48 Hour Camaro – Summer Update

Its been a busy summer already for RideTech… the 48 Hour Camaro build…the release of the new Triple Adjustable coilover…the debut of the new Tru Turn steering system that was developed on the 48 Hour Camaro…lots to keep up with!

Here is how it breaks down:

 

Single and Triple Adjustable coilovers

 
Although the single adjustable coilovers were released last year, the triples were just released in May of 2011 and have already started to make a serious impact on track days all over the country. Here are the results from the recent Goodguys autocross in Columbus, Ohio:

Vehicle Classes: SM = Street Machine | V = Vendor | SR = Streetrod | TRK = Truck

Street Machine Class

	First Name	Last Name	Vehicle	Suspension	Lap Time
SM	Mike	Maier	66 Ford Mustang		32.304
SM	Mike	Maier	66 Ford Mustang		32.304
SM	Mary	Pozzi	72 Chevy Camaro	RideTech singles	32.595
SM	Mark	Rife	63 Chevy Corvette	RideTech triples	32.75
SM	Mark	Stielow	69 Chevy Camaro		33.081
SM	Brian	Finch	71 Chevy Camaro		33.571
SM	Chris	Jacobs	66 Chevy Chevelle		33.886
SM	Billy	Utley	72 Chevy Nova		34.054
SM	Tim	Slager	67 Chevy Camaro		34.473
SM	Roger	Burman	70 Chevy Camaro		34.481
SM	Mark	Turner	66 Chevy Corvette	RideTech ShockWave	34.531
SM	Bob	Bertelsen	72 Pontiac		34.702
SM	Brad	Granger	67 Chevy Camaro		34.87
SM	Ken	Edawards	66 Ford Mustang		35.067
SM	John	Kundrat	64 Chevy Corvett		35.215
SM	Tom	Cronkright	70 Pontiac Trans Am		35.265
SM	Alex	Covington	67 Chevy 2		35.3
SM	Michael	Merritt	67 Ford Mustang		35.74
SM	Jim	McDaniel	55 Chevy Bel Air		35.784
SM	Karen	Lisinger	67 Chevy Camaro		35.904
SM	Gerry	Kema	62 Chevy 2	RideTech singles	36.054
SM	Al	Noe	67 Chevy Camaro		36.072
SM	Kali	Arrington	72 Dodge Challanger		36.413
SM	Kurt	Anderson	59 Chevy Corvette		36.533
SM	Dan	Ballard	72 Chevy Nova	RideTech bolt-in 4 link	36.981
SM	Matt	Lazich	64 Ford Mustang		37.137
SM	Alex	Stoner	70 Ford Mustang		37.173
SM	AJ	Sharp	68 Chevy Camaro		37.311
SM	Albert	Melchior	72 Pontiac Trans Am	RideTech triples	37.331
SM	Erich	Bollman	69 Ford Mustang		37.363
SM	Tim	McGilton	69 Chevy Camaro		37.398
SM	Mike	Cornelus	69 Chevy Camaro		37.825
SM	Ryan	Sullivan	66 Chevy Chevelle		37.881
SM	Bill	Donges	65 Ford Cobra		37.952
SM	Murray	Pfaff	59 Chrysler Imperial	RideTech singles	38.043
SM	Mark	Pecikonis	68 Chevy Camaro		38.076
SM	Jason	Stritesky	65 Chevy Chevelle		38.094
SM	David	Mastrota	67 Pontiac		38.152
SM	Debbie	Farrington	64 Chevelle Wagon		38.377
SM	Scott	Barker	66 Ford Mustang		38.502
SM	Roger	Minyard	67 Chevy Nova		38.672
SM	Randy	Leibrock	66 Chevy Corvette		38.753
SM	Steve	South	70 Buick		38.802
SM	Carlo	Rizzo	70 Chevy Chevelle		39.12
SM	Bill	Bouziden	63 Chevy Corvette		39.216
SM	Michael	Myer	63 Studabaker Avanti		39.242
SM	Tom	Rigg	61 Chevy Corvette		39.458
SM	Mike	King	72 Chevy Camaro		39.466
SM	Hans	Drop	70 Chevy Camaro		39.487
SM	Royce	Glader	66 Ford Mustang		39.53
SM	George	Poteet	62 Ford Falcon		39.553
SM	James	Jackson	68 Chevy Camaro		39.908
SM	Todd	Foust	65 Ford Mustang		39.97
SM	Joe	Brown	67 Ford Mustang		40.214
SM	Bruce	Paul	68 Chevy Camaro		41.001
SM	Don	Figliozzi	61 Buick	RideTech air suspension	41.264
SM	William	Shores	71 Ford Mustang		41.589
SM	Dan	Chaplin	67 Chevy Camaro		41.749
SM	Mark	Giangreco	57 Ford Thunderbird		42.203
SM	Harold	Carter	67 Chevy Camero		45.549
SM	David	Hart	69 Plymouth		46.304
SM	Doyle	Thomas	63 Rambler		46.393
SM	Joel	Bernbaum	57 Chevy Bel Air		52.426

 

Vendor Class

	First Name	Last Name	Vehicle	Suspension	Lap Time
V	Spectre Performance		70 Chevy Camaro		32.622
V	Optima Batteries		67 Chevy Camaro	RideTech triples	32.844
V	Ryan	Matherws	63 Chevy Nova		32.955
V	Kyle	Tucker	70 Chevy Camaro		33.225
V	Stacy	Tucker	69 Chevy Camaro		33.718
V	Britt	Marlof	67 Chevy Camaro	RideTech triples	33.808
V	Bret	Voelkel	69 Ford Mustang	RideTech ShockWaves	34.128
V	Ironworks		67 Chevy Camaro	RideTech triples	34.147
V	Mike	Hawley	65 Pontiac Tempest		34.434
V	Greg	Schneider	66 Chevy Chevelle	RideTech ShockWaves	34.721
V	Vaughn	West	71 Chevy Camaro	RideTech singles	34.749
V	Michael	Manning	69 Chevy Camaro		34.859
V	Jeff	Schwartz	67 Chevy Nova	RideTech singles	34.863
V	Gateway Classic		68 Ford Mustang		34.892
V	Gateway Classic		66 Ford Mustang		35.657
V	Jim	Ring	66 Ford Mustang		36.151
V	Mark	Bowler	70 Ford Torino	RideTech singles	36.428

 

Street Rod Class

	First Name	Last Name	Vehicle	Suspension	Lap Time
SR	Jason	Smith	49 Cadillac		34.072
SR	James	Jones	37 Ford		39.017
SR	Wade	Faustmann	34 Ford		40.273
FUN	Evan	Dalley	68 Chevy Camaro		33.266

 

Truck Class

	First Name	Last Name	Vehicle	Suspension	Lap Time
TRK	Rockin Rob	McGregor	55 Ford	RideTech triples	33.705
TRK	Mike	Hickman	68 Chevy		33.766
TRK	Spencer	Caudle	53 Chevy		34.908
TRK	Kevin	Bapst	68 Chevy	RideTech air suspension	35.133
TRK	Dave	Gould	55 Chevy		37.45
TRK	Mike	Vanert	65 Chevy El Camino		38.907
TRK	Nick	Weber	46 Chevy PU		39.824

 
 

One Lap Camaro

 
One of the first customers to try out the new triples was James Shipka and Mary Pozzi, who drove the \ Optima Batteries 67 Camaro in the One Lap of America race in May, where they won their class. Since May, Mary has finished her own car [with RideTech single adjustable coilovers] and brought it to the midwest to compete in a few of the larger track day events. Both Mary Pozzi and James Shipka competed with 33 other cars in the Heidt’s Performance Car Challenge last weekend at AutoBahn Country Club in Chicago. Here are those results:

Name	Car#	Suspension	QA1 Road rally	Heidts Road course	Nitto Autocross	Wilwood Wilstop	Grand Total	Overall Rank
Mark Steilow	44		5	25	22	25	77	1
Mary Pozzi	37	RideTech singles	5	20	25	22	72	2
James Shipka	36	RideTech triples	5	22	20	20	67	3
Mark Greenisen	51	RideTech singles	5	18	11	16	50	4
Matthew Altamore	48	RideTech singles	5	14	16	8	43	5
Chris Jacobs	21		5	11	14	13	43	6
Randy Johnson	29	RideTech TigerCage	5	10	13	14	42	7
Karl Dunn	22		5	15	15	2	37	8
Jeff Schwartz	46		5	16	10	0	31	9
Greg Schneider	31	RideTech ShockWaves	0	4	12	15	31	10
Bill Herder	24		5	0	7	18	30	11
Vaughn West	27	RideTech singles	5	8	9	6	28	12
Kurt Ukasik	43	RideTech singles	5	2	6	12	25	13
William Sonichsen	28		0	0	18	5	23	14
Jeff VanBuren	41		5	12	2	4	23	15
Bret Voelkel	30	RideTech triples	0	13	0	10	23	16
Daniel Long	42		5	0	5	9	19	17
James Nilsen	23		5	6	8	0	19	18
Ed Hazelwood	68		5	5	0	7	17	19
Scott Parkhurst	32		5	0	0	11	16	20
Todd Longfellow	26		5	7	0	0	12	21
Paul Mulligan	35		5	1	3	1	10	22
Albert Melchior	53	RideTech triples	0	9	0	0	9	23
Jim Stehlin	39		5	0	4	0	9	24
Mark Golovin	34		5	3	0	0	8	25
Joseph Cascio	49		5	0	1	0	6	26
Brian Davis	47		5	0	0	0	5	27
Mark Gizzie	38		5	0	0	0	5	28
Scott Maki	40		5	0	0	0	5	29
Kevin Miller	50	RideTech triples	5	0	0	0	5	30
Greg Davidson	45		0	0	0	0	0	31
Kenny Brown	69		0	0	0	0	0	32
Matthew Duque	54		0	0	0	0	0	33

 
 

The TruTurn

 
In addition to the radical success that the new RideTech coilovers has generated, we have debuted the new Tru Turn steering system for the 67-69 Camaro and 68-74 Nova front suspensions. This simple product is a landmark for hotrodders who wants to use a large 275mm wide tire on the front of their OEM front subframe. The Tru Turn system also resolves all the unsavory geometry that was inherent in those oem suspensions.

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What is it?

The Tru Turn system is an upgraded steering system that includes the following:

• 1. Spindles – taller overall to improve the camber gain and a raised spindle pin to lower your car by 2″
• 2. Steering Arms – designed to correct bumpsteer AND allow clearance for up to a 10″ wide wheel with a 5.75″ backspacing.
• 3. Draglink bracket – bolts onto your oem draglink to relocate the inner tierod end to minimize bumpsteer
• 4. Tie Rod Assemblies – integrates with your new steering arms and centerlink to provide a tru “no fab” bolt on steering system.

What will this system do?

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The early Camaro/Nova front-ends have very poor suspension geometry…the tires lean outward around turns, the bumpsteer is bad, and there is little room to run a wide wheel because of the oem steering arm interference with the inside of the wheel. The Tru Turn system resolves ALL these issues…the tires now lean INTO the turn, the bumpsteer is UNDER .050″ through 5″ of suspension travel, and you now have clearance to run up to a 10″ wide wheel with a 275mm tire!

 

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Of course, all summer we have proceeded to beat the hell out of our beloved 48 Hour Camaro project. To catch you all up, here is the schedule that the Camaro has kept since its birth on May 18th, 2011:

May 16-18	48 Hour Camaro build up	Jasper, In
May 19-22	Nashville Goodguys Autocross	Nashville, Tn
May 27-29	Run to Music City	Nashville, Tn.
June 3-10	Hotrod Power Tour	Florida to Michigan
June 17-19	Motorstate Challenge	Waterlievet, Mi
July 3	10/10ths track day	Putnam Park, In.
July 8-10	Goodguys autocross	Columbus, Oh
July 15-17	Heidt’s Performance car Challenge	Joliet, Il

 
 

Thoughts on the 48 Hour Camaro

 
I LOVE this Camaro! It is better in nearly every category than Velocity…and THAT was a great car!

Anytime you beat on a car like this you will have wear, tear, and breakage. To pretend otherwise would be an insult to hotrodders who know better. I told everyone from the start that I was going to tell it all…good, bad, or indifferent.

Probably the biggest issue we’ve had with the car is keeping the transmission in it. I LOVE the Muncie / GearVendors combination…it’s almost an unfair advantage on the autocross and road course. On the autocross I can choose between 1st gear and 1st/overdrive to have the best overall gear ratio. On the road course, instead of shifting gears all the time, I can usually toggle between 3rd direct and 3rd overdrive to keep the engine in its optimum powerband. The problem is that the Muncie does not seem to like me as much as I like it. The first 2 failures involved stripping the teeth off of 3rd gear. The third failure just lunched first gear and cracked the case. These units are routinely behind 800hp drag racing vehicles and survive just fine. It seems when you throw 20-30 minutes of high speed running along with full power down shifting, they just weren’t designed to handle that…yet. AutoGear Equipment has stepped up like the true and honest hotrodders that they are and said…”give us some timeto sort this problem out.” In the meantime we are prepping a Tex Racing T101A with the gearvendors unit. The Tex trans is a clutchless 4 speed righ out of a NASCAR…600 hp with all kinds of shifting won’t ruffle its feathers at all. I have one of these in my Mustang and it is one badass unit! Can’t wait!

We also changed the cam in the engine. The Lingenfelter engine made 614hp on the dyno, but since it was a stock displacement, it was relatively low on torque at 480. I wanted something with some more low end power so we changed to the Lingenfelter GT11 cam that they have dynode at 570 hp and 580 torque. Much nicer! Now it drives like my new Z06 instead of my old tunnel ram Chevelle!

Since we were on a compressed build time we didn’t get a chance to install the power steering cooler that I knew we would need before the first big track event in Nashville. Should have known better. Luckily Kyle Tucker had a spare reservoir that we installed and went on our way. The power steering cooler is now installed.

At Putnam Park a couple weeks ago I had a nylock nut get loose and fall off an upper 4 link bar. That was fun. I’d never seen that happen before. Luckily when the bolt got halfway out it bent and wedged itself between the heim end and the bracket. The result was a really sloppy rear suspension and some tire rub on the right handers… but nothing more dramatic.

Then there was the spike through the rear tire thing on the way home from Nashville… and the Gear Vendor unit being murdered by our mis-measured couple clearance…and the fuel tank vents that I still need to install…and the ipod module that died on the Power Tour. You know…everyday stuff that everyone puts up with.

So, what’s next for the 48 Hour Camaro? Well…its off to the Sand Hills Open Road Challenge. I’ve never done one of these Open Road races before, and frankly, I’m not sure I’m ready for it. It has, however, inspired me to install a fire suppression system in the car and order a fire suit. Both have been needed for quite some time, and I’ve procrastinated too long. I’ve convinced my wife that I’ll never need either…and lied to myself about this still being a "regular" street car.

I’ll do another update after the Sandhills race in August….I’m sure I’ll have all kinds of cool stuff to report then!