Proud new owner of a '02 prosport

[Highroller101]

Just bought an '02 radical prosport. I know nothing about these cars except they are fast, fun, and relatively cheap.

Purchased Alan Wilzig's car if anyone knows it.

First question is do they make a larger seat? The one in the car is very small...

Next question, I have very little information on the car, is there a particular rim size for the prosport? All I can say is the rear tires are 40% wider than the fronts. They're huge.

Car hasn't been raced since 2007, anything major that I need to do to it?

Has a 1400cc Sam Nelson engine, ohlins coil overs, pro shift paddle shift not installed.

[Dennis McCarthy]

If it was Wilzig's car, it probably pretty pristine....

[stonebridge20]

[QUOTE]

Car hasn't been raced since 2007, anything major that I need to do to it?

Nothing major except taking it to a prep shop that has experience with Radicals and have it gone through.

Much less of a production than a funeral.

[Phil Creighton]

They make a wide Prosport seat - we had a bunch of Radicals through here and there was different widths. Best shot is Radical West at Spring Mountain race track although they mostly deal with SR3s. I have a few bits left over upstairs if you need small bits.
Phil

[yellowesty]

I'm also a ProSport owner, and yes, they are very "fast, fun, and relatively cheap."

The seat was the most unpleasant aspect of my car (other than the absence of a place to plant my left foot -- easily remedied). I ditched the "plastic garden chair" and installed two well-braced aluminum panels which created a form for a very comfortable and supportive bead seat.

I run 8" and 10" rims with 20.0x7.5's in front and 22.0x9's in back.

Adding a Flatshifter was a worthwhile improvement.

Fast, fun, and relatively cheap.

[Highroller101]

Nothing major except taking it to a prep shop that has experience with Radicals and have it gone through.

Much less of a production than a funeral.

I don't have any around me...

Car is very nice, just needs a fuel pump, not sure which to buy but I know it's a low pressure pump. Or at least I assume because of carburetion.

[Highroller101]

They make a wide Prosport seat - we had a bunch of Radicals through here and there was different widths. Best shot is Radical West at Spring Mountain race track although they mostly deal with SR3s. I have a few bits left over upstairs if you need small bits.
Phil

Thanks Phil, I gave them a shout.

What kind of parts do you have hanging around?

The car has a roll bar aero kit, but it seems to be missing the part where it attaches to the roll bar

[Highroller101]

I'm also a ProSport owner, and yes, they are very "fast, fun, and relatively cheap."

The seat was the most unpleasant aspect of my car (other than the absence of a place to plant my left foot -- easily remedied). I ditched the "plastic garden chair" and installed two well-braced aluminum panels which created a form for a very comfortable and supportive bead seat.

I run 8" and 10" rims with 20.0x7.5's in front and 22.0x9's in back.

Adding a Flatshifter was a worthwhile improvement.

Fast, fun, and relatively cheap.

The current seat is carbon fiber, and the legs are forced upward... This is my biggest problem. Do you have pics of your custom seat?

The rear tires have to be 11-12 inches wide on this car.

[Dennis McCarthy]

Call Mike Agnifilo at Stonebridge to sort the car out and for prep work.
He's not that far from you and you won't be sorry.

[yellowesty]

Highroller:

I tried to PM you, but ApexSpeed says "no."

PM me with your e-mail address and I'll take some pictures of my seat arrangement and send them to you.

Yellowesty

[Highroller101]

Call Mike Agnifilo at Stonebridge to sort the car out and for prep work.
He's not that far from you and you won't be sorry.

Do you have contact info?

The only one stonebrige I found was in NY and he said I had the wrong place.

[Dennis McCarthy]

Mike Agnifilo

Stonebridge Sports & Classics ltd
(203)744-1120
Cryogenic Processing · REM-ISF Processing · Race Prep & Driver Development

[Highroller101]

Mike Agnifilo

Stonebridge Sports & Classics ltd
(203)744-1120
Cryogenic Processing · REM-ISF Processing · Race Prep & Driver Development

Thanks,

Gave him a call but he's booked for over a month, any other recommendations?

[Highroller101]

So, I found out why the car won't start, identified it as the fuel pump, tested power at the pump with zero volts.

I ran a jumper wire from the battery to the fuel pump and it immediately started to pump, car started right up.

Looked for a fuse and I only found 2 fuses total on the car... Am I missing it? Where is the fuse located? Is there a fuse?

[jimh3063]

Matt:
When you followed the fuel pump lead back, where did it end?
Did you get any setup equipment (Alignment bars, etc)?
As I mentioned those cars are not street cars need more
care and feeding. I think there are some radical forums that
you can ask questions to current radical owners. Just take it easy at first
and learn the car. They are plenty quick enough to turn you into hamburger if you
don't show it the proper respect.
Jimmy

[farrout]

Some cars have a Master Kill Switch, then a general power (ignition) switch, then a fuel pump switch. Start following the wiring back from the fuel pump and see where it goes.

[fitfan]

the investment of shipping it out to spring mountain, getting it prepped/sorted there and running it with them, could put you a year or more ahead in the car... run a few weekends with them there, then ship it back when your comforatable with it.

if its been sitting that long, things like fuel cell... shock re-builds. fire bottle fill. etc.. may need attention. those guys, would know what updates and fixes to address as well as setting it up for you to drive (pouring a seat and such).

[Dennis McCarthy]

Wait the month for Mike, many prep shops are busy right now as the season will start in the northeast soon. Wait for Mike, he knows what he's doing, you won't be sorry....

[Highroller101]

Wait the month for Mike, many prep shops are busy right now as the season will start in the northeast soon. Wait for Mike, he knows what he's doing, you won't be sorry....

Bringing the car to motion dynamics tomorrow for them to go thru it. Don't expect them to find anything out of the ordinary!

[Highroller101]

Matt:
When you followed the fuel pump lead back, where did it end?
Did you get any setup equipment (Alignment bars, etc)?
As I mentioned those cars are not street cars need more
care and feeding. I think there are some radical forums that
you can ask questions to current radical owners. Just take it easy at first
and learn the car. They are plenty quick enough to turn you into hamburger if you
don't show it the proper respect.
Jimmy

I lost the wire when it joined to the voltage regulator in the side panel... Not before one of the body clips broke off...

The master switch is fused and it's in tact

[Highroller101]

I lost the wire when it joined to the voltage regulator in the side panel... Not before one of the body clips broke off...

The master switch is fused and it's in tact

-Update-

Fuel pump switch is the culprit, jiggling the switch made it turn on, will replace the switch!

[Highroller101]

Got the car back today

New fuel pump switch
Moved the seat
Check AFR on the dyno
Compression results 150 across the board
Complete nut and bolt
Brake and clutch flush with ate fluid
Oil change
Diff flush


Issues: stack dash doesn't rev over 6k rpm...

[glenn cooper]

I drove a Pro Sport to start the '05 season and I LOVED that little tank!
I did however get caught out by a little simple hidden fuel filter that was located behind a trap door arrangement (I was only brought in to drive, not wrench the car, so I don't have actual 100% knowledge of the location).
It resulted in a DNF with about a 30 second lead on 2nd place, so you have been warned! ;o)

I would not even bother with getting another bucket seat, and do the only thing that can potentially save your ass, and that is a proper bead seat.

To drive a car w/o a bead seat is like getting onto a car w/o a HANS.

PS - How do you do a trans flush on a motorcycle engine?!!

[Maciej]

PS - How do you do a trans flush on a motorcycle engine?!!

I think he might have meant flushing the oil in the diff.

[David Ferguson]

If your stack tach is reading half of it's actual value, it's likely that it's confused by the ECU tacho signal which may be one pulse per revolution (many bike engine ECU do this). Try going into the stack setup and changing the number of cylinders to 2 (i.e., twice the pulses of a 4 cylinder 4-stroke which is 2 pulses per revolution).

[motomoron]

I'm in my 4th season in a very early Clubsport and have rebuilt, or made everything on the car. 2013 MARRS CSR champion, leading MARRS and NEDIV series P2 points and current P2 track record holder at Summit Point ('cause someone had to be first )

I've found sources for nearly everything, have learned a huge amount the hard way, and have a car now that's fast, reliable and easy to drive.

I have the only full set of bodywork molds on our continent BTW. Nose, tail, side pods, difuser, fender louvers, side skirt, splitter, inner fenders.

I maintain the Clubsport/Prosport w/ a K8 Hayabusa engine and the right restrictor setup is a competitive SCCA P2 car, and one of the easiest to campaign.

Shoot me a message and I can get you some links to good information, and I can answer any questions you have.

[Highroller101]

Well I drove the car yesterday for the first time and it was awesome!

For some reason, I can't connect to my dash anymore
And I have no idea what rpm I'm at, so when I went WOT, it bogs... But I was told the AFRs were perfect...

Otherwise the car was incredible! Never driven anything like it! It was awesome and I'm looking forward to the next event!

[Highroller101]

Here is a picture from at the track

[Highroller101]

So I ran the car at New Hampshire motor speedway on Monday.

Learning a lot about the car and how to drive it as well as quirks.

Anyone that has the hayabusa motor, have you ever experienced the car popping out of gear? For some reason the car doesn't like to downshift into second.

The dash reads normal rpm from 1k-3k rpm then stops at 4k and if it feels like it, jumps to 6k. I will be sending it to stack for it to be fixed.

I noticed that my car's gas fill tube is under the bonnet... Is this normal? Or is it supposed to protrude to the outside of the body?

The car handles very well but I'm very surprised how little "go juice" it has, is this normal for these cars or am I missing something?

Lastly, looking for advice, it's very disconcerting taking my hand off the wheel to shift, I know paddle shift is the answer and I have one ready to install but I was wondering if I needed to know before I make the decision to do it or not. Car is currently carbuerated, but I have the things req'd for fuel injection

[formulasuper]

"Anyone that has the hayabusa motor, have you ever experienced the car popping out of gear? For some reason the car doesn't like to downshift into second."

Most likely a bent shifter fork & maybe more.

[Highroller101]

Anyone have a source for a reasonably priced fuel cell bladder? Fuel safe wants to charge 1406 for a 7 gallon bladder and a foam insert. Ridiculous.

[J Somers]

Anyone have a source for a reasonably priced fuel cell bladder? Fuel safe wants to charge 1406 for a 7 gallon bladder and a foam insert. Ridiculous.

Give eagle a call in WI. Great company and responsibly priced. Have used them for 2 cars now, very happy.

http://www.eaglefuelcells.com

[Blair Robertshaw]

you could also try sending it to Hartwig Aircraft Fuel Cell Repair in Winnipeg Manitoba. if the cell isnt too bad they do a very good job, provide a Certified Repair Cert and I have always found them very reasonable (for our Continental cells) in so far as pricing, quick turn around as well. as an option, just putting it out there.

[Highroller101]

Guys,

Is there any way to make this a 1 man crew car? I've been to a few track events and every one I have been to I have had to ask for assistance.

If I can't get it to work as a one man crew, then I'll have to sell.

Advice please!

[Maciej]

Guys,

Is there any way to make this a 1 man crew car? I've been to a few track events and every one I have been to I have had to ask for assistance.

If I can't get it to work as a one man crew, then I'll have to sell.

Advice please!

It wouldn't be easy but it is possible.

[BennyBad]

as said it can be done.
just need to practice at home and set eveything up as you would need to do it by yourself.
ive run my wf1 by myself for a few years before my son started coming, since my son (crew) has a social life and cant be counted on anymore. havent figures out how to get a umbrella caddy yet at the grid.
just takes planning and practice BEFORE you go to track.
benny

[farrout]

I am also a one man crew. Get a routine down for belting yourself in. Put a checklist together for the pre session things (fuel, torque wheels, tire pressures, check oil and catch tank, etc)

Get your helmet, gloves and arm restraints lined up where you can reach them. Master switch on. If you have a camera put it where you can reach the controls. Mine is get in the car with the HANS on and do the harnesses but leave them a bit loose. Helmet on then hook up the HANS. Tighten up the lap belts. Then the shoulder harnesses. Put on gloves.

There will always be someone paddocked around you that is willing to assist just as you will assist anyone who needs it as well.

[Highroller101]

I am also a one man crew. Get a routine down for belting yourself in. Put a checklist together for the pre session things (fuel, torque wheels, tire pressures, check oil and catch tank, etc)

Get your helmet, gloves and arm restraints lined up where you can reach them. Master switch on. If you have a camera put it where you can reach the controls. Mine is get in the car with the HANS on and do the harnesses but leave them a bit loose. Helmet on then hook up the HANS. Tighten up the lap belts. Then the shoulder harnesses. Put on gloves.

There will always be someone paddocked around you that is willing to assist just as you will assist anyone who needs it as well.

My issue isn't in the grid or getting in the car, I bought the car for when I instruct, hoping that I could do all maintenance at home, go to the track and just hop in and go when it's time for the instructors to go on track, but the most basic thing I need 2 people for: unloading the car and loading. I need 2 people to put the body on and take it off, nose only. Maybe it's my trailer, but the car only has about 1" of ground clearance with the nose on.

To check the oil I need to take the rear end off and again, it's a 2 man job. But once it's off, I can do it myself.

I just moved the fuel filler neck so I don't have to take the nose off every time I need gas.

[yellowesty]

As I mentioned earlier, I also run a ProSport -- track days and racing with a small club that runs "vintage" rules (no contact). I am my own one-man crew. Two issues took some attention:

Loading and unloading the car: My trailer has its wheels UNDER the floor (to allow the trailer to fit in my home storage spot). That means that the trailer deck is 25" off the ground. I use very long ramps (an 8' ramp from the trailer to a wooden support and a 6' ramp from the support to the ground). Even with long ramps, the car would high-center and scrape the splitter (I load the car tail-first onto the trailer) so I built a dolly with some angle iron and 4 swivel caster wheels. Using my QuickJack, this slides behind the front wheels of the ProSport and increases the ground clearance behind the front wheels from 2" to 5". I also lengthened the wire on my winch control so I can walk alongside the ProSport and "steer" it up and down the ramps by pushing the dolly to one side or the other. Works fine.

Removing/refitting bodywork at the track: The rear bodywork is the biggest problem -- the front will slide forward and off, but the rear is both bulky and heavy. I fabricated a hinged roller and mounted it, under the bodywork, to the center of the rear ProSport framework that supports the rear body/wing structure. Then I fiberglassed a piece of ¼" plywood to the underside of the rear bodywork, between the wing support braces. When I want to remove the rear bodywork on my own, I undo the latches and, lying on the ground behind the car, raise the rear of the bodywork with one hand and flip the hinged roller to the "up" position with the other hand. Letting the bodywork down on the roller is stable and I then lock the roller in place. The roller is high enough that the bodywork now clears the latch pins and can be pushed down in back (pivoting on the roller) which then gets the front of the bodywork up, past the air intake. The rear bodywork then slides back and rests, vertically, behind the car. Installing is the reverse of removing. A pain, but it can be done by one person.

Neither of these "solutions" are wonderful, but both work. If you come up with a better approach, please let me know.

[motomoron]

As I mentioned earlier, I also run a ProSport -- track days and racing with a small club that runs "vintage" rules (no contact). I am my own one-man crew. Two issues took some attention:

Loading and unloading the car: My trailer has its wheels UNDER the floor (to allow the trailer to fit in my home storage spot). That means that the trailer deck is 25" off the ground. I use very long ramps (an 8' ramp from the trailer to a wooden support and a 6' ramp from the support to the ground). Even with long ramps, the car would high-center and scrape the splitter (I load the car tail-first onto the trailer) so I built a dolly with some angle iron and 4 swivel caster wheels. Using my QuickJack, this slides behind the front wheels of the ProSport and increases the ground clearance behind the front wheels from 2" to 5". I also lengthened the wire on my winch control so I can walk alongside the ProSport and "steer" it up and down the ramps by pushing the dolly to one side or the other. Works fine.

Removing/refitting bodywork at the track: The rear bodywork is the biggest problem -- the front will slide forward and off, but the rear is both bulky and heavy. I fabricated a hinged roller and mounted it, under the bodywork, to the center of the rear ProSport framework that supports the rear body/wing structure. Then I fiberglassed a piece of ¼" plywood to the underside of the rear bodywork, between the wing support braces. When I want to remove the rear bodywork on my own, I undo the latches and, lying on the ground behind the car, raise the rear of the bodywork with one hand and flip the hinged roller to the "up" position with the other hand. Letting the bodywork down on the roller is stable and I then lock the roller in place. The roller is high enough that the bodywork now clears the latch pins and can be pushed down in back (pivoting on the roller) which then gets the front of the bodywork up, past the air intake. The rear bodywork then slides back and rests, vertically, behind the car. Installing is the reverse of removing. A pain, but it can be done by one person.

Neither of these "solutions" are wonderful, but both work. If you come up with a better approach, please let me know.

I'm got essentially the same solutions with a few differences.

- I have a small deck-over trailer as well, and made 2-piece 12' ramps+3' lengths of 2x10 to get the splitter up.

To avoid high-centering on the rear edge of the trailer, back the rear wheels of your tow vehicle up onto 2 cheap ramps. The rear edge of the trailer drops enough so my 12' ramps are exactly in plane w/ the trailer deck. Drive on, leave the car in gear, drive the truck off the ramps then tie down.

To remove the rear alone - which I do every time the car comes back in - I remove the center of the roll bar fairing, pull 4 hood pins, undo 4 body clips, and, standing behind the car place the rear of the body against my legs and pull back on the leading edge of the wing to lift the front of the body. It lifts off easily, I step back about 6', set it down them tip it back so it's standing up. Takes less than a minute.