G/F class lakester in Wichita, Kansas

[Stainless1]

Mountain States Automation... Racing division... That motor was in a Blown Alcohol RED... That thing was a little more expensive to operate than the 1 liter Lakester.... even if you factor in the failures attributed to over use of N20....      

[ggl205]

After watching an Ultrachiller cool shirt work at Speed Week (Bockscar), I though this the perfect addition to my lakester. It is a simple device and all parts save the shirt and submersible pump, can be sourced from Home Depot or some other big box store like it. The only real problem, at least for me, was finding correct poly tubing connectors. I settled on 5/16? and had to order the T and one 90 degree elbow from the UK. Thank goodness for free freight. So, other than waiting for a couple of fittings from overseas, the chiller part is done. Ultra chiller sells just the cool shirt for $100 so the whole mess set me back about $150. That beats $600 by a bunch.

Now, I haven?t tested it yet So it may not work but all components are duplicates of an Ultrachiller. I want this system to mount in car so additional water lines have to be installed. Depending on whether I use insulated lines from chiller to driver or just regular poly tubing remains to be seen. Insulated is best but expensive.

Hope this works because with money saved, I can get a much needed GPS Speedo.

John

[Stan Back]

Why do you need a GPS speedometer?

[salt27]

Just like you Stan, he drives it there.   

[ggl205]

Stan:

Originally, I liked the idea of having a GPS speedo for licensing runs but later saw value in it for normal runs as well. I have a shift light but seeing mph at mile markers gives me a better idea on gearing. I use a very reliable gear calculator for time and distance but so many things can interrupt the normal, having mph available will help. This may just be a personal choice but if it helps, then it is a good tool.

John

[salt27]

John, I used GPS when I ran in the 130 club and got a talking to for going 150+.

I had no idea that there was a GPS speed lag, it was showing 138 mph.

That said, it was 2004 and I'm sure that new GPS speedos are much better now and with your intensions it probably doesn't matter anyway.

  Don

[ggl205]

Don:

The GPS speedometer I will be using is an RB Racing unit. Bob custom makes these to order and uses a Garmin 18X 5Hz receiver which refreshes five times per second. That should be fast enough to eliminate any perceived lag (I hope).

John

[Happy Pappy]

Your cell phone makes a pretty good GPS. I downloaded a free app tried it in the roadster it was within 1 MPH of timing slip and may actually be dead nuts on recorded top speed.
I have been using an app called Speedometer 55 GPS Speed & HUD.
Besides it's an easy way to check the speedo/odometer in your truck, car, bike, skateboard, ETC.
Anyway it's free!

I also have an Ultra Chiller. The owner lives near me so I went ahead and supported him and bought one. Yeah full price. I honestly don't think you need the insulated lines. Might consider insulating the Reservoir?
Anyhow, I tossed the AA bat. pack & ran power for the pump to cars 12v with a switch. I switched so I can turn off when I am cool enough & not using up all the ice before I get moving.
I going to try taking a 1 liter water bottle freeze it, cut the bottle off when ready to use. Now I have a chuck of ice that fits right into the Reservoir. Got to be better than pieces of ice & easier to store.

Chris

[ggl205]

Chris:

I thought about using my cell phone as GPS speedo, several racers do. Not exactly sure why but I like the looks of a dedicated gauge. Also, I will have three or four warning lights on the same GPS gauge mount. RB racing uses a single large bolt to secure the gauge so I do not have to use a 4? hole saw on the mount bracket.

Yep, I am going to insulate the reservoir. Sound advice. And yes to wiring this unit into a switched 12v fused relay. Also sound advice.

John

[Stainless1]

Hey John, firesleeve makes a pretty good insulator... in and out could be in the same piece... I might have the right size... come look Tuesday....  should be installing my Landrum Performance springs if Linda doesn't have re-direction efforts in the plan.

[ggl205]

See you Tuesday, Stainless.

John

[Vonflame]

How is this little Lakester going haven?t had a update in a while

[ggl205]

Unfortunately, I sold the car to a young fellow in Colorado. He has the resources to extract its full potential. It got to be a little though to do on social security (lol).

John

[Lemming Motors]

Hey John
Disappointed to read you moved the lakester on but completely understand the logic. I am back online but only lurking. We relo'ed to NZ last year so some big life changes ate a lot of time; building a house but the planned workshop is contingency budget and that's pretty much blown. I do have space at the rental and am progressing slowly. Increasingly looking like 2025 so that's 7 years for a 3 year project - I think we first went to SpeedWeek in 2016 as spectators and got bitten so 9 years is perhaps a better timeline.

[ggl205]

Howdy, John:

It can be very hard facing reality at times but it became quite clear I was going to have to move the lakester into younger hands. To bad, really, as the car benefitted from a season at Bonneville and wind tunnel time. Both pointed to several changes that would help it get closer to the car?s potential. That said, there are no plans to leave Bonneville entirely. I have three engines, (one 2L turbo, one 2L NA and a semi finished I6 3.0L turbo) one of which I would love to partner with someone with a good car. All in the hands of the Salt Gods, I suppose. Any interested car owners out there?

John