Last Solo2 event of the year - and a fun one!
Posted: 02 Oct 2017 05:56
Quickly the 510 season is wrapping up.
This past weekend we participated in the MCO.org's Solo2 season finale (http://www.mco.org/wordpress/2017/09/26 ... -reminder/). This one had a twist in that we started late morning and drove through to 10PM! It was a nice challenge to throw the car around in the dark, on a lot that was cooler/more slippery. My oldest son has probably put more KMs on the car this season than I. He's taken it to a good 1/2 dozen car shows, quite a bit of cruising & commuting, and consistently nagging me to go autocross. This was his 6th or 7th event now, and by far his best. He's getting much smoother with inputs - although he did have a nice high speed slalom spin on his 2nd run. He's about 4 sec off my time which is a nice improvement, but still far enough away that the trash talk has yet to appear. I remain about ~3-4s off FTD (http://live.axti.me/results/Vyqhy8tjX). I've now had a few years with the 510 and various Solo2 outings to acclimate to it's traits. While there's still some minor adjustments that prove a bit of gain, I think it's now time to 'tweak' the 510 to close that 3s FTD gap and make future AutoX outings more competitive. Adding to the motivation of 510 role-change is my son getting good enough to handle a more serious setup (and being totally addicted to Solo2), and most importantly project 280z is anticipated to take over cruising/lite DD duties this coming spring. Thankfully, the changes don't have to be too extreme to claw back at least 2-3s. With Project 280z getting 15" down the road, I now have a spare set of Cheviot 14x7 ET0 rims that will nicely fit the 510 along with a set of 205/55R14 Hankook Ventus Z214 (vs the 195/60R14 Azenis I'm now sporting). A proper bucket seat, and custom harness bar and simply more consistent outings/seat time will also add to my pace. Switching to the 240sx OEM EFI will add a bit more useable low-end torque. Maybe a brake booster, stainless lines, and proportioning valve to help with braking performance.
... and that's about it for Phase 1. All of it is a reasonable investment for a relatively large 'bang-for-the-buck'. All the changes will be reverseable and not so extreme that the 510 will drive no different on the street. Suspension-wise there's lots of adjustment left on the current Tokicos Illuminas to handle the R compound extra grip. The existing R160 CLSD should be able to handle the 205cm R compounds and KA24e torque, and camber plates have lots of adjustment to help the front bite.
The car has seen lots of action, bike outings, various 'chores' throughout the city, and a few Solo2 outings.
So far we've put a little over 5000km on her this year, hopefully another 1000km before she gets parked for the winter.This past weekend we participated in the MCO.org's Solo2 season finale (http://www.mco.org/wordpress/2017/09/26 ... -reminder/). This one had a twist in that we started late morning and drove through to 10PM! It was a nice challenge to throw the car around in the dark, on a lot that was cooler/more slippery. My oldest son has probably put more KMs on the car this season than I. He's taken it to a good 1/2 dozen car shows, quite a bit of cruising & commuting, and consistently nagging me to go autocross. This was his 6th or 7th event now, and by far his best. He's getting much smoother with inputs - although he did have a nice high speed slalom spin on his 2nd run. He's about 4 sec off my time which is a nice improvement, but still far enough away that the trash talk has yet to appear. I remain about ~3-4s off FTD (http://live.axti.me/results/Vyqhy8tjX). I've now had a few years with the 510 and various Solo2 outings to acclimate to it's traits. While there's still some minor adjustments that prove a bit of gain, I think it's now time to 'tweak' the 510 to close that 3s FTD gap and make future AutoX outings more competitive. Adding to the motivation of 510 role-change is my son getting good enough to handle a more serious setup (and being totally addicted to Solo2), and most importantly project 280z is anticipated to take over cruising/lite DD duties this coming spring. Thankfully, the changes don't have to be too extreme to claw back at least 2-3s. With Project 280z getting 15" down the road, I now have a spare set of Cheviot 14x7 ET0 rims that will nicely fit the 510 along with a set of 205/55R14 Hankook Ventus Z214 (vs the 195/60R14 Azenis I'm now sporting). A proper bucket seat, and custom harness bar and simply more consistent outings/seat time will also add to my pace. Switching to the 240sx OEM EFI will add a bit more useable low-end torque. Maybe a brake booster, stainless lines, and proportioning valve to help with braking performance.
... and that's about it for Phase 1. All of it is a reasonable investment for a relatively large 'bang-for-the-buck'. All the changes will be reverseable and not so extreme that the 510 will drive no different on the street. Suspension-wise there's lots of adjustment left on the current Tokicos Illuminas to handle the R compound extra grip. The existing R160 CLSD should be able to handle the 205cm R compounds and KA24e torque, and camber plates have lots of adjustment to help the front bite.