Announcement

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 12:56 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

On our way to Costa Mesa we stopped by California Motor Speedway for a photo shoot with Camaro Performers magazine?

The issue should be out sometime over the summer.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:00 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

After we were done in Fontana we made our way down to Costa Mesa for the Goodguys show where we wanted to put the Camaro through its paces on the Street Challenge Autocross course.

We also ended up bring home some much appreciated hardware from the event?

But we also found some problems with the car which we were able to sort out at Best of Show Coachworks in San Marcos thanks to Dick and Jon and the rest of the guys at the shop?

It appears as if there is some significant deflection (one thing or a combination? the jury is out) in the front corners. Although there is lots of static clearance it seems that under dynamic conditions the bolt attaching the tie rod end to the steering arm is grazing (to put it mildly) the inside lip of the wheel.

HRE wheels rehooped the fronts - giving some additional clearance on the inside. (In the future some ZR1 hubs may be the order of the day)

When I got to Best of Show in San Marcos I found that three plug wires had hit the exhaust and were intermittently shorting out. Three bad plugs - three bad wires. I was able to piece together some replacement wires with a small block ford set that Steve had brought for Dick and reusing the LSx coil ends from the old wires. A bit of a band aid but did the trick.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:00 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

After sorting things out at Best of Show we made the short drive to Del Mar and the Goodguys 9th Del Mar Nationals where we split our time between the Optima Batteries booth and the Street Challenge Autocross course?

I had the chance to get a lot of time on the Autocross course on Friday and Saturday...

Taken by Hotchkis who were are behind the Autocross 110%... and a great bunch of guys to boot

Taken by the guys at RideTech (www.ridetech.com)

A couple more issues came to light...

On Friday we found that the front end was too tight to the wheel - the ride height settled a bit over time (or so it would appear) - and the front tire got cut up by a fender bolt. Nothing disastrous and we were able to raise the ride height.

On Saturday we found that one of the valve stems worked loose over two days of abuse (it was new following the rehoop earlier that week). Luckily the tire went flat at the end of my last run... close call but again nothing disastrous.

The best news... no more contact at the wheel.

After Del Mar we hauled the car up to Pozzi Racing in northern California where David was fabbing us up an adjustable rear bar up from a stock Hotchkis 2nd gen piece. Also on the agenda were some changes in spring rate and ride height coupled with an alignment which would help us out at our next stop... the Streets of Willow for a couple of open track days.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:01 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

Wow ? what a great weekend!

It?s hard to put the last five days into words but I?ll take a shot at doing it justice.

As many of you know, after the Goodguys show in Del Mar, the Camaro went home with David and Mary Pozzi for some much needed tweaking. The car was coming around but there were still some suspension setup issues that needed to be addressed ? a rear bar being first and foremost on the list of must dos ? and the Pozzis were the more than up for the task. When I got to California on Wednesday the new rate adjustable rear bar was in place and ready to go and we were going to finish up a couple of things Thursday and leave for Willow Springs mid day on Friday. That was the plan?

Thursday and Friday we made wholesale changes to the suspension tuning. David picked out some new springs ? stiffening the car up front and rear ? and we added proper bump rubbers to the shocks for some added protection. We reset bump steer up front, adding ?some? additional spacing between the steering arm and the end links.

We increased the ride height by ?? of an inch front and back and corner balanced the car properly (for what it?s worth, we wound up with a 49.7% cross weight and 54 / 46 % front to rear). Finally we aligned the car and completed a nut and bolt inspection, (which necessitated a minor, last minute tweak)?

?eventually giving the car a clean bill of health for the weekend. At 9 pm on Friday we loaded up the trailer and, after a quick dinner and a couple of hours of sleep, we hit the road at 2 am for the 6 hour drive to Willow Springs.

Despite all of us being completely bagged, the drive to the track was smooth sailing. Mary made it to the track first with the car and had it though tech when David and I arrived in the motor home ? with about 5 minutes to spare before the drivers meeting.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:01 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

After filling the car with some 100 octane race fuel David took the first lap of the weekend in the ?beginner? group (sorry about that David)

and came back with a big grin and suggested only a minor adjustment to the brake bias.

I was up next and after getting settled in the car had only a brief moment of panic and frustration when, upon turning the key ? absolutely nothing happened. After some quick diagnosis ? made a bunch easier thanks to the self diagnostics of the ISIS system ? found that I had knocked some relays loose when I was adjusting the brakes. The rest of the day was as close to ?flawless? as I could have hoped.

David and I continued to alternate sessions, making minor brake and ride height adjustments through the day (Mary thought the car looked like a ?backwards stinkbug? when the front end came up onto the straightaway).

The only hiccup for me occurred in the final session of the day ? as I approached the rumble strips on the far end of the track the car ?hesitated? briefly; it wasn?t much but I pulled off a couple laps early to try to see if there was a problem. Nothing was obvious so we parked the car and called it a day.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:02 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

Before turning in for the night I took the opportunity that evening to walk the track and make some more detailed notes on lines and how far I thought I could push things here and there. There are a lot of elevation changes on the track so some things were a little deceptive from inside the car. Finally (ok, it was 8 o?clock) I retired to the trailer and called it a day.

Sunday morning was more of the same. Up bright and early (just barely beating Carl and Chad) and back onto the car. There was one point that morning, as everyone was getting settled at the track, when First Gens probably outnumbered any other group in the pits ? I had never seen so many great cars together in one place outside a show ? it was really cool. Back to business - fill with gas again, drop the car another ??, dial in a little more rear brake and back on the track.

Since we were lapping most of the red group we moved up to the intermediate group which gave us a chance to play tag with Carl and his awesome ?68.

For the most part Sunday was a repeat of Saturday ? no real problems but a lot of fun. I did have a nagging warning light coming on throughout the day and seemed to be a little bit slower than I had been on Saturday but I couldn?t see anything wrong on the dash so kept an eye on it and continued until the last session. There were three outings in a row where Carl and I seemed to be in a world of our own out there ? we were swapping spots every few laps and pushing each other every lap, passing Mustangs, ?Vettes and everything else we could get around like they weren?t even there. It was honestly the most fun that I have had in the OneLap car since the day I started the project.

In kind of a repeat of the previous day, the last session ended a bit early for me? I was noticing that the warning lights were becoming more frequent and the car was hesitating more often. There was also a bit of a noise coming from the front end that I couldn?t put my finger on so, after nearly looping it once on the straight and finding it difficult to keep up to Carl and Rocco, I reluctantly pulled into the pits and called it a weekend.

It didn?t take long to find the first problem? with the car running the dash was showing only 11.5 volts ? definitely not enough to keep an LS engine happy. Monday we found the other minor issue of the day ? the front brakes were dragging (a lot). It turns out that the last bias adjustment took the front pushrod just slightly out of its comfort zone and the MC wasn?t fully releasing the front brakes ? hence the squeak and the sudden desire for the back end of the car to try to pass the now slower front of the car. Likewise, the charging problem was traced to a failed regulator in the alternator.

SO? trying to shorten a really long story?

Thank you so much to David and Mary for their help, hospitality, and patience. David?s mentoring, advice, and input helped me a ton both in setting up the car as well as driving it and seeing where improvements can be made. Mary?s enthusiasm, drive, and screaming (including the incredible hissing gopher incident) went a long way to help maintain focus and make the weekend an overwhelming success.

The car is now getting prepped for the Nevada Open Road Challenge next week. Repairs have been made to the brake bias and the alternator and a couple of subtle improvements are being worked in.

Thanks again to everybody and to the LA Shelby Club for putting on an awesome event. Hopefully we have an opportunity to do it again sometime soon.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:03 PM

Re: Dailing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

OPTIMA? Batteries to sponsor James Shipka and the One Lap Camaro for 2009 Nevada Open Road Challenge   

April 28, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   

Milwaukee, WI - OPTIMA? Batteries continues its support for the Silver State Classic Challenge in 2009 with sponsorship of James Shipka and his One Lap Camaro. The One Lap Camaro, a custom-built 1967 Camaro, featured at the 2008 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) convention, the worlds largest automotive industry trade show, will represent OPTIMA? Batteries in it's run across the public highways of central Nevada.

The Camaro was built and designed specifically for competitive sanctioned public highway competitions including the famous One Lap of America 4000 mile endurance race. James' first test of the brutal Camaro came last fall at the OPTIMA? Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational where it proved its prowess on the road course and autocross at Spring Mountain Motorsports Park.

  
OPTIMA? Batteries and James has assembled a top-notch team of OPTIMA? Batteries Ultimate Street Car Invitational veterans, including the reigning 2008 champion, Steven Rupp, Technical Editor of a popular automotive performance magazine and owner of Bad Penny. Bad Penny is a 1968 Camaro that earned the 2008 OPTIMA? Batteries Ultimate Street Car title. Steven will ride shotgun and take on the daunting task of navigator, attempting to keep James and the One Lap Camaro between the white lines and on schedule throughout the 90 mile timed run. Anchoring the rest of Team OPTIMA? is famed road course racer David Pozzi and his SCCA autocross champion wife, Mary Pozzi. They will be using their skill and experience to make sure the One Lap Camaro stays dialed-in for each event including the OPTIMA? Batteries High Noon Shootout - a one-mile top speed challenge.   

?We are very excited about working with James and promoting our continued relationship with the Silver State Classic Challenge Series. Partnering with James and this Silver State Classic event is a great example of our commitment to high performance events that prove OPTIMA? Batteries perform in the most extreme applications." said Cam Douglass, Director of Product Development and Marketing for OPTIMA? Batteries.

The Nevada Open Road Challenge, part of the Silver State Classic Challenge, is a 90 mile timed run on the closed public
highways of Nevada, starting in Ely and finishing in Ash Springs. It begins just South of Lund, at White Pine County just north of mile marker 9, heads South through Nye County, and finishes at Lincoln County mile marker 7. The journey traverses 90 miles of two-lane highway that has recently been repaved and is in excellent condition, with long straights, twisty sections, and dips, which for the faster participants, may result in an airborne experience. The winner in each class is the car that finishes closest to the perfect time for the average speed of their class. Visit www.silverstateclassic.com for more information. 

OPTIMA? Batteries are like no other battery in the world. The unique SpiralCell design offers the most advanced technology and provides a strong and clean power source that far surpasses any of today's filled lead-acid batteries. With OPTIMA? under your hood, you can count on a longer lasting battery life under starting and deep-cycle applications. Stop by your local retailer or visit www.optimabatteries.com for more information.  

About OPTIMA? Batteries  
OPTIMA? Batteries are manufactured by Johnson Controls, Inc. Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI -  News) is the global leader that brings ingenuity to the places where people live, work and travel.  By integrating technologies, products and services, we create smart environments that redefine  the relationships between people and their surroundings. Our team of 140,000 employees  creates a more comfortable, safe and sustainable world through our products and services for  more than 200 million vehicles, 12 million homes and one million commercial buildings. Our  commitment to sustainability drives our environmental stewardship, good corporate citizenship in  our workplaces and communities, and the products and services we provide to customers. For  additional information, please visit http://www.johnsoncontrols.com.  

###  

Jimi Day
President & CEO

FM3 Performance Marketing, Inc.
1369 Port Washington Road, Suite 346
Grafton, WI 53024
Ph: 414-702-4939
www.fm3marketing.com

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:04 PM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

After the Streets of Willow deal the car went back with Dave and May Pozzi for a good once-over as well as some safety enhancements and some pre-race maintenance. It turns out that we had toasted the alternator at some point over the last weekend out and David got that covered off for us before heading off to the NORC event. He and Mary also added a second fire extinguisher to the car and set up the anti-sub belts so that if nothing else Steve and I were safe in the car. The alignment was also tweaked for the longer, straighter course (1.5* negative camber and neutral toe) and an in-car communication system was added so that Steve and I could talk during the race. Without Dave and Mary?s help there is no way that we could have got the car to Las Vegas and been ready to race with no worries.

The four days of the event are still a blur?

Thursday we were on the road course at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway taking laps with the Mario Andretti driving school to demonstrate that the car and driver were at least capable of the basics.

Friday we were in the Optima Batteries Half Mile Shootout; we hit a maximum speed of 136 mph although in hind sight I know that there is more there to be had. One of the issues in Ely is obviously the elevation and the heat and my air intake needs to be moved to somewhere more efficient as it is. Regardless, I was really happy that the car was solid and stable and felt fine at speed so I chalk this one down as success.

Saturday we were in the OPTIMA Batteries High Noon Shootout running the mile on Highway 480. We did have some problems here that I never would have encountered if I hadn?t at least tried. We never did actually complete a mile under WOT; on every pass that engine died (like blowing out a candle, no mis-fires, no slow death, just and instant poof?) before hitting the mile marker. We still reached a GPS indicated 148 before it died but since the timing equipment was focused at the mile, our times stunk as I coasted across. At this point I have no idea what the problem is? mechanically everything appears fine so it?s some where in the MSD ECU, I just have to find it.

Sunday was the actual NORC event ? 90 miles on Highway 318. We were going to be competing in the 105 mph class and I was nervous about two things? just making it through mechanically sound and running out of gas. To be honest, despite all of the time that I have been able to spend in the car over the past couple of months, I?ve never had an opportunity to run 90 miles, non-stop, at speed ? any speed. So this was going to a first.

Steve was a great navigator and we muddled through and eventually abandoned my course notes in favor of some that were supplied by our rookie liaison Blue (who is one of the nicest racers I have ever had the pleasure of spending time with). Anyways, using Blue?s notes we fine tuned our time to the start of the narrows, running between 90 and 121 mph on the course) and exited the tight 3 mile stretch just 6 seconds off our pace with about 10 miles to the end. More fine tuning and we were within 1 second with a mile to the finish. With Steve counting down we crossed the finish line within a second of perfect by our seat of the pants estimate. Gas was never an issue and the car performed flawlessly, it was dead stable and predictable at any speed.

Ultimately we finished in 4th place in our class with an average speed of 104.99 mph and a time variance of 0.37 seconds off perfect. That put us in 27th place out of 162 competitors and (IIRC) makes us the highest finishing rookie driver/navigator combination.

It was a great event and we will be back in September to do it again with a higher target and technical speed (the car will tech to the Grand Sport class with a maximum 150 mph target, 165 mph tech). Thanks again to Dave and Mary, Steve, and Optima for inviting us.

**James OLC** · June 27, 2009, 01:04 PM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

After the Silver State Classic event our next stop was the Goodguys Rod & Custom event in Pleasanton, CA. This was going to be our first autocross since adding the rear sway bar, increasing the spring rate on all four corners and tweaking the brake bias so we were cautiously optimistic that we were heading in the right direction.

When the dust cleared on Sunday we (both the car and the driver) were both showing improvement ? running a low 37 second lap which put us less than a second behind Mary?s winning time in her ?73. We also identified a couple of more places where we can get more out of the car? we?re still pushing in the corners and will increase the rear bar rate to get the car to (hopefully) respond a bit better. We?ve also got too much front brake which is in turn putting too much weight on the front and making the push worse? we?re going to swap master cylinders to try go increase the rear bias. It?s also time to do something about the tuning in the car? Painless has helped us out with a closed loop tune for the MEFI4B and we need to get the idle sorted out before we all lose our minds? it?s been nearly a year? it?s time.

We have also (we think) made some headway with our other ECU related issues and will put our theory to the test next week. If we?re right we should make some power and might have solved our engine cutout problem ? we?ll see in a few days.

Next weekend were heading for the American Autocross Series event in Marina, California. David and I will be putting the car through it?s paces on an autocross course that should give us some running room and really let us see how close we are getting on our setup.

**cantvalve16** · June 27, 2009, 03:04 PM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

What a great tour you have been on. You have done thing s with your car in a matter of days that most of us haven't done in a lifetime. Enjoy.

P.s. I will have to add the Silver State Challenge to my automotive bucket list.

**Brian Lohnes** · June 28, 2009, 04:54 AM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

Thanks for sharing all of that...wow!

Brian

**horsewidower** · June 28, 2009, 09:24 AM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

Wow, what a load of fun.

I'm curious about the deflection problem that caused the wheel damage. Did you ever determine the cause?

Bob

**James OLC** · June 28, 2009, 11:24 AM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

We think that the front wheen issue was caused by a combination of factors... deflection in the Corvette hub (a fairly common problem with sticky tires and hard cornering) and some shifting in the shims that we were using to set the bump steer (possibly combined with a slightly tweaked rim).

One of the issues with our front end combination (including the 18's) is (as you can see in the picture) that the tie rod end is really close to the inside of the wheel lip when the bump steer is set properly. Static there was 1/4" or more of clearance which we thought would be ok - obviously not. When we reset the ride height and suspension we machined a solid spacer to replace the shim stack. That's not the only change we made but we haven't had a problem since.

**Scott Liggett** · June 29, 2009, 12:35 AM

Re: Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

I remember seeing your car at Goodguys Costa Mesa. Very cool.

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Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

Dialing in the OneLapCamaro - our progress so far...

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