Naw. I just keep things reasonable do I don't have to do crazy maintenance. I'm just in it for the fun and constant maintenance/annual rebuilds would definitely take away from all that. I leave the higher-level, full-on racing stuff to y'all. Occasional TA and HPDE for me, thank you

 

Don't need crazy power to tango. I'm only at 400whp and don't have really any issue keeping up with cars that have more power and tire, just focus on the suspension, drivetrain, aero and cutting weight. Lower power keeps things alive longer and you can still give guys a run for their money.

 

Same here. If I had a lofty budget, maybe i'd see it differently. I went through a long phase where I spent more time working on that car than in it. That caused a change in direction for me.
I agree that these cars can keep up most others out there, with "only" 350-450 whp. All the brakes, aero, etc doesn't affect longevity, so I love working on that stuff.
Tires are pricey... But that's nothing compared to rebuilding engines.
As much fun as a 600whp trade car sounds, though....

 

Ive always felt most comfortable in the 400-450 range as far as driving the car instead of driving the power and also keeping things alive. It really seems to be a happy range for wear with regards to more than just the engine. Its once you really try to push more than that you see people chasing their tail with maintenance.

 

Truth! I have learned once you approach 500whp there is a LOT more involved. OEM parts may have trouble keeping up, far more maintenance, etc. Now you need more wheel, more tire, probably aero, and more. That's a big step to take.
I'm okay with staying with the small fish. People at car meets sure are disappointed when I open the hood, though. : lol:

 

I think you guys missed the part where Austin said he runs about 400-450hp...lol

 

My issues aren't power related. They're mostly old degraded parts, or my wallet convincing me to skip corners. Or just straight up freak **** that doesn't make sense.

 

Yup totally agree!

Although its kind of budget and time related too. If u have the budget and time to do the required regular maintenance u can run large HP reliably.

But as u are all saying also weve been constantly winding the power back and trying to find lap time in suspension etc. We are down at 17psi on our regular race tune with a 32psi hotlap/overtake mode now. And a high boost option if u need to slap in a good qualifying lap etc. But we try and run low boost as much as we can for reliability.

Our engine etc is usually really reliable its normally drivetrain that lets us down haha

 

Can the EGR sandwich plate be done with the intake on the car or do I need to take it off?

 

Lol, if you cant do it with the intake on you shouldnt be working on cars . Its 2 bolts under the throttle body and all comes right off.

If you have the intake mani off, you can tap the head to just plug the EGR port at the source as well.

 

Its all right there on the top right, no need to remove the intake unless you want to clean up/remove the hoses/brackets it used. Even then not that difficult and you can clean/new gasket it.

 

thanks folks.

 

Have you met Sam?

 

Shots fired.
:P

 

another minor tweak - i flipped the eccentric bolts to the higher camber side and pulled camber from the top to center the plate - this was to give more clearance to add more caster, so i pushed the plates back a small bit. going to get realigned on thursday, should be able to maintain a similar amount of camber, just with more caster now. just minor tweaks left, but i want to do everything i can on the car side to cut time here