it's no fedex... but it's decently long

http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&sourc...14709&t=h&z=17

here is the course from the last time I was there:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBS5lZjsst0

 

Nice! That thing looks like it really sticks! Whats the 13B putting down for power? It has a beautiful sound and pull!

 

haha, that's my corolla

it probably has around 150-160hp.

 

Here are our vids from the Toledo Pro. I'm in the main screen and my co-driver is in the PiP

http://vimeo.com/13564190

 

...........maybe that is why it had such a more distinct sound then most NA rotaries lol.

........I am gonna go bash my head with mallot for a while

 

John,

This may not be much notice, but supposedly one of the best, if not THE best concrete site on the East Coast is at the Little Creek Amphibious base in Norfolk, VA.

The Virginia Autocross Championship is this weekend (8/21-8/22), and the event page is here: http://www.tidewatersportscarclub.co...=56&Itemid=203

Long term forecast is calling for sunny skies and mid 80's on Saturday, and mid 80's again with a 40% chance of scattered thunderstorms on Sunday. A bit of a hike from Columbia, but could be some useful set-up fine-tuning before Nats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_f39bD-Cl4

 

A 4.5 hour drive is not in the cards for me this weekend... tempting but I have to pass.

 

I love that camera angle, I'm going to have to try that.

it records what the driver is doing along with a great angle for car placement too.

 

Hey, 20,000+ views. Neat.

 

No kidding! I'm going to have to try that for my commute!

 

Well I'm getting the car ready for the big tow out to the Solo Nationals. I'm pretty excited to be heading there with this car after such little time. I don't really have any illusions that I'm gunning for a win... I'd be pretty ecstatic with a trophy of any kind. 46 people registered in class right now, with some pretty big names. My brother is going to co-drive with me, which is always fun. It'll be his first time in the car, but not his first solo nats. It's also neat to see the car mentioned in the SportsCar Magazine "Who will Win?" article as a contender.

Anyway, I got to thinking about a few "lessons learned" during the build of this car and thought I'd do a little stream of consciousness. Plus I just killed a plate of sushi and a couple homebrews...

1) When building a motor, even with stock ports, check every single side port. One of the side ports on the used end plates I bought had a very slight burr on it and it was enough to catch a side seal and eat it for lunch. It's worth it to just hit the edge of it with a file slightly to bevel the edge.

2) When setting up a suspension, make sure everything moves freely before you install the dampers. My front suspension was hung up due to jammed poly bushings for the first couple events and we wasted those events as far as tuning the car goes. I think we'd be a lot further along if I hadn't made that mistake.

3) Softer is better. Especially with street tires, don't go crazy with spring rate. Even though the front geometry sucks, going really heavy with the springs makes the car a real handful. I've been running 450/275 with an ST front bar and no rear bar, and on our non-grippy lot, it's loose. For Lincoln, I think 300lb rear springs with some rear bar will be the hot ticket.

4) Get the weight out. I was shocked to see that the car that started at 2,715lbs got all the way down to 2,450 in competition trim. It's still overweight for the class, but there's only about another 20lbs I can legally get out of it, unless I go nutso with the exhaust.

5) Short tires. The car was transformed when I went to the 15" Hankooks. There are just no 17" or 16" tires that are short enough for autocross.

6) Careful on the rear brake bias. Running an aggressive front pad with a really hard rear pad seems to work best.

Hopefully I'll learn more at nationals. I'm pretty psyched. Maybe I'll even get some dyno time before I go out there.

 

Did you try softening the rear bar before disconnecting it?

 

Not sure what you mean by softening. I have an extra hole drilled on each side of the bar to stiffen it compared to the stock setting, but no way to soften it beyond what the stock holes offer.

So no, I didn't try softening the bar before disconnecting it.

 

I run a 450/300 setup with an ST front bar and stock rear bar for my street tire setup. I'm continually amazed at how well the car works with this setup.

I weighed the stock exhaust at around 90 lbs. My custom STS exhaust came in at round 40 lbs. How much more weight would you expect to drop?

If you get dyno time, please share your torque and hp plots. I'm curious to know what they look like in STS trim.

 

Well, I did a final test and tune event with a local club yesterday. Last event before nationals. The CRX I have been chasing all year (driven by the guy who was picked to win it all in Lincoln) was there and we had a good battle. I ended up taking the win over him by about 0.15. This was on a course that really didn't favor the car, lots of sweepers and no significant transitions. I believe I also took top PAX for the morning session.

With the new fuel sock I could run down to almost empty with no fuel starvation. The new wheels let me drop the pressures of the Hankooks to more favorable values and they really stuck. Fixing the rear suspension binding issues made the car more trustworthy, as did the harder-compound rear brake pads. The car felt amazing on every run.

Maybe the car stands a chance after all?

 

yes, that's very cool that you and the car are actually faster than the competition!

 

So I'm a little late on this train....but the only comment I have is...that vin number is LEGIT!!!!

 

So nationals are next weekend?

 

ProSolo finale is next weekend. A week from this Tuesday / Wednesday, STS runs at the Solo Nationals.

 

Great news. Give em hell!

 

+1 Give 'em hell John! On a "grippier" concrete surface, I expect the RX-7 to really come into its element. Best of luck out there!!!!

 

Quick question John,

Did you go with the cloth or micro-suede Corbeau A4's? I really want a reclining racing seat and these Corbeau A4's seem to be the lightest I could find in my price range. The cloth looks nice, but I like things to be durable and I'm wondering if the micro-suede will hold up better in the long run?

TIA! Planning my winter projects in advance...

--Chike

P.S. How is the lower lateral support of these seats in the turns? Did you go with the standard width? Does Olsen have any problems getting comfortable in them?

 

Seems like John is giving them hell in the ProSolo out there, P1 after the first day by 9/10's of a second

 

Actually he's in P2, but just 0.3 seconds back from Baker.

http://sololive.scca.com/STS.html

 

Ended up third.. against two cars with more than four years development. Was 0. 5 Back from ian, who won, on a 90 sec course. The top three of us also smoked street touring, which is a good indicator.Pretty happy about it. Need to get it done at nationals now. :-)