Robevo RS

iTrader: (16)

i know...

NJ9MR

iTrader: (56)

Best of luck to you Dave! I'll be cheering you on! And as was mentioned earlier, a BIG THANKS for keeping MITSUBISHI out there in the Motor Sports World!

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Got some suspension questions for you on-road guys.

I've been running the gravel spec Ohlins (triples) on the Evo since I got it. Last year at our last race I blew up one of them on a big rock. Since $$ is tight for the 2011 year and we're sitting out some gravel hillclimbs to keep the car fresh for PP, our only commitments with the car are for PP.

As I run through options in my head, I'm debating about picking up new suspension for $3k or less (used & in good shape ok too) instead of dropping that same amount of $$ on a replacement rally damper.

So, with $3k being my max to drop on suspension - who's got recommendations on what to run? Only wrinkle I can think that I'm throwing into the mix is the fact that I'm running pretty aggressive aero compared to normal road race cars.

Thanks,

Dave

jid2

iTrader: (62)

What spring rates are on your Ohlins, and would you look at using them on the new setup? What sort of dampening characteristics do the Ohlins have right now? What suspension is that yellow EVO running that does PP?

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Ohlins Rally Suspension

Ohlins Gravel 55f/55r (315/315)
Ohlins Rough Tarmac 70f/80r (400/458)
Ohlins Tarmac 85f/90r (486/515)

There are three different valving setups to match the different spring rates. My shocks are Gravel, but according to the Ohlins rep I spoke with, moving up to the Rough Tarmac springs would be within the capabilities of the damper...but just barely.

At PP last year I did swap to the Rough Tarmac setup and it was ok. Biggest problem in my eyes is that the car still sits ~2" above stock ride height even with the springs barely held in there. I'm thinking the monster truck stance isn't really helping my cause that much.

I could send my shocks to get revalved as one of the other setups, but then I've made them unsuitable for gravel racing...so that's why I'm thinking a different setup might not be a bad idea.

Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Did some digging around at lunch today on some of the better known brands. Here's what I came up with (though some not in my price range):

KW Variant 3------------$2400
KW Clubsports----------$2800
KW Race-----------------$3500

AST 4100----------------$2200
AST 4200----------------$3500
AST 5100----------------$2830
AST 5200----------------$5280
AST 5300----------------$6279

Ohlins Road & Track---$3200
Ohlins Flag--------------$5150

JRZ RS-------------------$4820
JRZ RS-Pro--------------$5645
JRZ Race Doubles-----$8090

KW - No experience with their stuff, other than reading that the off the shelf options aren't sprung correctly.

AST - I like that they're upgradeable (singles can be converted to doubles), but don't have any experience with them. Thinking it'll be cheaper in the long run to just get the right ones the first time. Bonus - local shop here does revalving on them.

Ohlins - I've been really impressed with mine, but I believe the ones in my price range are just singles - and more intended for the DD/weekend warrior market. Concerned then that they may not be up to the task of dealing with a car that's got the potential to make ~800 lbs of downforce.

JRZ - no experience with them, but a whole lot of top flight teams are using them, but not really close to my price range.

So, any other options I'm missing? What are your experiences with these? Bonus points if you've used more than one brand and can give comparison feedback.

Thanks as always!

Dave

goforwand

iTrader: (132)

These may be out of the price range, but I was actually surprised that the Penske products were really not much more than some of the other "high-end" stuff.

http://www.anzesuspension.com/applications.cfm

For feedback on KW, I have the robispec KW group-n race dampers (bought used) and they are a great product. The folks at KW are in the process of doing a rebuild (recommended after 2 seasons) and when speaking with their race department they said that it is one of the best developed dampers they have ever done for any platform. Can only compare to the robispec KW clubsport and the group-n's are about 2 seconds faster (same car, same driver, same everything) over a 1.6 mile road course than the clubsports.

The folks at Racecomp have done a lot of work on the KW spring rate issue for the Evo and Myles is very helpful

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

I've run the gambit of robi's KW's. The only ones at your level would be the Race as they have the suspension travel needed to keep the tires on the ground (in our case hitting rumble strips, in your case just earth I guess). They actually sit semi stock level compared to most other shocks. The clubsports are stiffer and sit lower, which I think would throw the car too much. The Groupe N's are very bad ***, but I think they are even faster then 2 seconds over the clubs. However they also sit lower. Then the issue is that they are ~ the same price as the upper class JRZ's. Robert's supporting us this weekend for TT but give him a call mid day, he's about the MOST knowledgeable suspension guy on any surface and backs up his product with uber support. He also sells most of the others above and rebuilds them himself to your spec.

Billy@EnglishRacing

iTrader: (18)

Dave have you looked at what the RS&SP tarmac coilovers would run you?

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

@ Balrok - PP is literally smoother than some of the race tracks around here, so no need to worry much about big travel. I'm also thinking of doing some TT stuff after Pikes is done for the season. Haven't really decided if the car will be retired from gravel duty or not yet.

@ Billy - haven't given it much thought as most of the rally duty stuff is pretty big money. Just checked Rallispec's site and they're showing Subie road race stuff for $6800.

Definately interesting that multiple people are saying there's so much time to be found in the KW GpN setup. I'd assume that its not all that different than the Ohlins stuff that I'm currently running (though valved for a different purpose). Hmmm. I guess the real question now becomes, is a set of $3,000-3,500 road race suspension faster on tarmac than a set of really really good gravel dampers.

Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Well, it may be a funny looking Evo, but its all coming together finally. This is my 'side(ways) project'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_BhLak6kIU

Once this gets finished off, it'll be time to turn back to getting the Evo ready for Pikes Peak.

Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Still thinking about having some composite rear doors made. How much weight can I shave doing this?

34 lbs - partially gutted rear doors, beam gone, regulators gone, some center structure gone as well.

My gut tells me dropping another 50 lbs is possible, though I could go a bit further with the current doors.

I'm sure someone will ask, "why build when there are doors already on the market?"

The stuff on the market is a bit out of my price range, and if I ever get the chance to run a Global RallyCross event with the car, there's a good chance they'd get damaged. So, having access to molds seems to be the best way to deal with this. With some luck and help from a buddy, hopefully I'll get to make some progress on this later in the spring.

Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

In the hopes of lightening up the evo a bit, I've removed some "unnecessary" parts. Dash pad weighs 5-6 lbs, but for now I don't see trying to replace it with anything lighter.



Weigh-in of unnecessary parts. That's 32 lbs of weight off the front half of the car, though we'll be putting a lightweight defrost unit back in.



Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

Well the Evo distraction is getting close to completion so eventually I'll turn my focus back to the Evo.



Dave

DaveK

iTrader: (21)

More progress on the BMW:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9xDKk7udGI

I've been looking very seriously at suspension and bushing upgrades this week for the Evo - hopefully will get to order some stuff soon.

Dave