2nd Gen R56 Pepper White Street / STX Autocross Build Thread

Not track...autocross.

 

Car was BRILLIANT yesterday.

300 Miles of twisty, mountain, San Diego roads with the West Coast Mini club. The car was flawless, and the suspension felt fantastic. I was worried it would be too harsh on the roads, but I don't feel much of a comfort difference from stock. Maybe I just like stiff cars.

Current settings are H-Sport rear sway bar set to "middle" (3 stiffness options available), from Koni shocks FULL soft, and rear Konis set to 3/4 of a turn from stiff. (2 1/2 full rotations from soft to stiff. I sure wish they would index them.)

Here's a shot from the run yesterday. Tough place I live in.



3 autocrosses (PCA, BMWCCA, SCCA) in the next two weekends, so the real test begins soon.

 

Alright...pads and rotors ordered. I might paint the calipers while I'm at it. Just because.

 

Brakes installed, and refurbed.

Got everything I needed from JC Whitney. Crazy great prices on the pads. They have a button named "make offer", so I just offered $75 for each set, and that reduced the price significantly. The downside, they didn't have the upgraded rear discs that had the hats and interiors powdercoated. While I was in there, I decided to paint the calipers the same orange as the orange dot in my logo:



The devil is in the details.

Here's the layout:



The rear discs needed to be painted. So, I masked them with blue tape and sprayed them up. I used High Heat Engine enamel.



Much better:


In the meantime, it was time to clean and refurb the front calipers. This is where I started:



Calipers pulled, bungee corded out of the way, cleaned, and flipped over. The painting begins:



Rears ready for pad install:



3 coats of orange, 3 coats of clear later, all buttoned up and installed. The orange looks pretty fluorescent in this picture, but it's not quite that neon in real life:



Hiding behind the wheel:



EBC Warning...



...which I promptly ignored and raced the next day at a local PCA event. EBC brakes have a special coating which scores and beds the new discs. Because of that, they heat up VERY quickly. So, my new rotors are a bit blue now. But that just makes them faster. I'll report back on the pads when they are properly bedded.

 

28 Runs in 2 Weekends.

Wow. I'm autocrossed out. PCA last weekend for 12 runs. BMWCCA yesterday for 12 runs. SCCA today for 4 runs.

6 events worth of SCCA runs in two weekends!

I'm driving well, but I have an issue with the car. I have no power anymore...it 's been in limp mode since the last 3 runs of the PCA event. I get to 4000 RPM and the car runs out of pull. So, I have to shift to 3rd gear to get anything at all. I'll be taking it in this week to see what the deal is.

 

Data Acquisition

I've decided to invest in some data acquisition software/hardware.

After doing some research, here's what I landed on:

Harry's Lap Timer (iOS Version)
Dual XGPS 160 (10 mhz) GPS device
Go Pro Hero 3 Silver +
Simvalley ELM327 WIFI OBD2 Scanner.

I'm still waiting on the OBD2 Scanner, but I've now done 2 events with Harry's Lap Timer. It's quite remarkable. It instantly integrated with the GPS unit and the Go Pro.

Here's my setup:

 

I've realized how long it's been since I've updated this thread. The truth is, I've been running a lot of events. Enough that my Star Specs are almost completely bald. I'm considering trying out a set of Hankooks next.

In the last few months, I've been focusing on another car build I have, but in the meantime, installed this pretty piece of hardware:



OS Giken LSD has really transformed the car, but also exposed some inadequacies in my suspension setup. Primarily, my lack of camber plates.

We took my tire temps after a few runs yesterday, and my outside edge is 10 degrees hotter than the center. So, I desperately need more negative camber. I'll be ordering some Vordschlag camber plates, but there's currently a supply issue.

I installed these custom adjusters today to adjust the koni yellows:



They are REALLY hard to adjust, because it's hard to get a hand back there and get leverage. But, it's easier than pulling the shocks every time!



I ran a BMW autocross this weekend. Had about 9 minis in class. I managed to squeeze a bit more camber out of the stock slots while in the pits, and the car felt great!



I'll check in after I do the camber plates and get some tires.

 

Interesting Dave...didn't know that. I'll investigate. Thanks!

 

Hey Dave.O,

I need to start thinking about air intake/exhaust pretty soon. Wondering if you had some recommendations? I obviously want to max out my car to the extent of the rules, and the computer mods are an interesting gray area:

14.10 ENGINE AND DRIVETRAIN
A. Oil pans and pickups may be modified or substituted. Addition or modification
of windage trays or crankshaft scrapers is not allowed. Engine
oil, transmission fluid, and power steering fluid coolers may be added or
substituted (including oil to coolant heat exchangers) but may not serve
any additional purpose.
B. Original equipment traction control systems may be electrically disabled,
but not removed or altered in any other way.
C. The air intake system up to, but not including, the engine inlet may be
modified or replaced. The engine inlet is the throttle body, carburetor,
compressor inlet, or intake manifold, whichever comes first. The existing
structure of the car may not be modified for the passage of ducting
from the air cleaner to the engine inlet. Holes may be drilled for
mounting. Emissions or engine management components in the air
intake system, such as a PCV valve or mass airflow sensor, may not be
removed, modified, or replaced, and must retain their original function
along the flow path.
D. Exhaust manifolds, headers, downpipes, and associated EGR tubes may
be replaced with alternate units. Exhaust exit may be relocated provided
it meets Section 3.3.3.B.15. Relocation of the oxygen sensor on the
header is permitted. Exhaust heat shields which cover only, and attach
solely to, these parts may also be replaced, removed, or modified. All
other exhaust heat shields may be modified the minimum amount necessary
to accommodate allowed alternate exhaust components. Mount-88 — 2015 SCCA® National Solo® Rules
14. Street Touring®
ing brackets/hardware which serve no other purpose are considered
part of the exhaust components.
E. Catalytic converters: Any catalytic converters are allowed, but must attach
within 6†(152.4 mm) of the original unit. Multiple catalytic converters
may be replaced by a single unit. The inlet of the single replacement
converter may be located no further downstream than 6†(152.4
mm) along the piping flow path from the original exit of the final OE
converter. The extents of an OE converter are defined by the expansion
chamber in which the catalyst is contained, regardless of placement
within larger exhaust sections. Replacement converters must have a
minimum catalyst density of 100 cells per inch and minimum substrate
length of 3†(76.2 mm).
F. The engine management system parameters and operation of internal
combustion engines may be modified only via the methods listed below.
These allowances also apply to forced induction cars, except that
no changes to standard boost levels, intercoolers, or boost controls are
permitted. Boost changes indirectly resulting from allowed modifications
are permissible but directly altering or modifying the boost or
turbo controls, either mechanically or electronically, is strictly prohibited.
Traction control parameters may not be altered. Any OE OBD2 or
newer communications port functionality must remain. The Check Engine
Light (CEL) or Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) may be disabled
via software. Alternate software maps which violate these restrictions
may not be present during competition, regardless of activation. Only
OE sensors may be used for engine management.
1. Reprogrammed ECU/PCM (via hardware and/or software) may be
used in the standard housing.
2. Supplementary (“Piggybackâ€) ECU may be used subject to the following
restrictions:
a. Connects between the standard ECU/PCM and its wiring harness
only.
b. Must be plug-compatible with the standard ECU/PCM (no splices).
3. Electronic components may be installed in-line between an engine’s
sensors and ECU/PCM. These components may alter the signal coming
from the sensor in order to affect the ECU/PCM operation of engine
management system. Example: Fuel controllers that modify the
signal coming from an airflow sensor.
4. Fuel pressure regulators may be replaced in lieu of electronic alterations
to the fuel system. It is not permitted to electronically modify
the fuel system AND replace a fuel pressure regulator.
5. Ignition timing may be set at any point on factory adjustable distributor
ignition systems.
6. VTEC controllers and other devices may be used which alter the timing
of factory standard electronic variable valve timing systems.
G. Any mechanical shift linkage may be used.2015 SCCA® National Solo® Rules — 89
14. Street Touring®
H. Any accessory pulleys and belts of the same type (e.g., V-belt, serpentine)
as standard may be used. This allowance applies to accessory
pulleys only (e.g., alternator, water pump, power steering pump, and
crankshaft drive pulleys). It does not allow replacement, modification,
or substitution of pulleys, cogs, gears, or belts which are part of cam,
layshaft, or ignition drive or timing systems, etc. Any crankshaft damper
or pulley may be used. SFI-rated dampers are recommended. Supercharged
cars may not change the effective diameter of any pulley which
drives the supercharger.
I. Upper engine shields made of plastic material, the purpose of which is
to hide mechanical components in the engine compartment, may be removed
if they have a solely aesthetic and/or acoustic function.
J. Any engine or transmission mount is allowed provided it attaches only
to the original mounting points, does not relocate the engine/transmission
(other than incidental to changes in compliance material),
and weighs no less than the OE mount. All components between the
engine/transmission and the mounting structure are considered to be
part of the mount assembly.
K. Limited Slip Differentials
STS, STF: No limited slip differentials are permitted except for factory
standard viscous coupler type units.
STX, STU, STR: Only standard (as defined in Section 12.4) limited slip
differentials (LSD) are allowed on AWD vehicles. For AWD vehicles
that did not come with any type of limited slip differential (including
center differential or transfer case), a single aftermarket mechanical
LSD may be added. 2WD vehicles may use any mechanical LSD unit.

Open to ideas and suggestions. Thanks!

 

Hey Chad...thanks for the heads up. I'm supposed to have a pretty smokin' deal heading my way, but I'm looking for a good shop to partner up with, so if you're interested, we should talk!

 

Back to the days when I actually had a developed car:



We'll be there again soon.