Advice and opinions welcome

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RFickes
Posts: 35
Joined: March 13th, 2010, 1:26 pm

Advice and opinions welcome

Post by RFickes »

A friend of mine (thank you , Gordon) just gave me a Caldwell d13 chassis and body. So I am starting from scratch. I have read every post but still need a lot of advice before I start calling and ordering parts. So here are a few questions:
I am going with a balljoint suspension but am not sure whether to use disk or drum brakes.
Disk = less unsprung weight but may have issues with wheel clearance and also wider track.
Drum= more unsprung weigh but no issues with back spacing clearance
Which should I pick?
WHEELs: Real Racing 13x 9 front 13x 10 rear What back spacing?
I will be using a 1915 engine. Which weber? 40,44 or 48
What spring rate should I use in the rear? What would be good shocks to use (all four corners)?
Where can I find a seat????? I have tried Pegasus, Truechoice and Summit
Where can I find the steering support bracket that bolts to the dash?

Specific question for D13 owners. Are the rear trailing arms and the welds strong enough to handle the stress of a 1915 engine and wide Hoosiers?

Thank you in advance for ANY help. Richard
Dietmar
Site Admin
Posts: 650
Joined: June 24th, 2006, 11:56 am

Re: Advice and opinions welcome

Post by Dietmar »

Richard:
Can't respond to all your questions, but I can say that the trailing arms are more than adequate to handle your intended applications.

Seat? Try the FORMULA VEE section and look under the D-13 slider. Matt might be willing to sell a seat.

As for D-13 specific parts or FV parts in general, might want to try my web site: http://www.quixoteracing.com

The steering shaft support- if you are after an original, it would have to be made. There are alternatives that could be applied also.

Hope this helps
Dietmar
QuixoteRacing
Rich_G
Posts: 41
Joined: June 25th, 2006, 11:16 am

Re: Advice and opinions welcome

Post by Rich_G »

Hi,

I put Diamond wheels on my D-13 for autocross. The clearance is tight in the rear to the trailing arms so I used stock VW bug wheel backspace which seemed to work just fine (both front and rear). I don't have that measurement handy but you can probably find it with Google.

Never tried disc brakes, drums were not an issue for me but I only ran occasionally - never tried to be 'nationally' competitive.

I ran 2 125# springs in the rear. I was always too low even with the springs tightened up as high as my coil-overs would go so you may want to try something firmer. I think Carrera are were most popular shocks but I don't see many QA1's out there once they bought carrera. Koni are also popular but there are plenty of others depending on you cost tolerance.

I ran a webber 44 for my 1600. Probably too big a bore but it was not really a problem for me. They have interchangeable chokes/venturis & I was running 38's I think - whatever the smallest ones webber has for the 44 are.

You don't really need a seat as long as you have something to lie back on - metal wedge for the fuel cell for example. If you have a backrest you can make a custom seat with 2-part foam which would probably cost less than trying to purchase an actual seat. I've seen very good FF autocross drivers sit on a chair's seat cushion on the floor with their back against the firewall...so you don't need to be fancy if you don't want to be.

Hope this helps,
Rich
FM92
South Carolina Region
SR Racing
Posts: 1205
Joined: June 24th, 2006, 1:58 pm

Re: Advice and opinions welcome

Post by SR Racing »

RFickes wrote:Disk = less unsprung weight but may have issues with wheel clearance and also wider track.
Drum= more unsprung weigh but no issues with back spacing clearance
Which should I pick?
I would certainly go with discs. You will have to determine your clearance issues based upon the wheel you choose and the calipers.
In FST we have no problems with a 2,5 to 3.5 backspace. Again depending upon the wheel you might have to grind a bit on the calipers (we do).
I will be using a 1915 engine. Which weber? 40,44 or 48
Dpends upon your wheel size, trans gearing and the speeds you will be running at. The smaller carb will produce it's peak torque and HP at a lower point on the RPM curve. The larger at the high end. Depending upon cam and CR, etc. I would guess the 40 will peak in the 5600-5800 area, the 48 a couple hundred higher.
Where can I find a seat????? I have tried Pegasus, Truechoice and Summit
We have some that might work for you, but would need dimensions. As suggested, 2 part seat foam would be easy and fit you perfectly.
Where can I find the steering support bracket that bolts to the dash?
http://sracing.com/Store/Hardware_Chass ... rdware.htm (Near the bottom of the page. They are cheap and easy to use.)
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