DeTomaso Mailing List: May 1997, Message #217
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Hello again, Okay, so at 1:18 a.m. I finally found John Wehrheim's article from the Jan '95 PCNC newsletter. Notice, Jim, that the tires he's running are labelled as STREET tires as opposed to dedicated race tires. Also, he's running a 245/45 in the front on 8-inch Campys, and had no rubbing problems... Building a Budget Bullet In a recent article, Mike Drew mentioned that I had set the fast time for Panteras at the latest Shelby/Ferrari Club Virginia City Hillclimb (and my time was 3:50, not 3:52, by the way!). Since I've now been immortalized, I thought I would share with you all some of the changes I mao my Pantera which shaved twelve seconds off my time on the course. Everybody and their brother has described how to build a killer motor, so I'll skip that and just concentrate on the suspension and chassis. My goal was to make the car corner better while not spending a lot of money. The first dilemma I faced was the issue of tire choice. Currently, there is only one street tire available suitably sized for the 10-inch Campagnolo wheel, that being the H-rated and only semi-sticky BF Goodrich Euro T/A. The old Pirelli P7 was state-of-the-art in the early eighties, but is woefully obsolete by now (not to mention horribly expensive and out-of-production for several years, therefore hard to find). One alternative that is available is making the switch to 17-inch wheels. I decided to avoid this route for two reasons. First of all, a complete wheel and tire package is too costly, and in my opinion the packages being offered aren't really suitable for sporting driving. The reason? Well, the biggest problem with the Pantera is that it understeers coming out of a corner, and putting even wider wheels and tires in the rear would simply aggravate the situation. No, I wanted to improve the performance of my Pantera by tuning the stock suspension components. And by stock I really mean stock-original a-arm bushings, springs and shocks. This project started several years ago. Most people don't realize that the stock shocks on a Pantera are actually adjustable. I removed them and adjusted them to their firmest setting, and while I was at it I removed the aluminum spring spacers, which were installed at the factory to raise the car so the bumper height would meet federal minimum standards. At the same time, I replaced the stock 3/4" rear swaybar with the so-called 'GTS' bar (which is the same diameter as the stock front bar, 7/8"). The result of these three modifications was a significant improvement in overall handling characteristics. The traditional understeer was mostly gone, and the car felt fairly neutral, although the P7's were still limiting the amount of cornering force available. This year, I made a few other modifications. Since my rear Pirellis were worn out, I bought Hoosier tires that are H-rated and extremely sticky, not to mention inexpensive ($130). They won't last forever, but will probably last as long as any of the ultra-performance tires available today. The sizes are: Before After Pirelli P7R Hoosier Street TD Front 225/50-15 245/45-15 Rear 285/50-15 275/60-15 I also had the car aligned by Roger Krause Racing in San Leandro. They are one of the most respected alignment and suspension shop in northern California. Based on their recommendations and extensive experience with Panteras, I made the following changes: Before After Front Camber -0.2 -0.8 Toe-in/out -0.2 +0.4 Caster +2.0 +2.0 Rear Camber -1.2 -0.6 Toe-in +0.4 +0.6 These simple changes further reduced my time on the hill, and provided me with a well-balanced car with virtually no understeer at a very reasonable cost. For next year, maybe adjustable shocks, springs, polyurethane bushings, or better brakes. Stay tuned!