Good job Mike! How are you going to get a higher place??!!

 

John Moon and Lucas beat me by a few tenths....I should have been quicker yesterday.

 

naw i drove the Z but did not run amp and sub not quite bolted down (LAZY)

 

Damn you're only a few tenths slower than John Moon!! He's super fast over at the BMW group. He's ahead of me by like over 3 seconds. So you're pretty fast man.

 

Yeah....he is usually a half second quicker than me......I could probably nip him on a momentum oriented course. I can't match his acceleration on "point and squirt" courses though.

 

I shouldve stayed for the afternoon. Some douche hit my car 2 miles from my house and jacked the front bumper up. Not sure if auto x is my thing though, glad everyone had a good time.

 

It's a lot to absorb the first time out. Cones look like they are coming at you from every direction.....

 

Ahh I see. Maybe a new setup is in store for me next year. I'm looking for some mustang cobra R rims 17 x 9 all around!! Wider is better I don't like my rear end stepping out as much as it does.

 

What do you have your sways set at? I am going to a Carter Thompson front bar and dropping the rear back to full soft. It will understeer like crazy on the street, but it is the best set-up for our traction limited cars. The stiff front bar helps with corner exit traction.

 

I should also mention that the above about having a super stiff front bar is really for R-comps.

 

On the hotchkis sway front I have 4 adjustements. I have it set for the second hole from the front. On the rear I have 3 holes and I have it in the middle. I can't run R-Comps in the NCCA unless I go to a higher class. The higher class is where the vette's and cobra's run. I want to stay in the class where I am so I can compete with the subies.

 

Problem is you won't compete with the subies on street tires.....just not going to happen. With the hotchkiss I would probably go full stiff on the front. It's easy enough to change on site....why not register for morning and afternoon..........switching the front around b/w?

What suspension do you have?

 

So to compete with the subies I need R-Comps? Then I should just move up in class. In NCCA there are only two heats morning and afternoon. I would like to run both sessions, but it costs to run two sessions. So go full stiff on the front?

I have hotckhis springs on stock shocks. I have tokico HP shocks and struts that I'm going to put on this winter. I thought about buying the CXRacing coilovers though.

 

It is going to be almost impossible to beat Moon and other fast STU cars on street tires. You are also going to need a more thorough suspension. If cost is a factor (and it usually is)....I would buy koni yellows ($750 new) or look around in the classifieds for some TC Kline DA Konis (that's what I use). They can usually be had for 500-700 used, but be sure that they aren't leaking. For springs I would use the revised rears (427lb spring) and match it with a custom spring at 500-550lb spring rate (call it 10k) for the front. That would come in at around 800-1000 total. If you really want to keep street tires.....buy the 285/30 hankook RS3's all around. The shorter tire will really step up the final gearing.....which really helps. You should also look to invest in some quality (SPL or equivalent) control arms for the front. You are going to need the camber. I have the 350evo's on my car, but they aren't made any more.

What are your alignment specs now?

As far as the sways go......I would give it a shot. You may also want to drop the rear down to full softest as well. This will null out some of the oversteer and twitchyness. However, you may have to much toe in the front (out) or rear.......causing the back to be a bit loose. Our cars don't hold toe worth a poop....so that may be an issue as well.

 

Thanks for the info Mike. My alignment specs are somewhat stock. Since I put the springs on I haven't gotten it aligned. My tires still wear well so I'm guessing it's close to stock. As for beating Moon and some of the other Subies that come out it's going to be pretty expensive just to compete...let alone dominate the races as they have done recently. I don't mind the cost per say, but it seems like it will take a decent amount of money just to bring a competitive car to the table. Where as the subies need a mild suspension and some decent tires.

I squeak by with like a 5th place finish. High enough to get a decent amount of points. I wouldn't mind going up a class, but all of the corvette's and FFR's race there when they come out. I certainly cannot compete with those monsters. I want to have a nice daily driver that isn't to harsh on the suspension.

 

I don't know how...thats what threw me off. There was like 1/50 of the cones I normally have I was having trouble trying to follow the line.

 

I'm hoping to be competitive with the cobras next year. They tend to outpace me by about 2.5 seconds.....sometimes 3. The hoosiers should be good for a 1.5 seconds at least. We'll see.

 

Mike what do I need to do to help combat my severe understeer?? I loves it and def want to get the car to where it will be more competitive next time.

 

First, what are your sways at (assuming you have aftermarket ones)? Second, what is your alignment? Third, what are your dampers set at? Lastly, you need more tire up front. There were a few corners where you were carrying too much speed, and not dabbing the brakes to transition the weight to the front. That was just my observation.

 

hotchkis sways both front and rear set to the middle ones if I remember correctly and alignment is around -1.2 I think?? been a year since it was done.

dampers are set all the way stiff (32 way adjustable bc coilovers)

tires will have to be last thing to do gotta pay for the wedding first lol.