SWD Round2 with FormulaD in Florida!

After Road Atlanta there was something amiss in the rear of the car. I failed to find the problem and it was still making some noise at XDC Orlando. All American got to check it out and repaired what seemed to be wrong. The differential needed new bearings. As if we needed another hurdle, the day before we were set to leave, I saw the windshield was broken right across the middle. We had to pull some luck and get a new one installed 30 minutes before we left for the track. All kinds of last minute fun.

FormulaD and StreetWise Drift teamed up again for another competitive weekend. This time we were at FormulaD’s new stop in sunny Florida. At Palm Beach International Raceway, the FormulaD staff setup a VERY fast and challenging course. Unfortunately, the Pro class had a couple run ins with the outside wall near the spectators and it was deemed far too dangerous. The course was redesigned into a very short, very tight course. Anticipation to drive grew as we watched Thursdays Pro practice session. ProAm would be up first in the morning to try our hand at taming this challenging layout.

I immediately noticed the rear was still making some new noise. Since it had made it the last few rounds, I figured we might get lucky. I made a few quick passes and one misjudged entry had me dropping a tire over the rumble strip and I actually blew out the sidewall on a front tire. I had a spare and threw that on while still rocking my firesuit in the Florida heat! We get back in and 2 runs later it happens…the differential totally ate it and sounded like I had a jackhammer beating on the car.

Towed back to the pits, I had a friend offer an open (stock) differential to use. I find another friend, and ProAm driver Chris Jackson, with a welder. Magic is clicking here in Florida. I took out the broken diff, and we opened, cleaned and welded the spider gears of the stock differential I was given. Only a few short hours of work and the car was ready to go back on track.

 

Qualifying was up next for us, but luckily I was able to run 3 practice laps (I have never driven on a welded differential before). Seemed pretty solid and we went into qualifying. I qualified Top16 and we were feeling good going to the hotel. Unlike Road Atlanta, this round we get to drive out eliminations during the main day for FormulaD!

Saturday we head out for practice and instantly I feel the car is out of control. Everytime I intiate its GREAT, and then as I slow for the transition, the wheel is ripped from my hands and the car goes instantly straight. I fight the car, thinking I’m doing something wrong. After 4 runs I give up and start looking for problems… I find my leading side (passenger) tie rod is bent an extraordinary amount. This is the same side that broke at XDC. Apparently the high angle I was getting was putting so much stress on the rods (with the current alignment) that they bent, causing a severe unstable steering condition.

Again I headed to the pits with a repair needed. I get the car off the ground enough to remove the wheel, and start to lift it up to fit jackstands under it. The next challenge… the heat of the Florida sun melted the glue holding the jacks rubber pad to it. With the weight of the car on it, the pad rips from its home and drops the car on the ground. This weekend is one of the most frustrating I’ve ever faced. Some friends help get the car up and we get a new tie rod installed, align it by eye, and head of for Top16 eliminations. Here is how that went… (@ 4:49)



You can see I have to really wait for the car to grip around the first turn, so the 2nd run I take it easy and then the entry looks weak. I felt the first set of runs could have gone my way, but in the OMT round I got a little to greedy on angle at the exit. Still with Jodin’s major correction on the final run, we could have gone OMT again, but unfortunately the judges gave the win to Jodin.

In between all of the chaos of broken parts and track time, we were involved with the FormulaD Pro paddocks with Exedy! This event Exedy featured the car in the vendor booth during the weekend when possible. This was a HUGE advantage as the ProAm pits were about a 3/4 mile walk and I don't think a single soul made it over there unless part of a crew. The amount of exposure this weekend from being involved in the full weekend on track, and the vendor row off-track, makes this one terrific event!

I have been reviewing videos from previous events and current ones where I have had some trouble. I have noticed a few major differences in the handling just from videos. It seems I have been fighting the car recently and the video reviews put me slightly at ease, as before I thought it was me, not the car. So before SWD Round3, we are totally changing the alignment, tie rod style (now with bumpsteer correction), and hopefully adjust the style a bit. What do you think?