The Cauldron

[Advancedynamix]

What kind of suspension set up does this have?

Basically the setup listed in the "Ultimate street suspension" thread. The front coilovers I made from scrap rear MK2 VW coilover bodies I had laying around from buying whole kits and only using the fronts. That kept cost lower, since Lemons doesn't count labor time into the cost of the build. I cut off the mounts on the bottom of the shocks and used those bushings to make the g series tranny mounts (also keeping costs lower). I bought some Sachs shock inserts for them off eBay for 30 bucks shipped (for the pair!) we used some used springs we had laying around. The backs are VW mk1 KYB with southwest speed sleeves and 150lb springs (because we have a heavy fuel cell in the car).
The car is not for the faint of heart. You can't brake mid corner or it'll snap oversteer. We got 4 black flags in the first hour that we ran it because drivers were having trouble keeping it on the track. The car is extremely fast, but feels extremely slow. That makes it hard to judge corner speed, and you're not used to racing a Festiva, it can be a handful. Also the back tires take awhile to heat up, but the fronts get sticky fast. This works fine if you know how to dance a tail happy Festiva, but it's a scary ride if you don't. You have to slide the rear a bunch to get the rear to heat up and stick and then you've gotta keep a fast pace to keep the back tires hot. I'm so used to this, that I didn't realize how difficult the car would be for others to drive. We messed with front tire compound and found that a harder tire worked better for drivers who weren't used to driving this sort of a car, but it was a slower setup for drivers who could keep heat in the rear tires.
All in all, it was a great learning experience. We tested a lot of theories about Festiva setup. The car hasn't been run since that weekend, almost a year ago. It's going to take more setup and testing before I feel safe throwing a group of different skill level drivers into the car again.

[ryanprins13]

Want to update this? I hear a lot has happened in the last couple months

[Advancedynamix]

Yeah, we've been fine tuning things and the car has been put through the paces. More to come when I've got time to sort through all the pictures and video.
Here's a teaser for now though.

[Studebaker]

What was your top speed on that track?

[FestYboy]

Not being a smarty pants, but on the straight, it sounded like 5500-6k on a G series. You'll have to take in account that he runs short tires (about 10%), so likely in the 140-150 range?

[Advancedynamix]

Not being a smarty pants, but on the straight, it sounded like 5500-6k on a G series. You'll have to take in account that he runs short tires (about 10%), so likely in the 140-150 range?

Cauldron rides on 205 50 15" tires. They are Federal 595rr tires and work really well. Dragonhealer found a speedo drive gear that works with the G series and makes the miata speedo that we have accurate with around 1% error. The speedometer said I was just over 120mph right before I hit the brakes. This speed is very dependant on how much speed I carry into the straight. I'm barely hitting 100 when trapped behind the corvettes. Cauldron is a momentum car, so my lap times are nearly 10 seconds a lap faster when I'm not stuck behind big hp sports cars. This is why I catch the other cars so fast when I get some open track to carry some speed.

[Advancedynamix]

Over memorial day weekend I raced Cauldron in the Pro Autosport "Hot Laps" time trials event at IMR in Willcox, AZ. I won my class on Saturday, just in time to blow the turbo to smithereens. We hustled to replace the turbo over night and got the car back on the track Sunday morning. We ran the track backwards on Sunday and I only got to run 1 session in Hot Laps before there was an electrical issue that fried part of the engine harness. I got second place on Sunday, just over a second behind my buddies Spec Boxster. I never got a clean lap in. Even with a blown turbo and some fried wires, I still took home 2 awards with the car.


After Cauldron's wiring burned up, I gave up working on it for the day and went out for the rest of my sessions in my Cayman. I was 4 seconds behind my fastest time in Cauldron in my Cayman, and only hit 117mph on the straight.