Richard,
I know this “stuff” drives you nuts, and right around happy hour too, but the thing is, when I read threads like this I think about the age-old question, one that I never asked myself from the onset, of how is the car "actually" going to be driven and what can the driver tolerate, or compromise on, in terms of chassis setup for what ever percentage the driver actually uses the car between both street & track (I would say the same logic would apply to engine building aswell). Also, you really can’t have a dual purpose all-in-1 track/street car. Not really. In a nutshell it just doesn’t work as the two setups are obviously at odds. That is just my limited opinion. What works on the street takes away from the track and vice versa.
However, one could have another set of dampers and springs pre-set to ride height via corner scaled, pre-determine basic chassis settings, along with your track wheels (track engine & gearset,
), so one could do a simple basic starting point changeover from street to track, and try to have the best of both worlds. This would be my all-in-1 car approach.
I think it is important here to keep in mind that unless the car is a committed, what did you call it…. “a non ground effect pure mechanical grip piece” ( I love that definition ) track car, then some concessions have to be made in both discussion and recommendations, otherwise, one will chase their tail to some degree.
I am learning a lot about the my JBL via driving the FFR spec racer. The spec is a committed single purpose-built track car and, although quirky, there are some aspects that work very well, surprisingly, for a “cobra”. No question, the bossJBL is a bad ass track car, but to really make it sing on the track, I would end up loosing my street car drivability and trashing the body over time, unfortunately. So presently I am trying to get the JBL to drive on the street as well as the spec car drives on the track, if that makes any sense. The JBL is, and has always been, more of a prototype to me that I just can’t seem to stop dick’n with. Oh yes, 4400 miles later, I do love driving it and the more I tweak it, the better it drives. Currently, it’s awesome to drive except for the steering ratio but that is more a personal preference.
So, to sum this up in understandable terms; what comes to mind regarding threads like this? Two, actually three things come to mind:
1. If you want to track & race your cobra, and drive on the street, you need two cobras; a spec racer (for the NASA Challenge Series), or a committed NAPMGP-track vehicle preferably a JBL, and your favorite street cobra ….. take your pick.
2. If I were to do it all again, I would build a JBL for the track, committed, the way you designed the car, and build a nice FFR street car with cup holders and a luggage rack for overnighters.
3. If I were really nuts, I’d keep the spec and the bossJBL, and build another JBL for time-trials.
Good times Richard and talk soon, John
PS, I have had the JBL backwards twice and I must say it was the smoothest flattest spin I've ever experienced.
