Motorkhana Preparation

[Hotwire]

Hey all,

Im interested in trying out some local motorkhana events next year in my 33 GTS-t, and Im wondering if anything special needs to be done to prepare the car?

Im aware when attending track days (Mallala is the local) Brakes are VERY important, ie. good pads, dot 6 fluid etc. But with Motorkhana, is there any special prep? With the quick changes in direction, is overfilling the sump slightly required to prevent any sort of oil surge issues?

Would like to hear from people who have entered such events.

Cheers

Lee

[evil_weevil]

Id say with fluids - power steering get a "sweat band" and put that on the resivour as it soaks it up when it spills/boils

Yeah I touch the oil up a bit also.

Id also be looking at getting sway bars front and rear if you haven't already done so

Maybe a "drift button" for the handbrake

[Duncan]

Most important things are

1/ tighten up your handbrake (drift style/fly off would be great)

2/ nice tight diff so is doesnt single spin in the tight stuff

and thats about it. enjoy it they are great fun.

you won't get brake fade (25 sec run, top speed 60ish)

you won't get oil surge (no sustained gs)

[psi]

Just make sure all the fluids are full and not over full, wind the boost DOWN, raise the rear tyre pressure about 5psi higher than u usually have it (but not above what the tyre says!). the higher pressure will help the car flick around easier, down side is that there is a little less grip!

Take lots of water, a chair and remove all other crap from car

have fun!

[Hotwire]

Thanks for that. Now I just need to find out the 2008 dates for SA... CAMS etc dont have any dates yet. Any ideas when they normally release the calendars?

[Belsil80]

As far as i know cams has nothing to do with organising motakhanas. it will be organised by a car club which you would usually have to be a member of.

As for car prep, with a big car you need it to be stiff so you can slide in tight spots. just turning will be useless in such a big car. i use a drift button which makes life easier, and if your diff openwheels at all it can make it frustrating as Duncan pointed out.

[phunky_monkey]

As said above, with a heavy car you definately need it to be stiffer, and have a diff that's in good order. Get used to the handbrake too, turning on concrete in a heavy car is not so nice...

[Dale FZ1]

Concrete??

Try an event on dirt/grass.

Either way, be prepared for a Skyline to be bigger than optimum, overpowered and unable to put power down compared to some machines out there. But be prepared for it to be a ton of fun.

Besides car preparation, speak with club officials who run the event. If it's a CAMS sanctioned event you will need the appropriate licensing too.

[Hotwire]

Well most motorkhana's are held here at a big car park for a distribution centre (we dont have a propper skid pan ) so pretty sure its bitumen. I realise the skyline might be a little oversize, but Im really only going there to have some fun and throw the car around a bit. I dont expect to be competitive

[TURISMO]

I think the Skylines can be competitive. You'll be in the long wheelbase class (Class D over 2750mm) but I reckon you will easily take out your class which mostly consists of falcodores, magnas, and bmws.

[Neil]

Lee everyone got it about right. I wouldn't bother spending money on sway bars unless you want to. I did 2 1/2 years of khanaring and the 2 main points you need to address are the diff and fluids.

PSI's right on the money but even more tyre pressure is what I used. An old bloke came up to me after about 4 events and asked what pressures I was running, I said about 36-40, he says "In car that big no way" told me to run 46-50 and on my next run the R33 slid around the 180 degree hats as smooth as silk. Turns out he's been around khanas for donkeys years and always wins his class. He ran a 4wd TX5 turbo with all 4 wheels at 50.

Have fun

Neil.

[psi]

that is so true..

I run skid days up here in Gympie (north of brizzy) on wet concrete..

My rear tyres have a max pressure of 45 psi, and I run them on 45 psi!

And thats on WET concrete! Personally, I only use the hand brake when i screw up or need a megga tight turn. The skyline is more than well equipped to give a good outcome.. even just for fun!

The diff may not be to happy if you do to many of these days on the black stuff..

but if your not to hard on the old girl she should cope ok. I still have the stock diff, and mine has done 18 skid days now.

I use weight shift to help it slide, then GENTLY apply some power. That and the high tyre pressure really helps. I like to slide more than be quick! I do it for fun as well! aaarrgghhh hahahaha!

I love doing scando flicks and large power slides. The diff only works really hard when the tyres cant spin. Like when the car is coming into or out of a slide. once the traction on the tyre is broken, its easy for the diff to spin the 2 tyres.

that help?

[tjandriesen]

I've been running autocrosses here in the states which are similar to Motorkhana but a bit wider open. The fast cars here spends a lot of time focused on tire pressures and alignments. As mentioned before, pump up pressures and check between runs. You can tune in or out over/understeer by adjusting relative tire pressures. Tire temps are important and we actually hose them down between rounds if they get too hot. If you are serious you might consider optimizing camber setting which will improve your performance, but keep in mind they might not be optimal for track or street usage. For example top Evos are running -3.1 in front and -1.2 in back and 1/8 toe out in the rear which helps with rotation but is a bit twitchy on the track. Someone might ask SydneyKid as to what he would recommend for a Skyline.

And yes, I wish I still has my GTR.......

[Sinful]

I've been running autocrosses here in the states which are similar to Motorkhana but a bit wider open. The fast cars here spends a lot of time focused on tire pressures and alignments. As mentioned before, pump up pressures and check between runs. You can tune in or out over/understeer by adjusting relative tire pressures. Tire temps are important and we actually hose them down between rounds if they get too hot. If you are serious you might consider optimizing camber setting which will improve your performance, but keep in mind they might not be optimal for track or street usage. For example top Evos are running -3.1 in front and -1.2 in back and 1/8 toe out in the rear which helps with rotation but is a bit twitchy on the track. Someone might ask SydneyKid as to what he would recommend for a Skyline.

And yes, I wish I still has my GTR.......

haha sif you would take the GTR back over the EVO TJ Glad to hear your getting into it over there..can we see more pics?

Hotwire have you entered any of the motorkhana's this year ? I know the GSR evo club put them on regulary in SA and usually post the upcoming events on SAU! That timeattack coming up at Mallala looks the goods

[ZENNON]

like Duncan said oil and brakes will be fine

make sure your handbrake works

i can recommend taping a 2 dollar coin to the handbrake to keep the button pressed in

(remove tape at the end of the day - letting it bake on will make it messy)

ah and maybe get some cheapies for the back

[tjandriesen]

haha sif you would take the GTR back over the EVO TJ Glad to hear your getting into it over there..can we see more pics?

Unfortunately the GTR isn't legal in SCCA racing as they were never sold over here.

[Duncan]

Hey tim, any video of the autocross? The way I udnerstand them they are about the same as the deca/texikhana but with longer tracks, still 1st and maybe 2nd gear stuff on a skid pan. Is that about right?

Can't imagine a better car for the job than an evo 8.

[ZENNON]

Yeah thats why you have different classes - so the guys in the big boats also have a chance

These are the normal classes for a motorkhana (not sure about autocross):

Class AF - Front Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase from 1800 to 2150mm

Class AR - Rear Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase from 1800 to 2150mm

Class BF - Front Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase from 2151 to 2390mm

Class BR - Rear Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase from 2151 to 2390mm

Class CF - Front Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase from 2391 to 2574mm

Class CR - Rear Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase from 2391 to 2574mm

Class DF - Front Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase 2575mm and over

Class DR - Rear Wheel Drive- Production vehicles with a wheelbase 2575mm and over

Class E - Production vehicles with 4 wheel drive

Class F - Front wheel drive specials

Class G - Rear wheel drive specials

(taken from here)

[FloydWestwood]

i guess its not such a great idea taking the passenger seat out and any removable weight and stuff like that. too much wasted time over little advantage???

[ZENNON]

yeah i wouldn't bother - you do have to remove any loose items for safety reasons

and i normally remove the spare wheel too - but thats about it