Forgive me for being such a n00b to this forum.

Anyone with a good amount of seat time behind the wheel of an EVO on a road course(not auto X or drag)? Im curious to know how they fair on the track as far as understeer, oversteer, braking, etc. I intend to use mine(if I actually get it) on a road course like Lime Rock mostly, maybe some drag runs to see what she can do. I havent had a chance to duel with one on a track yet in my ITR.

From what Ive seen personally so far, the stock EVO suspension is very nice. Those of you that have upgraded your suspension to a full coilover set up, would you say it was an improvement over stock and worth it(in a road course situation)? What about upper and lower strut tower bars, sway bars, etc. The car feels very rigid and study to me as it is and Im just curious if you guys find this stuff help out the same way it does with Hondas.

Thanks for the input.

 

Hey,

Depending on your level of skill, I would suggest the following.

Beginner:

Leave the car alone, the understeer will be predictable, and good for you to learn with.

Intermediate:

Chassis bracing, and strut tower brace in the back. Maybe an adjustable sway bar in the back. You will begin to feel oversteer now, with the updated rear configuration, be ready for an 'agricultural adventure' if you get over your head.

Advanced:

Definitely swaybars, front and rear, updated and adjustable strut tower braces, and coil-overs. Also, if you are truly advanced, you may want to look into venting the front brakes.

Go to some sites like VividRacing, they have some good information on suspension 'stuff'.

IMHO, I would leave it alone, at least for the first season. You will have a warranty, and on track day, that is just like a sponsor. I have met very few, myself included, who can drain the car 100% in the stock configuration, on track days. Enjoy it, keep it stock, again, the understeer is not too bad, and it will save you if you get in too far of your head.

 

So the car understeers in stock form? Most Type R's have oversteer and you can rotate the car with the throttle. Lift throttle oversteer in the Type R is pretty infamous and what Im used to. Im thinking I would probably better adapt to the EVO if it had some oversteer but obviously I would keep it stock at first and see how it felt. Thanks for your reply.

 

If you have some experience, then go with the some minor mods, however, I wasn't sure of your level, and I wanted to make sure you post here again, after you first event.

 

I found the evo very neutral in corners on a road course, only Roebling Road so far. If I was tracking out too much on an exit, just a slight lift on the throttle and the car rotated so predictably and smooth. My *** started to come around on turn 7 at Roebling Road once, but I was easily able to keep it under control and get it back inline with no commotion. The car handled beautifully at track speeds. Now autox it does understeer quite a bit. You really have to toss it or brake really hard and late to plant the front wheels before turning. The Evo is managable at autox, but it is ideal for higher speeds at track events.

 

If the car is not a trailor-*****, I'd suggest leaving it stock except tires, brakes (pads, fluids, ducting), and a good alignment job. No point in talking about modifications until you can manhandle the beast.

 

This is similar to my experiece in the twisties. On extremely tight, low speed turns, there is a little bit of understeer, which sort of of like the feeling the relatively wide turning radius gives you in a small parking lot. However, on slightly higher speed turns, its phenomonal. I can't think of a better car on a winding country road.

 

On the course I felt some understeer in one very sharp turn. Usually it was from me entering way too hot.
The only time I encountered oversteer was during a long off camber sweeper. As I approached the apex I started on the throttle and the rear started to creep out a little. It was very small but it was there. Luckily I caught it.

 

With some JICs or other coilovers that are properly corner weighted, your car will handle even better than stock.

 

It wasnt going much farther. The beauty is you can go in charging hard with initial understeer and fitting into line very well with a slight rolloff or on throttle break tap. The greatest ting is there is very little wheel input needed if driven right as you can actually pretty much drive it with your right foot- Now it does take some time to trust the EVO doing this but the rewards are great and the entry and exit speeds are into the relm of insanity. It is actually very controllable and stable here but it does take the nuts to do it the first couple of times. The passenger will **** too but as long as you dont drill the break or jerk the wheel bad its actually pretty safe and everyone else is in the rear view

 

Agreed. The car is simply amazing. I tracked it completely stock. Next time I'll explore it's limits a little more but never did I have any scary moments. When getting the slight oversteer I just very smoothly let up a little off the throttle. The only reason I did this is because I was approaching the burm (spelling) to fast and could have ended up in the grass. I didn't think steering input would have helped and correcting the oversteer definately would have put me in the grass. It was a delicate dance but it was beautiful.

 

My car understeered on power when exiting the corner. What fixed it for me was a combination of adjusting my line and rolling on the throttle later (but harder) and having the car's alignment check. I suspect my main problem was that the rear toe was really out of wack. Fixing than and getting the front camber out a little more (-1.0 to about -1.6) seems to have made understeer disappear for me...

 

You race it, and your warranty's gone, even if its stock.

 

Not race, drive it at track days, there is a difference. Within limits, not redline every gear, not wheel to wheel, and not being timed.

If the car shouldn't turn 6900, then they should move the redline down to where it should turn. Besides, warranties are for catastrophic stuff, not for nickel and dime. At the last track event, I went through the stock tires, nothing left after two days, two sets of pads, front, and the clutch is slipping. Now, I will replace all of this stuff, because it was due to the conditions, not because of failure. However, if the crank breaks at 5500 rpm's which is ell wihtin limits, then there you go.

If you run the car within limits, then it should be fine. To be honest, a car that is tracked is taken care of far better than one driven on the street by the 'average' guy. I change the oil before and after an event, the car is gone over from head to toe, and everything is oiled, greased, tightened, and checked.

I guarantee you right now there is an evo on the street 1000 miles past due, with a driver redlining every gear racing a sentra SE-r, which too is a waste of time and not safe. Now, who's warranty should be voided?

 

I agree 100%

Most street drivers put a hell of a lot more wear and tear on their cars than your typical dedicated track junkie. If I were buying a used car, I'd be much more comfortable buying a mature owner's trackday toy than someone's daily driver. At least you know the track car has been gone over with a fine-toothed comb, obsessed over, and maintained to a very high standard.

Emre