David 2
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Posts posted by David 2
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Found the video.... Awesome! That looks like a fun track. I hope to make it out there this summer.
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Thank you Manfred.
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Looks fantastic! Glad it worked out and I hope to never need to use ACRS. But if the need comes up, I know who to call.
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Is anyone aware of plans in the works to have a Phase 1/2 Evo school in AZ, NV, NM, or SoCal anytime in the near future? I'm itching to take the classes but not very excited about traveling halfway across the country with my car to do that. And, it would be just my luck to have it announced at a nearby club while I'm driving 1,200 miles back from taking the course in IA, TN or wherever.
Are plans in the works someone knows of? Or, does it regularly occur somewhere nearby in the fall and just hasn't been confirmed and announced yet? If it is likely there will be a class coming up nearby I'll stop trying to find a way to fit in a long trip to the midwest.
Any info one way or another (likely or unlikely for there to be one) would be appreciated.
Thank you
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12 hours ago, Nokones said:
It is my understanding that Discount Tire bought Tire Rack about a year or two ago, and they operate independently. However, Tire Rack will ship to Discount Tire.
That is all true. However, Discount Tire is fairly picky on what tires they will put on a wheel. For my set-up, they would not put my wide tire on my narrow wheel (I asked). The guys at Lift Shop are more willing to do "unusual" fitments and have experience with it. That being said, Tire Rack can refer you to a lot of mobile installers that have tire mounting and balancing equipment in their van and will do the install at your house. It seems very convenient and I'd be very tempted to try one of their mobile installers if I wasn't trying to put such a wide tire on a narrow wheel. I'm not saying they can't do it, but it isn't easy and I wanted to use someone that I knew could do it. If someone on this site had offered up one of the mobile installers as having that ability, I would have jumped at the chance to go down that path.
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Confirmed that the LiftShop is a great option (480-613-3673). They have expanded recently so a little more info. You should get your tires mounted at the original wholesale location which is 1911 E Bell (the shop is behind the Mitsubishi dealership, you can't see it from Bell Rd). Cruz is there and Kyle (spelling?) is the shop manager. The new "retail" location is at 16223 N Cave Creek Rd. But, at that Cave Creek location they don't mount wide tires on skinny wheels. You will want to go to the original Bell Rd shop. They charged me $25/wheel to mount and balance. That seemed very fair.
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Great opportunity. I hope you get it sold soon. That is a fantastic and inexpensive way to have loads of AX fun.
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An older BRZ/FRS may be a good option. Great car, but maybe a bit higher dollar unless you are buying a restored title. But, if I were going for a low dollar car I would be looking at an 350/370Z for road course driving. Or, a trailer for you Miata since it is always the answer.
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Well done Scott! I liked that track. I hope it feels good in the other direction. Turn 2/3 from today's will probably be more of a challenge tomorrow.
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48 minutes ago, Matt U said:
@David 2 so I know that Justin Metz has been running his GR86 with the factory Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tires. He hasn't been out this year so far, but he is a pretty good driver to compare apples to apples. Last year his overall PAX was 928,949,932. For the last event here is a breakdown of PAX score to DS raw time for comparison.
850 => 47.765
900 => 45.111
950 => 42.737
1000 => 40.600
That is pretty quick. I've been in a rented car since I started AX. I think that helped me learn about some of the different effects faced out there. It was substantial understeer on the front wheel drive Altima, massive oversteer on the wet track with a Hemi Challenger, and fairly balanced in a rental GR86 on pretty tired Michelin Primacies. I'm looking forward to finally being able to drive my own car on decent tires this weekend. Seeing how far short I come up to the above PAX numbers, and others in DS, will be humbling, I'm sure. This weekend will be my first real guage of the substantial amount of progress I need to make.
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On 3/1/2023 at 5:51 PM, smeyers said:
Even Brian Peters wasn’t built in a day.😉. He paid his dues over the years.
Take your time and enjoy the experience. You’ll have a number of learning “AHA!” moments as you evolve. Those are fun.Looking forward to them.
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17 hours ago, Matt U said:
Okay so here’s my $0.02, but later in the post. Chris Groppi had mentioned my name and the A052’s on an STX BRZ. The last set of tires on it started to actually heat cycle out a bit. The front to back balance stated to degrade after about 90 runs and the setup really needed a lot of changes to regain some balance. The tires were not corded but they were on the wear bars. Please keep in mind that when I can string a run together, like the last event, I happened to finish 4th just behind Rouse and Peters while running in A group. I say that to emphasize that I am really pushing the tires hard the whole run, every run. The car is running a ton of camber, way more than stock so I can keep the tires happy. So there is my post on A052 STX tire life.
Here’s the option list that I see for you @David 2.
1) Get a good set of 300-340 tread wear tires like the Continental extreme contact or Michelin Pilot 4s and learn how to drive those fast. I do agree with @Manfred, proper 200TW tires will mask and compensate for bad habits especially on a lighter weight car. Have someone that is properly fast set a time in your car like 1 or 2 times a year on those tires so you have a gauge on what a fast time on those tires can be. You will spend years getting the gas/braking/turning balance right and consistent, that’s why I say a good set of tires. If your on some sweet set of Arizonian tires, don’t laugh they are a discount tire special, the balance of the car and the car control habits won’t translate very well.
2) Get 200 TW tires that are symmetric. So 660rt or Direzza ZIII are your choices. Don’t get the Hankook ones, they heat cycle out way too fast out here. You will want to be able to flip them on the wheels to get more runs out of them. It really doesn’t matter which ones, they are both way more capable than you will know what to do with. The general favorite is the 660rt’s, plus a lot of people out here run them. Oh yeah you’ll get all the exciting “I’m a serious race car” vibes like more road noise and every little pebble getting hurtled at your paint and fenders at the full highway speed.
For those that say you’ll get way more runs out of the 340TW tires, well technically yeah, but you’re still going to want to budget for about a set of tires per year if your running every event and TO’s, we all like that big round brake when we are learning (steering wheel).
Well my 11 month old says rant/advise over. Chew on this post for a second time and remember that the game of cone dodging is about the learning, not the tools.
Well, said. There is starting to be a theme in these responses. It is starting to sink in. The "not the tools" comment is particularly powerful. Thank you for your time and advice.
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3 hours ago, Mach5Mk5 said:
Thanks Stephen! Luckily, I talked to one of the body shops in Phoenix and they explained most places don’t work on salvage title cars because of the liability reasons. However, they did refer me to a body shop in north Phoenix who does. The guy I sent the photos to has been doing this for 31 years, and he said he’s amazed Progressive totaled the car, and that at first glance, it shouldn’t be a huge job to fix (which is exactly what I figured). Having the BRZ towed over there as soon as my insurance adjuster responds to the towing request now that I’ve got my claim payout!
Its a process. But, it will all work out in the end. It is just a shame to miss out on a day of AX. There are only so many in a year so to miss one is a real disappointment. Good luck with the new job hunt, seems there are bunch out there. Given where prices are on used vehicles right now, I think you are probably better off rebuilidng your BRZ than trying to go into the open market and picking up a new/used one. I'm probably wrong, but I believe used car prices will be significantly lower in 6-10 months than they are today.
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13 hours ago, Mach5Mk5 said:
Definitely has been for me too, I didn’t feel right mentally for about a week afterward, including a few days of the worst depression I’ve had in years. I’ve committed to doing whatever it takes to fix it at this point. Insurance is giving me $12,900 on top of keeping the car, so I’m hoping that’ll be enough, though I can add more on top if needed.
I'm reminded of the show $6M dollar man. You can rebuild it, better, stronger, faster than before!!! Take it on as a challenge. Do you have another car to AX in the meantime?
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42 minutes ago, Mach5Mk5 said:
So about a week and a half ago, I was driving to get the BRZ washed and got hit while making a left turn into the parking lot. After the initial shock and frustration it’s the car I JUST bought getting wrecked, I’ve gotten the claim mostly finished. Progressive declared it totaled (without even having an estimate done, they zeroed everything out on the document and didn’t bother), but I’m keeping it and having it repaired minus the salvage value of the car. It actually still drives perfectly normal. I’ve been recommended a body shop, but they might not have availability soon. They’re checking after I sent them pics, but I’d be happy to take backup recommendations. The claim is almost finished to get my payout (just submitted the salvage title summary), so I’d like to get the repairs started as soon as it’s cleared to get it towed over. Anyone have a good body shop, preferably in central Phoenix, Tempe or Scottsdale who can do everything in line with Level III inspection requirements, and may be open to using salvage parts I find online? I’m committed to fixing this one since it was perfect before the crash and has the SSC parts on it (which aren’t damaged to my knowledge).
That's paintful to look at.
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On 2/23/2023 at 2:09 PM, Manfred said:
A long time ago I started autocrossing around the same time as this other guy. We both started on crappy all seasons. The battle between us to win the novice category for the season was really close, so he ran out and bought some good tires. First time out on them, he beat me by a lot. Second time out, he beat me by a little. Third time, I was slightly ahead(!).
The problem is that good tires mask mistakes. You can develop all kinds of bad habits, and the good tires will make those habits feel "fast," but they won't be. Until you have the fundamentals down, your talent will greatly benefit from a tire that makes it very clear when you make a mistake.
I wanna temper this advice: you are (hopefully? probably?) here to have fun. So make sure what you choose sounds fun! For me, levelling up my talent was "fun" and a huge reason why I got invested in the sport; I was willing to grind a few seasons on crappy tires to learn more. That doesn't have to be you if you just wanna have fun with cars.
Hmm, that may be very wise advice on learning on street tires. That logic is why I elected to go with a GR86 to learn on a lower power car as I knew I would be forever frustrated if I tried to learn on a high HP car. But, I didn't extend that logic as far as you did and stick with low grip tires., good idea. At this point, however, I am heading down the path of new tires. They are now sitting in my garage. I admit I will not be able to resist the temptation to use them even if I may develop as a driver faster without them. I'll just add this to the list of things I do that may not make logical sene. Another thought along these lines is I have a buddy from high school that was a moderatly successful competive pro-driver on road coarses back in his day. He suggested I learn to drive in karts. He said many of the principals I need to learn are available on that platform and I can easily get a lot more seat time in karts. He didn't autocross but I suspect his words are true. That is one bit of advice I still have an opportunity to use, though haven't yet........
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On 2/22/2023 at 5:41 PM, Zuko305 said:
Nankangs are about .5 to .75 second off the pace (at least in CAM cars) versus AO52's in a similar platform. PASR doesn't run summer events so your heat will be here for Sept - Oct., perhaps into Nov and typically March & April. There's always a spray tank too. If you plan on running down for Tucson events during the summer, the RT660's would be your best bet.
I ran the RT660 on AS platform for about a 150-160 runs, they heat cycled out well before they lost any tread.
Lets face it though - you don't have enough experience to tell the difference between AO52's, RT660's, RE71RS, or Nankangs. Anyone of these tires/manufacturers will exceed your ability at this point. Your first couple years try all different sets until you find a tire that provides you the feedback you want based on the set-up.
Great answer. Yes I've got lots of time before I can learn to extract the minor benefit one tire over the other for my car and driving style (or no style). Essentially that is why I started with the RT660's. They are cheap, they are better than me, and yes, I plan on running in Tucson this summer. And, I enjoy the process of learning so even if I love the RT660's, I'll try one of the others next time to learn about it. I think the RT660's are a great place to start the process.
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On 2/17/2023 at 7:45 AM, civil said:
The Enkei's are for DS that Brian has and what ever size RE71rs on them will be a great start for anyone to get in the rythem of Autocrossing. I've driven DS in two BRZ's now for DS and running the RE71's, they do not want heat. Yoko's and Bridgestone have built tires that need to be as room temp or lower as possible. The RT660 is a good tire but needs heat to be it's best.
Also to the TPMS question, I've helped swap off the stock wheels and tires at events and slap on the Autocross set-up with no issue with TPMS... Unless the owner had them already? Talk to Morgan( morganTaylor193 ) he runs a DS BRZ
I can go wtih 7.5" wide in DS given I have a second generation twin. The ones for sale are 7" wide. So, I decided to pick up a new set of wheels and tires so I could go a little wider. Thank you for your help.
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Thanks all. It seems for my first set I'll try the RT660's for this summer given that warm weather is in front of us and not behind us. I may end up picking some A052's or RE71Rs for the cold days if it seems I am losing traction/time on the cold days. See you all on the 4th/5th!!
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Thank you for your thoughts. Yes, I'm very new. Only three events and each was with a different car. I finally pick up "my" car today. Being so green, I'll not be able to maximize/feel/understand the subtle negatives and benefits from each of the tires. So, yes, maybe I should just pick one of them and expect that with time I'll likely try others. There will be plenty of time to read and research before getting that next set or even before being a good driver.
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So, you had to make this even more difficult? LOL. I've heard they are great but need more heat to work their best. Then again, that is from Google..... So it shows your want I know. Nothing!
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I'm about to order my first set of 200TW tires. And, I'd like a little feedback from the group on if the A052's or RE71-RS are better at our local AMP solo track? From my reading, it sounds like the Bridgestones like to be a little warmer than the Yoko's. But, at a lot of our sessions it is not "hot" out. And, I'll be driving without a co-driver with a 245/40/17 on a light little GR86 so I will not be able to make much heat in the tires. So, does that tip me towards the Yoko A052's, or is our surface warm enough or does it otherwise like the RE71-RS's better than the Yoko's? Any advise would be appreciated. I'm looking forward to trying out the new setup in a couple weeks.
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53 minutes ago, civil said:
The Enkei's are for DS that Brian has and what ever size RE71rs on them will be a great start for anyone to get in the rythem of Autocrossing. I've driven DS in two BRZ's now for DS and running the RE71's, they do not want heat. Yoko's and Bridgestone have built tires that need to be as room temp or lower as possible. The RT660 is a good tire but needs heat to be it's best.
Also to the TPMS question, I've helped swap off the stock wheels and tires at events and slap on the Autocross set-up with no issue with TPMS... Unless the owner had them already? Talk to Morgan( morganTaylor193 ) he runs a DS BRZ
Thanks, will do.
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I'm still sitting here looking at your Corvette, very nice!
Lazarus is Almost Ready!!!
in SCCA Solo Discussion
Posted · Edited by David 2
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Looks vicious! That should be a lot of fun at AX.