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1837 Competing in the Super Street Show Car Shootout IV

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GST with PSI

DSM Wiseman
2,728
1,503
Jul 27, 2005
San Diego, California
For whatever reason, Super Street digs the Galant. Getting the Wheelwell/Super Street feature a couple months ago seems to have given me some kind of in with the producers, because they can't get enough of this shitbox. Shortly after I finished the photo shoot with Larry Chen, I saw Super Street soliciting on Instagram for cars to compete in their 2019 Show Car Shootout this weekend (Saturday, July 20 and Monday, July 22), where tuner-built show cars compete to see who can put down the fastest lap at Streets of Willow Springs. I figured, what the hell, and fired off a quick email asking if they would enter my Galant since they just shot it for the feature anyways. To my surprise, I was in the running just a few days later. Somehow, out of a field of nearly 100 entries, the grocery getter prevailed once again!

For the competition, the winner is based on a combination of fastest lap times, most improved driving technique, lack of errors, and show car points. The event starts at SPOCOM, Anaheim Convention Center with a car show, and ends on the track at Streets of Willow Springs. Here's a vid from last year: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=361480204607061

I don't know much about my competition, but I do have their Instagram handles. I was planning to look them up in the coming days, but between work and prepping the car, I'm not sure if I'll get time. If you guys want to check them out and let me know what you think about the field, that'd be awesome:
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I'm not sure how the Galant will stack up in the end, but if I can just avoid breaking down, I feel like I should be fairly competitive. At the end of the day, the Galant gets some exposure, which is good for both the Galant and DSM communities alike.

I'll be working to dial in the car for the track in the coming days. I plan to tweak the ride height a bit, and get it aligned with some more aggressive specs. So, questions for the group:

1) Suggestions on general alignment specs?
2) What parts should I absolutely have with me in case of breakdown?
3) Tire pressure suggestions?
4) Heat management suggestions (It's going to be over 100* at the track)?
5) Driving tips?

Any feedback or advice would be appreciated.

I'm going to do my best to update this thread as the events unfold. Stay tuned!

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What tires will you be using? And whats your spring rate?

I think time wise its going to be tricky with those other cars, all tires have a certain pressure rating normally listed online, more so if they race type tires. Camber i can only guess on yours as 2 ish or more as your camber gain drops off when cornering and under compression.
 
This is probably an obvious one but water cools better than anti-freeze. Running a 70/30 water/antifreeze mix with Water Wetter additive by Redline will help to improve the cooling system efficiency. You could even run 100% water with Water Wetter additive for the event and then go back to a more traditional mix.

Congrats :thumb:
 
What tires will you be using? And whats your spring rate?

I think time wise its going to be tricky with those other cars, all tires have a certain pressure rating normally listed online, more so if they race type tires. Camber i can only guess on yours as 2 ish or more as your camber gain drops off when cornering and under compression.

8k/7k springs. Federal RS-RR tires (255/40 R17).

This is probably an obvious one but water cools better than anti-freeze. Running a 70/30 water/antifreeze mix with Water Wetter additive by Redline will help to improve the cooling system efficiency. You could even run 100% water with Water Wetter additive for the event and then go back to a more traditional mix.

Congrats :thumb:

Thanks. I actually considered doing exactly as you're saying by draining everything, and replacing it with distilled water and water wetter.
 
Dot 4 brake fluid and run track pads on the front. A set of street/track pads doesn't cut it.

Currently using DOT 4 fluid, and am running Hawk HP Plus pads.
 
Really nice VR4. It's my opinion but, you can "show" race cars but you should not "race" show cars. Too much to loose.
 
Really nice VR4. It's my opinion but, you can "show" race cars but you should not "race" show cars. Too much to loose.

I wouldn't call my car and show car. It was built with the track in mind. So, I at least want to see what it's capable of.

Don't get me wrong, I want to do well, but not at the expense of the car. I'm not out to set records or prove anything, just want to have a good time.

Using some feedback from a few of my track experienced friends, I got the car aligned with my best guess at what would work well on the track. I have to change the oil tonight, and that's about it. The car is about as ready as it's going to get.

To start, I'm going to turn down the boost a bit, and maybe pull some timing out of the map. It's going to be HOT out there, so we'll see how the car handles the abuse. I'm excited and nervous, but am pretty confident in the car. Fingers crossed!
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Best of luck.:thumb: It's always nice to see DSM representation. We've never really got the publicity like the other manufacturer's. A little late but if time permits you might want to try & up your brake pads if you're still running the HP plus with 255 tires. Some Hawk High performance Street/Race will do you a little better in the higher temp range you'll see around the track.
 
Made it up to Anaheim without issue. The car is here staged with the other Shootout competitors, so swing by if you're in the area.
My competition looks stiff. Super Street advertised no track prepped cars were allowed, but some of my competitors definitely brought dedicated track cars. I definitely don't think I'm taking the poll on this one, but it will be a good time either way.

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It's been a while. Super Street asked the competitors to keep things kind of hush until they published their content, which is understandable. But, the Super Street article finally dropped, so now I can post my own updates!

Man, where to start...

SPOCOM. There's not a whole lot to say about a car show. I'll say it was a cool experience, but not really my scene. Most of the "winning" cars at the show were just that: show cars. If you brought something bagged out, with TVs and deep dished chrome wheels, you had a shot at winning something. If not, well...

One of the Showcar Shootout competitors did win 3rd in the Subaru category though, and he absolutely deserved it. His build was exceptional!

Here's my photo dump of the event:
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After SPOCOM, the wife and I packed up our stuff at and headed a couple hours north to Willow Springs International Raceway.
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We arrived early morning, and got the car offloaded. My first thought was that it's damn near 7 AM, it was already hot. Really f***ing hot.
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The car is a bit hot blooded to begin with, so my first concern was the heat. I knew I'd have to take some steps to keep temps in check, so the first order of business was pulling some boost out of the tune. I dropped the peak boost from around 30 PSI down to about 24 PSI. Next, my buddy David and I gave the car a once over, adjusting tire pressures, re-torquing lugs, and checking fliud levels.
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Once I got out on the track, the car felt right at home. This is my first road course event, so the most difficult part for me was refining my driving line, and nailing the braking zones. The car did everything it was supposed to and more!

Aside from heat, my other main concern was brakes. My Galant is full weight, full interior, and is weighing in nice and heavy. That being said, the brakes held up great all day even after pushing into laps later in the afternoon where track temps peaked at over 100 degrees. BIG thanks to Paul @99gst_racer at Volk Metal Craft for coming through with newly designed brackets for my 3KGT caliper swap! They held up awesome, and gave me the stopping power needed on a full weight car.
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Last edited:
Alright, so results...Overall, the car placed 4th out of 9 cars. I'm REALLY happy with that, seeing as 2 of the 3 cars that beat me out were legitimate track prepped race cars. The Miata and 06' STI were gutted, on slicks, etc etc etc. There was no way my street car was competing with their lap times, which is frustrating since the competition rules specifically stated no track prepped cars were allowed.

Super Street said:
The 5th annual Show Car Shootout sponsored by ENEOS Motor Oil is open to any coupe, sedan, or wagon that normally would be found at a car show. Competition consists of showing your vehicle at this year's SPOCOM Anaheim car show, in addition to a time attack challenge at Streets of Willow. The event is open to naturally aspirated and forced induction vehicles sourced from submitted entries, with a preference toward enthusiast-built vehicles. For the third year in a row, we have enlisted the help of two professional drivers to help instruct and guide this year's class of Show Car Shootout competitors—Formula DRIFT champion Dai Yoshihara and Global RallyCross Championship star Steve Arpin. Show Car Shootout is intended to give aspiring track drivers an opportunity to get out on the road course, improve their driving skills and push the limits of their cars with the guidance of our celebrity drivers. Professional and experienced drivers are not allowed.

Let us be very clear: NO FULLY PREPPED RACE CARS—street-able show cars only!



The lap times definitely show the disparity between the "track" car and "show/street" cars. There was nearly a 5 second spread between the STI and me. I will say, the RX-7 and driver were just beasts. That car was as street as they come, and Henry put down some stupid fast lap times! The video Super Street put together says I placed 6th instead of 4th...But then they say I placed 4th in the feature on their website. It was definitely 4th.
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Here's a little video of my fastest lap. The view isn't great, since I don't have a roll bar to mount my GoPro, but you get the idea. I got a little excited at the end, since I had been chasing a super clean lap damn near all day.
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Overall, this was an awesome opportunity and a great time! All of the other competitors were super cool, and so were the pro drivers who helped the competitors throughout the day. The car held up under some extreme conditions, and performed flawlessly all day. And, I turned almost twice as many laps as most of the other cars in the field. At the end of the day, I drove the car onto the trailer with zero issues. For me, that was the biggest win overall.

Last but not least, shout out to @Wheelwell for working to initially get the car on Super Street's radar. They are the true MVPs here. Also big thanks to Super Street, Steve Arpin, and Eneos for sponsoring the event.
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Driven off the trailer...Home sweet home!
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