The Red Drift ///Machine - 2026 NASA TT4 adventures

[bigjae46]

Finally got Bry5on's wheel well reinforcement plates on. Bonded and riveted.




Working on a massive splitter for TT3...someday. For once, I'm ahead of schedule on something! Hopefully this is the last splitter I will ever need to laminate by hand because I didn't buy the foam with infusion channels.




And failure on the CF front reinforcement bar. The spacing was off. Onto attempt 2 later in the year.

[bigjae46]

I'm happy with the front bumper. I included some flanges on the ends to mount tire blockers to. Now I need to figure out how to mount it. 4lbs lighter than an unpainted OEM bumper.





Working on the Heinzboehmer strut plates V2 mold. Just waiting on the casting resin to arrive. Two major things - need to fill in any cracks or crevices AND create a draft angle underneath the part to make it easier to release and allow excess resin to escape.



Same as V1, I will mold threaded inserts for the strut bar. I want to mold a threaded insert into the spot where the triangle braces bolt to, we'll see how it goes. For now, I glued a nut into the bottom to make sure the hole will line up.







Adding 20hp! I should have lined up the decal with the back edge of the wing.






Finally finished the carbon fenders! Came out really good. Not perfect fitment but it fits. I'm pretty sure I could make it fit perfect but that would require a lot more time. Basically I'd have to cut the flanges short, apply more carbon to the joints and then bag the part.

1.80lb carbon part vs 6.6lb stock.






The to do list isn't long but it is mostly complex/difficult stuff.

- replace the front frame rail mountings for the rebar
- install the carbon front rebar
- mount carbon front bumper
- replace splitter end plates - made them to flimsy and they broke
- finish the Heinzboemer strut brace
- make a hood vent plate

Still waiting on the FCM dampers. Damn this is taking a long damned time! No issues as long as I get them by the end of Jul. No planned driving until Sep.

[bigjae46]

I bet that was a ride! Where's the video

Didn't run the gopro because I knew the session was going to be shiet. Well, it was shiet!

[samthejam]

Untitled by Sam DaJam, on Flickr

MSRs track surface sure is something, for others who may not know. Here is where Jae and I test our cars.

[George Hill]

I bet that was a ride! Where's the video

[bigjae46]

Still waiting on the FCM dampers...6 months now...so no real reason to drive the car other than for just fun.

MSR Houston is, how can I explain it, a shit hole. The track is bad wet but it is WAY worse when its green. It is basically like driving on a gravel road now, all of the asphalt is worn away so all grip is totally reliant on tire rubber. The grip is inconsistent in a way that it goes from grip to zero is really weird spots. The key is to tippy-toe around a couple of laps to figure it out if that is possible.

Well...it rained heavily the night before. I did a sighting lap and then went a little faster on the 2nd lap. Fast right hander into a double right hander - the back end snapped to the inside of the track at 112mph, left the pavement going backwards at 70mph, about 175' off the track, still doing 60' and went off 374' from the track.






The bad thing about going off backwards is every panel under the car scoops up dirt and grass. The splitter was probably over 50 lbs, I couldn't even hold it up, just fell to the ground. Good thing is, I went off backwards so not much dirt and grass go into the car. The front kevlar rebar pulled off when I got towed up, normal M3 stuff. For some reason, I had panel bond with an extra mix nozzle at the track. I was able to bond the bar back to the aluminum plate and I was back on track the next day!

Fender molds...going mostly well so far!



The carbon fiber front rebar work moves up the priority list due to recent events. I want to prevent the bar from being pulled apart in the future. I am using a bolt through on both sides and the carbon plates should be strong enough to withstand being yanked out. I has gone together OK...OK is good enough.

And damnit! The bolt is about 1/2" too long. I can chop the end off but grinding through a class 10.9 hardened steel bolt won't be fun. I don't think it will be an issue.


It is together. The panel bond is holding up but I still cheated and added two more bolts towards the outer edges.

[bigjae46]

Dashboard installed! I did slice my leg open on the lower edge getting into the car. I just tin snipped the corner off out of anger. It was a tricky install. I used send cut send to fab some brackets and then bonded them on the back of the dash.






The carbon fiber strut plates have survived!



Making some revised carbon fiber floor adaptors. Mold is in progress.



Front bumper is ready to infuse. Epoxy backordered two weeks ago, just got it in today.



Front fender molds in the works.

[Bry5on]

I like it! I'm pretty sure this would get much better results but I don't need a TON of cooling. I already don't have a lot of pad wear and I'm worried about overcooling the brakes. In fact, I will likely have to remove them during cooler weather.

I'll have to look into that duct for my next track project...could be a G87 M2. Do you have a file for that duct? Or let me know if you're willing to print a pair.

More details and test results here and in following posts: https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/m...180#post255180

Brake duct step files.zip

[bigjae46]

You could 3D print something like my design which tends to direct air better than your video, if my testing also holds. Then if you like that, make a carbon version
https://youtu.be/8Zhji8t9YA8?si=pUp66zGyjkCpOo3-

I like it! I'm pretty sure this would get much better results but I don't need a TON of cooling. I already don't have a lot of pad wear and I'm worried about overcooling the brakes. In fact, I will likely have to remove them during cooler weather.

I'll have to look into that duct for my next track project...could be a G87 M2. Do you have a file for that duct? Or let me know if you're willing to print a pair.

[Bry5on]

You could 3D print something like my design which tends to direct air better than your video, if my testing also holds. Then if you like that, make a carbon version

https://youtu.be/8Zhji8t9YA8?si=pUp66zGyjkCpOo3-

[bigjae46]

My tire bounty from NASA. Almost a set of 4!



Carbon fiber brake deflectors finally done! Geez...I'm so behind! Here is info from my initial test with an aluminum deflector -

https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/special-interests/track-autox/326258-testing-brake-deflectors#post326258

Simple install with a zip tie. I had a 65-70 improvement with the deflectors with a flat splitter. This time, I am using a splitter with tunnels. Honestly, got a lot lucky that the deflectors line up perfectly with the tunnels. Hopefully the deflectors don't interfere with low pressure zone at the leading edge of the tunnels.







More testing this weekend to see if the tunnels increase brake cooling.

[bigjae46]

Finally getting into some deeper data analysis now that I can get brake pressure data. Throttle and steering are easier to analyze and improve without a ton of data.

This is a very helpful video to setup Race Studio for AIM users... https://youtu.be/8bcPAwmzkM4?si=nY_IB_Q-KIK5lxmV

This is from my last event at ECR. I had two big time deltas. One was just a matter of rolling more speed into the corner. This one was more interesting. The delta just started climbing from this point. It was not obvious looking at speed and long/lat acceleration. This is where the MK60 brake pressure data is critical The brake trace on top was very different. The green line (fast lap) was a relatively smooth ramp up and then release with less trail braking than the red line.

The red line is I ramped up the brakes slower, perceived to not slow the car enough and then got on the brakes again. That should unbalance the car more than the green trace. Lesson learned is I really need to be more precise in my braking and that is where the time is. That was my theory but it helps knowing it.

[bigjae46]

It's functional, hah! What does the driver's side look like?

It has an intake air opening.

[Slideways]

Damn...got the colors in the right order but the slant is the wrong way 😫

F'it...it's going on the car!

It's functional, hah! What does the driver's side look like?

[bigjae46]

Damn...got the colors in the right order but the slant is the wrong way 😫

F'it...it's going on the car!