2 1/2lbs...that's amazing. I think my Helix is 200cel, but don't quote me though, and I know it's no where near that weight. Shoot me a PM on your price...I might have to swap out cats.

Dennis

 

Hey Dennis,

The Helix looks nice and really well built, but appears to have an abrupt transition to and from the core. The Helix also seems a little pricy:
http://mauromotorsports.com/hehiflcatpie.html

The race cat I have has a gradual taper to smooth exhaust flow.

I'll PM you a price.

Rick

 

Just out of curiosity why did everyone in this thread decide to run an EVO in STU? Personally, I already own an EVO8 and didn't want to deal with swapping tires to R-compound tires for 3mins of racing(on a good day ). Plus I can run a slightly softer suspension setup since the tires won't be as sticky. Since my car double duties as a daily driver, it doesn't make sense to have to deal with a harsh suspension setup.

We have people that have sold their Subaru STis and Mazda RX-8s to get EVOs, so money is not a concern as one would take a hit during trades. Some are even willing to change from one brand summer tires to another brand at the event just to race for 3mins, so those people could just as well prep their cars for BSP/SM and run R-comps. Just curious ....

 

I decided because:

The Evo is not competitive in AS.

I would need to upgrade my VIII to IX specs for BSP

The VIII can be competitive in STU trim, and the rules still allow the car to be fun to drive.

It not about track time, it's about the competition

 

I agree with Rick.

1) Competition and field of different makes/models
2) Allowable mods
3) Street tires
4) Newest, soon to be the largest class
5) Built similar to a modern day street car

Dave

 

I can see the point for you guys that already owned EVOs. Those of you that chose to run in STU, is it because you don't want to change tires at an event? or cost of the R-comp tires? Or is it because of the choice allowable mods that you liked and street tires seems to be the limitation that came with the package?

If an STi can nationally place 4th in A-Stock for the 2006 season, I would assume an EVO tuned to similar specs could place just as competitively. As far as I know no one has run a properly prepped EVO in A-Stock (I may be wrong) with a larger front sway bar and adjustable shocks. I know a VERY good driver by the name of Jerry Irvine, he actually happened to be my instructor for an Auto-x school in KC. When he competed in AS with an EVO, even he didn't have it tuned to the fullest.

Those that recently purchased or plan to purchase an EVO from an STi to run STU, for the past 2 years Branden's STi has won STU the national trophy. Wouldn't that make the STi the weapon of choice? For the RX-8 owners, do you feel the platform is not competitive to begin with or has it just not been tuned to its fullest potential? Wouldn't the RX-8 with it's 50/50 weight distribution, lighter weight, suspension that gains camber under compression (all giving it higher cornering speeds) and the ability to create on throttle oversteer for tight corners be a potent weapon?

 

Ditto, I agree with both Dave and Rick.

I think the STi has an advantage because of the differentials but I still think an Evo 8 can and is a front runner. It's lighter and the more I learn the more I feel like I have a handle on getting the car to rotate. Which is its biggest downfall in AS. That's why STU is a nice compromise, the parts are allowed to make the car work better without the wallet killing expense of BSP.

The RX-8 is intriguing because its the only one that can really run the 275 series tires but it's under powered, by a lot. Yes it is lighter but not by a lot compared to a well prepped Evo 8.

My car is a daily driver so I change out wheels and tires at the event. I don't want to pick up a nail on the way and be screwed for the day.

 

Rick,

Have you look at the 3" hiflow cat from Random?
How does that compare to yours?

Thanks,
Jack T.

 

The cost of tires for ST and SP can be considered a wash. I ran 2 sets during the year and bought a shaved set just for the Pro Solo Finale and National Championship. At just over $1k a pop for a competitive 245 tire, it can get equally expensive.

Dave

 

I'm kind of suprised that you guys with 2003 Evo8's don't seem so worried about the disadvantages of that model year. With the lack of UD/BD in STU you can't get the front diff, turbo, ACD, weight reduction (RS UD's)etc.

Personally for me I don't mind the lack of ACD, I don't feel that it does too much for the car. The lack of front diff I thought was the worst part when I did my own evaluation last year before spending moolah for SP.

 

Hey Kekek,

Who said we weren't worried

Dave and I discussed about how our days were numbered last year. We were lucky that only the dieman IX was ready at Nats. We'll just have to suck it up this year as a lot of IXs with good/top drivers are entering the fray.

I've driven different models/years of Evos. What were your findings from the evaluation of the frt. diff. ?

Rick

 

Yeah but the worst part of the UD/BD rule is that you can't just change the turbo, you have to upgrade the turbo with the entire engine and that costs major $$ ...

I kinda agree with you, having drive both an 03 EVO8 and 05 EVO8 MR on the same auto-x course. It might make a difference but its very little, honestly I couldn't feel anything. Infact the times came out very similar within 10ths. Both were stock, both were on RT-615s ...

I've also had the pleasure of driving an EVO9 MR and 05 EVO8 MR on the same auto-x course and the extra power you get at low RPMs didn't really seem usable as I was more traction limited coming out of a corner with both cars than power limited. Ultimately I found myself feathering the throttle differently with both cars. I did find myself going at a slightly higher speed in the straights with the EVO9 MR but ultimately my times were very similar with both cars as they were both on stock suspension and similar summer tires. Basically the cars were traction limited more than they were power limited.

Usually it is the driver that is able to exploit the capabilities of the car they are driving to the fullest that will win. Very driver dependent unlike drag racing, IMHO ...

 

I've been autocrossing regularly for about 5 years now, starting with my old Galant VR-4. I started with my 03 Evo VIII in AS with race tires (saved from when I sold the GVR-4) and was moderately competitive locally for about two years. Last year I decided that the race tires were masking some driver error/issues that I needed to uncover and correct.

Driving on street tires with their overall lower grip has made me a better driver. Locally we combine all of the ST classes and use PAX to level the field. This gives us quite a large group, widely varying cars, but really makes for good competition.

The second reason was that I could pick up slightly used stock Advans from the guys upgrading to 18" and larger wheels cheap.

Third is that I couldn't leave the car well enough alone and started modifying it... STU allows most of the typcial "street" modifications

Mark

 

STU mods with R compounds would be nice. I switched from AS to STU because the mods allowed were reasonably affordable (cough$2800 coiloverscough) and because I thought it'd be convenient to "arrive and drive"--just run on my street tires (Azenis and Kooks). It was convenient, but it wasn't cheap, even with fairly cheap tires, and it used up the tires pretty fast. This year I'm planning to switch from my street tires (Bridgestone Pole Position A/S) to autox tires (Neovas, probably) at home so I can still arrive-n-drive, but still get through the season on one set of good, fresh tires.

 

I love the frt diff and I only have the RS one from TRE. I was able to drive the car with the throttle ALOT more than without the diff. I could also "skate" through certain elements since the front diff was working. Overall I just found it much easier to maintain speed in mid-high speed offset type elements and coming out of corners was also helped (both power and a tighter line).

I had the Quaife in my old 5G Civic and love this one every bit as much as the quaife (not apples to apples, but you get the point).