Autocross Adventure w/ the 1LE

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by nilfinite

Haven't gotten my wheels yet! Due to the SCCA rules, I can't use the Z/28 OE wheels :( Or else I would buy those in a heartbeat.

I must have the same width as the 1LE stock wheels. Can only go down 1" in wheel diameter and push the offset out by 7mm.

So the optimal specs are:
Front: 19x10 ET16
Rear: 19x11 ET36

I'm not baller enough to buy Forgelines or else I'd get those by now. Still looking for a good solution. Would welcome recommendations. Considering anything flow-formed or forged!

Checking on a few things...

[nilfinite]

Looking at the results that were posted from last weekend's event. The two M3 drivers that I let drive my Camaro (because the M3 they were co-driving broke down before the last run) were 2.8 and 2.2 seconds slower in my Camaro vs their M3.

Granted it was their first time in the car but they knew the course by heart. Co-driving meant they got to sit in each others runs and see the course multiple times.

Pretty confident the right wheels, tires and more alignment tweaking will net me 1.5-2 seconds. Leaving a buffer since it was the weren't familiar with the car.

[nilfinite]

Here is a little bit of car competitive analysis in FS: http://www.solomatters.com/class_rep...eet_comparison

Basically the M3 is easier to drive. Better brakes (go ahead and use ABS), narrower so slaloms are simpler.

Camaro is the better steady-state car. Don't throw it around and jam on the brakes. It has more overall grip so enjoy driving it in the sweepers.

Overall though, you can set similar times with each other. The M3 has an advantage on the tighter courses. The 1LE has an advantages on faster courses w/ sweepers.

[nilfinite]

A little more car competitive analysis. The competitive "top cars" in FS has changed a lot these past couple of years.

2014:
1st: Camaro Gen5 1LE
2nd: M3 E46 ('01-'06)
3rd: Mustang Gen5 ('05-'14)

2015:
1st: M3 E92 ('08-'12)
2nd: M3 E46 ('01-'06)
3rd: Mustang Gen6 ('15-Current)

2016: Top Contenders
Camaro Gen6 ('16-Current)
Camaro Gen5 1LE
Mustang Gen6 ('15-Current)
M3 E92 ('08-'12)

At the last Championship Tour event in Crows Landing, Mark Scroggs ('15 Champ in GS) piloted a V6 Mustang and won. He was closely followed by Ryan Otis in a Gen6 Camaro SS. To show how important driver mod is: Mark Scroggs co-drove with Des Toups (also a very good driver). Mark was on average 2.2 seconds faster.

Since the David Corsaro won in 2014 with a 1LE, M3s and Mustangs have been getting in the way. He sold his 1LE for a Z/28 so he's busy prepping that car. Here are some things I'm going to do (David-approved) to better prep the 1LE.

1. Front Sway Bar Bushings
It's very common for RWD drivers to swap our their Rear Sway Bar. David tried doing that as well. Afterwards, he instead suggests to keep the rear sway bar and to replace the bushings on the front sway bar. That should keep the bushings from binding and help the Camaro during the low speed turns. Agreed after a couple of events that low speed turns + brakes are easily the Camaro's greatest weakness. Can't impact the weight of the car so suspension mods will have to do. Have been reaching out to bushing manufacturers to make Poly or Delrin sway bar bushings. I think I've finally sourced some!

2. Better Tire Selection
This is also something that David couldn't test while he owned his 1LE. He tested the RE-71R in 275/35/19 and 285/35/19. Recommended the 275 of the two. Better at transitions and forward grip. Big factor is that 275 has the lower diameter. In fact the 275 has 10" tread width and 285 has 10.1" tread width. The 305/30/19 coming out is easily going to be the tire to get. 26.2" diameter. RE-71R tires always run wide.

3. Alignment
Going to go crazy tweaking toe on my car. Maybe a little toe out in the front. How much toe in on the rear is best. etc.

4. Brake Pads
I'm least excited about this one. Not sure there is much we can do here with the weight of the car.

Pretty excited to continue developing the 1LE.

[nilfinite]

Got conflicting advice on the front sway bar bushing. Going to hold off on changing the stock rubber bushings with poly bushings.

That makes things easier. Just left with wheel, tire and alignment changes.

[nilfinite]

Changed my plans for next weekend. Going to make it an Autocross weekend instead of heading up to Thunderhill on Saturday. Going to adjust my alignment to see how toe affects the rear.

[nilfinite]

Was looking into the Koni Yellow struts and shocks. Gotta keep the stock springs to stay legal in the street class.

Thinking about getting Koni's but re-valved with more damping. The yellows are normally made for street + track. I'd like them to revalved for autocross. Revalving costs ~$150 per corner.

Haven't seen any reviews yet on Camaro5 about Koni Yellows in general. Going to get more driver mod in and figure out if I need more damping than the 1LE shocks.

[nilfinite]

Nevermind on the Koni Yellow shocks. Based on this thread, Koni yellows are out of the picture since they change ride height even with the stock springs. You could use shims to fix the ride height... but why bother.

Originally Posted by retro

...Bad news: They don't tell you in the specs that regardless of the springs you use, they will lower you 1", including stock springs (looks and feels great though). Also, oversize tires may be a problem in the front because the clearance to the strut is VERY small...

[nilfinite]

Autocrossed this weekend @ Marina. With the SCCA and a local PCA club. Enjoyed PCA 400% more than SCCA. 4 runs with the SCCA vs 11 runs with the PCA.

Two lessons learned.

1. While it was impossible to get the car to oversteer at Crows Landing & San Joaquin, it was ridiculously easy to oversteer @ Marina. Surface temperature makes a big difference in grip for the RS3 tires.
2. Decreasing tire radius w/ 305/30/19 is going to make a significant difference. Tried downshifting to 1st gear today since the ending half of the course never got above 50mph. It made a ridiculous difference in acceleration. Holy crap. Oversteer on command. Hit ridiculous speeds not possible before while in 2nd gear. Need to practice the 2nd to 1st heel toe downshift! Worth it.

[JRL1LE]

Originally Posted by nilfinite

Autocrossed this weekend @ Marina. With the SCCA and a local PCA club. Enjoyed PCA 400% more than SCCA. 4 runs with the SCCA vs 11 runs with the PCA.

Two lessons learned.

1. While it was impossible to get the car to oversteer at Crows Landing & San Joaquin, it was ridiculously each to oversteer @ Marina. Surface temperature makes a big difference in grip for the RS3 tires.
2. Decreasing tire radius w/ 305/30/19 is going to make a significant difference. Tried downshifting to 1st gear today since the ending half of the course never got above 50mph. It made a ridiculous difference in acceleration. Holy crap. Oversteer on command. Hit ridiculous speeds not possible before while in 2nd gear. Need to practice the 2nd to 1st heel toe downshift! Worth it.

I always find Marina to be slippery. Colder temps and not very grippy concrete. I look forward to seeing you in August at an event . Look like you're having a great time!

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by JRL1LE

I always find Marina to be slippery. Colder temps and not very grippy concrete. I look forward to seeing you in August at an event . Look like you're having a great time!

Indeed! After this weekend learned I need to go to more events with 6+ runs. 4 runs is not enough when I'm still learning the car.

Definitely looking forward to the AAS event on July 2nd & 3rd though. That's supposed to be a high-speed event (100 mph), finally able to use the tall gearing as an advantage!

[nilfinite]

Another awesome day to Autocross at Crows Landing. This time was a memorial event and they liked high speeds this weekend.

JRL1LE is right about Marina being slippery. Did not experience any slip today at Crows Landing. Ambient was in the 90s and the runs were 1 minute long!

My top speed on course was 72mph, just below the rev limiter at 77mph & 285/35/20 tires. When I get the 305/30/19 tires, the rev limiter will be 73mph. With shorter diameter tires, will also be able put power down a bit better.

Lesson learned today, the right line is critical to maximize corner exit speed. It's not important for not just time savings but power delivery as well. Exiting a corner at a fasterspeed also means a better starting position on the rev band.

I also have to stop wanting to feel Gs. It's better to slow down to the right speed and take that stable speed around the corner instead of over-braking and then accelerating while in the turn. Brake hard, trail brake, maintain speed, accelerate hard. I usually skip the "maintain speed" part.

Here is a chart showing my 3rd vs 4th (fastest, red line).



Beat a bunch of faster people and cars (including cars with R Comps) today. It was a good day!

[nilfinite]

Another chart showing the line on my fastest run (red line) and second fastest. The red line is better than the gray line on every corner.

[JRL1LE]

That is some great data! I always love the Larry Park Memorial event and the higher speeds.
Congrats, sounds like you did really well