Hi.

[t walgamuth]

So ran yesterday at Portage HIgh school parking lot. It was a slippery and sometimes wet asphalt surface which has been sealed numerous times. Wildly in appropriate for the Cobra. If I let off the gas quickly it was like I had just hit the rear brakes only and the back wanted to come around. The track dried as the day progressed. As I got more aggressive the handling got trickier and trickier. I spun 4 times in nearly the same place. I think I was getting the brake pedal just as I wanted to hit the throttle to plant the rear and accelerate to the next corner. Embarrasing. the car did look and sound great though!

I think I'm gonna put in a whole new pedal cluster. This is not a car you want to be hitting the wrong pedal on. The carb worked fine but needed to be very very warm before it really acted right. It needs to show about 200 degrees to work right.

It was a bit frustrating but nothing broke or fell off and I did not do any damage to the car or myself so it was a good day!

[Gaz64]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

So ran yesterday at Portage HIgh school parking lot. It was a slippery and sometimes wet asphalt surface which has been sealed numerous times. Wildly in appropriate for the Cobra. If I let off the gas quickly it was like I had just hit the rear brakes only and the back wanted to come around. The track dried as the day progressed. As I got more aggressive the handling got trickier and trickier. I spun 4 times in nearly the same place. I think I was getting the brake pedal just as I wanted to hit the throttle to plant the rear and accelerate to the next corner. Embarrasing. the car did look and sound great though!

I think I'm gonna put in a whole new pedal cluster. This is not a car you want to be hitting the wrong pedal on. The carb worked fine but needed to be very very warm before it really acted right. It needs to show about 200 degrees to work right.

It was a bit frustrating but nothing broke or fell off and I did not do any damage to the car or myself so it was a good day!

That could mean you are lean, and leaving power on the table.

Get some better management on inlet air to the carbs, and then they might need to go a bit richer.

[1795]

When you, or others, race in an autocross do you bring the car up to temp before doing the race? In road racing we sit on the grid mildly revving our engines until they reach temp prior to going out on the track. I would imagine that you would want the engine temp up prior to getting on the throttle. Engines tend to wear prematurely when the oil is not warm and throttle response may improve as well in a warm engine.

Half the fun of racing is sorting things out between sessions and between races. It is tough racing a cobra on a wet track that has been sealed. When I was at Mid Ohio you could tell the difference on the wet track between the areas that were sealed and the sections that were not. A lot more grip where there is no sealer or paint on a wet track. At least in road racing we have a little more room to change the line, you do not get that much room in autocross.

Jim

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by 1795

When you, or others, race in an autocross do you bring the car up to temp before doing the race? In road racing we sit on the grid mildly revving our engines until they reach temp prior to going out on the track. I would imagine that you would want the engine temp up prior to getting on the throttle. Engines tend to wear prematurely when the oil is not warm and throttle response may improve as well in a warm engine.

Half the fun of racing is sorting things out between sessions and between races. It is tough racing a cobra on a wet track that has been sealed. When I was at Mid Ohio you could tell the difference on the wet track between the areas that were sealed and the sections that were not. A lot more grip where there is no sealer or paint on a wet track. At least in road racing we have a little more room to change the line, you do not get that much room in autocross.

Jim

I got it up to about 180 prior to running but it topped out at about 205. I wouldn't whale on it if too cold. Yeah, there is not a lot of choices on the line. This course was particularly narrow and tight too. Good for little cars with experienced drivers, bad for high powered cars with old drivers not very familiar with their cars.

[t walgamuth]

Originally Posted by Gaz64

That could mean you are lean, and leaving power on the table.

Get some better management on inlet air to the carbs, and then they might need to go a bit richer.

could you be more specific about what is meant by inlet air managment please?

[Gaz64]

If the engine temp needs to get to 200 before it feels "right", then the inlet air temp has also climbed in proportion if you are breathing underhood air.

One of my cars used to "heatsoak" and the inlet air temp would skyrocket to about 60c (140f). Sealing the carbs off to breath only outside air sorted that.

I also run a large rectangular type airfilter, since all 8 are not breathing at once, so the airfilter is way big enough.

Gary