The following warnings occurred:
Warning [2] Undefined property: MyLanguage::$archive_pages - Line: 2 - File: printthread.php(287) : eval()'d code PHP 8.2.27 (Linux)
File Line Function
/inc/class_error.php 153 errorHandler->error
/printthread.php(287) : eval()'d code 2 errorHandler->error_callback
/printthread.php 287 eval
/printthread.php 117 printthread_multipage



Madison Motorsports
The Lawn Dart - Printable Version

+- Madison Motorsports (https://forum.mmsports.org)
+-- Forum: Technical (https://forum.mmsports.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Member's Projects (https://forum.mmsports.org/forumdisplay.php?fid=12)
+--- Thread: The Lawn Dart (/showthread.php?tid=11284)

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-04-2019

(04-04-2019, 07:47 AM)HAULN-SS Wrote: That reminds me of the time I had to fuck with the brakes on my SS for days. I was following instructions to the T and never could get any pedal feel. Finally figured out I had the bleeders at the bottom, and had to swap calipers to the other side. Annoying af, but I'll never fuck it up again.

Yeah I did that with the stock calipers on this thing at first. Had 2 passenger side calipers and didn't notice one side had the bleeder on the bottom. Apparently it's a pretty common mistake. The good thing about these wilwood calipers is that there's a set of bleeders on both ends of the caliper, so 4 total. Push comes to shove I should be able to swap them but I don't think that is going to be the case. Didn't see a single bubble out of this caliper on the outside bleeder and bleeding both is really just for good measure. It does sit directly below the master cylinder so I may get lucky.

The pedal does get firm but it's a little soft at first. I'm thinking it's due to this being on the smaller size for a power brake master cylinder. Most people run a 1 1/8" bore with a hydroboost. This thing is only a 1" bore which is why it was able to serve double duty as a crappy manual setup. Those are typically 15/16"-7/8". It's going to have a longer travel and softer feel than it probably should but that may help out with modulation. Guess we'll find out once I have time to drop the car. The GF smashed her pinky toe on one of our stools and is now on crutches and dependent on me to get her anywhere she needs to go, at least it's not broken.

(04-04-2019, 08:15 AM)Kaan Wrote: this is the story of my life. you aren't in this alone... promise.

Yeah I'm feeling better now. Just need a break from the car for a while but also really don't want to miss the show. Just too many rough days in a row for my patience at this point. Nothing that happened yesterday was really all that bad, just messy and inconvenient.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-04-2019

So the brakes are ridiculous. DEFINITELY not going to have a problem locking up the wheels at all. Now I wonder if they were fine all along and just felt weird since I've never really messed with a hydroboost setup before. Pedal feels kinda soft but the brakes definitely bite hard. Gonna do some shake down runs tomorrow. On the fence about autocrossing, definitely not taking it on the cruise but should make it to the show unless something else decides to pop off randomly and strand me.

[Image: tenor.gif?itemid=9140868]


The Lawn Dart - Senor_Taylor - 04-04-2019

Please trailer it to the show.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-04-2019

(04-04-2019, 08:34 PM)Senor_Taylor Wrote: Please trailer it to the show.

[Image: giphy.webp]

no fun in that.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-05-2019

Gonna have to take it out tomorrow morning. Didn't expect it to actually drizzle all damn day but it did. Just gonna hit a few gas stations and check for leaks at each one around 8 and then take it home for a thorough inspection. If all is good then it should be show-ready. Pulled it into the driveway and let it idle for about 30 minutes today and didn't see anything major. Had some smoke and sizzling at the back of the drive side header. I figured it was a small coolant leak since that hole goes go into a water jacket but I specifically remember making a big mess with the thread sealant and then it dawned on me I'm probably just burning some off. Looked and smelled nothing like coolant too so that's a relief. Getting to that stud was going to be very difficult. Overflow tank was leaking a good bit so I threw a clamp on it and that stopped it.

Brakes hold strong enough for a decent burnout so I'm not worried about the driveway. If it can hold back 400ft/lbs of torque, the driveway should be nothing. Would have tested it today but driving back up would have been sketchy. Not gonna make it to the autocross and not too upset about it to be honest. Getting up at the ass-crack of dawn with a hangover and standing around half the day to get six 45 second runs in just isn't as exciting as it used to be. I'd rather just relax and catch up on some of the non-car related things I was supposed to get done this week.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-07-2019

So we made it and even made it home as well. Grabbed some mt dew from the nearest gas station and then drove to a little corner store with no ethanol gas before taking it back into the garage saturday morning. Figured that was a enough to trust it for the show.

The brakes continue to impress, definitely $700 well spent. Caught a yellow light doing 65 on 33 and puckered a good bit before remembering I'm not running the old manual system anymore. Stopped wayyyy short and felt like a dumbass but really glad to not have that problem anymore.

[Image: 56312101_10157222596081810_8904040745950...e=5D4B6513]

Had a good bit of smoke coming from out underneath the car on the way there and back. Dripping some tranny fluid onto my headers right where the plug for the neutral safety switch. Probably just needs to be tightened and/or thread sealant. I should probably hook that up at some point but right now I just don't care. Pulls a lot harder in 3rd than it used to for sure. Also haven't seen a drop of oil seeping out the intake or valve covers so mission accomplished.

Honestly just going to forget this thing exists for a bit and focus on my job search.


The Lawn Dart - Senor_Taylor - 04-08-2019

Glad to hear it! It was nice seeing it! Take a step back and breathe.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk


RE: The Lawn Dart - Kaan - 04-08-2019

it was good to see it out... I wont lie, I said something like "umm lets get out of this things way... you know, just in case the brakes aren't working right."


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-11-2019

(04-08-2019, 10:42 AM)Senor_Taylor Wrote: Glad to hear it! It was nice seeing it! Take a step back and breathe.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Image: qHMfjze.gif]

For those not following the chat:

[Image: 56509963_10157227971886810_3233845632103...e=5D442480]

The Ralliart has apparently been slowly eating the inside corner of the front tires. These are 1 year old and the passenger side actually wore all the way down. I've been in touch with Firestone who did the alignment when the tires were new. They're open to making things right but I'm betting it's going to be like pulling teeth. They've already tried to blame it on the fact I didn't bring it to them for a tire rotation but they haven't seen the wear yet so I'll give em a pass for now.

Got some new tires thrown on at a different shop and they tried to redo the alignment but just about every bolt on the underside of this car is seized thanks to the Chicago winters it endured. Get to find out today if they have to start cutting bolts and replacing parts/bushings. FUCK. MY. LIFE. At least having someone else do the shitty work is an option this time.

[Image: drunk6.jpg]


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-15-2019

Time to inject some positivity here. Been playing with the idea of ditching the Ralliart for a boring car and upgrading the truck to a crew cab. Recent events have obviously played a role in accelerating that plan.

I saw a sublime green Ram 1500 at the PCA auto cross and I knew I just had to have it. I'm a huge fan of letting someone else take the first big depreciation hit but it was a little hard to find something with around 10-15k miles on it. They only made 1500 of them so that didn't help either. I called around and found a place in NY with 3 of them but they stuck really hard to their guns about selling it right at MSRP even though all 3 had been titled to a leasing company at one point and were sitting next to 2019's for the same damn price. They went so far as to claim they owned the truck, the lot and the bank outright so they weren't losing any money at all with them sitting on the lot (LOL). It was at this point, I gave up for a while until I decided to do a quick "I wonder what's the closest one I can find" search last Friday and found one that fit the bill in Roanoke.

[Image: YlW2Kwm.png]

Was priced right at about $10k under brand new and only had 18k miles. Clean carfax with an extensive service history, someone babied this thing. Wasn't really looking to make the jump since I'm between jobs at the moment but I sent it to the gf because we were discussing ditching the Ralliart the day before. She jumped on it and basically demanded I go look at it because she knows I really want this thing (and road trips being shoulder-to-shoulder with a bored 5 year old is basically torture). She called them up and worked her magic on the car salesmen. They were VERY interested in taking the old truck (because they're going to make a ton of money off my impatience and knew it).

The trip was a little eventful. Had a few downpours and came to a dead stop on 81 a few times. The truck had a slight wobble that started around 70mph and got bad around 80. Got there and the lot was packed so I had to do a lap and I saw it when I went around the corner. The dude didn't even really say much, just handed me the keys and told me to have fun while he worked on getting the paperwork in order. My kinda salesman.

[Image: mZS2lOu.jpg]

The process was pretty smooth until they wanted to give me $11k for the trade-in. I was pretty pissed at first buuttttt: I did put an ugly ass dent+scrape in the bumper when I grazed the retaining wall, and it needed tires + a wheel bearing or 2. Still it only had 35k miles on it. I would have had a bloodbath in my driveway if I threw this thing on Craigslist for $11k. I still think I could have had it gone for $15k in a week. The salesman of course disappeared for 30 minutes while he discussed the appraisal and I was left with a hungry and bored 5 year old the entire time. He came back and said best they can do is $11,500. It's bullshit of course because they're gonna fix that bumper and throw it on the lot for at least $18k. I didn't have the patience or time to play this game though, so I just went with it. The alternative was driving back home empty handed, dealing with dozens of dipshits trying to talk down the price of the truck "because it's a 2012", dealing with not having the title and a pending inspection knowing damn well it was going to fail for tires. Sooooooo I took it but I'm still not very happy about it. Right as he was handing me the final paper to sign I thought "If I was going to give this thing away for $11k it should have at least gone to someone in the club" and felt even worse about the deal. But what's done is done (and what's dead may never die). The drive back was MUCH more enjoyable. These trucks have come a long way since 2012 for sure. It was great having little man safely asleep in the backseat and not on my shoulder with his face making it's way towards the dash every time I hit the brakes.

[Image: OT5EIaG.jpg]

The interior and sound system are super nice compared to the barebones setup in the old truck. Was able to dial in the driver seat so that I didn't end up with a knot in my back after an hour or 2 of driving.

[Image: 15beLMW.jpg]

The black leather + lime stitching looks so damn good too.

[Image: 6u4R34P.jpg]

Don't think I'll be missing the long bed very often.

TL;DR: don't bring kids to a car dealership that haven't eaten dinner unless getting fucked on trade-ins is your kink

Check out the shot from Stephen:

[Image: gdLSZaP.jpg]


RE: The Lawn Dart - Jake - 04-15-2019

LOVE the color on that Ram. So much. Congrats!


RE: The Lawn Dart - .RJ - 04-15-2019

Nice matching vehicles!

Dont sweat the trade in too much. I've chased maximizing the dollar out of things a lot and it can be stressful and time consuming. A new bumper, tires and wheel bearings at a shop would probably set you back $2500 plus weeks of your time, plus the hassle of dealing with selling privately. Its a shame that trade in value isnt taken off the bottom line for the sales tax though.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-15-2019

(04-15-2019, 11:32 AM).RJ Wrote: Nice matching vehicles!

Dont sweat the trade in too much.  I've chased maximizing the dollar out of things a lot and it can be stressful and time consuming.  A new bumper, tires and wheel bearings at a shop would probably set you back $2500 plus weeks of your time, plus the hassle of dealing with selling privately.  Its a shame that trade in value isnt taken off the bottom line for the sales tax though.

Yeah I'm trying to get over it fully. I probably could have squeezed a good $2k-$3k more out the deal if I walked away. But yeah I'd have to be dealing with more shops that are booked up for entire weeks and/or probably at least a dozen or so people showing up with only half the money or without a clue how to get the damn thing in their name. In theory it would have been an easy sale but I have to remind myself in reality it was likely not going to be all that simple. Plus that truck would have been long gone and I'd be stuck flying out to NY or somewhere to get another chance at one.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Goodspeed - 04-15-2019

Wowow that color is so rad. I mean, your car looks great in it, but damn does it pop on that truck!

And, welcome to a life of never losing your vehicle in a parking lot : P


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 04-16-2019

(04-15-2019, 03:37 PM)Goodspeed Wrote: Wowow that color is so rad.  I mean, your car looks great in it, but damn does it pop on that truck!

And, welcome to a life of never losing your vehicle in a parking lot : P

You aren't kidding. We popped into a McDonald's next door because it was close to 9. It was basically glowing in the dark and couldn't help but just chuckle at how beautifully obvious it is. They did a real good job on this color. If I ever get around to repainting the Demon I'm definitely going to go with the new Sublime green over the 1970's. Not sure what all they changed but it's definitely more intense than the paint on the car.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 05-01-2019

The truck's been great. Having a back-up camera for my driveway is a godsend.

Firestone actually gave us 2 free tires to replace the ones that got shredded on the Ralliart. I though that was pretty fair since we definitely exceeded the miles of their alignment warranty by a good amount and also managed to get around half the life out of the tires we should have. They're sitting in the garage for now.

The Demon has been running good. Haven't driven it much due to the tranny leak. I got under there last weekend and did what I could. Felt some fluid on top so I figured it was coming from the plug I was using. Ended up destroying what was left of the threads in one of holes used in my shifter bracket. I slipped a 1/4" bolt through the hole and put a nut on the end of it for now. Got thread sealer on the plug and took it for a test spin. It's still leaking but not as much. My current theory is that it was never leaking from the plug at all and was coming up through that bolt hole. Got a Heli-Coil repair kit on the way to solve this problem for good. I REALLY want to use this as an excuse to get a QuickJack but I really can't be blowing that kinda money at the moment even if it might make this job a lot easier and safer.


RE: The Lawn Dart - ReallySlowGP - 05-03-2019

I'm not a huge fan of Dodge Rams but god damn that green looks good on them.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 05-13-2019

Sooooooooo not making it to Hyperfest at all. Mostly because I don't think I can get back and get the car from Richmond on Friday and can't really ask to leave all that early during my second week of work. The other part of the problem is I have maybe 50 miles on the new rings. Probably not the best idea to be redlining it for the exhaust and burnout competitions. In theory I could take the Ralliart again but I feel I'd just be disappointed that this car wasn't there. And as fun as it was hanging with everyone last year, I think I'd rather grab a trailer on Saturday (if I can) and take it up to the MBCA autocross on Sunday. It's also $30 compared to $300 to do what I want at Hyperfest.

tl;dr: I'm a loser making excuses, please shame me.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Deceus - 05-20-2019

So I didn't want a good weekend to go to waste. There was so much going on but the MBCA autocross on Sunday was my only real option since I was stuck picking up a trailer on Saturday morning at the earliest. Also had a birthday party to cook for from 12-2 after that. Was surprised to even see one in stock given the amount of events going on in the area. There was, of course, Hyperfest but also SCCA, PCA and MBCA were all having events this weekend. Still managed to secure a last minute reservation on Thursday night.

[Image: BVDF1az.jpg]

I don't think that setup is ever going to get old. Looks amazing and I get comments on it every time I stop some where with it. The truck did pretty good but I wasn't really expecting any different. Tranny temp stayed under 175 and got around 15mpg. I think the gear ratio in this truck is a 3.21 instead of a 3.55 like the last truck. Definitely noticed the difference pulling away from a stop but overall not too bad. Definitely A LOT more comfortable to drive. Was second guessing myself once I got to the event though. I've really only driven the car to the show in April and that's really it. Haven't spotted any real issues but I also haven't driven it much, wasn't sure what to expect. Smelled a bit of coolant when I was cranking down the tire straps. Checked it once I got to the lot and it was just a small run from one of the smaller lines. All the lines themselves were dry and not actively leaking so I just shut the hood and pretended it didn't happen because what's the worse that can happen.

Got threw all six runs without any incident though. Pushed the car pretty hard to get a feel for the brakes and they're still phenomenal. Not a drop of oil anywhere too, so the crank case pressure issue is definitely resolved. Tires are definitely a much needed upgrade at this point but still a little too pricey for me to consider at the moment. Temp did get up a bit while waiting to launch but never really broke 195 so that's probably fine. Felt really good to just whip the car around and not have it stutter or rub or do anything other than respond.

[Image: 60461932_10157332665691810_6574886324996...e=5D66CEB5]

[Image: 60782843_10157332665651810_6164274347553...e=5D547A5D]

Good things come to those who ... are too stubborn (or stupid) to quit.


RE: The Lawn Dart - Jake - 05-20-2019

Awesome to see an event go off without a hitch (see, I'm also pretending that coolant leak isn't a leak)! Glad you're out there and it sounds like you are coming around the bend with this car. Hopefully we'll see you out at a NASA event soon - would be fun to see the car ripping around all weekend in HPDE 1.

The truck/car matching thing is money. I love it.