Building up an SM Evo for autoX
Building up an SM Evo for autoX
Just thought I'd start a thread to discuss some ideas for building up an Evo to SCCA Solo II Street Modified rules, while still keeping the car usable as a daily driver (A/C must stay!)...
(Rules available online: http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Rule..._modified.html)
Things I've already done:
- XEDE
- HKS Cams (264i/272e), Vishnu cam gears
- Buschur 3" turboback exhaust, currently with high-flow cat
- JIC FLT-A2 single adjustable coilover suspension with custom spring rates
- "Proper" autocross alignment
- Walbro 255lph (GSS342) fuel pump
- Autometer electronic boost gauge, mounted in stock radio location
- Radio relocation kit, radio lowered to bottom of center stack
- 17x9 5Zigen FN01R-C wheels with 245/40R17 A3S04 Hoosiers
- Two-piece Baer Eradispeed+ brake rotors with Porterfield R4S brake pads -- at all four corners
- Corner weighting (well, I measured it at 50% cross weight at the NEDiv autocross, so no corner weighting is needed I guess)
- Kartboy exhaust hangers
- Back seat removal
- Trunk trim removal (legal as an update/backdate to Evo RS)
- Drop-in K&N panel air filter
Things I plan in the short term:
- Removal of FMIC sprayer
- Lightweight battery
Things I want to do soon, but haven't planned yet:
- 275 or 285 Hoosier tires, probably requiring new wheels, spacers, and/or fender modifications
- Firmware upgrade of XEDE with launch control
- Front limited slip differential
- Lightweight racing seats with harnesses
Things I think might be worth trying, but don't have a plan for yet:
- New clutch & flywheel
- ARP head studs
- Rear strut brace
- Sway bar upgrades
- Upgraded sway bar links(?)
- Battery relocation to trunk
- Stainless steel clutch and brake lines
- Clutch restrictor removal
- FMIC upgrade
- Replace vacuum hoses with hard piping
- Replacement air intake (CAI, ram air?)
- Grounding kit
- Chassis stiffening(?)
- Oil temp & pressure gauges
Long term things which are either expensive, risky, or I'm not ready for:
- Turbo and header upgrade
- Roll bar or roll cage
Any comments? Are there any "must have" mods that I'm missing here?
(Rules available online: http://www.moutons.org/sccasolo/Rule..._modified.html)
Things I've already done:
- XEDE
- HKS Cams (264i/272e), Vishnu cam gears
- Buschur 3" turboback exhaust, currently with high-flow cat
- JIC FLT-A2 single adjustable coilover suspension with custom spring rates
- "Proper" autocross alignment
- Walbro 255lph (GSS342) fuel pump
- Autometer electronic boost gauge, mounted in stock radio location
- Radio relocation kit, radio lowered to bottom of center stack
- 17x9 5Zigen FN01R-C wheels with 245/40R17 A3S04 Hoosiers
- Two-piece Baer Eradispeed+ brake rotors with Porterfield R4S brake pads -- at all four corners
- Corner weighting (well, I measured it at 50% cross weight at the NEDiv autocross, so no corner weighting is needed I guess)
- Kartboy exhaust hangers
- Back seat removal
- Trunk trim removal (legal as an update/backdate to Evo RS)
- Drop-in K&N panel air filter
Things I plan in the short term:
- Removal of FMIC sprayer
- Lightweight battery
Things I want to do soon, but haven't planned yet:
- 275 or 285 Hoosier tires, probably requiring new wheels, spacers, and/or fender modifications
- Firmware upgrade of XEDE with launch control
- Front limited slip differential
- Lightweight racing seats with harnesses
Things I think might be worth trying, but don't have a plan for yet:
- New clutch & flywheel
- ARP head studs
- Rear strut brace
- Sway bar upgrades
- Upgraded sway bar links(?)
- Battery relocation to trunk
- Stainless steel clutch and brake lines
- Clutch restrictor removal
- FMIC upgrade
- Replace vacuum hoses with hard piping
- Replacement air intake (CAI, ram air?)
- Grounding kit
- Chassis stiffening(?)
- Oil temp & pressure gauges
Long term things which are either expensive, risky, or I'm not ready for:
- Turbo and header upgrade
- Roll bar or roll cage
Any comments? Are there any "must have" mods that I'm missing here?
Last edited by jbrennen; Aug 21, 2004 at 09:19 PM. Reason: Updated to reflect current state of car
You've got all the basics there. Might also include:
- Autox alignment
- Corner-weighting setup if you get those coilovers
- Chassis stiffening - several pieces available from Cusco and others
-Sway-bar links
- Harness (just installed a set of Sparco clip-in's. Very easy to install and quickly remove and work great)
Other than that and SS's items, I think you've got it, equipment-wise. Of course, never hurts to put money into the driver, too.
One other item I had considered was some type of G-Cube and laptop software to analyze runs, mods, etc. When you consider how much time, effort, and money you're putting into this hobby, it just makes sense to quantify the car's (and your) performance.
I'll be competing in ESP (maybe SM) in '04 and am looking to do a number of those mods to my car as well in the next few months, so I know what you're going through. Hello racing! Goodbye money!
Good luck this season!
Joe
http://www.joe250.com
- Autox alignment
- Corner-weighting setup if you get those coilovers
- Chassis stiffening - several pieces available from Cusco and others
-Sway-bar links
- Harness (just installed a set of Sparco clip-in's. Very easy to install and quickly remove and work great)
Other than that and SS's items, I think you've got it, equipment-wise. Of course, never hurts to put money into the driver, too.
One other item I had considered was some type of G-Cube and laptop software to analyze runs, mods, etc. When you consider how much time, effort, and money you're putting into this hobby, it just makes sense to quantify the car's (and your) performance.
I'll be competing in ESP (maybe SM) in '04 and am looking to do a number of those mods to my car as well in the next few months, so I know what you're going through. Hello racing! Goodbye money!
Good luck this season!
Joe
http://www.joe250.com
A turbo upgrade sounds good, but also expensive -- in addition to the cost of the turbo, I'll need to pay for more dyno tuning. Plus, I don't honestly think I'm ready to handle an Evo with 400 WHP. I figure that with the mods I have planned, I should be around 330 WHP -- let me get comfortable with handling that before getting too ambitious in the HP department.
The header upgrade would probably go along with the turbo upgrade. I hear that Buschur doesn't think there's much gain from a header upgrade with the stock turbo.
I should have listed alignment separately. I've tweaked my own alignment a couple of times now in my own garage -- I guess I consider that so basic that it goes without saying.
The corner weighting is something I missed. Good idea.
The harness I'm still debating. One thing I want, at least in the short term, is for the car to look almost completely dealer stock as long as you don't open the hood or trunk (only the aftermarket muffler will be a clue to the car's true nature) -- no roll bar, no rolling the fenders, and no harness unless I can easily (under 5 minutes) install and replace it for each event. If your Sparco clip-in harness is like that, give me the particulars and I'd definitely be interested.
Chassis stiffening sounds like a good idea, but is probably a lower priority right now, except for the rear strut brace.
What should I look for in sway bar links? Stiffness? Lower weight? Adjustability?
The datalogger (G-Cube or similar thing) sounds like a good idea. I know a local autoXer who has such a setup, I'll have to ask if I can try it out before purchasing it.
Putting money into the driver... priceless. I did both phases of the local region's Novice school this year, and it helped me immensely. Like one of the top local drivers told me at the end of the second phase of the Novice school... He told me, "you've forgotten how to drive poorly."
The header upgrade would probably go along with the turbo upgrade. I hear that Buschur doesn't think there's much gain from a header upgrade with the stock turbo.
I should have listed alignment separately. I've tweaked my own alignment a couple of times now in my own garage -- I guess I consider that so basic that it goes without saying.
The corner weighting is something I missed. Good idea.
The harness I'm still debating. One thing I want, at least in the short term, is for the car to look almost completely dealer stock as long as you don't open the hood or trunk (only the aftermarket muffler will be a clue to the car's true nature) -- no roll bar, no rolling the fenders, and no harness unless I can easily (under 5 minutes) install and replace it for each event. If your Sparco clip-in harness is like that, give me the particulars and I'd definitely be interested.
Chassis stiffening sounds like a good idea, but is probably a lower priority right now, except for the rear strut brace.
What should I look for in sway bar links? Stiffness? Lower weight? Adjustability?
The datalogger (G-Cube or similar thing) sounds like a good idea. I know a local autoXer who has such a setup, I'll have to ask if I can try it out before purchasing it.
Putting money into the driver... priceless. I did both phases of the local region's Novice school this year, and it helped me immensely. Like one of the top local drivers told me at the end of the second phase of the Novice school... He told me, "you've forgotten how to drive poorly."
Originally posted by jbrennen
I've tweaked my own alignment a couple of times now in my own garage
I've tweaked my own alignment a couple of times now in my own garage
Evolving Member
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 391
Likes: 1
From: Virginia
A few thoughts on your list:
- Depending on how worried you are about sound, you might want to go with the Buschur SS catback. It's nearly as light as my full-Ti and many seem to think it makes the most power too. Big Al seems to like his Perrin an awful lot too, I wonder how much that weighs?
- I don't see a CAI listed. And I am talking about one that actually breaths cool air, not the hot underhood stuff. A couple that look interesting to me are APS (http://www.airpowersystems.com.au/us...evo-hfa_01.htm) and Monster (http://www.monster-sport.com/evovii/img/ac_duct.jpg).
- I think I would put bigger wheels in the same part of the list as rolled fenders. I don't think you will be able to fit much bigger rubber than you are running right now without some fender work. I would love to know what the practical maximum without messing with the fenders is though.
- The data logger's a nice idea, but unless you have a way of doing back-to-back comparisons under identical or very similar conditions, it will be of limited use. Just recording data at autocrosses themselves won't do much good because the variation in conditions between events is too great. Heck, even the variation in tire temps between runs at the same event is probably enough to screw things up. If you feel like renting a lot for a day of testing though, let me know
- If I was going to do anything to the sway bars, I think I would do both ends. Going to coilovers though, I would be tempted to stick with the stock bars, unless maybe it was to change to something adjustable.
I am looking forward to seeing how this works out for you. Running a full-out SM Evo is a fantasy for me, I want to see how it works out in reality. Vicariously of course
JW
- Depending on how worried you are about sound, you might want to go with the Buschur SS catback. It's nearly as light as my full-Ti and many seem to think it makes the most power too. Big Al seems to like his Perrin an awful lot too, I wonder how much that weighs?
- I don't see a CAI listed. And I am talking about one that actually breaths cool air, not the hot underhood stuff. A couple that look interesting to me are APS (http://www.airpowersystems.com.au/us...evo-hfa_01.htm) and Monster (http://www.monster-sport.com/evovii/img/ac_duct.jpg).
- I think I would put bigger wheels in the same part of the list as rolled fenders. I don't think you will be able to fit much bigger rubber than you are running right now without some fender work. I would love to know what the practical maximum without messing with the fenders is though.
- The data logger's a nice idea, but unless you have a way of doing back-to-back comparisons under identical or very similar conditions, it will be of limited use. Just recording data at autocrosses themselves won't do much good because the variation in conditions between events is too great. Heck, even the variation in tire temps between runs at the same event is probably enough to screw things up. If you feel like renting a lot for a day of testing though, let me know
- If I was going to do anything to the sway bars, I think I would do both ends. Going to coilovers though, I would be tempted to stick with the stock bars, unless maybe it was to change to something adjustable.
I am looking forward to seeing how this works out for you. Running a full-out SM Evo is a fantasy for me, I want to see how it works out in reality. Vicariously of course
JW
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I also have thought about the Buschur exhaust. Do you know of anyone locally running this? I think Mach V Dan used to run it, but switched to a quieter exhaust. I'd like to hear one in person...
I'll look into the CAI options. I'm thinking I'd get more benefit from an FMIC upgrade, but I'm sure a CAI could still be beneficial.
Regarding bigger wheels and tires, I think that 17x9 with 255/40 tires would be doable, but currently not with Hoosiers. Currently Hoosier offers a 245 or a 275. The 275 would almost certainly require fender modification to fit, and the 245 I already have. That's why a wheel/tire upgrade isn't in the immediate plans -- I'm not sure how much improvement I would see just by remounting my 245s onto wider rims.
Sway bar choice will certainly have to wait until after running with coilovers and stock bars. I'm guessing that I can get neutral handling just by playing with the various dampers' rebound strength. At that point, the sway bars are no longer needed for tuning understeer/oversteer, but they still help to decrease body roll. Stock, the body roll seems to be a problem mainly with the rear end of the car. We've all seen pictures of Evos lifting the inside rear tire... Some of us have seen it in person.
I'll look into the CAI options. I'm thinking I'd get more benefit from an FMIC upgrade, but I'm sure a CAI could still be beneficial.
Regarding bigger wheels and tires, I think that 17x9 with 255/40 tires would be doable, but currently not with Hoosiers. Currently Hoosier offers a 245 or a 275. The 275 would almost certainly require fender modification to fit, and the 245 I already have. That's why a wheel/tire upgrade isn't in the immediate plans -- I'm not sure how much improvement I would see just by remounting my 245s onto wider rims.
Sway bar choice will certainly have to wait until after running with coilovers and stock bars. I'm guessing that I can get neutral handling just by playing with the various dampers' rebound strength. At that point, the sway bars are no longer needed for tuning understeer/oversteer, but they still help to decrease body roll. Stock, the body roll seems to be a problem mainly with the rear end of the car. We've all seen pictures of Evos lifting the inside rear tire... Some of us have seen it in person.
About the Buschur exhaust, it is really tempting right now because Buschur is offering the full turboback for $695 through the month of December.
A titanium catback alone I think costs significantly more than that...
A titanium catback alone I think costs significantly more than that...
It does appear that you can go with 8.5" and possibly 9" width rims on the Evo 8. With that, I'm thinking tire width could jump up to 255's and maybe 275's. I'm currently experimenting with that. Here's a couple posts from others on the subject:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...ighlight=wheel
http://geektron.com/evo/pics/9-25-3/index.htm
Regarding data logging, I'd have to agree that it would hard to cull a ton of useful data out, but I do believe it could help. Read these 2 articles from a DSM Solo racer:
http://www.wincom.net/trog/datalogging.html
http://www.wincom.net/trog/tech_nats2002.html
Again, this level of analysis is pretty advanced, but certainly do-able. And though it might be difficult to analyze your runs while on grid, it could be used to test suspension setup, tires, etc. Would you want to go through all the trouble? For the cost of going SM racing, it might be worth it.
jwtodd, do you really think the stock CAI is all that restrictive? I guess if he's going to mod the car this much, it could be a weak spot. Just curious.
Lastly, the Sparco harnesses use eyelet bolts and clips. When you are done with an event, you can very easily un-clip the 4 straps and the system pulls right out of the car. The one in-between the driver's seat and center console is a little tight, but it's do-able. If you've never used a harness, try it! You will feel so much more in-tune with what the car is doing. Less work for the driver as well.
Joe
http://www.joe250.com
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...ighlight=wheel
http://geektron.com/evo/pics/9-25-3/index.htm
Regarding data logging, I'd have to agree that it would hard to cull a ton of useful data out, but I do believe it could help. Read these 2 articles from a DSM Solo racer:
http://www.wincom.net/trog/datalogging.html
http://www.wincom.net/trog/tech_nats2002.html
Again, this level of analysis is pretty advanced, but certainly do-able. And though it might be difficult to analyze your runs while on grid, it could be used to test suspension setup, tires, etc. Would you want to go through all the trouble? For the cost of going SM racing, it might be worth it.
jwtodd, do you really think the stock CAI is all that restrictive? I guess if he's going to mod the car this much, it could be a weak spot. Just curious.
Lastly, the Sparco harnesses use eyelet bolts and clips. When you are done with an event, you can very easily un-clip the 4 straps and the system pulls right out of the car. The one in-between the driver's seat and center console is a little tight, but it's do-able. If you've never used a harness, try it! You will feel so much more in-tune with what the car is doing. Less work for the driver as well.
Joe
http://www.joe250.com
Originally posted by jbrennen
Sway bar choice will certainly have to wait until after running with coilovers and stock bars. I'm guessing that I can get neutral handling just by playing with the various dampers' rebound strength. At that point, the sway bars are no longer needed for tuning understeer/oversteer, but they still help to decrease body roll. Stock, the body roll seems to be a problem mainly with the rear end of the car. We've all seen pictures of Evos lifting the inside rear tire... Some of us have seen it in person.
Sway bar choice will certainly have to wait until after running with coilovers and stock bars. I'm guessing that I can get neutral handling just by playing with the various dampers' rebound strength. At that point, the sway bars are no longer needed for tuning understeer/oversteer, but they still help to decrease body roll. Stock, the body roll seems to be a problem mainly with the rear end of the car. We've all seen pictures of Evos lifting the inside rear tire... Some of us have seen it in person.
Someone help.And if anyone thinks the stock Evo doesn't have a lot of body roll...
This is me at Marina last month. Just another lazy Sunday afternoon
Joe
http://www.joe250.com
Originally posted by Joe250
Doesn't the inside wheel pick up because of not enough body roll (too much rear sway bar)? I'm trying to think this one through and my mind is getting muddled. Someone help.
Doesn't the inside wheel pick up because of not enough body roll (too much rear sway bar)? I'm trying to think this one through and my mind is getting muddled.
Someone help.And I would see if I could contact WRC4ever from this board. He has an SM Evo7 and has also raced his friend's M Coupe in SM, usually getting 1st or 2nd place, so he has a good idea of what to do in that class.
