Originally Posted by
mpozzi
Hi Gaetano, et al ...
Yes, my car has the GW CAT5's out back and Hotchkis in front. Recently, I was able to fit a little bit wider rear tire in the back and feel the car's well balanced and as good as it will get with what I've got now.
It's a huge win for autocrossing and does very well at track days. Dave drove Steve's "Penny" car at a track day and had problems with brakes and traction during the bumpy areas. He rode with me and those parts of the track that played havoc with Steve's Camaro never were felt by mine. At the recent Run to the Coast event, I ended up fourth overall for the track portion and this was with the smaller width tires. IIRC, I was about four seconds back from the fastest car (Dave drove the One-Lap Camaro quite spiritedly that day) and .800 behind the overall winner, Brian Finch. The Finch Camaro is very well-driven and has more money in the underpinnings than I do in my entire car. Having a bigger footprint can only help bring the times down and as I'm at least 150+ hp and the same in torque behind the fast guys, the only way I can get close to their times is with handling. Last RWHP/T readings for my car were 361/395 and this is pretty pathetic against the LS-equipped Pro-Touring monsters that are the norm for this fun.
There was a section of the RTTC course at El Toro that really showed where my car shined and the track organizers did section timing in various spots. Todd Gartshore and a couple other guys told me at dinner that the track timing guys got a faster time for my car in this section than any other car that ran that day. This included a Porsche Carrera GT that did some exhibition runs during the lunch break. This section??? It was the only real handling section for the course. I thought that was pretty cool and gave my stock front sub and rear leaf spring car a good pat for that one!!
There's pro's and con's to each type of suspension system (stock front sub vs replacement sub vs links vs coil overs vs leafs). A three-four link rear and coil overs will allow a larger wheel/tire fitment and this is also true for an aftermarket front sub. The adjustability and availability of different rate springs is also a huge benefit. With the stock coils/rear leafs, it limits you there but I haven't told my car this and hope it never figures it out ... LOL.
There are some autocrosses being held at Mather in the Sacramento area and this is close to you. If you still want me to have a turn behind the wheel, I'm willing as that will help you work on developing the car. The Global West parts are excellent and they work great as an entire system. I'll also bring my car up and we can have some fun. Don't know if you're coming to Pleasanton the first weekend in June but there's an autocross as part of the show. I'll be there for that ...
The body bushing bolts can loosen and what you'll feel and hear is a snapping noise during turns. The center and rear bolts were slightly loose and when retorqued, eliminated the noise. I would check the instructions to see if they recommend the use of Loctite as you don't want to risk damaging the captive nuts inside if you ever to have to remove the bushings (subframe replacement, collision repairs ...). Just periodically give 'em a check and you'll be fine.
And I promise to not cuss that much.
Cheers,
Mary Pozzi
Registered User
Thank You Mary, that was a very helpfull insite and I appreciate you offering to drive my car. I think I heard you say(I mean read in a thread) that you would be in San Jose the 29. My car should be done by then and I'd like to meet you there, Mather will be great also being only 20 minutes away.
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