Project #YAE92 M3: Part 3 – It’s The Little Things

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Those red bits are our fire system nozzles we’ve plumbed into the engine bay; one pointed at each exhaust header as they're the most likely source of ignition in the event of a fire under the hood. One more points at the driver because we figure he’s pretty important too.

Our fire pulls are positioned in areas that are out of the way for driver changes but can still be easily reached by the driver when he’s seated and strapped in. They can also be accessed easily from outside the car by safety crews. There is one on the passenger side as well in case that side of the car is more easily accessed by safety crews.

Rear exterior trunk pull made out of an extra fire suppression system pull handle and cable. Sturdily mounted so it can be quickly and easily operated during a pit stop should a crew member need to get back there. We wrapped it in neon green tape so it’s easier to see at night.

Another small item seldom thought about until the last minute is door and trunk pulls. When we gutted our doors to make room for the roll cage, the factory door handles and mounting points went with them so we had to figure out a new way to operate the door latches so that the driver can get out quickly and easily in case of a fire. Being a bunch of old BMX bike racers, we had a lot of bicycle brake cables and housings lying around.  When attached to a metal ring, these made for great pull handles for our doors. On the trunk, we used an extra pull cord from our fire system giving our pit crew a sturdy and easy to grab T-handle in case they need to get into the trunk area for quick suspension adjustments to the rear coilovers, get to the battery, etc.

 


In this photo you can see our door pulls mounted in a position easily accessible to the driver and wrapped in neon orange tape to be easier to see. You’ll also notice our awesome CAE shifter which we haven’t installed yet.

With long stints inside the car, driver comfort and ergonomics are important in endurance racing.  That’s why we sprung for a CAE Shifter.  While it may look like a sequential shifter it’s actually a standard H-Pattern replacement for the stock shifter. It’s designed not only to reduce the throw making it easier to shift quicker, but also to sit much higher than the stock shifter which means the driver doesn’t have to move his hand as far off the wheel to get to it. It’s also more in the driver’s field of vision making it easier to find. That sounds like it wouldn’t be a problem but when you’re driving 3 hour stints at night in a 25 Hour race, minimizing any chance of mistakes is a good idea. Plus you can’t deny the fact that it looks really cool.

 


Justin Wray Designs installing a 3M brilliant blue vinyl wrap. You’ll also notice the yellow tinted headlights which help spread out the light emitted from the headlights. The yellow tinted lights also make it easier to ID our car during night races both for our crew and for other cars on track.

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