e30 soft brake pedal solved?

[cwbaader]

Of course, you realize that you are putting the MC in bending?!?

[Ranger]

Sure, there’s a little bending moment on the MC, but the MC is far stronger than the thin sheetmetal of the booster or firewall so there’s no way that the MC is measurably nonlinear. The booster and firewall are likely deflecting just a tad, but not much because I didn’t make the turnbuckle very tight.

While I can see pedal pressure moving the booster/MC around, The majority of the force on the master cylinder is produced by the booster. So preventing the motion of the assembly might give a firmer pedal, but I doubt it has any affect on braking force.

Agreed, braking force is unaffected.

[jlucas]

Re. legal. Look up the rule on fasteners. In any event, I’ll write up a rule change this Fall so there’s no ambiguity. Once other folks try my car, everyone else will be doing it too.

a) Please cite the rule. If your talking about 9.3.1.8.3 that is for engines only.
b) Please stop trying to turn SpecE30 into whatever you want it to be based on your whim of the day. If you want to be able to do whatever strikes your fancy then GTS is the place for that.

[Ranger]

[quote=“Ranger” post=71688]Re. legal. Look up the rule on fasteners. In any event, I’ll write up a rule change this Fall so there’s no ambiguity. Once other folks try my car, everyone else will be doing it too.

a) Please cite the rule. If your talking about 9.3.1.8.3 that is for engines only.
b) Please stop trying to turn SpecE30 into whatever you want it to be based on your whim of the day. If you want to be able to do whatever strikes your fancy then GTS is the place for that.[/quote]

a) Engines only? Like 9.3.1.8.7 and 9.3.1.8.8?

b) Re. pls stop. No. This is the latest in a long series of useful improvements I’ve come up with over the years. With almost no exceptions the mods I’ve come up with, many requiring rule changes that were approved, were free and provided for reliability, safety or cost reductions. This is the first thing I’ve come up with that I make no claim re. reliability, safety or cost reductions. So for those ideas I’ve worked out and tested for you and everyone else, you are most welcome.

On the other hand. A number of folks here have said that they don’t have mushy brakes like many of us…their brake pedal is quite firm. Now someone comes up with an idea to level that playing field and you criticize. Hmmm.

[Ranger]

I tried to take a pic the other day. I was insufficiently motivated to remove the air box and get a better angle for the pic. Google “turnbuckle” if it’s unclear what one is.

[Patton]

Thanks, Scott for your persistance in solving the problem. You’ve been a great asset to the spec e30 community.

RP

[SimonM]

To all those folks worried about master cylinders or boosters failing, a quick google shows that all sorts of master cylinder braces are available commercially for all sorts of different cars. If these things lead to failure, the same search engine would show forum posts etc. not the case.

[Patton]

Simon, thank you for the master cylinder brace suggestion. Guess we’re kinda mentally slow here in the USA. Really, thanks, your suggestion and Scott’s innvestigative work may have solved a problem that has plagued my 4 door cars (read non-is chassis) since day one.

What kind of e30 racing do you do in Australia?

[SimonM]

What kind of e30 racing do you do in Australia?

Glad to have been of help. We run fairly similar cars to you guys-pretty near stock m20b25, quite limited modifications DJS325 is one of our crews. Regs are at www.e30racing.com.au

All circuit racing, mostly in Victoria (Phillip Island, Sandown & Winton), and lately some NSW (Wakefield Park, Eastern Creek and Bathurst)

[Steve_D]

…a quick google shows that all sorts of master cylinder braces are available commercially for all sorts of different cars.

Well I’ll be dipped in sh*t (as we say here in the southern US). I take it back. Ranger’s half-baked idea has had some commercial appeal in other floppy firewall applications.

Carry on, Ranger. Fight the good fight.

PS - For the record, I am still opposed to running illegal stuff prior to passage of a rule change but I won’t protest you.

[RRhodes]

I believe the original expression was, “Well I’ll be dipped in sheep shit.” For the closet etymologist.

[jlucas]

Scott, sorry if my reply ruffled feathers that was not intended, I was just in a hurry when I typed it and haven’t had time to reply in more detail till now. But fundamentally my point is the same as this:

PS - For the record, I am still opposed to running illegal stuff prior to passage of a rule change but I won’t protest you.

As far as reading the rules go: without additional notations in the rules, as it’s stands, it’s engine only fastener allowance. However even it were applied to the whole car, there is absolutely no intorturation anyone could make of “performing the same fastening function” to allow adding a turnbuckle and band clap the master cyl. I feel this is important to mention because I’ve heard many people at the track say “fasteners are free” but that is not what the rule says.

What concerns me the most though is when the stance of knowingly ignoring the rules is broadcast here in the forums where the unexperienced may take that as the accepted norm.

IHMO, spec classes are fundamentally not for tinkerer personality types and they will be happier in a class (like GTS) not bound by all these “rules”. I’ve raced in at least 14 classes in my years of racing and have seen very clearly the impact those that like to push the boundaries of the rules have on the class which is why I don’t want to see it happen in SpecE30.

If someone wants to be able “test” something on track? Talk to your local director to exclude yourself from the finishing order until your car is legal again or run in a class that allows it (PTD?,GTS?) for that event. That is the way it should be handled, it’s as simple as that.

ps. Scott, thanks for paving they way on the steering rack caps and block pressure switch, both of which we use.