tyre11c0rp

iTrader: (4)

hey all, looking for a little advice.

As with many noobs, I upgraded my Go parts first, then got track time, then quickly realized that I needed more work across the board to take advantage of it.

I'm still a noob, but I made some more mods (smart I hope), have 5 sessions under my belt, and I'm curious to hear advice regarding next steps from the addicts.

Goal is simply to continue having fun, no competition, become a better driver, get the most out of my car, faster lap times, punish my friends.

Current
==================
Go parts: 350whp
Stop parts: WORKS SS lines, motul, ferodo ds2500
Every-direction-parts: WORKS ride springs, Z1 star specs
Driver mods: HPDE + 4 daylong lapping sessions / instruction

Paths I'm considering / weakest links
===========================
- driver mods (seat time, instruction) are assumed, top of my list
- wheels / R compound tires? I've read that in absence of more suspension work, R compounds may overwhelm my suspension? But they're so tempting!
- heavier duty brake kit? If I upgrade to R comp @ 255/40/17, will my brakes again become overwhelmed?
- driver/safety mod: harness?
- safety mod: cage?

any advice appreciated. Yes, it's nearing the end of the season... but I'm thinking that the offseason is prime time to pick up some nice RPF1s on the cheap

cheers all

Richard EVO

You have too much power and not enough suspension.

There is no substitute for seat time.

bchappy

^ same....
suspension and brakes, and stick to street tires for your first year.
the stock suspension is fine for a while if you are new. The stock tires are great as well. (so are the Z1s)
I would suggest swapping in a dedicated front pad.
if your doing a cage at the very leat you should have a 5-point, or a Schroth ASM harness.
Just get out there the way the car is and dont add anything.
Just get more and more seat time.

tyre11c0rp

iTrader: (4)

great, thanks guys.

Just going from stock pads to Ferodos was a huge leap. I'd love to get a more aggressive track pad... but it's my DD as well so I'm not sure how safe that would be. Further, I have no dedicated garage space to swap pads in / out.

Suspension I haven't looked into yet, but I guess I'll start gathering info.

Seat time is 1x mo / as often as I can get it - yahoo!

thanks again

bluestreak

You also need to keep in mind that R-comps without the proper camber settings will shorten the life dramatically, so not only will you overload the suspension, but you wont get the most out of hte R-Comps and they'll cord sooner (I.E. very high tire budget).

Suspension should be first because at the rate you'll eat tires you'll spend more money on tires within a few events than you would have spent on getting the suspension first and running street tires.

RazorLab

iTrader: (8)

Do yourself a huge favor and do a bunch of events on street tires before moving to R-compounds.

You will thank yourself later.

BlackTrack

iTrader: (25)

Order a set of Porsche Blue's and go really fast relying on those!

aeroweenie

iTrader: (5)

I totally agree with the first item on your list - seat time & instruction. As you pick up speed, be wary of brake fade. The DS2500 pads are great but not really track pads. There are a few guys with a lot of Evo track experience in the Seattle area (I've only tracked mine 6 times but I've got a lot of BMW E30 track time) but I only know of one who frequents evom.

Pure EvoIX

iTrader: (7)

Brake Ducting (AMS, Forge), performance alignment, rear bump steer kit, rear trailing arm bushings, and most importantly seat time. Play around with your air pressures when its Hot because it makes a HUGE HUGE difference.

voidhawk

iTrader: (20)

hi tyre11c0rp, so where are you getting all this seat time at ? Curious since I'm in the same area ... from your list of mods, I'd pick a harness - it helped me a lot by not needing a death grip on the steering wheel in turns, so I can relax and get better feedback on what the car is doing.

jid2

iTrader: (62)

Yeah it depends on where you want to spend the money and when.

A Schroth 4 point harness, which is legit for Seattle Alfa Club days is a really good one. I personally think lowering the seat is massively helpful as well to be in a proper seating position.

I've run DS2500's with cooling ducts at Pacific Raceways without issue. With good fluid like you have, properly bleed brakes and cooling ducting you should be fine with DS2500's until they wear out. Then move to PF97's or something. But you should get ducting for sure.

I'd do some suspension work before race tires. Get a set of coilovers with compression and rebound adjustment, plan on spending $3K. If that's too much, keep saving until it isn't. then grab some R-Compounds. It's true that R-Compounds hide mistakes, so it's good to learn the car on street tires.

I'm hoping to have my car's engine pulled and rebuilt by mid-septmeber for the Alfa day at PR.

tyre11c0rp

iTrader: (4)

hey Seattle responses! awesome.

void: so far it's all @ pac raceways via proformanceracingschool.com HPDE and lapping days (+ instruction). They have a pretty good rep, stop mid-day to walk the course and do turn studies, and offer continued drver education.

Going monthly and next date is 8/12..... but then then they have nothing in Sept (so I may go speedwaremotorsports day or similar).

If you have other 'ins', lmk.

binary: great points, thanks. I've read about your seat kit forever, had no idea you were in my area!! But yes: a buddy added a harness and said it made a massive difference and allowed him to really focus on car weight transfer, instead of driver weight transfer I'll take a look at the product you mention

thanks again guys, never expected to get this much great info from the thread!

ps: binary (and aero/void as well), who did you have do your ducting work? I generally use speedware for simple stuff (suspension, brakes, etc) and drive to lucas english for all the heavy duty stuff. Any recommendations locally?

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Oooooo Cup tires, now we're talkin!

JordanS4

iTrader: (11)

lots more suspension (coilovers, bushings, proper set up, control arms, etc...), race pads, and a good seat and harness so you don't have to fight the G forces as much. stay on street tires for a while like others said.

voidhawk

iTrader: (20)

Shopwise it sounds like you've got it covered. Proformance is where I got started too, good people. Speedware does some track days, the BMW Club will let you play, and the Porsche Club does skill days at Bremerton; there's SCCA for auto-x, BSCC in Bremerton, IRDC is at PR occasionally, and PDC across the border in Canada. In the winter time there's indoor Karting at K1speed - you're in a good place for a track junkie . If I ever get my car straightened out, it'll be great to hit some events together