[AlanBDahl]

Well the season is over now so it’s time to look towards 2015. The year was quite successful for a new car, 1st for the season in PAX here in Northwest Region, my first-ever championship. Over the year I’ve played with the setup a little, settling on 37F/44R for the pressure on my Dunlops (225/45-16) and more importantly I’ve learned to drive a FWD car again after 20 years of RWD. But now the question is what to do next year? These are the areas I am looking at but after the rear sway bar debacle and with my rather limited budget for upgrades I want to very careful to make sure any upgrade is going to be worth it before pulling the trigger.

- Koni yellow single-adjustables
I’m leaning towards these unless someone has a better solution. A friend of mine owns a race shop where an ex-TriPoint shock rebuilder works so there’s the possibility of revalving them should it be needed.

- Front sway bar
I’m not sure that I want to go crazy here but a little more roll stiffness wouldn’t hurt IMHO. Something adjustable would ideally be best.

- Tires
The easiest choice would be to simply upgrade to the 225/45-16 ZII Star Specs but obviously there are a lot of other choices to consider. I could consider 17” wheels if someone can convince me they are better but so far I’ve not been convinced.

- Muffler
This could be the first thing I do. I’d upgrade if there is a good choice that a) increases power backed up by dyne results and b) isn’t all that much louder than the stock setup. The ST is also my commuter and family car so I can’t compromise it with an annoyingly loud exhaust.

- Stripes
No performance advantage here but I think the Performance Blue would look great with white or silver-grey stripes!

Any suggestions would be most welcome!

 

[k757]

are you looking to stay in "H Street"?

 

[AlanBDahl]

Yes of course. No reason to go anywhere else!

 

[k757]

My experience: 4 seasons (3 in a WRX). I win more than my fair share of classes but am just behind the national champion drivers (occasionally I get them).

I have the Eibach FSB. I feel like it helps keep the front tires flatter.

I assume your wheels are light.

Racing Alignment?

 

[RodMoe]

What did you not like about the rear bar ? I am torn tween a front and rear or just a rear. though since I put the pierce 6 point subframe connector on the car it sits very flat in the corners now .. Yes I know that way beyond G street or H I was put in our midwest council G mod class and was still very happy with the car though the driver could use some more work it was a blast..

 

[AlanBDahl]

It's hard to explain what the rear bar did except to say it made the car unpredictable. I would liken to tying your shoelaces together. Everything is fine and then all of a sudden the handling goes off. But then I am very sensitive to small changes in balance so perhaps someone else might not notice.

 

[RodMoe]

Was there a pattern? Like only under braking or just totally random ?

 

[AlanBDahl]

Totally random, like there was 60 lbs of air in the rear tires.

 

[k757]

60?. My car is gets jumpy at 40 lbs (rear)

 

[RodMoe]

Weird indeed

 

[Couldahadav8]

If I was going to go balls out with development,

• I would have the rear koni shocks revalved and converted to double adjustable. Also go double-adjustable in the front. The goal would be to attempt to control the front wheel movement without having to resort to a bigger sway bar.
• I would have somebody build an adjustable sway bar--probably like 23mm in size.
• I would get a set of traklite 16x7 rims that are as rare as a picture of kim kardashian with a small butt. F-it, I would just fund motegi making a run of traklites in the sizes I want. In fact, I would fund them building those in 16x7 et45 and 17x7 et47.5. Have to lease a warehouse for the extra wheels (okay, really I could probably just get a set of custom made Keizer's or Real Wheels or something).
• I would purchase 400 sets of fiesta st springs and find the lowest stiffest I could get out of the group.
• I would purchase a large number of rear twist beams and find the one that has the best combination of stiffness and toe.
• Then, I would fund a run of 200 treadwear tires in 4 different diameters produced by M&H or maybe Hoosier tires under the name Cheetah HSr. Sizes would include 245/25/16, 235/30/16, 235/25/17, 245/20/17. 225/30/16 and 225/35/17. Want a really short diameter so I can run in 3rd.
• I would get a titanium 3 inch exhaust that is straight through with the sound controlled by a microphone and opposite soundwave speaker set up made by bose and weighing 3oz.
• I would get an air filter that does very little filtering and lets as much air in as possible. I will have to get a set of 160 backup motors.
• I would go through bariatric surgery so that I could lose 70 pounds in the next few months.
• I would rent, no buy, an old airport in some southwest state and give Neal Tovsen 500,000 a year (not sure, he might need more) to teach me to drive better. I would drive everyday.
• I would hire a great divorce lawyer and a tutor to homeschool my son so he could drive every day too.

Back in reality,

• Test stock Fiesta 22-23mm front sway bar (50$) versus an Eibach 25mmFSB ($190).
• Try to sqeeze as much camber as possible out of the front without resorting to a sledgehammer or come-along.
• Koni struts ($550?)
• Either get a set of 16x7 best balance of light and inexpensive (currently cheap 17# tirerack wheels at 79 a piece) and 225/45/16 ZII Star Specs (138 each)
• Or, get a set of 17x7 Speedylite 5 et45 wheels (16.5 pounds at $113) and 235/40/17 zII Star Specs ($199!!!) and pray they do not rub.
• Green, Cobb, or some type of air filter ($50).
• 3inch Frankensteined exhaust already purchased but not installed, may need divorce lawyer.
• Go to more events. Need to revisit divorce lawyer concept.

 

[Mightymango]

I paid Neal just 250 bucks to get some education...and then proceeded to be faster in the FiST then he was....he is an AWESOME instructor btw and if you are able to do one of his SoloPro schools....highly recommend.

I really like your balls out development goals.