SCCA T4 Build thread

[Rampage]

I really enjoyed reading this thread and following along as your build progressed. I am sorry to see it end but I will continue to track your progress in finding those extra seconds and getting up on the podium in your races as best as I can. Racing showroom stock was always a dream of mine but other life priorities like being a single dad and raising 4 kids to adulthood always interfered. I am living vicariously through your experiences. I wish you the best of luck and great success.

[strat61caster]

Why close the thread? Sounds like more incremental development and more race reports can be made

[mistople]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Why close the thread? Sounds like more incremental development and more race reports can be made

Seconded.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Why close the thread? Sounds like more incremental development and more race reports can be made

You guys are too kind.

I figured it was a "build thread" and the car is built so a conclusion and summary was in order, but agreed that the thread itself didn't need to be 'closed'.

We just came off a Triple race event in Spokane which resulted in a lot of learning from every angle: alignment, tire, driver etc.; that I'm looking at applying to the next event.

I am attending at least 4 more race weekends (maybe 5) before the end of the year and will be looking to improve at all of them, if I don't, Totemo is going to keep whoopin' me. I'll be at Portland next weekend with a new tire, new alignment, sway setting and fresh corner balancing. I originally had the car set for understeer (safe) but it also occurred on-throttle so I've dialed that out but now I'm struggling to get on throttle as early as I like even with a planted rear and the remaining piece in that puzzle is tire and rear alignment which is getting addressed. I'm switching from the 245/40/17 BFG R1-S to the 225/40/17 Hoosier which has a better rolling diameter (gearing) and should utilize the contact patch better. I'm also looking at testing the 235/40/17 BFG R1-S that a competitor is going to gift to me and see how they stack up. Since Totemo and I have both have lots of data on 245 R1-S and 245 R7, we are looking forward to seeing how the narrower/shorter tires contribute to cornering and straight line speed.

The fast time at Portland is 1:29 (w/ chicane) and I expect to be there. The fast time at Pacific Raceways is 1:36.136 in T4 but in ICSCC CT4 it's a 1:35.00 - so I need another 1 second at PR to compete for the top spot on that grid. ICSCC CT4 is a bit more competitive than SCCA T4 with larger grids so it should be at helping to sharpen the pencil.

[Shark_Bait88]

Hopefully I'll make it up to watch the runoffs, would be cool to see the car in action! (Just depends on how tired I am after getting back from Oktoberfest the weekend before. haha)

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by Shark_Bait88

Hopefully I'll make it up to watch the runoffs, would be cool to see the car in action! (Just depends on how tired I am after getting back from Oktoberfest the weekend before. haha)

No runoffs for me this year, the plan is 2020. The runoffs this year are at VIR and that's just too damn far, plus the car is still being developed. 2020 runoffs are at Road America which is still far, but about 800 fewer miles than VIR. I'm planning 2020 still assuming life doesn't get in the way.

[rice_classic]

Last weekend was the Cascade Sports Car Club double feature at Portland International Raceway and I would be damned if Totemo was going to beat me for a 7th and 8th time (he's got me 6 out of 7 so far!).

So far this season we've learned the 245/40/17 tire is just too damn fat for the 17x7" wheels required by the rules (I have BFG R1S, Totemo has R7s). We have also have seen the value in sidewall stiffness at that size between the Hoosier R7 and BFG R1-S. The Hoosier's extra stiffness allows the tire to work a bit better in this "too-much-tire" scenario. The outcome is that Totemo has a consistent .5 second advantage.

In order to correct this I showed up to Portland with 225/40/17 Hoosier A7s and 235/40/17 BFG R1-Ss. As you can see in the pic below - the 225 hoosier is only slightly narrower than the 245 BFG when squeezed onto the 7" wheel. However, due to the smaller sidewall and stiffer design we expect it to use the contact patch better.

IMG_0779 by Rice Classic, on Flickr

I tried the 235 BFG in morning qualifying but I never got them up to temp because the sessions was interrupted by my friends 944 that lost a wheel...


IMG_0784 by Rice Classic, on Flickr
IMG_0785 by Rice Classic, on Flickr


While that sucks... what was weirder is that the loose wheel took off at full speed across a large grassy area and hit the safety truck square in the door, breaking the door, side mirror and knocking out the glass! Scared the hell out of the workers sitting in the back of it!

IMG_0788 by Rice Classic, on Flickr
IMG_0790 by Rice Classic, on Flickr


Back to the racing...
The last time Totemo and I raced at PIR was the Hoosier Super Tour. Our fastest lap times that weekend were a 1:31.2 and I had a 1:31.7. Last weekend we both improved.

Saturday
For the first race, he and I set our fastest times. 1:30.7 (me) and 1:30.5 (Totemo). The A7 allowed me to run my fastest laps up front and then I managed the tires and maintained the gap back to Totemo, picking up a win (well, 3rd place but felt like a win).

Sunday
For Sunday qual I ran the BFG 235 tire. I set a low 32.2 and I was thinking the tires just weren't fast, then I saw everyone else's time and it was clear the track was slower on Sunday. I put the A7s back on for the race and was able to make a strong start, run fast in the opening laps and keep my gap back to Totemo. However - my fastest lap during the race was the same 32.2 I did on the BFGs that morning. What this tells me is that there's more learning to do on the BFGs. Totemo did a 31.9 but traffic he got stuck in the early laps created a gap too large to overcome.

Footage from PIR is being uploaded now.

Plans for July @ Pacific Raceways
In July we're headed back to our home track, Pacific Raceways and I'll be doing the test day to test different rear sway settings, including No rear bar. I have a few other changes to make as well and I'm hoping to find another full second from my previous best of 1:36.1.

In order to be close to the front in T4 or CT4, I need to run low 1:35's, preferably high 1:34's. These cars are still down on power, even though we had pretty good dyno sessions to start the season. We may have to revisit the dyno and step up to higher octane to squeeze out a couple more HRSPRS.


Edit: almost forgot - temps were close to 250f at Spokane so prior to this even I jumped from my 5w-30 High Mileage racing oil to 10w-40 high mileage racing oil and the oil pressure was much more in line with what I'm comfortable with. When I was above 220f, I was still seeing the 10:1 ratio.

[rice_classic]

[Totemo_Hayai]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

So far this season we've learned the 245/40/17 tire is just too damn fat for the 17x7" wheels required by the rules (I have BFG R1S, Totemo has R7s). We have also have seen the value in sidewall stiffness at that size between the Hoosier R7 and BFG R1-S. The Hoosier's extra stiffness allows the tire to work a bit better in this "too-much-tire" scenario. The outcome is that Totemo has a consistent .5 second advantage.

In order to correct this I showed up to Portland with 225/40/17 Hoosier A7s and 235/40/17 BFG R1-Ss. As you can see in the pic below - the 225 hoosier is only slightly narrower than the 245 BFG when squeezed onto the 7" wheel. However, due to the smaller sidewall and stiffer design we expect it to use the contact patch better.

And the tire war begins... I can't wait to try some sticker 225/40/17 A7s. Fortunately for you, that will probably be next season. I'll probably need three sets

[rice_classic]

So last weekend was the Mid Summer Classic and the grids were YUUUGE. Some groups had over 50 cars! Our little Conference T4 group had 17 cars. On Sunday I was in a 6 car battle for 2nd place and it was painfully clear that my car can brake and corner very well but needs more GO.

So here's what I've learned so far about the FRS I think those following along would appreciate.

Brakes
OEM brakes are quite good. Brake ducts are a big help. However, what's difficult is finding an optimal balance. I like Raybestos pads and Cobalt. I started the year with 47s front and 45s rear. Too much ABS going on. So I went to Cobalt XR2s F/R and they wore quite fast and it didn't feel as the rears did enough. Tried 45s Front and XR2s rear with the same outcome. Finally I went to ST45s F/R and the car braked well uniformly with front to rear squat - but again the 45s are too grabby and don't let me be a trail-braking god.

So I still need to work on finding the optimal front/rear pad setup that doesn't brake the bank. I found a local racer that can source me Hawks for cheap so I said what the hell... Going to try DTC70s F with either 60s or 30s on the rear. If I don't like them, I'll go back to my 45s up front and probably get a set of ST42s for the rear.

Oil pressure
I used the oil galley plug on the top of the block just under the intake tube before the throttle body. It turns out that's a terrible location for a proper reading due to proximity to the pump and the pulsations. In my earlier videos you can see my oil pressure readings are all over the map. I have relocated it to my sandwich plate for the oil cooler and now the readings are perfectly stable - AND THEY TAUGHT ME SOMETHING. My oil is too thick! Due to previous setup I thought I needed thicker oil so I went to 10w-40. At my last weekend it was 90F outside and my oil 240-250F the whole race and my oil pressure was >10psi x 1000rpm. I can drop back down to 5w-30. That's good information and on cooler race weekends I can probably go back to 0w-20.

McStruts
I hate them. I spent the last 15 years racing with a dynamic camber curve front and rear and now I have these to figure out. I've been punishing the outside half of my tires all year long. We are only allowed to run the eibach springs/bars per the rules (or OEM) and this last weekend we discovered that the rear OEM rear bar with Eibach front bar on soft really settled the rear - actually too much. Now the car understeers and abuses the outside front even worse. I think I'm going to put the eibach rear bar back on on (soft setting) and bump the front bar to the stiff setting to reduce roll front and rear and hopefully that will get me back to reasonably settled rear but with enough roll stiffness to keep the front contact patch happy. After that I may have to play with rear toe and rake.

Fluids
ATE brake fluid is holding up great. I rarely need to bleed my brakes and we are racing hard. I think I've bled my brakes 3 times all year long and I think I've done 14 races?.. Maybe 15.

No more Amsoil syncromesh for me. Get that notchy garbage out and in with my good ol' trusty Pennzoil Synchromesh. Sure I might have to change it more often but on this ultra hot weekend we just had, I did a full test day + 2 qualies + 3 races including a 1 hour and it never missed a beat (or a shift). Hallelujah!

Rear diff on the other hand.. Well it got the Amsoil Sever Gear 75-110 fluid very hot after the 1 hour enduro, enough that it exited the breather port. I think it may have been overfilled as well bit it smelled something awful. A fellow racer gave me some 300V 75w-90 which got me through the weekend. It looks like I'm going to have to change out my diff fluid more than once a year... Ok, note to self.

Other
I'm really tired of the pedal dance and when you're swapping drivers in an enduro where you're required to shut the car off - that sucks. Gotta do something about that with ECUTEK.

I added the stanceworks rear subframe bushing inserts (allowed per the rules as of this year) and the rear seems to communicate better to me.

What's painfully clear is that I need more power. I may need to start tuning on 100octane. Another 5-7whp would go a long way in the draft and the fuel cut shows up way to too early but I'm reticent to raise it for concerns of longevity.



Saturday's race: (I don't have Sunday's because my SD Card crapped out)

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv9FtOre46A[/ame]

[showrun]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

So I still need to work on finding the optimal front/rear pad setup that doesn't brake the bank.

Have you considered the CSG pads? They're eye-wateringly expensive, but if the claims of longer life on track are true, could be worth it.
I just bought a set, so I don't know yet.

Originally Posted by rice_classic

What's painfully clear is that I need more power. I may need to start tuning on 100octane. Another 5-7whp would go a long way in the draft and the fuel cut shows up way to too early but I'm reticent to raise it for concerns of longevity.

You mentioned a restrictor earlier in the build. Is that still in place? Do you lose a lot of power to that? And if so, do the rules force the restrictor but allow for a custom higher octane tune?

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by showrun

Have you considered the CSG pads? They're eye-wateringly expensive, but if the claims of longer life on track are true, could be worth it.
I just bought a set, so I don't know yet.

Looking forward to your feedback. I just need to find a balance and I'm pretty sold on the Raybestos pads. I've heard good things about Pagid and G-Loc and may try them next season but the price is a deterrent to get them this year. I'm not very hopeful for the DTCs as I've race on them with a different car and they glazed and de-laminated but I'm getting them at basically half price so what the heck right.

Originally Posted by showrun

You mentioned a restrictor earlier in the build. Is that still in place? Do you lose a lot of power to that? And if so, do the rules force the restrictor but allow for a custom higher octane tune?

Rules require a 55mm restrictor because in SCCA the FRS was a bit of an overdog at the runoffs in 2016 and 2017. The T4 rules allow you to run whatever fuel is stated in the car's manual, which is what makes it legal. E85, for example would be illegal. I don't think the high octane will deliver a lot of power but at this point, every HP counts and I also think I can swap out my catback for something that makes another 1-2 HP.

[TunaNoCrust]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

I've heard good things about Pagid

Mad respect for you W2W racing!

I ran Pagid RS29 and RS19s on my Porsche front/rear respectively and what an absolutely incredible pad. They are quite expensive, but they last far longer than my Hawks HP+ and 60s. Exceptional modulation for that god like trail braking super hero status.

My Brembo equipped 86 runs Hawk HP+ F/R and was surprised at how balanced front and rear they are.


As for power, are you allowed header modifications? My buddys BRZ would noticeably pull from me on straightaways and the only difference I know of his header/tune.

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by TunaNoCrust

As for power, are you allowed header modifications? My buddys BRZ would noticeably pull from me on straightaways and the only difference I know of his header/tune.

I appreciate the kind words and the feedback on the pads. The rules do not allow a header, exhaust is open from header back but must exist in OEM location. Stock header must be used but the cat can be removed and replaced with a collector which I've done - there should be a photo of that in this thread somewhere. It's good that the rules don't allow it - keeps the cost down.

For anyone who hasn't read the Touring-4 rules I highly recommend it. It's one of the best classes out there.

Starts on Page 643, Section 9.1.9.2
https://www.scca.com/downloads/46368-gcr-july-2019