Quote:
Originally Posted by Slartibartfast
Our totally gutted LeMons B13 is so flexible with its welded-up Autopower bolt-in cage that the seat rails flex enough to unlatch during a turn. This is on stock springs and street tires. We need serious cage rework to make your spring rates work.
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Well, you can certainly make 400-500 lbs/in spring rates work, which are not ideal for track but good enough I would think given you have a low budget for CO's and getting good enough dampers with adequate for higher rates, good luck on a LeMons Budget. I'd be looking for used springs and Konis from someone who has upgraded their track car.
Have you at least done the cheap stuff like IKEA brace? That will make a world of difference at least in the area behind you. My sense is the rear of the car is a bit of a noodle w/o some bracing, the center of the car def has flex issues, the front is not bad at all with an LCA and FSTB. Cage should be taking care of the center more but honestly I have little faith in the AP bolt-in type design, no matter how well made, because you are bolting it into unreinforced econo-box grade too-thin sheet metal.
IKEA brace in mine is just 16 ga steel tack welded in places, I wouldn't suggest bolting one in, not even close. Before I painted it due to grief I was taking over handprints
And after seeing the 'stang punch it's bolt-on AP-type cage through the floor when it rolled (search Lemons Mustang Rollover) I'd weld that sucker in there, brace it with more steel near the feet to the body between the sides.
IDK where I have it but Coleman's cage in his 510 Rally Beater 1 that Dave and Josh J ran years ago is a great example of low budget cage, significant reinforcement for low $$$ so long as you have access to to welding resources. I can visualize what he did, but IDK if I still have pics or not. Basically taking a cage designed for bolt-in and welding it together and in place instead with some added metal.
Besides the IKEA brace I'd also suggest looking at the Active Tuning Brace design, again something you can fabricate out of stock in a less than elegant manner but cheaply. Goes across the same hole but fits behind the seat in a way that you feel it sitting there. FTSB, again do the Dave, mine was made from stock rectangular steel scrap for free with a hacksaw and paint...well, paint came later. And it works - well. W/o GC plates yes more work required but you need camber plates of some sort or forget it -I cant' imagine running stock camber on a B13 on a track, or even giving up the small amount of extra travel the mounts and plates give you.
And man, get some real seat rails!
