Got a track related question? I'll try to answer.

[OkieSnuffBox]

^I was going to say Carbotech's as well. I loved them on both different brake setups I had on my Miata.

[Campo]

Originally Posted by fatalelement

So I have a track question - for reasons that are entirely legitimate, I went with the AT (I can drive MT quite well, but this is my daily in terrible high grade stop and go traffic, among other reasons) and I know this means I lose about 8-10 hp from what I've seen on the dynos and I'm sure a couple other lower stats. I know the gearing is different, but is the final drive as well?

I was at auto club speedway this past weekend and while I was able to hold speed with much faster cars due to the handling when in twistier sections, my acceleration out of harder corners wasn't good despite me always keeping my shifts, from what I understand, good and being in the power band.
For me, when coming out of 2nd I feel like I spend a bit of time just working my way out of a low rpm range and that's where everyone else with more HP shoots away.
I know part of this is the fact that this car isn't a gt3 or a zr1, but I feel like there's spots where I'm wasting time not at high rpm and I can't get there fast enough.
I was thinking about changing the final drive - nothing TOO drastic as it's still my daily but to something that would help me get up to higher revs faster. I'm not too worried about my top speed, so do you think this is a wise choice?
Thanks!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

We track an auto trans with stock final drive.


The two biggest things for me to keep up with people on the straights was the e85 tune to eliminate the dip (I can turn you onto a good canned gas/e85 tune for the automagic transmission if you want), and raising the redline to 8500 (although I stay away from that high as much as possible). I typically now shift from 2nd to 3rd at about 8000 rpm and it keeps 3rd pulling nicely. I kept up with a Porsche 933 pretty evenly last Saturday on the straights, and crowded him in the corners until getting the wave by.


I actually plan to reduce the redline to 8200 so I don't accidentally hit that 8500 - it scares the shit out of me.


A few people have swapped final drive on the auto with great success, and I probably will do it as well, but I'm just not at that point in my skill to require it yet. I'm even still on stock suspension and will be for a while...


Oil and tranny coolers are top of my list now. 237 oil temp last weekend.

[Campo]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

You're faster than you think

I'd say step up to a W5/Club Racer/XP10 next.

Haha! Thanks Mike.


I'll post video of last weekend for review before I get too excited about being faster than I think.


I may just be more ham-fisted than I think! LoL

[fatalelement]

Originally Posted by Campo

We track an auto trans with stock final drive.


The two biggest things for me to keep up with people on the straights was the e85 tune to eliminate the dip (I can turn you onto a good canned gas/e85 tune for the automagic transmission if you want), and raising the redline to 8500 (although I stay away from that high as much as possible). I typically now shift from 2nd to 3rd at about 8000 rpm and it keeps 3rd pulling nicely. I kept up with a Porsche 933 pretty evenly last Saturday on the straights, and crowded him in the corners until getting the wave by.


I actually plan to reduce the redline to 8200 so I don't accidentally hit that 8500 - it scares the shit out of me.


A few people have swapped final drive on the auto with great success, and I probably will do it as well, but I'm just not at that point in my skill to require it yet. I'm even still on stock suspension and will be for a while...


Oil and tranny coolers are top of my list now. 237 oil temp last weekend.

I'm semi interested in a tune but as for e85 this is my daily road warrior and finding e85 wherever I happen to be (I drive a lot and not always to the same places) sounds like kinda a hassle.

I'm also currently still leasing (gonna finance it out soon I think) so a tune is something I'd like to avoid. My dealer won't be able to notice the final drive as long as they don't drive it around the block so unless the ratio is CRAZY different I don't think it'll really be an issue. If it breaks I can just hand them the OEM one and they can go nuts.

Transmission cooler is probably my next stop but I just wish the car had more pull. top speed is stupid to worry about in this car since stock it is aerodynamically limited to about 140mph, mechanically to 169 (dunno about AT) so dropping that with a final drive even to 130/140 is so, so much more than I am comfortable doing on the track in that roval with stock tires. I'm fine with just 140+, mostly because I'm not Niki Lauda.

I know people will throw a lot of upgrades at me that are bolt ons, but a CAI costs as much as a final drive so for the money it seems like it's probably the biggest change from what I've heard for what I personally am looking for.

[ExxelDistributions]

im going to be doing my alignment before the track event this weekend. what would be the best setup for my cambers and toes? i will be doing it myself so just want to know what i should set them at

[ddeflyer]

Originally Posted by revolutioN21

im going to be doing my alignment before the track event this weekend. what would be the best setup for my cambers and toes? i will be doing it myself so just want to know what i should set them at

For your first couple of track days it isn't a big deal to track within the factory alignment specs. Generally speaking the factory alignment is targeting a decent amount of understeer which is safer in most cases (especially for a beginner). It will burn your tire's shoulders quite quickly.

That said, zeroing the toe on the rear (front for me was pretty close to zero) felt amazing on my car; totally changed how it felt. Adjusting camber is much harder advise since different tires have totally different reactions to camber changes (I never tracked with the stock tires). Proper camber adjustment can have a very nice affect upon both shoulder wear rate and car handling if you get it right.

One thing I would advise is to be careful of much greater camber front than rear until you get more experience. There are a couple of things that beginners are kind of likely to do which a high difference can lead to a spin.

Also, make sure you get coaching! Having a coach/instructor is worth a huge amount!

[ExxelDistributions]

Well right now i have different wheels on my car so and im lowered on kw v3's with spl lca's i have -1 camber in the front and -1.5 - -2 cant remember exactly but I can adjust it to whatever i want because i have a alignment machine just dont know what to set it to.

[ToyoburuBRZ]

I am sure this debate is on here somewhere but I can't seem to find it.

17x8 vs 17x9?? I am having a lot of trouble picking between the two. To be specific I am looking at RPF1's 17x8+45 vs 17x9+35. I would run 225's on the 8 inch wheel and 245s on the 9 inch wheel.

I am mostly stock right now with just 10 to 15 extra whp over stock. By the time I put new wheels on my car I will also have RCE yellow springs, front camber bolts, and rear camber bushings. In the future (3 to 5 years) i will be going FI.

I am building the car for STX class in my local autocross events but I also do a few track days a year.

I see a lot of conflicting info on here. Many people saying at close to stock power you don't need 9 inch wheels. But then I look through many builds on here of guys running in STX with near stock power on 9 inch wheels placing very well in their events.

So this is where I am at right now. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks

[DocWalt]

Autocross is a very different set of demands than a road course. Autocross is relatively slow and places a huge demand on lateral grip from the tires so wider is better (to a point)

[unsurety]

I keep hearing both sides as far as whether or not toe arms are needed... seems like it varies by how much camber you have and how low you go.

Plan is to lower 1.5" and run 1.5-1.8 negative camber in the rear. RCE T2s with SPC LCAs. Will the stock eccentric toe adjustment allow me to get 0 toe, or at least very minimal toe in?

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ToyoburuBRZ

I am sure this debate is on here somewhere but I can't seem to find it.

17x8 vs 17x9?? I am having a lot of trouble picking between the two. To be specific I am looking at RPF1's 17x8+45 vs 17x9+35. I would run 225's on the 8 inch wheel and 245s on the 9 inch wheel.

I am mostly stock right now with just 10 to 15 extra whp over stock. By the time I put new wheels on my car I will also have RCE yellow springs, front camber bolts, and rear camber bushings. In the future (3 to 5 years) i will be going FI.

I am building the car for STX class in my local autocross events but I also do a few track days a year.

I see a lot of conflicting info on here. Many people saying at close to stock power you don't need 9 inch wheels. But then I look through many builds on here of guys running in STX with near stock power on 9 inch wheels placing very well in their events.

So this is where I am at right now. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks

AutoX? 255 on 17x9. Everything else? 225 on 17x8.

[ToyoburuBRZ]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

AutoX? 255 on 17x9. Everything else? 225 on 17x8.

Thanks for the response. Will a 255 on 17x9+35 clear the stock spring perch? Coilovers are not in the budget so I am going for what I see as my next best option which are RCE yellows.

Also if you did both autoX and track and could only afford one set of wheels and tires what would you go with?

[bimmer635csi]

Originally Posted by ToyoburuBRZ

Also if you did both autoX and track and could only afford one set of wheels and tires what would you go with?

The 17x8 would be the better choice for "both" because:
1] Lower cost to replace
2] Set up for track is generally sufficient for part-timer autocrossers
3] There are plenty of fast cars on skinny tires
4] You can put fat tires on a skinny wheel for autocross if you really want
5] Some others I can't think of, but you get the point

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by ToyoburuBRZ

Thanks for the response. Will a 255 on 17x9+35 clear the stock spring perch? Coilovers are not in the budget so I am going for what I see as my next best option which are RCE yellows.

Also if you did both autoX and track and could only afford one set of wheels and tires what would you go with?

Depending on alignment, yes.