PRI 2019: What’s New and Cool Edition
by Erik Jacobs
As we do every year, the MotoIQ staffers gathered in frosty Indianapolis for the annual motorsports trade show, the Performance Racing Industry show. This show is a real treat for many of us because, in addition to all of the amazing new hardcore racing bits that come out, we get to see many of our industry friends that we only meet with at this show.
As in years past the typical celebrity sightings occur, although most of the fanboy attention for the last several shows has been directed towards the automotive sphere that is Street Outlaws and its related things. Love it or hate it, the show has done quite a bit to (re)popularize no-prep racing and to shine the light on pro-mod type builds.
Anyway, here’s a roundup of things that I personally felt were new, cool, or otherwise worthy of showing you.
For 2019 they have decided to compliment their Fuel Cell Surge Tank (FCST) top plate with a complete fuel cell of their own design. This 10-gallon cell features a locally, US-made bladder and the entire assembly carries an SFI certification, with the ink for the FIA paperwork in the process of drying. These cells come with an optional cage that you can install into your chassis to reduce the total quantity of fabrication – you might remember everything that went into the Project SC300 fuel cell install.
Also pictured here are some of Radium’s new dry break fueling couplers. On the fuel cell itself is a dry break receiver for which Radium makes a mating fuel jug and coupler. This makes for rapid and easy fueling while at the track. On top of the cell and in the foreground is their fender-mounted dry break receiver. Simply bolt or rivet this adapter onto your chassis, plumb the other side to your fuel cell, and you are ready to go. But, for folks whose cars still might do double duty and need to fill up at the regular pump, the dry break receiver can simply be unscrewed from inside the fender mount, allowing for a traditional pump nozzle to be used.
Lastly, Radium has begun to offer brushless configurations for the FCST, partnering with Ti Automotive for the pumps.
The folks in StopTech R&D have been busy figuring out how to raise the bar, and they seem to have figured out how with the new clean-slate C61 caliper. This completely new design makes heavy use of topography optimization software (which is a form of advanced Finite Element Analysis [FEA]) which lead to additional weight savings over the previous generation calipers, producing a massive 6-pot stopper that weighs a scant 6 lbs. Look for these to be available in Q1 of 2020. Additionally, a new 5th-generation Trophy caliper is due out with several enhancements and improvements handed down from the competition lineup.
Whether you like it or not, in 2020 StopTech will be phasing out all anodized finishes in favor of nickel plating like you see here. Also, StopTech hinted at some interesting skunkworks projects they had in the brake pad space, but I was sworn to secrecy under penalty of having to give my brake kits back. This mouth is shut.
8 comments
I’d like to see a study on the differences between split calipers like the stoptechs and forged monoblock calipers like AP/Alcons. Other than saving a few grams what do you get for a 50% price hike?
I’ve thought about putting a Fueltech ECU dash on my miata on and off since I heard about them. The support is what’s holding me back, there is a huge community of Megasquirt miata owners that can offer support. But the FT450 looks like a badass deal to me, ECU + dash + datalogger, it even has an internal MAP sensor.
I mean, it really wouldn’t be that hard of a test to do, just expensive as it’s not like they give the suckers away. You’re also going to have to try to be apples to apples, as I have a strong suspicion that some parts of AP, Alcon, PFC etc’s lineup have picked different values on the compromise scale of stiffness vs weight or are designed with different constraints. A lot of the high buck monoblock calipers are built to specific classes/configurations. Like, just as a for example, I think the STR60GT is (I think) a similar pad shape/volume to the Alcon TA6 caliper, but will it fit as big of a rotor into a 16″ race wheel? Probably not, because Stoptech probably wasn’t designing for a specific class.
The max rotor size is a good argument I hadn’t though of. You can probably get the same stiffness and rotor/pad size for half the price by going with a split caliper but if you want the biggest rotor you can fit in a wheel then monoblock would be the only option.
Which is not anything against Stoptech IMO, it’s just a “stuff designed to the limits of rules for specific applications will do better at that then a generalist design” thing.
@Nicolas Girard
Most modern racing ECUs have internal MAP as well as some level of logging. It’s really the integrated dash that is the bonus, as that’s generally a $600+ option from just about any other vendor.
For a non-forced-induction BP6 (I’m assuming NA/NB motor that doesn’t even have VVT) you really are fine with anything. If your motor is already running on the Megasquirt, you could go with one of the logging dashes like the AEM CD7-L. It’s pricey, but would round out everything you need, and in the future you could use any other ECU with that setup.
If you don’t have anything yet, the FT450 could be a great option, and the support should be pretty good. FuelTech is based right around the corner from me in Georgia and they’re super friendly. Most of your “issues” would be around wiring (no plug-and-play FT450-BP6 harness) and a base map (FuelTech probably doesn’t do many NA 4-cyls). But motors will run even with pretty bad maps and you just need to get it going well enough to get on the dyno =)
Thanks for the info, I’ve never installed an ECU myself, I’m looking at swaping my 200k miles BP6 to a later model engine BP4W or BPZ3 and the Megasquirt looks like the easiest option.
NA/NB miatas have chunky MAF sensors instead of MAP, I thought the megasquirt didn’t have an internal MAP (it does) because I’ve read about putting in a GM IAT/MAP sensor when you delete the MAF.
TIL: Turns out you do it because the MAF module you delete also has the intake air temp sensor inside, the GM part has the IAT and gives you a second MAP for barometric data.
For a first time, the plug in ECU with the wide user base is probably the more intelligent choice. The FT450 is still a great deal, it’s a bit cheaper than the MSpnpPRO, has a dash and real slick program.
The AEM dash is a cool piece but it is half the price of the Miata on its own. it would look off brand next to the knockoff Bride seats and cheapo NRG steering.
All good points. That MS3 Pro with a plug-and-play harness is going to work great. Good luck!
In theory the advantage of 1 piece calipers is less flex.
In practice I think would be hard to tell.