My Shop Assist Evo
Oct 22, 2013, 07:17 PM
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My Shop Assist Evo
OK. I keep having to make new threads every time we change the car, so I've decided to just make a general build thread and add onto it.
Lots of good things are happening around My Shop Assist and Evolution Dynamics and this thread will be used to document the progress of the MSA Evo! In case you haven't heard about My Shop Assist, I'll give you a quick explanation (don't worry, the Evo related stuff is coming
)
I have been friends with Kevin Dubois (KevinD and owner of Evolution Dynamics) since 2007 when he first worked on my 2006 MR (hence my outdated user name). I have seen him grow from the humble beginnings in his garage to his 3rd shop location. Customers and employees have come and gone, but the business continues to grow and prosper.
I came on at Evolution Dynamics in the summer of 2012 to handle the business so KevinD could concentrate on the cars. I took over online marketing, accounting, customer relations, scheduling, etc. I was amazed at how difficult it was to keep everything organized for 70+ cars that came through the doors every month. Not to mention the 15 or so that sat around waiting for engine builds. I quickly realized that the status quo method of running a shop was outdated and inefficient. QuickBooks invoices with scribbled notes on them, whiteboards all over the shop, and post-it notes everywhere! All the shops do it this way and it sucks.
So, we set out to change all that. KevinD and I developed My Shop Assist to fix all of these problems. You can check out all the features by visiting our webpage. Don't want to anger the mod's with off topic promotions.
Now, on to the fun Evo stuff!
We originally built my Evo to showcase what it can do in (almost) stock form. You can read all about the TTC build here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...ttc-build.html
Then, we stepped it up big time to compete in TTB. You can read the build thread for that transformation here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...-dynamics.html
And now I direct your attention to present day.
The TTB adventure didn't work out as planned.
I ran one race and had major ABS problems. Then I had to miss the rest of the races this year due to business trips for My Shop Assist. We got the car all stickered up but never had the chance to get a set of Hoosiers on her.
Following our awesome experience at the 2012 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, Kevin became a PowerPro Ambassador for Optima Batteries. He was invited to the Lucas Oil Offroad Racing Series and even got to ride in the pace truck!
We kept bugging the guys at Optima about the 2013 Ultimate Street Car Challenge in hopes of going again. We were really excited that the last Invitational event was to be held in Dallas and we knew the new and improved TTB car could finish first.
When we went to sign up for the GoodGuys event, we realized that it was for domestic or domestic-powered vehicles only Major bummer! Now we just had to keep our fingers crossed that we would get a special invite to the finals.
Well, on October 1st, our wishes came true!!!
http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en...-source/ousci/
We got the official invite to compete again this year!!! We were super excited and couldn't believe we were given the amazing opportunity to compete with such amazing cars!!!
Then reality set in. The car was under powered, on small tires, and still not very pretty. We realized that there was a lot of work to do before the car would be considered among the top competitors.
We have done something really cool and created a build for the car within My Shop Assist. You can log in at any time and see the progress that is being made. It will also give you an idea of how the software works.
Simply go to: www.MyShopAssist.com/CustomerLogin
Last name: OPTIMA
Phone Number: 469-718-9731
So, I got on the phone and interwebs and set out to make the car more awesome!
We noticed that the Performance Friction rotors were getting pretty tired and were starting to have some pretty big cracks. So we decided to go ahead and replace the rings.
Next we got rid of the ugly stock steering wheel and went with a Sparco wheel on a Splash removable hub. Makes getting in and out of the car a breeze! (Sorry for potato)
Time to call our friends at Enkei! We love the RPF1's and put them on every single race car in our fleet. For this build, we went with a set of 18x10.5 in +15 offset. We prefer the +15 offset over the +38 because we hate the idea of running a spacer up front. While I haven't personally seen any stud failure due to the offset moment arm, it just makes me uncomfortable.
Since this car is being assemble specifically for the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge, we had to stick with a minimum tread wear rating of 200. This narrows the field down to BFG Rivals, Dunlop Star Specs, and Hankook R-S3's (There are others, of course).
Well, I really wanted to try out the Rivals. A) I have heard really good things about them from our friend Terry Fair of Vorshlag Motorsports and B) BFG sponsors the Optima event. So we called our rep at TireRack and he told us they were out until December. Bummer! We tried our best to beg for a set directly from BFG, but had no luck.
I have run a couple sets of R-S3's on my TTC car and really liked them. I used the Star Specs for Optima last year because the R-S3's were a 140 rating. But since they miraculously changed to 200 this year, I picked up a set of 275/35R18. We really wanted some 285's, but they only come in a 35 sidewall ratio which is way too tall.
Now it was time to get serious. KevinD had one last set of AST 5200 coilovers that he was looking to sell and he kept peer pressuring me until I gave in. I was very reluctant to make the move because I still wanted to compete in TTB in 2014. But he, and the 3 other team members who already installed the 5200's, kept making fun of me for being on stock shocks.
Lots of good things are happening around My Shop Assist and Evolution Dynamics and this thread will be used to document the progress of the MSA Evo! In case you haven't heard about My Shop Assist, I'll give you a quick explanation (don't worry, the Evo related stuff is coming
)I have been friends with Kevin Dubois (KevinD and owner of Evolution Dynamics) since 2007 when he first worked on my 2006 MR (hence my outdated user name). I have seen him grow from the humble beginnings in his garage to his 3rd shop location. Customers and employees have come and gone, but the business continues to grow and prosper.
I came on at Evolution Dynamics in the summer of 2012 to handle the business so KevinD could concentrate on the cars. I took over online marketing, accounting, customer relations, scheduling, etc. I was amazed at how difficult it was to keep everything organized for 70+ cars that came through the doors every month. Not to mention the 15 or so that sat around waiting for engine builds. I quickly realized that the status quo method of running a shop was outdated and inefficient. QuickBooks invoices with scribbled notes on them, whiteboards all over the shop, and post-it notes everywhere! All the shops do it this way and it sucks.
So, we set out to change all that. KevinD and I developed My Shop Assist to fix all of these problems. You can check out all the features by visiting our webpage. Don't want to anger the mod's with off topic promotions.
Now, on to the fun Evo stuff!
We originally built my Evo to showcase what it can do in (almost) stock form. You can read all about the TTC build here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...ttc-build.html
Then, we stepped it up big time to compete in TTB. You can read the build thread for that transformation here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/mo...-dynamics.html
And now I direct your attention to present day.
The TTB adventure didn't work out as planned.
I ran one race and had major ABS problems. Then I had to miss the rest of the races this year due to business trips for My Shop Assist. We got the car all stickered up but never had the chance to get a set of Hoosiers on her.
Following our awesome experience at the 2012 Optima Ultimate Street Car Invitational, Kevin became a PowerPro Ambassador for Optima Batteries. He was invited to the Lucas Oil Offroad Racing Series and even got to ride in the pace truck!
We kept bugging the guys at Optima about the 2013 Ultimate Street Car Challenge in hopes of going again. We were really excited that the last Invitational event was to be held in Dallas and we knew the new and improved TTB car could finish first.
When we went to sign up for the GoodGuys event, we realized that it was for domestic or domestic-powered vehicles only
Major bummer! Now we just had to keep our fingers crossed that we would get a special invite to the finals.Well, on October 1st, our wishes came true!!!
http://www.optimabatteries.com/us/en...-source/ousci/
We got the official invite to compete again this year!!! We were super excited and couldn't believe we were given the amazing opportunity to compete with such amazing cars!!!
Then reality set in. The car was under powered, on small tires, and still not very pretty. We realized that there was a lot of work to do before the car would be considered among the top competitors.
We have done something really cool and created a build for the car within My Shop Assist. You can log in at any time and see the progress that is being made. It will also give you an idea of how the software works.
Simply go to: www.MyShopAssist.com/CustomerLogin
Last name: OPTIMA
Phone Number: 469-718-9731
So, I got on the phone and interwebs and set out to make the car more awesome!
We noticed that the Performance Friction rotors were getting pretty tired and were starting to have some pretty big cracks. So we decided to go ahead and replace the rings.
Next we got rid of the ugly stock steering wheel and went with a Sparco wheel on a Splash removable hub. Makes getting in and out of the car a breeze! (Sorry for potato)
Time to call our friends at Enkei! We love the RPF1's and put them on every single race car in our fleet. For this build, we went with a set of 18x10.5 in +15 offset. We prefer the +15 offset over the +38 because we hate the idea of running a spacer up front. While I haven't personally seen any stud failure due to the offset moment arm, it just makes me uncomfortable.
Since this car is being assemble specifically for the Optima Ultimate Street Car Challenge, we had to stick with a minimum tread wear rating of 200. This narrows the field down to BFG Rivals, Dunlop Star Specs, and Hankook R-S3's (There are others, of course).
Well, I really wanted to try out the Rivals. A) I have heard really good things about them from our friend Terry Fair of Vorshlag Motorsports and B) BFG sponsors the Optima event. So we called our rep at TireRack and he told us they were out until December. Bummer! We tried our best to beg for a set directly from BFG, but had no luck.
I have run a couple sets of R-S3's on my TTC car and really liked them. I used the Star Specs for Optima last year because the R-S3's were a 140 rating. But since they miraculously changed to 200 this year, I picked up a set of 275/35R18. We really wanted some 285's, but they only come in a 35 sidewall ratio which is way too tall.
Now it was time to get serious. KevinD had one last set of AST 5200 coilovers that he was looking to sell and he kept peer pressuring me until I gave in.
I was very reluctant to make the move because I still wanted to compete in TTB in 2014. But he, and the 3 other team members who already installed the 5200's, kept making fun of me for being on stock shocks. 
Oct 23, 2013, 06:42 AM
#2
Nice build and I'm looking forward to more progress and results.
How do you plan to mount the external reservoirs on the rear of the 5200's? I have the same coilovers and my rear reservoirs are just secured with multiple heavy-duty zip ties to the shock body, which has worked fine for 3 years but I'm curious if there's a better solution.
How do you plan to mount the external reservoirs on the rear of the 5200's? I have the same coilovers and my rear reservoirs are just secured with multiple heavy-duty zip ties to the shock body, which has worked fine for 3 years but I'm curious if there's a better solution.
Oct 23, 2013, 03:34 PM
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Nice build and I'm looking forward to more progress and results.
How do you plan to mount the external reservoirs on the rear of the 5200's? I have the same coilovers and my rear reservoirs are just secured with multiple heavy-duty zip ties to the shock body, which has worked fine for 3 years but I'm curious if there's a better solution.
How do you plan to mount the external reservoirs on the rear of the 5200's? I have the same coilovers and my rear reservoirs are just secured with multiple heavy-duty zip ties to the shock body, which has worked fine for 3 years but I'm curious if there's a better solution.
But for mine, I wanted a little cleaner look so we attached them to the bottom side of the rear frame rail. We use 2 big adels for each and it holds really well. Easily adjustable by just laying on the ground.
We fabricated a little heat shield out of sheet metal and some gold heat tape for the passenger side. Ran it out at the track for an entire day and it didn't get hot at all. Haven't had a chance to sit around in traffic yet, but I'm confident that there is enough air barrier to be OK.
Now onto the fun stuff!
FedEx man dropped off some goodies early in the morning. I ordered the Koyo Radiator for the Evo 5/6/7 with the offset neck. I like the look a lot and gives plenty of clearance for the turbo kit. We also decided to go with AN fittings for the radiator and turbo lines. Very pricey move, but the look is awesome!
After lunch, the UPS man delivered my favorite box: one with TURBO written on the side!!!
We called Garrett a while back and inquired about their new GTX3076R turbo. This thing spools quickly, is very responsive, and is tough enough for road racing. Perfect for what we are doing! So we asked for the single-scroll V-Band turbo and couldn't be happier
We are expecting another package from ETS tomorrow. Ready for MOAR POWA!!!
Last edited by Todd06MR; Oct 25, 2013 at 11:10 PM.
Oct 25, 2013, 11:10 PM
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Been a very busy day here at Evolution Dynamics! Got multiple boxes of parts delivered today so KevinD set out to get everything on the car.
First thing to unpack was the amazing ETS turbo kit! We spoke with Michael at the Buschur shootout this year and expressed out interest in putting one of his kits on my car for the Optima event. Once we got the official word that I would be competing, we gave him a call and requested the single-scroll V-Band kit. Super easy to work with and answered all my questions quickly.
Got a nice little bonus "ETS" symbol on this one!
These V-Band kits are definitely the way to go! Everything is easily adjustable so you can get it just right. All of the parts fit together perfectly and I couldn't be happier.
Here is the downpipe mocked up in the car.
And as an added bonus, this turbo kit is 4lb's lighter that the stock Evo 8 setup! Always good to reduce weight on the race car.
During the day, our neighbor at Rusty Nuts (Yes, that is the actual name of his business) came over and finished up the body work on the fender flares. I am really pleased with how it came out. Now all that is left is to have it repainted.
In the ongoing quest to reduce weight, we slapped on a 2 piece drive shaft that survived a flight off of Pikes Peak last year. Saved 12lb's by making the switch (26lb 2oz vs 38lb 1oz).
This morning, we called in our friend Louis Gigliotti (pronounced Jilatee) from LG Motorsports come by and do some master fabricating for us.
First, we had him recirculate the wastegate dump back into the down pipe. You know, because this is a street car!
Then Louis tackled the radiator. Kevin chopped off the necks and then had Louis weld on -16 AN threads. Turned out really nice!
Then he moved on to the thermostat housing and the rear water neck.
Next was time for the intercooler pipes and intake pipe. Went with aluminum tubing to keep things light weight.
Finally, here is a pic of the turbo kit, pipes, and radiator all installed.
KevinD is out tuning as we speak. I am practicing at Eagles Canyon Raceway tomorrow and Sunday with the Porsche Club. Luckily, I'll get at least 1.5 hours of sleep tonight.
First thing to unpack was the amazing ETS turbo kit! We spoke with Michael at the Buschur shootout this year and expressed out interest in putting one of his kits on my car for the Optima event. Once we got the official word that I would be competing, we gave him a call and requested the single-scroll V-Band kit. Super easy to work with and answered all my questions quickly.
Got a nice little bonus "ETS" symbol on this one!
These V-Band kits are definitely the way to go! Everything is easily adjustable so you can get it just right. All of the parts fit together perfectly and I couldn't be happier.
Here is the downpipe mocked up in the car.
And as an added bonus, this turbo kit is 4lb's lighter that the stock Evo 8 setup! Always good to reduce weight on the race car.
During the day, our neighbor at Rusty Nuts (Yes, that is the actual name of his business
) came over and finished up the body work on the fender flares. I am really pleased with how it came out. Now all that is left is to have it repainted.
In the ongoing quest to reduce weight, we slapped on a 2 piece drive shaft that survived a flight off of Pikes Peak last year. Saved 12lb's by making the switch (26lb 2oz vs 38lb 1oz).
This morning, we called in our friend Louis Gigliotti (pronounced Jilatee) from LG Motorsports come by and do some master fabricating for us.
First, we had him recirculate the wastegate dump back into the down pipe. You know, because this is a street car!
Then Louis tackled the radiator. Kevin chopped off the necks and then had Louis weld on -16 AN threads. Turned out really nice!
Then he moved on to the thermostat housing and the rear water neck.
Next was time for the intercooler pipes and intake pipe. Went with aluminum tubing to keep things light weight.
Finally, here is a pic of the turbo kit, pipes, and radiator all installed.
KevinD is out tuning as we speak. I am practicing at Eagles Canyon Raceway tomorrow and Sunday with the Porsche Club. Luckily, I'll get at least 1.5 hours of sleep tonight.
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Nov 7, 2013, 08:03 PM
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So...finally had a chance to take a breath and update the thread. We got the car done at 2am Sunday morning. I had actually planned on (and paid for) a NASA race on Saturday, but the car wasn't even close to being done, so we just skipped it altogether.
If you want to view the progress in My Shop Assist, simply go to www.MyShopAssist.com/CustomerLogin, use Last Name: OPTIMA, and phone 469-718-9731
Here is what we got done.
I didn't get any good pics of the Whiteline parts we installed, but the car is pretty much covered in their stuff now.
Installed a Walbro 400 to help pump more fuel to the Garrett GTX3076R. Also put in an AMS fuel rail and Aeromotive FPR (not pictured).
Then we got the car on the dyno to get some numbers.
Took the car over to Texas Track Works for an alignment.
Put a Recaro seat in the passenger side.
Then I got the car back in the shop to fabricate the front splitter. I used 1/4" Alumilite from the local sign company. This stuff is light, strong, and relatively cheap ($130 for a 4'x8' sheet)
Bolted it to the front lip and added some turnbuckles from the APR kit
Then I set out to lay all the new vinyl. I have decided that this sucks and I don't like doing it.
Also got the APR GTC-300 wing on the car.
After a few hours of sleep, it was back up to the shop to get the truck loaded up with the car and the booth stuff for SEMA.
Made it to SEMA!!! GOt the car setup in the Optima corral with all the other Ultimate Street Car Challenge competitors.
Got a little shot of them setting up the cameras for the interview.
If you want to view the progress in My Shop Assist, simply go to www.MyShopAssist.com/CustomerLogin, use Last Name: OPTIMA, and phone 469-718-9731
Here is what we got done.
I didn't get any good pics of the Whiteline parts we installed, but the car is pretty much covered in their stuff now.
Installed a Walbro 400 to help pump more fuel to the Garrett GTX3076R. Also put in an AMS fuel rail and Aeromotive FPR (not pictured).
Then we got the car on the dyno to get some numbers.
Took the car over to Texas Track Works for an alignment.
Put a Recaro seat in the passenger side.
Then I got the car back in the shop to fabricate the front splitter. I used 1/4" Alumilite from the local sign company. This stuff is light, strong, and relatively cheap ($130 for a 4'x8' sheet)
Bolted it to the front lip and added some turnbuckles from the APR kit
Then I set out to lay all the new vinyl. I have decided that this sucks and I don't like doing it.
Also got the APR GTC-300 wing on the car.
After a few hours of sleep, it was back up to the shop to get the truck loaded up with the car and the booth stuff for SEMA.
Made it to SEMA!!!
GOt the car setup in the Optima corral with all the other Ultimate Street Car Challenge competitors. 
Got a little shot of them setting up the cameras for the interview.
Nov 9, 2013, 05:47 AM
#11
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Awesome job & dedication
Making us in the community proud
BTW, Im pretty good about figuring out personalized plates but stumped on yours
Making us in the community proud
BTW, Im pretty good about figuring out personalized plates but stumped on yours
Last edited by Solenoid; Nov 9, 2013 at 05:58 AM.
Nov 10, 2013, 07:13 AM
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All done with the event!!! Had an absolute blast again this year. So many amazing cars with equally awesome people driving them. We got some pictures and videos that I'll post up once I get back to the shop next week.
I ended up in 6th overall out of 54 cars. Not as good as last year, mainly because Tire Rack SUCKS (sucks super big time) and sent me the 140 tread wear R-S3's two different times! I'll go into more detail later. Still too mad to explain it fully.
You can't figure out the code?! Come on, it's easy!!! Just kidding. It isn't a personalized plate. Just coincidence that it starts with CT9!
The stock intercooler is a really good piece of equipment. It can handle plenty of boost (>30psi) and is the lightest intercooler by FAR at around 9lbs (I think). We keep them on all of our NASA TTC-TT2 cars because we don't want to hang a solid slab of aluminum 2 feet in front of the wheels.
I've been reluctant to say anything, but KevinD keeps pressuring me. So...prepare to see an Evolution Dynamics road race intercooler mid 2014.
I ended up in 6th overall out of 54 cars. Not as good as last year, mainly because Tire Rack SUCKS (sucks super big time) and sent me the 140 tread wear R-S3's two different times! I'll go into more detail later. Still too mad to explain it fully.
The stock intercooler is a really good piece of equipment. It can handle plenty of boost (>30psi) and is the lightest intercooler by FAR at around 9lbs (I think). We keep them on all of our NASA TTC-TT2 cars because we don't want to hang a solid slab of aluminum 2 feet in front of the wheels.
I've been reluctant to say anything, but KevinD keeps pressuring me. So...prepare to see an Evolution Dynamics road race intercooler mid 2014.
