Supercharged Milano race results

Greg Gordon · #1 (**permalink**) 12-03-2007, 03:39 PM

Bill Sims seems to be doing very well. He recently got his Milano back in action with an intercooler, aftermarket engine managment and some really big wheels.

It features stuff from Performatek, RS racing, Richard Jemison, and the first Milano supercharger kit I ever made.

He has taken first place in the last two SCCA autocrosses in the highly competitive street modified class. Results for the first of these two events are here: Summary Results - Navy-Marine Corp Relief Society - Nov 10, 2007 . About those results Bill said "And that one time that appears so much faster than everyone else on the last
page is an "indexed" or PAX time, which is handicapped. The guy is a
national level driver in a Miata, and he's running in X Class, which is
adjusted for the car's handicap. "

Bill also mentioned he is still having traction issues even with those huge tires. He hopes a rear anti-sway bar adjustment will help.

Good job Bill! Very impressive automotive building and driving skills. It's nice to see an Alfa winning.

Greg

jack_linguini · #2 (**permalink**) 12-03-2007, 04:29 PM

zoinks those are some big meats.

Is he rolling on dubs ?

seriously are those 18s ?

Greg Gordon · #3 (**permalink**) 12-03-2007, 04:40 PM

Well...Dubs are actually 20" rims, I don't think Bill's are quite that big. I think they are 18". In any case they are massive.

Greg

**conedriver** · #4 (**permalink**) 12-03-2007, 05:21 PM

It's great to see Bill has his car running again. There aren't many of us running Alfas in Autocross / Solo events.

FYI: "PAX" evolved from a "Professional Autocross" series started many years ago in the Chicago area (Not SCCA Pro Solo, but a much earlier idea). The original series died, but the handicap system is still used around the country to compare autocross times from different classes. There is a table of handicap multipliers for each class, and in theory, if everyone drove with the same skill level and multiplied their individual times, they would all come out the same time. The PAX handicaps are refined from national level autocrosses around the country, so you are actually comparing your time to national champions. The PAX multiplier for SM (Street Modified) is .860, so Bill's SM winning raw time of 60.919 equates to a PAX time of 52.390.

Clear as mud, huh?. Almost all events give trophies based on raw time. PAX scores are usually for bragging rights, or to combine classes with only one car entered per class.

The winning PAX handicap was a STS2 car with a PAX time of 49.830, a handicap multiplier of .818, computing to a raw time of 60.917. This illustrates how a car with a sometimes slower raw time can have a faster PAX time (Street Modified is a faster class = .860 multiplier, while STS2 is a slower class = .818 multiplier).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Gordon

Bill Sims seems to be doing very well. He recently got his Milano back in action with an intercooler, aftermarket engine managment and some really big wheels.

It features stuff from Performatek, RS racing, Richard Jemison, and the first Milano supercharger kit I ever made.

He has taken first place in the last two SCCA autocrosses in the highly competitive street modified class. Results for the first of these two events are here: Summary Results - Navy-Marine Corp Relief Society - Nov 10, 2007 . About those results Bill said "And that one time that appears so much faster than everyone else on the last
page is an "indexed" or PAX time, which is handicapped. The guy is a
national level driver in a Miata, and he's running in X Class, which is
adjusted for the car's handicap. "

Bill also mentioned he is still having traction issues even with those huge tires. He hopes a rear anti-sway bar adjustment will help.

Good job Bill! Very impressive automotive building and driving skills. It's nice to see an Alfa winning.

Greg

**AlfaTango1** · #5 (**permalink**) 12-03-2007, 06:33 PM

Wow, those look really big! I worked for the manufacturer of DUB and T.I.S. (same company) and those do look bigger than 18". Don't you think a smaller wheel/tire combo would help steering inputs?

Greg Gordon · #6 (**permalink**) 12-03-2007, 06:39 PM

They might be 18" front and 19" rear, I am really not sure.

Vindingo · #7 (**permalink**) 12-04-2007, 12:08 AM

I notice the "Latter&Blum" (big nola realtors) front license plate, is he still in the New Orleans area?

Greg Gordon · #8 (**permalink**) 12-04-2007, 02:30 PM

Yes, Bill is a realtor in the New Orleans area.

Greg

**AlfaTango1** · #9 (**permalink**) 12-04-2007, 04:09 PM

I'm hopefully meeting up with another bb member next week when I'm in New Orleans. If you pass the word to Bill maybe we can all have an impromtu beer or coffee! I'll be there from the tenth through the thirteenth. I'm also looking for some property so maybe Bill could represent me.

Glenn

Greg Gordon · #10 (**permalink**) 12-05-2007, 02:18 PM

You should send him a private message on this board.

Greg

Bill-Sims · #11 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 12:57 PM

The wheels are from Complete Custom Wheels (aka CCW) of Daytona Beach. Fronts are 18x9, and rears are 18x11. Tires are Kumho V710s, 245/35 in front, 285/30 in rear.

Yesterday changed my Performatek rear bar from full stiff to medium. Hopefully that will help with traction issues.

Some of the local cars in my class are running more hp, but I get more immediate torque (all others have a turbo or 2 to spin up, but the supercharger gives me grunt right away).

Bill-Sims · #12 (**permalink**) 12-06-2007, 01:22 PM

Needed bigger wheels to clear bigger front brakes from Ron Simons Racing. Running stock brakes in rear with Bobcat pads from Performatek. Balance is excellent--have driven a couple of competitors cars the past year while my car was down, and the Milano has much better brakes.

Since the pic was taken I put a very light carbon fiber hood on the car, made by Mike Cudahy of Prototype Composites. Since it was his first Milano hood I had to pay for making the mold, which was about $800. Any of you who get a hood made by Mike with my mold will just have to pay a $100 mold fee. Car weighs 2690 pounds. Class rules allow me to go down to 2500, but very much limit where I can take off weight. I've done about all I can except stripping undercoating and switching out the 2 front seats (rules allowed me to take out the back seat), and having carbon fiber front fenders.
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Echo Leader · #13 (**permalink**) 12-07-2007, 07:36 PM

Really, really fantastic! I'd love to hear more about what all you've done during the build-up to SM specs. Do you have it all documented on a website or something?

Can the Milano be a nationally competitive SM platform?!

Bill-Sims · #14 (**permalink**) 12-09-2007, 03:59 PM

I don't have it summarized on a website. The main points are RSR suspension and shocks(except Performatek adjustable rear bar), with 30mm front bar and RSR coilovers, Performatek urethane bushings except for the DeDion bushing, which is OEM to get a bit of passive rear wheel steering; 3 liter built by Kevin Oliver, dynamically balanced, heads ported by Glynn Motorsports with stock valves, MP-62 Eaton supercharger now putting out 7.5 psi, Greg Gordon brackets, Greg Gordon supercharger intake/output ports, Greg Gordon cone filter, IAP headers Jet-hot coated flowing into Thrush glass packs, Haltech E6X engine management system, PWR water-to-air intercooler, RC 550cc injectors, OEM plenum, OEM intake runners "polished", S cams, S pistons; Accu-shift shift light; RSR front brake rotors with adapter for OEM calipers; carbon fiber hood; rear seat, A/C, radio, sunroof, and ABS removed to lighten car within rules. Surely forgot some things....

Nationally competitive? No way is it going to be Mark Daddio's EVO. I do think it could put pressure on Victor Silas and his M3, but only if he hits a cone! It's obviously competitive in the 2 local SCCA chapters, and I hope it can be competitive at nat'l tour events...have only been to one a couple of years , and it was running on 3 or 4 cylinders and alot of the work had not been done yet. Totally sucked!

Echo Leader · #15 (**permalink**) 12-10-2007, 04:07 AM

Sounds like a wicked machine you've got there. Congrats on the build and the result. I'm really excited to see someone seriously campaigning the Milano and to hear that it can do well in SM. I think I agree with you that an all-out assault on Daddio is probably a lofty goal....but it would be amazing if any of our Alfas could go toe-to-toe with the top SM runners!

Will SM allow you to run with the torsion bars removed in the front? Are you doing this already? I'm thinking you could save yourself some weight there, as the T-bars are heavy and you could potentially remove the crossmember they mount to...but I'm not sure anyone has really studied the impact that has on the chassis.

You mention softening the rear....How does the 'medium' setting on the Performatek bar compare to the OEM? And I'm guessing that you're running an LSD...any modifications done to that?

Have you dyno'd the car lately??