KevinD

iTrader: (56)

todd i still have the video DVRed

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Nasa wise may want to ask Greg for a dyno reclass just to see if it comes out better then the points method.

Todd06MR

iTrader: (4)

My comment was just to put the mods into perspective. I'm not actually going to run this car in TTU. We will be taking most of the parts back off after SEMA and I'll be doing TTB in 2013.

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

That's what I meant, for TTB it may be worth a dyno reclass because sometimes it comes out sweeter then just adding up the points to TTB. Makes it simpler when you have too many mods and want to know what you could keep. Greg will usually tell you 3 options, something like 300hp and 3400 lbs with a new base tire of 245, all other power mods are free etc. Kevin knows.

Todd06MR

iTrader: (4)

Gotcha. Sorry I misunderstood.

Honestly, I would rather stick with the points method. I really like how NASA does it and I want to race within their rules. Throughout this year, we have realized that the Evo cannot be competitive in TTC (totally assuming it is not the driver's fault ). Tire choice makes such a big difference that I was losing out to 2002 WRX, Mazdaspeed 3, and a overweight Mini Cooper S. All of these guys can run Hoosiers and were just killing me in the turns. Even at the high hp tracks, I just couldn't make up enough ground in the straights.

I'm really looking forward to running in TTB. I don't know of anybody that has done it so it will be interesting to see how I and the car perform.

I believe that one of the two following scenarios are true:
1) The Evo 8 is too penalized (TTC base with 2 *'s) to be competitive. It is placed too high into TTC and it takes a major tire penalty if you want to race in TTA.
2) The Evo 9 is not penalized enough (compared to the Evo 8). The 9 gets bigger turbo, MIVEC, and better base tire since it isn't penalized in it's base class.

I will say that it seems that 1) is more likely. Evolution Dynamics dominates the local Texas TT region in TTA. Heck, our Evo 9 even beat a TTS record in his TTA car (with points to spare). Point 2) seems to be null and void because Corvettes dominate everywhere else, hence the new classes for Time Trials.

2013 is going to be an interesting season, to say the least.

Balrok

iTrader: (15)

Indeed, look forward to seeing ya ya do! Nate did TTB in his blue 9 for almost a year I think then switched to TTA the remainder. Another friend did TTB here in his silver 8 for a couple years and won TTB regionally here last year, then built it for TTS, but never saw him out more then once this year. We're still trying to figure out if we're gonna do ST3 or 2, and where the TT fields end up is anybody's guess at this junction lol.

Todd06MR

iTrader: (4)

Well, the transformation is all complete! And just in time for us to head to Las Vegas tomorrow. The car is now quite a bit more powerful with some performance mods and E85. It will also handle much better with the MR shocks, swift springs, and Whiteline sway bars front and rear.

Even though I haven't even had a chance to drive the car around the parking lot yet, my last Evo had almost the exact same modifications. And I ran my old car on multiple sets of Star Specs (same tires I'm using for Optima).

The car looks tons better! Big thanks to Virgil and Marc at EvoD for cleaning it up. They got most of the interior in with some cutting and forcing. Haha. The windows are now tinted and Virgil wrapped my hood in matte black vinyl to cover the peeling paint. I really wanted to get the back seat rest in, but there was just no way. I'm still planning on putting some black carpet back there to cover up the primer grey.

I can't wait to see how I and the car do at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge. The competition is much more serious compared to our qualifying event here in Dallas. But even if I don't do well, this is going to be an awesome event and a great way to meet some interesting people.

Can't even see the cage any more.


New trunk badges.

Todd06MR

iTrader: (4)

Finally got the car and the SEMA booth stuff all loaded up. We are only running about 6 hours late. But we expected that to happen and cushioned the schedule for it. Not looking forward to the 20 hour drive, though.

Todd06MR

iTrader: (4)

Got the car all setup at the Optima Ultimate Street Car Channenge corral. If anybody is in Vegas, stop an by and take a look.

krisiun

iTrader: (9)

Great job on 3rd place. It looks like the most points were lost in the looks department, but you have to remember most of the field were $100k+ protouring cars.

Todd06MR

iTrader: (4)

Well, Optima has posted up results so I'll go ahead and do a quick write up.

I recently competed in the 5th running of the Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational after the SEMA show. This event was so much fun and extremely well organized. Lots of cool events and even more cool cars. I was blown away by the workmanship and custom details on the cars.

We beefed up my Evo quite a bit for the event by giving it more power and better handling characteristics. The only thing we didn't do was swap out the turbo. Still went with the 8 turbo with a 10.5 hotside and a stock manifold. We are guessing she made about 380-400 to the wheels.

These improvements really paid off. I ended up finishing 3rd overall!!! I did really well in all of the events except the design competition. Here is a breakdown of the results with some pictures.

This is a picture showing all the cool free stuff that Optima provided the competitors. Tools, detailing kit, battery charger, clothes, etc...


Goldberg towering over me again. He was a little more positive about my car compared to the last event in Dallas. I think it was because he was really impressed with my performance.


And here is me with the lovely host. I'll get her number for next year. Haha.


Now onto the competition results.

I got 4th place in the road race portion of the event. I got into race car driver mode and passed cars on 2 of my 3 laps, disqualifying them from the results Luckily, my first lap was really strong and held up throughout the day. Obviously, if I had had more practice time, my times would have improved drastically. This was the first time I've ever had aero (APR GTC-300 wing) and I wasn't used to the terrible understeer that comes with an unbalanced aero package. Definitely putting a splitter on for next year.
Link to Optima results:http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en...-hot-lap-chal/


I also got 4th place in the autocross. This track was MUCH wider than the previous one in Dallas. They did this on purpose to benefit the high hp rwd cars and it made for a great show. I was the 3rd car to run and I should have waited a little while so that I could study the track. But it was fun nonetheless.


My absolute favorite event was the speed-stop challenge. It consisted of acceleration from a dead stop, then a tight u-turn, followed by slalom, then you had to stop in a tiny box. I crushed this event in Dallas and was expecting to do the same in Vegas. I was in 1st place with a significant lead up until the very end when the 33 Ridetech Ford beat me by .013 seconds We aren't really sure how he pulled it off because nobody I talked to saw his run, but oh well. I'll beat him next year.
http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en...sc-brakes-spe/


Now the final event. The engineering and design challenge. Now, as many people know, my car isn't going to win any beauty contests. I knew this and joked about it with the judges. Needless to say, I got dead last. But that was to be expected considering how nice all the other cars were. We will be making some major changes to pretty her up a little for next year.
http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en...er-performanc/

So, overall, I was really happy with my 3rd place finish. I can't wait to see how it turns out on TV and I'm really excited to do this event again next year.
http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en...timate-street/

iiEVO

Found this thread after talking to you and kevin about this event at my house. Gotta give us a update on the new look of the car!!

Eric