RCE Tarmac 2 Review/Competition Log

[DeaconRoc]

@forwallblakmail the second picture down is amazing! (Sorry to be off topic)

[forwallblakmail]

Originally Posted by DeaconRoc

@forwallblakmail the second picture down is amazing! (Sorry to be off topic)

It's my favorite! Turn 3 at Road Atlanta.

[cl271]

I am currently using rsr club racer suspension. And i am thinking to change to rce t2 cause of 2 way ... is there real benefits on the track??before i dont wanna get the t2 cause i am thinking 2 way is hard to set up..but now i think 2 way is a lot better on track??thank for all the reply

[forwallblakmail]

Originally Posted by cl271

I am currently using rsr club racer suspension. And i am thinking to change to rce t2 cause of 2 way ... is there real benefits on the track??before i dont wanna get the t2 cause i am thinking 2 way is hard to set up..but now i think 2 way is a lot better on track??thank for all the reply

The T2 is the only coilover I've used on the brz on track. I went from RCE tarmac springs on Koni's too the T2's. The biggest benefit I've seen in the increased spring rates to 400lbs, which was stiffer but not crazy, as this chassis seems to like a softer rate. As far as the two way, the ability to tune the car to the tires and alignment you are running is probably the biggest benefit. I will admit I don't claim to be a master suspension tuner, but running RCE's recommended settings, then tweaking it slighlty to dial out some oversteer I was getting by softening compression in the rear I was able to make the car very neutral.

[cl271]

Thank you for all the information. I have 8k front and rear spring rate too.. i just thought rce t2 will have better valving and its 2 way. Thanks again

[Captain Snooze]

Originally Posted by cl271

I am currently using rsr club racer suspension. And i am thinking to change to rce t2 cause of 2 way ... is there real benefits on the track??before i dont wanna get the t2 cause i am thinking 2 way is hard to set up..but now i think 2 way is a lot better on track??thank for all the reply

Unlike cheap Ebay dampers with 40 clicks of adjustment each click on quality dampers makes a discernible difference. Providing you only make one adjustment at a time it is not possible to get lost. When I say one adjustment I mean only alter one end (f OR r) and only alter rebound OR compression but 2 clicks at a time is advisable for coarse tuning.

[forwallblakmail]

VIR

[jeffsquared]

So I hope I'm not missing something but I couldn't find any of your detailed comments on RCE T2 performance in autox, only your NASA runs.

What did you end up dialing in for autocross? Any general comments here? How did you do at the national events?

[forwallblakmail]

Originally Posted by jeffsquared

So I hope I'm not missing something but I couldn't find any of your detailed comments on RCE T2 performance in autox, only your NASA runs.

What did you end up dialing in for autocross? Any general comments here? How did you do at the national events?

I'm using almost the same settings on track as I did in autocross, which is the recommended settings from RCE. From there, I would add or subract compression clicks in the rear if the car was under or oversteering (softer to counter oversteer, harder to increase it). I finshed mid pack at the prosolo and national tour's I attended, (about 25 cars total). I'm pretty happy with those results, as some of the best drivers in the country attend the Ohio events.

For autocross specifically, I had to soften the rear compression a decent amount (2-3 clicks) in the rear as the car was very tail happy. That was on Z2's.

Sorry if that's vague, I haven't autocrossed the car in two years now that it's a dedicated track car.

[renfield90]

Originally Posted by jeffsquared

So I hope I'm not missing something but I couldn't find any of your detailed comments on RCE T2 performance in autox, only your NASA runs.

What did you end up dialing in for autocross? Any general comments here? How did you do at the national events?

I ran T2s at nats in a 60% prep car, placed 21 out of 75 (two spots out of the trophies). Note that I had installed the suspension just a month before nats, so I had ~30 test and tune runs in Lincoln to dial it in and try to learn the car. Not a lot of development time when some people are 3+ years into their STX build.

These are really high quality shocks. I had them dyno'd before install and left/right were perfectly matched (except at full stiff, but for technical reasons that's to be expected with any shock - you shouldn't need to be at full stiff anyway), and additionally there was no discernable cross talk between the compression and rebound adjusters (which is VERY hard to do). Also, I felt like I had enough compression (i.e. it was possible to set them too stiff) to run on the surface at Lincoln which is super important. Some friends of mine in STX set their shocks to full stiff compression and still don't feel like they have enough, and I beat them despite their otherwise far superior build (they have more power, less weight, and a pimpy diff). Lastly there is good range available in both compression and rebound, so you can go stiffer if you get stiffer springs and you can go softer if it's raining.

I would say you can definitely win on these shocks at any event, including nats. The one caveat is that this is a very deep class with a lot of talent and a lot of extremely well prepared cars, you can't just throw suspension at a car and expect to win. My big deficits right now are weight, (especially unsprung weight, my wheels are very heavy), power (I'm on an open source OTS tune and still have a stock front pipe), and more time on the setup to fine tune the little things I discovered (like the car getting wicked loose above 55mph, the fastest section of East course was very dicey in my car).