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The official what I'm doing/changing for the 08 season thread

23K views 307 replies 27 participants last post by  WRX-maniac 
#1 ·
I'm going to try and hit some of the National events this upcoming year- our Divisional series (NorPac) includes two National events Atwater and Packwood-should be fun competing w/ the "big boys". Sticking w/ STX.

Setup wise I have some big changes I'm planning on :)- I'm going to move up to 17" rims. I'm debating between 235/40 and 245/40- leaning towards to 235/40 just for the gearing (although the 245/40 is also slightly shorter than stock). I'm debating between RE01R's and Neova's, both well represented at the Finals this year, the Advans might be a slightly better w/ heavier cars (like ours)??? Whatever I choose I think I'm going to get them shaved to 5/32", it doesn't seem like it's impacting overall wear much from what I read- it certainly impacts grip.

I'm probably going to a double (maybe triple) adj coilover setup- spring rates in the 450-500ish front/400-450ish rear.

I'm going to bump up front neg camber to -3.0ish, I'm close now, but a little more should help.

I need to sort my exhaust out due to the recent "clarification"-need a catted downpipe, I might go 3" throughout- we'll see.

I'm hoping Santa sees this thread :D

Mike
 
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#2 ·
Driver Mod
Driver Mod
Driver Mod
Front Sway Bar
Driver Mod

I'm not sure what (if anything) I'll do about the clarification. I'm running a shorty downpipe with the stock third cat, and on an STX-legal map I can go a couple hundred miles before I get a CEL. I'm not sure if that's a good solution (or technically legal?), but at this point I am not competitive in my region. If I start getting better or hear a clear explanation of a good, legal solution, I'll make the changes that I need to.
 
#3 ·
Driver Mod
+1

Definite changes:
New tires(possibly dedicated rims if enough money opens up)
Race alignment(I raced this season on non-adjusted OE angles)
Uncle Scotty fluid mix in the trans

Possible changes:
Front camber plates
SS Lines and upgraded brake fluid
Diff & rack bushing upgrades
 
#4 · (Edited)
Road racing...

08 WRX
Springs
RSB
RA-1's
Light 17's
Driver mod

gonna try and hit as many HPDE's and COM events as i can.
 
#11 ·
This should be the list:

coilovers
any details on this yet? I'm looking at several different possibities, but nothing solid yet.

I do know that I'm going to give Dennis Grant's theory on frequency a shot- calculating it out this for the wagon comes out to ~ 450# spring in front and 400# in the rear- I realize this lower than many of the national contender setups, but I'd rather start too low than too high (I'm damn sure my "boss" would too :D)
 
#13 ·
Depends a bit on work and what i have time to run. Might concentrate on bringing the 944 up to cup spec before more little subaru stuff.

Though some new Ferodo pads are definitely getting mounted in the wilwoods. Going to play a bit with the swaybar settings and i'll probably look into doing some stiffening and possibly even more weight reduction.
 
#18 ·
yeah those rates were a little firmer than what I'm looking at :D

Just read up on the Monotubes- interesting as I never heard of them- monotube vs their normal twintube, larger damping range and fully rebuildable- probably bigger pistons as well- sound nice :)
 
#25 · (Edited)
Planning on full suspension setup:
Coilover setup around the 400/350 or 350/300 (RCE Tarmac 2s are a strong possibility) OR traditional spring/strut setup with the STI Arai Springs w/ Tokico D-specs. These matched with camber plates and F/R swaybars. Hopefully my wallet will allow for it... with the canadian dollar up, its lookin good :)

BigSkyWRX I've been following your nasioc thread on your STI Arai/Tarmac setup and you've answered in my thread about Arai reviews... I thought you loved that setup... why the change to coilovers? (You seem to have the same taste in suspension setup as I do so maybe your rationale might help me make my decision).
 
#26 ·
If your looking for a daily driver that can still be competitive than the Arai/Koni setup would be tough to beat IMO. I'm very seriously thinking about prepping my car to the tilt for STX competition- that means firmer spring rates yet. I think I'm going to be in the 450-500 range in the front, 400-450 rear- these rates are beyond the "daily driver" designation IMO. Not saying they can't be daily driven (mine still will :)), BUT w/o any doubt, this setup will be well right of the comfy range. The Arai's are the firmest oe style spring made, if there was a firmer spring set I'd certainly look into those as the Koni's could handle a still firmer rate. I even looked into a one-off spring set, found a company that would do it- simply cost prohibitive. This next setup will likely be double (and even possibly triple) adj, so that will give some more tools for fine tuning as well.

I'm not the least dissatisfied w/ the Arai?koni setup, just the opposite, but if I decide to step up my prep it sure looks like it's going to have to be coilovers.

Mike
 
#27 ·
1. front sway bar
2. h brace
3. rear sway bar with links
4. 5 spoke rims + tires, probably the neogens' again
5. vf34 or 39
6. sti pinks
7. fmic
8. intake
9. skid plate
10. 35 % tint
11. a pillar gauge cluster + stock boost gauge pod
12. harness bar + driver harness
13. coilovers

I know its a lot of stuff. but hopefll I don't get into any troubles on the way. averaged out 1 item per commission check...
 
#30 · (Edited)
Lets see here... A lot is changing this year...

First off, I am may end up being Co Solo Chair for the MidSouth Region SCCA Solo Program! So that will be a lot of work!

Second Driver mods!
Evo Schools and local schools as well

Third car mods!

Brakes:
FHI 4/2pot brakes
DBA Rotors and Hawk HP+ pads

Suspension Changes:
Koni inserts with D_Rex spacers
GC Adj Springs with 450# springs front and rear
22mm Swaybars front and rear at the moment but might step up the front bar to a 27mm Adj.
Group N Bushings EVERYWHERE
MAYBE Shiney Aluminum Lateral Links

Might try the stock Wheels with 225/50/16 rubber for the first half of the season. Then on to 17x8 235/40/17s :-D

The car at the end of this season had:
Stock brakes
Hawk HP+ Pads
ATE Fuild
Stainless Lines
Brembo Blanks
Stock struts and Springs
22mm Whiteline Swaybars front and rear
225/50/17 Hankook R-S2 Rubber

Here is my thread where Big Sky is schooling me in suspension.
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2133618#post2133618

EDIT:
Last but not least: ATTEND NATIONALS and not come in last!
 
#36 ·
I hope to do the Evo school, depends on timing and funds (like everything else)

1. Buy a trailer (car hauler)
2. Make up my mind on either 17x9.5 or 16x8 wheels (currently on 17x7.5 w/ 245s)
3. Buy wheels
4. Buy 275/xx/xx hoosiers
5. purchase 30 gals of VP Import and new tune by Jorge
6. Upgrade to 14k/12k springs
7. Design new website (current one is WAY too lame)
8. Place top 5 PAX at Subie Challenge (got 8th last year)
9. Attend 5 GASS events and 3 National Tours
10. Attend nationals and place top 10 in ESP
11. Do my best to save my local region from extinction due to new temp membership fees and split of local autox club from local SCCA.
 
#42 ·
Posting this over here too:


I still need to make this thread over here, but anywho, here are my thoughts on car setup. All of this is based on Vehicle Dynamics and weight transfer.

In vehicle dynamics you can control the following things:

1. Pitch
2. Roll
3. Yaw

Ultimately you control pitch and roll to effect the weight transfer to produce the desired yaw.

When tuning suspension you can control these components and the dynamics they control:

1. Swaybars - Only control Roll
2. Springs - Control Pitch and Roll
3. Dampers - Control rate of change in Pitch and Roll

This leads me to the following conclusions:

1. Since you can only control Pitch with springs, you need to tune your springs to effect changes in the way the car enters and exits corners.

ex. If your car nose dives into corners you need to add stiffer front springs, and if the rear end squats under acceleration add stiffer rear springs.

Stiff rear springs should be especially important as they will keep weight from transferring rearward during acceleration on corner exit. This will keep weight on the front end so the car doesn't understeer on exit.

2. Once you have your springs sorted you can then fine tune your roll stiffness with your swaybars. The stiffer springs you installed in step 1 will add roll stiffness to the car this may or may not be enough to complete your setup. You must now adjust your swaybars to achieve the desired amount of roll. The swaybars will influence the dynamics of the car IN a corner under steady-state conditions.

I would first start with the front end. Through trial and error, find the swaybar setting that provides the largest amount of front grip. Set it there and basically leave it alone! Next, go back to the rear end of the car and dial in rotation with swaybar stiffness. I very much use this to tune my car for different surfaces, courses, etc.

3. Final step! Tune the dampers to control the dynamics of the car in transitions.

You will very much need to adjust this based on conditions and course layout. This area from what I've seen has the most "rules of thumb" and "old racers tales" associated with it. This is the really where suspension tuning becomes a black art of sorts. I still have much to learn in this area. This is a very interesting read:

http://www.ozebiz.com.au/racetech/theory/shocktune1.html

I would still recommend that the driver experiments with damper settings and tunes the car to his/her liking.
 
#43 ·
^ good points to consider ...

I'm actually thinking of running a couple of auto-x's with just the stock sways after I do springs & dampers to get a better idea on what swaybar size/adjustment I would need so I don't over/under-estimate the size to get.
 
#49 ·
Maybe these will help ... late winter / spring of 2008

I don't think so. I think they'll hurt more than they'll help.

Running 18s might be ok for STi's in BSP or higher form, but WRXs will struggle in ESP form. There are several disadvantages to running a taller wheel.

First off, weight. 18s are generally heavier than 16s and 17s and will require more use of power to turn them. Second, you have now moved the heaviest part of the wheel/tire combo another 1/2" out further creating more rotational mass and having to use yet even more power to turn them at the same rate as 17s. Third, the wheel/tire combos that are used are going to give a larger overall circumfrence, causing a disadvantage in gearing. Fourth, it raises the car up another 1/2" causing a higher center of gravity.

I wouldn't recomend 18s for the above reasons. 16s I think are ideal for gearing and weight (plus a lower center of gravity too) but 17s offer the best tire choices.
 
#47 ·
I've heard the Inox finish used by KW is very good, I'm sure RCE can elaborate more- there are several guys w/ 2+ years on KW's.

I wholeheartidly agree- maximize front grip, fine tune w/ the rear

It's interesting (and makes sense) that as folks run higher and higher spring rates, sway bar diameters seem to start to trend downward
 
#48 ·
It's interesting (and makes sense) that as folks run higher and higher spring rates, sway bar diameters seem to start to trend downward
Exactly. The springs give you the roll stiffness that you used to get from the swaybars.
 
#51 ·
2008 National Tour

It seems that the 2008 National Tour schedule has been leaked to SCCAForums and subsequently to Nasioc. Looks like the first event for me will be the last weekend in February in Cecil, GA (just outside Valdosta) so crunch time has officially started. I've got A LOT to get done to be able to make that event (not to mention asking forgiveness of my parents to let me not visit them on that trip). Time to start prioritizing everything and start whoring myself out for extra cash.

hope to see some of you guys at the tours, I should be going to 4 of them (Cecil, Atlanta, Peru, Milwaukee).
 
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