nmrado: What spring rate do they run in rear? Show me a National autocross champ run 16F/16R. Not a chance. What is your setup bars/spring/dampers on your STR? I have yet to get a podium finish personally, this is the first year with my current setup and if everything works out, I should have my first. Top five in points and I would be ecstatic.

Whatlag: +1 to the driver Matt, mad skills for keeping that bull from bucking him off. I live in Dallas Tx, 16/16 springs may work for Matt at BW, that would not work at my local tracks. At MSR Cresson, if you go off track, you trash your car (large rocks, elevation, very little runoffs). High speed loss of rear traction at Cresson can and will total a car. Our tracks are not glass, rough is an understatement. Built Miatas have a rough time, just from lack of rear travel to soak up the bumps.

Jr94513: Throw more parts at your car. The more expensive your parts are, the faster the car is right? That is what I am hearing. You don't have a clue what makes a car fast. You hated 12/12's and you like 13/11 and you think the sticker on the shock body and price tag made if faster? Please.

Mods: Please move this thread to Racing and Competition subforum.

 

2014 STR National Champ is parting out his CR build on here and had 850 lb/in springs available for the coilovers. How often he used those, you'd have to ask him. I think 16K is far too much for street use if DD'ing (wouldn't want to drive it on anything other than nice roads really), but can have it's place for the right track/venue.

https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/110...#entry23458266

 

Moving this thread to R&C wouldn't be wise.

I'll add that simply reducing spring rate does not add grip.

There's tons of info on this site, I suggest checking it out.

 

If you like watching Matt then you'll like this.

http://youtu.be/U-muRZ_CXHQ


With the right driver behind the wheel the S is a capable drift machine lol
BIGprops to Matt, he's one talented guy.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvuPi0qqxhc
^^^ This is not me or my car, props and cred to the owner of this vid but this is what our tracks look like in North Texas. Our roads are fairly nice and smooth but our tracks are rough and bumpy, 16k springs don't work here, stroke is better than dropping the car to the weeds here. Even on autoX, the SCCA and local clubs like running the Texas Motorspeedway Bus Lot, the surface is terrible. Here is a vid of my first Time Trial at the Mineral Ring on my old setup. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMiCwXwLNeU Notice on second to last corner (Uturn), there is a huge bump under braking that just makes the car go nuts. Also on the turn before the long back straight, the course designer (purposely?) put a 'repair patch' of pavement right when you should be on the throttle which was about a half inch sticking above the rest of the track, Some guys drove around it while others(me) just delayed getting on the throttle. Lots of understeer on my old setup. I have quite a few AutoX vids that I can upload to youtube if anyone is interested.

 

Buttonwillow is also know to the locals as "bumpy willow". It's a bit better now since the repave, but still quite bumpy.

Also, this is a very common occurrence at buttonwillow... happened this past weekend that I was there.






As for the coilovers... I'll pass on them too.

No major comments other than this
That's likely more an effect of your alignment reducing caster from 7.0 to 6.0.

 

Wow, hope the driver was alright. For sure, the steering wheel lightness was the caster change. One particular Autox event made me consider lowering the caster when a lowspeed uturn had me confused on how much grip was left in the frontend. Hard to explain but I was arm over arm going left and steering feel was telling me I was out of front grip when I actually wasnt. The jacking of the car just had me confused, took me til the PM session to realize their was more grip and to keep cranking the wheel. I can't wait till Feb. when season opens back up.

 

Lol when did I say i am throwing expensive parts on my car? First you said I was having snap over steer and over steer when i never mentioned that once, now I am adding expensive parts to make my car faster. I paid 1400 for my Hks coilovers, it has nothing to do with the name or price tag that make this damper far superior then the P.O.S bc racing. Also I never said I hated 12k front and rear, I hated the cheap damper and spring! Like I said I can assure you I will not have a problem with 16k front and rear as long as its a good damper. I have a good understanding on how to properly set up a fast car, and throwing on a cheap set of Taiwan coilovers is not a good start.

 

How about two setups?

2011 winner: 900 lb/in, 800 lb/in, Penske 8300s
2014 winner: 850 lb/in, 750 lb/in, Moton Clubsports

2012 winner was on a soft spring, stiff bar setup. I'm not sure what the winner used in 2013 as I didn't auto-x that year.

My setup: 900 lb/in front, 800 lb/in rear, Penske 8300s with VDP pistons and valving per A.R.E., Miata NC front bar in the rear, front sway bar = my creation (1.25" splined bar, setting 3/7, 7 being soft). I haven't won a championship, but I have trophied both times I competed in STR and placed 4th in SS in 2014. My Elise also utilizes Penskes. I'm not the fastest - but I'm no slouch either.

 

I'm really not trying to be a dick, Buldozr - just sarcastically countering your "retarded setup" comments by showing that it can, and has been, a successful setup for some rather talented drivers.