Plans and projects for the 09-10 offseason? (Related to Road Racing/AutoX/Rally)

[knochgoon24]

Is there a reason you with with the 245/40's over the 245/45's? That is the same tire I'll be running on the same wheels, but am not sure which one to go with. The 40 will give you more clearance, which might be your reason. I just hope I have enough clearance for either tire in the rear because of the different knuckles.

Also, if you might be interested in some custom suspension, let me know!

Well, the 245/45 are $10 cheaper on tirerack. I'm not dead set on the size. I just went with what's closest to stock. I know that the 245/45 will fit diameter wise because the winter tires I had in 215/50 had the same diameter once tread was factored in. I'm just not 100% sure if there's room for the extra width that little bit higher.

If I knew 100% they'd fit I'd go with them. They are 2lbs heavier a tire though. Not sure if that would make a difference to you.

And custom suspension??? I was just thinking about getting some decent struts with an ebay sleeve kit and hypercoil springs.

 

[snowborder714]

I would like to know why the little size difference makes a $10 difference in price. I wish I was 100% sure that they would fit, especially with the early 2g rear knuckles.

I'm not sure if tire weight really concerns me, but it's something to think about.

Another thing to look into is discounttire.com They have the same tires for a bit cheaper.

Custom suspension = DG suspension.

 

[eltoshan]

245/40 should have better response than the 245/45 due to the shorter side wall.

Brian, what's the status on the vendor selection on the plates?

 

[snowborder714]

So would there be any benefit in going with the 245/45? As you can probably tell, tires isn't one of my strong knowledge points

 

[eltoshan]

As far as I know, there isn't any advantages in going to the 245/45. Generally, the shorter the side wall, the stiffer it will be.

 

[vanilla gorilla]

Only benefit in going with a 45 series over a 40 would be ride quality (which I seriously doubt would be enough of a difference to tell.) Go 40's, less sidewall = less flex = better cornering.

 

[knochgoon24]

^^ The slightly larger diameter would also drop RPM/MPH but it would also decrease acceleration (though that would probably be negligible.)

With a 4/97 build date, I wonder which rear knuckles I have. I haven't seen pictures of the two different ones side by side to compare against mine.

Custom suspension = DG suspension.

Koni yellows w/ custom machined sleeves and hypercoil springs along with the custom upper stuff?

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/handling-tech/307362-build-your-own-koni-coilovers.html

That would be cool. I wouldn't have money for that until probably half way through the summer.

 

[snowborder714]

My guess is you probably have the later knuckles, but I don't think I've seen a date where people think the switch happened.

Yep, that's the suspension.

 

[housegsx]

Brian, I think you'd be happy with the 245/40s. And you wouldn't have to worry as much about clearance. Better response, better gearing, etc. I was worried at first that they would be or look too small, but they don't. When I went from 225/40/18 --> 245/40/17 it was a huge improvement.

As for my plans:

-New K&N air filter. My current one has about 75k miles on it.

-Re-relocate my battery. It's currently between the rear strut towers, but I'm getting a Moroso battery box and I'll try to put where the CD changer was.

-JDM Galant knuckles for my Brembo calipers. (Whenever I get the $$$)

-PR radiator, fans, shroud (this is just for maintenance, I don't know how much I trust the 13 year old one any more)

-Suspension restoration: New coilovers, refinished crosmembers and control arms, ES bushings

-Driver mod: I did not do any autocross last year due to the car being down for a turbo mod and stuck rear calipers. Hopefully I'll get a bunch in this year.


My birthday is next Wednesday so I hope I get some of these as gifts.

 

[eltoshan]

Yeah seriously Erik, come out to the North Hills events at least. This way I can get to drive something with a bigger turbo, .

 

[snowborder714]

Brian, I think you'd be happy with the 245/40s. And you wouldn't have to worry as much about clearance. Better response, better gearing, etc. I was worried at first that they would be or look too small, but they don't. When I went from 225/40/18 --> 245/40/17 it was a huge improvement.

Thanks for the confidence. And that's what I like to hear, as I'll be doing the exact same thing!

 

[housegsx]

Yeah seriously Erik, come out to the North Hills events at least. This way I can get to drive something with a bigger turbo, .

I've never been to North Hills, usually just Beaverun or Washington. Do you just go to North Hills? They seem strict.

 

[eltoshan]

I've never been to North Hills, usually just Beaverun or Washington. Do you just go to North Hills? They seem strict.

We do all three of them. I think North Hills do require the cars to be inspected, but I'm not sure if they actually enforce that. The cool thing about the North Hills events is that they have elevation changes.

Just so I don't get too far OT, now that my suspension is mostly sorted out and I've decided on wheels and tires, it's probably time for tuning and engine mods. I've been looking at DSMLink vs EVOScan, but I still can't decide if I want to risk the 98/99 ECU not handling the inverted CAS signal properly...

 

[underradar92]

My ride is still in a holding pattern but I've been helping a friend get his '93 TSI/AWD (6-bolt swapped) into decent driving form.

 

[Delta Cam]

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

auto x car

 

[GreenGSX]

I'm pretty sure its the end of the road for my Eclipse. Its been sitting as a shell on jack stands in the garage for almost a year now and its about time to send it down the road. I bought out the other members of the One Lap crew and now the One Lap VR4 is not only mine but its now my track car too.

This year we are keeping the mods pretty simple.

1. Bigger catch can
2. stiffen the chassis with a set of Curtis sub-frame connectors
3. Install heim-jointed upper rear control arms
4. convert the car to SD
5. fix a bunch of little stuff.

We also converted the car to a AGP L1R which gives up a lot of top end over the FP3052 but it gets out of corners better.

I have a lot of experience with Hawk pads and my favorite has always been the HT-10. They work great hot and yet you can still drive them on the streets. We used the DTC-60's last year and they had just a touch less bite then the 10's but they lasted longer. We are going to try the DTC-70's.

 

[pagosa dsm]

I'm pretty sure its the end of the road for my Eclipse. Its been sitting as a shell on jack stands in the garage for almost a year now and its about time to send it down the road. I bought out the other members of the One Lap crew and now the One Lap VR4 is not only mine but its now my track car too.

This year we are keeping the mods pretty simple.

1. Bigger catch can
2. stiffen the chassis with a set of Curtis sub-frame connectors
3. Install heim-jointed upper rear control arms
4. convert the car to SD
5. fix a bunch of little stuff.

We also converted the car to a AGP L1R which gives up a lot of top end over the FP3052 but it gets out of corners better.

I have a lot of experience with Hawk pads and my favorite has always been the HT-10. They work great hot and yet you can still drive them on the streets. We used the DTC-60's last year and they had just a touch less bite then the 10's but they lasted longer. We are going to try the DTC-70's.

What are Curtis sub-frame connectors? Do you have any photos of a DSM with them install?
thank Rick

 

[GreenGSX]

What are Curtis sub-frame connectors? Do you have any photos of a DSM with them install?
thank Rick

The sub-frame connectors were built by Curtis on the VR4 board specifically for Galant VR4's. I have no idea if they will work on a DSM or not but I will have a blog entry when I install them.

 

[snowborder714]

$50 rebate on Star Specs And it doesn't look to be Tire Rack specific, even though that's where I found it. I'll probably be getting mine from Discount Tire since they're cheaper.
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/sp_events/dun/PDF/DU_RevItUp_Redemption0210_TR.pdf

 

[knochgoon24]

$50 rebate on Star Specs And it doesn't look to be Tire Rack specific, even though that's where I found it. I'll probably be getting mine from Discount Tire since they're cheaper.
http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/sp_events/dun/PDF/DU_RevItUp_Redemption0210_TR.pdf

Sweet. My tax return is coming next week and those will be the first thing I buy with it.

Then I should be pretty much set except for some tuning and some suspension work.

Discount tire is $19 cheaper for me once shipping is factored in. <$600 after rebate isn't too bad for some good tires.

 

[xloki77x]

Any reason you're stuck on the Star Specs? I have run both star specs and kumho ecsta xs on track and street and the kumhos are a better tire. You should really consider them.

 

[eltoshan]

Any reason you're stuck on the Star Specs? I have run both star specs and kumho ecsta xs on track and street and the kumhos are a better tire. You should really consider them.

Last time I checked (a recent issue of sportscar), the only tire that beats the star spec in terms of dry grip is the Ventus RS3, while the Neova AD08 comes close. Then again, I've never driven on the ecsta xs.

 

[knochgoon24]

Any reason you're stuck on the Star Specs? I have run both star specs and kumho ecsta xs on track and street and the kumhos are a better tire. You should really consider them.

After looking around reading reviews of all sorts, it seems like the Star Specs have a very strong backing.

The big reason has been the so-so reviews on the Kumho Ecsta XS's in the wet. The reviews show they aren't as good in the wet as the Star Specs. I drive a LOT in the rain.

 

[xloki77x]

For the price and considering that they're street tires, the XS and s.specs handle the track VERY well so you should be happy with either choice. However, I found the consistency of the XS to be better than that of the Star Specs. The XS' are very predictable and give great driver feedback; you know when you're approaching the limit. The limit was a little harder to find with the s.specs.

The last 3 issues of GrassRoots Motorsports has comparos of these tires. They provide lap times and detailed feedback of all three of the tires mentioned here plus many more (RT-615, RE-11, RE-01R, R1R, etc). I believe the article is called "Texas Tire Toasted" or something like that.

 

[snowborder714]

My reasons for wanting the Star Specs were the same as Wes'. I read a bunch of reviews and they seemed to be a better overall tire.

I have the last 3 issues with me I believe, so I'll have to check them out.