just another sunroof-less ZHP autocross STX build and events chronicle

[GoGators]

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So… I am going to start this thread to chronicle autocross events in my project ZHP. Going to detail modifications, post setups and videos and whatever else in hopes of getting more of the ZHP/BMW community to get out there and use their cars!!! I am no expert though either, so look forward to constructive feedback too.

I started with a ’01 330i ZSP, black 330 in pictures below. I sold it with 320k miles in 2013. Bought the IR ZHP specifically as an upgrade for autocross, but also as a semi-day driver.

The ZHP is a sunroof delete- sunroof option was not selected, nearly 100% of US-bound E46s have sunroof as a standard option. No sunroof means ~2” more of helmet space, more rigid chassis and no sunroof mechanism weight at that high CG.

I run SCCA solo II in class STX. I run with Buccaneer Region of SCCA, aka JaxSolo. But, I typically run with a few other groups in FL and south GA. 2014 will be my 4th year in the sport.

Over the course of time, I have done nearly every modification to the car (some taken off my previous 330i prior to selling it) allowed in STX.

Modifications/Maintenance:

DRIVETRAIN:
BMW update of DME
Dr Vanos rebuilt VANOS
Shark Tune
Underdrive pulleys
K&N filter
B&M short shifter
Holed intake filter box (with fog light removed, there is a distinct path for fresh air)
SS Braided Brake lines
TMS Drilled rotors
TMS wheel stud conversion
TMS Clutch hose, CDV delete


SUSPENSION:
Vorschlag camber plates
Yellow Konis
Eibach springs (650lb front, 550lb rear)
GC adjustable spring perches
Hotchkis Sway bars
GC sway bar endlinks
Fabricated strut tower brace
Fabricated shock tower brace
Repositioned Pos battery terminal
Jam nut on steering rod end links (additional safety considering frequent adjustment)
Poly FCAB
ECS rear lower control arm
Wavetrac LSD
Poly Diff Bushing




OTHER:
Front seat post threaded rod coupler for height increase
Clutch stop
18x8.5, ET40 SSRs
265/40/18 BFG Rivals
Torso Strap
Trailer hitch


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[GoGators]

Ride height is set just slightly lower than stock sport susp. This is required to access my driveway and eases frequent jacking up of the vehicle. I fabricated a roof rack and hitch rack to haul tires when also hauling the family. Fourth, is just in the spare tire well. Normally, I would just line them up in the back seat. (old wheels pictured)

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[GoGators]

Fabricated tower brace bars from thin gage square tube, mild steel. Bars without adjustability and fasteners are typically stiffer, I built these to suit. Used playdough trick for determining hood clearance. Pos batter terminal is relocated to inside the passenger well to accommodate easy access to the top of the passenger strut tower. Rear bar was fabricated to maximize the minimal trunk space, it runs up against the backside of the back seat.

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[GoGators]

no replacement for contact patch. difference between my street 225 front tires and my square setup 265 tires...

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[GoGators]

MISC suspension pics

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[GoGators]

I consider Front toe, front camber, front strut and rear camber to be track adjustable. Made/marked a set of tooling for making these changes. (red- rear camber bar, yellow combo wrenches – front toe, yellow barstock and socket – front camber) When switching to race tires I adjust, more to follow.

Street to track process:
strip car interior of unsecured items
lift front of car
-adjust to max neg camber
-switch wheels/tires
-remove fog lights
-(sometimes) adjust to toe out
-adjust strut
lift rear of car
-adjust rear camber
-switch wheel/tires
remove spare tire
add ¾ quart of oil

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[GoGators]

I check and adjust alignment using jigs I constructed. Pictured below. They measure total toe and camber. They are not a substitute for a laser alignment at a shop! After a professional alignment I mark front toe and rear camber with enamel marking paint so that I can return to that spot after adjusting for autox. The jig does allow for measuring setups used during events, ie, determining amount of toe induced by neg camber. Also used for determining how many turns of the steering end links result in X amount of toe out or turns of lower control arm result in rear camber. However, the jig and the excel sheet I built to process the measurements show high repeatability when compared with recent professional laser alignments.


Adjustable parameters:
Front ride height
Front sway bar
Front camber
Front toe
Front strut (single adjustable)

Rear ride height
Rear sway bar
Rear camber
Rear shock (single adjustable)

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[GoGators]

my next event will be Saturday 1/31 at Brooksville FL, with FAST. hope to not make a rallycross out of it....

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[M0nk3y]

Couple things.

I'm fairly sure CDV Delete is not STX legal. However not really anything people will protest over...(well you never know).

Why also so much front spring? Do you have any issues with the front end taking set in turns at all?

Planning to ever attend any national events?

[derbo]

Welcome! This is a great thread I'll be following.

I am with Kyle and curious on your high front spring rate.

[GoGators]

Well... I am fairly certain that is the front spring rate, but I am going from memory. will verify when I have the wheels off this weekend. the spring set is actually a GC kit for an M3. at one point I was using the entire GC kit (less the rear sway bar), I bought it on craigslist for $300. have since replaced the konis and plates.

Until I switched over to vorschlag camber plates and got to the ~ -3 deg camber up front the front would push, but the camber change and 265 tires dramatically changed that condition.

I plan to run the Dixie tour event in march at south Georgia motorsport park. everything else is just to far away.

thanks!

[M0nk3y]

Well... I am fairly certain that is the front spring rate, but I am going from memory. will verify when I have the wheels off this weekend. the spring set is actually a GC kit for an M3. at one point I was using the entire GC kit (less the rear sway bar), I bought it on craigslist for $300. have since replaced the konis and plates.

Until I switched over to vorschlag camber plates and got to the ~ -3 deg camber up front the front would push, but the camber change and 265 tires dramatically changed that condition.

I plan to run the Dixie tour event in march at south Georgia motorsport park. everything else is just to far away.

thanks!

It's almost like those spring rates are reversed. Taking into effect motion ratios you have a ton of wheel spring rate up front and even less in the rear.

You need to figure out how to get 9" wheels up front. I'm surprised you're running 265s actually.


Gotcha, first national event? It'll be a fun time. Gotta hook up with Randall Prince. He drives an E36 in STX

[bcleaver]

Cool thread and build. Big fan of the sunroof delete.

Agree the front rates seem high proportional to your rears. I would guess you'll have a hard time getting much rotation given the combined roll resistance you have in the front with the bar.

One other thing I'd highly recommend would be some form of exhaust, primarily for weight savings. the stocker is incredibly heavy and even if you go with a crude straight pipe with resonator you'll save a lot of weight for not much expense.

Same goes with the seats in regards to weight. The stockers are ridiculous and I saved about 45lbs each side by swapping them out. Less ideal if you put a lot of miles on the car daily driving it, but worth looking into for sure if you get serious about it and want to compete nationally.

--B

[brettbimmer]

Great thread and nice work. Would love to see some additional photos of both your hitch and custom hitch rack. Did you go with one of the European hitch systems?

[M0nk3y]

Cool thread and build. Big fan of the sunroof delete.

Agree the front rates seem high proportional to your rears. I would guess you'll have a hard time getting much rotation given the combined roll resistance you have in the front with the bar.

One other thing I'd highly recommend would be some form of exhaust, primarily for weight savings. the stocker is incredibly heavy and even if you go with a crude straight pipe with resonator you'll save a lot of weight for not much expense.

Same goes with the seats in regards to weight. The stockers are ridiculous and I saved about 45lbs each side by swapping them out. Less ideal if you put a lot of miles on the car daily driving it, but worth looking into for sure if you get serious about it and want to compete nationally.

--B

Same thing I'm thinking with the spring rates.

If you can deal with a dump pipe after the 1st resonator or something you'll save cost of running a pipe back, and weight.

Also 100% on seats. I shaved 39lbs per side over my OEM, Manual Seats...aka the lightest OEM seats offered from factory. If you have power seats easily 45+ lbs can be saved. I like them though more than my OEM and had no issues driving out to Lincoln, NE sitting in them 13 hours.

[GoGators]

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Brett, a couple more pics of the rack I made. I have had 3 SSRs with 265 tires on it. typically I only put 2 on it (other two tires in the trunk). small bar on the bottom doenst touch the tire but it is useful for putting boxes/suitcase...

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yqcWyw4JVg&list=UUtPmjmKttMzyIdl3f6jh-xw

So, here is a lap from last weekend. it was my first time out since adding the rear adjustable lower control arm. wow, what a difference. I ran ~3 deg of neg camber out back. as you can see, the rear never budged, I had previously had a lot of trouble with it getting loose under braking. this event was also the first event I have left foot braked. was a good test weekend, there is a lot more speed out there once I get to trusting the new found rear grip and get better gaging the needed braking with the left foot...

[GoGators]

I am still trying to figure out what exactly my front spring rate is. the markings are gone. they are certainly 6" in free length.

I did make a crude estimate while I had the sway bar free. I figure there is between 850-950 lbs on either front wheel with the car balanced and on the ground. so with the tire off (and sway bar disconnected) using a floor jack I loaded one front tire. spring compressed 1.75". so that roughly translate to a spring rate of 500 lbs/in. which makes since considering the rears that came with the M3 GC kit are 550. (they are clearly marked)

[GoGators]

I did the oil pan gasket this week. it had given up quite a while ago. sludge all over the bottom of the engine/trans. at the same time I went ahead and did lower control arms (meyle hd) and Z4M bushings. also did motor moutns and since an alignment would be required I went ahead and pressed out the RTABs in favor of the black polys.

in case anyone is wondering.... I have an old set of std 330i a-arms, meyles and zhps in one place at one time... what a photo op. my observation is that std and zhp the only difference is the ball joints.

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here is a pic at the alignment shop.

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I will be marking my rear lower control arms and front rack end links with the enamel so that I can freely change for autox, then revert back to daily use...

[GoGators]

next event will be with my local group, buccaneer region at Amelia island FL on the 22nd. then off to the tour event in march... wish I had more seat time before then. the STX crowd registered so far is 70% BRZ/Frs....

[M0nk3y]

So, here is a lap from last weekend. it was my first time out since adding the rear adjustable lower control arm. wow, what a difference. I ran ~3 deg of neg camber out back. as you can see, the rear never budged, I had previously had a lot of trouble with it getting loose under braking. this event was also the first event I have left foot braked. was a good test weekend, there is a lot more speed out there once I get to trusting the new found rear grip and get better gaging the needed braking with the left foot...

Woah dude...-3* of rear camber? What's the toe settings?

Under braking would all be dedicated by toe, not camber.


And don't worry about the Tour. It'll be sensory overload....just go and have fun. Make it a learning experience.

[GoGators]

adjusting the rear camber from 2 deg to 3 deg of neg camber takes the toe out of factory spec and results in just over .5 deg of total toe in. not far from factory specs and I think advantageous to putting power down coming out of corners...

Previously (prior to camber increase) if I wasn't completely done braking when I went to turn into a high speed corner the rear would loosen and try to come around...

Yeah, agree, I think the tour event will be somewhat overwhelming... and exhausting, never done 3 straight days before...

[M0nk3y]

adjusting the rear camber from 2 deg to 3 deg of neg camber takes the toe out of factory spec and results in just over .5 deg of total toe in. not far from factory specs and I think advantageous to putting power down coming out of corners...

Previously (prior to camber increase) if I wasn't completely done braking when I went to turn into a high speed corner the rear would loosen and try to come around...

Yeah, agree, I think the tour event will be somewhat overwhelming... and exhausting, never done 3 straight days before...

Wow, that's a TON of toe.

I'm no where near that (actually less than half of that) of total toe on my rear tires and I don't have issues with power down out of corners. Rear coming out (especially off throttle) seems like an issue with a rear bar, or suspension and/or shock settings. I run -2* rear with less toe and don't have issues with the rear coming around.


Food for thought. If it works for you run with it, but I think it almost is hiding another issue.

[slater]

I did the oil pan gasket this week. it had given up quite a while ago. sludge all over the bottom of the engine/trans. at the same time I went ahead and did lower control arms (meyle hd) and Z4M bushings. also did motor moutns and since an alignment would be required I went ahead and pressed out the RTABs in favor of the black polys.

in case anyone is wondering.... I have an old set of std 330i a-arms, meyles and zhps in one place at one time... what a photo op. my observation is that std and zhp the only difference is the ball joints.

17886

nice, that's a good amount of work to tackle! love your hitch-mounted rack, too, that is cool.

is that standard 330i arm aluminum and really dirty? if so, yes, the only difference between them and the ZHP arms are the ball joints.

let us know what you think of the meyle HD's.

peter

[GoGators]

It is quite a bit of rear toe. I am going to reset up the car and measure it out this week. I haven't since I just recently put the Z4M bushing in, will report what my induced rear toe is... however, since increasing rear camber and putting the wavetrac in, rear stability under braking has been fantastic. more to follow... I do think some toe in, in the rear is beneficial for coming out of corners, it will give the outside, planted tire a slightly better angle.

Yeah, the std 330i arms have been sitting beside my house for ~3 yrs, waiting for me to accumulate enough scrap to drop it off a recycling yard... so yes, they are quite dirty. I ran meyles on my previous 330i as well. I have never driven brand new genuine bmw, so its hard to say. but, considering the ball joints are the only difference in the ZHP arms and the meyles are re-engineered from ZHP ball joints they should be comparable. I don't think anybody could realistically discern a handling difference between the meyles and zhp arms...

[LivesNearCostco]

On the E46 non-M Ground Control normally sells a front spring rate of 440 lbs/inch with a rear spring of 550 (actually 547) lbs/inch. Or a front spring rated 500/525 with a rear spring of 650. So if your rear spring is 550, the front is probably a 440, though of course people do order custom rates or change them afterward. And I'm not sure what rates they recommend for E46 M3. If you loaded the front wheel with 850 lbs and it actually compressed 1.93" instead of 1.75" that would make your front spring rate 440 lbs/inch.

Can you tell if the front spring is branded Ground Control or just Eibach?


I am still trying to figure out what exactly my front spring rate is. the markings are gone. they are certainly 6" in free length.

I did make a crude estimate while I had the sway bar free. I figure there is between 850-950 lbs on either front wheel with the car balanced and on the ground. so with the tire off (and sway bar disconnected) using a floor jack I loaded one front tire. spring compressed 1.75". so that roughly translate to a spring rate of 500 lbs/in. which makes since considering the rears that came with the M3 GC kit are 550. (they are clearly marked)

[GoGators]

Thanks for the thoughts. The kit was purchased for an M3, I bought the GC kit used. the only part of the kit that I currently are the springs and perches. the person who bought the kit was not a 'car-guy' so I don't see him special requesting spring rates. they are eibach springs, the rears still have their logo and part number. I am pretty confident in the 1.75" measurement, but the amount of weight on that tire at that time is a bit of a guess. I didn't use a scale, in fact the car has never been on a scale or corner balanced...

[LivesNearCostco]

I meant Ground Control sells both standard Eibach race springs and special "Ground Control" branded Eibach Race Springs in special rates. If they are labeled only Eibach, that's one set of available rates, and if they are labeled both Ground Control and Eibach/ERS, that can be a different set of rates. The Eibach 6" length 2.5" ID coilover springs are available from 400-1450 lbs/inch mostly in 50 lb/in increments, so 400, 450, 500, etc. The GC spec spring in that size is 440 lbs/inch.

The 16 GC spec Eibach springs: http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/category.php/CA=214
Regular Eibach spring catalog (see page 19): http://eibach.com/sites/devperformance-suspension.eibach.com/files/catalogs/ERS_19_US.pdf

As for the weight on the corner with the wheel jacked up... I think if you jacked it up to the ride height where it sits when the car is sitting flat on level ground, then the weight on the spring should be the same as the normal corner weight of the car. That is if the front right corner normally gets 900 lbs on the ground and compresses 1.75", then compressing it 1.75" must have put 900 lbs on the spring (minus about 100 lbs of unsprung weight from the wheel, hub, brake and strut in that corner).

[GoGators]

Based on the free size and options, makes me pretty sure they are 500s up front. thanks for links.

[GoGators]

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I got around to setting the car up for the track for purposes of taking alignment (mechanical) measurements this afternoon. I am maxing out front neg camber and going two full turns on the rear lower control arm.

both of these changes result in 2.9-3.0 deg of neg camber.

this induces 0.5 deg of total toe out in the front and more than 0.5 deg of toe in out back. think both of those numbers are desirable and felt pretty good the first time out. but that was on concrete. next weeks event is on old asphalt. swaybars will be set at max stiff up front and max loose out back, going to start with 38-39 psi in the rivals.

[bcleaver]

Play around with pressures, but I found running the Rivals a bit lower (34-35 range) was faster for me. Curious what you find

[M0nk3y]

I have no clue on Rival pressures. Never ran them.

You should be getting more camber out front though I would think, I'm around -3.6* with my plates maxed....and BMW needs as much camber up front as possible.

Be careful with too much toe out, especially with caster you'll gain dynamic camber with toe...too much toe will end up causing understeer.

[GoGators]

Well, the 3.0 measurement is mechanical, so no good way to discern how much error is in that measurement. I need to set the car up and take it get a laser alignment check done at some point.

so, I ran a variety of pressures on sunday. I did find substantially better traction at 36psi, but I was eating the entire 'nub' on the side of the rivals, front and rear. running at 38-39psi, there was noticeably less grip front and rear, but didn't eat up the nub/sidewall. going to run 35-36 at national tour in a couple weeks bc I figure I wont get the tires up to temperature anyway...

sunday the car felt great. and I was much more comfortable with the left foot braking. I ended up winning STX, 8th in PAX, 10th in raw time of 75 entrants. pretty happy with that result. you will see in the video, I think I could have eaked out bit more speed at the end slalom....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpQXJF8_pyg

[M0nk3y]

If you don't mind comments.

It seems like you get really late on your slaloms. It looks like you're driving cone to cone, not 2-3 cones ahead. You'll notice on the first video (and second one) by the end of that first opening slalom your frantically going back and forth by the last cone and killing your momentum.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[M0nk3y]

I'll try to find a better video, but look at my steering inputs versus yours.

Starting at 0:46 seconds, look at the back slalom and how my steering inputs are much more minimal compared to yours...with maintaining and even increasing some speed through the section.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbnItEyLWUA


It's something I'm still not perfect at, but that just sticks out

[GoGators]

Yea, agree Kyle. thanks for the observation! it seems like I start the slalom pretty well, but then get behind in my turning and do scrub speed by about the 3 cone...

[M0nk3y]

How'd Dixie go?

[GoGators]

it went "okay".... I will put a video together today or tomorrow...

Saturday, was extremely wet in the AM, I was in heat 2, so it was a mix of wet spots to completely dry through our heat. the car pushed in the corners with the tires at 35psi front&rear. my times dropped each run and I hit no cones, ran in 16th of 20. BRZs/FRs filled 11 of the top 14 positions.

SUnday was all dry. I upped my rear tire pressure and lowered the front. Car rotated better, still not great. my first two runs I was very happy with, other than I glancingly tipped over cones. so, my third and final run I ran conservatively, too conservatively and only barely improved my time over the coned runs.

overall I finished in 18 of 20. I think I should have done as well as 15th...

I don't ever see me really competing with a well prepped BRZ/FRs...

it was certainly an learning experience.
results:

http://scca.cdn.racersites.com/prod/assets/results/2015%20Dixie%20CT%20Results.pdf

[GoGators]

https://vimeo.com/122344633

Video of my best driven laps from Dixie Solo National Tour.

You will see that I have not solved the pushing condition encountered anytime I am not stomping on the brake to turn. Car just pushes coming out of every turn. any tire screech you hear in the video is front tire... (mic is under the hood)

Currently I am running the struts/shocks at 'fairly loose' . the frnt sway bar is set to middle section and the rear bar to less stiff.

the car felt pretty well balanced before I added the rear camber bars and LSD... so.. I want to keep the rear camber I am currently running (~3.2 deg) bc I am killing the outer part of the tire tread less than I was at stock rear camber. so, I reckon, I am going to try and loosen the rear (since I cant think of a way to get more grip up front) by stiffening the sway bar and more tightening up the rear shocks.

open to suggestions....

[GoGators]

https://vimeo.com/122920242

overall... there were 52 cars at the event. only 4 posted faster passes than my quickest.

video of two runs from our local event this past weekend. still trying to resolve the lack of front grip / understeer so I put the camera on the front wheel. changes for this week, from last week, are full stiff on rear bar and ~3 deg neg camber in rear and more stiff on the rear shocks. ran 35psi up front and 40psi out back.

the view of the front wheels showed a couple things, one I think I am too low on front tire pressure.... and that I am def putting the outer tire at zero camber when fully loaded. so, even though it is against conventional wisdom, I reckon I will go stiffer on the front bar to try and get more front grip.

[M0nk3y]

https://vimeo.com/122344633

Video of my best driven laps from Dixie Solo National Tour.

You will see that I have not solved the pushing condition encountered anytime I am not stomping on the brake to turn. Car just pushes coming out of every turn. any tire screech you hear in the video is front tire... (mic is under the hood)

Currently I am running the struts/shocks at 'fairly loose' . the frnt sway bar is set to middle section and the rear bar to less stiff.

the car felt pretty well balanced before I added the rear camber bars and LSD... so.. I want to keep the rear camber I am currently running (~3.2 deg) bc I am killing the outer part of the tire tread less than I was at stock rear camber. so, I reckon, I am going to try and loosen the rear (since I cant think of a way to get more grip up front) by stiffening the sway bar and more tightening up the rear shocks.

open to suggestions....


Sorry man I've been busy.

I think you have to remember that National events are all top caliber drivers. Don't over think it, they are all there because they're good.

Are you positive you're not riding on bump stops?

Typically it's not good to adjust the other side of the car where you don't have issues, in this case that will be the rear. It's a good temporary fix, but I'd still keep on looking at the front.

What's your front spring rates in relation to the rear?

Also, thought process on why you think you're too low pressure up front? Where is your rollover?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GoGators]

Yea, reckon if you are willing to drive several hours for 5 minutes of seat time, you better be good!

the subsequent event I put a camera on each of the front wheels, see post on page 4 (~3/23/15), after the nationals video. tire is rolling a lot...

springs are F500/R550.

agree, front grip is certainly the problem. next event is in ~3 weeks. going to run the front bar at full stiff (a change from medium). video mentioned above shows outside tire coming to atleast zero camber, possibly positive.

also going to put a bit more front toe out in the car. when I have done that in the past, it distinctly helped turn in. figuring if I can atleast get the car into the corner, that will minimize the understeer impact!

[M0nk3y]

Too much toe and you'll start to increase understeer in a turn, since the wheels will start to fight each other in the dynamic camber curve.

Also, seems like you have too much front spring. Have you calculated your wheel weights and motion ratios?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GoGators]

https://vimeo.com/125502882

video from Sunday's event in Gainesville FL (JAXSOLO / buccaneer region scca).

changes from the last event, in an effort to reduce prevalent understeer, went from med to full stiff on front sway bar, increased front tire pressure by ~3 psi, increased front toe out from ~0.5* to ~1.0* total toe out.

car definitely turned better. still tends to understeer, but the turn in felt much better and it didn't fight the sweeping turns as much as it has there in the past. pretty happy with this setup. looking at tire deflection in the video, I still want to increase the front tire pressure a bit, ran ~38-39 psi on sunday.

overall though, I really didn't get one really nice pass. had some operator error in all of them. i think i should have been able to shave at least a full second off my best clean time. ended up 7th of 20 in STX, there were ~15 BRZ/FRS in STX on sunday. the 6 cars ahead of me were all BRZs. PAX overall, i was 24th of 96.

[GoGators]

well.... bit the bullet and bought another set of front springs. got 550lb/in coils to replace my ~450lb/in coils.

also looks like I can gain about another 3/16" of inboard movement of the strut top by further elongating the 3 holes retaining the camber plates. after that, the nut/threads of the top of the strut should be touching the inner part of the strut top opening on the fender, thereby maxing the possible neg camber..

will get it put back together this week for a local event on sunday.. the question will be were to set the sway bar, considering the new springs and bit more camber. probably going back to med or maybe soft....

[GoGators]

https://vimeo.com/133925948


video from local autox on sunday. finally... finally, dialed out the understeer that has plagued the car. it took new front 550 springs (removed 450s), backing off the front sway bar and adding more front camber (now at ~3.5 deg) by carefully filing the holes and grinding the strut top nut.

now I need to adjust the rear a bit, now that the front is gripping. probably going to go back to soft on the rear bar.

mic is located underhood, hence you wont hear the rear tires letting go...

[M0nk3y]

Glad you got it worked out. Very frustrating when it doesnt come together.

What's your rear alignment like? Perhaps more Toe and camber can help too if you want the rotation to still be there with the rear bar

[GoGators]

Good thought on the rear alignment. After my wavetrac LSD issue.... I now have an open diff back in, so I set the bar to less stiff. once the LSD is back in, might try more camber again, previously, when I increased rear camber it made the car even more prone to understeer... but, now, it might not. current alignment in the rear is to factory spec.

[GoGators]

Saturday night / sunday morning was our annual night autocross... wasn't a great a night for me. I ran in the second heat, after I worked timing in the first heat which fried my brain and I lost sense of the course. finished 5th of 9 in STX (once again, BRZ/Frs-ed to death), 18th overall of 43 raw time and 15th overall PAX. adding to the distraction was a torrential rain just after my second pass, so passes 3-5 were all in the wet. additionally, local cops showed up in force at pass 4, causing another delay until they were convinced we were authorized to be on the deactivated runway and not a gang of very well organized street (runway) racers....

visibility isn't as bad as the video suggests... though, the dark certainly adds an element of confusion and lack of perception...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBAO8LKuSVo

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/kQ268AKttn0


Did a couple things I don't typically do at the Gainesville raceway test/road circuit.... stayed on the tarmac and moved up (20th raw to 11th PAX) in adjusted/indexed (PAX) time instead of moving down.... It was quite soupy out there from the heavy rain on Saturday, you can see some of the mud-slicks that folks went off into..

Ran the car with my spare differential. my ZHP diff is back from machine shop after sending my wavetrac unit back for warranty repair... but I haven't installed it yet...

only managed a fourth in STX... as usual behind a few AE86s and ahead of many!! audio is from inside the cabin, baby seat tie down was rattling around and I presume the seat was flexing (not sure what else could make those noises)...

last run I dropped tire pressure a bit and I think that is the way to go. ran 37 F and 38 R. sway bars are at loosest setting and I could tell coming through the slaloms, but turn into the 90 deg corners felt much better.

[danewilson77]

Well done.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/ChMHwaTICI0

Florida State AUTOX Championship was a good time at FIRM (in Starke), but not a particular competitive effort in the ole 330i. there were 17 in class STX, 14 of those in a BRZ/FRS. I placed 13th, Buck who co-drove with me placed 14th, only a couple tenths behind me. Video has our best two passes, some subtle differences in our passes. The class winner was ~8 seconds faster than us, which is a huge margin.

Between the advantage they have purely being on a lighter, lower platform and my shitty Rival and Star Spec tires, running the ZHP in STX is bringing a knife to a gun fight.

[GoGators]

https://vimeo.com/148812999

since the points championship has been decided in my region for the year, I decided to take my ole vette out for some exhibition passes at our clubs last autox of the year.

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/SXz8bXyZXk4

first autox of year with local JAXSOLO club. placed 3rd of 14 in STX (highest non AE86). overall, 12th raw time of 57 entered.

pretty pleased with how the car felt. ran lower tire pressures, primarily bc it was "florida cold" ~ 50 deg. of the top tier finishers, I am the only one on garbage tires. running 2-yr old rivals on the back and 4-yr old starspecs up front. I think with some new RE71Rs I would easily break into the top ten overall.

overall, the car is turning nicely, still ran the square 650lb springs with the front & rear hotchkis bar set to loosest position.

[BMWCurves]

Impressive! Do you have the side mirror pushed in for aerodynamic purposes or...

[05Imola]

Impressive! Do you have the side mirror pushed in for aerodynamic purposes or...

Some people do it since it helps them position the car better. My friend does it as well but I tried it and it didn't make a difference for me. Its just preference

[GoGators]

Impressive! Do you have the side mirror pushed in for aerodynamic purposes or...

haha, no. there are two good reasons to do it with the camera positioned over your shoulder. 1- more view of the course for the camera. 2- you don't see the drivers goofy face in the mirrors reflection.

[GoGators]

ran JAXSOLO event #2 for 2016 held at FIRM, near Gainesville FL. As usual, STX was the largest class having 14 entrants, 10 where BRZs/Frs. I ended up second, which is good, but I was a full 2 seconds behind the first place BRZ. The car handled beautifully, still running the same suspension setup (bars loose, shocks/struts loose, 650lb springs), but tried lower tire pressure, which seemed to improve handling. Kept the front around 31psi, rears around 34psi.



https://youtu.be/2xF9gvtdl9Y

[PetesZ]

Great info -

just start the autocross bug.
Would a stock ZHP be in the STX class as well? Trying to figure out what would make a stock bump into the next class.

[PetesZ]

Trying to get the stuff all figured out before the next local event

SCCA - Tennessee Valley Region - Solo
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Milton Frank Stadium, Huntsville, AL

[GoGators]

PeteZ, enjoy! stock our 330s are in class "F-Street". they have the potential to be reasonably competitive in FS.

download the 2016 solo rules: http://www.scca.com/pages/solo-cars-and-rules

find the "street" section, in there are all the allowance legal for street (FS).

street touring extreme (STX) is the ST class that 330s fall into, it allows for more performance modifications, refer to "street touring" section.

once you figure out how to navigate the rule book it reasonable clear what you can / cant do... but, if you have any questions let me know!

[PetesZ]

I will readily admit - the SCCA rule book confused the crap out of me......

so I need FS letters?

[GoGators]

yea, its not an easy read... recommend painters tape letters till you decide on a class to focus on... didn't see this till Monday, hope ya had a good time!!

[PetesZ]

No worries - the individual letters are cheap.

I screwed up on the first order anyway - only got one set of numbers- oops....

[PetesZ]

Got rid of the kid. Soccer game or something.
Was wax. Read for first autox25565

[BMWCurves]

Looks so clean.

[PetesZ]

3 cones heroically sacrificed so that I could lay down some fun. No dnf runs. Improved 3.5 sec from slowest to fastest

[fw_fw]

3 cones heroically sacrificed so that I could lay down some fun. No dnf runs. Improved 3.5 sec from slowest to fastest

Had several guys I work with that were heading to Huntsville for the autocross, said they were expecting over 120+ cars......

[PetesZ]

Well over 100 cars. Caught a ride in a sweet 92 M3 with the 8. Monster ride -mike the owner got the low time for FS. I was 7 sec behind his time.

Had a crazy oh shit moment on his first run. Car behind us got lost and we had a head on chicken moment. Was a full speed ripping a saloom. Flipping green Miriam right in front. No idea how you get that lost.


Good thing I had spare shorts.

I believe I was the only e46. A good number of 36 ms

[PetesZ]

Was wishing for a slick top.

Had the sunroof open and still had to lean in.

That extra 1-2 inches would have been swell

[fw_fw]

The guys at work remembered your car.....said it was a great looking ZHP!!

[GoGators]

while the car is down for the M3 header modified for ZHP project, I went ahead and installed the M3 fuel baffle in the tank. very very easy, though I would recommend doing with a lower fuel level than I had at the time (1/2 tank)... the part was ~$20 on ECS. I figure it will allow me to autox with 1/4 of fuel, vice the normal 1/2 tank. so a net loss of weight of ~3 or 4 gallons or ~20lbs. for $20, that's cheap weight loss!

[GoGators]

link to my ongoing conversion of an M3 header for use on my ZHP:

http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?17746-M3-S54-exhaust-manifolds-for-ZHP-M54

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2xhqnQTAtw

final result of my latest effort (installing OEM M3 headers with Vibrant muffler).

next autox is this weekend, so hope to get a feel if I gained any top end from the tubular M3 headers.

[GoGators]

Video of my quickest pass from sunday. my best was still ~1.4 seconds behind the STX winner (a 240), with 2 BRZs, in between he and myself. placed 22nd of 61 overall, which considered my aged tires, felt pretty good... at the end of this video is a low-light, came into the turnaround too hot, then got back into the gas a bit much, no lift!


https://youtu.be/BFbgld7vs5Q

still feel like the car should turn in better. here is a short clip, when I turn into the "Chicago box" I am full brake and turn left, pretty smoothly, but the car continues straight, straight thru the cone.. I feel like what is holding me up is the amount of speed I have to shed to get the car to turn in...


https://youtu.be/0Nqkk2fMlNo

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdqgfi6SJcE

I ended up 3rd of 10 in class STX (ahead of 5 of the 6 AE86/FRs/BRZs), 19th of 50+ overall. In the rear I am still running ~2yr old Rivals, 265-series, they are shot. Needless to say I had a loose condition all day, even at ~30 psi and full soft on the rear sway bar and rear shocks.

First clip is my backwards slide through the finish lights... Second clip is my second pass, I had a first-time autocrosser along for a ride. Nice lady, probably mid-50s. She had brought her fancy Porsche Macan out to run and wanted to see the course before taking to her runs. I think she was a bit surprised at how wild of a ride it can be in what outwardly appears to a plain sedan. Ended up washing out coming through the airfield cross-over heading into the turn-around. You cant really tell how sideways the car is, but you can see where the steering wheel is and that the car's direction isn't changing bc the rear is tracking, until it goes completely..

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/f6m_LFOTKxY

Saturday was our annual night event. This year we did a split / combined event, running 3 runs in the afternoon and 3 runs at night. Your best day run was added to your best night run to determine results. It was a nice event.

I put the full set of used (~4 yr old) 255-series star specs on. Time hasn't been friendly to them. Even at ~28psi they had very little grip. Was fun, but not fast. I placed 19th of 47 overall and 5th in STX.

Starting to look at new tires. didn't get any this year bc the hot tire is the 71R, which for my 18"s would run ~$1200 for a set. However, some locals are running the new Nexen 200TW tire and think they are comparable to the 71Rs. But, they are only ~$700 set. Also would still like to get a set of lite weight wheels 17x9s, the NExens are only ~$500 a set on 17". super cheap!

[M0nk3y]

https://youtu.be/f6m_LFOTKxY

Saturday was our annual night event. This year we did a split / combined event, running 3 runs in the afternoon and 3 runs at night. Your best day run was added to your best night run to determine results. It was a nice event.

I put the full set of used (~4 yr old) 255-series star specs on. Time hasn't been friendly to them. Even at ~28psi they had very little grip. Was fun, but not fast. I placed 19th of 47 overall and 5th in STX.

Starting to look at new tires. didn't get any this year bc the hot tire is the 71R, which for my 18"s would run ~$1200 for a set. However, some locals are running the new Nexen 200TW tire and think they are comparable to the 71Rs. But, they are only ~$700 set. Also would still like to get a set of lite weight wheels 17x9s, the NExens are only ~$500 a set on 17". super cheap!

Just IMO - Nexen tires are no where near the performance level of 71Rs.

[murph]

Wish I'd seen this earlier, I'm glad to see someone is still carrying the E46 torch in STX!

It was a few years ago now, but I did a pretty complete build on my ZHP, check it out here:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1588401-The-Millenium-Futon-STX-330-Build

Some comments I have on your build:


With the wavetrac diff, your spring needs may be different than others with purely clutch diffs, because it will put more than 50% of the power to the outside rear wheel. I experimented for one weekend with a gear-type diff and had to run much softer rear springs and yank the rear bar. That may be similar to your experience of it feeling really loose.
Make sure you're not getting into the bumpstops. You can measure that on the shocks by tying a zip tie to the shock shaft and seeing how far it's moved at the end of a run.
I have some bits you may be interested in for sale... I have some custom lightweight seat mounts I had made for the E46 that fit sparco sliders and work really well. I'll sell them cheap.
I tried the same thing with welding some M54 flanges on S54 headers, I'm glad to hear you had better luck! I'm sure that will be a better setup than the S52 headers to custom Y pipe and cat setup I ended up with. Others have modified the Bimmerbrakes M54 headers to add cats at the end with good results.
I would focus more on weight than power. The car has plenty of power, but it's a pig. GET RID OF THAT WEIGHT!
I would also heavily recommend some 9" wheels and the fender rolling needed to fit them, you need every bit of wheel width you can get.
With a little practice, rear spring changes are super easy and can be done in 5 minutes. Get a few different springs in 100 lb increments and try some things out during a testing event.
If you do get a tune, make sure they remap the throttle response to a fully linear map, that will help a ton with mid-corner throttle control. That's something I missed when I got my tune and I was kicking myself for years.

[GoGators]

Wish I'd seen this earlier, I'm glad to see someone is still carrying the E46 torch in STX!

It was a few years ago now, but I did a pretty complete build on my ZHP, check it out here:

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1588401-The-Millenium-Futon-STX-330-Build

Some comments I have on your build:


With the wavetrac diff, your spring needs may be different than others with purely clutch diffs, because it will put more than 50% of the power to the outside rear wheel. I experimented for one weekend with a gear-type diff and had to run much softer rear springs and yank the rear bar. That may be similar to your experience of it feeling really loose.
Make sure you're not getting into the bumpstops. You can measure that on the shocks by tying a zip tie to the shock shaft and seeing how far it's moved at the end of a run.
I have some bits you may be interested in for sale... I have some custom lightweight seat mounts I had made for the E46 that fit sparco sliders and work really well. I'll sell them cheap.
I tried the same thing with welding some M54 flanges on S54 headers, I'm glad to hear you had better luck! I'm sure that will be a better setup than the S52 headers to custom Y pipe and cat setup I ended up with. Others have modified the Bimmerbrakes M54 headers to add cats at the end with good results.
I would focus more on weight than power. The car has plenty of power, but it's a pig. GET RID OF THAT WEIGHT!
I would also heavily recommend some 9" wheels and the fender rolling needed to fit them, you need every bit of wheel width you can get.
With a little practice, rear spring changes are super easy and can be done in 5 minutes. Get a few different springs in 100 lb increments and try some things out during a testing event.
If you do get a tune, make sure they remap the throttle response to a fully linear map, that will help a ton with mid-corner throttle control. That's something I missed when I got my tune and I was kicking myself for years.


Appreciate your input, I hadn't seen your thread before, I will wade through to see if there are some details that might help my effort! just skipping to the last page it sounds like you had put an immense amount of time and $ into it! Did you recently list/relist it for sale? I thought I saw it one of the forums, maybe sandbox?

I agree weight is the killer at this point. short of putting race seats and LTW battery I don't see much room for improvement. I think I am probably as lite as an e46 can get at 3225 (3250 on scca scales with 1/2 tank of fuel, now with m3 baffle I run ~1/4 tank). I daily it too much and typically have two kids car seats in the back, so race seats aren't practical...

for the rest of this year I am gonna kill my already dead ~5yr old star specs. when I get new tires next year, I thnk that is when I should go after fine tuning the rear susp and verify I am not bouncing off the stops, which I surely may be... I might get a set of 17x9s so I can run less expensive rubber. though, I am hesitant to drop another grand in wheels bc I too am thinking about getting out of STX.... tbd...

So far, the headers, though extremely time consuming, are probably my 2nd favorite mod on the car (lsd being #1 (of course)).

thanks again, please check back and drop any input you have, I try to remember to upload run videos when I take them...

[GoGators]

Got 4 runs in the mid-eighty second range at FIRM. Had a lot of fun on the old tires, but wasn't competitive in class. car feels good, but has no grip braking, accelerating or turning. video has my least worst pass and my largest off course.

https://youtu.be/-66MSUmCdmM

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/cHKaPlECn-w

final event of 2016 for JAXSOLO. pretty happy with how the event went. I placed 4th in STX of 8, running about 1.5 off the winning pace. considering my considerable tire disadvantage, I am somewhat positive looking ahead to next year and new tires. assuming that I cannot find 17x9 wheels in the next month, I will be buying 255 nexen SUR4 for my 18x8.5 autox wheels. I did go ahead and adjust the rear bar to full stiff ahead of getting new tires. that resulted in being SUPER loose on the old tires.

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/wZyM9iFpNHg

after the competition laps of our final event, see previous post, we ran some 'fun runs'. video link is a few of my oooppps, pushing the oversteer prone (with full stiff rear bar) too hard during competition runs and then disposing of the old set of race tires during a 'fun run'...

ENJOY.

[GoGators]

2847728478

couple good pics from this past weekend.

[GoGators]

between season update. got the 255/35/18 nexens mounted up on my SSRs, they are ready to go. going to scrub them in the weekend of the first autocross which will be 5 feb. I replaced the transmission mounts, after trying ECSs poly mounts I ended up buying new BMW mounts. my old one had compressed permanently by more than 1/8". Next week I going to replace existing akebono brake pads with hawk HPS 5.0 set, flush the fluid while I am down there. I already reset the rear sway bar to full stiff and front to least stiff, so setup wise, I think I am ready for the much improved tires (ran a used set last year).

look ahead to next season. my local SCCA chapter stands to gain even more entries in STX. looks like it will be larger than any other class by a factor of 3x or 4x. favorites are, of course, AE86s and a civic si. I think an overall of third in class for 2017 would be great finish for next year.
no big planned changes for the car this year. just work on better, consistent driving.

[GoGators]

event #1 for 2017 is in the books. came out second in STX (of 16) and 15th overall of 77. good start to the year. its my first time running at this facility (clubs second time) so between the new-to-me surface and new tires I don't think I got the most out of it. The car was definitely still loose, so I plan to go back to the less stiff setting on the rear sway bar. I have been too busy to remove the autox tires/wheels from the car, but I zip-tied shock shafts to see if I am contacting the bump stops, particularly up forward. video of my best run.

https://youtu.be/C4AVeVh0lcg

[derbo]

Nice man!

[GoGators]

someone caught a few good ones of the zhp last weekend2907129072

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/LKZL0KAoRUo

2nd event of 2017, ran at the most local road course, FIRM. placed 5th of 22 in STX. 30th of 105 raw time overall.

the new Nexen SUR4 tires finally got hot. I (as is typical) use shoulder scrub/wear to help figure tire pressures. been running low 30s, typically a touch less in the rear than front. took some pyrometer readings to see if temp were fairly even across the tread. they were mostly within in 10 deg. topping out in the 150s, after a re-run.

this event I ran both sway bars at least stiff. front felt as good as a 3250+ lb car could, rear a touch looser than I would like, but its better than understeering.

[derbo]

Very nice sir!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOgzVDYPvQQ

came in 4th in STX sunday, 0.8 sec out of first. Car felt great, ahead of me everyone is 400-500lbs lighter. Had a great opportunity Sunday. my club had hosted an SCCA starting line school on Saturday and the instructors stuck around sunday to compete their rental car. I offered one a free co-drive so that I could take advantage of their experience, both riding with them and them riding with me. I most definitely saw a few things she did better than I do, regarding lines and not over braking, but.... I still somehow managed to be quicker. I was really hoping she would smoke me, indicating my room for improvement was the loose nut behind the wheel. But, the fact that I was more than a second ahead leaves me not knowing how to take the experience...

[PetesZ]

Love the pink (ish)/rose helmet

[johnrando]

Nice showing.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[GoGators]

next JAX SOLO event is sunday on our primary site, decommissioned runway. I bit the bullet and added another level of complication to my setup. going to start running track addict app with gopro video and obdII data from a kiwi3 Bluetooth device.

good timing too. a couple of the clubs ringers were looking for a seat this weekend. so I have two of the best drivers planning to do 3 runs a piece in my ZHP, hopefully looking at the speeds carried, throttle position and braking points in their runs will show me some areas to improve. with race render, the video formatting software that accompanies track addict I will be able to synch side-by-side videos, comparing their runs to mine directly.

[GoGators]

29636

The two nationally competitive drivers, Ash and Nelson, both took 3 runs in the ZHP. Taking P2, 0.002 out of P1 and P4, about 0.006 ahead of me in P6.

Both really liked the setup in the car and it did feel great riding with them. Definitely picked up a few little things observed from their driving inputs.

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3xNvrsQ-G4

Video is side-by-side comparison my best lap, compared to Ash (P2). we appear dead even till the turnaround and subsequent slalom, where he pulls noticeably ahead.
this was the first time using trackaddict. I don't think the throttle/brake or G-indicator are accurate at all. the g is off bc of the funny angle the phone was mounted. the brake uses accelerometer data from the phone, so maybe the odd mounting angle effected it too...

[GoGators]

video is side-by-side comparison between Ash's P2 run compared with the class winner civic si.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_WlMVkclU0

don't think there is any doubt the civic can hold the corners better and with a lot less effort. zhp seems to pull out at start and the turnaround on him a bit, but its not nearly enough.

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/9is-E3XL6rw
ran with a local vette club today. very very short course. pretty sure I surprised more than a few of the vette owners with the ole sedan.

side note, the clutch or drivetrain is now making a new noise when I let 2nd gear out.... it is the original...

[Lorenzo]

Awesome showing!

[GoGators]

made an appointment for Tuesday. a few curiosity pulls on a dyno. video and results to follow!

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHWu_9JiQOI

finally checked dyno test of the list. always been curious. considering it only has the mild modification allowable for SCCA solo class STX, I am pretty happy with the numbers. esp considering the other data point I have, a friend who went with in his e39 M5, rated at 395hp at the flywheel put down 296hp.

[GoGators]

29838

[BMWCurves]

Not bad!

[san]

Yup, peak numbers look good I think. The torque curve looks weird though with it dipping down and going up again (not sure if all M54s do this).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ZHPizza]

Yup, peak numbers look good I think. The torque curve looks weird though with it dipping down and going up again (not sure if all M54s do this).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Isn't that dip normal for ZHP's?

I actually don't feel it in my 2005, but it was very much there in my 2003.

[san]

Isn't that dip normal for ZHP's?

I actually don't feel it in my 2005, but it was very much there in my 2003.

I thought the dip was much lesser. Not sure though.
I didn't notice it when I got my car 45k miles ago but I do feel it now (141k miles)...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GoGators]

Isn't that dip normal for ZHP's?

I actually don't feel it in my 2005, but it was very much there in my 2003.

my guess is that the dip at 3500 is lower in the rpm range than the typical 4000/4200 dip seen on most M54 dyno charts because the shark tune *may* advance the cams earlier... pure speculation. looking at the raw data the dip is about 8 ftlb, something I know I cant discern in the car....

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B337r1cFGoU

video is from Saturday's autocross at roebling road raceway. I made some tactical errors, that didn't help my overall results. the course had 3 higher speed sections that I initially (first 3 runs) ran in 2nd gear which put the car on the limiter for multiple seconds. runs 4-6 I shifted to third three separate times (as seen/heard in the video). I should have done that from the beginning. not only did I carry more speed, I think there was speed left that I failed to take advantage of bc I didn't have the reps shifting from run 1 on. primarily, I think I was slow coming out of the first slalom and coming out of the Chicago box all the way to the second slalom. either way, run 5 was my best. put me in third in STX out of 8. 29th overall of 78.

[GoGators]

I ordered a couple can of torco race gas concentrate, they arrived today. I normally run 93 and the dyno runs were on 93. I am going to try bumping up to 96/97 by adding the concentrate and see if I can tell any difference in the seat of my pants. I figure for ~$40 worth of concentrate, this experiment is worth a shot.

[GoGators]

since upping the spring rates that car has felt best with front and rear sway bars set to full soft. today I swapped the stock bars back on to see if letting the car roll a bit more increases turning grip. next event is 17 jun. gonna be hot!

[GoGators]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H-8d6U47uw

car felt great back on the stock bars. definitely more grip through out turns. results were about the same though.. 3rd in class, about 0.5 sec out of first. 11th overall of 53.

[GoGators]

now that I am very happy with the car's setup..... its (coincidentally) time to move on. I love my ZHP, but its destine for mid-STX results, even if my driving improved. Which isn't terrible, I routinely finish in the top 3 locally, but don't want to sink more money into it with little gains. it will most likely be retired from autox after this year. hopefully I can pull off a 2nd or 3rd place for year long championship in STX with my local SCCA club.

I do not plan on parting with the ZHP. But if someone is dying for an STX prepared ZHP and all its extras and stock parts, I would entertain offers, but I suspect any offers wouldn't meet the value I (somewhat) emotionally have for the car.

on to the next project..... I bought a '98 C5 corvette. its an LS1 with 6spd. I bought it from a salvage auction, online, sight unseen. it was totaled for cosmetic damage. what I didn't know when bidding was that it had Trick Flow (aftermarket) heads, big cam, long tube headers, full length 3" exhaust, competition clutch and short throw shifter already installed. I paid $5800 for the vehicle, obviously, there is way more than $5800 already invested by the PO in performance goodies.

I am calling it LS1-KART. the plan is to remove and scrap the body, put a robust cage on it and go have fun. similar to roadkills' C4 hack. I will maintain a build / evnets thread for it on GRM and my youtube channel "KDYGator", link to the thread:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/ls1-kart-a-brutally-simple-c5-corvette-based-build/129865/page1/

[derbo]

Good luck to you with your new C5! Looks like a great purchase!

[slater]

on to the next project..... I bought a '98 C5 corvette. its an LS1 with 6spd. I bought it from a salvage auction, online, sight unseen. it was totaled for cosmetic damage. what I didn't know when bidding was that it had Trick Flow (aftermarket) heads, big cam, long tube headers, full length 3" exhaust, competition clutch and short throw shifter already installed. I paid $5800 for the vehicle, obviously, there is way more than $5800 already invested by the PO in performance goodies.

I am calling it LS1-KART. the plan is to remove and scrap the body, put a robust cage on it and go have fun. similar to roadkills' C4 hack. I will maintain a build / evnets thread for it on GRM and my youtube channel "KDYGator", link to the thread:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/ls1-kart-a-brutally-simple-c5-corvette-based-build/129865/page1/

NOW we're talking! heck yeah!! i love it. can't wait to see progress. :cheers

[BMWCurves]

NOW we're talking! heck yeah!! i love it. can't wait to see progress. :cheers

+1

[NoVAphotog]

now that I am very happy with the car's setup..... its (coincidentally) time to move on. I love my ZHP, but its destine for mid-STX results, even if my driving improved. Which isn't terrible, I routinely finish in the top 3 locally, but don't want to sink more money into it with little gains. it will most likely be retired from autox after this year. hopefully I can pull off a 2nd or 3rd place for year long championship in STX with my local SCCA club.

I do not plan on parting with the ZHP. But if someone is dying for an STX prepared ZHP and all its extras and stock parts, I would entertain offers, but I suspect any offers wouldn't meet the value I (somewhat) emotionally have for the car.

on to the next project..... I bought a '98 C5 corvette. its an LS1 with 6spd. I bought it from a salvage auction, online, sight unseen. it was totaled for cosmetic damage. what I didn't know when bidding was that it had Trick Flow (aftermarket) heads, big cam, long tube headers, full length 3" exhaust, competition clutch and short throw shifter already installed. I paid $5800 for the vehicle, obviously, there is way more than $5800 already invested by the PO in performance goodies.

I am calling it LS1-KART. the plan is to remove and scrap the body, put a robust cage on it and go have fun. similar to roadkills' C4 hack. I will maintain a build / evnets thread for it on GRM and my youtube channel "KDYGator", link to the thread:

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/build-projects-and-project-cars/ls1-kart-a-brutally-simple-c5-corvette-based-build/129865/page1/

C5 is best Corvette. Congrats and good luck with it!

[ZHPizza]

Holy shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFrdTfbltQw

I could listen to that thing idle all day. So menacing.

[holyc0w]

Sounds like a race car at idle

[GoGators]

yea.... there was a moment when this thing fired up for the first time were I felt like a lottery winner... I don't have tags on it yet, so I am limited to puttin around my gated neighborhood in first gear... but it certainly disrupts the peace, even at idle. aren't too many engines that sound better than a cam'ed LS.

obviously, I have no idea what else has been done to the motor. but, I do intend on running across the same dyno that the ZHP put down 210hp. I bet, it doubles that.

looks like yall might have some interest in the project... I will post some pics/video from time to time!

[BMWCurves]

yea.... there was a moment when this thing fired up for the first time were I felt like a lottery winner... I don't have tags on it yet, so I am limited to puttin around my gated neighborhood in first gear... but it certainly disrupts the peace, even at idle. aren't too many engines that sound better than a cam'ed LS.

obviously, I have no idea what else has been done to the motor. but, I do intend on running across the same dyno that the ZHP put down 210hp. I bet, it doubles that.

looks like yall might have some interest in the project... I will post some pics/video from time to time!

More than that, please!

[GoGators]

30438

someone got a good pic of the zhp at or near max roll. it is definitively more body roll than it used to do with the hotchkis bars installed, even on full soft. there is no doubt I am using the front bump stops as springs, but the car felt like it had more grip throughout turns. Springs are 550lb fr ad 650lb rr. Trying to finish out the ZHP's last year of autox out strong!

[webster]

Great shot!

[GoGators]

31180
31181

update on my autocross replacement. hint, was 500hp C5.

[GoGators]

event 9 for 2017 was Saturday. for the first time in ~2 years I won STX in the ole ZHP. I hung 0.4 secs on the BRZs behind me!!!! the car felt amazing, its a shame how great the setup is in it now that I am working on replacing it.

[GoGators]

speaking of replacement.... here is a quick video of the replacement and my 4 year old's reaction.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL-cCf4nRpQ&t=9s

[BMWCurves]

Awesome

[san]

+1


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[GoGators]

some rolling video, pictures from onboard the LS1-KART and from another vehicles. Crank up the audio (this isnt a 3.0 inline six)!!!!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJs2V033GWw

[slater]

nuts. how is this thing street legal? (or is it? ;))

[GoGators]

nuts. how is this thing street legal? (or is it? ;))

when i started this i discovered 'street legal' is pretty ambigous. i put headlights/turnsignals on late yesterday, i need to put the windshield wipers back on and i have side mirrors ordered. then, i should be compliant with what i know to be required!!!

[Sockethead]

What was that.... someone's project car gone wrong?

[GoGators]

What was that.... someone's project car gone wrong?

LOL. Gone wrong? IT IS GOING GREAT!!!! that my project (primarily) for autocross to replace the ZHP in that capacity.

[Sockethead]

What happend to the rest of the car? crash?

[BMWCurves]

What happend to the rest of the car? crash?

Just making a Corvette Superleggera:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OETj9aTYO2Q

[GoGators]

https://youtu.be/YNbisJErurU
here is the best run from the ZHPs second to last autocross event. managed 59.6sec. good for 4th of 9 in STX and 43rd of 121 overall. car has come to handle amazing, but just doesn't have it coming out of the slow 90deg corners. looks like I have a good shot at 3rd in STX for my region this year, its all going to come down to the last event!

[johnrando]

Nice!

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[GoGators]

well, its officially off to retirement from autocross for my ZHP. final event was sunday. managed 3rd in class and 17th overall.

More importantly, for the year, i placed 2nd in STX for our region and 9th overall on a PAX index.

very happy with the final year. now its full speed ahead on the LS1-KART project to be ready by Feb 4. Still undecided what i will do with the ZHP. likely keep it, figure it really isnt worth much. figure maybe $8k with the full autox setup. at that price range, i would rather have the car than cash.

[BMWCurves]

Good luck with the LS1-karting, I look forward to updates about it.

Also glad to hear you’re considering keeping the ZHP. Too often I hear people regretting that they sold their ZHP. Letting it sit and play a secondary role for a while will help decide if it’s worth keeping or not. If you don’t really miss driving it, there’s your answer.


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[GoGators]

Good luck with the LS1-karting, I look forward to updates about it.

Also glad to hear you’re considering keeping the ZHP. Too often I hear people regretting that they sold their ZHP. Letting it sit and play a secondary role for a while will help decide if it’s worth keeping or not. If you don’t really miss driving it, there’s your answer.


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thanks, yea, thats pretty much the exact mentality i have regarding the ZHP right now. time will tell!

[GoGators]

made it through event 1 in the LS1-KART. it was an adventure. enjoy:


https://youtu.be/Q4j1bGCWnlE

31933

[san]

Looks awesome! :thumbsup


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