Autocross Adventure w/ the 1LE

[JusticePete]

Originally Posted by nilfinite

Some good news: I ordered the GA3R wheels!!! They are going to look exactly like this:


I think the black tires + silver wheels will complement my white 1LE nicely. This is a close-enough example:


Now just have to wait the several weeks for them to be cut and shipped!!!

Soon....

Originally Posted by Burt

*wipes drool off screen*

those are going to look awesome! Did you end up going with 19x10/19x11?

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by JusticePete

Soon....

Thanks Pete!

Originally Posted by Burt

*wipes drool off screen*

those are going to look awesome! Did you end up going with 19x10/19x11?

Yes exactly! The 1LE is perfect as-is. Never been more impressed with a stock car so plan on staying in SCCA street class.

Same width as stock 1LE wheels and 7mm offset increase.

Now I just need to patience to wait for the Forgelines before getting RE-71Rs. Still deciding between 275/35/19 or 305/30/19. 305 is going to be pinched on the front wheel which might add a little understeer with the rear gripping a little better. Should be worth it in the end with almost 1" more tire touching the ground.

[Burt]

You'll be a bit more stuffed by comparison, but at the last event I ran a woman had a 285/35R19 re71 on a 9-1/2" wheel, and she did really well. From what I've heard the bridgestones have a very stiff sidewall, and tolerate skinnier wheels more than some competitors.

[JusticePete]

Those sidewalls really talk to you on track.

[nilfinite]

A brain dump on last week and weekend. It was a super eventful time with the SCCA Solos Nationals event. Many competitors emerged victorious and plentiful thoughts on setups/cars were shared.

Nationals:
- Really sucked that some guys had to run in the wet. It looked like a river in some photos/videos. Luckily the FS guys had dry pavement to drive on Thursday and Friday.
- Drivers in the Gen5 1LE & Gen6 SS were neck and neck in FS. Close enough that I'm super tempted to go to Nationals next year, assuming the nut behind the wheel has a decent shot.
- The San Francisco region did a good job in taking home trophies! In the uber-competitive local group, American Autocross Series (AAS), 10 regulars took home 1st place: Scott Fraiser (SS), Robert Luis (HS), Shelly Monfort (SSRL), Jeff Wong (STS), Nicole Wong (STSL), Bryan Helikotter (STU), Chris Cox (STP), Andy McKee (XP), Mike Maier (CP), Tom Ellan (BM). The number would be probably tripled if we added in former National champs and people that trophied.
- Having so many awesome drivers in the Bay Area means I've been spending more time trying to lose gracefully :P. It also lets me know if I'm ready for Nationals if I'm able to do decently vs the regional guys. I'll aways have someone to PAX against

1LE Setup:
- Tires: At Nationals, almost everyone was running 305/30/19 RE-71R vs the 275/35/19 or 285/35/19. That really firms up my decision to get the 305s next year
- Shocks: Feedback is that the 305/30/19 RE-71Rs have so much extra grip, they need more damping on the 5th Gen 1LE. Looks like shocks are going to be added to the mods list! Question is if Off The Shelf (OTS) Koni Yellows will be enough or I should gets something semi-custom. It's super common to see Nationals Champs getting custom-valved Konis or even Penskes, Ohlins, etc. Customizing dampers and understanding them is brand new to me so avoiding this mod until I'm super comfortable with the new wheels, tires and nut behind the wheel.
- Sway Bars: Another item to throw in the picture is the rear bar. Another complication that I'll have to figure out after dampers.

Weekend Events w/ Sacramento SCCA:
- Was able to snag the best FS time on both days. PAXed 10th & 12th, respectively out of ~80 people. Saturday was tight with 8 hundredths separating me and Gary w/ his Mustang. Sunday was a bit better with 6 tenths separating me and Gary.
- Considering the tight course, tire (My RS3 vs others RE-71R, Rival S & Hoosiers), weight and gearing disadvantages, I was glad to be able to squeeze a win on both days.
- Bruce and I also swapped ride alongs to compare our 1LEs. The main difference in our setup is his 305/35/20 RS3v2 tires vs my 285/35/20 RS3v2 tires. It was a very tight course with multiple turns with mid 20s exit speeds. His much taller tires were not friendly for power on this course.
- Rumor is this Stockton venue will be expanded and re-paved soon by the SCCA. Looking forward to a future where the Bay Area has two awesome venues for AX in the East Bay.

[Retro69]

Any idea of the wheel widths on those running 305's?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by Retro69

Any idea of the wheel widths on those running 305's?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

All of the FS guys with Gen5 1LEs ran 19x10" and 19x11" like the stock width.

The winning GT3 in SS had 19x12" (rear?) wheels. Mounted on that wheel, it had 11.5" of tread.

[JRL1LE]

Originally Posted by nilfinite

A brain dump on last week and weekend. It was a super eventful time with the SCCA Solos Nationals event. Many competitors emerged victorious and plentiful thoughts on setups/cars were shared.

Nationals:
- Really sucked that some guys had to run in the wet. It looked like a river in some photos/videos. Luckily the FS guys had dry pavement to drive on Thursday and Friday.
- Drivers in the Gen5 1LE & Gen6 SS were neck and neck in FS. Close enough that I'm super tempted to go to Nationals next year, assuming the nut behind the wheel has a decent shot.
- The San Francisco region did a good job in taking home trophies! In the uber-competitive local group, American Autocross Series (AAS), 10 regulars took home 1st place: Scott Fraiser (SS), Robert Luis (HS), Shelly Monfort (SSRL), Jeff Wong (STS), Nicole Wong (STSL), Bryan Helikotter (STU), Chris Cox (STP), Andy McKee (XP), Mike Maier (CP), Tom Ellan (BM). The number would be probably tripled if we added in former National champs and people that trophied.
- Having so many awesome drivers in the Bay Area means I've been spending more time trying to lose gracefully :P. It also lets me know if I'm ready for Nationals if I'm able to do decently vs the regional guys. I'll aways have someone to PAX against

1LE Setup:
- Tires: At Nationals, almost everyone was running 305/30/19 RE-71R vs the 275/35/19 or 285/35/19. That really firms up my decision to get the 305s next year
- Shocks: Feedback is that the 305/30/19 RE-71Rs have so much extra grip, they need more damping on the 5th Gen 1LE. Looks like shocks are going to be added to the mods list! Question is if Off The Shelf (OTS) Koni Yellows will be enough or I should gets something semi-custom. It's super common to see Nationals Champs getting custom-valved Konis or even Penskes, Ohlins, etc. Customizing dampers and understanding them is brand new to me so avoiding this mod until I'm super comfortable with the new wheels, tires and nut behind the wheel.
- Sway Bars: Another item to throw in the picture is the rear bar. Another complication that I'll have to figure out after dampers.

Weekend Events w/ Sacramento SCCA:
- Was able to snag the best FS time on both days. PAXed 10th & 12th, respectively out of ~80 people. Saturday was tight with 8 hundredths separating me and Gary w/ his Mustang. Sunday was a bit better with 6 tenths separating me and Gary.
- Considering the tight course, tire (My RS3 vs others RE-71R, Rival S & Hoosiers), weight and gearing disadvantages, I was glad to be able to squeeze a win on both days.
- Bruce and I also swapped ride alongs to compare our 1LEs. The main difference in our setup is his 305/35/20 RS3v2 tires vs my 285/35/20 RS3v2 tires. It was a very tight course with multiple turns with mid 20s exit speeds. His much taller tires were not friendly for power on this course.
- Rumor is this Stockton venue will be expanded and re-paved soon by the SCCA. Looking forward to a future where the Bay Area has two awesome venues for AX in the East Bay.

Congrats!

[nilfinite]

Feel like it's been months since the last AX on 11/6!

Since that time, the shop has been tinkering with my 1LE: new shocks (Koni Yellows), new wheels (Forgeline GA3R) and new tires (305/30/19 RE-71R).

Will get the chance to test the new setup this weekend during a BMWCCA two-day racing weekend! Looking forward to seeing how the car performs with all of the setup changes. Hoping it'll be a net positive

Some more amazing news: http://www.sfrautox.com/?page_id=1169

A portion of the San Joaquin Fairgrounds is going to become a dedicated autocross site! The only one in the nation. The venue is going to be significantly larger and will give designers the chance to make unique courses. With two national-quality venues (Crows Landing + San Joaquin), Bay Area folks are going to get spoiled with nationals-like practice. Amazing considering a year or two ago we were concerned about having no venue at all to race.

[cdb95z28]

Interested to hear how awesome that combo will be, sounds like a great one!

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by cdb95z28

Interested to hear how awesome that combo will be, sounds like a great one!

Will definitely share impressions! Super anxious to see the car. Everything was shipped directly to my shop so haven't seen the shiny new parts.

Feel pretty confident it'll be a net positive. Setup will be similar to the #2 F-Street Camaro at Nationals.

[PapaKlutch]

Originally Posted by nilfinite

Will definitely share impressions! Super anxious to see the car. Everything was shipped directly to my shop so haven't seen the shiny new parts.

Feel pretty confident it'll be a net positive. Setup will be similar to the #2 F-Street Camaro at Nationals.

Who's doing the work on the 1LE for you?

[nilfinite]

Originally Posted by SteveZ28

Who's doing the work on the 1LE for you?

It's a shop called Trackspec Autosports in Fremont. Really detail-oriented and a ton of experience with track cars.

https://www.trackspecauto.com/blog/2...-usa-pb-racing

[wakespeak]

Can you post more details on the Koni yellows? Are you using stock valving? Part nos?