OneLapofAmerica 2023 - "Close to stock" suspension setup

[more.cylinders]

You will need the warranty on rotors as CSG pads eat them.

How would you get warranty on a wear item like rotors? A warranty would be awesome!

Sponsored

 

[adawine]

How would you get warranty on a wear item like rotors? A warranty would be awesome!

FCP Euro offers a warranty on OEM rotors.

 

[tomfree]

It's really just an FCP Euro thing - they offer lifetime warranty on lots of consumable stuff that NOBODY else would do. Brake pads...brake fluid...brake rotors...and lots of other stuff. There are limitations, but no other vendor is currently doing what they do. I guess they figure they come out on top if you keep going back to their site to buy stuff.

 

[razorlab]

FCP Euro offers a warranty on OEM rotors.

Even the leeches of society return used motor oil to FCP. No joke.

 

[Joker328]

Lug studs- For tracking it’s practically essential to change to a lug stud kit with extended lugs. Motorsports Hardware, Apex, and Raceseng all make good kits.

Can someone explain why these are needed to a track newb like me?

 

[Mark5]

BTW which is faster around, the Supra or 14 Cayman S?

I ran OLOA last year in a '14 Cayman S and had a great time (even though we wrecked the car at Hallett), but wanted to do the event again in my own car. I noticed a ton of Supras at the event, including the Toyota USA supported car, so that was a factor in my decision to pick up a '22 3.0 Premium in late summer. To date, I've autocrossed it once in completely factory stock configuration, so I haven't even used my free NASA track day on the car. I have about 4K miles on it now, so it's broken in, but still very new.

With the 2023 event coming up in May, I have started doing some prep and planning for a very "close to stock" setup that will toe the line between trackable, reliable, and comfortable for 3000+ miles of driving. I welcome feedback....

*******************************
Edited - added brakes
*******************************

Wheels/tires
- 18x10 et 35 Enkei GTC-02 (square)
- 285/30/18 Conti Extreme Sport Contact 2
- Enough spacer to keep from rubbing (something hub-centric)
- Longer lug bolts, just in case

Camber Plates
- Verus Engineering

Springs
- OEM

Sway bars
- ??????

Alignment - Front
- Camber -2.5 to -3 deg camber in the front
- Toe (will check here to see what others have done)
- Caster (ditto)

Alignment - Rear
- Camber - do I really need any non-stock camber adjustability?
- Toe (will check here to see what others have done)

Brakes
- Stock rotors / Stock calipers / Stock lines
- Pads - I'm a Hawk or Raybestos guy usually, but I'll look into CSG
- Fluid - Motul 660

 

[adawine]

Can someone explain why these are needed to a track newb like me?

Stock, the cars come with lug bolts. When you take the wheels regularly, trying to line the wheels up with the faces of the hub and then threading the bolts through, sucks.

When tracking, you should be taking the wheels on and off fairly regularly. Think rotating wheels, inspections, and swapping between street and track wheels. Taking the wheels of for quick inspections between sessions is highly recommended so you can verify everything is tight and in order, nothing is rubbing etc. It‘s an essential safety mechanism, imo.

Just trust me, they’ll make your life so much easier and are more than worth their price. They are also a consumable item and if you are tracking regularly, it’s a good idea to change the lug studs on an annual basis.

 

[tomfree]

BTW which is faster around, the Supra or 14 Cayman S?

Not a clue yet. My estimate is that on high HP tracks with long straights - the Supra will run away from the Cayman. Tighter stuff, the Cayman certainly "feels" better, but I don't know if that will equate directly to faster times.

The only apples-to-apples test will be Nashville, as we ran there last year.

 

[tomfree]

Stock, the cars come with lug bolts. When you take the wheels regularly, trying to line the wheels up with the faces of the hub and then threading the bolts through, sucks.

When tracking, you should be taking the wheels on and off fairly regularly. Think rotating wheels, inspections, and swapping between street and track wheels. Taking the wheels of for quick inspections between sessions is highly recommended so you can verify everything is tight and in order, nothing is rubbing etc. It‘s an essential safety mechanism, imo.

Just trust me, they’ll make your life so much easier and are more than worth their price. They are also a consumable item and if you are tracking regularly, it’s a good idea to change the lug studs on an annual basis.

This, so much this. This is what I came here to say. Also factor in that if you're using spacers or a wheel with a significantly deeper "mounting face" than the OEM wheels, you will need longer bolts/studs to make sure that you have enough purchase/threads in the hub. If you're buying longer lug bolts...the price difference between bolts and studs is a wash...so do the studs.

 

[FLtrackdays]

Agree with @razorlab on not “needing” the CSGs. I would definitely use his recommendation of project Mu if he likes em, since he tracks so much and mega credible. I used Hawks and absolutely loved them. I originally thought they weren’t enough and was wrong.

SPL bits and sway bars great way to go!

 

[tomfree]

I went back and forth on the CSGs vs the Project Mu. I pinged a very "racer specific" forum that I frequent, and there was not a lot of feedback on the Project Mu, so I ended up with the CSGs after a chat with Jackie Ding/PhD. They are horribly expensive, as everyone knows.

If this was just for a season of track days, I'd have experimented a bit, but since it's OneLap, I'm overkilling it a bit.

It's funny how your driving style changes a bit with OLOA. Unless you're one of the ringers who pre-runs all the tracks, or one of the pros that has been everywhere, you're driving HARD on a track that you've never seen before. Videos, track maps, and iRacing can only do so much for you...

You have to plan that you'll be somewhat slow in the technical stuff and just do your best to get a good run on the straights and compress your braking distance as much as reasonably possible.

My personal prep last year was BAD. I was absolutely LOST at Barber. I couldn't put a turn together my entire time trial, so I was really slow. Nashville was hard too, as the infield road course is TIGHT, but you don't have the elevation change to cope with, so you can at least see what's coming up.

 

[FLtrackdays]

I went back and forth on the CSGs vs the Project Mu. I pinged a very "racer specific" forum that I frequent, and there was not a lot of feedback on the Project Mu, so I ended up with the CSGs after a chat with Jackie Ding/PhD. They are horribly expensive, as everyone knows.

If this was just for a season of track days, I'd have experimented a bit, but since it's OneLap, I'm overkilling it a bit.

It's funny how your driving style changes a bit with OLOA. Unless you're one of the ringers who pre-runs all the tracks, or one of the pros that has been everywhere, you're driving HARD on a track that you've never seen before. Videos, track maps, and iRacing can only do so much for you...

You have to plan that you'll be somewhat slow in the technical stuff and just do your best to get a good run on the straights and compress your braking distance as much as reasonably possible.

My personal prep last year was BAD. I was absolutely LOST at Barber. I couldn't put a turn together my entire time trial, so I was really slow. Nashville was hard too, as the infield road course is TIGHT, but you don't have the elevation change to cope with, so you can at least see what's coming up.

Great job pacing yourself on the mods. That in itself is hard to do . And I don’t doubt they are phenomenal! That price is just insane. Then talked to more Supra track peeps killing it at Homestead and Sebring and shocked to find out they’re running Hawks. Hence what I settled with…

 

[razorlab]

Can someone explain why these are needed to a track newb like me?

They aren't. I did all last season with OEM lug bolts. Twenty track days. Had my wheels on/off the car countless times. Four sets of tires, yada yada. If you use a wheel hanger it's not any harder than cars with studs. People very much exaggerate when they say it's a "Pain in the ass".

Converting to studs is 100% for convenience. If you track your car a good amount, you should be replacing either of these as wear items every season, lug bolts or studs.

 

[Mark5]

I just looked up. 981 S never Green times versus the 2020 Supra and the Supra is at 7:52 versus 7:55 (same as Z4). So as the 21+ is much faster, hopefully you spank that Cayman S time.

Not a clue yet. My estimate is that on high HP tracks with long straights - the Supra will run away from the Cayman. Tighter stuff, the Cayman certainly "feels" better, but I don't know if that will equate directly to faster times.

The only apples-to-apples test will be Nashville, as we ran there last year.

 

[tomfree]

I just looked up. 981 S never Green times versus the 2020 Supra and the Supra is at 7:52 versus 7:55 (same as Z4). So as the 21+ is much faster, hopefully you spank that Cayman S time.

I'm gonna guess never Green is an autocorrect of Nürburgring :-D

The 981 Cayman S we ran was a PDK, sport chrono, X73 suspension, GT3 sway bars, a lot more tire than stock, and about 30 hp over stock...so it's a bit apples to oranges to a stock 981. We'll see though. I'm really looking forward to it.

Sponsored