Resurrection: 1998 Belgian Procar - Thierry Tassin ELR/Honda/Foss-Tech #7 race car

[Outrun]

I'm amazed at all this. Half the stuff is over my head and looks intimidating. You should do a video series.

[Rboosted717]

Per usual, your updates do not disappoint.

Thanks for the support, it's been a crazy few months but finally I was able to make some progress.

That sequential trans . And paddle shifters too. Jeebus, that's just insane and awesome. So much love for the OG B18C5/6

Your cars, their story, and where your taking them are easily my favorite "Type R" thing on the internet nowadays

Thank you for the support, it's pretty wild having a sequential. The dog box was great but the sequential with mechanical linkage is next level stuff. The pneumatic shifting will be out of the world and is the same system you'll find on modern day Pro Endurance cars. I haven't used the paddles yet as I still need to make the wiring harness to connect everything. That should hopefully be done in the next month or two. Also more cool stuff coming down the pipeline (such remote live streaming of data while on track and livery updates).

We will have to get a video soon.

Absolutely. It's hard to video the shifting because to really get the effect you need to shift it at high rpms. Doing it in the parking lot isn't an option because of the long 1st and 2nd gears. I do have a video on the dyno but it's just a single gear pull. I ran out of gas (stupid...I know) right before I was going to try the high rpm shifts. Maybe this coming weekend?

I always enjoy reading the updates in these threads.

Thank you, it's a lot work to get all this documented but I enjoy doing it for the community. I wish more historic ITR race cars were properly documented (if those cars even exist... unlikely).

I'm amazed at all this. Half the stuff is over my head and looks intimidating. You should do a video series.

Thanks! It definitely can get complicated at times but nothing too overwhelming. I love engineering, motorsport technology, data analytics, research and doing intricate work, so all this is a total blast. A video series, hmm... I've never really thought about that or thought people would want to watch me talk about all this stuff. Heck at times I doubt people even read what I type. I'll definitely give it some consideration and I'm sure making/editing videos is a lot more involved then writing commentary.

[Chase_acura]

Can't wait to see the new one at expo! I'll be driving to CA in the NSX

[coolhandluke]

Can't wait to see the new one at expo! I'll be driving to CA in the NSX

If needed, a spot to crash could be provided.

[Willard]

wow
Thanks for sharing.

[PrinceAli132]

Thanks! It definitely can get complicated at times but nothing too overwhelming. I love engineering, motorsport technology, data analytics, research and doing intricate work, so all this is a total blast. A video series, hmm... I've never really thought about that or thought people would want to watch me talk about all this stuff. Heck at times I doubt people even read what I type. I'll definitely give it some consideration and I'm sure making/editing videos is a lot more involved then writing commentary.

I'm sure I speak for many but we def read every word of your updates. Really appreciate you taking the time to include us on your journey.

[Rboosted717]

Thanks! It definitely can get complicated at times but nothing too overwhelming. I love engineering, motorsport technology, data analytics, research and doing intricate work, so all this is a total blast. A video series, hmm... I've never really thought about that or thought people would want to watch me talk about all this stuff. Heck at times I doubt people even read what I type. I'll definitely give it some consideration and I'm sure making/editing videos is a lot more involved then writing commentary.

I'm sure I speak for many but we def read every word of your updates. Really appreciate you taking the time to include us on your journey.

I'll try to keep the typos to a minimum.

[Rboosted717]

I updated the initial post with some new progress timeline updates, but here's a quick summary (with pictures!)

New wiper cowl
The old wiper cowl was pretty beat up and had duct/racer tape attaching it to the windshield. Plus the battery cutoff button was relocated from the passenger side to the driver side. During Belgian Procar series, both the fire suppression system and battery cutoff buttons were located on the passenger side. While in Portugal, the battery cutoff was relocated to the driver side. The cowl was original and had duct/racer tape covering the old hole, had a small crack in the plastic and like OE, it pulled in air from the engine bay for the interior blower. I decided to replace the cowl with a new unit, however, because the OE cowls are on the pricey side (including shipping), I decided to replace it with a carbon fiber version. :Bling bling: The carbon version isn't materially lighter, however, it doesn't pull air in from the engine bay (instead the blower will pull air from the vender area), and its' roughly the same price as OE.

OLD


NEW


New battery cutoff sticker
The battery cutoff sticker needed to be relocated to the passenger side since I move the button (see above). Sounds silly but also the sticker design wasn't original to the Belgian Procar design. After much searching, I found an FIA shop in Europe that sent me a six pack of the correct sticker design. Replacing the fire suppression sticker will be next. Details...details...details

OLD - Circa Portugal 1999


OLD - Circa Belgian Procar Series 1998



NEW



New Rear Pads and Rotors
I finally got around to swapping out the old and warped pads/rotors with original Honda Racing Europe specifications (the same compound/setup the car used in the 1998 Procar series under ELR/Honda Racing Europe). The pads are modified Pagid RS4-2's with standard OE spec rotors. The pad compound was thoroughly tested by Honda to minimize lockup and handle endurance applications. Unfortunately this compound is not available for ITR setups so Honda Motorsport created a CAD file/drawing to modify the pad shape accordingly. Jack Myers of Myers Competition Manifolds (good friend and sponsor of the Lawrencebuilt all-motor drag car) was kind enough to do the modifications for me. His work is always top notch and he absolutely exceeded my expectations. I plan on having him make a new exhaust manifold for this car once we get more data from the dyno and track.





Underside inspection & Conley ITR Expo Modeling
This is from last weekend but Mr. Ryan Conley came down to hang out and check on the cars progress and the new lift. I'm excited to announce that I'll be bring both race cars to the West Coast Expo at Thunderhill.





And I've mentioned it before but we have a lot of Type R customers and do a lot of Type R work. Since the very beginning (circa 1997/1998) we've been a big supporter of the local Type R community. From dyno days, NorCAL ITRCA gatherings, AutoX events at the old 3com park & Marina. We also likely have the largest Type R dyno database in the world with at least 250+ unique Type R's being dyno'd and/or tuned.


Random underside pictures of various modifications

Fuel pump setup
With the steel and carbon/kevar protection plates removed, the elaborate fuel pumps, fuel filters and inflow/outflow plumbing is exposed. I don't believe this pump setup/plumbing is original to the 1998 Belgian Procar series. I'm waiting from Marc at ELR to confirm. However, the fuel bladder does has provisions for twin internal pumps so I think these modifications were done while in Portugal (for unknown reasons).


Modified Rear Trailing Arm
Gusset of the arm with internal bracing and reinforced spindle mount. Also you'll notice the ELR/Foss-Tech spherical compliance bushing (circa 1998).


Modified rear lower control arm attachment points & gusset reinforcement, 3pc anti-roll bar links
Under FIA rules, you were able to modify the factory suspension pickup points by no more then 20mm. To improve the roll-center of suspension and to maximize the handling with ultra sticky racing slicks and upwards of 6-8 degrees of negative camber. Also you'll notice the gusseting of the lower arm and factory style attachment point for the 3pc anti-roll bar. The yellow race car uses a 3pc Mardi Gras Racing design where the adjustable blade style arms attach near the upper camber arm attachment point for maximum effectiveness. This car uses a ELR/Foss-Tech design that relied on various diameter & thickness center and blade bars, and also by using a heavily modified chassis.


Rear air jack supports
You don't see this every day... Built into the heavily modified chassis are integrated air jacks with sealed gusseting. Also you'll notice some of the custom (hard) fuel line plumbing.


This side had one of the gusset seals punctured (which I'll be fixing), however this picture shows how Foss-Tech integrated the airjacks while minimizing the impact on aerodynamics.



Rear 3pc anti-roll bar
The ELR/Foss-Tech 3pc anti-roll bar. I have box full of varying center bar diameters, wall thickness and arm/blade designs. Also you'll notice the driver side fuel drain that started to leak and the 2.75" PSI Motorsport exhaust.


Front underside
I left this picture in a large format so you can see all the little details such as the highly unique 3pc ELR/Foss-Tech front anti-roll bar. This bar attached to the subframe using custom mounts. It's highly effective and like the rear I have a box full of varying diameters, wall thickness and arm/blade designs. I've been told that using this type of bar (or a large front bar) is desired when using very high amounts of negative camber (6+ degress) and when using real racing slicks on high speed tracks. The yellow race car used this exact same front bar setup but was removed during the Speedvision/SPEED Channel World Challenge because of the lower speed tracks and poor spec tire/size. I'll probably add it back to the yellow car at some point.
It's hard to see but you'll also notice the modified lower arm attachment points (20mm variance), spherical arm bushings & compliance bushing (circa 1998), solid anti-roll bar attachment points, brake ducting, custom crank position sensor (using a modified & balanced OE ITR pulley), front (flush) air jack openings, modified OE oil pan, the new Toda style header I'm testing, and the new sequential gear box w/ custom case. The oil residue you see (on the oil pan and drive side motor/subframe) is from the failed power steering pump.


Interior shots
Nothing specific but I did some dusting/cleaning that really made the interior pop (still need to do the doors and rear side carbon).

[coolhandluke]

I always marvel at the engineering tidbits of this car.

[Outrun]

Will you be running both at Thunderhill? Would be cool to see lap times and your debrief on how both cars handle and how they compare with each other.