Did a brake job last week and realized I didn't mention my brake setup in the OP.

My braking system is basically stock with Centric "blanks", Hawk HP+ pads and RBF600 brake fluid. I consider RBF600 overkill for autocross, but I go to ZdayZ and the Tail of the Dragon doesn't give much time for cooling between braking points.

the "normal" HPS pads required a considerable amount of "leg" and I found it difficult to finesse the pedals while putting the needed pressure on the brake pedal. The HP+ pads have great bite, requiring very little force for hard stops, and make heel-toe easier for me.

I discovered some play in the last remaining OE hub and replaced it:



I also took some pics of what I was trying to explain about the sway bar acting as a helper spring:

One front wheel completely off the ground:



Suspension still compressed enough to push the 6" spring up to the top.

 

u have load on the bar with one wheel on the ground

 

So after the first national-level shake-down the car is about where I thought it was....."Good" but not yet "great". (Same could be said for the driver)

STU had 14 drivers, I took 3rd:

I was in third after day one with 0.041 seconds separating me and 1st (STi in second and a C5 Vette in the lead) Aside from failing to get "on the cones" like I have been practicing, and a correction lift on side A, I felt like I put down a good run.

I dug a hole for myself on day two with 3 cones on my first run and never felt confident with my "plan" for side B. I held on to my third place spot comfortably, but failed to mix it up with the top two spots as I did on day one. (I was more than 0.2 seconds from the Vette that fell to 2nd and almost 0.4 second from the STi that took care of business and jumped to first.)


I'll add more about the car/setup a little later.

 

RE: The setup

I'm going to replace the 800lb rear springs with 700lb springs. I have consistently needed to run my shocks near their softest settings with the 800lb springs and I still feel like the rear is a bit too stiff. I really felt like I had to be timid with the throttle to avoid slip angle on the Dixie surface.

The "bus stop" was not an issue for the single adjustables on day one, but when I ran it in reverse on day two, the bump on exit forced me to wait for what felt like an eternity before I could use the throttle for the stretch before the slalom. I don't know how much better the magic pixie dust DA's might have handled it, but I may try and find out next season.

In other news, My driver's seat broke...AGAIN, (I'm only 175lbs) and I had no time for a repair, so I removed the passenger seat's back top half and swapped it with the driver's. I now have a map pocket on the back of my driver's seat. (Racing seat is probably in my future.)

I also need another driver-side interior door panel. Either me or my co driver put a knee through it. I noticed my knee sinking into the door whilst slaloming on day two. -Made securing myself in transitions a bit difficult.

One of our local fast guys (took second in STX) tried out a set of RE71's on the test and tune track. He was a full second faster with just one run!!!

I still want to see how they hold up over heat cycles.

 

Apparently they wear something fierce. Danny Kao has knocked off 1/2 the tread (4/32nds) in 25 runs...

Definitely drop the rear. Even I ran a 150lb spread (with no bar) and that was with a big ole A6 and 12" out back.

 

Wow, the 700lb springs (on the rear) make a huge difference!

The car pulls out of corners much better now and the cumulative effect around a course is both measurable and notable.

With two solid, consistent benchmarks at today's event, the car is somewhere between 3 and 6 tenths faster on a 70-second course than it was with the stiffer rear springs.

I got another Gopro and decided to use it to film the other side. Here is my best run from today. The view created by the two camera's is a bit odd looking to me, but it's effective for checking cone proximity on both sides of the same run:

 

That looked like a fun course.

 

When we were setting it up, I didn't think I was going to like it, but it turned out to be fun at speed.

 

Different perspective. I think this does a better job of showing how well it transitions now. (This is with 700lb rear springs.)

 

I like the chase view.

 

I knew this looked familiar. I saw your car at Dixie, took a pic, and told my friends "I need to do this!"



Cool build, great progress

 

Congrates on the Trophy,
Are you planning on Nationals this year? I'll be there.
Going to be an interesting battle of cars this year.

 

That's a much better picture than the one I took with my phone. Thanks.

Thanks. I plan to be there in my Z, yes. Are you running STU?

 

STU. 2003, This is from the camp tour at College Station this year. Looks like its going to take bridgestones at nationals.

 

I agree on the stones. I will probably be on a set at nationals.

Oh and congrats on your trophy too!

 

Ugh, any of you boys want a TTE/STR NB miata? It has the most trophies in STR..... for NB/NA miatas Disimo/David Marcus old car, you probably know it.

So I know this is probably a bad question to ask but..... what is a ball-park figure on just parts into your STU build?

 

I do know the car...can't remember her name. I know they named her though.

Going from memory, my build is under 6500 with me doing the suspension labor and corner balance.

 

Thanks Z1. And I would say i am in the $7000 range for my car too. Thats doing all my own work too. (except tuning)

 

No comment on money I had in the BSP car ...

 

LOL.