Sunday was my first autocross event of the year and first event in the BMW 135i with the new set up. The course for the first NRSCCA Solo Points Event at Lincoln Air Park was pretty long, with most times in the 75-95 second range. Was a great opportunity to get accustomed to the new setup and do some tuning on it. I had 2 other drivers driving the car, Jon S. (from Tarsust) was co-driving with me in STU and provided a lot of help and input on suspension settings and Dan H. drove the car in BSP.
Dan H. driving the BMW 135i in BSP
Since my first autocross event of the season, at least driving event, is fastly approaching (this Sunday!), I thought I would give an update on what I’ve done to the 135i during the autocross offseason. Last year I ran in STU with my only modifications being a larger front sway bar and larger width front wheels. The larger front sway bar and less staggered wheel/tire combo helped a lot over the stock set up (with run flat tires), but to get the car to be anywhere near competitive some more upgrades were required.
New Setup with AST coilover and Apex ARC-8 Wheels on BMW 135i
The Texas National Tour event for 2010 was the first real ‘travel’ event. I’ve never traveled farther than 5 hours for a solo event, being fortunate enough to have the 2009 and 2010 nationals in our own backyard (Lincoln is only an hour away). However, there isn’t enough seat-time doing just local events.
I planned on attending, alone if I had to, just to have a chance at a national-level course first thing in the year. Luckily I had a partner willing to travel with me, even if it was only to take photos. So there we were, packing up the STI. 4 wheels in the backseat, tools and jack in the trunk, along with all of our clothes for 4 days, and a Diff for delivery (see the 2010 grassroots motorsports build from Vorshlag). New shocks required adjusting on the road for optimum feel, although it was still bone-crushing. I now understand why people trailer their cars.
It felt weird being the only ones from our Region, but we were still among family. Doing solo even for a few years I’ve gotten to know friends that are just as competitive and passionate about the sport as I am, and always show up.
I’ll do it again in a heartbeat. It was a fun trip. And having a gold medal doesn’t hurt either. 🙂
The 2011 Subaru STI was unveiled today at the New York Auto Show. For the first time the STI will be offered in both a hatchback and sedan version. The sedan version takes the STI back to the roots that defined the model. Also with the return of the sedan is the return of the giant wing, which made the car so unmistakable in the past.
2011 Subaru STi sedan unveiled at New York Auto Show
Gotcone was at the Texas National Tour last weekend (March 27th & 28th) in Mineral Wells, TX taking photos. Wow, what a windy day Saturday was. The wind made it very challenging to get photos to turn out. You can check out the nearly 1500 photos in the gallery.
Christy Carlson took 1st place in STUL at the Texas National Tour in her 2006 Subaru STi
Professional motorsport is a cold, hard place. If you want to run with the big dogs, you can’t just build a car in your mom’s garage and show up, right? Wrong. One guy did just that. Here’s his amazing story.
How A $500 Craigslist Car Beat $400K Rally Racers
tarsust is sponsoring a few drivers for the 2010 SCCA solo season. Below is a list.
| name | class | vehicle | tarsust products | |||
| Christy Carlson | STU | Subaru STi | AST 4100 coilovers – custom valving by tarsust – custom spring rates |
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| David Cosseboom | STU | BMW 135i | AST 5200 – custom spring rates Wheel Spacers Stud conversion kit |
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| David Iliff | SM | Subaru STi | AST 5300 – custom spring rates |
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| John Hunter | STS | Honda CRX Si | AST 5300 -custom spring rates |
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tarsust would like to wish them the best of luck on their 2010 season. If you would like to be considered for sponsorship, please send your proposal to sales@tarsust.com
Regards,
Jon D. Simmons
sales@tarsust.com
402.478.8778
tarsust.com
Car Set Up,Driving,News,Uncategorized
Das Drehmoment Ungeheuer is a collaboration project between a few locals to build a budget friendly yet fun and fast track toy that could still auto-x. Das Drehmoment Ungeheuer means “The Torque Monster” in German, it’s ok to laff now Viper owners 😀
Progress is slow, but steady. If you’d like to follow along please check out our project thread on R3Vlimited.com
Das Drehmomentungeheuer: A HPDE Hooligan for shenanigans.
Thanks – Jon
If you own a 2008 or newer Subaru Impreza or a 2000 or newer Subaru Legacy have I got a deal for you.
There are a few sets of AST 5100’s on hand at AST-USA that are on closeout. There are some for 08 and newer Subaru Impreza including the WRX (not STi). These will also fit BE/BH & BP/BL chassis Legacy’s with just a different bushing and mount setup that can be included.
They are DEEPLY discounted. The basic 5100 kit includes dampers, springs and associated hardware. Upper mounts are additional. These are the large 45mm inverted shaft strut up front which is killer.
Retail is : $2929
tarsust BLOWOUT PRICE : $1395
*With purchase of these, pricing on mounts :
– AST front mounts (fixed) : $250
– AST front mounts (adjustable) : $390
– Vorshlag front mounts (adjustable) : $365
– AST rear mounts : $250 (fixed)
Please contact me if interested. There are currently 3 sets available, but they won’t likely last long.
Regards,
Jon D. Simmons
sales@tarsust.com
402.478.8778
tarsust.com
Brian Hanchey at AST-USA has been kind enough to put together a basic tuning guide for AST shocks.
This tech article is great for anyone.
Tuning AST Shocks – by Brian Hanchey
I will be putting together a setup document tailored for autocross. It will be based purely on my own practices and experiences. I hope to release it early next month.
Regards,
Jon D. Simmons
sales@tarsust.com
402.478.8778
tarsust.com
