My vote would be for a lighter car for two reasons: first, lighter would be easier on consumables. Pads and tires should last longer. Second, to maximize the higher end suspension parts, you would have to actively manage the setup to a more significant degree than your current setup requires and that can be time consuming when you would rather be driving or having fun. To realize the advantages of those shocks, you couldn't "set it and forget it" - you would have to stay on top of the settings and remember each ***** is an opportunity to make a bad setting.

Leave some budget to make an extra trip to the track for seat time

 

^^^ Truth....

I've been highly successful the past 5 years in a lightened 99' 996 (2450 lbs. empty) with 2-way Clubsports, soft springs (550/700), stock brakes w/RS29's, and some front end downforce (WSC splitter & canards) along with a 55" cup wing on tall uprights. I use 9.5 fronts and 250 Yokes, 11.5 or 12" rears with 300 Yokes.....

Setup is everything in a 996 and a competent coach should have the experience to test and properly setup the car along with intensive data analysis. Spend your money in that direction, you can buy the fancy dampers when you've evolved enough to use them....

 

Since you are having to ask, and I am not trying to be an a$$. Private coaching would be your best bang for the buck.

 

IMHO Top quality motorsports dampers are the ticket. People spend thousands on light weight stuff and horsepower and pick up tenths on lap times. We regularly back to back dampers on the club level with jaw dropping results with just starting settings.

I'm going to get murdered by you guys for making this statement but a high quality set of triple adjustable dampers will set you back about 11.5g's but they are 1.5-2 seconds a lap faster (depending on the track obviously) over a single and even double adjustable and in the long run they more than pay for themselves in terms of tire wear over the course of two seasons.

we have proven this time and time again. As far as needing an engineer you don't. you guys have us

 

properly set up, 3 way helps. I gained 2 seconds on a 1:58 trackiver 2 ways

that's not
to say u don't need coach or lwt

but set up has to be right YMMV

 

I agree with the shock comment. My example is this. I gained 1.5 seconds during the hsr 24 hour by making minor shock adjustments to enter and exit the bus stop. I was not able to balance the car and get back to throttle. Once the adjustment was made, bam I picked up 1.5 seconds. I have seen first hand that horse power means nothing unless the tires are making contact. That what the damper can do for you.

 

I don't know nuthin' about adjustable shocks except that they do work and I can't afford them... but are you racing for money or against your personal best? Is it worth the money?

Personal choice.

But I do belive in weight loss... it is an unmitigated benefit in every way. If you are not limited by racing rules, get every gram out of the car that you can.

It doesn't have to be expensive... a lot of it is just removing stuff you don't need on a track-only car.

Do you really need headlights? Get rid of them. Wipers (can you use Rain-x instead?). Rip them out. Upholstery, heat, A/C, ducts, blower and window motors, glove box door, cig lighter... tear em out.

I know this sounds extreme, and some people are not comfortable "defacing" their car... again its personal choice... but physics doesn't car what your car looks like.

Replacing body panels can get expensive, but some of this is bolt-on that you can do yourself. Replace the glass with plexi... cheap and very effective. Can you live with fiberglass rather than carbon fiber> Do you need concours paint when you can do it yourself, or get the local body guy to shoot it?

Personal choice.

Have fun and keep it out of the green stuff.

 

Most of us are racing with PCA and we have a weight rule. What you mentionned is already done for 99% of the cars.

A lot of people including me have to add ballast to meet minimim weight.
I didnt go harcore on the stripping of my car and i was already underweight, just to give you an idea.

 

Of course.

I did say if you weren't restricted by racing rules.

PCA regulates weight and "shocks are free, as long as they are of the same type, and location.... bla, bla, bla"

Is that dern horse dead yet?

That feeds perfectly into my point.

Just because in PCA, guys are spending Apollo Mission money on shocks does not prove that shocks improve performance more than weight reduction.

It simply proves that given a loophole in the racing rules, guys are willing to spend Apollo Mission money to win, and Engineering companies are willing to come out of the woodwork to sell them.

It is not in dispute that, at a given weight, a more sophisticated suspension will make the car faster.

The unanswered question is that, on a given car, will a Dollar (or Euro) in this case, provide a proportionately larger improvement in performance than the same amount spent on Shocks.

And this argument is moot as we do not know what the baseline weight or suspension on the car is.

 

I understand your point.

Take for reference my stock F class boxster.
Weight with driver is 3060lbs per class rule. Im about 3100lbs as i have too much ballast on my side. Right there im not 100% competitive.

Body work has to stay stock
Performance upgrade is impossible.
There is not much you can do/change.
I was racing last year with stock pss9 and smaller tires and i wasnt that competitive. Now with a used set of jrz pro, 245/275 hoosier, its a different game.

I could add those parts like my other competitors:
Wing, trans cooler, ps cooler, brake duct/fans, race clutch.

But now usd exchange is killing us.

If i had the money, i would buy the 3 ways suspension if i could get 1-2 seconds off like everyone saying.

As for the other parts? Its hard to tell how much i can get as i never run with any of those parts.

 

Go drive the car. Don't listen to this crap. Find out about yourself.

 

Just FWIW and just because it's snowing and colder than **** out...

...I often wonder how many guys with nice adjustable dampers keep notes, have done real T/T and have found optimal settings for them and for the tracks they drive.

Or, how many (I know quite a few) run with whatever has been suggested to them and are happy.

 

This.

Like I said before, the confidence given to the driver by the improved wheel and tire control, knowing that they can push slightly OVER the edge without "snapping" and/or losing traction suddenly, allows them to DRIVE in such a a way that they get that magic "1.5-2 seconds." It's the DRIVER that has to leverage Tim Olsen's (or insert your favorite tuner here) knowledge and product to YIELD that time improvement (and it varies, track to track, car to car, driver to driver.) It's NOT magic...

Shocks control the rate of weight transfer and aid in the force keeping the tire tread on the surface of the road for maximum grip. They aid in traction out of the corner, stability in the platform under braking and quick transients. They're a critical part of any racer's success. But there is no silver bullet...

 

It's so cool to see folks talking coaching and data vs 'go fast bits'. Love this forum.

 

Ha! They all go hand in hand and everyone has an opinion

It just happens to be the way I earn my living