[trax]

Wow, I haven't posted on FRRAX in over a year!

Here' a brief background of my situation. I've got a '96 Z28 that has a laundry list of mods on it. In college I had a nicely-paying internship and got way, WAY too carried away with just throwing parts at the car. Now I've got a car that's got a bunch of fancy parts on it, but no HPDE or AutoX experience. So basically that makes me an inexperienced driver with a car that's (most likely) not built as a balanced combo.

My car sat for most of last year, and this year I'd like to turn a new leaf. Specifically:
1) Get track experience.
2) Clean up or simplify the mods on my car.

I don't have a truck or trailer, so I'd like to stick to track days that are within a few hours from Chicago. Also, I'm perfectly open to the idea of auto-crossing in a Hyundai Accent if that will help me unlearn any bad driving habits. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I'm trying to keep an open mind here. Can anyone recommend a good way to get my feet wet?

As far as parts go, here's the mess that I've gotten myself into:

Engine / Exhaust (abridged)

• "Stage 2" ported by Combination Motorsports
• Cam Motion cam (.575"/.595", 234/241) (probably too big for the rest of the motor, but that's another story)
• Comp 1.6 Roller rockers, LT4 Xtreme duty timing kit
• Ported LT1 intake manifold, 58mm TB, CAI
• Kooks stainless steel longtubes and Y-pipe, Hooker catback
• Hooker catback

Drivetrain

• McLeod street twin clutch, Pro 5.0 shifter
• Home-built Moser 9-inch
  • Moser housing, 4-channel ABS
    
  • 4.11 richmond gears
    
  • C7AW-E center section
    
  • Daytona pinion support
    
  • 1350 series yoke
    
  • 31 spline axles
    
  • Ford Track-Lock
• Z06 front brake conversion (LS1 spindles / abutment brackets, LG adapter plates, Z06 calipers, Hawk HP+ pads)

Suspension

• 17x9.5 / 17x11 GrandSport wheels, BFG KDW on front, BFG drags on back
• LG tubular subframe connectors
• LG front / rear swaybars, energy suspension poly endlinks
• LG coilovers, car lowered ~1" from stock
• UMI trans-mounted torque arm
• Aluminum rod-ended LCA's and PHR ("JonA" style)
• Unbalanced Engineering steering shaft rag joint eliminator

I don't think all the parts are bad per se, but I'd bet that there are parts in the combination that aren't necessarily working together as well as they could be.

I really want to avoid making any radical changes until I get a few seasons of experience, but I do want to address the following things this summer to give the car better street manners:

• The LG coilovers and rod-ended suspension are great on winding roads and hard turns, but after 2 years and ~4,000 miles of street driving, I'd like to tweak the setup to make this a little more street-friendly. Train tracks or bad asphalt can be downright brutal. I'm guessing I could improve this a lot by just changing one side of the PHR and LCAs to a rubber-jointed end. Long-term, I'd like to figure out a better spring/shock combo that will give me a good balance between street manners and handling.
• The HP+ pads seem to brake fairly well, but they squeal a lot for street driving. I blame that on parts-buying fever. This summer I'd like to buy a set of quieter street pads and new rotors, and perhaps keep my current set for swapping in on track days.

Thoughts?

Thanks guys! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

[roostmeyer]

IMHO, I'd buy an accusump to protect your motor, get a good racing alignment done, buy some sticky street tires, and another pair (or set) of 17x11's and go have fun. You may need to go up or down with the rear anti-roll bar to get the car balanced, but I'd leave the rest alone. Normally I'd say just go drive the car but with KDW's up front and wider drag radials in the rear its just going to push.

Only problem with this plan is I'm not really aware of any 315/35r17 tire that would be good for dual purpose driving. If you're going to only do autocross I'd say buy kuhmo XS's, but from what I hear they'll overheat at the track.

My experience with the HP+'s on the back of my miata is that they only really make noise when the pads aren't bedded properly. After going to the track or bedding them in they're quiet. Easy thing to do would be to thresh hold brake on a couple off ramps when nobodys behind you...

EDIT: Saw an E30 M3 at evo school yesterday with HP+'s. Rotors were blued, pads were obviously well bedded in. The pads were NOISY in any light brake application area on or off course. Maybe mine are just freaks of nature.

This post has been edited by roostmeyer: Apr 20 2009, 11:48 AM