Warning: this post is long, but I had so much fun yesterday, everything came together!
First driving event under my belt with this thing! Ron at RS Motors puts on an event at DCTC that utilizes the entire track. You make full laps, no standing start or anything, just 10-15 minute sessions for each rungroup. Time to warm up, learn the course, pick points of improvement, and cooldown....I've been to autoX events here and this was WAY more fun!
I got to get comfy with the car in a track environment but not go too fast, just learn how the car works and how I work. I started off in the beginner group and I'm so glad I did...first session I was all over the place, 2nd and 3rd gear, gunning for corners, pushing the brakes. Instructors pulled the reigns back a bit along the way and kept it safe.
Second and third session I was in a bit more traffic so I focused on rythm and lines with a few sections of going fast. Fourth session I missed half of due to a work call and not paying attention (I thought maybe they didn't announce it but whatever) so I only got a few laps in with Shawn C in the passenger seat. He gave me a lot of fantastic feedback and I grabbed him again for the 5th and final session where we basically did hotlaps the entire time.
I'm learning to power out of corners to get the car to rotate...I'm so used to this on teh street but I'm SO gunshy on the course I wasn't even doing it! Once I started applying that and following the lines and rythm I had setup for myself in the earlier sessions I was freaking SHOCKED to find myself coming OUT of the slalom just way too fast! This is a section where I'm usually like, 'whew I made it through' and all of a sudden with everything adding up I was all Ricky Bobby-style goin too fast!
This happened in several spots, basically after every section of the track that I was getting 'good' at and the repercussions get serious quick...Shawn says my instincts are good and to listen to them...I don't wanna go off track! With only a few words Shawn got me to dial it back a hair and look further and further ahead and we made some 'in the zone' laps that are honestly what I decided to get out there and do this for. LOVE IT!
Had a freaking blast blast blast and thank you to all the volunteers and leadership for putting this on. I am already signed up for the next event and am looking forward to applying it at BIR in not too long!
Reminder of how the car sits mechanically at this point:
-built 2.0 motor, stock compression, stock valves, stock cams
-very used Bilstein struts with fresh Swift SpecR springs, STOCK front/rear sway bars, press-in 70A front motor mount
-exedy twin clutch, minty fresh trans, evo8 4th gear (haven’t really tried this part out yet at high revs), brass under hood shifter bushings, ebay short-shifter on ‘tall’ setting.
-stock evo9 turbo, PTE1000cc injectors, walbro 255 pump, e85, 21psi for the track last night and turned up to 28 for the ride home.
-Schroth Rallye 4 harness, Open-face SA2005 helmet, neck donut
-Stoptech brake pads, fresh ATE fluid, homebrew brake ducts, Fuzion ZRi tires (300 tread-wear)
Mechanical take-aways:
Engine is healthy and sound. Doesn’t smoke with the new(est) turbo, idles good, no overheating, etc. I think I kinked the turbo oil drain gasket on install so I’ll probably replace that as there is just the slightest hint of oil leakage…other than that, no issues! I’m SO happy with the setup!
Suspension: Real happy with the setup. Rear swaybar is on my list of to-do’s but I think I’ll do the rear diff mod first. Mostly because it’s free and what it will do to the car is part of a piece I focused on a lot last night. If I can get time in the next few weeks, I’ll do it.
Alignment: steering wheel isn't straight while the car is tracking straight and its been apart so many times it’s probably due. I think Mike (like me on beaterX) had just a street alignment on it before….I think its time for something more aggressive! Pretty sure I assembled the front camber bolts as they came out ‘arrow in’ for –1° of camber and probably will re-situate them to ‘arrows out’ for –2° camber.
Clutch/trans: golden.
Power: STS. I’m firmly done thinking about this for the next few weeks. No budget for anything else and I’m not even using all of the stock turbo’s power yet. Freaking love STS. HoMyGahd I can’t believe how much I missed it; my evo8 was at this power level about 6 years ago and it always always put a smile on my face. I can’t help but think about putting something bigger on this thing but man this is just a great setup on e85.
Safety: happy happy happy! I used the 4-point a lot in the last few weeks to get comfy with it and I’m glad I did. Recommend this to anyone even thinking about doing this…for $200 you are snug in your seat and they install in a few minutes. Helmet is good, donut was uncomfortable at first but did its job once I stopped fighting it.
Brakes: Hard right turns resulted in rubbing of ducts on CV boots still. Gotta check into this!
First session out I was cussing at the brakes, mostly because I was overdriving I think. I didn’t cook them or anything, they just felt like ‘not enough’ when coming in hot. Last session I didn’t even think about them to be honest, these pads did ‘ok’ for this track and my skill level. Better pads and titanium shims at least in the front are on my list here but I’m not set on what yet. Budget is a huge concern. $80 for the shims, no-brainer. Ron, Brandon, others all recommend the Hawk HP Plus pads. ~$150 for the front set and they squeak like hell during DD. Good all-around pad for cold and hot stops and track use. I’m told that if this will be a track-only car the Raybestos ST43 is the way to go but ~$250 for the front set alone. Some decision making and budgeting to do here.
Photos taken during parade lap, not actual hot laps!
Ok funny side story…the silver evo next to me is @kiprocket’s car. He came in one session with what we thought was a blown IC pipe. Turned out to be a (re-)broken BOV he had Jbwelded together. I had brought a small pile of tools and jack and such and rolled them over to give him a hand as he pulled up, car stumbling. As we’re thinking about what to do it dons on me that for some reason…NO IDEA why, but when I was preparing I literally took the pile of tools I had been using for the turbo swap and brake duct install off my workbench and dumped them into a plastic bag from NAPA. I took that bag and threw it into a bag with straps and misc stuff in it….including a (plastic) stock evo8 BOV! The lightbulb that came on and the look on Kip’s face, priceless. Enjoy it dude!
Sonic Champion!
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