andrewhake

For anyone wondering. Thread was cleaned up. Thanks moderators.

If there were any legitimate questions in that mess that I wasn't able to answer let me know.

TW00Si

Two things I know from my experience. First, +63 needs a 3mm spacer just to clear the spoon calipers. Second, the man who works on my S runs +63 all around, he has his fenders rolled to run 255.

andrewhake

Which +63 wheels only need 3mm spacer? CEs?

And yes I am not sure how anyone can run 255s up front without at least rolling or trimming the upper 2 fender liner tabs unless they take it pretty easy. No reason not to really.

TW00Si

Yes, CE. I thought that was the wheel in reference. Unless I read incorrectly.

andrewhake

Went out for another drive on a road I haven't driven in awhile. This car really has never felt better to drive. The engine, clutch, brakes, steering, everything is just so responsive. The sound is just right. And no fiddly little issues. It looks like the clicking issue I was having was definitely an issue with the play in the calipers. Either that or something going on with the wheels or wheel mounting surface. I am going to thoroughly inspect the old CEs and make sure they didn't develop any small cracks or something odd like that. Good news is that it was definitely not an issue related to the 2-piece rotors. The car is put through much heavier load now at the front and I get zero noise.

I have run them for awhile but I am still amazed at how little noise the AD08Rs make at the limit it is so subtle and linear in the way it ramps up. Not that you need to hear them anyway, it is so easy to feel what the car is doing.

Anyone with an 06+ model with VSA if you run reasonably grippy tires and bitey track brake pads you absolutely shouldn't bother running with the VSA on. It really is the equivalent of driving hard into a corner and just kicking the brake pedal. The amount of braking force it applies is in no way appropriate.

WhyW

What are you saying- that VSA kicks in easier with a square setup?

andrewhake

It's more an issue of kicking in easier with the more aggressive brake pads, but with the square setup it just makes it more dramatic. Leaving it on by accident and going into a fairly low speed left hander at a speed well below the grip level of the car and the front right goes crazy. Could be a matter of the Spoon calipers requiring much less pedal travel for the same amount of braking force as well I suppose. The W5 pads are pretty aggressive though and I noticed this on my old setup as well.

It's not that it kicks in easier, it is much more dangerous to drive with it on in the cars current state. It's rare that I forget to turn it off, it long ago became part of my normal startup routine. Anyone that leaves it on on-track has to be just roasting their brake pads.

//steve\\

My VSA does that to me too in situations where the car is no where close to the limit. I almost never leave it on anymore. Maybe on the occassion where I know I will be doing zero fun driving.

SlowTeg

Since the car has much more front grip, there's a tendency to oversteer. With a neutral staggered setup and a switch to square wheels/tires, VSA kicks on VERY prematurely for me as andrew mentioned. I noticed the car had a tendency to oversteer on turn in, and VSA probably noticed this. Rather than let the driver go past the point where VSA could safely save the car, it kicks in prematurely to prevent getting past that threshold. At least that's my theory.

As I change my setup and get a more neutral handling square setup I'll be interested to see how VSA reacts.

andrewhake

My biggest surprise with the square setup so far is the balance of the car. I was definitely expecting the car to have much more of a tendency to oversteer, but it is very very neutral. I haven't had the chance to do much testing in longer steady state corners but through lower speed stuff the car is wonderfully neutral. I don't have to be gentle at all and can really dive hard into a corner. I am guessing this mainly has to do with the increased negative camber in the rear going from -2.6 to -3.0. I am probably making better use of the tire but still I am surprised at how stable the car is. In many cases I may not be at the limit so have to take that into account as well, but man does this car feel crazy fast now.

I definitely won't be running staggered spring rates on this car like a lot of people choose to do with a square setup. I don't feel that there is a dramatic increase in dive under braking so far and generally the balance feels great. In the past my off track testing has reflected my on track experience with the car pretty well.

Definitely has me wondering how much of an effect the +9mm of rca really does have in the front. With the staggered setup I was sort of compensating with the -2.8 F -2.6 R camber to help get the car more neutral. Technically I went from having slightly stiffer springs in the rear stock to the same springs all around with the Ohlins so that has an effect as well. I think it is time for me to pick up a Pyrometer and dial in the camber and then fine tune the balance from there with additional front RCA plates and adjustable roll bars as needed.

Baffled oil pan is definitely happening as part of my next oil change also.