So what are your winter mods ?

[bfitz]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

Fair, is the car loose in steady state? If not, more camber won't help, and like you said, it'll hurt forward traction.

Brian

P.S. You don't want to know where my hands were...

[Tommy R]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

So is it general consensus that the RX8 can't be STU competitive?

[Hunter]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

No SS open pics either

[bfitz]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

So is it general consensus that the RX8 can't be STU competitive?

I disagree strongly with that. Sipe was way off the pace, but he was chasing his tail. Well sorted, I think it has a good shot except at ProSolo. It's the lightest of the competitive cars and can fit the largest tire.

Brian

[Tommy R]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

Oh, and to be clear, I have no idea how competitive the RX8 is, nor any pre-conceived notions. I just know McCall's wanting to sell his and I don't personally know of many others being prepped. But, seeing Jason and MeL selling theirs after Nats made me wonder.... I hope they become competitive. It's a car I'll consider one of these days.

Tommy

[hancheyb]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

Oh, and to be clear, I have no idea how competitive the RX8 is, nor any pre-conceived notions. I just know McCall's wanting to sell his and I don't personally know of many others being prepped. But, seeing Jason and MeL selling theirs after Nats made me wonder.... I hope they become competitive. It's a car I'll consider one of these days.

Tommy

Sipe and his codriver have beat the snot out of everyone at past events. Like Fitz said, he was chasing his tail revalving the shocks twice at Nationals. Hard to know what works when you do that. He had it working well in May and he kept messing with it. He'll be back and he'll be fast.

West Course was very unfriendly to RX-8s. You had to have some pull out of turns. East, they should have cleaned up. There's no way a STI should have been fastest on the East. BMW and Mazda drivers didn't get it done. Just my opinion. Maybe if we had run later in the day, the course would have had more grip and been more BMW friendly as evidenced by Amy's fast runs. East rewarded for being smooth which Amy does really well.

[McCall]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

Oh, and to be clear, I have no idea how competitive the RX8 is, nor any pre-conceived notions. I just know McCall's wanting to sell his and I don't personally know of many others being prepped. But, seeing Jason and MeL selling theirs after Nats made me wonder.... I hope they become competitive. It's a car I'll consider one of these days.

Tommy

My opinion on the RX8 is that your would have to prep it to the max (i.e. not streetable/daily driveable anymore) and even then it would be course dependant on whether you had a chance or not. I've already learned that no A/C and a car in Texas is no bueno. Also, forget about it ever being good at Pros.

All that being said, we're getting an Evo

[hancheyb]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

My opinion on the RX8 is that your would have to prep it to the max (i.e. not streetable/daily driveable anymore)

By 2008, you will have to do that to every STU car if you want to win Nationals. But, if you just want to win regionally and trophy at Nationals, any of the cars in the class don't have to go to that level of prep.

[McCall]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

By 2008, you will have to do that to every STU car if you want to win Nationals. But, if you just want to win regionally and trophy at Nationals, any of the cars in the class don't have to go to that level of prep.

I've heard this argument from you before and I still don't understand it completely. For example, what more does Paul need to do to his car to get it to this magic "2008" level? And please don't say A/C because no one with any common sense pulls the A/C out of a $30k car in Texas. If your argument starts and ends at A/C then I will agree with you and we can drop this.

The only other thing I can see is seats and that's 30lbs maybe. Both that and having A/C can be overcome by a great drive though IMHO.

With regards to a STi or an Evo in STU for "2008", I do believe the cars and class will be faster but not because they have become unstreetable. They will be faster because people will have a better tuned set-ups and they will have more seat time with those set-ups.

[hancheyb]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

No, I'm done. Rest assured there's more to it than A/C and seats.

[bfitz]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

A believe a championship STU STEVO can remain streetable, but it won't come without a lot of hassle. Yes, A/C has to stay, and I agree that its not too heavy to overcome. The seats should be changed, but there are streetable options that won't give up any weight. Changing between 100 and 93 octane gas will be a PITA, and if the STEVO's react anything like my ESP DSM did, that won't be optional. The rest includes uncomfortably stiff springs and shocks, hard bushings, and an exhaust that will be loud enough you'll want to remove/reinstall a portion of it at the event.

Then again, the RX-8 may just prove to be too fast at Solo for the STEVO's to keep up. Given the weight and tire restrictions, it seems like the favorite to me.

Brian

[Fair!]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

My opinions on STU...

Given the power (and potentially boosted power) levels of the AWD Turbos in STU, and slippery surface (HPT) advantages of AWD, I do not see another car that will stay with the boost buggies on courses that maximize traction and horsepower - anything with tight turnarounds or straights. We will likely see them continue to dominate ProSolos (when prepped cars w/ fast drivers show up) and on at least one course at Nationals.

You can almost get the AWDs as light as an M3 (no one has come close to maxing out the weight of an AWD car yet - not even close! those heavy brakes have gotta go, as do factory seats) - I'd say 100 pounds separates the maxed out M3 and stEVOru. With the usable tire limit so close (245mm vs 255mm) I'd go for the 350+ whp car over the 240 whp car any day (those are the future power levels I think we will see in the stEVOru and M3, neither of which have been pushed to the limits of rules - or in the case of the turbos, the limits of "fuel").

The RX8 can get light with STU rules - 2675 lbs is significantly less than the others in the class - and the 275mm tire could also play a part. But power will never exceed 200 whp, and torque (i.e. usable hp range, with stock gearing) is always going to be a hindrance. Course dependant they could do well, but doubtful at a Pro or somewhere like Naitonals, where they have 2 courses different enough to exploit the weakness of the Rotary engine. I don't see any consistent/fast drivers in maxed-out RX8 efforts next year; Big gamble.

Safe money is on STi and EVO... just please don't let it be Branden again!

Your results may vary.

[hancheyb]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

A believe a championship STU STEVO can remain streetable, but it won't come without a lot of hassle. Yes, A/C has to stay, and I agree that its not too heavy to overcome. The seats should be changed, but there are streetable options that won't give up any weight. Changing between 100 and 93 octane gas will be a PITA, and if the STEVO's react anything like my ESP DSM did, that won't be optional. The rest includes uncomfortably stiff springs and shocks, hard bushings, and an exhaust that will be loud enough you'll want to remove/reinstall a portion of it at the event.

Then again, the RX-8 may just prove to be too fast at Solo for the STEVO's to keep up. Given the weight and tire restrictions, it seems like the favorite to me.

Brian

All of which, IMO, makes it able to drive on the street, but not streetable.

[McCall]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

All of which, IMO, makes it able to drive on the street, but not streetable.

You know B we really aren't that far apart on our opinions. The only really difference is your idea of what is streetable vs. mine and that's understandable. You didn't daily drive crappy lowered cammed 4th gen f-bodies or a lifted knobby tired '85 CJ7 for years like we did. For a long time that's all we had! For example, Paul's car as well as your old M3 rides just fine to me. Maybe it's the extra padding I have in the ass that helps

Fair, I agree with your assessment of the RX8. You can't fix WEAKNUT. That car will never have any more than 200hp regardless of any grey area STU mojo you put on it.

[hancheyb]

Re: So what are your winter mods ?

You know B we really aren't that far apart on our opinions. The only really difference is your idea of what is streetable vs. mine and that's understandable. You didn't daily drive crappy lowered cammed 4th gen f-bodies or a lifted knobby tired '85 CJ7 for years like we did. For a long time that's all we had! For example, Paul's car as well as your old M3 rides just fine to me. Maybe it's the extra padding I have in the ass that helps

Right, right.