First of all, a little background, I have been running a 94 Supra in SM for about 5 years now. One of those guys that built the car THEN deceided to go out and autox. I struggled for a few years....no let me take that back, I have struggled with the car for 5 years. Although the car isnt easy to drive I managed to take the overall SM class in '06, and just about got it in '05 (.2 points short) in our local region (snake river).
Last event of '06 I had mech problems on the Supra and a friend (bullfrg) asked if I wanted to co-drive his car (SM prepped '03 with 377hp/377tq, Megans, bars, etc.). I ended up 4th fastest raw for the weekend out of the doorslammers. This was at "OctoberFast" Idaho vs Utah where many of the areas top run. Needless to say I went home wanting an evo.
I have never competed nationally.
Fast forward to '07, I find that I have a '06 Evo IX SE in the driveway and the Supra isnt prepped for the season so..... I take the evo out for the first event (4/1)bone stock right down to the Advans. I ended up .6 sec. behind local AS'er Curtis Eames. Curtis ran Packwood NT last year and placed 3rd, he is my measuring stick for now. I realize after this my potential in the car with a little prep. I also get the "evo feeling" back.
After the last event I started gathering parts. I ended up with a set of Enkei RPF1's, re-valved MR Bilsteins, and Kumho 710's (275F, 245R) all of which were used. This was like a $1700 investment for a decent, "by all the stuff with the biggest gain" package.
Last weekend was the first event with grip. On Saturday (4/21) I placed 1st in AS by 1.1sec over Curtis, 2nd in PAX, and 4th fastest RAW (although I admit that there were a few of our local SS, and SM drivers who would have placed higher than me if they would have been there). http://snakeriverscca.com/home/index...apper&Itemid=8
I was amazed at how much grip was available, it took me a few runs to get the tire pressures set correctly, but the staggered tire setup really balanced out the car. Most of the steady state understeer I had felt with the Advans was gone, and the car rotated rather well with good predictability. What surprised me is how much I could dial the car in with the tire pressures. I had seen many pictures of Evos lifting the inner rear wheel and thought those drivers might have been over driving the car a bit till I had come into grid. One of the other drivers told me I was fast because I could take a shorter line, I was lifting the rear tire over the cones on every turn.
Sunday (4/22), It rained. I ended up first in class, 1st in Pax, and 2nd RAW only to be beat by Alan Densmore, in Gary Thomasons '05 Nationals SM2 winning Vette. I did beat Alans RAW time in my second fun run (doesnt count) which just happened to be during the hardest downpour and wettest time of the whole day.
Obviously, AWD had the advantage on Sunday with 4 of 5 top PAX scores going to AWD cars.
One of the highlights was my wife autoxing the car on Sunday. She ran 3 sec. behind me and .5 behind her brother (unprepped BSP STI).
This may sound like Iam tooting my on horn (Iam) but what it means to me is you can go fast, and have fun in the stock class. I figured after running a 400+hp SM car for so many years there is no going back. Its great to do the "arrive and drive" (except tires) and just have a ball. The evo is such a FUN car to drive its unreal.
I have since acquired a couple more Astock legal mods (Perrin catback, and WORKS drop in). I dont expect these mods will make as much of a difference as the tires and shocks.

 

Welcome and Enjoy! The car is fun to drive and will probably do well in a lot of regional events. But there are a few, some with Nats experience, that don't think it will have chance at winning on a divisional and national level, especially with the introduction of the Pontiac Solstice GXP (turbo model). @ 06 Nats, the base Solstice in CS last year was as fast as the top AS cars. Unless it rains ofcourse, then all bets are off

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...=57489&page=19

 

The GXP and the Ion Sky are not what most thought they would be given the specs. Over on the SCCA forums, a few owners believe it is more of a BS car. It's too wide, gearing is wrong, and a bit of boost lag doesn't help either.

The Evo is competitive on a local and divisional level, but only placing in trophy spots on a National level. Now Pro Solo is a different ballgame. STI/Evo are the shoe in's.

Last years results are scewed because of the surface and cold track. It had a lot to do with when your heat ran. STUL beat STU on the first day and STX was just as fast as STU.


Dave

 

Plus you have SS beating 2nd place and back SM so who knows.

There is a Solsti GXP signed up for Packwood, there will be at least one Evo there to challenge him.

Btw, playa, thanks for that link, I have read that thread a "few" times.

 

Right on, half the battle is over ... Goodluck and represent us strong.

 

A-Stock to A-Stock, the Evo doesn't stand a chance against the Solstice GXP/Sky Redline. Let's be realistic - the GM 2-seater has more grip, less weight and similar power. It will certainly be a contender in A-Stock.... and the Evo - um, not so much.

We'll see what happens at Nats this year... the rest is noise.

 

 

Glad to hear those parts worked out for you. Did you do anything with the alignment yet?

I'll be at Packwood too. Shake and bake!

 

Hi Josh, thanks for the tip on the parts.

I did do an alignment. All I could get for camber on the front was -1.8L/-2.1R, 0 toe
Rear is about -1 camber and just a bit of toe out.

Sounds like we might be competing against each other, maybe we shouldn't share to many of our setups specs.

 

congrats brian, atleast one of us is holding it down

it was fun watching you and jereme run, i about flipped when i saw your time come up

 

Its all good. I share all the info I can that I think makes our cars faster. I hope others do the same. In the end, it all comes down to the driver anyway.

 

AGREED!

 

I have to thank Brian for letting me drive his Evo at the Saturday event as I sold mine the day before and was car less. I also appreciate the coaching I got at the events where he co-drove my car and when i co-drove his. I have a long way to go as far as driving skill and now in a much slower car. I hope that Brian can show that an Evo can be competitive in A-stock.