rfields
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Posts posted by rfields
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As things continue to pick up around our shop, we're looking for an experienced technician for a full time role. 90% of the time will be on race-only hardware but experience with modern performance street cars is a big plus. For referrals or a full job description, please email info@fieldsautoworks.com
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After much consternation and internal debate, we decided at the last minute to participate in the first track day of the year at Mid Ohio. The Chin Track Day and Mid Ohio staff were all very professional and enforced social distancing, mask wearing, temperature screening, etc.
We brought the red Cardinal (our test mule with a facelift) to drive and test, and the orange Cardinal (a customer car destined for California with some deadly serious air conditioning in it) to show off in the paddock.
Day 1 was Memorial Day, and we spent the majority of the day shaking the cobwebs off while giving rides to interested folks at the track. By the afternoon things were settling in and we began tweaking the car. Chin does a "happy hour" session at the end of the day, and we used it as a bit of a stress test to cycle the car between on track abuse and off track sitting.
Day 2 was quieter and we handed the keys to some of the Chin instructors to give it a shake in the morning sessions. One of the instructors has been a regular test driver for us, and he provided some excellent setup feedback while laying down some quick data sectors for us to analyze.
For the first afternoon session, I jumped in to test out some new tweaks we made based on the data and feedback. The car was doing a substantially better job getting and keeping heat in the old street tires with the changes, and lap times fell pretty dramatically. Things were going great, the car felt awesome, it was a beautiful day... and then suddenly catastrophe!
A critical braking system component failed - the driver's raggedy old right shoe! I went to start braking for the carousel and, very unexpectedly, felt the cold of the bare metal brake pedal against my foot! This sensation didn't last very long as my foot slid off the side of the pedal, slicing my sock and foot on the way by. My foot was now trapped behind the brake and gas pedals, and in a panic I smacked it against the back of the pedals twice trying to extract it. Once I finally made a calm, smooth motion to get my foot out and onto the pedal surface, I was out of asphalt.
The car's nose got busted up pretty decently and we have some suspension and subframe repair to do, but ultimately everything worked as designed and I got out unscathed. We got a free crash test that we didn't ask for, but the data and detailed analysis of the car will be invaluable. I certainly hope to never learn a more expensive lesson about driving equipment, and the new driving shoes are already in the mail. Looking forward to the next event after a few long nights in the shop this week.
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Selling 4 Wilwood rotor hats, part 170-10690 (https://www.wilwood.com/Hats/HatProd?itemno=170-10690). 5 x 4.5 bolt circle, .650 offset, commonly used in Mustang applications.
Bought to test, but won't work with our setup. Have been assembled and mounted but never actually run, so some scuffs/scratches but no actual abuse. Hats only, does not include rotors. CR price - asking $250 obo
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If anyone is, or knows, someone who is an essential worker and needs any form of automotive assistance, please direct them to me/us (rob.fields@fieldsautoworks.com). Race cars need to take a back seat in this unprecedented time and we have some idle resources. Thanks.
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Latest update - 2020 track events scheduled (always room for more if anyone wants a rental or test drive, even at an autocross...) and a new video up.
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Sorry all for the lack of updates - have had no shortage of excitement in developing the cars. We took the prototype Cardinal coupe down to Road Atlanta in late October and the pace is clearly there even in the very base level car (see video link). Heading to Laguna Seca with the prototype and the first pre-production car (with a real, smooth body on it!) in a few weeks.
Road Atlanta Video Clip https://www.facebook.com/rob.fields.5/videos/10219098688112529/
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Planning to stop at the Ross County Fairgrounds on my way up to Columbus on Saturday to watch some folks spray dirt around. Dunno about ride-alongs since it's a national tour event, but surely some folks would be game.
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Some highlights from testing
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One of our guys has done this type of electronics troubleshooting for a lot of very serious machines (LMP2 to Global Rallycross) and does freelance work. I can check with him if he'd be willing to jump in?
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Come drink our beer next Saturday!
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Was that photo taken at a WORSCCA event at Kil-Kare?
It was - they had a test and tune which seemed like the perfect time to go out and shake down our most recent revision of the electrical system. Those events are nice since you can worry more about getting the car sorted and less about the clock.
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The Cardinal prototype continues to improve and impress with good performance even outside its natural environment. Cold and wet are not ideal conditions for a specialty lightweight performance car on a very tight course, but it was no harder to drive than an average sports car while putting down serious speed.
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Hey everyone, we will be holding an open house in our new shop location on May 18th in the afternoon. We will also have a smaller closed session the following weekend, with more track testing following shortly after.
Anyone on here is welcome to join us for either or both of those events - just PM me for details and an invitation email to rsvp.
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Sold
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It's looking great, Rob. I hope to make it to your open house.
Thanks Doc! We'll look forward to seeing you there, or getting you in to see it whenever convenient. Our doors are open whenever we're in the shop.
I'm going to let our team at Turnology know about this deal. They might contact you to set up a story.Please do! Rob.Fields@fieldsautoworks.com
That look great!!!Body lines (especially in the greenhouse and rear) have a great mid-60s Stingray Corvette/Cobra Daytona look to them. Looks awesome!Thanks guys! We drew much of our inspiration from the same sources as the cars you mentioned (late 50s/early 60s Italian and British GT racers), but with more modern aerodynamics. Some of those cars went very fast with very little power (over 160 mph with under 160 whp), so imagine what 300 (or an optional 500+) horsepower would propel them to! We've added a small amount of drag in the name of downforce and stability, but it's clear from our testing thus far that the body shape is still extremely slick.
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Low quality freeze frames from the video mentioned above.
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Latest from our testing at Road Atlanta is up on the fb page (video in action at https://www.facebook.com/197673157439339/videos/264526197763336/). We're still expanding the envelope on speed and handling, but even without making more than 7/10ths runs the car is showing excellent performance. More refinement to do, certainly, but it's all heading the right way.
We've also moved into our new shop location, so be ready for an open house in the near future!
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Sale pending
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2013 GLI with DSG 6 speed. Second owner (bought at 18k miles), have put almost entirely highway miles on since then and recently broke 105k miles. All service up to date, totally unmodified, absolutely no issues. Has had front end work after deer incident but was professionally repaired and have put many miles on since with zero issues. Have zero hesitation about driving the car across the country on a moment's notice. Car is sporty, reliable, comfortable, and fun to drive with 4-door sedan practicality.
Features of note include Bluetooth integration, factory upgraded stereo, red interior trim accents on sport fabric interior, power front seat recliners, launch control (never bothered to use, useless in VWs), paddle shifters, and fold-down rear seats.
Asking $8750 obo. Car is regularly in Columbus and Cincinnati. Will consider partial trades of interesting cars or collectible items as long as they are less than 50% of the trade.
https://cincinnati.craigslist.org/cto/d/cincinnati-2013-vw-jetta-gli-with-dsg/6811193843.html
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If you could make the DCT work, that whole drivetrain bolts directly into the frame of our new sports car and would bring final curb weight to around 2300 pounds....... certainly interesting to think about......
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Any idea what the waist-area sizes are?
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Looking good!
Something I've been thinking about recently on this would be a full rear bulkhead break-away setup. In essence, creating a structural plane right behind the motor/trans where everything behind that could be removed/reinstalled quickly. It wouldn't net any performance benefit (aside from maybe added torsional rigidity) and would likely increase weight. However, for endurance racing, I think the effort would be worthwhile to allow quick and comprehensive access to the drivetrain. Doubtful they'd allow it in something like Chump or LeMons though.
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Latest update - we have signed on a location in Plain City for our production facility. Cardinal #1 is continuing to do testing with increasingly complete bodywork. Cardinal #2 is on track to be a roller between Christmas and New Year's. Metal is cut for Cardinals 3, 4, and 5 which are being offered as pre-production orders at wholesale pricing (which is no small discount). We will likely hold another, more public open-house in February at our new location.
Motorsport Tech
in The Meat Market
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