RideTech 33 Ford

[jorge]

The 33 is all decked out with decals and is sitting in the optima Ultimate Streetcar Invitational corral waiting for the race this weekend. (as you may noticed we edited the wing again) Come by and see it you're at SEMA. Our booth is #22589 if you want to talk to us about the car.

[LowFast]

Funny parked next to the GTR, as if there are any two cars more polar opposite but with similar performance.

[jorge]

Funny parked next to the GTR, as if there are any two cars more polar opposite but with similar performance.

Ha so true, sounds like there is going to be a pretty eclectic mix of vehicles in the race this year.

[LowFast]

BTW I would take the 33 over the GTR, no question or second thought.

[jorge]

optima Ultimate Streetcar Invitational results: 5th in autocross, 7th in road course, 1st in speed stop! 3rd overall (out of 60 high performance vehicles). Good day for the 33 Ford!

[bret]

Wow...what a week at SEMA and optima!

I have not been on here recently to post because, well...we've been working on the car that much!

I was very pleased with the results we acheived at optima this year. Since "finishing" the car in May, we've proceeded to tweak, refine, change, and tune all summer...until about a month ago.

I had a lot of people ask about the car, how its doing, and what we've changed so here is the readers digest version of the refinements and the results.

When we very first put the car together and drove it, we could tell there was a significant bind in the steering system. After some investigation and research, we found that the steering rack itself was simply not stong enough to turn the front tires. It was a rear steer Omni rack that was coupled with a ver yshort 3.5" long steering arm trying to turn a tire that was about 100% wider than what Factory Five intended. The ultimate fix was to use a front steer Woodward rack. After about 70 hours of design and fabrication time the steering was fixed and we started racing.

The very first competitive event was Nashville Goodguys autocross. I had a set of old [hard] BFG tires that we fitted up just to get the car shook out. Success in that nothing fatal fell off the car, but it wasn't very fast.
After Nashville we came back and built a front and rear swaybar for the car and installed a new set of Falken 615K tires. We had previously seen a radical improvement in the 48 Hour Camaro with the Falkens so we wanted to try them on the 33 Ford as well. Off we go to the Midwest Musclecar Challenge at Lawrenceville on Memorial Day.
The initial runs at MMC were great and we were just getting ready to get fast when the distributor gear on the cam died. Done for the weekend. We replaced the cam the next week and took of for the Hotrod Power Tour and the Optima Qualifier in Arlington Texas.

The car did great at Arlington...top 10 in all segments...but I was still chasing a frontend chatter through the corners. We started looking at control arms flex, loose bearings, spindle flex...all sorts of things. Nothing immediately identifieable.

Next event was the Optima Qualifier at Road America. Again the car did great, but the clutch started going away. In reality it probably made the car faster because it took the edge off the corner exit tire spin [because my right foot is not nearly talented enough]. We ended up in the top 5 in all segments.

After freshening the clutch up I was expecting great things at the Columbus Goodguys event. What I got in addition to the 106 degree weather [in a flat black car with a flat black sheetmetal interior...] was rearend posi problems and a frontend chatter that was getting worse, not better. Results were poor. the rearend problems were an easy fix, but we were still looking at mechanical flex issues for the frontend chatter.

Next event was the Motorstate Challenge at Gingerman. I spun the car in someone else's oil on the first lap. No damage but still not a great way to start the weekend. It didn't get any better because the car started running like hell as well...and ended up dying completely on Sunday for the autocross.

The good this is that now we've got about a month before we race again...time to get some stuff lined out. More on that in a bit!

[bret]

double post

[HarleyR]

very cool... why would you opt for a trans with a side mounted shifter with exposed linkage rather than a trans with internal linkage like a G Force GSR or a C&R

[bret]

very cool... why would you opt for a trans with a side mounted shifter with exposed linkage rather than a trans with internal linkage like a G Force GSR or a C&R

Cheap. It's a used magnesium Rankin clutch less 4 speed with cryogenic treated gears and other cool cup treatments. (a friend of mine works across the street at the Jasper Engines NASCAR transmission shop)
Also, we moved the shifter back 10" and over on top of the trans. Then built custom shift linkage.

[bret]

After the Motorstate Challenge we had some time to work on the car...theroretically. Remember that a huge part of our business is Street Rods...and military...and ATV...and...you get the idea. Although the 33 Ford was resting, we weren't!
Anyhow, the issues were:
1. didn't run - found a replacement throttle position sensor was also bad. Fixed, but still not running "happily".
2. clutch wore excessively - discussions with Tilton revealed that this clutch was just too small to carry the torque. I bought this unit from an ASA racer who used it on a LS spec engine that was making about 500hp...not the 600 that I was making. HE was also fine with rebuilding the clutch every month...I'm not. Now searching for an alternative.
3. frontend chatter - no friggen idea.

Next event...Run Through the Hills in Pigeon Forge, TN. The car was running...OK...and we were hoping for a great weekend. I made three runs until the power steering slave cylinder rod broke :(. The bright side is that the frontend chatter stopped! All this time I had been searching for a mechanical flex issue...now I started looking for a hydraulic problem. In the meantime I drove the rest of the event with manual steering. Consider a 10:1 steering ratio with a 315mm tire...my arms looked like my legs by the end of the weekend!
In addition to the power steering failure, the car quit running. After taking many peoples and parts names in vain we found that the spark from the coil was REALLY weak. We installed a new Autozone coil and it not only ran...it made about an extra 100 hp! This is what the unhappyness was all the time! The silver lining that weekend was that we won the event with the 48 Hour Camaro!
After a conversation with Tony Woodward about the powersteering, we determined that the pump was cavitating for fluid and the resulting fluid frothing was inducing the frontend chatter, which eventually broke the slave cylinder rod. [got all that?]. We raised the fluid reservoir about 3", rerouted the supply line to give it a straight slope down to the pump [think how a sewer works...] and the problem was completely resolved.
After Pigeon Forge we also fixed the clutch. I'd had wonderful luck with the Centerforce DYAD clutch in the 48 Hour Camaro. It was smooth, linear, and VERY durable. It was also considerably heavier than the 6 lb assembly I had in the 33 Ford. In this case I thought the extra weight would help calm the car down.
It did. We took the car to Texas with the new DYAD clutch, the newly fixed power steering, the resolved running problems...and won the event! NOW I could start tuning on the handling performance [and my performance] without trying to drive around the rest of the issues that had plagued the car all year.

[coolwelder62]

Good lookin car,Good lookin owner!

[bret]

This was moments before the celebratory cocktails began. It got less good lookin after that...

I got a lot of comments about the "GROUCHY" license plate. I figured that described the car and all who worked on it most of the summer. I guess now I'll have to get a smiley face license plate frame!

[MichaelLeeHearn]

Nice build and car.

[eric1967]

Great job at optima Bret. Car looks great.
Thanks Eric

[shane38]

BadAss Car!!!

[ace_xp2]

Tilton thought 600ft/lb was too much? Wow, not only do they rate it for 150 more than that, but it's been used at the 1000ft/lb range in at least a few cars. Maybe it's something specific to the clutch you got? They did come with different spring strengths.
Can I ask what your first and final gear ratios are? I'm thinking of going low to help with that first gear engagement.

[67zo6Camaro]

Good lookin car,Good lookin owner!

Congrats Bret, a 1st, 5th and 7th with an overall 3rd place is very good. One of my favorite builds out.

This pictures captures it all "A man and his machine" on a mission.

By the way, just got done reading Robs story... My hat is off to you. Cheers for all the good things you do.

[bret]

I was wrong about the 7th place finish on the road course...it was actually 12th. My stopwatch was apparently optimistic! The other finishing positions are still correct. I think I ended up around 17th in the design challenge segment.

On the Tilton clutch, remember this is the 5.5" diameter unit, not the 7.25". I've got one of the 7.25 units in my Mustang for several years now...works great! That's the one that will hold 1200 ft lbs of torque. I bought the 5.5 unit used off eBay from an ASA racer who was running a 500hp spec motor. Just wouldn't live a long life at 600hp.

I'd have to check the 1st gear ratio again...too many numbers in my head. The rear gear is a 3:48. I could have used more gear at Pahrump...only running about 5500 at the end of the backstretch.

[tommycomfort]

I was wrong about the 7th place finish on the road course...it was actually 12th. My stopwatch was apparently optimistic! The other finishing positions are still correct. I think I ended up around 17th in the design challenge segment.

17th in the design segment??? That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard in a while! If not 1st I think it would be a stretch to say the 33 wasn't in the top five. Oh well, Incredible showing nonetheless!

[ace_xp2]

Don't mean to keep going off topic in this thread, but I can't PM you. Here's the carbon catalog for Tilton:Google pdf viewer link
I only bring it up because I'm really surprised (and a little worried for mine) that you had trouble getting the clutch to hold. According to that the lightest pressure plate is rated to 750lb/ft in 5.5" triple disc. Maybe it was already over worn? Either way, glad the new clutch sorted it for you!