Accel Junky's Magnetic Build Thread

[Accel Junky]

Glad you found something to fit brother.

I was going to mention that the RPF1 from the group buy appear to have a BBK-friendly spoke design. [emoji481]

16" though? No way they would clear these puppies barrel-wise in that case. Otherwise I would be game for a 17x8" 4x108 deep face RPF1 in black

Anxious to see what wheels you went with to fit.

I should've waited to see if you possibly wanted to sell those Titans before I bought my set.

Don't beat yourself up because my Titans are pretty buggered from the track and street. Wouldn't recommend buying them vs new unless you were going to have them refinished custom. There's a guy that has been waiting for me to dismount them because he wants a set he can have refinished to something unique.

 

[Accel Junky]

Good lord, that poor stock tire is stretched!

I've resolved that as well

But I can assure you that even with the stock tire stretched on a 17x8, many lunch monies were taken at the track from bigger kids.

 

[WeTheNorth]

Hey, just wanted some feed back. Since owning the car new, after all your track days etc. How does the car feel? Still feel tight and new?


Sent from my CIA monitored device

 

[Accel Junky]

Hey, just wanted some feed back. Since owning the car new, after all your track days etc. How does the car feel? Still feel tight and new?


Sent from my CIA monitored device

Honestly, mechanically and structurally I would say so. The only item of concern was my clutch pickup moved up quite a bit in pedal travel but it has been a few thousand miles since of hard driving and at least 1-2 track days and I can say it doesn't seem to have become worse or exhibited any clutch-death signs. I don't think I have any new squeaks or rattles that I can recall from new. The driver's seat bolster I try to be careful about ingress/egress but it is showing some light creasing already. The steering wheel is shining up a little. But other than that I'm satisfied (as an OCD car guy) that for the price this car is holding up exceptionally well for the constant ass-beating that I give it on the daily.

 

[Accel Junky]

OK, here we go! Finally, a few moments for a big long-overdue update.

I believe we last left off this story with me trying to go from the Wilwood BBQ (pun intended) to the StopTech BBK.

Here's a quick point-by-point on what I've done since (cliff's notes in bold):

- Wilwood would not warranty and would only offer to sell me a new one at a significant discount so on principle I sold the kit as a fully-disclosed re-buildable kit at a cheap price on the forum
- Bought StopTech BBK, tried to fit, wasn't even close to clearing Titans, StopTech was not helpful and seemed to reveal that they didn't R&D the fitment themselves but just built to Cobb SEMA car requested fitment
- Bought 5 different affordable off-the-shelf wheels to try to clear the StopTechs: Rota Grid, Sparco Gara, Sparco Corsa, XXR 527, Turbomac
- Bought and installed ARP wheel studs thinking I would need them for spacers to clear brakes eventually
- Only the Rota Grid would clear without a spacer and only by 1 (yes ONE) business card's thickness. Sparco Corsa would clear with a small spacer and the net flushness would be less than a bolted on Rota Titan/Grid. So Sparco Corsa is an option for other owners.
- Rota Grids fitted with the Federal RS-RRs 215 tires that I ordered earlier in the thread
- Brake ducting re-installed with revised mounting at the control arm (3" marine clamps, rubber lined metal, suggested elsewhere on the forum) and less zip ties as a result
- Used November FoTM gift card towards Mishimoto induction hose. Installed. Doubt it is 10whp as advertised but who knows if my ass is sensitive enough to tell.
- First track day with StopTechs and all of the above associated parts and additions. Atlanta Motorsports Park. Absolutely flawless braking performance even with the standard StopTech street pads (which are cheap thankfully). Brake disc temps after 1 brisk cool down lap were 400-480F compared to 700F+ on the stock discs w/ ducting. Yes, the 1 business card clearance was enough. Recommend at least 2 business cards ideally ( ) as some expansion made it harder to insert the business card after a session.
- Fuel tank baffle needed at tracks with elevation and long turns. 3/4 tank or less would fuel starve at AMP coming around back carousel and starting to go up hill. Other Fiesta drivers there approached me with same prob.
- Power seemed down at track so checked plugs/coils when I got home. Iridiums had broken porcelain on 2 of them. Swapped stock coppers back in. Can't feel a difference anyways. Lucky the broken parts didn't end up in the engine.

Now, for the future: I've signed up for a time attack event later this year so I will be looking at ways to maximize my car within the rules. The class I've chosen requires full interior, glass windows, and OEM body panel shapes but otherwise I have some freedom to try a few things. Stay tuned for more.

And now for pics:

 

[WeTheNorth]

Honestly, mechanically and structurally I would say so. The only item of concern was my clutch pickup moved up quite a bit in pedal travel but it has been a few thousand miles since of hard driving and at least 1-2 track days and I can say it doesn't seem to have become worse or exhibited any clutch-death signs. I don't think I have any new squeaks or rattles that I can recall from new. The driver's seat bolster I try to be careful about ingress/egress but it is showing some light creasing already. The steering wheel is shining up a little. But other than that I'm satisfied (as an OCD car guy) that for the price this car is holding up exceptionally well for the constant ass-beating that I give it on the daily.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback. I beat on my car as well and she seems to take it.


Sent from my CIA monitored device

 

[Accel Junky]

And best lap from the track day with the StopTechs and Federal RS-RRs:

[video=youtube_share;mlTEP1MhES8]http://youtu.be/mlTEP1MhES8[/video]

 

[sidewaysallday]

Awesome update! The car looks bad ass with the rota grids and stoptechs!! I'm glad you got all that figured out! Thank you for going through all the trouble and keeping us in the loop.

What offset are the Rota's vs the sparco corsa's? Also, will they only fit under 17" wheels? Looks like it just want to confirm/get your opinion.

 

[Accel Junky]

Awesome update! The car looks bad ass with the rota grids and stoptechs!! I'm glad you got all that figured out! Thank you for going through all the trouble and keeping us in the loop.

What offset are the Rota's vs the sparco corsa's? Also, will they only fit under 17" wheels? Looks like it just want to confirm/get your opinion.

Thanks!

Hopefully I can get StopTech to revise the rotor hat and the caliper bracket to move everything inward about 10-12mm to help people clear the brakes but at least we know it is possible with a very specific wheel design. I'm sure others may fit but I'm not buying any more sample wheels lol

The Wilwoods are a ton lighter but the StopTechs are no heavier than stock and as such there is a lot more rotor to heatsink compared to the Wilwoods so they are cooler on track by a longshot. For a street car I would go Wilwoods as long as you don't mind them not standing behind their product. For a track car I think so far the StopTechs are going to be the more reliable choice and consume less pads.

Rotas are 17x8 +40. Corsas were 17x7.5 if I recall and offset was somewhere above 40.

I don't see how the brakes could clear 16" wheels but maybe if the barrel design was different than the Rotas? If someone locally has a 16" wheel I would be happy to test fit it to see but it is pretty tight on the 17" Grid.

 

[M-Sport fan]

WOW, are those Stop Techs ever COZY with those Grids!!

But SO GLAD to hear that it worked out GREAT, AND you still were able to keep both a great looking, AND relatively light/strong wheel while making it work!!

When the TA rules say, "requires OEM body panel shapes", does that mean the 'regular/standard' aero add-ons are OK, but boxed or round fender flares/vents/venturi/CRAZY canards/dive planes, etc. are a NO GO?

You cannot even remove the rear seat in that class?

 

[Accel Junky]

WOW, are those Stop Techs ever COZY with those Grids!!

But SO GLAD to hear that it worked out GREAT, AND you still were able to keep both a great looking, AND relatively light/strong wheel while making it work!!

When the TA rules say, "requires OEM body panel shapes", does that mean the 'regular/standard' aero add-ons are OK, but boxed or round fender flares/vents/venturi/CRAZY canards/dive planes, etc. are a NO GO?

You cannot even remove the rear seat in that class?

Yes, agreed! I was worried about having a crappy looking wheel just to fit the brakes. That itself would've tempted me to run Wilwoods again.

Basically you can run carbon or fiberglass panels on hood, trunk, fenders but can't be wider etc... I think you can add fender flares for this class which I am not going to touch with a 100ft pole.

Yes, the class requires full dash, all 4 seating locations (race seats can be used though), full carpet, full headliner from B pillar forward. So basically I could swap to race seats in the front and lose the spare/tools/privacy/floor in the rear for weight reduction.

Turbo swaps are allowed, no limits on brakes etc... Forced induction can be added on anything under 4.0L and engine swaps are permitted within the same brand of vehicle. I think any civic with fender flares and a big turbo would dust me though. So maybe it is a lost cause but should be fun to compete at. Especially at Road Atlanta which is a big boy track and too big for the Fiesta's momentum advantages to factor in.

 

[Accel Junky]

I just did the maths and realized that I added back 40 lbs of my 104 lb hard-fought weight reduction just switching to the StopTechs and the Federal tires.

So I'm afraid my weight goals are probably not going to be achievable as this is a pretty big set back in the easy streetable weight loss department.

 

[WeTheNorth]

I'd love to see you with a PS turbo on that track.


Sent from my CIA monitored device

 

[M-Sport fan]

I just did the maths and realized that I added back 40 lbs of my 104 lb hard-fought weight reduction just switching to the StopTechs and the Federal tires.

So I'm afraid my weight goals are probably not going to be achievable as this is a pretty big set back in the easy streetable weight loss department.

As far as tires go, about the only thing which is going to be significantly lighter than the RS-RRs, in anything near that size, is going to be Hoosier/BFG/Hankook/Maxxis/etc. DOT road race slicks with their 'flat if they even touch a public road' thin carcasses, and replace (at 5x the cost of the Federals!!) after 3 full weekend sessions wear rates.

 

[TeeReQs]

Car looks great with all the upgrades. Glad you got the brakes sorted even if it took buying 5 different wheels! Was looking through your previous cars..how's the fiesta compare to an s2k? Both on my short list of possible cars to buy.

 

[Accel Junky]

As far as tires go, about the only thing which is going to be significantly lighter than the RS-RRs, in anything near that size, is going to be Hoosier/BFG/Hankook/Maxxis/etc. DOT road race slicks with their 'flat if they even touch a public road' thin carcasses, and replace (at 5x the cost of the Federals!!) after 3 full weekend sessions wear rates.

I guess there is weight over the Potenzas with the slight width increase. But yeah, I don't expect to save much weight between the tires if I swap eventually. For this time attack thing I will have to run a 200 treadwear or higher so I am anticipating running Azenis or RS3s. Haven't really looked to see what else performs well at 200 or over.

Car looks great with all the upgrades. Glad you got the brakes sorted even if it took buying 5 different wheels! Was looking through your previous cars..how's the fiesta compare to an s2k? Both on my short list of possible cars to buy.

Thanks! I couldn't really compare them except to say they both weigh about the same and have 4cyl motors. I enjoyed the S2000 but I did not track it. Wish I had. The Fiesta is practical at least if I need it. The S2000 I wouldn't be able to get away with as a daily driver these days with my son. After owning the S2000 I decided I would much rather own one than another Miata. It may not be as light as a Miata but it is like a Miata on steroids. The AP2 had good driveability around town but I regretted not having the 9k RPM the car is famous for. Handling I would say is not as easy as the Fiesta. It snap oversteered on me before. Overall, I would absolutely own another S2000 but I would do an AP1 with AP2 bumpers, AP2 trans, AP2 center console etc...

 

[Accel Junky]

As far as tires go, about the only thing which is going to be significantly lighter than the RS-RRs, in anything near that size, is going to be Hoosier/BFG/Hankook/Maxxis/etc. DOT road race slicks with their 'flat if they even touch a public road' thin carcasses, and replace (at 5x the cost of the Federals!!) after 3 full weekend sessions wear rates.

I guess there is weight over the Potenzas with the slight width increase. But yeah, I don't expect to save much weight between the tires if I swap eventually. For this time attack thing I will have to run a 200 treadwear or higher so I am anticipating running Azenis or RS3s. Haven't really looked to see what else performs well at 200 or over.

Car looks great with all the upgrades. Glad you got the brakes sorted even if it took buying 5 different wheels! Was looking through your previous cars..how's the fiesta compare to an s2k? Both on my short list of possible cars to buy.

Thanks! I couldn't really compare them except to say they both weigh about the same and have 4cyl motors. I enjoyed the S2000 but I did not track it. Wish I had. The Fiesta is practical at least if I need it. The S2000 I wouldn't be able to get away with as a daily driver these days with my son. After owning the S2000 I decided I would much rather own one than another Miata. It may not be as light as a Miata but it is like a Miata on steroids. The AP2 had good driveability around town but I regretted not having the 9k RPM the car is famous for. Handling I would say is not as easy as the Fiesta. It snap oversteered on me before. Overall, I would absolutely own another S2000 but I would do an AP1 with AP2 bumpers, AP2 trans, AP2 center console etc...

 

[OffTheWall503]

Those Grids look killer. I almost pulled the trigger on them but opted to pick the Titan.

 

[Accel Junky]

Those Grids look killer. I almost pulled the trigger on them but opted to pick the Titan.

Agreed but I do like the Titans better still, just glad I found something to clear that wasn't dumb looking. Maybe eventually StopTech will revise the fitment and send me new rotor hats and brackets and then I could go with the Titans again as they are a solid 3 lbs lighter each.

 

[TeeReQs]

Thanks for the insight! That's about what I've gathered from my research. A couple things leading me towards a FiST is the practicality(even though I'd love if they brought the 3 door over here) and once you start looking at s2ks in good condition the price becomes pretty dang close to a brand new loaded ST. When I was a kid I sat in an S2000 right before it released at the Chicago auto show and thought it was the coolest car ever. I still would like to own one. Coming from a Focus SVT, there's something to be said about winding out an angry little NA(or an angry little boosted 4cyl for that matter) I would imagine the s2k is even more fun. Hard to beat what the svt cost though.