or don't push it to the limits at all. I do want to get home and getting old(er), so that might have s/th to do with it too LOL

I did the laps on 20 psi of boost, so with about 425 chp on the track! and it all went well as I drove the car home on its own wheels afterwards.

All in all, I found it a very good ending of the season :)

Yeah, no kidding Wally...do you get a senior´s discount yet at the track :D My guess is while you are running at a for you comfortable speed,the "faster guys" are probably very close to or at their limit.Some use aggressiveness and self over estimation to make up for talent and end up throwing the car off the track.There is no shame in being sensible and responsible ;)

Your not that far of with that assesment! There was indeed quit a lot of damage from cars going off last sunday... (knock on wood).
But its hard to explain everytime why I'am not much faster with so much hp onboard :o

Maybe with constant training at the track, your lap times will change. It seems that the cars potential have changed a lot with all these new adjustments. Give a bit of time and I believe that you will see a great improvement on your track records. Did you have a new set of slicks this weekend or you were running oldies?

Maybe it's that your in a different space/time continuem? Personally, I go with Einstein that as you approach the speed of light you get longer. If you get longer it stands to reason that it will take lomnger to get round;):rolleyes:

I'll take your bug for a spin after you and we could compare telemetry :) I just need to get over there... Ideally though, that's the best way to measure improvements accurately, to use a telemetry box and compare overlays with other drivers.

That´s alright Wally...don´t push it! Speed comes with confidence.Like TSAF said,you´ve made a lot of changes and you´ve invested a lot of time and money in that project.It´s a hobby and it´s built to have fun.As long as you´re having fun and constantly improving,who cares what the other drivers are running.

Well said :):):):)

Thanks for the encouragement guys!

The rear wing is ugly from the sides, but I already knew I need to make nicer stands or buy something:
http://media.nu.nl/m/m1ezvi2a4c3s.jpg[/

http://www.rpmvision.nl/pictures/fea...defd77eded.jpg

Wally I will agree with you that the wing is extremely ugly. Have you ever thought to start your own turbocharged type iv engine shop? Well you should because after this reading this thread again I honestly believe that you have more experience on turbocharged type iv engines than anybody else. Seriously give a little thought to this idea!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. You have built an extremely powerful engine and you have "test" it on "real" circumstances. By that I mean the tracks. You are not just words like most builders. Think about that and forget about the track times.

Thanks mate! I do know what works and what helps by now and I help in writing some articles for a (dutch) magazine and maybe a rebuild and/or tuning book might appear sometime from that same mag, but I will definitely not build engines for others. I really encourage others to build their own blocks as I think that is/should be part of the fun (hence the writing ;)).

And yeah, I need to make or buy something more fancy as a rear wing ;-)

Of course there were again a few people that asked if there was a subaru engine in there...I told one of them to come close so I could smack him! :lmao:

Beginning and at 2:07 :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQWwG_bh7Ho

:eek:

I've just lost all respect for Wally's accomplishments now ... is that a BBQ sitting just over your intercooler ? :screwy: :lmao:

Just Kidding ... you kick ass as usual, glad to see you finally got a prize :cup1:

Congrats.

Sandeep

Hi Wally

Did the picnic table have any effect on the intercooler?

Steve

The wing doesn't bother me. Form follows function, until optimum function is figured out...then yes, make it look good ;-)

-Dave

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, Iknow :lmao:

But no, it doesn't as I did deliberately positioned the wing so the gap was big enough that the air following the roof line flows uninterrupted towards the intercooler.
It IS functional in that respect. Any roof lips or other roof spoilers however WILL effect intercooler efficiency imo.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/-a9ge3h_h2JU/To...%252520122.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/-WVqKSYCJLd0/To...%252520133.jpg

Wrt 'looks' of the rear wing: its also depending on the angle how you look at it I think:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/-nFa9t9eOsD8/To...%252520196.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/-YRpWO8qd42c/To...%252520198.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/-gklweqzDrDc/To...%252520276.jpg

Braking at the end of the straight:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/-0Ov0nTwwmIo/To...%252520298.jpg

http://lh6.ggpht.com/-KqzIdK0JJUQ/To...%252520316.jpg

Yeah,stab ém with a chop stick :D Awesome pics Wally! Are these photographers scheduled at these events? Or do they just randomly take the pics and you download them from a website or sth? As professional as they are,I would guess that they are hired by the event organizer? Keep ém coming Wally! They keep me motivated!! A big thanks for that!

ha ha, nope doesn't look good from any angle. :D ;)
However the car still looks fantastic and more importantly, totally under control on the track.

You might want to consider a much wider wing, that extends to over the rear wheel arches and out from behind the main cabin. This would get it right into the air flow and increase the effect a fair amount.

Maybe you could build a diffusor that bolts up to the rear bumper mounts inside the fenderwell? Then you could do away completely with the spoiler and have full effectiveness of your IC.

Hi Wally

I wasn't saying it was ugly, I think it looks very good, your being too hard on yourself, a big change to cars looks can do that.

Steve

Its a pretty big event in our little country, so lots of photographers are interested, either hired by publishers or independant ones where you can buy your pics for a reasonable (debatable, I know) fee. I was offered to share a pit box with one of the publishing parties. But rest assured, they took plenty pics of all cars present ;) :
http://www.mbmedia.nl/picasa-album-1...1892225&page=8

I know Clive, don't worry ;)
Bruce: I really wouldn't want any bigger. I also think it makes the whole construction less stable if its wider then this. As Rob experienced, if the wing gives too much down force, the metal under the rear wing can give in (and probably gives more drag also), so too much wing is not wanted either I feel.

The center pod on the wing is already my own addition, which I found necessary (even when the wing was in its original low position, that was needed to make it stable) as well as the extra diagonal rod to the intercooler top.
As it is now, its very stable and I don't see it move or shake at all at any speed or surface conditions. Better stands and stronger material (steel plate instead of the alu now) should make it able to do without the extra horizontal/diagonal rod (I hope).
Maybe sometime next year ;)

Thanks for the nice comments guys!

Awesome stuff as always Wally. Lots of changes this time and much quicker lap times. That is why I always look forward to updates from Wally.

Wrong Sandeep, its an eye level grill!......hot, hot, hot, hot.......

Clive

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...h.jpg~original

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...5.jpg~original

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...s.jpg~original

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...y.jpg~original

As you can see here especially, I might need to adress the front suspension caster when it moves upward (ball joint extender):
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...0.jpg~original

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...9.jpg~original

The result was there anyways :D
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...e.jpg~original

Great Pics Walter !

Can you comment on the tires (tyres) that you are using ? Brand / Spec ? I am assuming that you daily drive with these tires too ?

Thanks

Sandeep

Sandeep, I still run a set of now 8 year old Dunlop SP Super Sport -race in the rear and a relatively new set of Kumho Ecsta V700 in the front.
Both are what you americans/canadians:lmao: call 'R-rated' tires. We call them 'semi-slicks'. These have both a UTCQ rating of 60 for traction, which is rather low, hence relatively soft tires.
For comparison: Toyo's 888's have 100... Maybe 100 would be better as these 60 can get 'greasy' quite fast (ie after a few laps on a warm day).
The rears I run about 4 years already (I thought they would last just one season) and were 4 years old when I bough them new, so they were 'cheap'. Just saying don't be afraid of semi-slicks as they can last a longtime if you don't use then daily. Some R-rated tires are standard equipment on the track-day cars from Porsche like the GT2/3/RS's ;-)
I don't use the car as my daily though! I do drive the car to all events over the road, in which it accumulates quite a few miles anyways ;)

Thanks for the input Walter. It did not make sense to me to put street tires on a car that spends relatively little time on the street.

I was considering Falken Azenis rt 615 tires myself as I have a modern daily driver. It does look like the driving to the track does not effect the longevity of the tires.

Sandeep

Not to derail Wally's thread, but it really depends on alignment as well. My Audi in track trim was running -4 deg of camber, it would eat up a set of tires driving from Richmond Hill to Shannonville and back, assuming I spent the day on the track. I could get two days out of set by popping them off the rims and putting the inside edge to the outside.

A bug, though, is relatively light and easy on tires so I wouldn't expect it to be a problem.

-Dave

4WD drive cars eat tires also.A guy I work with has an WRX STi and he runs Bridgestone Semi Slicks and gets about 10Tkm out of them,which is great.Dave made a good point about alignment though.If you have an aggressive camber or a heavy car it´s obvious that the tires will wear more quickly than a light car.Everyone has their own preference for which tire is best.Driving style,damper selection and engine performance also plays a role in which tire works the best.There are just so many factors that depend on each individual needs or preference that you can´t really say "this tire works best" and you have try which tire you think is best for you.Some put more emphasis on stability during braking because they prefer to brake later,generally they give up corner speed for it or those that brake less but therefore earlier use a little more corner speed and prefer traction during acceleration out of the corner.It´s not a coincidence that tires are a huge issue in racing and decide each race.Most of us I would think need a comprimise since we´re not Sebastian Vettel and don´t have tire sponsors and require a tire that is also good on the street.If you have the luxury of beeing able to take a second set of rims+tires to the track with you,than it´s a different story.It would suck however,if you have really sticky semi slicks that are great for the track and then it rains or it rains on the way home,then you´re even slower than if you were to run a good street tire.

how many km did you put on your current turbo engine?
Amazing car - swiss knife of all beetles: street car, drag racer, circuit, autobahn criuser, all this with aircooled flatfour. And a good looker too.
:goodjob:

Hi Walter,

Great to see the continued development of your car!
I'm sure the LSD has made a world of different, I bet you can't wait to get back to the 'ring and give it a try ;-)
Keep the updates coming mate.

Cheers,
Cam

If you are not runnig a relay to the fuel pump to get dirrect battery voltage you can try to use a voltage stabilizer to maintain constant voltage regardless of input. Used this one before and worked great even with the generator. Headights dont flicker with voltage or engine speed change. Just bright all the time. Should make the electrical items last longer, as it also controlls spikes in system voltage.
http://www.jacobselectronics.com.au/

Interesting!
Wasn't Jacobs electronics a US based company?

Yes. And still is but was sold to the company that does Summit racing and the like.(I do believe) The Aussie jacobs is the only direct site.

Looked at my suspension geometry this weekend and as I remembered, the tca is almost parallel with the steering rod (good thing):

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...6.jpg~original

Futhermore, for the camber to get more negative, the tca must become rectangular with the imaginary line through the top of the strut and the ball joint, right?
It seems I am still pretty good with the current angle, even when fully suspended inbound (this pic is taken with the wheel/tca-end supported, so in resting position):
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w...5.jpg~original

My idea to use a ball joint extender will probably give more bump-steer since tca and steering rod won't be parallel anymore and isnt needed from a camber point of view, so I think I don't want to do that after all.

Next action will be to see what my 'scrub radius' actually is:
http://motoiq.smugmug.com/MotoIQ/Tec...pension-X2.jpg

Haven't done this part (ran out of time), but will do as well ;)