Kgolf's Official STX Build

[The Transporter]

Originally Posted by gap

Congrats and you are on the cover of Solomatters.

http://solomatters.com/recap_toledo_prosolo_2014

+1

IMO, the 135i simply cannot compete in STU. Mostly because the fact that you cannot fit enough tire underneath the car. A STU M3, for example, can fit 285s on all 4 corners.

Ehh...true at the top level, but you can still mix it up locally, at least. I don't get out much, but my one event this year resulted in second out of seven STU entries (24/110 index). We all got waxed by an STi, but fourth was an E46 M3 on 275s all around. You never know for sure what drivers will have an off day or maybe you will have a good day. It's more of a challenge in an underdog car and every spot you pick up is that much sweeter.

I realize that national or even regional competition is much more competitive and getting anything other than last place is a lot harder.

Overall, though, I like what my mods did for my car and I get to enjoy the car every day.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by z3papa

Big props are due you for this weekend. There are many folks who are paying attention to this and your car after this weekend. Great meeting you down there.

Thanks, nice meeting you! I'll see you at Wilmington!

Originally Posted by jsublime

Congrats! Keep up the good work

Thanks!

Originally Posted by gap

Congrats and you are on the cover of Solomatters.

http://solomatters.com/recap_toledo_prosolo_2014

Yep, that is me!

Originally Posted by The Transporter

+1



Ehh...true at the top level, but you can still mix it up locally, at least. I don't get out much, but my one event this year resulted in second out of seven STU entries (24/110 index). We all got waxed by an STi, but fourth was an E46 M3 on 275s all around. You never know for sure what drivers will have an off day or maybe you will have a good day. It's more of a challenge in an underdog car and every spot you pick up is that much sweeter.

I realize that national or even regional competition is much more competitive and getting anything other than last place is a lot harder.

Overall, though, I like what my mods did for my car and I get to enjoy the car every day.

Oh yes, locally you're most likely to compete (well you should be able to find someone that is close to you within local regions to compete against).

No offense, but just my option based on the car.


So...some updates.

Ended up getting a muffler delete which caused some odd sounds:

It was quite odd to get whistling sound from the exhaust. But is was all contributed to the tips. Going to a single outlet made everything much better and awesome sounding.



Also ran a local event. Placed 4th in PAX and 3rd in the PRO Class:

Finally. With the help from AA I got a tune for me car. Active Autowerkes has been awesome talking to me with forming a tune around what I want. The tune was just installed yesterday so I still have to get use to it...but what a change. It is incredible the difference in the power curve.



Getting a Dyno tomorrow to verify power gains and continue tuning the car.

[Zsanz]

Nice read and driving. Very true about the negative connotation usually associated with running higher rates and having a rough ride. All about shock tuning.


Obligatory pic at Toledo solo last year. ^_^

[mikal7]

Best thread ever.

Have you considered getting the rear m3 camber links?? Along with the guide rods it Might help solve the push issue. Just an idea bc I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Also I weighed my 1 as well with a half tank of gas I was at 3100lbs. On lighter wheel tires though. BBS 17s 225 fk453, 41 lbs a corner. But I have a sunroof.

Debating whether to dump the $$ into this car to keep for longer daily use / track fun or just get a frs. I've driven a few now as 1 friend has kw v3s and then other runs swift springs and it's SO flat through the corners. I don't think the 1 will ever be that way.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Zsanz

Nice read and driving. Very true about the negative connotation usually associated with running higher rates and having a rough ride. All about shock tuning.


Obligatory pic at Toledo solo last year. ^_^

Where were you this year?!

Originally Posted by mikal7

Best thread ever.

Have you considered getting the rear m3 camber links?? Along with the guide rods it Might help solve the push issue. Just an idea bc I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Also I weighed my 1 as well with a half tank of gas I was at 3100lbs. On lighter wheel tires though. BBS 17s 225 fk453, 41 lbs a corner. But I have a sunroof.

Debating whether to dump the $$ into this car to keep for longer daily use / track fun or just get a frs. I've driven a few now as 1 friend has kw v3s and then other runs swift springs and it's SO flat through the corners. I don't think the 1 will ever be that way.

I see no need to get the rear m3 camber links or guide rods because I've been able to run the amount of camber I want and up to this point, I've solved the push issue. (Plus I nee to check the rules because I do not actually know if those are legal mods....)

If this has any weight, Andrew Pallotta, aka a former owner of a STX FRS says this car is unbelievable. From his own words "I can do whatever I want to this car and it just grips"

Just because a car is flat through corners doesn't mean it is ideal. A go-kart like ride is not fast...you need body roll to achieve weight transfer and ultimate grip.

Here is a pic of my car at the Toledo Pro, notice that I'm already lifting my front wheel and that is basically max roll:



Had an event yesterday, finish 7th in pax with a crappy run:

This upcoming weekend is Wilmington ProSolo. Hopefully I can bring home another trophy for STX!

[Kgolf31]

Finished up my Wilmington ProSolo on a frustrating day. The course was awesome, very challenging with multiple on camber/off camber turns that would throw your mind into a whirl. The left side gave me much more trouble than the right, I couldn't find time no matter what.

Saturday morning I was in 7th scratching my head on where I was losing time. The surface was very dusty and not rubbered in at all, and figured this could lead to some issues with my car.

Going into Saturday PM runs I softened up the suspension some to allow the front end (and rear) to absorb elevation changes and grip the surface a bit better. This really helped, and I landed 4th in class even with a not-so impressive right side run (I coned a run that would have been 0.3 seconds faster).

Sunday morning I felt confident that I could do well. Car felt awesome after Saturday afternoon and thought I could really gain some time.

Had the time to place third but coned away both of my right side runs, thus not improving throughout my 4 runs and dropping to 6th. Frustrating but at the same time I'm fairly happy. I had the pace to keep up with 1st and 2nd, both which are national champions...So in the end, even though I did not go home with a trophy I am holding my head high knowing the car is there, and I have to just settle down and lay down good runs.

Video of my fastest runs.

So, going forward:

I registered for Nationals in Lincoln, Nebraska!

I qualified for the Pro Finale and will be registering tomorrow for the Pro Finale the weekend Prior in Lincoln, Nebraska.


I've ordered a couple items to help me out. I'll update the thread as those come in. I don't think you'll be expecting it.

[chris82]

Update this with some pics of your seats please!

[mikal7]

Can't wait!!

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Chrisar82

Update this with some pics of your seats please!

Originally Posted by mikal7

Can't wait!!

I meannnn I guess I can share

Front view with my new RS3s mounted.











For reference, there is about a 2 finger gap between the shoulder and door card.

[mikal7]

Sweet seats.

Is your airbag light on by any chance ?? Or how did you get around that??

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by mikal7

Sweet seats.

Is your airbag light on by any chance ?? Or how did you get around that??

Yea, I currently have an airbag light.

I'm going to a local indy shop to have them coded out.

[chris82]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

I meannnn I guess I can share

Front view with my new RS3s mounted.











For reference, there is about a 2 finger gap between the shoulder and door card.

Very very very nice! Are they SPGs?

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by Chrisar82

Very very very nice! Are they SPGs?

Yes, they are.

Had an event yesterday. Used some new data analysis called SoloStorm.

Basically it uses GPS from an external source, as well as OBDII data to put together and log your data. You can use this to analyze the data and make corrections on future runs.

[Kgolf31]

So I haven't updated this in awhile.

I made my way out to Lincoln Nebraska in September for the SCCA ProSolo Finale and Nationals. It is the prime event for autocross with close to 1,300 registered drivers driving!

This year STX was the largest class in history, with 67 drivers!

First event was the ProSolo. Very frustrating weekend for me. I put down times that would have landed me in trophy position the very first morning runs, but I redlit one side and coned away the other. The rest of the weekend I never even came close to those times, often 0.5 seconds off or more from my fastest times.

Fastest Left:

Fastest Right:

In the end, I fell to 8th overall for the year in the ProSolo. Which isn't terrible...but I thought I could do better.

Next was the nationals event. They consist of a West and East course...with both of your times adding up to be your total time for the event. 3 runs per course.

We started on the west, a tricky and tight course.

I unfortunately nailed a cone on my second run and had to make sure my last one was clean (and still quick). Unfortunately this put me in the mid 30s after day one.

East Course:

I was able to gain some serious spots on the East course but it was too late to have any significant impact. I killed myself on the west and it showed.

I ended up 29th out of 67. Considering I'm the ONLY 128i out in a field dominated in FRS/BRZ it wasn't a terrible result. However deep inside I knew I should have been quicker. The whole year consisted of learning, tweaking, and trying again. It isn't a bad result, but I would have liked better, especially when I started off on such a strong note.

More information to follow later tonight.

[Taskmaster]

Nice, but it's no E90.

Can't wait to see where you go from hr.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Nice, but it's no E90.

Can't wait to see where you go from hr.

Diff, More Power, Lighter Car, More Tire.

oh...and to not drive like crap

[DietTab]

I'm getting my diff in this week, for this weekend's autox. Will post my impressions after the race.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

Diff, More Power, Lighter Car, More Tire.

oh...and to not drive like crap

Reading the rules, I don't see where it says I can't hange the manifold on my 328i...

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by DietTab

I'm getting my diff in this week, for this weekend's autox. Will post my impressions after the race.

What diff did you go with?

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

Reading the rules, I don't see where it says I can't hange the manifold on my 328i...

C. The air intake system up to, but not including, the engine inlet may be modified or replaced. The engine inlet is the throttle body, carburetor, compressor inlet, or intake manifold, whichever comes first. The existing structure of the car may not be modified for the passage of ducting from the air cleaner to the engine inlet. Holes may be drilled for mounting. Emissions or engine management components in the air intake system, such as a PCV valve or mass airflow sensor, may not be removed, modified, or replaced, and must retain their original function along the flow path.

See bold. Cannot swap the engine inlet.

[Taskmaster]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

What diff did you go with?





See bold. Cannot swap the engine inlet.

PPffff, I saw that, but it doesn't specificlly say "you can't swap this with a factory part" let them stop me.

[DietTab]

Originally Posted by Kgolf31

What diff did you go with?

An MFactory unit. for 20% off retail I couldnt pass it up. Have to do the install myself though, no biggie.

[Kgolf31]

Originally Posted by TheAxiom

PPffff, I saw that, but it doesn't specificlly say "you can't swap this with a factory part" let them stop me.

If you go nationally competitive people will run your VIN and check it against the car. Trust me, if you're beating someone and they want to be a douche they'll protest.

In the end, you're not following ST rules. I'd voice it locally and I'm sure people won't mind. Just telling you the letter of the law. YMMV

Originally Posted by DietTab

An MFactory unit. for 20% off retail I couldnt pass it up. Have to do the install myself though, no biggie.

Clutch or Torsen?