Armen's Track Videos
05-26-15, 06:27 PM
#28
Thankfully its a filled with Hay/Straw. Thats the chicane and which blind, bumpy and high speed. A lot people flip there and that hay barrel was put there this event help "prevent" mishaps on that section. I think its slowing me down a bit since I have to brake there where as before without the barrier i only lifted.
10-18-15, 02:13 PM
#30
Flew to LA for a weekend getaway and also for a practice track day at Buttonwillow to prepare for the upcoming Superlap Battle timeattack.
The car has received a few upgrades since my last track day.
Mainly, the Ohlin DFV Flagship series (12k/12k swift springs and corner balanced by Platte Forme ag). Took a few sessions to get them ~70% dialed in. I definitely need to raise the spring rates to 14k/14k.
For much of the morning I was running a consistent 2:00.xx flat at Buttonwillow, a far gap from my goal of 1:56 which is around where the Enthusiast class time attack record sits. Posted a 1:58.8 by the last session with the shock compression turned up. After dialing in the shocks, refreshing the brakes and shaking off my rusty driving I believe I should be able to bring the time down to 1:56.xx
Now the major hold back is my braking. The Hawk HP+ pads don't completely fade with my M2 AP racing bbk, but they are not consistent enough to confidently get deep into the braking zones. My brake points were extremely conservative. I am having a hard time finding more aggressive/quality pads for these older CP5200 calipers. My rotors are also shot.
The car has received a few upgrades since my last track day.
Mainly, the Ohlin DFV Flagship series (12k/12k swift springs and corner balanced by Platte Forme ag). Took a few sessions to get them ~70% dialed in. I definitely need to raise the spring rates to 14k/14k.
For much of the morning I was running a consistent 2:00.xx flat at Buttonwillow, a far gap from my goal of 1:56 which is around where the Enthusiast class time attack record sits. Posted a 1:58.8 by the last session with the shock compression turned up. After dialing in the shocks, refreshing the brakes and shaking off my rusty driving I believe I should be able to bring the time down to 1:56.xx
Now the major hold back is my braking. The Hawk HP+ pads don't completely fade with my M2 AP racing bbk, but they are not consistent enough to confidently get deep into the braking zones. My brake points were extremely conservative. I am having a hard time finding more aggressive/quality pads for these older CP5200 calipers. My rotors are also shot.
Last edited by ArmenMAxx; 10-18-15 at 02:29 PM.
11-13-15, 03:06 PM
#31
Just finished the Global Time Attack Super Lap Battle yesterday.
Had an interesting experience. Was not able to make it to Wednesdays test day to continue dialing in the suspension/chassis. I had originally developed my car as an "Enthusiast Class" contender. To my surprise, GTA changed the tire regulations from 140 treadwear tires to 220 treadwear. My Zii's are 200 treadwear. This bumped me up into Street Class, which allows for much more AERO, weight reduction, E85, AI, widebody, etc and 140 treadwear tires. Nonetheless, I still had a blast and managed to secure 4th place.
Edit; Forgot to mention that as per rules, I had to have a catalytic converter. I installed a high flow metallic cat in a 3 inch pettit resonated MP. It blew out after 1 session lol
Video: Only managed to get the early run which was embelished with debri and red flags. There was a bunch of dirt kicked over by Buttonhook (tight 2nd gear right hand turn) which always resulted in a slide. Jump to 7:24 to see the big slide in the sweeper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1KY...ature=youtu.be
The Spoon team managed to break the unlimited FWD record
Had an interesting experience. Was not able to make it to Wednesdays test day to continue dialing in the suspension/chassis. I had originally developed my car as an "Enthusiast Class" contender. To my surprise, GTA changed the tire regulations from 140 treadwear tires to 220 treadwear. My Zii's are 200 treadwear. This bumped me up into Street Class, which allows for much more AERO, weight reduction, E85, AI, widebody, etc and 140 treadwear tires. Nonetheless, I still had a blast and managed to secure 4th place.
Edit; Forgot to mention that as per rules, I had to have a catalytic converter. I installed a high flow metallic cat in a 3 inch pettit resonated MP. It blew out after 1 session lol
Video: Only managed to get the early run which was embelished with debri and red flags. There was a bunch of dirt kicked over by Buttonhook (tight 2nd gear right hand turn) which always resulted in a slide. Jump to 7:24 to see the big slide in the sweeper
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1KY...ature=youtu.be
The Spoon team managed to break the unlimited FWD record
Last edited by ArmenMAxx; 11-13-15 at 08:31 PM.
11-13-15, 08:20 PM
#33
Car is still leaning a bit too much. I would like to lower the car a hair more also. I am being rather picky, I could still run a 1:56 as is at buttonwillow just by improving my driving. The Dunlops are good street track tires but not the best. RS3's should be about .5-1 sec faster and the new RE71r's will prob be 1.5-2 seconds faster.
I would like to buy 10.5 inch rims square and fit 285's all around. With wider RE71r rubber, stiffer springs I could run a 1:54ish. Still a far bit away from the 1:49 Street class record. Ill need to run a bunch of aero and drop some weight. Not sure I want to do that to this FD so I may just buy some 220 tread tires and run Enthusiast class next year.
11-22-15, 03:42 PM
#39
Originally Posted by rx7 SE
I've been struggling with the idea of making my FD a track car and ended up buying an e46 m3 for track duty. How much maintenance has been required to keep your FD competitive on the track?
Tire wear on the FD will be 50% better vs your M3 and so is brake wear. I do dry out my tires before they wear to the bars and keeping your rubber fresh is key to staying competitive. The big boys at time attacks bring several sets to each event which is a bit ridiculous lol. Another plus for the FD is its chassis durability. We dont have cracking subframe or shock tower issues like many BMW's do. A simple diff brace/trans brace is all we need to protect the ppf. We also have the luxury of having high oem alignment adjustability.
11-23-15, 10:57 AM
#40
. PPI missed spring perch and trunk tears... Amazing how weak that chassis is considering its heftiness.Thank you for the info though, I'm sure others following this thread can be more reassured about their setups with that post as well. Do you ever run at VIR?
11-24-15, 07:33 AM
#41
Its on my bucket list to bring my FD to VIR one day. I do have my E39 M5 with me here in DC. Its no track car but I may sign up for a multi-day event this coming spring at VIR which is about 5 hours away. Im seriously scared to track the old BMW though, even if I "take it easy" which im sure will end up a drift session in that car.
03-17-16, 03:38 PM
#44
Appreciate the kind words everyone.
I recently converted my EWG 8374 to an IWG setup. Simply to have a more simply and durable setup given how I drive the car. Its creeping a little, im hitting 16.5ish psi on the top end on cooler days but I am tuned safely for it on pump gas. I plan on adding water injection and calling it a day. My ACT HD clutch prob cant handle anything more, but eventually ill go with the extreme clutch and try tuning for 20psi.
Car feels more responsive and faster. Sounds pretty different also.. louder on WOT (I like it) No track days for me until May/June unfortunately.
Here is a vid I took driving by Angeles Crest. Car feels good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTm9...ature=youtu.be
I recently converted my EWG 8374 to an IWG setup. Simply to have a more simply and durable setup given how I drive the car. Its creeping a little, im hitting 16.5ish psi on the top end on cooler days but I am tuned safely for it on pump gas. I plan on adding water injection and calling it a day. My ACT HD clutch prob cant handle anything more, but eventually ill go with the extreme clutch and try tuning for 20psi.
Car feels more responsive and faster. Sounds pretty different also.. louder on WOT (I like it) No track days for me until May/June unfortunately.
Here is a vid I took driving by Angeles Crest. Car feels good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTm9...ature=youtu.be
03-17-16, 07:38 PM
#46
If my boost was stable at 15-16psi I wouldnt bother with WI but now I am creeping a little and its possible on a cold night it my hit 18ishpsi. Its too risky for me, even with a safe tune, so ill just throw on a basic WI kit as a safe guard.
03-22-16, 01:05 PM
#48
OMG, that boost response is incredible....really makes me want to ditch my twins now :/. Very inspiring thread.
Hmm
EDIT:
In comparison, here's mine. 12 psi on stock twins, rock solid tune but maybe 300 rwhp tops and that's pushing it heat wise :/
Hmm
EDIT:
In comparison, here's mine. 12 psi on stock twins, rock solid tune but maybe 300 rwhp tops and that's pushing it heat wise :/
Last edited by rx7 SE; 03-22-16 at 01:15 PM.
