Finally back out in the Evo. I finally got under the car after the failure at the last event to replace the LICP hose, which had raptured spectacularly. I had wanted to go out in April, but shortly after getting the car ready and a new alignment, we found 2 of the bearings were on their way out. I think part of this may be due to the axle nuts not having the appropriate washer, in order to be able to torque it down stronger. The axle nuts on the Evo take a crazy amount of torque – and its recommended to go past factory specs – specifically, we are now using 250lbft on all 4 corners. I opted to have the car done at PhD Racing, and when they started taking things apart, one of the rear bearings was completely broken in 2 – prompting a further delay in order to replace bearings.

This didn’t line up with the track activity we had originally planned to do, but I was still able to go out on track to turn some laps in the Evo – and very glad I did. Improving on the last Evo event, this time I managed to get 2 sessions in before calling it quits. There was definitely something wrong/loose with the steering rack – I had been warned of this by PhD when I took the car back after the bearings job. Clearly it had gotten worse over the 2 sessions, to the point where the steering felt different every single time and had developed a severe groan upon turning. I’m actually really happy with being within 6 tenths of my PB with that failure in mind – the confidence I get back from having a properly working and tight steering wheel will be easily worth a second.

With Qualy Time Attack, I can actually dive deeper into the data to make a few notes for improvement:

• Off the bat, I lose half a second just from having to lift in the back straight to pass the Corvette – that basically gets me to my PB already, messed up steering and all
• Nailing T1-2 is worth a lot of time – particularly in the run up to T4. The 1:35 (orange) shows that I’m able to get on and stay on the gas coming out of 2, whereas I get off the throttle on the black line.
• Much quicker through T6, but have to lift here to pass a Corvette, losing half a second
• In the orange, I get on the gas earlier for T8, but I brake earlier and harder and lose nearly all of it
• I get on the gas harder out of T9, which lets me claw back a lot of time down the back straight
• I lose much of what I gained by braking earlier and harder, about 3 tenths, and then make it up on the final couple of corners
• There’s at least a second in it from driving alone, which should finally get me into the 1:34s

For the next event, on top of ordering the steering rack bushings, I decided to clean up the rest of the bushings as well. I figured if some were on the way out, better just do them all. In addition, it seemed there was something broken on the subframe itself – I’m not sure when this would be from, but a new front subframe has been ordered. At the time of this writing, it hasn’t been received yet, but I’m hoping it fits without any issue given the front end accident I had a few years back.

In any case, the event itself went well and as mentioned, I was pretty close to my personal best. I’ve also begun using a Racebox, and have been pretty impressed with it so far. I’m excited to get back out with everything put back together to really see what the car is capable of doing. I also think the next time I’m out, I may go stiffer on the shocks – maybe like 5/5 or something. I’ve still got some work to do on the driving, but again I’ll be much more comfortable with it on track. I need to be more balanced in my steering between my right and left hands, and carry more speed into corners by braking a little less and doing some trail braking.

Set Up (Evo):

• XA
• Ohlins DFV (Custom valved); Shocks 8/8 (try 5/5 next time)
• OEM FSB 4/5; WL 26mm RSB: Medium
• RE-ACD: Snow
• Cusco 1-way Type RS front diff (60% springs & 60% plates)
• Cusco 1-way Type RS Gymkhana rear diff (80% springs and 80% plates)
• Camber at -4.0 0 toe, -2.5 rear, 0 toe-in
• Brakes F: Alcon brakes, P3 pads; Brakes R: Girodisc 2-pc & ST43s
• CE28N-plus 18×10+40; 12mm spacer front, 3mm spacer rear
• Vitour P1 265/35-18
• 36psi

Notes (Evo):

• Try 5/5
• Start at 28/32 cold temps for track

2026 Event Count VN: 3 Autox, 0 track day
2026 Event Count Evo: 0 Autox, 1 track day