First off I would like to thank you guys. This has been a great resource for me learning how I should start with my BSP build.

I'll be buying my 2006 Evo MR in a few days. It already has some history being the Pat Washburn/Chris Deutsch STU car.


I have a few question regarding the suspension setup (sorry for my lack of experience in prepping cars, I have spent my 4 years autocrossing in stock class).

I have read and understand that the base spring rates of around 600/800 are a starting point. However I am curious of how people keep the rear inside tire planted with a front weight transfer bias? I'm sure most people probably have their car corner weighed to around 50/50? Do you use a front bar to transition the grip more rear bias? (it seems like a lot of people run stock bars). Or do you use a lot of rear compression to help resist roll?

Would a more even spring rate setup with less rear camber keep the rear wheel down while still allowing for the same rotation, or would that give up maximum grip on the front tires?

As far as lowering, in these cars, how far can you go without compromising suspension geometry?

I read about one person not being able to run longer springs. Is the rears for the longer springs to allow more suspension travel to keep the wheels on the ground?

Being that I am new to setting up suspension, what would be an ideal starting length spring?

I noticed a lot of people talk about Ohlins as being one of the best options. IS there a build quality reason? I would assume that the right valving would allow any strut the ability to work well with high spring rates? Is the the experience of the valvers? Or the design?

I was planning on Zzyzx myself, do to trying to keep a somewhat lower budget when possible. (and maybe they might even continue to sponsor the car ). Are there any reasons that these wouldn't be a top notch competitive strut?



Sorry for all the questions (I'm sure there will be more), but I just want to make sure I know as much when I jump in to limit how much trial and error I need to endure.


Thanks,
-Mike Brausen

 

are you converting the nice stu car to bsp?

I would definitely talk to Mark Berry (he's on here). he converted his BSP monster VIII to an FP monster this year.

 

A lot of the STU parts were taken off of it before I bought it. I figured I would have to replace some of it anyways. I kept all the hard bushings and the exhaust (I understand it was dynoed around 270hp at the wheels without boost change). It already has longer wheel studs so now some 18's are in order

The rest is mostly stock now.

 

I and others in BSP have said, basically: screw the roll center, with these spring rates the car won't move enough to matter. I lowered mine as far as I could and still have fender clearance. Made a big improvement in handling.

I have 8" springs in the rear and they are almost too long. I had to pre-compress them a little to get them out of the way of the suspension arm. In the front, I use 6" springs with a 3" assist spring that's fully collapsed at rest. This gives better droop than a single 7" spring would, reducing the possibility of wheel lift. I'm going to switch to the same setup in the rear, since currently my inside rear wheel lifts in steady state cornering.

They are (or were) reportedly a top-notch competitive strut, and I ordered mine back in April, but they are now unobtainable, at least to me. Steve Sulatycki has stopped making them, from what I heard. I'm looking into getting a used set. They're based on the Koni 86xx series shocks, which are perfectly well suited for auto-cross, and re-valvable if you change your setup. Let me know if he tells you he's going to make another batch.

Mike

 

If Chris sold the car without them, maybe he still has them available? Send him a PM.

 

you don't. upgrade the rear diff and you don't have to worry about lifting the inside rear wheel.

 

What would a set be worth to you? I've had lots of PMs about them so I may put them on eBay. I have about $3200 into mine (even as a sponsored car) but they have 2 full seasons on them so will likely need to be re-valved soon.

 

The TRE rebuild takes care of the traction issues?

Where do I find this TRE website?

 

http://www.teamrip.com/Evolution.html

 

So to build an BSP car.


Tune and boost
Fuel Pump (Mandatory?)
Injectors (Mandatory?)
Exhaust

Coil overs with stolen Barry spring rates and valving
18x9.5 wheels with 285's
TRE diff rebuild
Little bit a weight reduction


That about it to building a BSP car?

 

There's a bit more than meets the eye to building a "fast" one. But those are some of the bigger items.

The 2 Showcase cars do very well and have established themselves as the "cars" to beat. They also have very good drivers to boot who have both in the sport for a long time (Tom Berry & Aaron Miller, specifically). Andy Lieber, who built those cars, won SM in Jarrod Hoops evo this year.

Mine is the only one, to my knowledge, which is "right there" without the showcase suspension setup (Edit: Kevin Lau's car is fast too!). All 3 of the evos at the top of BSP have some very different things in them, but still achieve a similar result. I'm not going into details as that would, IMO, give away any advantage I may gain for next year.

I will say a BSP evo is a wonderfully fun car to drive. The launch is awesome, corner exits rock. The rain is fun. They simply kick ***. Also fun locally since you can play in SM too.

 

that'll get you started.

 

Fuel Pump - not mandatory on a IX. Probably mandatory on an VIII. . .

Injectors - not mandatory unless you are running E-85. . .

Don't forget sway bar(s). . .

And probably some wheel spacers and extended studs in the front . . .

 

No, go ahead, keep on talking. I don't mind. It's ok, i don't think there's anything left for us to do on Tom's car so you're safe.

 

You hit the nail on the head! A nationally competitive BSP setup can still be a great car to drive on the street. Comfortable, somewhat quiet on the inside, fast, great handling. I put tens of thousands of miles on my old '04 with a modified BSP/mild SM setup on it and LOVED every minute of it.

My '06, however, I HATE driving on the streets. The farther I've taken it into SM territory, the less capable of being called a "daily driver" it has become. . .

I put 60K miles on the silver car in 3 years, and only 5k miles on the red car in 2 years. . .