San Pedro: Debut Race! (Updated w/ Vid)

28 May 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Customer Rides, King Motorsports, Racing (0)

Our Prelude race car project known as San Pedro recently had a great day of testing at Gingerman Raceway. Once back at the shop we did some fine tuning and adjustments based on what we learned.


We prepped spare noses/airdams and splitters in anticipation of San Pedro's debut race at Michigan International Speedway in two weeks.



5/25/2013: San Pedro wins its first National SCCA EP race from the pole of the 2013 race season at Michigan International Speedway today complete with a new lap record! Congrats to Moser Racing - awesome result!



5/26/2013: Day 2 at Michigan International Speedway. San Pedro wins the qualifying race by 39 seconds! Way to go Moser Racing!



Day 2 at Michigan International Speedway and another flag to flag win for San Pedro and the Moser Racing team! Way to go guys!!!!


San Pedro captures the pole in its very first SCCA EP National race of the 2013 race season- pumped!! Go Joe Moser!!!




Fun San Pedro factoid- Top speed at Michigan International Speedway on the banking was 144 mph. Entry speed into Turn 1 off the banking was 62 mph. San Pedro brakes from 144 mph to 62 mph in 63 feet!!!!


The Mosers have posted the video on Youtube!

San Pedro: Unleashed for Testing

03 May 2013 Administrator Customer Rides, King Motorsports, Racing (0)



We put our Prelude race car project known as "San Pedro" through the paces for testing at Gingerman Raceway this week, and the results were fantastic!



San Pedro's driver's office. Easy to read analog gauges, GPS based data aq and adjustable brake bias. Uncomplicated and clean!




Testing going well. First set of Hoosiers are now history.... :)



Starting to use some brakes.... Huge brake ducts and trick race pads. This is way they should look when you use them hard!



The driver says there was a balance problem. The crew refers to this as driver running out of talent :)

For the record, we are extremely happy the driver wants to push the boundaries of adhesion. Sometimes that means going over the limit to find exactly where that limit is. That's precisely why we go testing! We have plenty more splitters where this one came from (it helps that we made our own).



That's a wrap from Gingerman Raceway! We learned what the car likes and finished up 2 seconds under the lap record. A very good day!


Want to ride  along? Watch the San Pedro test video now posted on YouTube!

 


 

Re-inventing "San Pedro" Part 2 (Updated)

07 April 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Customer Rides, King Motorsports, Racing (0)


We've had so many pictures to share of our 4th gen Honda Prelude race car project (dubbed "San Pedro") that we've decided it's high time to start a new blog post! Welcome to "Re-inventing 'San Pedro' Part 2"!


Update 1/18/2013:


This week we have been working on building the plug from which the mold for the front air dam will be made. The airdam will provide a platform to mount the front splitter once completed. Here we are roughing out the foam core to the basic shape we are looking for.



Once the basic shape has been roughed out, Bondo is applied and sanded into a finished shape. This is a very time consuming process as the entire air dam has to be symmetric -- with a perfect surface finish. Up next, building the mold from this plug and making finished pieces out of carbon fiber! Stay tuned.....



Update 1/24/2013:


Work continues on the front airdam plug. After numerous coats of Bondo and shaping, we are getting close to a finalized shape. Next step is several applications of high build primer and sanding to make the surface of the airdam plug absolutely perfect with no pin holes or sanding marks. This is roughly what the airdam it will look like when attached to the front bumper.




Update 1/30/2013:


We have now completed the plug for the front airdam mold. Before the mold is made from this plug, it will be liberally coated with wax and then with a mold release agent so the fiberglass used in making the mold does not stick to the plug.



Here is an example of what the final mold looks like. The molds are designed to have great strength so there is no potential for any dimension of the final part to change during the lay up process.



The next step in producing the airdam for San Pedro is vacuum bag moulding.

Vacuum bag moulding uses a flexible film to enclose the part and seal it from outside air. A vacuum is then drawn on the vacuum bag and atmospheric pressure compresses the part during the cure process. Vacuum bag material is available in a tube shape or a sheet of material. When a tube shaped bag is used, the entire part can be enclosed within the bag. When using sheet bagging materials, the edges of the vacuum bag are sealed against the edges of the mould surface to enclose the part against an air-tight mould. When bagged in this way, the lower mold is a rigid structure and the upper surface of the part is formed by the flexible membrane vacuum bag. The flexible membrane can be a reusable silicone material or an extruded polymer film. After sealing the part inside the vacuum bag, a vacuum is drawn on the part (and held) during cure. This process can be performed at either ambient or elevated temperature with ambient atmospheric pressure acting upon the vacuum bag. A vacuum pump is typically used to draw a vacuum. An economical method of drawing a vacuum is with a venturi vacuum and air compressor.

A vacuum bag is a bag made of strong rubber-coated fabric or a polymer film used to compress the part during a cure or hardening process. In some applications the bag encloses the entire material, or in other applications a mold is used to form one face of the laminate with the bag being a single layer to seal to the outer edge of the mold face. When using a tube shaped bag, the ends of the bag are sealed and the air is drawn out of the bag through a nipple using a vacuum pump. As a result, uniform pressure approaching one atmosphere is applied to the surfaces of the object inside the bag, holding parts together while the adhesive cures. The entire bag may be placed in a temperature-controlled oven, oil bath or water bath and gently heated to accelerate curing.



Here are rolls of carbon fiber material that will be used to make the final airdam.



Daytona Red race cars have taken over the shop today!




Update 2/26/2013:

San Pedro update! The mold for the front air dam has been completed. Notice the robust construction of the mold to insure there is no chance of a core shift. Pictured is the backside of the mold. The upper and lower half are bolted together and then unbolted to release the final part.



Here is the inside of the front air dam mold for San Pedro. The surface finish has to be glass smooth as your finished part will pick up any imperfections.



A look at the first carbon fiber air dam out of the mold for San Pedro. Next up fitting to the car and measuring for the splitter plank....



Update 3/26/2013:

The front splitter/airdam is now complete and mounted. Next up building shrouding for the radiator, brake ducts and an airbox...



Update 4/3/2013:

In the shop today: TIG welding the aluminum airbox for San Pedro.




Update 4/4/2013:

Yesterday we bid a fond farewell to San Pedro. Next week we'll be testing San Pedro at an "unidentified" race track working various chassis setups. Here are a few photos before San Pedro was loaded up to head to its new home.



San Pedro basking in the sunlight after a winter makeover...



Detail shot of the front airdam/splitter profile. Lot's of downforce to be expected. How much? We shall soon see :)



All that's needed is the spacer between the seat and steering wheel :)




"San Pedro" Sees Daylight!

11 January 2013 Administrator King Motorsports, Racing (0)


Earlier this week we finally rolled up the garage door and nudged our Prelude race car project out into the bright, gleaming light of the winter sun. "San Pedro" is the 4th gen Honda Prelude we've been re-building from the floorboards up, and it's shaping up to be a performer!


Here are some of the first pictures of San Pedro freshly hosed off and ready for a few more aero "details" before we get ready for spring testing!



 

Bonus picture! Merrit M. sent us this photo she took of San Pedro circa 2000 (or 2001) at the SCCA Runoffs at Mid-Ohio. Thanks Merrit!


 

Re-inventing "San Pedro" Part 1 (Updated)

09 January 2013 Administrator Around the Shop, Customer Rides, King Motorsports, Racing (0)

There are cars that find new life as race cars, and then there are cars that are practically delivered straight to the track. This 4th gen Honda Prelude (BB4) is a very storied car that's been a race car its entire life -- winning a few championships in the hands of Bob Endicott (it was Bob's car). We are currently reinventing this thoroughbred race car for its next chapter -- which is sure to be very interesting! :)


Orange is the color of the year over here at King Motorsports. The Prelude race car project -- nicknamed "San Pedro" -- is geting a fresh paint job in a bright new color. Some call it Hugger Orange, we prefer to call it Daytona Yellow!! Here it is over at Don's Auto Body in West Allis, WI (Don does all of our paintwork, give him a call at 414-541-5155 if you need anything).




Next stop back to KMS for final assembly and setup.



Now that "San Pedro" is back from Don's Auto Body with a fresh coat of Daytona Yellow (some call it Daytona Red), Chad begins final assembly. Installing the fuel bladder, rear tin work and a set of freshly rebuilt and revalved Penske triple adjustable shocks are the first on the build list.



Fresh new parts and fresh paint-wonderful!!



Rear tin work-bead rolled to eliminate vibration noises. Dzus fasteners are used for easy access to the fuel systems.



We just installed the engine/transmission assembly into "San Pedro" Trick transmission with carbon synchro's and a Mugen limited slip (super rare). The engine is built to the limit of SCCA EP prep rules with a camshaft set ground to our specifications. We'll be using a Hondata S300 for tuning. Can't wait to get it on the dyno!



Getting closer to firing up San Pedro for initial engine break in on the dyno. The engine is now completely plumbed and the engine harness has been installed.



Fitting an oil catch tank on a Prelude is always tricky. We fabricated our own and plumbed it with Aeroquip -10 braided lines.



Here is where we vent the H series valve covers. Here the motor has a race header that DC built specifically for the car years ago. We will use it to establish a baseline before we start developing our own race header for it.



The fuel cell is completely plumbed. We ran a hard line under the car to the engine bay for the fuel feed and return. Connections are -6 Aeroquip.



The Penske triple adjustable damper canisters are mounted for ease of compression and rebound adjustments. Controlling wheel movement is the one of the most important considerations in making a race car handle properly.



Just started fabricating the dash for San Pedro. We use .080" sheet aluminum. We will mount an Autometer tach, oil press/temp and water temp gauge in this panel. Once fabrication has been completed we will send it out to be powder coated flat black to reduce glare.



View from the top of the dash.



San Pedro is alive!! The engine has been broken in on our dyno and we are now testing various intake and exhaust solutions.



It is critical that the initial start and break in of a new engine be monitored closely on the dyno with a wide band. We have seen far to many engines ruined by improper A/F ratios and poor "base line" tunes.



Chad is busy fabricating a new H23 dyno header for San Pedro...



On the dyno with San Pedro with our new H23 stepped race header.



Detail shot of the H23 header....



Finishing up TIG welding the 3" stainless race exhaust on "San Pedro" with a Magnaflow 3" stainless muffler.



Here is the header to Mid Pipe Flex Joint.



Some finishing details on "San Pedro" dash is in and gauges wired up.



Fuel filler fabrication.



Interior tin work completed and plexi windows fabricated and installed.



We rebuilt San Pedro's front suspension using new uprights, bearings, hubs and upper control arms. ARP extended studs were also installed.



More updates will be added to the blog as we go. Be sure to check out our Facebook page to see the updates on San Pedro as they happen!


Update 12/4/2012:


We haven't had an update on the progress of "San Pedro" in a while. Christmas came a bit early yesterday in the form of the correct steering hub to mount the steering wheel. We even hear a pair of factory side skirts are on their way to us. "All" we have to do now is fabricate a carbon front air dam to mount the splitter and it's off to the races!!



Update 12/13/2012:


Here's a picture of the newly-painted Volk TE37's with Hoosier race rubber:



Update 12/21/2012:


We are finalizing chassis setup on "San Pedro" -- this orange beast is on the scales and will soon be ready for testing!



Update 1/9/2013:


Finally... San Pedro gets a new windshield!



San Pedro sees the light for the first time in 2013! Spring testing is coming soon!



Clicky-click to see "Re-inventing 'San Pedro' Part 2" for a continuation of the build pics!