Cobra Safety and HP

[Excaliber]

Hate T. Leary,,,,,love LSD's! LOL

Ernie

[Fred Douglass]

...I had the opportunity (while tooling around California in the just-purchased Barsamian Butler) to explore the limits of me and the car in a very safe venue. I discovered a huge parking-lot right after a rain shower (somewhere north of S. Barbara). With an eye on the oil pressure, of course, I did full-lock circles left and right. I noticed the O/P did drop rapidly (gotta look into a better baffled pan)---but I noticed the Butler "let go" progressively. It just increased the radius of the circle without much twitching, imbalance or spinning out. Remarkable---it IS a "mid-engined car" with ME aboard!

THEN (and now the story gets sad)---I followed Wilf's suggestion yesterday. I took about three squares of blotter acid. Got in the closest vehicle. Fired her up---spun twice while the world turned khaki and angular....massive bird-critters with yoomin faces blocked out the sun.....trees began to bleed (probably because I was hitting them)! Amazing crop-circle thingies appeared behind me! Luckily, I did not roll this vehicle, and probably didn't exceed 4 mph. It began to emit horrifying screeching noises, and I dismounted (okay, I fell off). Huge pancake-like objects began to fall from the sky with lights flashing behind them....

The next morning, the nurse said I had visitors... OF COURSE I dove under the bed! Wooden shoue? Turned out it was my neighbor--said the repair estimates on the ride-on mower made it a "total" and his wife was REALLY pissed about their cat...

Hey, THANKS Wilf-----LSD and driving----Great Idea!

[Bluedog]

Richard, you have JBLmotorsports.com Email!

Bluedog

[Pete C]

Fred, That's the beauty of it, you just thought you spun, much safer that way! Maybe ol Tim was on to something?!

Cheers, Pete C

[KobraKarl]

Brent,

Just readin the posts , you know, we sound pretty funny sometimes (myself included) trying to make sense out of these domesticated rockets. How much wheel spin is apropriate? at what speed is wheel spin dangerous, are sticky tires really safer or do they only help us closer to a dangerous edge of the envelope.........300 bhp is a bat out of hell .....500.....still seems a little shy?

I dont mean to ramble And i'll be the last one to preach, but I think its pretty obvious that one of the fastest production race car ever built really has no common sense place on the street .......and all of us who do it, must do it at our own peril........when we decide to exploit the ripping power of these machines, (and you know we do...even you Evan) after we have decided the kids, cops, and other cars or obstacles are clear, .....well I dont really have to say any thing else do I?

I know Ive learned a lot of respect for these cars by scaring the living crap out my self!........here is a couple,

Never.........NEVER.. spin the wheels unless you are going dead straight, or 1 mph.

If your rear starts to come around on you at speed do NOT lift abruptly ....drive out of it instead.

I dont run a tire any softer than a TA radial , ...I want a chance to get it back.

These things GO a hell of a lot faster than they stop....be ready.

If you get a wheel in the dirt,... drive out , dont turn out.

just a couple things i keep in my mind......how bout you guys.......

KK

[Richard Hudgins]

Originally posted by Bluedog


Richard, you have JBLmotorsports.com Email!

Bluedog

Bluedog,

Where did you send this email?

If it went to JBL (aol account) It will not get to me.

That is JBL Daves address.

He will forward to me in a few days. (He is really bad at sending me these things.)

Try my proper address if the message is important.

[Bluedog]

Yup, it went to your Aol address. You know have cobra Email.

Bluedog

[wilf leek]

Richard - I think you make a valid point about the degree of "lock" across a limited slip diff.

What I see here in the UK, where jaguar rear ends are almost the "norm", is that folk take that diff out of a 5000lb jaguar and fit it unmodified into their 2250lb Cobra.
The slip characterisitics dialled into that diff from the factory are for that heavy, long wheelbase Jaguar XJS or whatever, not a Cobra.

Those that know, realise that you can play around with the clutch packs in the diff to get reductions of 30 or 60% in locking action, just by rearranging the driven/driving plates. Also, more fine tuning can be done by changing the belville washers which provide the spring clamping action.

So I guess that if I were to finesse my point, it is that LSD with too little "slip" is not a good fit with the Cobra, and WILL make it a tougher car to control.

Craig - how does your car feel on the street with that locked spool rear end?

[750hp]

Wilf - I'll let you know, as soon as our wonderful Department of Transport get their paperwork sorted out.

1. Obtain engineer's certificate.
2. Apply for VIN number
3. Wait for VIN, then apply for exemption from specific Aust Design Rules
4 Wait for approval for exemption.
5. Have vehicle inspected by a mechanic for "Roadworthiness" (never mind the mechanical engineer's inspection...)
6. Obtain vehicle registration after having Dept Transport verify the engine number (never mind the fact that engineer AND mechanic both check it)

This can take up to one month to get through this process!!!!!

Spool on the street - while I had my car at the racetrack last week, I drove around the empty pits a fair bit at nothing more than 30mph. I also took the car to the end of my street, just to let the neighbours know that my project was nearly finished. In that time, the tyres never chirped or carried on. You can feel the resistance as you turn the car at low speeds. In fact, it's nearly impossible to push the car if the wheels are pointed anything but straight ahead. Let there be no doubt that the loads placed on the transmission and axles feel as though they are transferred through the rest of the car during 5 to 20 mph corners, but to drive the car on a 90 mile journey to the beach and back, the only time I'd notice the spool is when I reverse park the car into a parking spot. At highway speeds you'd never know there was a spool in the car.

My other car (3800lb Falcon with 460 big block) has had a 31 spline full spool in it for many years now, and I'd never consider putting anything else in it.

[Fred Douglass]

Good'un!
I LIKE those chemically-assisted Zen spin-outs! By the way, Five Islands is gittin ready. Ed Combs is comin' East too. SHow them Oh-hah lunkers what they're missin'!
In actuality, disregard the Tall TAle---never touch that chemical stuff---'cept for Bombay Sapphire or Mount-Alternative-Liferstyle Rum. Boy, there was a time when my blood tested out to -60F!
We're puttin' the old Cleveland in the neighbor's lawnmower---if it winds up the way a Cleveland should--well, we should show up on West-coast PAVE-PAWS!!! Keep an eye out fer us!
I tried to give my body to medicine this morning. CUTE nurse! You betcha. She declined politely and said it had to be "post-mortem"----'zat mean I gotta MAIL myself to the hospital?!?....h-m-m-m.

Sooner,

[KobraKarl]

Freddie ,

Shes jus tellin ya ....."she's to die for "

[wilf leek]

Freddie - thank you as always for your contribution.
May I have a translation?

[Excaliber]

,,,,,I need a translation too,,,,,,LOL

Ernie

[RallySnake]

Richard,

Before this topic becomes history, I want to thank you for sharing your perspective on our fantasy machines. In 17 years of driving my beast, I have had some serious mishaps with only 400 hp and often wondered if I would still be ALIVE if I had built more power.

Yet, the itch is there to build a bigger engine. Logically, I know I can rarely push the pedal all the way to the floor now. If I do, the speedo is suddenly over 100. Unlike many of the comments I read about here, NOBODY wants to race me. The sidepipe noise must be intimidating? The car is reliable for long distance events and never overheats. I also know that more power would mean more broken driveline components.

Your noteworthy advice has changed my goal of building a bigger engine.

Thank you,
Paul

[RallySnake]

Fred,

Aren't parking lots great! I enjoyed your story. I test my car this way all the time but have not achieved the balance that you have. And then, I add my 245 pound Navigator and the whole balance changes!?!


Wilf,

Your inputs on the drawbacks of LSD are thought provoking.
Having lived in your country for a number of years, the constant struggle for traction on the semi-wet roads makes an open diff a good idea. In the much dryer climate of SoCal, it is easier to deal with a tight LSD, even though one's guard must always be up for oversteer. Generally wider roads helps in this respect also.

Paul

[Fred Douglass]

Karl, you win the Gold Medal for the clever response this round buddie!
Wilf: see "Ernie" below.....
Ernie: see "Wilf" above*

* see what LSD does??
Wilf: LSD is also known as "ACID" and it can really, really, permanently short-circuit yer haid! I was just joking, in the previous post---I NEVER touched that stuff....if I remember correctly!
Paul: God! I love Kalifornica! About three acres of tar---no light posts. Turns out I didn't have my 300-lb. Armenian lawyer aboard--he was back in Fresno crying (more likely laughin') into his pillow. The BUTTler has weenies (245s?) on the front, but the 275s give me a full 9" in the rear (sounds like a prison memoir doesn't it?). The real trick was a "wowser" of a negative camber setting on the front---looks like 15 degrees from my yahd!

You could feel the front "hunting" a bit, but I couldn't get it to really slide out---except by boosting the throttle. Brett Butler predicted this and told me UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES change from the MGB front. THe Old Man used a pry-bar to demonstrate the unwanted flexibility of (another brand).

Anyway, youse guys ALWAYS add to my stinkin' posts---I LOOVE it. Ernie--remember---the pool house! Let'ds get crackin"

[Mr.Fixit]

Without LSD there would be no good burnouts.

[Edley Rondinone]

Paul, are you near CSUN? Sometimes I cruise around the Valley on weekends; let's meet for lunch!

[Chaplin]

Without LSD there would be no good burnouts.

Now that's funny.

[Pete C]

Fix it,

Very clever!

Cheers, Pete C