[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by carguy55

Good pictures and feedback on the setup, car looks really good. Were you able to tell how much of the handling improvements where from running a square tire setup? I'm still looking for a source for titanium shims. Cool to have your mom out there driving with you.

Thanks! The car needs plenty of front tire with its front weight bias. By my calculations the Hotchkis front anti-roll bar adds slightly more stiffness than the BMR rear bar, so as such the added front grip ends up being balanced. It worked out perfect. It appears the ratio of front-to-rear tire wear is slightly better than with the staggered tire setup, meaning it chews up front front tires less with the square setup. If anything, the car needs staggered tires up front, like a 315 front and 305 rear, but that's a tough physical fitment and even tougher to get the diameters right.

Here's an option for titanium shims for the 1405 pads: https://hardbrakes.com/index.php?mai...roducts_id=123

[Ryephile]

I love the PDR.

Here's my line through the esses and "toilet bowl". I've found that entering the esses tight lets be carry much more speed through the previous corner. I often pick up several car lengths on pretty much everyone through here. Also, pinching the exit of the bowl just a little lets me straighten out the bump and get back to WOT before the back straight, and I end up carrying much more speed through that straight as a result.
Grattan_Bowl_May2018 by Ryephile, on Flickr

Tires and Temps. Looks good everywhere.
Tires_Grattan_May2018 by Ryephile, on Flickr

Temps_Grattan_May2018 by Ryephile, on Flickr

Here is my fast lap of the weekend. 1:24.59 is flying for a street car.

[Ryephile]

Oh, before I forget. I was using my Fluke IR gun to get tire temps across the treadwidth. Of course the left front was hottest, with the right front and left rear being about the same. Both fronts and the left rear were within a couple degrees between inside/middle/outside, which is amazing and tells me the alignment is basically perfect. The right rear was even inside/middle, but the outside was about 15 degrees less. That is the least used part of all the tires on this circuit, so it makes sense. Correlating what I saw on the IR with the Cosworth TPMS data, it looks really close for an average tire temp.

[RUQWIKR]

I thought I saw me a SS 1LE...I did, I did see a SS 1LE - blow past...

https://youtu.be/A2T3xW7jg-g?t=104

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by RUQWIKR

I thought I saw me a SS 1LE...I did, I did see a SS 1LE - blow past...

https://youtu.be/A2T3xW7jg-g?t=104

HA! I remember that session yesterday. He seemed reluctant to point me by, I think he figured he could pull [power] away from me but he couldn't. Took him 2 laps to finally give it up. After which I immediately knocked out a 1:24.8. His driving line was pretty good but there's room for improvement. He was having a blast though because he came up to me afterwards and gave me a thumbs up, so it's all good.

Here's the other perspective from my side.

[Mountain]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

So how did the car do? Running back-to-back and then 40 minute breathers, the car went through a LOT of fuel this weekend. Not a single hiccup though, the car ran flawlessly.

The ZL1 brakes are thermal overkill. The stock HP1000 pads however have a long and squishy pedal feel. The front calipers only registered the lowest box of 250 deg F on my caliper temp stickers. What I think I've learned here is, the SS 1LE brakes are perfectly fine as long as the pads have a thermal insulation layer, like stock. That means the SS 1LE brakes + titanium shims + track pad of choice = perfect.

Speaking of thermal, this was a HOT weekend. Air temps about 90F, and intake temps in the 120's. The car was noticeably down on power. Another problem was the track (Grattan) was green, greasy, and dirty. Saturday morning in particular meant everyone was way off the pace. It appears the track crew blew off the surface Saturday night, because from the first session today the track was much grippier.

The anti-roll bars worked great. The balance was spot-on perfect. The car will understeer if you make it, and oversteer if you make it. Drive it clean and it's neutral. This is with the Hotchkis front in the middle holes and the BMR rear in the middle holes. If you need more dynamic wheel rate, I highly recommend this combo.

I managed to crush my personal best using the Supercar 3R's, stiffer anti-roll-bars, ZL1 brakes, and Track mode "off-off"; a 1:24.59. It's not 100% roses though. The Supercar 3R's aren't magical. They lose a bunch of steering feel and have that sort of stick-through-porridge feel that Hoosier R7's do, but don't really feel any grippier than the Supercar 3's. My datalogs do show a bit more lateral G, but not much. I think the take-away here is the Supercar 3's are better than we're giving them credit for, and the 3R's aren't the final word in any way. The 3R's do maintain the same really wide window of communication at the limit, including the tire squealing, and in those regards they're definitely not Hoosier-esque. In the end I'm not sure I recommend the 3R's, and that's before I even take a look at their wear-rate. Sure I was able to go quicker, but it took a much more aggressive but precise style to coax the time out of them, whereas the 3's are overall more enjoyable. I'll have to think about this more.

I'll post my PDR data tomorrow.

For point of reference, I was at the same event as Ryephile, in my SS 1LE that is completely stock. Brake fluid was switched to Castrol SRF and I had the SS track deflectors installed. Zero issues with the brakes and I was definitely giving them a workout going into turn 1 and turn 10, and pretty well into them turn 2 and turn 5. Stock brake pads do just fine, but I can see where an aftermarket pad would help - the stock pads lack some initial bite; they are a bit non-confident-inspiring when you initially really start loading them up, but they do come in and lock the car down. Eventually I either 1. got used to them or they bed in better because this notion stopped and the brakes felt more consistent from initial apply to release in later sessions. My gut feeling is that I didn't bed in the pads well enough before the track day.

Looking at Ryephile's brakes after a few sessions, you could tell that heat was not an issue with them. Rotors looked like they just had street miles on them, lol.

The only issue I had with my car is that my front sway bar link lower nuts came loose. The passenger side was just flopping around. The driver side was just a tad loose. Mind that I did check them before the track day to make sure they were tight. I never had this happen with my SS at Grattan, but that car's nuts were tightened down with Loc-Tite applied (I had the FE4 front sway bar on the car).

Ryephile knows Grattan WELL. Great driver and he helped me with a few pointers that netted me a second on my lap time. I still have some work to do, though, as I am a bit off what this car can do.

One thing is solidified with me though: The SS 1LE is hands down one of the very best performance cars and performance car bargains you can buy. On a track like Grattan and on a day like this past weekend (sunny, no clouds, 90F+), really trying to push the car lap after lap... man, great car. GREAT car...

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by Mountain

For point of reference, I was at the same event as Ryephile, in my SS 1LE that is completely stock. Brake fluid was switched to Castrol SRF and I had the SS track deflectors installed. Zero issues with the brakes and I was definitely giving them a workout going into turn 1 and turn 10, and pretty well into them turn 2 and turn 5. Stock brake pads do just fine, but I can see where an aftermarket pad would help - the stock pads lack some initial bite; they are a bit non-confident-inspiring when you initially really start loading them up, but they do come in and lock the car down. Eventually I either 1. got used to them or they bed in better because this notion stopped and the brakes felt more consistent from initial apply to release in later sessions. My gut feeling is that I didn't bed in the pads well enough before the track day.

Looking at Ryephile's brakes after a few sessions, you could tell that heat was not an issue with them. Rotors looked like they just had street miles on them, lol.

The only issue I had with my car is that my front sway bar link lower nuts came loose. The passenger side was just flopping around. The driver side was just a tad loose. Mind that I did check them before the track day to make sure they were tight. I never had this happen with my SS at Grattan, but that car's nuts were tightened down with Loc-Tite applied (I had the FE4 front sway bar on the car).

Ryephile knows Grattan WELL. Great driver and he helped me with a few pointers that netted me a second on my lap time. I still have some work to do, though, as I am a bit off what this car can do.

One thing is solidified with me though: The SS 1LE is hands down one of the very best performance cars and performance car bargains you can buy. On a track like Grattan and on a day like this past weekend (sunny, no clouds, 90F+), really trying to push the car lap after lap... man, great car. GREAT car...

Thanks for the compliments! I'm glad that the pointers helped you out, soon enough you'll be wringing the maximum out of the car.

It does seem the drop-link nuts are easy to under-torque. Their book torque is really high for the nut size, making it rather nerve-wracking to actually crank them that hard. It's important to just do it though; I've had no problems with mine even with the new anti-roll bars.

I definitely agree, the SS 1LE is an astonishing value for the performance. There were three ZL1 1LE's there this weekend and if anything it proved that it takes a ton of skill to get the most out of that package, whereas the SS 1LE is more approachable.

For sure on my car the ZL1 brakes were cool, as if they were out there doing parade laps. I took a second look at the temp stickers, and the front was just starting to darken the 280°F square, and the rear had the 250°F square pretty dark. This is cool like a cucumber; they should last a really long time.

See you out there next time!

[Provoste]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

I definitely agree, the SS 1LE is an astonishing value for the performance. There were three ZL1 1LE's there this weekend and if anything it proved that it takes a ton of skill to get the most out of that package, whereas the SS 1LE is more approachable.

Yeah defintely agree on this. Having seat time in both, the SS 1LE is by far the value king. If well driven, a SS 1LE can run with about anything on any track.
Agreed also, the SS 1LE is much more approachable and much less intimidating than the ZL1 1LE, even for seasoned drivers. A good illustration: My dad- who runs advanced with PCA/NASA/CHIN would have been faster in my SS 1LE than in his new ZL1 1LE during his first track event @ VIR. After some coaching from my brother and myself, plus good old fashioned seat time with the ZL1 1LE, he's fully up to speed.
The ZL1-1LE most definitely requires skill, but more importantly...confidence in one's skills to get the most from it.

[Ryephile]

I was at Gingerman this weekend with NASA. It rained all day Friday and Saturday morning, so the track was really green. I definitely prefer the Supercar 3's over the 3R's at this track; the 3R's are greasy on this surface and need a much looser steering wheel to stay hooked up. I tried both PTM: Race and Off/Off, and ended up being quicker on PTM: Race by a few tenths. Only a 0.8 second improvement from Supercar 3 to 3R's, mainly due to my lack of aggression from the tires not being as confidence-inspiring.





The 3R's still have some life in them, and I think it's because I wasn't getting them nearly as warm as last time out.

[trackjunkie61]

How would you compare the 3Rs to the R888Rs?

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by trackjunkie61

How would you compare the 3Rs to the R888Rs?

I haven't run the R888R's yet, and it's hugely unlikely I will. They're the same compound as the old R888's, and those were a terrible track tire because they got greasy after 2 laps. The problem is their compound, not the carcass or tread that they changed.

Which 1LE are you running? If it's an SS, the Supercar 3's are proving to be an astounding tire, with excellent track grip and good durability.

[carguy55]

Can I ask what you used to get the front caliper bolts out, they're in a tight space with high torque with thread locker?

[Ryephile]

Originally Posted by carguy55

Can I ask what you used to get the front caliper bolts out, they're in a tight space with high torque with thread locker?

A 2 foot breaker bar. You'll need to get the car high enough off the ground plus turn the steering full lock each direction to get enough room to swing it.

[carguy55]

Originally Posted by Ryephile

A 2 foot breaker bar. You'll need to get the car high enough off the ground plus turn the steering full lock each direction to get enough room to swing it.

Thanks