Huntsville Tour
 

GH and Per, congratulations on the great showing at Huntsville!

Out with it, how was the course, how'd the 07 feel with the 17s? We need info!

Dan

Congratulations? Me? Yikes no. All the congrats go to GH, Curt B and Tevin, who drove well. All I can say about my driving is that I learned a lot.

The course was extremely technical and long, it was seriously the first good course I've driven since Topeka last year (was that 9 months ago already?) The course demanded a tight, tidy line at ALL times and the new 07 was very hard to keep online as it kept wanting to spin the tires (both of them) on corner exit.

I'm sorry Per, but it sounds like you still took some good info out of it. I consider it a good showing in a car that is still seeming to need some soul-searching to see how it performs! It's definitely not a SC Mini anymore! Did you and GH run the same tire size?

I have a set of Elise tires (245/40R17s) that I'm gonna test fit on a set of 17x7s just for shiggles. If they fit, i'll MAKE them work by Nationals :)

d

Yep, all three 07s were on 225/40R17 A6s on Enkeis. At least my Enkeis were shiny.

Thanks, Dan and Per. I thought it was a really good event in every respect. Not much spread in times, especially on Sunday. Kimberly had some good runs during the course of the weekend as well. She and Per were at a bit of a disadvantage as they had to start Saturday morning's heat on "sticker" Hoosiers, while I'd been able to scuff in my set the previous weekend at a local event.

As Per pointed out, both courses were lots of fun but car placement was critical everywhere. Shocks and exhaust will improve the '07's performance a bit more (although IMO the OE sport suspension shocks are pretty darn good) but the biggest difference I've noticed between my '07 and Jeff Jacobs' '05 that I drove last season is the reduced understeer....a result of the additional negative camber that's available up front on the new car.

Oh, and no DSC issues, thankfully. Looks like whatever was causing that has been corrected by the factory.

GH

GH, do you know what the differences are in shock mounting between the R53 and R56?

Great job, btw, in a "new" car. I know there's a lot of developing to be done on it, and that's kinda what makes it fun for me now deviating from SM etc. My next question was the DSC/ASC issue. Does your car have both DSC and ASC? We just ordered ours with ASC only.


d

Dan, I haven't pulled mine completely apart yet, but the rears seem to be very nearly the same.

the fronts mount the same but the spring perch is completely different, so the R53 struts would not a legal swap, even if they would bolt up (which they probably would)

Dan,

DSC incorporates ASC. You still have the ASC function with the addition of electronic stability control. Now that it appears there isn't an issue with DSC "re-enabling itself", I'd highly recommend you order it on your car, if you can still change the order with the dealer. No matter how skilled you are as a driver, I speak from personal experience that stability control systems are an invaluable backup system to your own ability to evasively react to situations on the highway. /stepping off soapbox/

Shocks: I haven't had mine off the car to examine personally, but I talked to someone this weekend who has. I was told that the front spring perches differ enough to prevent use of the R56 spring with the perch on the Koni's for the R53. The mount that's welded on the strut for the swaybar droplink is also different. Koni is supposedly going to have to manufacture new housings to fit the new cars, and may not have them for several months or longer.

The rears are also different, but not so much that R53 Koni's can't be bolted up. I think there is a possible issue with the lower shock mount relative to the new aluminum trailing arms, but again I haven't had time to pull one of mine off the car to look. Hope to do that this week.

GH

:thumbsup:I'd bet you'll be one of the first with a set of those front Konis, huh?

Market value of the R53 Konis just got shot down the gutter, unfortunately. I'm very optimistic of the OE shocks, and are much moreso after your testimony. More than likely the big performance gain, at least for this year, is figuring out how to squeeze the most rubber onto these wheels and make them work. Apparently power isn't an issue, using it may be.

is my 5 weeks up yet?

d

I did get a chance to compare my rear shocks to my old Konis. The diameter of the bottom of the spring is larger than the old car. Not a lot (about 5/16"), but it was enough to make me worry about the spring working itself past the perch if the perch wasn't modified.
The perch height is identical on both shocks, so I am considering having a "Donut" welded to the outside of the exisiting perch, along with something to help keep the spring centered on the perch.
Of course, you also have to do something about that funky washer/bushing that fits into the new aluminum arm. (I think Helix is selling something to address that issue.)
Thanks for the info on the fronts.
Mike Potocki

on a semi-GS related subject, Can anyone tell me if the 17" stock wheels use the same 48mm offset? if so, stock allows +-6mm from OE, right?

Dan

Yes and Yes

thanks!

i've got that Helix washer on the way, to use w/ my DA rears from my 2005...new Konis for the fronts (prototypes) are on the way.

Per

Per, what washer is Helix making? Got more info?

Koni prototypes. bastard! i guess owning a magazine helps in that department :P Report back! (before Nats!)

go to Helix13.com and click on suspension, it's listed there.

Per

Dan,

Update on using R53-style Koni's on an R56...the OE spring perches on the R56 are pressed onto the OE front strut. It appears that if you have them pressed off, you can then press them on the R53 Koni front strut.

The tab on the Koni strut for the swaybar droplink is a slightly different height, which can be dealt with by obtaining an adjustable-length droplink (legal under SCCA Stock category rules) if you don't want to get into cutting and re-welding the existing tab.

No ironclad guarantee that all of the above will work as I haven't yet done it myself, but all indications are that it can be done.

GH

I was able to install rear R53's koni using Helix's bushing. No problem. Front, my mechanic/codriver, Steve Snow was able to swap out the perches and install the front struts. He just tapped out the R53 perches and tapped it onto the R56's.
One problem or maybe not, one of the end link broke on the first event, ball-joint of the endlink popped off. Installed a new one and had three events on them and no problem... crossing my fingers. If it does it again I am going to the adjustable endlink.

Im sure if anybody needs to retro fit the R53 koni's, Steve can help you out.
Bimmerworks- 610 701 9172.

yasu - 98GS -Philly region

Does anybody have any alignment info?????

I have been in 2 events with the new car, and both courses i prolly could've used more gearing or a taller tire, do ya'll believe the 17's will take care of that, and might the 17's be too tall for tighter courses?

I guess you all are talking about the tour in Huntsville, Alabama. I managed to swing by for a few minutes on Saturday and get some shots. Here are a few that may be one of you. Album link