Where were you a month ago when I bought those wheels & spacers? Great setup, by the way. Looks good, too.

 

Engine mounts may be replaced, but must attach in the factory
location(s) without additional modification or changes. Engine position
may not be changed. The volume of metal in a replacement
mount may not be increased relative to the volume of metal found
in a stock mount for the particular application. Solid metal mounts
are specifically prohibited. Any non-metallic inserts may be used.
All components between the engine and the mounting structure are
considered to be part of the motor mount assembly and therefore
comprise the motor mount.

Transmission mounts may be replaced, but must attach in the factory
location(s) without additional modification or changes. Transmission
position may not be changed. The amount of metal in a replacement
mount may not be increased relative to the amount of metal found in
a standard mount for the particular application. Solid metal mounts
are specifically prohibited.

So this was copied from the final draft of the 2012 rules. My question is, can I replace my mounts with aftermarket pieces that have the bodies made of aluminum, and the rubber replaced with poly etc.
Thanks

 

Yes, you can replace mounts with aftermarket pieces as long as it bolts in the exact same place, doesn't move the engine, and has a non-metallic insert. The only thing I am not 100% sure on is for instance a Blox front motor mount where the size of the mount's ring portion is smaller than stock. However, I doubt anyone would protest something like that, the rule is to prohibit doing things like the buschur front member which has a 100% solid metal mount, or doing a metal insert.

 

Subscribed! I am racing in STU this year only because it has a better PAX then BS and I'm on street tires. The only thing putting me in STU is a turbo back exhaust, the rest of the car is stock or, in some cases, below stock. I won't be nearly as competitive as the rest of you guys but I will still partisipate in the discussion.

My car is mainly a DD, but I would like to do a few things to make it more competitive. Next for me is 245/40ZR17 Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's (I know the R-S3's are better but I want something that will last a little longer). My current tires are made in China Nankung's that the previous owner instaled. After that I would like to do the rear diff restack and get a set of Bilstein HD's with Swift springs to replace my stock 80,000 mile setup.

 

Intake and HFC put you in STU too =).

 

Busted! Haha!

 

Having been the only car at nationals to run on RS3's and progressively get slower every run, I would hate for someone to repeat my same mistake. With that said, I know the V12 are cheaper than the RS3's and I actually ran them on my Volvo 850-R last year, was not happy with them the few times I fun runned my wagon.

I guess what I'm saying is I wouldn't buy either of the Kooks, and would just stick with the dunlops.

 

A lot of people end up in STU for the same reasons. My STU Evo is completely stock except for wheels, tires, and airbox delete and I was plenty competitive last year. It really depends more on who else is competing in STU locally and just how competitive you want to be. Also, don't forget that the driver is almost always a bigger factor than all of your modifications combined.

I would suggest investing in Star Specs. They last longer than RS3s and perform similarly.

Your next priority should be a better alignment. You can get almost 2 degrees of camber from the stock setup by flipping the camber bolt. Just don't forget to reset your toe to zero, because changing the camber also changes the toe. This mod is free (or the cost of an alignment) but it's going to make a very noticeable improvement in your times and how the car handles.

The rear diff rearrangement and Bilsten HD + Swift combo are both solid choices for your upgrade path. Is this your first year racing? If so, I wouldn't make those upgrades a priority until you get some more seat time.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

 

^^^ this. If I was starting from scratch I would do (in order): 17x9s with Dunlops, alignment with maxed out factory camber, and the rear diff mod, and go from there.

I was going to run last year with just suspension + wheels and tires until I found out the car was making 189 whp and decided to do some power mods too

 

My number one priority with this car is DD and comforable drivability. Autox comes second. I have owned a 1g DSM for the past 10 years and that car has slowly lost all comforts and moved more and more towards being a track only car. I don't want to do the same thing with this car.

I have read some really good things about the V12's, not necessarily in regards to autox, but just good performance and ratings overall. Plus it sure is hard to beat the price, especially since they have an $80 manufacturer rebate right now.

I will keep reading up on the star specs but everyone here seems to love the RS3's over the Star Specs. My biggest concern, besides the price, is how long will that last DDing and Autoxing?

The alignment sounds great but with this being a primarily DD car I don't want to kill my tires with all that negative camber. Sure the Star Specs last longer then the R-S3's, but how about the v12's? I have already eliminated the R-S3's based on their short life span.

This is my second year AutoXing. I got stared near the end of last season. I was racing my '91 Eclipse prior to picking up this Evo. I'm planning on turning the DSM into and drag only car and seeing how close I can get to the 14b record. That leaves the Evo as my daily driver during the week and autox toy on the weekends.



My car is lacking a lot of power too. I just bought it barely two weeks ago. I checked the shaft play, which was good, and fixed a couple of boost leaks but even after that we did a third gear pull using Vortigo's cable and on virtual dyno it was showing 207 hp. I ordered evoscan, cable, and a wideband and I plan on diving into it before my next autox event in June. It was supposedly "tuned" by the pervious owner. However judging by the rest of his handwork, I'm not expecting much. I'm also going to get a few basic things like new spark plugs and fuel filter.

Thanks for all the advice and tips so far guys! I really appreciate it!

 

On the RS3 vs Star Spec debate, Ive heard some mention the RS3s seem to be better for cars running in hit environs. That may be something to consider due to where & when one is racing.

(note: I'm not speaking from experience with SS's, just hearsay)

 

I have heard the same thing and being that I am in El Paso, Texas and will be racing in 100+ weather for several months this summer, I think we qualify as a HOT environment, lol. I don't think that anyone here is still using the Star Specs (correct me if I am wrong Vortigo). It sure seems like all the street tire guys have gone to R-S3's. I want something that will last longer which is why I am currently considering the v12's.

 

After seeing your location, I kind of had you in mind when making that post. I've been happy with the RS3s thus far, but they're the only tires I've raced this car on, so I'm not speaking from a proper comparison standpoint.

 

How many miles a year do you drive?

 

That's hard to say.

Before I bought the Evo I was DDing three vehicles, so its hard to say how many miles I drove between the three of them. I just sold my R6 and am trying to sell the Avalanche to pay for the Evo, and the DSM will now be rarely driven on the street.

I live like 7 miles from work so commuting back and forth isn't much. We do like to go out of town and take mini road trips every month or two.