[Adam3s]

For sure!

I'll need a favor from you though. Preston and I would really like to take 1st and 2nd place. So if you could just go ahead and not try too hard, that'd be great! ;-)

Thanks bud! As for your request, I'll see what I can do for you on that, no promises!

 

[JMT]

Finally going to test the 225 Hankook RS3 V2's against the 195 V2's, (both on 15x7.5" wheels,) at the Wilmington Tour this weekend. Thanks, Nick!

 

[Cobrawannabe]

I look forward to seeing the results!

 

[JMT]

Wish I had more to report on the 195 vs. 225 tire test. Unfortunately, we only had time for 4 runs (2 each) on the 225's at the Test N Tune. We started messing with pressures to try to dial them in, but there just wasn't enough time. So we decided to play it safe and stick with the 195's. We're only 3 weeks out from Nationals, and don't have anymore opportunities for testing. So it's looking like we'll run the 195's.

 

[JMT]

Wilmington

Two autocross weekends in a row in Ohio. The Wilmington ProSolo, and the Wilmington Champ Tour. We tried some different spring rates at the ProSolo, but couldn't get them to work quite how we wanted. The car was pretty loose, which made higher speed transitions a bit dicey. Switched back to the other springs and changed the alignment for the Tour, and the car felt better. We had a pretty good showing, taking 2nd/4th at the Pro and 1st/2nd at the Tour. Preston drove exceptionally well on day one of the Tour, raw-timing other classes that are normally faster. Only 3 weeks until we head to Lincoln for the Pro Finale and National Championships. Not enough time to make any significant changes, so the car will likely be set up the same as it was in Wilmington.

Results from the Tour and Pro:

 

[Cobrawannabe]

Excellent stuff!

 

[Whiskerz]

Man sounds like you guys are having great fun with this!

We just finished up our championship season for the region. Finished 3rd behind 2 experienced drivers racing in very prepared honda fits.... I have some work to do to catch those guys!

I need to find myself a new tyre to run for auto-x though, mines are well and truely burnt out... Contemplating picking up some 205/50R16 Dunlop Direzza ZII off tirerack before they sell out. Wishing my wheels were 7.5" wide so I could go 225 width though

 

[Cobrawannabe]

Gordon, go with a shorter sidewall for your auto-x tires. Just do it and thank me later.

 

[JMT]

Definitely swap that intake for an FSWerks unit. The k&n has been know to completely skew AFR and the piping is way too small to take advantage of the potent flow characteristics of the 2.3.

The 3inch intake with shrunk maf housing of the FSWerks is what gives proper velocity over a 2inch full diameter straw.

You did explain it, it's just not correct.

I meant 2.5inch not 2inch.

These engines like the breathe. And yes, the 'shrunk' MAF housing I was referring to was simply the same size piping as stock at the maf(which is what yours is, only everywhere).

It doesn't create velocity, it's a straw. It will gain power because it flows better than stock, you will, however, lose power over nearly every other intake available.

A 3inch intake(FSWerks for one piece like your K&N, CFM or a Cosworth) with factory sized MAF will create more power and torque everywhere.

No need to argue, your logic is just incorrect with this particular part. Everything else seems to be in check.

There is plenty of proof out there already of what I am discussing. This combination has been tested a few times over the last 11 years.

One of which I personally dealt with;

We had a local with a fully bolted on 2.3(stock intake manifold) stuck at 139whp/135wtq on a dynojet. Unhappy with the numbers, the owner asked for ideas, we swapped it's K&N intake for a Marcy Motorsports(4inch into stock MAF housing into 3inch throttle body pipe) another local had installed in his car and the next immediate dyno was 156whp/159wtq.

He bought his own the next business day. That was a car with programming btw.

I'll try and dig up the thread, it was about 8 years ago.

I look forward to your dynos. I hope you understand I'm just trying to help you make your car better. I really do love builds like this.

There is a reason why the people most familiar with the focus(not K&N) use larger piping.

when it comes down to it, the proof will be in the dyno charts.

Finally made it to the Dyno. Wonder how much power I'd make with a 3" air intake tube

I'm pretty happy with the numbers, considering it was on a Mustang Dyno on a very HOT and HUMID day.

Mods:
2.5" K&N Typhoon Cold Air Intake
F2 4-1 Header
Magnaflow high-flow Cat
2.5" custom cat-back
Custom tune

 

[JMT]

Lots to catch up on, including the SCCA Solo Nationals and ProSolo Finale, but for now... a video of my time-attack run at Brainerd Int'l Raceway during last weekend's MAPerformance Proving Grounds event. Got a little "slideways" at Turn 3, (47-second mark.)

 

[msperber]

Looks like a ton of fun. Can u within your rules set run a 5 point harness or a schroth (sp) harness, u will go faster held better in the seat.

 

[MCPunk79]

Lots to catch up on, including the SCCA Solo Nationals and ProSolo Finale, but for now... a video of my time-attack run at Brainerd Int'l Raceway during last weekend's MAPerformance Proving Grounds event. Got a little "slideways" at Turn 3, (47-second mark.)

I was at this event with COSVT… saw your Focus sitting next to the auto-x event!

 

[JMT]

I was at this event with COSVT… saw your Focus sitting next to the auto-x event!

Thought I saw an SVT there. How'd it go for you? I was entered in the Triple Track Showdown (drag, autox, time attack) and it was a lot of fun!

Drag Time: 15.0 @ 91mph
Autox Time: 32.7 seconds
Time Attack: 109.4 seconds

I have video from the Autox too:

 

[JMT]

Looks like a ton of fun. Can u within your rules set run a 5 point harness or a schroth (sp) harness, u will go faster held better in the seat.

I can. I used to run a Schroth in my old car, but I've gotten a little crazy with weight-savings this year. Lots of improvements planned for the off-season. We'll see if a harness makes the cut.

 

[JMT]

Sorry for the delay!

The ProFinale and National Championships were a blast as usual, but suspension woes made for some real challenges. The rear shocks needed a re-valve due to the higher spring rates. Lee from Koni was on site, and providing service to Koni dampers as needed. Unfortunately, we couldn't get him the rear shocks until after the ProFinale. So at the Finale, we had to deal with a bit of a bounce, that became more violent as the grip came up. Preston was able to manage some great times in spite of the issue. I decided not to spray the tires after Preston's runs, and that was a mistake. Grip came way up, and the bounce got worse. Felt like I had some solid runs going, but when the car started to bounce, it was almost undriveable. It was pretty frustrating. Preston still managed to take the win in the Pro Finale, which is really cool! We pulled the rear shocks for re-valving that night. Got them back around noon the next day and headed to the test course. The car felt WAY better. The rear felt way more stable in high speed transitions. We still noticed a slight bounce, but it didn't seem to be a big deal. The next day was the start of the Solo National Championships. We were pretty excited, feeling really good about the car. However, that quickly changed when Preston went out for his first run... the bounce was back, and worse than ever. Almost any input would cause the car to start bouncing and bucking violently. We tried to make some adjustments to tire pressures and shocks. I noticed the adjuster on the RF Koni didn't seem to be turning very easily. A couple friends met up with us in grid and we tried to figure out what was going on. We all agreed that there was a serious problem with the RF strut. After taking all of our very-bouncy runs, we contacted Lee at Koni. He said if we hurry, we might be able to get something done before competition the following day. So we hurried back to paddock and pulled the front struts. Sure enough... the RF had ZERO rebound dampening. Push it down slowly, and it popped right back up. Brought them to Lee, and decided along with the repair, that it would make sense to re-valve them too. Amazingly, Lee had them completed and back to my paddock spot in only 3 hours from the time I had contacted him from grid. Pretty amazing service! We re-installed the struts and crossed our fingers that the valving would be okay. The next day, we went out on our first runs and were happy to find that the bounce was gone! Unfortunately, the increased compression from the new valving was causing a bit of a push. I had been using higher spring rates in the past to compensate for the lack of compression in the front struts. I knew I needed to go down in front spring rates, but at that point... it was too late. We completed our runs as best we could. Preston managed to put down the fastest time on day two, but it wasn't enough to make up for what happened on day one. All things considered, I think we drove pretty well. We ended up 4th and 8th out of 24 drivers in class.



Videos of me driving:

Pro Finale:

 

[JMT]

Nats Day 1 (Bouncy):

 

[JMT]

Nats Day 2:

 

[408wkash]

Hey how was the fitment on the corbeau fx1 wide? Looking to pick up a pair.

 

[JMT]

Hey how was the fitment on the corbeau fx1 wide? Looking to pick up a pair.

No good. I sold mine. Couldn't get it to fit.

 

[408wkash]

No good. I sold mine. Couldn't get it to fit.

Fckk! What do you have the fx1 or fx1 pro?