Got the car out at LRP yesterday and today for an initial shakedown. Wow. Going to the current setup from Ohlins R&T coilovers, a bolt-in roll bar, all OEM rubber bushings/mounts, and stock calipers/rotors was an even bigger change than I had expected. It's hard to find adequate words, but it feels like everything is multiplied by 10. I may put together some more profound thoughts on the comparison later on, but I'll start with the big positives and negatives. I fixate on identifying and fixing what's wrong vs. just enjoying what's right so this will seem skewed to the negative. All in all it was a phenomenal weekend.
Positives:
- The suspension is magical. It soaks up curbing/bumps better than my Ohlins ever did yet there's almost no body roll. We ended up making a few small tweaks Friday morning but left it for the afternoon and all of today. We'll need to make more changes when I move to a better tire but (liked I'd been concerned about in the other thread) it does not appear this will require as much trial and error as I'd initially expected.
-The brakes. With my stock calipers/rotors I'd brake between the 5 and 6 marker coming into 1 & 2 (for those that know LRP). And deal with fade at the end of longer sessions even after I stopped over-braking. Now running the APs with Pagid RSL-29s and brake cooling ducts there's absolutely zero fade. I went pretty easy on the brakes (especially since I've still got street ABS) and was comfortably braking around the 4. I can/will push that more next weekend.
-The cooling. It was high 80s (if not low 90s) and sunny. I had no issues all weekend with engine/coolant temps or the power steering/DCT overheating.
Negatives:
-This car really needs a tune and coding. Nothing has been done since we gutted it. I have more warnings than I can keep track of... but not SES light.
-The DCT. My DCT is in a weird mode where (in manual) it automatically shifts from 1-2 around 3k, does not want to downshift at high RPMs, and won't show the 6th bar with DSC off. This does not appear to be heat related or a mechanical issue since the DCT is shifting flawlessly and for around 60 seconds after we clear the codes will not exhibit this behavior. We will know Monday but I suspect it's a bad wheel speed sensor. Here's my thinking (would love any other ideas here)... the DSC is always off (I normally turn it off to drive and turn the car off with it off so didn't think about it until I started writing this. But in retrospect it was actually on when the car turned on then turned off when the other warnings popped up, which makes me think there's something causing that, and the little brake picture warning keeps popping up (which I'd been assuming was only related to all the brake modifications)). These two things along with the weird 1-2 shift were exactly what happened last time I had a wheel speed sensor go bad.
Lack of data and video. I need to invest in good data logging/video system. My Aim Solo died Friday and I forgot to charge it overnight so today was a flop w/r/t timing. Given the importance of data/video for coaching I need a good setup here.
Tires. I ran R888s left over from lest year (we were in a pinch and couldn't get NT01s in time) and they were clearly a limiting factor. The car is way too easy (and fun) to slide around with these on. I think I'll move to Toyo RRs next before stepping up to slicks. I'd like to stick with something a little more forgiving (and cheaper) for a bit longer. Any tire suggestions?
And a few pictures.
