Track Days in Your Aston
#62
Track season is getting started, and with that comes a word of caution. This was posted on YouTube yesterday:
Basically, the spokes on this guy's wheels had stress fractures that started on the inside of the wheel - not visible while the wheels where on the car. They eventually broke while he was on-track. The driver summed up the incident:
"Yup, the takeaway here is to inspect wheels regularly, even in the places that are hard to see. Forgestar actually got a hold of me and are offering a refund on the wheels and are going to buy me a replacement balljoint. They're going to take a look at the remaining wheels and do some analysis."
Basically, the spokes on this guy's wheels had stress fractures that started on the inside of the wheel - not visible while the wheels where on the car. They eventually broke while he was on-track. The driver summed up the incident:
"Yup, the takeaway here is to inspect wheels regularly, even in the places that are hard to see. Forgestar actually got a hold of me and are offering a refund on the wheels and are going to buy me a replacement balljoint. They're going to take a look at the remaining wheels and do some analysis."
#64
I'm not sure what all is included with the kit, mine might have been the first kit produced by RSC way back, and was done by the original owner.
#68
How does this work? The ducting I have seen (and use) provides at least a partial shroud of the rotor with the air routed directly into the back side of the rotor.
The air pressure in front of the tire is high. I don't see how that is doing anything. Maybe there is more than shown?
x-chr
The air pressure in front of the tire is high. I don't see how that is doing anything. Maybe there is more than shown?
x-chr
#69
That's not in front of the tire. It would, in fact, be aimed inside the rim of the wheel. The whole point is simply to increase airflow to the rotor itself. While having the ducting running all the way to the rotor would likely do a better job, that does not mean that increasing the air pressure inside the rim (which is what you're doing by funneling air into it) will help dissipate heat from the rotor.
Last edited by Mathman85; 12-10-2016 at 11:54 PM.
#71
x-chr
#72
Track season is getting started, and with that comes a word of caution. This was posted on YouTube yesterday:
Forgestar F14 Failure at Buttonwillow - YouTube
Basically, the spokes on this guy's wheels had stress fractures that started on the inside of the wheel - not visible while the wheels where on the car. They eventually broke while he was on-track. The driver summed up the incident:
"Yup, the takeaway here is to inspect wheels regularly, even in the places that are hard to see. Forgestar actually got a hold of me and are offering a refund on the wheels and are going to buy me a replacement balljoint. They're going to take a look at the remaining wheels and do some analysis."
Forgestar F14 Failure at Buttonwillow - YouTube
Basically, the spokes on this guy's wheels had stress fractures that started on the inside of the wheel - not visible while the wheels where on the car. They eventually broke while he was on-track. The driver summed up the incident:
"Yup, the takeaway here is to inspect wheels regularly, even in the places that are hard to see. Forgestar actually got a hold of me and are offering a refund on the wheels and are going to buy me a replacement balljoint. They're going to take a look at the remaining wheels and do some analysis."
#73
Another thing to think about: Be wary of forged wheels that have been powder coated by someone other than the manufacturer. The strength of forged aluminum comes from the residual stresses left in the material during the forming process. Most powder coating anneals the metal, relaxing the molecular structure and weakening it, leading to potential wheel failures like this. There are low temperature processes that avoid unintentionally annealing, but it's not common.
x-chr
#74
Question re V8V handling characteristics
So, Aston go-fast gurus, a question: I just picked up an 06 V8V with 20K miles on it. It's running Pilot Sports with 33 PSI up front, and 36 in back. And I'm not having as much fun as I'd hoped. I am a prior owner of a number of fast cars -- ones that are easy to slide around in and be a general hooligan (BMW M3) and ones that could kick your a$$ pretty quickly if you weren't careful, again, when being a general hooligan (Ford Cobra replica with 440 HP small block). I've been able to tame them all, again, so I could be a general hooligan (are you seeing a theme?), but, honestly, the Aston kicks my butt routinely. When traction control is off and I'm trying for a nice, controlled drift, the car will settle in with very little angle OK, but there's a sharp edge between just that slight angle, and, "oops, here we go looping it again..." There doesn't seem to be a lot of neutral, playable space in between those two options. And, even when the corner is completed, the car is pretty abrupt when snapping back in line -- no graceful recovery to be found. Even with traction control on, in corners well over 100mph, it seems very nervous and not all that confidence inspiring. So, the question, is there something wrong with my particular used Aston, or are these just characteristics of the car? (Yes, I know I could go around corners faster without the back end out...) Thx in advance.
Last edited by Callgre; 02-06-2017 at 08:04 PM.
#75
Welcome to the forum!
My first thought is to drop the rear tires down a few PSI, especially if those are the pressures when cold.
Another thought is that the engine has a sluggish response to throttle inputs, so it may be that you're working your foot and steering inputs at one pace while the engine is lagging behind, and thus the power being put to the ground isn't what you're expecting. That might be what's messing you up in that neutral area where throttle (specifically, engine revs/power output) and steering inputs need to be in sync to keep control of the car.
My first thought is to drop the rear tires down a few PSI, especially if those are the pressures when cold.
Another thought is that the engine has a sluggish response to throttle inputs, so it may be that you're working your foot and steering inputs at one pace while the engine is lagging behind, and thus the power being put to the ground isn't what you're expecting. That might be what's messing you up in that neutral area where throttle (specifically, engine revs/power output) and steering inputs need to be in sync to keep control of the car.