A casual plan for lemons

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Pauls325
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:58 am
Location: Minneapolis, MN

A casual plan for lemons

Post by Pauls325 »

Although is may be more appropriate in the racing section in theory, since it will be a street car up until it is not,i figure this will be a better place to bounce hypothetical changes as i learn about these.

The update...

I am actually starting to feel guilty about making this a racecar, although all of the dash lights are illuminated it goes down the road really well after a super cheapy brake job. Have put about 2000 miles on (216xxx total), and its pretty comfortable (the controls are nearly identical to the sienna i learned to drive in).

Because engine performance modifications are few and far between and the Lemons 500 dollar budget (on non safety related items) the only plan in this department as of now is to remove the fake grille from the drivers side of the vehicle and using the existing intake hosing to connect with a home made funnel of some kind to fit in the opening.
This is technically "Ram Air" (ha)

Suspension wise one of the front struts is pretty blown out but not terrible, ill be just cutting a half coil off of each of the springs to drop the car.

The real opportunity in 24 hours of lemons seems to be in the wheel and tire department, (considered safety items) there is a set of torque thrust rims available from american racing with a -11 offset (stock is +39) this should give clearance for a set of 255 40 17 skins front and rear (at least on the backside of things) i am planning on having to modify the quarter panels to accommodate the extra 2" on the outside. The extra rubber along with the low weight of the car should allow us to carry some significant speed through the corners.

Ill get to brakes when i get to them again not gonna use cheap stuff once the racing is gonna happen.

alignment wise cam bolts are cheap for the front and the rear can be shimmed, the beam axle in the rear might benefit from being boxed in in some way.

great cars ill probably have to buy one for more than 300 bucks once this one is not a street car.

ready set brainstorm....
2009 Vibe 2.4
2007 Grand Prix GXP
1970 Trans AM
Caretaker

Re: A casual plan for lemons

Post by Caretaker »

Sure got me stumped. Although as we just tied the all time record high yesterday at 99 (it has never hit 100 in Tampa), I could definitely go for 24 hours of lemons :lol:
I was hoping to see if you had a Pontiac Le Mans or were referring to the Grand Prix race, but seeing that I'm lost, I'll go back to dreaming about nice cool lemonade.
tpollauf
Posts: 4027
Joined: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:37 am
Location: Toledo/Oregon, Port Clinton Ohio
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Re: A casual plan for lemons

Post by tpollauf »

Had me stumped too until the end and I realized he meant LeMans racing :lol: NOT Lemons the fruit, and NOT Lemons the vehicle that lives at the dealership more than in your driveway :o
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2009 Vibe GT (manual), 2009 G8Gt, 2009 Vibe GT (auto)
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zbyers
Posts: 1767
Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2014 6:12 pm
Location: Sheffield, Pennsylvania

Re: A casual plan for lemons

Post by zbyers »

There is actually a spin off of the real LeMans racing, called 24 Hours of LeMons. Basically take that lemon of a car and build it into a cheap racecar and send it.

https://24hoursoflemons.com/
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KITT222
Posts: 2257
Joined: Sat Dec 04, 2010 1:45 pm
Location: Flint, Michigan

Re: A casual plan for lemons

Post by KITT222 »

Heck yeah, get that thing on the track and keep us updated. I've wanted to see a Vibe hit LeMons even if I were the one to do it (eventually).
Pauls325
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:58 am
Location: Minneapolis, MN

Re: A casual plan for lemons

Post by Pauls325 »

it is Lemons, sorry about the post with no context, totally my bad.

here is their website they do it all around the country even at some big name racetracks.
https://24hoursoflemons.com/
2009 Vibe 2.4
2007 Grand Prix GXP
1970 Trans AM
jolt
Posts: 945
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:07 am
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: A casual plan for lemons

Post by jolt »

Not having any information about what type of track, or what the rules are, or what type of racing it is, makes it hard for anybody to give suggestions. One thing is to get rid of as much weight as possible. Glass is the first thing to go. Strip everything out from front to back. Brace the strut towers, see Vibe GT strut brace. Move the top of the struts in as far as possible; meaning drill new mounting holes in strut towers for the three upper strut mount holes if rules allow. Watch what wheels you put on the front as you can break the centers out of the wheel rims from the loads on the wheels. If circle track, stagger your tire diameters so you have larger tires on outside of car. How much larger depends on the corner radius. Measure tire circumference by wrapping a tape measure around the outside of the tire. If running at Elko or Cedar Lake race tracks then anywhere from 1.5" to 2.5" difference from inside to outside tires. Tires, you want as soft a rubber tire as you can get. Dirt track, you want deep tread on tires. Paved track, you want very little tread on tires or you will get chucking ( this is when the tread folds over from the cornering forces and rips the tread off the face of the tire in chucks ). Front wheel drive, you want to be accelerating through the corner but that does not mean holding it wide open. If dirt track, your radiator will get plugged with dirt so take care of that.

There are so many things that are different about what to do that depends on the track and the type of racing it is. The Vibe has a very flexible chassis/body, which is not good for handling. A full roll cage that connects all four corners of the suspension would help make chassis changes more predictable but a lot of these types of racing do not allow going through the firewall with "safety bars". If allowed to do some laps before the race, try it with the sway bar disconnected and connected to see if any handling changes.

Close tracks to you by your location are Elko Speedway (paved, which I think is canceled for now), Cedar Lake (dirt track) in Wisconsin, and Brainard (road course); or you have LaCrosse WI and Cedar Rapids Iowa. All different tracks so it is hard to think of what you may need. Anyways, good luck and the important thing is to have fun and learn as you go.
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