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Talk me out of the madness of trying to compete in STH

OP
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Thread Starter #22
In HS the fiesta is damn near king. In STH going against mini's, vw's, the focus. You are going to struggle imo.
Unfortunately, I was the only HS car up here this season, and we compete in driver's classes only using PAX. I really wanted a Quafie for winter driving and rallycross, so I figured I'd take the plunge. We'll see how things go next season, but you're right- it will probably be a struggle.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #23
I am not aware of any light weight 15x8 in 4x018 but the tires you are looking at though very sticky are rather narrow so perhaps a 7" wheel would be fine with them, probably so for autocross use.

Take a look at that tire in 205/16, .1" wider tread which is not big deal, same weight and rounded off they show 19lbs versus the 21lbs listed for the 15. Check out the Konig Dekagram 16x8 wheel weight compared to the wheels you are looking at, etc....just might be a better way to go and you can fit a BBK if you wanted to.

Consider this, a 40mm 8" wheel will increase the track width approx 30mm which is pretty considerable and yet not be that upsetting to the geometry.
Also the wider wheel means more sidewall support so will help turn in response, feedback and control, cobine that with shorter sidewalls and you can probably run a bit less air pressure for a better contact patch.
They might weigh around 3 lbs per wheel but the tires are approx 2 lbs less and the actual difference might be even less than 1 lb per corner added weight but even if 2lbs I would likely go for it and I am SUPER ANAL about weight.
Cost is around $100 less per wheel, money saved can go for other mods.
Both wheels are very good quality, a lot of cars are being raced on the Konig flow formed wheels.

I have advocated 16x8 as the optimal wheel for this car for a very long time, if not for the huge effort and cost into building my own BBKs to fit under 15's, changing the rear camber to fit 9" wide wheels, etc...I would be running those Konigs!

I believe the bushings will net about the same amount of metal as stock ones usually have a metal outer ring and urethane ones do not.
Hi Rick,
Do you think it would be possible to fit a 225/50R16 RE71R on those 15x8 Dekagrams while on Swift springs (or stock springs, for that matter)? Or would the additional weight (23#) nullify any gains?
They have a section width of 9.2", and an overall diameter of 24.9".
I'm allowed to roll fenders, but not change the outer profile of the fender.
 


RAAMaudio

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#24
That is a pretty tall tire and I have never tried anything taller than 205/45/17 PS AS/3 on 17x7 which rode to harshly and had such horrid noise levels I got rid of them. So I cannot really advise if they would fit.

Also that is a fairly tall tire which will effect gearing which might be a good or bad thing depending on if it eliminates or adds a gear change where you might not want it for autocross. If you can launch well with it which should help due to a bigger contact patch from being taller and other aspects and only have to use 1st and second gear, not hit the rev limiter....it can help a lot.

BUT, it also means slower acceleration in general due to more weight further out from the center of the rotational mass, adds braking distance and load on the brakes, likely slower transitional response....

There are always many factors to consider when picking the perfect tire, which seldom exists.

The best tire for autocross might not be that great for the street if you want dual duty from them, if single duty that makes it much easier in most cases.
 


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#26
Welcome to STH, I’ve got my first event on Sunday. While the fiesta probably won’t be competitive nationally because it will be under tired, locally it will be fun. I did the mods mostly because I wanted to make the car faster and had done everything I wanted to do in HS anyway.

My car sits on Swift R Springs and I’m running 215/45-17 street tires and snow tires. The tires can rub the wheel wells if I bottom out on a really big Bump. I had to secure the felt wheel liners to keep them from sagging and rubbing, but there seems to be plenty of room.

I’m running the 205/45-16 Bridgestone RE71 for Autocrossing. I haven’t mounted them yet, but they are smaller so I don’t foresee a problem. I run the Enkei RF-P1 in 16”, at 13.8 pounds they are lighter than the OZ superleggera.
 


OP
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Thread Starter #27
So, we had our first two events in Fairbanks, and I'm pretty happy how the car did in STH. We have such small events up here in Alaska that we all compete in drivers classes- Expert, Open, Novice, and Ladys- all using PAX. I took second in Open on Saturday, and third on Sunday. I didn't take my autocross tires because I was concerned about the low temps- it was 30ish degrees out in the mornings there in Faribanks. We have our first Southcentral event this Saturday, and I should be good to use the Rivals for that, and there isn't a 400 mile each way road trip to contend with, either!
 


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Plainrt

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#28
Nice. I always thought the rivals ran better in warm temps when I had them. The re71rs are more forgiving with temps. Have you ran the rivals before?
 


OP
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Thread Starter #29
Nice. I always thought the rivals ran better in warm temps when I had them. The re71rs are more forgiving with temps. Have you ran the rivals before?
Nope, I haven't except for a brief try on when the temps were warmish (50°F or so). I ran 205/50R16 REs when I was in HS last year, but got a set of 15x8" ProRace 1.2s and the 225/45R15 Rivals because I was convinced that the car needed more tire under it, and the RE selection is kinda sparse.
 


Plainrt

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#30
Icic. Yeah when I was thinking about going route you did the tire options were driving me nuts. Wish was more size options for the Re71r.
 


PunkST

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#31
Im in smf..... And my car holds its own pretty well for how little ive actually done. Last time i ran i did win my class. Ive done more since and need to get back out again.
 


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#33
OP
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Thread Starter #34
Looking good! Those Rivals seem to give you tons of grip.

Did you ever get camber bolts in?
Thanks! I am seeing evidence of rubbing on the struts with the 225s, so I don't think I can get any more negative camber without going to a narrower tire.
I'm thinking about going to narrower tires anyway, because the Rivals really don't like to hang on unless they are warm, and that can be a challenge in AK.
Maybe go back to RE71Rs or try out the new Yokohama AO52s...
 


OP
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Thread Starter #35
So, we just finished up the season yesterday- I ended up taking third overall in Open class (we do driver's classes, as we don't have enough folks to run by car class).
I'm pretty happy with how I did, although I think the PAX doesn't really favor the FiST in STH. That being said, I was really happy with my raw times, as I could usually beat up on 'real sports cars' with decent drivers. I finally beat my nemesis, who I have been chasing for three years now.

The thing I am going to look at most for next year is tires- the Rivals just don't get warm enough on our small courses, and with our relatively cool ambient temps. I don't know if I can fit the new 225/50R15 A052s under my wheel wells, but it would be really awesome to be able to.
 


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#36
So, we just finished up the season yesterday- I ended up taking third overall in Open class (we do driver's classes, as we don't have enough folks to run by car class).
I'm pretty happy with how I did, although I think the PAX doesn't really favor the FiST in STH. That being said, I was really happy with my raw times, as I could usually beat up on 'real sports cars' with decent drivers. I finally beat my nemesis, who I have been chasing for three years now.

The thing I am going to look at most for next year is tires- the Rivals just don't get warm enough on our small courses, and with our relatively cool ambient temps. I don't know if I can fit the new 225/50R15 A052s under my wheel wells, but it would be really awesome to be able to.
The Rivals love heat, here in Oregon in my C4, I didnt even bother running them when it was under 50deg out. Even at 70ish, it would take 2 full runs to get tires warm enough to have a good 3rd run. But of course by then your use to less traction and not really in a place to get a good flyer.

For the last event of the season I had a co-driver, he went first to warm the tires, which significantly helped me get a good first run, then my 2nd run was the 4th run on the tires and they were nice and warm. For the season I was typically around 30th of 90 cars, but with the pre-warming I ended up 5th fastest, behind 4 national champs, and beating multiple other national champs.

Given your typically low temps, the Rivals are going to be tough, unless you can get a co-driver to warm them up!
 


OP
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Thread Starter #37
Had another great weekend of autocross. I'm active in our local SCCA region, and we put on our 5th event on Saturday, followed by the local Porsche Club of America's first event on Sunday. I took first in open for the SCCA event, and the weird tire wear continued. Previously, my new Falken RT660 on my front right wheel was wearing strangely after the first couple events, most with hard left turns or pivots after straights. I rotated the tire to the rear, and it happened on the other tire, but to a lesser degree.I'm getting used to the new suspension tweaks, although I wish I was able to get more camber in the front- the H&R camber bolts netted me less than -2 degrees. Regardless, it was fun to get back to close to normal, although we still masked up for closer interactions and weren't allowing ride-alongs (which really, are a huge part of the fun for me. Also, I don't wanna die alone.)
The PCA event was also a blast, and it was nice not to be responsible for putting on the event. They have a different classing setup, where they have Novices (win first place, and you're thrown to the sharks), PAX, ladies, and Porsche cars.It was good to lay the hurt an some proper sports cars.
I also finally got my car on the dyno! Pretty happy with the results from everything.
SCCA_AX5_Pax.PNG
PCA_AX1_20200614.jpg
Dyno.jpg
 


OP
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Thread Starter #38
Another great weekend of autocross! I chaired the Saturday SCCA event, taking 3rd in open. I was a little bit frustrated, but I find it hard to herd cats and keep the event running while also focusing on driving well.
On Sunday, I was able to just show up at our local Porsche Club regional event. It was pouring rain in the morning, with lots of puddles forming. I had been hoping for rain, as I think it is a comparable advantage for FWD cars. I was in run group 2, and the rain was starting to ease slightly as we were starting out morning runs. I kept coning, but finally got a clean run and moved into 2nd overall. My next run put me in overall PAX lead, and then we broke for lunch. The sun popped out while my buddy and I were going through the drive through at Cain's, and the course started to dry. When run group 1 ended, I was back in 4th place, and felt like I would be lucky to beat my buddy Wally, or at least put some pressure on him. My first run of the afternoon put me in second behind one of the best drivers up here, who had laid down a fast time in run group 1. I decided I really, really wanted to beat him in PAX, and was able to do it. For my last run, I wanted to beat his raw time, but tried too hard, overdrove and coned. Anyway, it was my first overall win, and I am fine being a little bit slower in raw time around a dry course than an ass-engined sports car with a robot transmission. SCCA6Pax.jpg
SCCA6Raw.jpg
PCA2Pax.PNG
PCA2Raw.PNG
 


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