No, I’ll give Tamra her due; she really showed what she’s made of out there today.

The Konis will be cut free at some point and I’ll give you a shout.

also a shout-out to to Brian at Karcepts for his National Championship win in STR in the ND MX5! I probably should be asking more and dictating less on my new Motion Control Suspension shocks provided through him.
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Thank you everyone! So great to have an RX8 on top this year. Based on practice course times I was worried the red bimmer would be taking it again, but that didn’t pan out on the real courses. I also didn’t think I could claw back .4 today, but didn’t leave any cards on the table and found .8 somehow. Lots of new builds that are very strong, which is super exciting for the class.

So glad the weather cooperated this year and everyone in our heat had consistent conditions. By 5th heat we had OPR troubles, lack of line choice, and heat to deal with. The courses didn’t seem to be rubbering in though, somehow. Perhaps the concrete dust covering the surface and keeping it a little more slippery than average?

Billy actually has driven my car a few times. He’s an amazing driver and my first teacher, and his car was the first I drove at Solo Nationals (and won Rookie of the Year in). His car and his driving are both #goals. I have been (rarely, once?) faster than him before (in the same car) but he typically beats me and everyone else... we’ll leave it at that (and thank our pax lords that he isn’t running DSP!).

 

Yes, I meant no slight at Tamra. Great win and well earned. I bet you're feeling better about the work you put into the car to stuff 315's under it now? Lol

You set a trend!

 

Steve was faster day 1 on 295’s, so it’s inconclusive I would say. I wish they were definitively faster, but the added weight can’t be ignored.

 

Being spaced a bit far out on 11” might have played into the cone situation, maybe. A decent run was penalized on day 2, but we can never be sure what a clean time would have been.

 

We were both on 11” wheels, similar offsets. My car is the widest in the class.

I heard Steve was struggling with his car being loose on the West course. Most cars were tightening up so not sure what happened with his car.

 

Based on what he told me for offset and spacer I’d estimate at least in the rear his 295 outer edge would be where I’d expect a 315 to be on the same wheel width tucked as far inboard as possible. Of course I don’t know what offset you have and will have to defer to your own assertion. Otherwise it’s not my intention to antagonize you into making defensive replies or otherwise argue with you over petty differences. I did have a conversation with him on the specific wheel offset and spacer width to understand what specifically he has on his car and I’m well aware of what fits the RX8 chassis.

You are the 2019 Champion and nobody is disputing this fact or trying to imply otherwise, least of all me.
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I didn’t take it that way, don’t worry.

I know if we go much further inboard we rub wheel on the rear shocktower. Maybe he could run a slightly higher offset, but we can’t with the 315’s and our setup. One car was running something like a 50 offset wheel with 315’s but they were hitting inboard hard with a higher ride height and less camber. I was still impressed they fit under barely pulled fenders though!

 

My own words to you are sincere; you’re a great driver and nobody can deny it.

With the steering limited enough I can see 11”+50 in the front, but it would have to be too limited in the combination of camber/ride height to be that far inboard on an 11” rim on the rear. It doesn’t make sense to me; just cut or flare the rear fenders with a proper suspension setup and be done with it rather than a half-in, half-out compromise. I can’t see it being better than optimized 295s, but maybe.

 

Couple of fun fun photos from the event... thanks Autoxpix and Got Cone!

 

Here we see the illusive "front grip."

 

Links to DSP photo albums would be appreciated

 

These were just sneak peaks posted on Facebook by the photographers, but once they load their albums I’ll try to share links.

I’ll also try to get videos uploaded tomorrow once we are home.

 

Thanks, thought they usually had them up by now, but was coming up blank searching.

 

Video as promised. These cars are so much fun when you get them working right, it's insane. Our car has also been incredibly reliable so far (knock on wood). DSP really is a sweet spot of fun factor and reliability for the RX8. It lets you fix a few weak points (transmission, lsd, cooling) and then you just get to have a ton of fun with a really awesome chassis.

Day 1 was the East Course with dry, hot conditions (I was soaking myself in ice water trying to stay cool between runs). The course had a lot of 90 degree turns and open offsets and drove very fast. I was hoping it would be a little more technical than it turned out to be, as there was enough room that you could make mistakes and sort of throttle through them without getting punished too badly. However, I still found it enjoyable with lots of "gotcha" spots (the walloms in the back kept getting me). Ultimately I think I lacked aggression and it cost me some time on this course. It was a fun battle as Steve and I were both taking ~.5 seconds of time off each run, and we were both on course at the same time so had no idea how the other person had done until we got back. He ended up getting me on his last run by .4 seconds; I didn't think I would be able to make it up on Day 2 but tried to stay positive. Finch was only .3 back from me and it was only his 2nd? time in Colletti's car, so I also knew he would be a threat on day 2.

Day 2 was on the West Course, with slightly cooler but still dry conditions. This course had endless 180 turns, lots of "choose your own adventure" elements combined with others that paid to be highly precise and inches from the cones, including a 7 cone slalom. This course also had a few notable bumps to try to throw a wrench in things if you weren't ready for them. I tried to be a little more aggressive out of the box while taking the same approach of finding time each run and minimizing major mistakes. We loosened the car up a little to try to make the tight sweepers better, but on first runs the car was getting a little waggy in the slalom. A quick shock change to fix that and she was nearly perfect. Steve had some cone troubles and slowed down a little to clean it up, and I ended up getting him by .8 seconds, for a combined of .4. Finch ended up .3 off of my best time again to take 3rd (that car is going to be quick once they get it dialed in a little more).

I never put together a run I was completely happy with on either course, but it's tough to do it in only three runs while staying clean.


My only regret is not getting a group DSP photo. Next year, we will have to make a point of it, especially now that the majority of the class is all RX8's!

Also, shoutout to Razny who literally fit 315's on his car on site on Monday. Still can't believe you guys did that and pulled it off LOL

 

It's even more impressive when you hear all the other stuff he was dealing with at the same time. I was remotely helping him with troubleshooting his fresh reman install on (checks Facebook messenger history) the Friday before Nats. And then his dog got skunked. And THEN he worked out his wheel/tire fitment.

I don't know that I would have made it all the way there from Chicago if I'd done everything he did in the couple of days before the big event.

 

Good to see most of you at Solo Nats this year! (118 DSP)

I fully expected that this year would not be kind to me, but it was a fun time either way. I wasn't able to get non-corded 295s on my car in time, so I settled for 275s instead. I also only drove my car once this year at a local, and that was with the 295s still on the car. But -- enough with the racer excuses, I'm excited to be in the midst of such a competitive class, and I'm looking forward to the things I want to improve upon next season (so long as a certain STS car doesn't distract me too much...)

1. Fit 315s -- Seems that the class is heading in this direction. Not sure if I want to keep the 10.5s and try the 315s on those, or pick up 11s and go head-first into custom offsets to get the rears to fit better.

2. DATA -- I had a friend of mine set up SoloStorm for the West course, and from the limited debrief, I can see the immense value that it brings, especially if that feedback can be put into use between runs. I know data is useful (looking at data is my job, in a nutshell), but to see it laid out so plainly with SoloStorm really is eye-opening.

3. Brakes -- I'm impressed with the Carbotech AX6 compound, but if I'm bad at modulating them, what good is it to me? It takes too little pedal pressure to get the brakes to lock up. I like a firm pedal and modulating with leg strength; not toe modulation. Still on the fence if I want to replace them or just git gud. However, it would be nice if I didn't have to think about how to brake when I'm jumping between my cars.

 

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Oh yeah, forgot something -- I should figure out what's going on with my power steering. Seems heat-related, pretty much lost it completely on my third run on day one. I'm going to have to do some diagnostics, or clean all the connectors and hope it doesn't come back.

 

The Apex 18x11 Mustang fitment wheels work fine on the RX-8 but you'll need spacers.

 

Wheels - If you decide to go the 18x11 route, the XXR 531 wheels are cheap. The offset is a little low and they are on the heavy side, but they're $150 apiece. We use them for locals and test and tunes on our car. Edited to add: If you're running the offset lower ball joints, these wheels will be REALLY too low of an offset. If you're running only offset UCA bushings, then they're only a little too low but workable.

Data - we run Solostorm without video (faster processing). It is very useful, especially when dual driving. We can review the segments and see what we are each doing better. I used it at nationals, as Andrew was doing a couple of things better than me, and I was then able to apply the same technique. It can also be depressing though, because sometimes I make what I think is a big mistake and worth at least .5, only to find out it only cost me 1 or 2 tenths LOL.

Brakes - We really like EBC Yellowstuff pads. They work hot and cold equally well and have great pedal feel.

Have you re-routed the coolant overflow hose? We made our hose longer and routed it to the under tray so it doesn't spray on the PS connectors anymore (also, since we upgraded our radiator and did underdrive pulleys we don't have nearly as many issues with the overflow tank spewing). We also regularly add dialectic grease to the connectors.

 

+20 and 27+ lbs, but they are cheap

you might as well just get 12” with the proper offset because it’s already sticking out further than that

 

Sounds like I should ditch the 18x10.5s then

Tamra, yeah, I have the hose venting underneath the connectors. On Tuesday I checked them, hit them with a cleaner, and put dielectric grease on them, but the issue came back to a lesser extent on Wednesday. I was more religious with opening the hood and checking down there to see if I saw anything unusual, but I couldn't see anything.
If it's coolant related, I may change the cap for a new one, in case this one's gone bad. But, I'm also running an underdrive pulley, so that should help with that issue. I still need to check the connector on the rack itself, but that one doesn't seem to be the cause of the issues as much as the ones on the radiator shroud.

I'll be running the car again this upcoming Sunday with a codriver, so it should be a good post-Nats shakedown.

 

Sorry I didnt talk to everyone more, I was trying to do too much this trip including being a mom to our Region. I meant to at least invite anyone who was sticking around to the whiskey share we did Thursday night in our paddock area.

I did not drive my best, and I wish we didnt forget to run video on my third run for the spin.

It was great fun to watch the runs Tamra, Steve and Ryan were throwing down. Sad that I had to be that guy in SP cutting fenders for tires, need to grind down the corner light tabs on the passenger side more than I did. The sidewalls got cut pretty good.

20 entrants is nice, I also talked to a mazdaspeed3 that might be joining us next year.

Hope to see more of you alk next year!

 

You seem to think people can run a higher offset than I think. We're probably both right, setup dependent.

I'm still not sure the extra 5lbs/corner over Steve's setup is worth it, so I'm not sold on 12's LOL. Also, I hate the feel of a tire that's too stretched - they get a little too edgy - so not sure the 12 would be an improvement without going to a 335, which would make the pinch weld issue an absolute nightmare with a high likelihood of not having enough steering angle for many courses. I'll stick with the 315's on 11's, and probably still experiment with the 295s.