2009 STU Discussion
#62
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After 15-16 90 second + runs in one day at MW my Star Specs sounded like Jeep tires all the way home. They were nice and pock marked up Here's a video from the next day (2 day event): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23YcO0JHyPU
#63
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I played around a little last season in STU, and was really impressed with both the handling ability of the stock car and the tires. This year I'm going to try to be a bit more competitive. I've been shopping around for coilovers and am still boggled by choices (and the dent they'll put in mah wallet!). At this point I'm looking at the KW V3 Clubsports. I'm thinking 9F/10R for rates - is that too wussy? My last semi-prepped car (STS RSX) ran buddy clubs that were something like 10F/14R, and it was rather harsh. I'm not sure how much of that is lots of spring and how much is the damping on cheap coilovers.
I still have plenty of stock tire left, but once those are up I'll be moving to the direzzas.
Bench racing rocks!
#64
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only because i don't wanna read all 300 pages of the scca rule book...what engine mods throw you out of the class? I want to compete this year but i don't wanna be in a class where i wont be competitive.
#66
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The only significant engine mods you can have in STU:
TBE
High-flow cat
O2 housing
Exhaust manifold
Air filter
ECU reflash at stock boost (only boost changes allowed are those that come from one of the above mods)
I believe fuel is free as long as it's unleaded... I know there are people who have been using 100 octane, and I'm pretty sure E85 would be legal... not sure what kind of gains you would see at stock boost, if any.
TBE
High-flow cat
O2 housing
Exhaust manifold
Air filter
ECU reflash at stock boost (only boost changes allowed are those that come from one of the above mods)
I believe fuel is free as long as it's unleaded... I know there are people who have been using 100 octane, and I'm pretty sure E85 would be legal... not sure what kind of gains you would see at stock boost, if any.
#67
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The only significant engine mods you can have in STU:
TBE
High-flow cat
O2 housing
Exhaust manifold
Air filter
ECU reflash at stock boost (only boost changes allowed are those that come from one of the above mods)
I believe fuel is free as long as it's unleaded... I know there are people who have been using 100 octane, and I'm pretty sure E85 would be legal... not sure what kind of gains you would see at stock boost, if any.
TBE
High-flow cat
O2 housing
Exhaust manifold
Air filter
ECU reflash at stock boost (only boost changes allowed are those that come from one of the above mods)
I believe fuel is free as long as it's unleaded... I know there are people who have been using 100 octane, and I'm pretty sure E85 would be legal... not sure what kind of gains you would see at stock boost, if any.
Downpipe
Underdrive pulley?
Air intake up to the turbo inlet.
Fuel needs to have a Federal tax to be ST legal.
Rick
#69
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No kidding! Is it time to race yet?
I played around a little last season in STU, and was really impressed with both the handling ability of the stock car and the tires. This year I'm going to try to be a bit more competitive. I've been shopping around for coilovers and am still boggled by choices (and the dent they'll put in mah wallet!). At this point I'm looking at the KW V3 Clubsports. I'm thinking 9F/10R for rates - is that too wussy? My last semi-prepped car (STS RSX) ran buddy clubs that were something like 10F/14R, and it was rather harsh. I'm not sure how much of that is lots of spring and how much is the damping on cheap coilovers.
I still have plenty of stock tire left, but once those are up I'll be moving to the direzzas.
Bench racing rocks!
I played around a little last season in STU, and was really impressed with both the handling ability of the stock car and the tires. This year I'm going to try to be a bit more competitive. I've been shopping around for coilovers and am still boggled by choices (and the dent they'll put in mah wallet!). At this point I'm looking at the KW V3 Clubsports. I'm thinking 9F/10R for rates - is that too wussy? My last semi-prepped car (STS RSX) ran buddy clubs that were something like 10F/14R, and it was rather harsh. I'm not sure how much of that is lots of spring and how much is the damping on cheap coilovers.
I still have plenty of stock tire left, but once those are up I'll be moving to the direzzas.
Bench racing rocks!
AST 4200 rears and custom lightweight/race exhaust (16 pounds). We can swap on a muffler at the V-band clamp
As for spring rates... 9-10K (500-575#/in) is not too low, especially for a dual purpose street/autocross car, but you'll still likely need some sizable swaybars to control the roll with rates in that range. Something closer to the 12-14K (700-800#/in) rates will likely be more STU competitive but street ride will suffer, even with better quality monotubes.
At least get double adjustables with rates that high, to be able to get rid of some of the harshness on the street. We put 450 front, 550 rears on our EVO X and it rides better than stock, but that's not hard to accomplish with good dampers. We've got to turn up the rates a bit (probably +100 #/in) and get some bigger bars to keep the bodyroll down on the heavy X.
#71
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Fair,
I've got 14kg (and likely not AST quality) and they are a touch rough on the street, but on the track and at high speeds they shine. (I'm still on stock sways, not sold if I need/can benefit from an upgrade just yet).
You definitely will need sways with 9/10s on the X.
I've got 14kg (and likely not AST quality) and they are a touch rough on the street, but on the track and at high speeds they shine. (I'm still on stock sways, not sold if I need/can benefit from an upgrade just yet).
You definitely will need sways with 9/10s on the X.
#72
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As for springs - thanks everyone for the input. It sounds like I should go with more spring. I was hoping to avoid bigger sways, as my personal feeling is it's better to control roll with rates. Our surfaces are usually nice and smooth, and it seems, to me, that I'd get better grip with more spring and stock bars. If I'm way off base, feel free to tell me I'm being stupid .
I've been looking around for something like ground control coilover sleeves and aftermarket dampers, but all I really see people discuss are fancy/blingy coilover kits. I'd really like to find something like a Koni 8610/8611 that I could run. The zzyzx EM sports looked like exactly what I wanted, but it looks like zzyzx is all gone now - alas. Anyone got some pointers?
#73
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How fast does your wallet allow?
Coilover sleeves suck, so I'm not sure why *anyone* would ever run that crap vs. a japanese coilover.
I run Stance GR+Pro SSD coilovers and they are fine, but I don't know any better. People with more champaign tastes will point you to a KW/Robispec or AST (Fair/hancheyb for sure ) or JIC.
Coilover sleeves suck, so I'm not sure why *anyone* would ever run that crap vs. a japanese coilover.
I run Stance GR+Pro SSD coilovers and they are fine, but I don't know any better. People with more champaign tastes will point you to a KW/Robispec or AST (Fair/hancheyb for sure ) or JIC.
#74
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Really? I thought the gc units were very well made. I also thought the koni dampers (especially the 8611) were well regarded for the price? Of course I'm coming from the honda world where things are done on a whole other budget.
#75
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How fast does your wallet allow?
Coilover sleeves suck, so I'm not sure why *anyone* would ever run that crap vs. a japanese coilover.
I run Stance GR+Pro SSD coilovers and they are fine, but I don't know any better. People with more champaign tastes will point you to a KW/Robispec or AST (Fair/hancheyb for sure ) or JIC.
Coilover sleeves suck, so I'm not sure why *anyone* would ever run that crap vs. a japanese coilover.
I run Stance GR+Pro SSD coilovers and they are fine, but I don't know any better. People with more champaign tastes will point you to a KW/Robispec or AST (Fair/hancheyb for sure ) or JIC.
They're fairly crude, but damned if they didn't work better than 85-90% of the garbage that's out there for 240SXes for much less money. Before anyone asks, no, I didn't make these housings, and no, the guy who made them won't make them for Evos.
It's the GC eBay knockoffs that scare me...