Almost 3-wheel!

 

Wow, that thing is really rocked back. What kind of power does that car have because I'm guessing it's not on stock suspension.

 

I don't think it's ever been dyno'ed, but I'd guess around 350. He's running Ground-Control coilovers, but I'm not sure what dampers he's using.

 

Either way, the car looks good. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

 

yeah thats a nice looking squat - how did he make out at the event?

 

EM competiton was pretty stiff this weekend. James took 4th in class behind a 2-driver Datsun 240z which took two of the top-3 spots and a Porsche 944 S2. There were 11 drivers, so James took home a trophy.

 

nice.....is there any info on his setup? pics perhaps?

 

The car wants to be a drag car. I still need to convince it otherwise. Note to those who wish to autocross... Leave the power steering on the car.

I have no clue how much power that I am making, as I have not dyno'd or quarter miled it yet. 350 is probably optimistic as it is only running 10 psi at this point. It is on streetported S4 irons and S6 internals with ported S6 housings. Turbo is a T04E 57 trim with a .84 hotside, and I honestly can't remember the turbine trim right this moment. P or V I think. Anyway, Haltech E6K with 680/1680 injector setup and a full racing beat exhaust with modded downpipe to meet the vband on the T04. Isuzu NPR intercooler mounted up front. Tranny is a standard S4 turbo model and diff is S4 turbo as well. I had an S6 Torsen in it but the pinion bearing started to give out.

Suspension is Ground Control coilovers front and back with 450# and 250# respectively. Struts are Illuminas in front and Koni Yellows in back. Sways are stock TII fare at this point.

For only my 2nd event with the car, and the first on race rubber, I'm not disappointed in my finish, but the car is capable of much better. I need more tire in a bad way. The set I was running are two season old road race tires, which fared much better than my Michelins, but are still giving up the grip way too early. And I need power steering back on the car. It likes to step the rear out way to frequently to have to be fighting it all the time.

 

Wow. I thought we had a large E-mod crew.

What did he do to it to get it in EM?

 

I am running it in E-Mod because I have friends who run there. The car as it sits is BP, SM2, and EM legal.

 

Interesting, I took the power steering off my car and I like it a lot better now when I autocross. I do have the slower of the PS racks (the Turbos all had the faster rack), and I run on street tires. I found that before I'd get ahead of the boost and the steering would get really, really heavy all of a sudden, causing me to screw up my line. I don't find it overly heavy or anything with the manual conversion, but the slower rack and street tires definetely help with that.

How did you take the power steering off? That method of conversion could be causing the problem, or at least contributing to the problem. The facotry manual racks are much slower, and converting a rack in a different way than I did can cause increased resistance to turning.

What are you running for caster? Typically cars with manual steering run less caster, as it helps lighten the steering effort.

 

It is still a power rack with a looped line. I did not reduce caster, as I want to maintain more negative camber through the sweep. I can't tell you how I would feel about it if it were a manual rack, but the power rack without its hydraulic love is not enjoyable to drive at all. I have trouble keeping up with fast transitions (read later slalom turn in) and fast error corrections (read unintended drifts). Tires are probably another large part of the issue, but they are only 225/45-17's. I can't imagine it with BP running gear and 10~12 inch slicks. yikes.

It is a preference thing in the end. I just know I won't be recommending anyone get rid of power steering unless they do the rack as well. I only did because I got lazy on IC piping routes. I should have just followed the path greddy uses...

 

He dominated! I ended up in 6th!

James, Can I co-drive with you at Ft. Knox? I'll supply wheels/tires.

 

I was in the same boat that you are in.

I kept the power rack but got rid of the hydraulics because I didn’t want to fuss with the lines. I am running 245 R-compounds AND 2 additional degrees of caster. Steering was a chore. I let a friend drive it once around the track at the first event and it made his hands raw.

I tried switching to a manual rack but that caused more problems than it solved. I found the manual ratio was too long. Many transition required me to take my hands off the wheel and, if the car got loose, it was difficult to counter-steer. The long ratio required me to turn the wheel around several times to get the tires pointed where I wanted.

I ended up switching back to the power rack (no pump) and giving away the manual.

I was able to get the steering effort down considerable by doing the following.
1. Raising the front of the car. This actually helped a lot. I think much of the original problem was due to bump-steer resulting from lowering the front. Raising the front by about 1” mitigated this problem. It also transferred more weight to the rear (which I think had a positive effect on overall handling).
2. Racing harness. Hopefully you already have one. The harness helps a ton! It allows you to focus more of your upper body strength into turning the wheel (as apposed to holder yourself in the seat).
3. Sit closer to the steering wheel. Your driving position should be closer and more upright than what you are used to driving on the street. It may feel weird at first, but it pays off. The closer your torso is to the steering wheel the better your leverage will be. …plus your visibility will improve.

...Anyway. Good luck in EM this season.

 

Good INFO!!! (can we archive it?)

Question, what do you (and JDuncan) run for camber back\front?

 

glad I kept my power steering rack just in case...

Good info guys, thanks!

Nice pics!