SCCA Solo C Street Discussion

[redlined600]

Originally Posted by ryan t

has anyone been able to wiggle the rear subframe around or anything else to even up rear camber? im 2.25lr and 3rr. wish i could even that out

Both lower and upper arms are connected to the subframe so shifting it should have no effect.

[strat61caster]

Before going back and reading all 175 pages (again) what are you cstreet guys running for Brake pads? Hoping to find something I can street and autocross to reduce my monthly prep time, I don't trust what's left of my OEM pads and it takes significantly more pressure to stop than my xp10s which are great except I can't keep them beded in and quiet.

[drewbot]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Before going back and reading all 175 pages (again) what are you cstreet guys running for Brake pads? Hoping to find something I can street and autocross to reduce my monthly prep time, I don't trust what's left of my OEM pads and it takes significantly more pressure to stop than my xp10s which are great except I can't keep them beded in and quiet.

AX6, HC800, DS2500

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[TMF]

Hawk hp+ have been my go to pad for the last 3 cars...great initial bite, good fade resistance for autox. Noisy when cool/slightly warm, and dusty. I'm sure there are other great pad options, I just haven't taken the time to research.

[AFRichZC6]

I've been using the XP8. My first set of aftermarket pads for the BRZ. Stating the obvious, but they take a little time to get up to proper temp - there's a pretty noticeable difference in bite and pressure after the first run. They are super dusty and pretty noisy - worth it.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by TMF

Hawk hp+ have been my go to pad for the last 3 cars...great initial bite, good fade resistance for autox. Noisy when cool/slightly warm, and dusty. I'm sure there are other great pad options, I just haven't taken the time to research.

Originally Posted by AFRichZC6

I've been using the XP8. My first set of aftermarket pads for the BRZ. Stating the obvious, but they take a little time to get up to proper temp - there's a pretty noticeable difference in bite and pressure after the first run. They are super dusty and pretty noisy - worth it.

Noise is the enemy for what I'm looking for, if I could live with it I'd just run the XP10's all the time, maybe the first stop is a little weak but I've never explicitly noticed, they've been great for track and autocross, just tired of swapping so I don't embarrass any potential passengers with brakes that sound like a bus/shitty train.

Carbotech dust has been pretty easy to cope with, wipes away easily with some water without any effort even after sitting for weeks and getting wet (which is supposed to make brake dust impenetrable? idk), I've heard other compounds may be more difficult to remove if left on wheels/paint, and I've heard extremely mixed things on Hawk across the board in every category of performance (noise, dust, lifespan, ability to take punishment etc.)

Originally Posted by drewbot

AX6, HC800, DS2500

Feel dumb for not coming up with that shortlist, going through threads now and those seem like great choices, my only problem is the price point. Those all end up around $300 for a set, do you have any experience with how long they last with street/autox usage?

Ideally at that price point I'd love for them to last 2 years of gentle street driving (>20k miles, no reason to risk anything on the street) and 2 seasons of monthly autocrosses (~100-150 runs at current rates), think I'm being overly optimistic? Again, no track time with these pads, just street and autox but autox is getting faster and faster as they try to attract speed junkies, I think the big local venue does try to throw in at least 1 70+ to <40 braking zone on their courses...

The alternative is stepping down to 'sporty street' compounds and sliding in around or less than $200, but that may be an expensive experiment if they don't hold up to a full day of autocross without fade or don't make it through a season+ (Pmu NS400, Winmax W1/2, maybe stoptech or TRD can cut it)

Many thanks for the quick responses! Hopefully others chime in, brake pads aren't a huge gain these days but an economical option means we can spend more time and money on the good stuff.

[DocWalt]

I like Carbotech's 1521 (Bobcat in old English) for street and autocross use. Still noisy sometimes and a bit dusty... but way less than Carbotech's track pads.

[FRed-S]

Sorry if this has been gone over but I am currently registering for a auto cross training class. The registration needs to have the SCCA Autocross Class and I don't know where my car belongs, having never done this before. My car is mostly stock. Just full Aero Kit, tune and TRD filter. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

[drewbot]

@strat61caster

Unless you are doing very repeated runs all with very heavy breaking, I don't think one needs to use track or hybrid pads.

The courses up here don't have you on the course that fast and my brakes cool easily on hybrids.

Perhaps it will all come down to how initial bite is preferred, as everything happens so fast in AutoX

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[drewbot]

Originally Posted by FRed-S

Sorry if this has been gone over but I am currently registering for a auto cross training class. The registration needs to have the SCCA Autocross Class and I don't know where my car belongs, having never done this before. My car is mostly stock. Just full Aero Kit, tune and TRD filter. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

Depends what aero kit you have and your local club.

5axis might let you into stock class.....might. All depends how anal your group is

But any aero technically puts you in Street Modified



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[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by FRed-S

Sorry if this has been gone over but I am currently registering for a auto cross training class. The registration needs to have the SCCA Autocross Class and I don't know where my car belongs, having never done this before. My car is mostly stock. Just full Aero Kit, tune and TRD filter. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

As Drewbot said aerodynamics bump you out of the 'street' classes. A tune alone bumps you out of C-Street and into STX I believe (but again, Aero bumps you out of STX and into "Street Modified" a very expensive and fast group to run with).

Realistically though, if you're going to a school, a non-competitive environment to train you to be competitive and your tires, brakes, suspension is entirely stock I don't think you'll be faster than a moderately prepared C-Street car (good tires and camber bolts are a huge upgrade as well as a front sway bar that are easily worth more than a couple horsepower and some aero at AutoX).

It doesn't hurt to send the people running the event an e-mail explaining your situation, personally I would put yourself down as C-Street.

[jdp530]

I ran a new set of 235/45/17 RE-71R's yesterday on my '14 BRZ at our local autocross. I had a set of 225/45/17 Dunlop SSII tires on the car most of the year. The Dunlops worked great on tracks for lapping days but they were lacking grip for autocrosses. I thought I would try a larger size so I bought the Bridgestones. Grip was fantastic and car felt neutral to slightly loose but I do the 'pedal dance' and prefer a 'loose' set up for autocrossing.

I know I gave up some gearing with the taller tires, and there is some weight increase as well, along with a higher center-of-gravity. I thought I might offset the disadvantages with a larger footprint and grippier tires.

I don't think I was even close to the limits of adhesion in the sweepers but I did notice the tires rolling over onto sidewalls. I started out with 32 psi in the rear and 35 in the front. I decided to bump up the air pressure about two pounds in the back and four in the front. But I didnt really notice any improvement in handling. I am now wondering if I was going backwards with tire pressures trying to improve the handling? I have always tried to reduce amount of rollover with higher pressures but now I am wondering if I am actually decreasing the amount of grip since a higher pressure reduces size of 'footprint'.

[DocWalt]

Originally Posted by FRed-S

Sorry if this has been gone over but I am currently registering for a auto cross training class. The registration needs to have the SCCA Autocross Class and I don't know where my car belongs, having never done this before. My car is mostly stock. Just full Aero Kit, tune and TRD filter. Can anyone advise? Thanks.

The tune bumps you out of C Street to at least STX. I'm not sure anyone is going to give you trouble about the aero, especially since you're a novice. If you start winning then you'll probably hear some grumbling...

[strat61caster]

@jdp530

Tire pressures are tough, people don't like sharing those as it can make a large difference and suggestions have a lot of variables to consider so kind-hearted folks are wary of leading others astray.

No direct help but I like running the ZII SS at about 26 psi 'cold' (that is I set them in the morning when I arrive before the sun has the chance to skew temps and pressures). I haven't chalked the tires recently but I did not see anything alarming last time I did and have actually put nearly 100 miles of street driving on them when I was too lazy to bump them up.

If you have a local event that gets you more runs in (place I run at gets me ~6), maybe a test n' tune, start 'em up at where you did before and after the first two runs (for a baseline, the cold run doesn't really count imo) drop a couple psi between each run, that's how I got down to as low as I did, actually dropped 1 psi lower than where I felt the car was the best and the car definitely got worse. If you've got an air tank you can go the opposite way, a ~10 gallon should be enough to bump all tires 5 psi if memory serves correct.