Build thread: Jack of all trades

[Sky Render]

I used to live 5 minutes from Mid-Ohio. The company I worked for out there sponsored the track, and the PR department--once they found out I was a gearhead--threw free tickets and stuff at me every week. I got a free "hot lap" with the head driving instructor there. And that's when I lost interest in drag racing and got into corner carving.

There's a track night next week at Pitt Race that I'm going to. You should ditch work and come out.

TSW are on the heavy end of the rotary forged spectrum I bet...My 18x11 Forgestar CF5's are lighter than my 18x10.5 TSW Nurburgrings. I don't have numbers...but the Forgestar weighs less when you pick it up.

The TSW Nurburgring 18x8s I use for street tires are 18 pounds each.

 

[Strengthrehab]

I used to live 5 minutes from Mid-Ohio. The company I worked for out there sponsored the track, and the PR department--once they found out I was a gearhead--threw free tickets and stuff at me every week. I got a free "hot lap" with the head driving instructor there. And that's when I lost interest in drag racing and got into corner carving.

There's a track night next week at Pitt Race that I'm going to. You should ditch work and come out.



The TSW Nurburgring 18x8s I use for street tires are 18 pounds each.

I live 5 mins from there now. What company did you work for? I work for the local hospital in Mansfield.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

 

[Sky Render]

I used to be an engineer for Sprint/Embarq/CenturyLink.

 

[SlowJim]

Sounds like a pretty epic gig. I would love to get out to Pitt Race but unfortunately I am on a tight budget for the rest of the year.

Here are the weights TSW lists for 18" rotary forged wheels that fit our cars:

Bathurst
18x9.5 21.05lbs

Interlagos
18x9.5 19.9

Nurburgring
18x9.5 21.05

Forgestar F14 18x10 as weighed by Vorshlag is 20.0. So yes my SVE Drifts are heavier at 24lbs each but it's still lighter than stock, and my wife would murder me if I spend over $1k on a set of rims, especially now that I have three sets.

 

[CobraRed]

24lbs is significantly less than stock if we're talking 19x9 track pack wheels. They're a solid 31.5lbs or so.

 

[SlowJim]

Update, got my new suspension installed. If you recall, I stupidly stripped all 8 strut tower bolts and so I needed to have the front strut/spring assembly removed anyways. So I decided to do a little upgrade while my local shop installed all new hardware on my Maximum Motorsports camber plates. I found a killer deal on GT500 front Bilsteins (same Vorshlag uses on their StreetPro kit) and I should basically break even once I sell my Eibach Pro-kit and the standard front Bilsteins. Now the front sits basically level with the rear, which looks a little odd to me. Since the rear springs are so much stiffer I set my rear Whiteline bar to full loose, which is still a little stiffer than stock. Initial impressions are... not much change in ride comfort. Haven't had a chance to track these yet, unfortunately - but I did get an additional .5 degrees of camber in front which should help. With the Eibachs I was maxed out at -2.35 and now I am maxed at 2.68. I had them dial in a little toe out and requested stock caster.

OLD: Eibach Pro-kit/standard Bilsteins

NEW: Maximum Motorsports/GT500 Bilsteins

Unfortunately I did not get them installed in time for the Goodguys autocross I was hoping to compete in. However it looks like pro drivers have taken over the "All American Late Models" class which is supposed to be for amateur drivers so I wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell anyways. Oh well

I got a killer deal on a used set of black 18x9.5 Enkei PF01's which I will be putting my Goodyear F1 Supercars on as street tires, since the NT05's are pretty sketchy in the rain. They will be my "race tire".

 

[CobraRed]

That sucks about the strut nuts, happens more than you think.
I think my KW's say 12-15ftlbs max.

 

[SlowJim]

Yea I made the rookie mistake of using an impact gun on them. Derrrrrrrr

 

[SlowJim]

Update, got the PF01's mounted up with my Goodyears, these will be my daily driving tire since they are much better in the rain than my NT05's. Not too worried about the 220tw rating since my commute to work is about 7-8 minutes. Need to order some hubcentric rings

Any danger running without center caps?

 

[Sky Render]

Might be easier to get water and debris in the hubs without the center caps. Personally, I'd track a set down, because I'm OCD about my car's looks.

 

[Norm Peterson]

Any danger running without center caps?

You will want to remove them before you take to the track for anything above a few paced parade laps. Else heat from your brakes will remove them for you and a following car may then "redesign" them into something with a much thinner shape.


Norm

 

[CobraRed]

I dont run front center caps because my Rota's arent deep enough in the center for a cap to fit over the dust boot.

I run them in the rear just to match the flat black of the front dust boots. No harm caused.

Leave them off at the track either way.

 

[SlowJim]

I have a separate set of wheels I use for the track. Thanks guys

 

[TGR96]

I'm diging those PF01s on your car!

 

[SlowJim]

Thank you sir

 

[SlowJim]

Bilsteins/Eibach suspension FS here: http://bossmustangsonline.com/index.php?topic=9901.msg143470#msg143470

 

[46Tbird]

It is a base 2011 GT with Brembos and 3.73's,

Our cars are twins. Mine is also a PW 3.73 base Brembo GT, though mine is a 2012. Glad to see you enjoying yours!

I can attest to the ridiculous stock ride height the 55D cars have!

I fixed all that with Sportlines, Tokico D-specs, and some really heavy cast Shelby wheels.

Good luck with your ride, I'll be watching for updates!

 

[SlowJim]

Thanks, nice looking car!

 

[SlowJim]

Well, I think the recent changes to the car helped quite a bit. In my little local autox, when I last ran in May I got beat by:
-13 Mustang
-08 Mazdaspeed3
-05 Mustang
-Dodge Neon
-13 VW GTI
-BMW 328i
-15 Fiesta ST

This time, I placed 2nd behind a stripped C4 vette. There is a F150 Lightning I usually have trouble keeping up with, and I beat him by 2 seconds! The car still understeers like a pig and quick transitions aren't very quick though. I think I need more toe out or a smaller steering wheel because I feel like I have to crank the wheel too much which makes it really challenging on such a small course (it's a go kart track). Also any throttle past about 50% still results in roasting the rear tires, even with 295's.

I think the MM springs and Lund tune did the trick though. I was considering a Boss intake but at this point I'm really happy with the power and don't want to lose torque. I may do a diff upgrade at some point but I really don't feel the need to do any further upgrades beyond that.

 

[CobraRed]

Boss intake for auto-x? I'm no auto-xerpt, but I imagine keeping the car constantly in a 6k-7400rpm range where your gains are would be difficult.