I've never heard anyone complain about their driving when winning by 1.8 seconds. Good job Mark!

Mark, do you really think it's an issue shifting between 2nd and 3rd? I have lowered my gearing to definitely be in 3rd in higher speed sections of the course (or the start straight at the Pro....) I wouldn't want to give up the acceleration by going to a taller final drive. Of course the gearing probably contributed to my axle failure....

Eric

I think that once in a while is not an issue. My problem is that I am finding that I either ride the rev limiter a lot, or am making 3 plus upshifts and downshifts per 45 second run. Each shift costs at least a tenth of a second, and I am spending a whole lot of time above 6500 rpm, where the motor is falling off its torque peak quickly. I believe that the gearing change will put the car flat in its torque peak on 30-32 mph corner exits, which will actually produce a quicker acceleration to 65 mph anyways. My current consideration is to run a 4:11 final drive, and couple that with an 8000 rpm rev limit. That should get me about 74 mph at redline, and coupled with the tme turbo not hurt low end at all.

Congrats Mark - nice pic of you in the neon on the SCCA site about the Devin's tour and also in the Evo in the new Pylon today.

Maybe you or Eric can comment about typical course speed at Topeka for non-SM Evos? I was planning on running a shorter tire.

Also Mark, what do you think about the White Rabbit vs. the TME turbo? I heard the WR spools quicker than stock.

Rick

Do you know your tire diameter?

IIRC, the stock tire diameter is ~25.326", which with a FD of 4.111 gets you to 75.6 mph @ 8000 rpm on the stock 2nd gear.

...and congrats on your win(s)

l8r)

Just an update on my usage of the 285/30R18 Hoosier A3S04s, which I switched to this year from the 245s I ran last year.

I ran the local DC region event on Sunday, on a very hot day.

The 285s seem to like a little less pressure than the 245s -- no surprise there. I ended up at 46F/44R.

The A3S04s handle heat very well -- better than the V710 or the A3S05 based on what I see and hear. At this event, the air temperature was around 90, and the surface temperature was at least 120 degrees. My top competition in SM (an M3 on 275-width V710s) was a dual-driver car and they were spraying the Kumhos down with water between runs. I had a co-driver for this event as well, but the tires never went off. In fact, I gained time on every run, with no artificial tire cooling. The tires never gave any hint of overheating.

This was my 3rd event on these tires, and they are showing enough outside shoulder wear to make me think it's time to flip them inside-out.

Overall, I'm pleased with the 285s. I'm winning SM (for the last two events now) by similar margins to last year's local events, despite the fact that my main competition has both improved his car and picked up a really quick co-driver. The only real difference in my car is the bigger wheels and tires -- so I'm actually a bit heavier than last year.

You should see if Forced Performance or David Buschur would be interested in sponsoring you with their bolt-on turbos. You could probably make a lot more power with similar spool up characteristics than just a titanium 10.5 turbo.

I had approached David Buscher early on, and he didn't really have any interest in sponsoring me. I am also not quite convinced that the wr turbo will indeed spool as quickly as the tme. I am also not convinced that I need any more than 400 whp for autocross, early spool to me is more important. Of course I may be wrong. ( It wouldn't be the first time, and I am sure it won't be the last)
Mark

We will know for sure how the WR spools compared to all stock turbos and 6.5 ti turbos after this weekend's dyno tuning event with Shiv at Tuning Technologies.

Hey guys, SS Rx7 r2 has put me in touch with Tobin H from Enkei. I'm about to purchase 18 X 9.5 NTO3s. I believe the offset on these is 40mm. I know I'll have to roll my rear fenders, right? I'm on a fairly tight budget and am looking to see if any of you autoX gurus think I'm making a big mistake, otherwise, I'll get them in a few days. I already have the Ohlins R & T coilovers. I will use them for some autoX and for track days at places like Streets of Willow. Thanks for your help.

PS, Two WR results can be found on the Vishnu Forum here: https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=149109

Smoggy, IIRC Robi has setup quite a few Evos with the Enkei NTO3s, might want to talk to him. Nils also has them on his WW Evo -> https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=145553

l8r)

How wide of a tire? I have 18x9.5, 35mm, 245/40 tire with no rolling. I wish I had gone to a 40mm like yourself. 265/35 should work with 40mm.

Dave

As far as tires go, I am wide open to suggestions. My hunch is that 275 X 35 would be nice... For the street, I'm looking at PS2s or KDs. Suggestions? I really need to know more about setting up my Ohlins with different springs and revised valving. Paul Gerrard is helping there, but I know Navid could be a lot of help as well.

By the way, my motor is ALMOST completely assembled. Bottom end is done, head is on. Just finishing up the pulley assembly and cams. (Anyone have an HKS 272 intake cam available?) AMS 2.3 stroker/35R kit and Vishnu SMART Xede are just days away.

How will the stroker kit affect your rev limit? I figured that a stroker kit was a lousy idea for autocross unless you change gear ratios, because you'd give up revs and therefore have to shift to 3rd gear sooner. The extra torque might not offset the extra gear changes. Now it seems that's not a problem for guys like Stemler (so much power that 3rd gear is probably the appropriate gear anyway) or Daddio (who is already talking about changing gear ratios).

How high can you safely rev the engine with the AMS 2.3 stroker? Can you go much past 7000 RPM? With stock internals, 8000 RPM is no problem.

JIT: John Tak has a brand new set of 275/35/18's for sale. $660.00 + shipping.

Dave