TRev's BRZ RTR Autocross Build

[TRev]

This will be a journal of my experiences. It will contain a number of details most would probably not readily share relating to car setup. I will gladly try to answer any questions.

2013 Sponsors:
Defyant Motorsports | BF Goodrich

Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows
Alignment - Left Front Camber: -1.1 | Right Front Camber: -1.5 | Front Total Toe (out): -0.10 | Caster: 5.5 | Left Rear Camber: -0.6 | Right Rear Camber: -1.7 | Rear total toe (in): 0.21
Ferodo DS2500 F/R brake pads
VMS Racing lug nuts
Works Exhale ABM cat back w/mid pipe
Works air filter
Enkei Racing RPF1 17x7 42mm offset with BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17
Kosei K1 TS 17x7 50mm offset with BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17
Whiteline 20mm Front sway bar w/adjustable end links

2013 Planned Events:
Lincoln Spring Nationals
Peru Match Tour
Milwaukee Match Tour
Northern States Championship
National Championship
Milwaukee Regional Events
Land O' Lakes Regional Events

4/7/2013 - Iowa Region SCCA @ Hawkeye Tech, Waterloo IA
Mods:
Whiteline 20mm Front sway bar w/adjustable end links - Soft setting w/end links @ shortest length possible
Kosei K1 TS 17x7 50mm offset
235/40-17 Dunlop Z1 - F 39psi R 35 psi | Tread depth F 3/32 R 4/32
Works Exhale ABM cat back w/mid pipe
Factory alignment with 1/4 tank of gas

Results:
1st place in class (17 entries) - Link to Class Results
1st place overall on index by .280 seconds (68 entries) - Link to PAX Results

Comments:
Very slight push mid corner. The Hawkeye Tech site is an almost new concrete surface that is not quite as abrasive as Lincoln. Great club with very friendly and helpful members. My best run had a minor mistake that cost me a couple of tenths. Sunny with temperatures mid 40's first runs and high 50's second runs. First road trip with the car. Fair amount of hills with some decent sized ones. At 60 MPH average car reported 36.5 MPG average on way down and 38.8 MPG on way back.

4/14/2013 - Milwaukee Region SCCA @ Miller Park, Milwaukee WI
Mods:
Whiteline 20mm Front sway bar w/adjustable end links - Soft setting w/end links @ shortest length possible
Kosei K1 TS 17x7 50mm offset
235/40-17 Dunlop Z1 - F 38psi R 34 psi | Tread depth F 4/32 R 3/32
Works Exhale ABM cat back w/mid pipe
Camber bolts - Front @ max negative camber and 1/32 toe in. Rear at factory alignment
Full tank of gas

Results:
1st place in class (28 entries) - Link to Class Results
6th place overall on index (98 entries) - Link to PAX Results

Comments:
Woke up to snow covering the ground and the car. Ran heats 1 and 3. First runs it was sprinkling with a temp of 37 degrees. The precipitation quit early in the second run group. Temps in the mid 40's for the third run group. Things were still drying out in the third run group which meant everything came down to third runs. Lance (RTR 2012 National Champ) was in his FRS and I lagged behind him through the first five runs. In addition all my runs were dirty. The car was pushy mid corner and I was getting late often. I was able to clean up the last run and edge out Lance by .026 seconds on index. I still made a number of mistakes. The course was tricky since many areas had large differences in available grip due to the course still drying. Lance's car was prepped with camber bolts, alignment, and PRF1's with Z2's in a 235/40 size. I was sitting in 1st on index until the fourth heat cars ran. Pro class was in that group and the course continued to dry out for them. I got bumped back to sixth overall on index. At a 70 MPH average, the car reported 37.2 MPG on the way there and 37.9 MPG on the way back.

4/28/2013 - WAI @ Miller Park, Milwaukee WI
Mods:
Whiteline 20mm Front sway bar w/adjustable end links - Soft setting w/end links @ shortest length possible
Enkei Racing RPF1 17x7 42mm offset
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 38psi R 34 psi | Tread depth F 7/32 R 7/32
Works Exhale ABM cat back w/mid pipe
Works air filter
Camber bolts - Front @ max negative camber and 1/32 toe in. Rear at factory alignment
Gas light just came on as I was pulling into the track.

Results:
2nd place (33 entrants) - http://www.waiautox.org/2013/event1_fin.htm
8th on PAX (120 entrants) - http://www.waiautox.org/2013/event1_pax.htm

Comments:
Ran heats 1 and 3. First runs it was cloudy with temps in the upper 40's. Sunny with temps in the mid 50's for the third run group. I decided to run the Rivals (stickers) this weekend to get them scrubbed in prior to the first National event. I tried pressures in the front from 39-36 and like 38 the best. I tried the rears between 36-32 and settled on 34. The car was never too pushy and almost perfect with the final pressures just a slight bit too much over steer though with more heat in the rear tires, I think it would have been about perfect. Lance (RTR 2012 National Champ) was there in his FRS on Z2's and we were very close again throughout the day. He ended up edging me out by .118 on index. I was .012 back raw on my dirty run. First time I have data logged. The car reported a max lateral G of 1.4. The tires definitely need more heat than the Dunlops and I would say are a bit more numb. At a 70 MPH average, the car reported 34.6 MPG on the way there and 35.3 MPG on the way back. Generally speaking, the Rivals seem to be getting about 2 MPG less on the highway than the Z1's.

5/12/2013 - SCCA @ Miller Park, Milwaukee WI
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows - Front 1 3/4 turns from soft | Rear full soft
Alignment - Left Front Camber: -1.2 | Right Front Camber: -1.4 | Front Total Toe (out): -0.06 | Caster: 5.5 | Left Rear Camber: -0.6 | Right Rear Camber: -1.2 | Rear total toe (in): 0.08
Ferodo DS2500 F/R brake pads
Works Exhale ABM cat back w/mid pipe
Works air filter
Whiteline 20mm Front sway bar w/adjustable end links - soft setting with endlinks as short as possible
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 32 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 7/32 R 7/32
Gas 1/3 full

Results:
2nd place (40 entrants) - Link to Class Results
10th on PAX (142 entrants) - Link to Pax Results

Comments:
Ran heats 2 and 4. First runs it was partly sunny with temps in the low 40's. Second runs were partly sunny with temps in the upper 40's. Windy all day with sustained winds of about 10 MPH and gusts of 25 MPH. The car was overly loose in the rear until I upped the front rebound to 1 3/4 turns from soft and rear at full soft. This is the sweet spot so far for me. Fast and the car is tossable with predictable oversteer. I was .059 back from 1st on PAX in RTR class. Jeff Slater did a great job driving his MSR MX5 today. The difference in cold tires and tires with moderate heat in them is .2-.3 G according to my logs. At a 74 MPH average, the car reported 34 MPG.

5/19/2013 - SCCA-LOL @ Winona, MN
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows - Front 1/2 turns from soft | Rear full soft
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 32 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 7/32 R 7/32
Gas 1/4 full

Results: Link to Results
1st place (5 entrants)
1st on PAX (22 entrants)
2nd FTD (-.209)
Comments:
Warm and humid today. Mostly sunny with temps in the low 80's. We had 3 runs and then 5 runs. I then ran two exhibition runs for passengers right after my fifth run. The tires were HOT and never seemed to get greasy or fall off. The car pushed on corner entry/exit and I ended up backing off the rebound to just 1/2 a turn up front from full soft.

5/26-27/2013 – Spring Nationals – Lincoln, NE
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows –
Day 1 (Dry) – Front 1 3/4 turns from soft | Rear 1 turn from full soft
Day 2 (Wet) – Front full soft | Rear full soft
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 32 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 5/32 R 5/32
Gas – Low fuel light just turned on

Results:
3rd place (19 entrants)
Comments:
I ran the EVO Advantage and had about 30 runs. Ended up with front rebound at 1 ¾ turns from full soft and 1 ¼ turns from full soft in the rear. I literally hot lapped the car for about an hour and the Rival never got greasy or fell off on time. They like heat! Day 1 had temps around 70. We ran first heat. My first two runs were clean and within a couple hundredths of each other. I dialed down the rebound in the back to 1 turn from full soft as the car was a bit loose. That helped and I picked up .5 seconds. Also noticeable was the amount of heat the tires had in them. I was using MLS tire blankets and they worked great. BIG thanks to Dale and Mary Bahr. They took care of the blankets and tire pressures and made my job solely focusing on driving. The last run put me in first by .2 seconds over Lance in his FRS. The second day it was POURING and lightning. The race was delayed for a bit over a ½ hour. The rain started to subside right when we started first runs but there was standing water on the majority of the course. I dialed the rebound to full soft but the Rivals just did not like the wet IMO. DNF’d my first run due to hydroplaning so bad in the slalom that I missed a gate. Second run I focused on getting a clean run in and third I pushed it as much as I could but the grip just wasn't there. I fell back to third overall in class. Averaged 30.5 MPG round trip @ 78MPH average.

5/26-27/2013 – Peru Match Tour – Grissom AFB, IN
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows – Front 1 1/4 turns from soft | Rear 1 1/4 turns from full soft
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 32 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 4/32 R 4/32
Gas – 1/8th of a tank

Results:
1st place (11 entrants)
Comments:
Friday morning, I stopped up to Tire Rack and picked up a set of Continental tires to put on my extra rims. They shipped back my rivals for me. Very good customers service! Now that I have more rear toe in, the rebound needs to be more even front to rear and even seems to favor a bit more in the rear or the car pushes on corner exit. Averaged 32.7 MPG at an average speed of 74 MPH.

6/16/2013 - SCCA @ Miller Park, Milwaukee WI
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows – Front 1 1/2 turns from soft | Rear 1 3/4 turns from full soft
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 32 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 4/32 R 4/32
Gas – 1/8th of a tank

Results:
3rd place (45 entrants)

Comments:
Plan to lengthen end links to take out some of the push after the additional rear toe-in.

6/23/2013 - SCCA @ Winona, MN
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows – Front 1 1/2 turns from full soft | Rear 1 1/2 turns from full soft | I also tried full soft front and rear
BF Goodrich Rival 225/45-17 - F 32 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 3/32 R 4/32
Gas – low fuel light on

Results:
1st Place in class and overall on PAX
FTD overall

Comments:
Lengthened front sway bar end links which helped remove some of the push after the additional rear toe-in. End links are now about 1" longer. I also tried the car both at 1 1/2 turns from soft front and rear as well as full soft front and rear. Our first heat of three runs was dry. Our second heat of three was wet although no standing water. The last heat was three fun runs and drying conditions. My very last run and second to last runs were mostly dry but still had some damp spots. The car was as fast on full soft rebound with the track still damp in spots as it was at 1 1/2 turns from full soft in the dry during the first heat. The track is asphalt (non-sealed) and smooth. I did have a bit more seat time as it was my 8th and 9th runs of the day. The car also felt more planted in the slaloms. We had a 70' slalom and I was hard on the rev limiter in second gear.

6/29/2013 - SCCA @ Milwaukee, WI
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows – Front 1/2 turn from full soft | Rear full soft
Dunlop Z2 235/40-17 - F 38 psi R 35 psi | Tread depth F 3/32 R 3/32
Gas – low fuel light on

Results:
2nd Place in class (.165 behind first)

Comments:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=143
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=145

6/30/2013 - SCCA @ Milwaukee, WI
Mods:
Current Mod List:
Koni single adjustable Yellows – Front 1 turn from full soft | Rear full soft
Dunlop Z2 235/40-17 - F 38 psi R 32 psi | Tread depth F 3/32 R 3/32
Gas – low fuel light on

Results:
1st in class (.243 ahead)

Comments:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...&postcount=146

[TRev]

Video setup:
Solo Storm - http://www.petreldata.com/product-category/software/
ODBII Reader - http://www.petreldata.com/product/pl...-obdii-reader/
10hz GPS Receiver - http://www.petreldata.com/product/qs...ooth-receiver/
Phone - Droid Razr Maxx HD *switched to Samsung S4 on 5/26/2013
Phone mount - MOTXT926MNT
GoPro Hero 2 with Wi-Fi backpak

WAI Event 1 (4/28/2013) - Fastest clean run
[ame]http://youtu.be/kunX0fIO-b8[/ame]

Milwaukee SCCA Event 2 (5/12/2013) - Fastest clean run
[ame]http://youtu.be/qAOnqzWLb1E[/ame]

Spring Nationals Tour - Day 1 (5/26/2013) *switched to Samsung S4
[ame]http://youtu.be/jBY0x0liQoE[/ame]

Peru Match Tour (6/2/2013)
[ame]http://youtu.be/sbVyI1XfrKg[/ame]

[TRev]

[TRev]

Future updates..........

[TRev]

Future updates.......

[TRev]

Future updates......

[renfield90]

I'm sure you know already, but those Dunlops will fall off big time when you hit the second compound at around 4/32nds.

The crash bolts will fix some of the mid corner understeer. It's a 5 minute install, don't wait for the Konis! You'll toe-in a little, but with a factory alignment I'm not sure it matters much (it didn't for me). Related: someone should spend some time on the alignment rack and figure out how many turns of the tie rod it takes to compensate for a crash bolt install...

[TRev]

I was off on eyeballing them. The fronts are at 3/32nds and the rears are at 4/32nds. I didn't realize they fell off that much below 4/32nds and appreciate the info. I will update my post with the correct info.

I should do the bolts but expected the Konis by now and hand't planned to race until this coming weekend. My schedule is ridiculously full this week so I probably won't get a chance to do them before the Milwaukee event this weekend. I have toe plates so I can fix any change in toe without having to put it on a rack.

[renfield90]

There's a chance your rears are still just barely on the first compound, could be the reason for mid-corner push. If these are dedicated autocross tires that never see a daily commute, the fall off won't be quite as bad (I daily drove and autocrossed Star Specs for about three years - sad that they're gone and the ZII doesn't seem to be up to snuff).

Do the bolts when you change tires. Jacking up the car and removing the wheel takes more time than the bolt.

[Kido1986]

We have a similar setup, with your final setup. Except I'm running .1 toe in (each side) on the rear. Why Toe Out?

I've got RPF1s coming and Rival 225s right behind.

I'm jealous of the events you're running. There is 1 single National level event within 12 hours of Florida

I'd be happy to swap notes with RTR setup and give you my Koni settings for a good starting point.

[xwd]

Installing the bolts didn't really change my toe at all. A couple other guys had similar experiences. I am still using slight toe in for the rear even with new shocks, when I ran 0 toe the car wasn't very stable coming out of sweepers and getting on the gas early was difficult.

[TRev]

Originally Posted by renfield90

There's a chance your rears are still just barely on the first compound, could be the reason for mid-corner push. If these are dedicated autocross tires that never see a daily commute, the fall off won't be quite as bad.

Do the bolts when you change tires. Jacking up the car and removing the wheel takes more time than the bolt.

I probably will try to find time to swap the fronts to the back before this weekend and will pop the bolts in then. That should help determine if the push was coming from compound differences though after changing the front camber it will be hard to compare. I do daily drive them aggressively.

Originally Posted by Kido1986

We have a similar setup, with your final setup. Except I'm running .1 toe in (each side) on the rear. Why Toe Out?

I'd be happy to swap notes with RTR setup and give you my Koni settings for a good starting point.

Typo...I meant toe in and will correct it. Definitely don't want more toe out! I have been following your thread and appreciate any information you want to share. My settings and experiences will be open to anyone who wants the info.

Originally Posted by dwx

Installing the bolts didn't really change my toe at all. A couple other guys had similar experiences. I am still using slight toe in for the rear even with new shocks, when I ran 0 toe the car wasn't very stable coming out of sweepers and getting on the gas early was difficult.

Thanks for the feedback. I am definitely going to be running some toe in (typo above).

[Kido1986]

I went over the settings here - http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32927

But as ViperASR (the guy who can whip my own car around faster than I) points out, it needs more work. It's rough settings but it's the best we could come up with doing only one day of testing using the current methodology.

Once I go and measure the exact number of turns to be precise, I will do a write up in my thread of settings and changes.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by dwx

Installing the bolts didn't really change my toe at all. A couple other guys had similar experiences. I am still using slight toe in for the rear even with new shocks, when I ran 0 toe the car wasn't very stable coming out of sweepers and getting on the gas early was difficult.

I noticed less highway wander after putting mine in, consistent with more toe-in.

We're talking about front toe, right? I'd actually like to play with some front toe out to improve turn-in. The rears will obviously need a little toe in.

Originally Posted by TRev

I probably will try to find time to swap the fronts to the back before this weekend and will pop the bolts in then. That should help determine if the push was coming from compound differences though after changing the front camber it will be hard to compare. I do daily drive them aggressively.

Yeah, definitely a function of your compound. Swap them front to rear and I think you'll find you need some countersteer to make it around the course.

That 20mm bar is pretty soft IMO. Make sure you play with the stiffer setting.