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With the track wheel/tire combo resolved, I needed to get the stock injectors swapped out for the 550cc so the lean condition was finally resolved.
It took longer to get to the injectors than swap them out.
I put everything back together, only losing one clip in the process, and left it until I could sync up with Adrian on the tune.
This morning, Adrian was able to do his magic on the tune and so far the test drives have been promising. It's pulling all the way to redline now, and I'm sure I'm not leaving any power on the table. The main thing is to have it safe for track days so as to avoid an incident running lean.
The ASTs are installed and the drop is at the minimum since I didn't want it slammed for track fun. The drop is from the springs only since the coilovers are adjusted upward.
I'm going to need to play with tire heights since the current setup is only a few mm away from the adj collar. These tires are 25 inches tall so a shorter tire on the new wheels should resolve any concerns, but I've got some measuring to do in order to figure out the best fit. Then a shorter tire may need another slight drop to close the gap ....lol
Top picture is before and bottom is after.
The ride is firmer as expected, but I'll continue to play with the ***** some more. The rear bar definitely helped the car rotate so I'm happy with the upgrade. Once my tire situation if handled, I want to attend a AutoX group prior to my track day if time allows.
So you don't like the 8.5 wheels? Lol
I can say they are way lighter than the current R105 setup. Plus the are 3 piece so I can easily swap out the barrels as needed to fit however I want. That's a win for me!
I would have love to have found a 7.5” or 8” wide wheels that fit the R56 and been able to stuff some 225 wide tires on it. But, had issues with that size tires rubbing in the rear with 7” wide wheels. The R53 seems to be much more wheel and tire friendly than the R56 or the F56. I actually went the other direction with the R56. 15” wheels with 205-50 tires, which are only 23” in diameter. Better “gearing” for the shorter tracks I go on. They are a bit goofy looking, though.
Last edited by Eddie07S; Apr 16, 2022 at 04:07 AM.
Reason: Edit
Well, this was quite the revelation. With clearance issues due to the new suspension, I decided to have one of the old tires pulled off the "new to me" wheels just to make it easier to check clearance and determine the best tire choice.
I had the tires pulled this morning, and I measured again just to make sure my prior measurements were ok. Well, the wheels were not sized correctly in the ad , i.e. 17x9 with 43mm offset.
They are actually 17x8s with ~38 offset.
So, now that I know what size the wheels really are all my prior calculations are off. I'll cancel the previous spacers ordered and after my checks today order another set. The biggest issue will likely be my wheel studs are too short. I may not have enough threads exposed after tightening to pass track inspection.
Just looking at options a 215/40/17 may be the good size to consider. It's shorter overall for better clearance with the coilover, and it will be fairly square with this wheel for tighter turning response.
I have looked at doing the 215-40 tire, but always figured it would be a bad fit on a 7” wide wheel. Should be good on the 8” wheel. If you go that route, it will be interesting to hear how tires of that size do on the track.
I know these are pricey, but the Turner Motorsports studs are really good and reliable, something that I look for when opting for track stuff. I have their bullet nose one, which makes threading the nut on easy, but need to be extra long to account for the unthreaded part.
I have looked at doing the 215-40 tire, but always figured it would be a bad fit on a 7” wide wheel. Should be good on the 8” wheel. If you go that route, it will be interesting to hear how tires of that size do on the track.
I know these are pricey, but the Turner Motorsports studs are really good and reliable, something that I look for when opting for track stuff. I have their bullet nose one, which makes threading the nut on easy, but need to be extra long to account for the unthreaded part.
I agree the 215/40 "should" fit perfect on these wheels. Based on my measurements I need a 12-13mm spacer to give me enough caliper clearance. I ordered a cheap set is 12mm to test, and then I'll order nice ones one I know for sure whether I need the 12 or 13.
I'll be getting the wheels disassembles so as to update the matte black centers. Not sure if I should go with clear coated bare alum or something like a gunmetal grey so as to break up the sea of black. Decisions decisions....
The cheap 12mm spacers delivered yesterday so I did some more test fitting last night. I'm happy to say I have a couple mm of clearance so I'm good to go now. They also allow for 3-4 threads exposed on the studs so that is enough to clear track inspection as well. I'll take the wheel by a powder coater this week to see what my options are for color. I intend to keep the gloss black hoop so just need to find a center color that works.
Seems the 215/40 will fit just fine based on these measurements on the 8 inch rim. Once color is sorted, tires will get ordered.
On another note, my hood Bowden cables decided to retire so the hood won't release at the latch. I've ordered a new set of cables so waiting on them to deliver, hopefully by this weekend.
Yeah, 18in wheels definitely offer more clearance though the choice of tires cause other problems. The calipers could have been a more forgiving design for sure.
I've always been a RE71 fan, but since the new RE71RS isn't out yet I'll be picking up a set of Falkens. I've heard good feedback on the 660s, and I do want to stay with a 200TW tire for now.
You won’t be disappointed with the Falkens. The are very similar to the ‘Stones. Maybe slightly better grip and more “user friendly”. As for “user friendly”, that is hard to describe. They transition nicely into corners and they are more confidence inspiring. Not that the ‘Stones were abrupt at all, but these are less so, if that makes sense. With the ‘Stones near their limits I felt that they were on the edge of something, but they never did fall off. That feeling is not there with the Falkens. Where the ‘Stones are better is in the wet, noticeably better.
Eddie,
Thanks for that video, for my expected use it was very interesting. Quite impressive how much faster the Rival was than the rest, and I've never tried those before.
I was surprised about the Rival’s time. I know it is a tire more used in the amateur endurance racing because it wears well. Had not heard that it was as fast as it is. It is also not good at all in the rain. For me it is too expensive and not being good in the rain is a big negative.
As for his statement about it being the only none directional tire and therefore it can be switched from side to side, but the other, directional tires, can’t isn’t true. A directional tire can be run “backwards”, in the dry. Wet, not so much. The only issue I have heard about with directional tires being run “backwards” is that, if it is a more regular street tire with a lot of tread blocks, they have been reported to be squirrelly. This is not the case with the big block 200 TW tires.
The guy who did that video also did one comparing 100 TW tires to the 200 TW tires. The surprise was that some of the 200 TW tires were as quick as at least one of the 100 TW tires. The Toyo R888R was slow, which I found with the R888. So take care if that is the route you go.
Last edited by Eddie07S; Apr 20, 2022 at 01:45 PM.
Reason: Fix typo
My reason for never using the Rival was wet performance. Since I tend to drive my cars to events, I never wanted to be caught in the wet since I new they sucked. The RE71s were actually pretty good when the track was wet as I never felt uncomfortable with them, but those with Rivals tended to skip their heat or drive much slower.
The 100TW tires are good for hero laps, but I tend to do both track days and AutoX when possible. Under that use the 100TW put you in a different class and the value to use ratio just isn't there for me.
The video did validate the Falken 660s so that's good. I actually ran the 615Ks and they were slower than the Rival/RE71s, but they lasted a whole lot longer. Again, another good tire for someone having fun rather than chasing a trophy.
Wow, picking wheel colors became a bigger deal than I expected only because I want to keep the gloss black lip. I've been looking at pictures all week, and I'm just not feeling the polished or machined lip with a darker center on these cars.
I drifted to the gray shade of colors, but they tended to be too much in that direction. I then shifted over to black with metallic effect pigments overcoats to tone it down so it had contrast by killing the jetness.
I picked out this group to look at outside to see what I thought.
With a lot of time and looking at different angles, I knocked it down to this group of 3. Some of the others had flakes with hue that didn't work, and I still felt the courseness of a few of these might be too much.
After playing them on the wheel and sharing with the wife, we decided the center color above had the best contrast and worked with the car the best. I didn't want a wheel that resembled a bass boat, but I did want an effect that gave a little color shift as the wheel was viewed differently. It has just enough sparkle without being distracting.
Here is the choice for the center faces while maintaining the gloss black hoops. The hoops aren't super clean, but that will be done this weekend before dropping them off next week.
The flat black centers have faded to an ugly brown so anything will be an improvement over that.
My weekend got derailed by a stretched Bowden cable for the hood. Luckily the local dealer had one available for next day delivery so it was meant to be my Saturday task.
Most of it was pretty easy, but running the cable at the firewall in the clips was almost torture. Maybe if you had little hands, but otherwise it definitely tested my patience. I finally got it done and really hope I don't have to do that again for a long time.
With that job wrapped up, it turned to my unhappy Steering Angle Sensor. It's throwing a fault since it's reading 22deg when the steering wheel and tires are pointed straight ahead. I thought INPA could calibrate it but apparently not....
The new color for the wheels will also be sidelined as the shop told me today that they are running 3 week lead times currently. Well, that usually means it will take 4 weeks or so. I still want to hit a track day next month so pretty wheels are going to take a backseat for awhile!
Not a big update, but I picked up my new Falken tire yesterday. It took over two weeks to get in which is surprising. I didn't have time to wait on them to mount it and since I moved last week I didn't want to drive the 45 miles back to get it later. I'll have it mounted this weekend and do a final fit to verify all is good before ordering the other 3 tires.
This is a new size for me, 215/40/17, to fit the CCW wheels as I needed more clearance with the new coilovers versus the 225/40/18 that are a bit too tall and just a bit wide. I only about 2mm of clearance with which is too risky for me to track. This 215 size will also get me closer to the stock tire height so we'll see if I need to adjust the ride height again or not pending the wheel well gap.
Once the AST coilovers were on, the 225/40/18s on the R105 wheels needed 16mm of spacer to barely clear them.
I picked up a set of 17x8 +38 CCW wheels to use solely for track fun. After reading tire specs forever, I decided on a 215/40/17 as I didn't think the 215/45 being only .5 inch shorter than the 225/40/18 will be enough.
The tire fits well with just a bit of stretch that I don't really like, but it will make for great steering response.
I now have plenty of clearance with a 12mm spacer which is needed to clear the R56 JCW calipers.
It has some more gap obviously, but still having the taller 18 tire on the rear may be causing some of it since they car is so stiff now.
I did make a last minute change. I ended up going with the Falken RT615K+ rather than the R660. Speaking with some folks here in CA, the RT660 heats up fast which is great for autoX but not as great for track sessions where the RT615 will provide more endurance. I'm not running for money so I don't have to be the fastest on race day! I also heard Bridgestone was going to be bringing over the new RE71 replacement so I went with the cheaper Falken for now while I'm getting used to the car, and I'll step up to the stones next time around.
It will be interesting to hear about how the RT615s is out on the track. I understand they are popular tire with the amateur endurance race crowd because of their longevity.
FWIW - I pondered the choice between the 615 and 660 for a while before settling on the 660s. I had been running the RE71Rs and I wanted to see if this new upstart was up to that standard. I am going to say “yes” it is at least as good if not a bit better. They must have brought over some of the 615 pixie dust into the 660 as I find the 660 to be less prone to overheating as compared to the RE71R. However, it didn’t get any of the 615’s longevity as the 660’s wear is similar to the ‘Stone. One thing I found in common with all the different tires I have tried is that if their hot pressure gets to be too high, they will get greasy.
It will be interesting to hear about how the RT615s is out on the track. I understand they are popular tire with the amateur endurance race crowd because of their longevity.
FWIW - I pondered the choice between the 615 and 660 for a while before settling on the 660s. I had been running the RE71Rs and I wanted to see if this new upstart was up to that standard. I am going to say “yes” it is at least as good if not a bit better. They must have brought over some of the 615 pixie dust into the 660 as I find the 660 to be less prone to overheating as compared to the RE71R. However, it didn’t get any of the 615’s longevity as the 660’s wear is similar to the ‘Stone. One thing I found in common with all the different tires I have tried is that if their hot pressure gets to be too high, they will get greasy.
I'll definitely update the group after my first outing. I'm interested myself as to how they will perform on the Roach. A few years ago when I was active with the Chevelle, a lot of guys were running the 615ks on their track cars. They were 1-2 seconds slower on the AutoX, but on track their times were much closer. The 615Ks also lasted much longer than my Stones so i have second hand knowledge of their durability. Hopefully I'll get similar results.
I was set on the 660s just because of their new technology, but I was cautioned here by guys due to track temps. I guess if i was willing to burn a set of tires each weekend it's not a big deal, but I'm not ready to make that level of commitment to the tire gods. They also recommended the Hankook RS4s for their durable lap times, but I believe those didn't have the size I wanted. IT's a roll of the dice regardless so I'll see how it goes. I agree on the air pressure as I tend to set them low and let the pressure build up over the course of the session.
Well, all had been going pretty good. So with that I decided to recharge the AC so when driving to the track I don't sweat so much!
I swapped out the bad parts, vacuumed the system, and then started the car to begin the charging process. I got the first can going, and was messing around so didn't notice the compressor didn't engage after 5-6 minutes or so. I started wondering what was up, and then I notice the car was running hotter than normal. Further looking around led to me shutting it off and watched the overflow dump some coolant.
This is what I found which is first with this type of failure. I know the tensioners lose the dampener, but I haven't seen one break before....
So, new part on the way. The belt was super tight on there so I had to cut it off. Apparently the belt wasn't turning which meant the water pump likely stopped turning at some point which led to the overheating. Thank goodness it was just idling. Once the new part is on I'll have to purge the coolant system again since have no doubt there is a lot of air in the system now.
Nothing new that's fun, it just seems I'm on a stretch of less than favorable luck lately.
Driving home this past week, the dash started lighting up all over quickly followed by the car falling into limp mode. After getting safely off the road, ridiculous in itself, I was able to track down the issue to a low battery due to a failing alternator. I was only a few miles from home so I made the not so long drive at 2k rpm or 25 mph max so that was fun....lol
I got the new new alt ordered, then picked it up and installed last night. All is well again, plus I'm getting faster at pulling the front end on/off!
Here's to hoping all is good for awhile so I can get back to some fun stuff!
