Odb's STR CR
10-14-2013, 12:05 PM
#91
Update:
Since I've replaced the motor mounts, I've noticed a ticking/tapping kinda sound at idle that I assumed to be exhaust related. It could have been there before the mounts and I just didn't notice. I pulled the battery heat shield to see how the header is clearing everything now with the new mounts. I found marks where the #2 runner made contact with the frame and the #3 runner made contact with the heat shield. I'm assuming this was the rubbing noise I was hearing while accelerating out of hard corners. I put a dab of paint over each of the spots before my autocross on Sunday to see if it would make contact with either spot with the new mounts and I definitely didn't make contact with the heat shield, I still need to take the heat shield off to see the complete spot on the frame that made contact before, but the leading edge looks clean. I know I at least rubbed the thermal coating off the header and put a nice dent in the #3 runner, I can't quite tell the extent of the damage until I pull it off. The good news is, the rubbing stopped.
Since I've replaced the motor mounts, I've noticed a ticking/tapping kinda sound at idle that I assumed to be exhaust related. It could have been there before the mounts and I just didn't notice. I pulled the battery heat shield to see how the header is clearing everything now with the new mounts. I found marks where the #2 runner made contact with the frame and the #3 runner made contact with the heat shield. I'm assuming this was the rubbing noise I was hearing while accelerating out of hard corners. I put a dab of paint over each of the spots before my autocross on Sunday to see if it would make contact with either spot with the new mounts and I definitely didn't make contact with the heat shield, I still need to take the heat shield off to see the complete spot on the frame that made contact before, but the leading edge looks clean. I know I at least rubbed the thermal coating off the header and put a nice dent in the #3 runner, I can't quite tell the extent of the damage until I pull it off. The good news is, the rubbing stopped.
10-21-2013, 12:15 PM
#92
Update:
This past weekend we had our annual autocross enduro for the local region of PCA that I began autocrossing with. This year we did 8 single-lap runs in the morning and 2 three-lap enduro runs in the afternoon. The morning is scored as one event and in the afternoon they give an award for top time during the enduro and most consistent driver(the one with the smallest gap between lap times). I hit a cone on the last turn of my last lap during the enduro(like the fifth to last cone I could have possibly hit) which kept me from getting top time of the day, but I still had the second best time after the penalty. Funny thing, I was having a flyer my last lap before the cone, so the 1 second penalty on that lap put all my laps within .2 sec, giving me the Most Consistent Driver award. I'm happy overall. The guy who ended up getting TToD was one of the fast guys when I first started autocrossing and he was driving what I'd expect to be a very fast car. Here's my last enduro run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q7RP...ature=youtu.be
This past weekend we had our annual autocross enduro for the local region of PCA that I began autocrossing with. This year we did 8 single-lap runs in the morning and 2 three-lap enduro runs in the afternoon. The morning is scored as one event and in the afternoon they give an award for top time during the enduro and most consistent driver(the one with the smallest gap between lap times). I hit a cone on the last turn of my last lap during the enduro(like the fifth to last cone I could have possibly hit) which kept me from getting top time of the day, but I still had the second best time after the penalty. Funny thing, I was having a flyer my last lap before the cone, so the 1 second penalty on that lap put all my laps within .2 sec, giving me the Most Consistent Driver award. I'm happy overall. The guy who ended up getting TToD was one of the fast guys when I first started autocrossing and he was driving what I'd expect to be a very fast car. Here's my last enduro run:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Q7RP...ature=youtu.be
10-21-2013, 12:18 PM
#93
Moderator
Good to see you and the car continue to improve 
12-20-2013, 03:23 PM
#96
Update:
It's been a while, but I had the car at Laguna Seca the Sunday and Monday before Thanksgiving. Shortly before, I picked up another set of rotor hats and rings for the front and rotors for the rear so I can swap them for street and track along with the pads. The rings I picked up for the track are 48-vanes(vs. the 32-vane ones I use for street/autox) and each weigh about 2lbs more than my street/autox rings. Between the extra mass and surface area in the rotors and the brake ducts my pad wear problem seems pretty much solved. I still need to measure the set of pads I was using to determine the wear, but in the past I could see a couple mm of pad gone from the outboard pad after a single session, now I can barely tell visually that there's been wear after a whole day.
I also picked up a set of double adjustable shocks based on bilstein internals that were custom valved for another autocrosser's RTR car(CR as well). My plan is to use these with the stock springs until I figure out what I'm doing with the adjustments on the shock and then I'll start playing with spring rates. The PO said he had the bump and compression on softer settings with the CR springs and the builder(FatCat) said there should be plenty of room in the valving for stiffer springs. If not, Fat Cat Motorsports isn't too far, I'll have them revalved. I'll post more info once I've received and installed the shocks.
It's been a while, but I had the car at Laguna Seca the Sunday and Monday before Thanksgiving. Shortly before, I picked up another set of rotor hats and rings for the front and rotors for the rear so I can swap them for street and track along with the pads. The rings I picked up for the track are 48-vanes(vs. the 32-vane ones I use for street/autox) and each weigh about 2lbs more than my street/autox rings. Between the extra mass and surface area in the rotors and the brake ducts my pad wear problem seems pretty much solved. I still need to measure the set of pads I was using to determine the wear, but in the past I could see a couple mm of pad gone from the outboard pad after a single session, now I can barely tell visually that there's been wear after a whole day.
I also picked up a set of double adjustable shocks based on bilstein internals that were custom valved for another autocrosser's RTR car(CR as well). My plan is to use these with the stock springs until I figure out what I'm doing with the adjustments on the shock and then I'll start playing with spring rates. The PO said he had the bump and compression on softer settings with the CR springs and the builder(FatCat) said there should be plenty of room in the valving for stiffer springs. If not, Fat Cat Motorsports isn't too far, I'll have them revalved. I'll post more info once I've received and installed the shocks.
03-14-2014, 03:20 PM
#97
Update:
I have the shocks back from the dyno an they are on the car. The valving looks good for the stock springs, but I'm concerned about the high speed compression when I move to stiffer springs. My particular Fat Cat shocks were converted to DA with piggyback reservoirs front and rear. The clearance for the piggybacks is tight, but I've articulated the suspension with the car in the air and I've driven it on the street and it doesn't seem like anything can make contact--but we'll see what happens when I get the car on course. This set is also setup to use either the stock lower perches and stock springs or the bilstein perches on the threaded portion of the body with standard coil springs. I'll be starting out with the factory springs to make the learning curve for adjusting these shocks a little less steep and moving over to stiffer springs later this summer. I've also picked up a Gendron rear bar so I can find a balance I like without having massive front and rear bar rates.
I've only driven the car on the street so far--on some bumpy local roads, through China Camp State Park with a bunch of twisties but a pretty rough surface, and down 101 and through SF. The car is noticeably more comfortable on the street. I've always noticed my car would exhibit this behavior over bumpy surfaces where the front and rear will both oscillate side to side, but out of phase with each other. It always reminded me of driving a pickup truck with the bed and body flexing independently. I don't feel that at all with these new shocks. The other huge difference was getting onto 101S in central San Rafael. The onramp there is really wavy and my S would bounce front to rear there like crazy. I've always felt that there driving my RSX-S, 944 Turbo S(suspension as supple as a Lincoln), and other cars. I didn't really feel it with the new shocks either.
This Sunday I'm out at Oakland Coliseum on the rough, pothole ridden asphalt for an autocross. I'll update with more impressions after. Now for some pics.
I have the shocks back from the dyno an they are on the car. The valving looks good for the stock springs, but I'm concerned about the high speed compression when I move to stiffer springs. My particular Fat Cat shocks were converted to DA with piggyback reservoirs front and rear. The clearance for the piggybacks is tight, but I've articulated the suspension with the car in the air and I've driven it on the street and it doesn't seem like anything can make contact--but we'll see what happens when I get the car on course. This set is also setup to use either the stock lower perches and stock springs or the bilstein perches on the threaded portion of the body with standard coil springs. I'll be starting out with the factory springs to make the learning curve for adjusting these shocks a little less steep and moving over to stiffer springs later this summer. I've also picked up a Gendron rear bar so I can find a balance I like without having massive front and rear bar rates.
I've only driven the car on the street so far--on some bumpy local roads, through China Camp State Park with a bunch of twisties but a pretty rough surface, and down 101 and through SF. The car is noticeably more comfortable on the street. I've always noticed my car would exhibit this behavior over bumpy surfaces where the front and rear will both oscillate side to side, but out of phase with each other. It always reminded me of driving a pickup truck with the bed and body flexing independently. I don't feel that at all with these new shocks. The other huge difference was getting onto 101S in central San Rafael. The onramp there is really wavy and my S would bounce front to rear there like crazy. I've always felt that there driving my RSX-S, 944 Turbo S(suspension as supple as a Lincoln), and other cars. I didn't really feel it with the new shocks either.
This Sunday I'm out at Oakland Coliseum on the rough, pothole ridden asphalt for an autocross. I'll update with more impressions after. Now for some pics.
04-03-2014, 01:52 PM
#100
Thanks. I haven't been out to that part of HWY 4 yet, but I'll have to check it out next time I head to Yosemite.