Jake is cool

[BlackTieTD]

just found this pic on your site jake, great shot!



anyone else have some good action shots?

[BlackTieTD]

here's another  :shock:

[fspGTD]

Hey yeah, that's an old one from before I had the car painted (notice the grey primer - that's body work in progress!   )  And also on softer suspension (now on JoeGTD's GTD), with 14x6 BFG R1's (still have those wheels/tires... if anyone's interested make me an offer - would love to clear them out of my garage!)

Here's what it looks like at 2003 nationals in Topeka... new paint (color is now slightly different color: Porsche sunshine yellow), it's lower :wink: , and has 13x9 wheels on 225/45/13 hoosiers.  You've now witnessed the transformation from weekend warrior into a dedicated auto-xer.  




Definitely a work in progress!  :wink:

[TDIMeister]

Definitely a work in progress!  :wink:

Definitely, on the smoke      Congrats on all your Diesel autoX'ing exploits!

I have remembered Jake since the days of rec.autos.vw.watercooled for more years than I'd care to count!

[fspGTD]

Definitely a work in progress!  :wink:

Definitely, on the smoke      Congrats on all your Diesel autoX'ing exploits!

I have remembered Jake since the days of rec.autos.vw.watercooled for more years than I'd care to count!

Thanks!    (No - kidding, that was a while ago... to think I've owned this very same Rabbit for that long too!   )

[BlackTieTD]

13x9 wheels on 225/45/13 hoosiers.

jake, i'm thinking about picking up some 13x8 diamond racing steelies (about 14Ibs ea) and running sumitomos on them (meant for '60s minis i believe) in about 185/60-13 or there abouts... i want to go wider but i'm worried about rubbing the fenders. this is for street/light track use.. and will be for summer wheels only of course.

do you see any problems with running this wide a wheel on a car that is to be lowered not any further than level control arms? i dont want to rush into anything, but i found a straight set used and i've been looking for wide 13" steel since the fall... this is the first set that have come up used, and the seller is somewhat local.

[fspGTD]

Those wheels (with a wide 13" R-compound tire) would be a hot setup for autocross...  you should get 4.5-5" backspace to best fit a Rabbit.  5" backsace fits the rear great, but up front you might find the wheel interferes with the tie rods at full steering lock.  I run 13x9's with 5" BS in the rear and 3/8" spacers up front.  13x8.5" would be ideal for the wide-13" Hoosier R-compound tires that I run.

If you can get hubcentric center bore size to fit VW (I don't know if it's available for Diamonds) do it, but if not they will still work.  Also make sure your lug bolts have the right shape to fit the wheel (stock VW lug bolts are spherical shape called "acorn", often aftermarket race wheels need 60 degree taper seat.)  I use H&R 60 degree taper lug bolts.  Keep in mind if you need to run spacers you will need longer bolts.

[BlackTieTD]

thanks for the info jake... appreciated.

how about rub on the fenders? your tires look like they poke right out of the fenders... do you have any rub problems, or is your suspension stiff enough to stop contact? i'd like to go with 205s or thereabouts if they will fit without rub.. what about suspension clearance?

[fspGTD]

Oh, my race tires definitely do rub on the fenders if I lower it too much.  The stiff springs help (I run coilovers of about 500#/in in front, with a front (neuspeed 22mm) swaybar!), as do running as low-profile/small-circumference race tire as is available (I think the current ones I am running on are between 20"-21" circumference.)  The small circumference tire also helps lower the center of gravity, as well as make the stock gear ratios more favorable for racing.  Then for street driving (getting to and from auto-x events...), I swap on the stock tall wheels/tires, and have more sidewall flex to make the ride softer on the street, and am also geared comparatively better for the freeway.

Keep in mind my setup is basically an an all-out race suspension design, where the primary goal is max cornering force.  Street ride comfort for my setup is not high on the list.  As a matter of fact I wear earplugs when traveling long-distance/cross-country due to all the road noise! :lol:

Maybe a 13x8 with 5" backspace wouldn't rub, so could be run with softer suspension, but I don't know.  My static ride height is set to the lowest I can get without rubbing, which ends up putting the a-arms a little bit lower than parallel.  Hope this helps...

[BlackTieTD]

yep, definitely helps. thanks jake.

going to pick up the rims this week and hope for the best... worst case i might have some 13x8 diamond steelies for sale  :lol: