2015 plans

[deadlydave]

Should be fun having one of the smallest street cars on a Kart track...

Definitely. The course is kinda beat, so low power, street tires, and the CS suspension should be a lot of fun and pretty competitive. It's hosted by a Corvette club, so as long as I can beat a few of those guys, I'll call it a success. There's one guy with an even more go-karty vehicle...1984 VW GTI, gutted/caged, 1300lbs, 160hp. He kills it and it's a blast to watch him run.

 

[CorkSport]

Definitely. The course is kinda beat, so low power, street tires, and the CS suspension should be a lot of fun and pretty competitive. It's hosted by a Corvette club, so as long as I can beat a few of those guys, I'll call it a success. There's one guy with an even more go-karty vehicle...1984 VW GTI, gutted/caged, 1300lbs, 160hp. He kills it and it's a blast to watch him run.

1300lbs, wow! That is geo metro light.

 

[Andres3165]

Are you heading down? I'm trying to get to one of the Ohio events this year. Not looking good though...The Packs sold out in minutes.

Do Toledo !!!

Andres

 

[deadlydave]

1300lbs, wow! That is geo metro light.

I wish I had a picture of the thing. Every panel is pin-on or held with dzus fasteners. 0 interior, even the gauges are just held to a very small piece of sheetmetal screwed to the front dash support. Painted in a glorious shade of radioactive yellow-green.

 

[Andres3165]

I have been doing a lot of indoor go-karting to keep and hopefully improve skills, changed tranny fluid (Amsoil), did some upgrades to my suspension, better wheels(Volk), because I want to win Nationals !!

Andres

 

[bwiggs13]

What kind of set up do you have?

Andres

I am running corksport springs/struts. RB rear bar, 15x7.5 6uls, dunlop z2s.

 

[Andres3165]

I am running corksport springs/struts. RB rear bar, 15x7.5 6uls, dunlop z2s.

I see; your competition is sliming down , pretty sure you'll do well.

In my opinion you might need better suspension to battle the strong guys at National level.

Andres

 

[Chris_Top_Her]

there is an ultra racing gb (#3) on the mirage forum you may be able to save up to $25 each part.

 

[flatlander937]

I've come into money to buy wheels. Torn between getting 15x8s that actually look good, or settling for TRM C1s in 15x7.5 to stay legal for STF.

I'm running all NASA events with the MVSCC, but if I stay on 7.5" I might just be motivated to try and run an SCCA national event when it comes here to Wilmington. Decisions decisions. Otherwise I'm forced to SMF or FSP.

 

[Traum]

I've come into money to buy wheels. Torn between getting 15x8s that actually look good, or settling for TRM C1s in 15x7.5 to stay legal for STF.

I'm running all NASA events with the MVSCC, but if I stay on 7.5" I might just be motivated to try and run an SCCA national event when it comes here to Wilmington. Decisions decisions. Otherwise I'm forced to SMF or FSP.

Both the SP and SM money pits are waaaaay too expensive for my wallet. More importantly, short of doing something absolutely crazy (in terms of build), there is no way our 2 can be competitive in SMF. So I would say getting into SM is almost certainly out of the question. With FSP, I am also leaning towards the belief that you would also have to sink an inordinate amount of money to make it a competitive car, and in doing so, the car will probably also have to turn into a trailer queen as well.

So I would say that if you still plan on street driving the car, the cheapest and easily solution is to pick up both a 7.5" and a 8" wide set of wheels. Use the 7.5" for competition and stay in STF, but play with the 8" for the non-competitive times. This will easily be 1000% cheaper than if you shoot for the SP or SM classes, and you can still sort of get the best of both worlds.

 

[jasyatz]

Both the SP and SM money pits are waaaaay too expensive for my wallet. More importantly, short of doing something absolutely crazy (in terms of build), there is no way our 2 can be competitive in SMF. So I would say getting into SM is almost certainly out of the question. With FSP, I am also leaning towards the belief that you would also have to sink an inordinate amount of money to make it a competitive car, and in doing so, the car will probably also have to turn into a trailer queen as well.

So I would say that if you still plan on street driving the car, the cheapest and easily solution is to pick up both a 7.5" and a 8" wide set of wheels. Use the 7.5" for competition and stay in STF, but play with the 8" for the non-competitive times. This will easily be 1000% cheaper than if you shoot for the SP or SM classes, and you can still sort of get the best of both worlds.

Why both sets of wheels? Not sure I follow the logic of the 8" wheels unless you wanted to run a 225 tire. I've tested both and the 205 is definitely faster than the 225. Even when running the 8" wheels. And besides, the 225 tire on the 8" wheels running a competitive spring rate for Autocross at the ride height you needs for Autocross rub in the rear under full compression; unless you go with some aggressive fender rolling/trimming) With the 7.5" wheels, 205 tire and 5mm spacer, all good. In the front the 8" wheels rub the strut housings with too much negative camber (over -2.5) if you adjust it through the strut bolts. With camber plated coilovers, this is a non issue. When you go full steering lock, they do rub the inner fender liner on the rear right near where the accessory mud flap (wheel splash guards) would mount. Not an issue on the track or course, but as a daily driven combination, this could make parking annoying.

If you want the 8" wheels for the increased track width, just get a set of extended studs and run the 7.5" wheels with a 5mm spacer and the 205 tire. This is the "sweet spot" between width, track and lightness also..

Best of ALL worlds...

But if you already have the 8" wheels, or have another car that the 8" wheels fit and you are going to move them from car to car depending on your fancy for that track day (Zach), then go for it.. But if the 2 IS your track car (HPDE or Autocross and daily driver), I think you'll be happier with the 7.5" 205 tire and spacers and have a bit of extra cash (from not having 2 sets of wheels and tires) to spend on a couple more event days.

Unless the SMF/SP bug bit you, poisoned you and ruined your logic; then be prepared to dig a hole in the asphalt, toss huge amounts of cash in weekly and set it all on fire...At least that's what it felt like in my SM/FSP days...

That being said a forced induction 2 with all the added lightness tricks, massive 275/45 Hoosiers cut and widened fenders and crazy stupid spring rates to keep the tall beast in check WOULD be an awesome sight....I look forward to seeing it if you build it...

 

[flatlander937]

Why both sets of wheels? Not sure I follow the logic of the 8" wheels unless you wanted to run a 225 tire. I've tested both and the 205 is definitely faster than the 225. Even when running the 8" wheels. And besides, the 225 tire on the 8" wheels running a competitive spring rate for Autocross at the ride height you needs for Autocross rub in the rear under full compression; unless you go with some aggressive fender rolling/trimming) With the 7.5" wheels, 205 tire and 5mm spacer, all good. In the front the 8" wheels rub the strut housings with too much negative camber (over -2.5) if you adjust it through the strut bolts. With camber plated coilovers, this is a non issue. When you go full steering lock, they do rub the inner fender liner on the rear right near where the accessory mud flap (wheel splash guards) would mount. Not an issue on the track or course, but as a daily driven combination, this could make parking annoying.

If you want the 8" wheels for the increased track width, just get a set of extended studs and run the 7.5" wheels with a 5mm spacer and the 205 tire. This is the "sweet spot" between width, track and lightness also..

Best of ALL worlds...

But if you already have the 8" wheels, or have another car that the 8" wheels fit and you are going to move them from car to car depending on your fancy for that track day (Zach), then go for it.. But if the 2 IS your track car (HPDE or Autocross and daily driver), I think you'll be happier with the 7.5" 205 tire and spacers and have a bit of extra cash (from not having 2 sets of wheels and tires) to spend on a couple more event days.

Unless the SMF/SP bug bit you, poisoned you and ruined your logic; then be prepared to dig a hole in the asphalt, toss huge amounts of cash in weekly and set it all on fire...At least that's what it felt like in my SM/FSP days...

That being said a forced induction 2 with all the added lightness tricks, massive 275/45 Hoosiers cut and widened fenders and crazy stupid spring rates to keep the tall beast in check WOULD be an awesome sight....I look forward to seeing it if you build it...

The key point missed is I'm running with a group that runs NASA classing so I can really do whatever I want as its a points per modification type deal.

The debate is whether I want to try and enter an SCCA national event or not... If I'm bumped to FSP OR SMF I won't even bother. I realize it will never be in the trophies in either of those classes. And frankly 8in wide 6ULs are available and 7.5 are not which would be my go-to choice.

I DO want to run DOT R comps either next year or the year after, I will be building slowly for either FSP or SMF loosely to have a fun DD in NASA E most likely for local stuff. I think I'll do the applicable STF stuff in the meantime, then add a LSD and buy some spare front fenders to hack up/flare/etc for some 275 Hoosiers. Still unsure if a 2.0l/trans swap would be better or worse than a 1.5l turbo or not though. I've been exploring the options by mapping out VE for compressor map purposes and measuring every 2.0-2.5l Mazda/Ford vehicle that comes through work.


I'm leaning towards the 7.5 wheels as I DO want to at least experience a national event and have somewhat of a chance(I'm not interested in changing seats and don't want to sink $ into header as I will just replace it with either a homemade turbo manifold or the 2.0l entirely. I can always buy more wheels later and use the 7.5s for DD/rain.

 

[jasyatz]

NASA Autocross? I got bumped to E from G this year with the *bonus* 5 points in the new classing structure. Going to an 8" wheel does not adjust the points mod numbers at all.

2.0 swap adds complexity, weight and cost. the 1.5 turbo seems the right move as of right now. It took 15 years for Honda swaps to become routine, maybe YOU can help with the Mazda trend..

Either way, you've got a good plan, but the least of your worries is buying 2 sets of wheels... Looks like a bonfire of Benjamin's is heading to your house!

And as for experiencing a National Event, I'm sure there's co drive opportunities there for you, there's always a class looking for good drivers to "fill" for contingencies. I was a "hired gun" to fill a class one year. The other 4 guys in the class each gave me a couple bucks to cover my registration fee so they could battle it out as a single class and not go to a bump class. Little did they know that I would battle them for the 3rd spot all weekend...I ended 4th but shared the case "they" all bought after the event.

 

[flatlander937]

NASA Autocross? I got bumped to E from G this year with the *bonus* 5 points in the new classing structure. Going to an 8" wheel does not adjust the points mod numbers at all.

2.0 swap adds complexity, weight and cost. the 1.5 turbo seems the right move as of right now. It took 15 years for Honda swaps to become routine, maybe YOU can help with the Mazda trend..

Either way, you've got a good plan, but the least of your worries is buying 2 sets of wheels... Looks like a bonfire of Benjamin's is heading to your house!

SMF weight classing = 2.5l due to 1.5l + FI. A 2.0 swap would have a slightly lower min weight. And no turbo lag ;-)


I had no problem going full retard on a perfectly good stock vehicle before 03 Wrangler on 1 tons(D60+D70hd) and 40in tires with wheelbase stretched 4in front and 12in rear.

 

[jasyatz]

So the fire pit has already been built huh? Now it's time to throw some more on it! Make sure to update your build thread.

and that is a badass Jeep..Nice build there

 

[flatlander937]

I plan on dumping a bunch in my build thread once my coilovers are built. Waiting on materials now to build my top hats.

 

[jasyatz]

I thought about building a set. Contacted a few race shops I'm friendly with and it came down to serviceability and reliability. Putting Koni doubles into a homemade housing just wasn't right for me. I already had the springs, tenders, housings and packer material and found a place willing to sell me universal camber plates. All I had to do was drill them for the towers and press in the studs. In the end it came down to juice vs the squeeze.. Instead I went with a heavily upgraded easy button but I can't wait to see how yours turn out.

 

[flatlander937]

I am just building around the single adjustable "RACE" struts - 8610 series. All accounts I could find showed they're perfect for 500-600lb springs on a light car, and the double adjustable ones are a PITA to change compression on.

My main motivation behind building my own housings are to

1) get a quality damper
2) have everything individually serviceable(coil over sleeves can be tossed if hoovered up - not trash a whole coil over body)
3) change the strut to knuckle "ears" length to increase tire clearance slightly(for 9in+ wide wheel in the future)
4) build said ears with holes drilled appropriately so tiny camber bolts are not needed - use the full size OEM bolts. Or run camber bolts anyway and have silly camber!
5) end up with top hats built as short as possible for wheel travel. With quality bearings... NHBB is supposed to be the best according to a lot of builders. They were like $40 a piece IIRC.


And I just like fabricating stuff.

 

[CorkSport]

If anyone is in the palm springs area of Cali I will be out at Chuckwalla Valley Raceway on the 19-21st running in the SCCA majors. Stop on by and say hello.

-Derrick

 

[deadlydave]

My (non-competitive) SM WRX saw me spending $$$ at corksport like I was in a rap video, and has decided to develop a cooling problem by eating one of it's own radiator fans. What a stupid 'Ho. Will be looking into more slim solutions and/or better zip ties. The race is on to see which car I can get ready for the season first.