Akina's build

[N2v8fcs]

Kind of a random but did you ever remove the crash bars in the doors?  I had mine apart to do a door handle and was bored so I pulled them both out completely. Was more weight than I anticipated, right at 24lbs both sides



Have any better pics of the door panels you did I was eyeing that today aswell. Seems like you could keep it clean and nice fairly easy

Wow, I had not yet but that was on the list! Was it hard to remove the beams with out damaging the outside paint? are they glued or spot welded? I just don't want to jack up the paint.
I will get some better shots of the panels for you. The way they cover everything I can completely gut the doors and you can't tell. They are .050 aluminum.

I'm interested as well. I want to remove this,but keep my stock door panels.

[Supe]

Car is looking awesome...Window looks legit.

Thanks man

Where are they based out of?  I imagine shipping on one of their windshields is pretty brutal, but I don't have any glass to use as a template anymore.  I'm a bit bummed that the windshields are trim to fit, though. 

They are in MO. I bet its about 100.00 to ship a windshield? jdunham@opticarmorwindows.com  Jim Dunham is the guy to email about it. Trimming is easy especially if you use a router!

$60 shipping from MO, not bad.  Bummed that they don't come with a DIBO option, so I have to do the blackout myself, which is a PITA.  Looks like if I go that route, it will run me about $530 plus my labor for the 1/4" with an OEM curve.  If I make one out of Lexan sheet, the MR10 in 1/4" is $345/4x8 sheet.  I will probably go the optic armor route just for the convenience of not having to track down another windshield to make a template from. 

Side note: 1/4" sucks to work with, but required for SCCA.

Well that sucks they don't have the DIBO, I thought they did when I called the first time  at least its not hard to black out the edges. I went with 1/4" for the windshield as well, still debating on the .093 or the .125 thick rear window from them. Probably going to need reinforcement for either but I am afraid the .093 will distort too much.
I wonder if they would do a group discount if we could get a few of us together? maybe free shipping or something?

If they're willing to, let me know!  I'm not in a huge rush.  Painting the edges isn't bad, but you have to sand the ever living shit out of the coated lexan to make it stick. 

I went with 1/8" for the rear hatch and have plans to run two trusses on the interior of the glass to retain its shape.  Don't want that rear glass moving around too much, it feeds the wing!

[zbrown]

I'm in on a rear window. I'll grab a pic from the doors to explain

[largeorangefont]

Car is looking awesome...Window looks legit.

Thanks man

Where are they based out of?  I imagine shipping on one of their windshields is pretty brutal, but I don't have any glass to use as a template anymore.  I'm a bit bummed that the windshields are trim to fit, though. 

They are in MO. I bet its about 100.00 to ship a windshield? jdunham@opticarmorwindows.com  Jim Dunham is the guy to email about it. Trimming is easy especially if you use a router!

$60 shipping from MO, not bad.  Bummed that they don't come with a DIBO option, so I have to do the blackout myself, which is a PITA.  Looks like if I go that route, it will run me about $530 plus my labor for the 1/4" with an OEM curve.  If I make one out of Lexan sheet, the MR10 in 1/4" is $345/4x8 sheet.  I will probably go the optic armor route just for the convenience of not having to track down another windshield to make a template from. 

Side note: 1/4" sucks to work with, but required for SCCA.

Well that sucks they don't have the DIBO, I thought they did when I called the first time  at least its not hard to black out the edges. I went with 1/4" for the windshield as well, still debating on the .093 or the .125 thick rear window from them. Probably going to need reinforcement for either but I am afraid the .093 will distort too much.
I wonder if they would do a group discount if we could get a few of us together? maybe free shipping or something?

If they're willing to, let me know!  I'm not in a huge rush.  Painting the edges isn't bad, but you have to sand the ever living shit out of the coated lexan to make it stick. 

I went with 1/8" for the rear hatch and have plans to run two trusses on the interior of the glass to retain its shape.  Don't want that rear glass moving around too much, it feeds the wing!

Use Lexan paint for RC cars. It will stick to the back of polycarbonate and lexan Windows.

[N2v8fcs]

I'll grab a pic from the doors to explain

OK great!

[zbrown]

A guy could cut most the framework of the bar with a dremel and leave some with all the spot welds, would be a pita though for sure.

It was quick and very clean to remove the spot welds. I just used a small pilot and a 5/16 bit.  Just be careful and you will even touch the exterior panel with a bit.

I just need some small button plugs,I don't have any yet

Cut the bar in half before you drill the spot welds.

[1320king]

any more pics zack?

[N2v8fcs]

A guy could cut most the framework of the bar with a dremel and leave some with all the spot welds, would be a pita though for sure.

It was quick and very clean to remove the spot welds. I just used a small pilot and a 5/16 bit.  Just be careful and you will even touch the exterior panel with a bit.

I just need some small button plugs,I don't have any yet

Cut the bar in half before you drill the spot welds.



Thanks Zack

[zbrown]

any more pics zack?

Unbolt and remove door catch from door, remove window and unbolt regulator so it is loose in the door

3/4 the way back on the door access hole cut the crash bar in half (door panels back on so no pics)

On the rear of the door there are 6 spot welds on the one flange, and 3 on the other flange, you can see them clearly in the steel.

Don't drill all the way through the actual crash bar, there is no need to, the spot welds will pop before you do and then no chance of hitting the outer panel.




The front has the same 6 spot welds on the same flange. And 2 on the other flange.  To drill the 2 you would have to remove the door, I wasn't doing that. So I used a dremel to cut the small 1" wide flange in the door




Cut here



Slide the front portion of the bar out first. Rear second. I trimmed the hole slightly larger

[1320king]

Wow you made that job super easy for me.... I was about to start hacking everything away hahaha

[AKINA FC]

We'll things keep getting better and more problems arise. Finished out the season in third over all, not to bad considering I missed out on the first half if the season. Solved my brake issues by adjusting the balance bar for the pedals better and switching to Castrol SRF fluid, pedal is awesome and consistent again, time to build up the confidence level!
Fixed my throttle pedal issues I was having by increasing the throttle pedal throw by extending the arm on the switch, much better modulation versus a on off feeling.
Suspension is another story you can definetely tell the dampers are way wrong and need valved correctly, the car bottoms out under acceleraton out of the corners - not enough compression. Rebound is way to weak as well but truthfully I am happy that things have finally boiled down to just a revalve!
Here is a vid of a little testing this past Saturday at a open lapping day. Only aggrivation with open lapping is having to wait for the point by and only on the left which I understand, someone would freak if I bombed them into a braking zone.

https://youtu.be/H4dsSpRYLZQ

So now on to winter improvements! More aero - install my rear wing, build a larger splitter, rocker extensions. More weight reduction - finish gutting the doors as Zach did, install the rear poly wind screen, change exhaust up to become side exit through the new rocker extensions. I am also going to strip the front aprons and do a tube skeleton to make the front bumper and splitter easy to remove via zuess or button fastners, should reduce weight while I'm at it!

[largeorangefont]

You don't have an open passing "advanced" group for the track days out there?

Nice video! The car sounds great. Is your camera on a articulating mount or does the camera do something when you turns? The picture looks like it moves when you turn.

Yea it looks like the car is hopping around on corner exit, but that could be the camera making it look worse than it is. I liked that Pro Touring International Scout. 

[AKINA FC]

You don't have an open passing "advanced" group for the track days out there?

Nice video! The car sounds great. Is your camera on a articulating mount or does the camera do something when you turns? The picture looks like it moves when you turn.

Yea it looks like the car is hopping around on corner exit, but that could be the camera making it look worse than it is. I liked that Pro Touring International Scout. 

We do, this was just something the track put on at the end of the year. I normally don't ever go to these types of events anymore but it was wonderful weather and only 60 bucks for the day It was good for some testing and running over people
The bouncing is quite bad and the opposite, worse than what the camera show.
The camera/lens has a feature that it try's to focus on things and moves around sometimes, I'm going to shut that off. It has far more features than I know what to do with but it is stationary. That scout was awesome, had a 350 with a t5 trans on a s10 chassis.

[largeorangefont]

You don't have an open passing "advanced" group for the track days out there?

Nice video! The car sounds great. Is your camera on a articulating mount or does the camera do something when you turns? The picture looks like it moves when you turn.

Yea it looks like the car is hopping around on corner exit, but that could be the camera making it look worse than it is. I liked that Pro Touring International Scout. 

We do, this was just something the track put on at the end of the year. I normally don't ever go to these types of events anymore but it was wonderful weather and only 60 bucks for the day It was good for some testing and running over people
The bouncing is quite bad and the opposite, worse than what the camera show.
The camera/lens has a feature that it try's to focus on things and moves around sometimes, I'm going to shut that off. It has far more features than I know what to do with but it is stationary. That scout was awesome, had a 350 with a t5 trans on a s10 chassis.

You cant shake a stick at 60 bucks for a track day! I need to start doing more competition events next year. The nice thing about So Cal is that at the better track days there are enough race cars there to gauge how quick you are.

Did that software for telemetry come with the camera? Is the GPS built in? I use the IO port camera mount.. It is heavy but seems to work really well. I got one used on ebay for about half what they cost new. I also still need to get my rear shocks revalved.

[Cobranut]

I'm also interested in that camera.
What model is it, and is the telemetry integrated?