Help me turn a new leaf... - F-Body Road Racing and Autocross Forums

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)

trax View Member Profile	Apr 16 2009, 06:17 PM Post #1
Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 223 Joined: 16-January 04 From: Chicago suburbs Member No.: 131	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)

rhit_rs View Member Profile	Apr 21 2009, 08:01 AM Post #2
Member Group: Advanced Members Posts: 87 Joined: 14-November 08 From: Wixom, MI Member No.: 3,074	As far as events go, I'd start here: http://www.scca-chicago.com/ It looks like they do test and tunes at blackhawk farms fairly often if you want to get some road course experience. You could also try to find out the autobahn schedule and see if there are any groups you could run with up there. I'm sure they have a full solo II schedule listed on the site as well. You could also look into NASA HPDE's for road course track time. http://www.nasamidwest.com/season/ 3ballsracing.com has some events in michigan that might be close enough for you to drive to. I'd recommend getting a little auto-x experience before you go to a road race course so that you get an idea of what the car will do under certain conditions. Definitely get some matching tires all the way around. Thankfully I started with an underpowered mostly stock car and have been able to get quite a bit of seat time (mostly auto-x but a couple of track days as well) as I've made upgrades. Once you get some seat time and dial in your combination, I think you'll be impressed with the car. Have fun!