Don't worry, the X-Games write up will come-who knows when, but it'll come! :-)

Prepping T-4 for Rallye Defi St. Agathe.

Focus on the car varies between races, depending on what system needs improvement and what damage we've done at the last race!

Improvement has progressed steadily this season, and that's reflected in our finishes.

The brake system is our current focus, although no system in the car exists without affecting another.

So....I decided that we really needed to rectify my driving position. My seat was too far forward(and high) as we were using the stock, firewall mounted Subaru pedals. We had been using the stock master cylinder(without vacuum assist) to our Group N brake calipers.

To say that the system didn't work well would be a bit of an understatement. I mean, I could stop the car, but braking late and hard is the name of the game. In order to do that, we needed to re-engineer the whole system.

A couple of e-mails late and a floor mounted pedal box was on its way from England. A few more magical clicks on the internet and three new Wilwood compact master cylinders were on their way. Heating up the debit card a bit more resulted in a bunch of AN stainless plumbing heading across the US of A to Triple Caution Farm.

So, what else did we need to do?! The list only got longer. Floor mounted pedals meant that we could move my driver's seat back. Moving the seat rearward meant dropping the steering column a bit as well.

Removing the stock brake and clutch master cylinders meant some aluminum patches needed to be cut and riveted to the firewall to plug the holes. The remote reservoirs for the new dual brake master cylinders and the clutch master will be mounted in the engine compartment.

Each change to the car is made with specific concerns in mind; safety, speed, reliability.

The brake system/floor mounted pedals/changed driver's position result in numerous positives.

The position change of the seat allows me to enter and exit the car easier. This becomes even more crucial in an emergency situation. I am now sitting on level with the B-pillar, which puts more metal between me and the scenary. Never a bad thing!

The floor mounted pedals move some weight closer to the floor and further back in the car, helping to lower the center of gravity and change the polar moment of the car(moving my heft back does way more for this, but you get the idea!).

The dual master cylinders should allow for improved braking performance and the balance bar will enable me to change the bias from front to rear brakes as the conditions dictate.

What's the next system for an upgrade? Probably the turbo system, but that's a story for another day.

Stay tuned!

Cheers! John