FSP 1st Gen Protege Project

[wheresthericego]

get some vids of the dyno and track :D

[XelderX]

get some vids of the dyno and track :D

I'll try and get something. The memory card for my digicam doesn't hold much.

[XelderX]

Got bored today waiting on parts to arrive so I modified my fan to work better. I'm using the stock BG aux. A/C fan as my main fan. The original setup for the fan was as a pusher style mounted in front of the radiator I wanted it to mount on the back of the radiator where the main cooling fan used to sit. It was fairly simple to flip it around, mount it, and reverse the wiring so the motor spun in the opposite direction. The main problem is that the fan sits about half an inch off the radiator surface and the blades of the fan are cut to be the most effecient when spinning as a pusher, not a puller. This means a less effective airflow movement for the fan and the air that it is pulling is mostly being sucked around the edges of the fan and not through the radiator. I simply riveted on a collar around the edge of the fan shroud that will take up the extra space. I'll put a piece of hose around the outer edge so that it is flush fit with the radiator face. This extra room also allowed me to take the fan blades off the motor and flip it upside down. Now the cut of the blades are facing in their most effective position with the motor reversed. Win, win for the air pull through the radiator.




Tomorrow the extended rear wheel studs should arrive. They will be a pretty simple install since I can switch them out without removing the rear spindles.

[cojsl]

glad it's running, good luck getting it ready for Sun. We're running here too. I'll tell Iain and Kevin you got something new for them.

[XelderX]

glad it's running, good luck getting it ready for Sun. We're running here too. I'll tell Iain and Kevin you got something new for them.

Awesome. I've got Jinx Jordan as a local competitor so I don't have to travel very far to get a Nationals FSP benchmark. I should have built a DSP or BSP car so I could mop up at the regional tours and pros. DSP/BSP is weak in the Southeast.

[cojsl]

Sorry if I missed it elsewhere- do you plan on driving it to events, or will it get trailered?

[XelderX]

It's a trailer queen. No need to register or insure it.

[FE3-323]

very creative on the A/C fan. hopefully it has enough to keep the car cool

[XelderX]

The car ran it's first AutoX today. I wasn't expecting much since all 4 tires were bought used and didn't appear to have much usable life left in them. This proved to be true as I corded the front tires on only my second run. The amazing thing is that run was good enough for 2nd fastest time of the whole event. I was only beat by a C5 Z06 Corvette who was on Hoosiers as well (1st place Super Stock Toledo Pro Solo car).

http://www.auto-x.com/results/2008/2008_event_9_raw.htm

After that run the tires just gave up and I couldn't better my time on my last two runs.

The car is extremely fast right now, but a little bit too loose. I can't decide if I want to add more front swaybar to keep the front from rolling over so far or less rear bar to settle the back end. There was also a very noticeable vibration in left hand turns. I thought it was the passenger front tire rubbing the fender, but raising the car on that corner didn't solve it. Upon closer inspection it looks like the motor needs to be shifted in the car about 1/8"-1/4" closer to the driver's side. The passenger half shaft is getting in a bind when turning left due to it's compressed length. The driver's side half-shaft seems to have a little more room to play in it so I hope I can move the motor over just enough to free up the passenger side without putting the driver side half-shaft in a bind. I thought I had the motor/trans centered almost perfectly in the engine bay, but I must have missed the mark by a tiny amount.

[FE3-323]

mounting a motor in becomes difficult. great to hear about the results. was that running with the 15x10's & 15x8's?

[wheresthericego]

awesome

[XelderX]

mounting a motor in becomes difficult. great to hear about the results. was that running with the 15x10's & 15x8's?

Yep, 15X10 in the front and 15X8 in the back. I need to space the front tires out just a hair more. At full lock the edge of the rim is rubbing on my brake line. I'll take some pictures of that today when I unload it off the trailer.

I was thinking about the axle length problem. I wonder if the BG half-shafts are shorter than the BJ shafts. If they are that might be an easy temporary fix.

[wheresthericego]

I have a BG halfshaft and left axle you can have. The axle leaks but is free and temporary

[XelderX]

I just checked the service manual and the BG axles look to be longer than the BJ axles. I didn't happen to check until later if the driver's side BG axle is shorter than the BJ passenger side axle. If that is the case it might be an easy temporary fix. I'll check on that tomorrow.

In other news.

The car has been weighed. It's not an accurate weight by any means, but I do suppose that the local landfill keeps their scales calibrated pretty well. The car was in race trim with 3/4 tank of gas (about 3 gallons more than needed) and me (~150lbs) sitting in the driver's seat.



2360 lbs



Take me and 3 gallons out of the car and she is ~2190 lbs. That is over 300lbs less than the Protege5 ever got down to and there are still a few more pounds to lose.

[Mazda_Powered]

wow, congrats man. you must be proud!!!