PRI 2023 Racing Chick’s safety gear.

Back in 2016, race car driver, Carrie Willhoff established Racechick Apparel, after many years of being frustrated with the fact that so many of the racing gear that was available was fitted to men and often totally inappropriate for women in racing.  Carrie leveraged her own experience in the fashion industry and developed a line of women’s racing equipment that includes fire suits, gloves, shoes, and much more.  In 2019 the company received the PRI Global Media Award. 

You should check out their web site www.racechick.com or FB – @racechickappare. 

As I walked around this year’s PRI I noticed that a change has occurred in racing wear providers offerings.

In this male dominated industry the major providers of race wear have opened their eyes and products to the fact that women are also key customers.

Even Alpine Starts has expanded their product line to include women racers.

While it is great to have more choices available to women racers, let’s not forget the woman that pioneered racing products to meet the specific needs of women racers, Carrie Willhoff!

PRI 2023 Formula 1

Since Netflix series, Drive to Survive, caught the attention of America the popularity of F1 continues to expand in the US.  This year there were three racing venues that held F1 races in America, Miami, Texas with its COTA (Circuit of Americas), and Las Vegas, as a street race.

Just a few years ago HASS entered as a US F1 team, something that hasn’t occurred in decades.

HAAS had quite a display of its products’ capabilities on machinery row.

Watching this fully automated milling machine was mesmerizing.

In the Lucas building the F1 car of the Williams team that was driven by the only US driver currently in F1 was on display.

Sargent has a contract to drive next year as well.  This is not easy as many of the European drivers have been racing since they were four years old in carts.

The F1 season is televised and has at least 23 races in its 2024 schedule.  So check out the fastest and most sophisticated racing in the world.

PRI 2023–Suspension Options

There was a time when your suspension improvements would involve things such as improving your tires by finding ones that provide more grip and then improving their performance with better springs and shocks and/or struts.  Then you would see a good alignment tech and see what adjustments were possible.

Then there would be more aggressive sway bars (anti-roll bars).  Perhaps you would opt for a set of quality coil-overs that would allow ride height adjustments and corner balancing.

Now, even more dramatic suspension options are available:

Verkline of Germany has many suspension improvements that include engineered sub-frames to go along with components that provide improved dynamics and adjustability:

These kits reduce weight while providing increased rigidity and adjustability.

AJE produces complete frames for various trucks along with the chassis components to modernize the handling capabilities.

SPC has a wall of products that provide more suspension adjustment than the factory may have provided.

The typical unibody designs need to have bracing added in key areas to provide the suspension with ridged predictability.

BMR has kits that provide better suspension dynamics than factory.

Above is a front suspension with its own sub-frame and adjustability for minimizing bump steer.

Same for this strut font end.

UMI is another solution provider.

Above is a rear frame that allows for the addition of a Watts linkage to this solid rear axle.

Cortex is another suspension upgrade specialist that has managed to engineer some amazing suspension modifications that seemed impossible to accomplish.

For instance this rear end kit that adds a meaningful Watts linkage to a solid rear axle.

But wait, there is much more.  Back in the early days of Trans-Am racing some teams tried to add negative camber to the rear solid axles by finding ways to bend the axle housings.  This worked, but had a useful life of only a few races before the axle bearings bit the dust.

Cortex has produced a genius solution:

By rotating a wedge circular spacer they can add camber to the rear wheel hub.  OK, so what about the problem with burning out the axle bearings?

They have axles with a CV joint built in that allows for the change in angle at the hub.

This allows for the solid axle to have suspension characteristics that were once seen as impossible.

They haven’t lost sight of adjustability for the front suspension either so that camber, caster, and bump steer can be optimized.

It is amazing to see how far things have come with suspension re-engineering.

PRI 2023

I hope you know that PRI stands for the Performance Racing Industry trade show that is held every year around this time in Indianapolis, Indiana.  PRI provides people in the racing industry the chance to get face-to-face with many of the best suppliers in the world with products that they need not only  to be aware of, but provides them the opportunity to talk to the representatives.

SEMA (who owns PRI) and PRI’s total economic output is nearly $337 billion per year, and they support 1.3 million jobs that pay $104 billion in total wages and benefits.  Needless to say, PRI and the industry it supports is an important part of our economy.

here are some of the exhibits that caught my attention as I experienced the trade show.

  Stratus Auto Equipment started in China, but is now setting up in Texas, USA.

Above is an example of their scissors lift which can run on either 220v or 110v.

Here is another company, this one from Ontario, Canada, which makes and sells affordable 3D scanners.

Then there was Stainless Works which makes High quality stainless steel exhaust systems.

Turn 14 is a national automotive parts distributor.

Halo is a new brake fluid made specifically for race cars that has high compressibility under even the hottest racing conditions.

ASNU, from England, sells not only some of the finest fuel injector test equipment, but comes with a complete starter selection of seals and parts to repair the problems their equipment allows you to test for.

Pro Eagle has changed the concept of the shop floor jack with their product line.

Gone are the noisy solid steel wheels that roll poorly and make using a floor jack a fight.

The wheels they use roll on sophisticated ball bearings that are sealed and lubricated. 

Max Jax2 is a product that combines the jack stand with a five heavy duty set of casters that allow you to roll around a vehicle suspended by them and without the danger of tipping.

The casters will also lock in place once a car is positioned.

And who hasn’t found a tool solution to repair problems by looking at Lisle’s inventory of tool solutions.

Check out this set of sockets for flare nuts.

There is much more discoveries to share with you so come back tomorrow for more from PRI 2023!

The unknown history of Mitsubishi

As you probably know, I have owned several Mitsubishi car and every one of them was AWD and turbo fun.

Now here is an excellent history of how Mitsubishi took great potential, achieved great success, and then screwed the pooch.

How Mitsubishi Threw Away a Dynasty – YouTube

How to drive an Evo IX

Destroying 2 Mitsubishi Evo Prototypes Without Even Crashing – YouTube

Ford CVPI Sports Car

How to Make a Crown Victoria P71 Handle Like a Sports Car – YouTube

Curb Weight over Time and Power to Weight Ratios

A few weeks ago I was part of a group at the BMW factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina and getting a ride in a 5 series being driven by one of BMW’s professional divers. It was an intense “hot lap” around their test track and this driver was really impressing us with his abilities along with the amazing capabilities of the BMW sedan. With a great deal of élan he took us through the complex course consisting of multiple layouts and the challenge of traffic cones placed to make the tarmac even more challenging. The BMW responded to his inputs as if by magic and demonstrating its braking ability as exceptional, bring our speed down in what appeared to be impossibly short distances. In the grand finale to our lap we ended drifting around a wet skid pad before we precisely exited the track and returned to our stating point. Yes, there is nothing quite as impressive as a great handling car being piloted by a professional driver.

Just before I exited the car I asked the driver how heavy the 5 series was. 4300 pounds, he said. That was a stunning revelation.

I know that cars are and continue to get heavier than they were decades ago, but I didn’t expect to hear a number like that and realizing that it was over two tons.

Back in 1971 I owned a new Volkswagen Super Beetle that had a curb weight of 1874 pounds. It came with a 1600cc, four cylinder, air-cooled engine with a 60 hp engine. Compare that with the 2017 VW Beetle 1.8T a front wheel drive, with a 170 hp, water-cooled four cylinder engine and a curb weight of 3012 pounds. The 1971 version was rear wheel drive with a power to weight ratio of 0.03, and the 2017 has a 0.06 power to weight ratio. I later modified the Super Beetle’s engine to be 1.8 liter and 125 hp at the wheels. A ratio of at least 0.07.

Back in 1971 one of my favorite cars was the BMW 2002 tii (E10). While I couldn’t afford to own one, I managed to have several occasions when I was able to drive one. The E10 was an amazing two-door sedan powered by a sweet 2.0 liter four cylinder engine and weighed in at 2227 pounds of curb weight. The four cylinder engine cranked out 130 hp. That was a power to weight ratio of 0.06. The 2023 equivalent (debatable) I would pick, as the 3 series. It also has a 2 liter four cylinder engine putting out 255 hp and weighs in at 3536 pounds. That is a power to weight ratio of 0.07. If the engine hp was swapped into the 1971 E10, then the power to weight ratio would have been would have been an impressive 0.11.

Looking for another equivalent pair of cars, I considered the 1971 Lotus Elan with a 126 hp four cylinder engine packaged in a two seater roadster with a curb weight of 1515 pounds. That gives us a power to weight ratio of 0.08. Compare that to a 2023 Mazda MX-5 Miata with a 181 hp four powering a curb weight of 2341 pounds, resulting in a power to weight ratio of 0.08.

Take a moment to compare the curb weights of a couple of the Tesla models: the Model S dual motor comes in at a hefty 4561 pounds, and the Model X Long Range weighs in at 5185 pounds. I’ll let you search the internet and then calculate their respective power-to-weight ratios.

How about those new SUVs? Well, why don’t you just explore those on your own? They are turning into small tanks, in a way. While the power-to-weight ratios keep improving, they have to, in order to overcome the inertia of their hefty curb weights. The days of vehicles that weighed in at less than a ton have been eclipsed by ones that now weigh in at over 2, and often 3 or more tons.

Found on the Side of the Road NC Mountains

As we cruise around the state we often come across interesting vehicles on the side of the road.

Here we stopped to examine an old flatbed truck.  Its rusty patina gave us a chance to wonder what its history was and what kind of a life it had seen.

The wooden bed had seen a lot of weather and the wheels on it were a mish mash of years.

Long before vehicles had air-conditioning this faithful truck had a sun shade and the bottom of the windshield  was designed to tilt out at the bottom inviting a breeze of outside air to cool the  driver.

It must have been quite the work truck.

A little further on there was this beauty being used as a representation of this store.

Even with the paint having been replaced by a surface of rust it looked great.

As if it came from the Twilight Zone it had the perfect driver and passenger.

It is fun to stop and examine these old vehicles and wonder about the many owners and drivers that relied on the utility of these trucks. Ah, the stories they might tell.

The Splinter is Complete!

Back in 2008 I told you about the Splinter – a wooden supercar under construction and later in 2011 I published and update on the Splinter.  It’s been a long road to get to the finish line, but here is the completed car:

Splinter – The World’s First Wooden Supercar | RIDICULOUS RIDES – YouTube

Enjoy the fruits of a lot of hard work!