Details…
Driving impressions are one thing, details are another. Having the summer to drive #00 allowed me to fine tune each aspect of the setup that would eventually make up a production 311RS. I need this car to be perfect, not only so the eventual owners’ expectations are met, but for myself. This car is a big deal to me, it has my name on it and that alone is enough to make absolutely certain the car is perfect. When modifying a car there are always things that you’ll want to address. With #00 there were a few things in particular – ride height, rubbing, suspension settings, and tire pressure.
When developing the Gates311 Evo X, we focused solely on the chassis before adding any serious power. In doing so, we learned a few tricks to getting the car as low as possible without compromising the functionality of the suspension and chassis. What we learned directly translates to the 311RS. I wanted the ability to run the car at a similar ride height as with my race car. With only JRZ RS1s on the car, I am happy to report that we’ve done it. Valving and spring adjustments have been made to standard RS1 offered by JRZ to allow us to run the car real nice and low. Better for aero, center of gravity, weight transfer, and of course looks. We do offer suggestions when raising the suspension in the event one of the owners needs slightly differ from my own. Cool part is that as low as the car is, I have been able to avoid scraping the JDP front lip to death.
Running #00 low also allowed us to perfect the fender modifications necessary to fit the 18×10.5 +18 Ce28Ns and the 285/35/18 NT05s. Initially the tires and the fenders got along great. It was love at first contact. But there was no way that a production 311RS would be allowed to rub, so I spent time at AMS Performance engineering a few solutions. I’m happy to say that we’ve solved the rubbing issues. Take the car to the track or pack 5 people in the car, it doesn’t matter.
Details like suspension settings and tire pressure are things that we’d naturally have to sort, but we had some fun with it. Working directly with the manufacturer of the parts, we are able to get information about the parts that are otherwise out of reach. With that knowledge, we created different settings packages for almost every situation imaginable. You’re going on a road trip? Perfect, here are the settings we suggest to maximize fuel economy and comfort. That’s right, we also have a road trip tune from AMS. You’re taking your 311RS to the track? Try these settings if you’d like to push the car hard. You get the idea. There are plenty of other settings we’ve got dialed, but we’ll keep those between us and the eventual owners of the cars.