B 497 BMW M3 E30 for a BTCC style race series.

[Hellisan]

welcome to a tuning diary for my B497 BMW M3 E30.  The paint is just an amalgamation of various ideas from BMW race cars I've seen consisting of on-hand decals and stuff that was purchased on the storefront, took about an hour.  lol

What I'm planning on doing here is to list the various tuning changes I make and if anybody feels like giving feedback it would be greatly appreciated.  But if not, absolutely no problem it will be here for me to enjoy and relive.   I'll have separate tuning threads and track notes for each track we run and will probably post some race stories here as well.





I'm entering a series with some friends at my buddy's new forums at www.realisticracing.forummotion.com.   The admin (NQR Del) and I have been buds since mid-Forza 2 and share a disdain for hopper and public lobby racing.  He started this place in hopes of seeing a few good series come to fruition as well as nightly races etc.  If anybody is interested in signing up go ahead but let me know so I can make sure he approves you....
 

So... Here's some basic information about the series.

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Car Build Rules

ll Cars must be run at 500pi unless another value is stated for each specific car
ALL FWD cars must be run with Full tyre Width on the front and rear tyres unless stated otherwise

All cars must have full forza body kit

All platform and handling parts must be applied

(Weight Reduction is variable dependant on the car and how it fits in the weight restriction)

Full racing drive train parts, gearbox clutch etc

Racing compound tyres
minimum weight 2500lbs
maximum weight 3100lbs

Minimum horsepower 250hp
Maximum horsepower 350 hp

Drive train swaps are forbidden
Aspiration swaps are forbidden

Engine swaps are allowed but all cars must have engines that are less then 4 litres
the engines must have no more then 6 cylinders

All cars must feature a racing livery of some sort either a replica livery or your own personalized racing livery. ideally we are looking for people to enter in teams with a maximum of 3 cars. . All cars that enter must feature some kind of racing livery whether it be a replica or individual racing paint job

all the accpeted cars are either cars that have raced in the btcc . or cars that resemble BTCC cars

* 1991 BMW M3 E30 497 PI
* 1997 BMW M3 E36 to be run at 490PI
* 2009 BMW 135 I
* 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
* 2003 Ford Focus SVT
* 2006 Focus ST
* 1999 Honda Civic Si
* 2000 Honda Integra type R
* 2002 Honda Integra type R
* 2004 Honda Civic Type R
* 2007 Honda Civic Type R 495PI
* 2003 Lexus IS300
* 2001 Mazda Familia
* 1992 Nissan Silvia Club Ks
* 2007 Nissan Sentra
* 2007 Peugeot 207 RC
* 2010 Renault Megane
* 2002 Saab 9-3 Aero
* 2005 Scion TC
* 2003 Seat Leon
* 2007 Seat Leon
* 2005 Saturn Ion
* 2006 Vauxhall Astra
* 2009 Volvo C30
* 2006 Volkswagen Golf GTI
* 2010 Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk 6

[Hellisan]

Ok so i'm not your standard gearhead...  Single-mom child, that sort of thing.  I can change my oil that's about it.  Of the cars above it just had to be this one.  I love this car and even though it takes what I believe is an undeserved PI hit (the car frankly stinks) I'm a competitive driver in this particular series and I'm sticking with it no matter what.  It's up to me to get this thing to drive.

This post will detail the car as stock, outline the build that I've decided upon (for now), some general notes on the build and it's capabilities and weaknesses, and what I expect to get out of it once it's tuned.  
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Here are the parts I've fitted.  This has already been relatively well researched, and combined with the required parts I think i'm pretty much set here unless there are some suggestions.

Air Filter: Sport
Intake Manifold and Throttle Body: Stock
Fuel System: Sport
Ignition: Sport
Exhaust: Stock
Camshaft: Stock
Valves: Race
Displacement: Sport
Pistons/Compression: Sport
Oil and Cooling: Race
Flywheel: Street

Brakes: Race
Springs/Dampers: Race
F ARB / R ARB: Race
Chassis / Rollcage: Race
Weight Reduction: Street

Clutch: Race
Transmission: Race
Driveline: Race
Differential: Race

Tyre Compound: Race
Front/Rear Width: 245 / 25
Rim Size: 19 - I wanted 18 but with the reduced options we have and my determination to get it close to is minimum weight this is what I ended up with
Rim Style: BBS RS-GT

Front Bumper: Race
Rear Wing: Race
Rear Bumper/ Side Skirts: Street - Rieger

Aspiration Conversion: Stock

Build Notes: I feel that the fastest cars in this competition will be the ones that have a little oomph behind them.  With no good engine swap options and such a low starting HP rating I ended up ADDING weight to get the HP I wanted.  I feel the car is plenty light at 2,785 lbs.  If it were AWD I'd probably go light.

Tune Goals: The car suffers from a lack of power and yet still has a lot of trouble keeping the rear end planted on exit.  The goal is to get this car dialed in so I can absolutely push it to the max in any situation without the rear breaking loose.  Race compound will go a long way toward that end however it still ain't perfect by any means.  And I'll be needing to run a minimum of downforce for most tracks for the best passing chances so mechanical tuning must be tight.



Build/Tune Comparisons (Will be updated as I go along)

[Hellisan]

The Home Track: Le Mans / Bugatti



We will be doing most of our test runs here because this is a track that demands a mix of balance between handling and speed, and also because it really is tough on RWD cars that struggle with rear wheel spin.  

I'm not sure EXACTLY HOW MUCH Audi had to pay T10 to get BMW's to handle and grip as badly as they do in the game but hopefully it a lot.  Despite having race tires and the largest width available to this car (and not much HP) it just spins and spins.

I do have the first tune attempt which I will post later.  All initial testing will be here at Bugatti and compared to another car that I've run much better laps in than this.  I have a copy of another car that will be in the race (well tuned FWD Acura RSX) and I'm going to compare lap times on this track including speeds on the straights and corners.  The tuning goal is to get my car clearly competitive and/or better compared to this other car.

I also have a friend (Basis) that is likely going to join me for the series constructor race so his preferences will have to be taken into account as well, although just getting the car reliable is the first goal.  He can tune to suit if he wants later on.  I will try and get him to sign up over here so he can post his thoughts.

That to come.

[Hellisan]

The Competition



B500 2002 Honda Integra Type-R  - - - - (I said RSX before... sorry)
318 HP, 223 lb-ft TQ, 2,500 lbs, FWD
5.5 SPD, 5.8 HAND, 5.7 ACC, 4.4 LAUNCH, 5.9 BRAKING

My friend Del did a great job of tuning this car, he will probably make some changes to the car but given that it was 2.5 seconds better than my untuned car my goal is just to make my car as fast as this one.  It really does well for a FWD.

I ran it to get four representative laps on Bugatti.  I've run 1:46's with it but this wasn't a hot lapping session just looking to get a good sample.  I can always update it if I get near this with the BMW and still think the Integ is better.




I will compare my car to these figures and find out where I need to improve, and if it can be done at all with my build.

[Hellisan]

Tune Version 1

Engine and Power
Air Filter - Sport
Intake Manifold and Throttle Body - Stock
Fuel System - Sport
Ignition - Sport
Exhaust - Stock
Camshaft - Stock
Valves - Race
Displacement - Sport
Pistons and Compression - Sport
Oil and Cooling - Race
Flywheel - Street

Platform and Handling
Brakes - Race
Springs and Dampers - Race
Front Anti-roll Bars - Race
Rear Anti-roll Bars - Race
Chassis Reinforcement and Roll Cage - Race
Weight Reduction - Street

Drivetrain
Clutch - Race
Transmission - Race
Driveline - Race
Differential - Race

Tires and Rims
Tire Compound - Race
Front Tire Width - 245
Rear Tire Width - 245
Front Rim Size - 19
Rear Rim Size - 19
Rim Style - BBS RS-GT

Aero and Appearance
Front Bumper - Race
Rear Wing - Race
Rear Bumper - Rieger Street
Side Skirts - Rieger Street

Aspiration Conversion
Stock Aspiration


Tires
Front: 29.0
Rear: 28.5

Gearing
FD: 2.39
1st: 4.92
2nd: 3.37
3rd: 2.45
4th: 1.89
5th: 1.67
6th: 1.41

Alignment
Front Camber: -1.0
Rear Camber: -0.8
Front Toe: 0.2
Rear Toe: -0.1
Front Caster: 5.6

Anti-roll Bars
Front: 8.70
Rear: 9.10

Springs
Front: 656.0
Rear: 632.0
Front Height: 4.8
Rear Height: 4.8

Damping
Front Rebound: 8.7
Rear Rebound: 8.3
Front Bump: 3.9
Rear Bump: 3.7

Aero
Front Downforce: 60
Rear Downforce: 100

Braking
Balance: 48%
Braking Force: 115%

Differential
Acceleration: 7%
Deceleration: 20%


Commentary: Progress has been made.  This tune was done using the latest tonka sheet in Blooze's thread and tweaked very slightly.  One thing I'm examining is the FD... it's really low, and it does hurt acceleration slightly.  However it seems to help with the rear grip and it does add a few MPH to the top speed this car can attain.  However, that is a candidate to come back up toward "normal" settings.

Nowhere near the end here though as it does have a tendency to break loose. Feedback on the car is welcome.  A friend of mine tried it and said it's vastly superior to how it was... But he's not getting great laps with it at the moment and he thinks the spring rate remains way too stiff.  Overall he thinks the car needs to be softened up a bit.




After running four "representative" laps you can see that I'm giving up some time but it's a helluva lot better than it was when I was down about two seconds.   

This car has to slow down less for a lot of the turns but doesn't have the all-out speed.  I'm definitely going to look to find the perfect mix of a low FD setting but not THIS low. 

A replay of my run is now on my storefront, GT is same as my username here.  It's laps 2-5

[Silvo 1981]

Hi Hellsian,

You say that you are happy with the parts you've installed because they're fairly well researched. What have you done to make sure you have the maximum build?

I note that the league has restrictions on the build, so to some extent you are limited on what you can do but I believe that the build is the area that most time will be gained and the tune will just help you get those lap times more consistently. Additionally, the car has been limited PI to 497 indicating to me that the league perceive that car to have an advantage over the other cars at 500. I'd imagine you should be competitive at 497.

What testing have you done on the build?

Random thoughts - Can you give the final build stats (I don't think I missed them) ie B497 ?hp ?tq 2,785lbs RWD etc. I found some of the info but it's always good to state them. I notice you detail the tyre width, is that the max width or just up a notch? Have you tried a heavier car - I notice that you mention trying to keep to the lower weight limit. I think weight loss is often penalised more in PI than power increases.

Phil

[Hellisan]

Hi Hellsian,

You say that you are happy with the parts you've installed because they're fairly well researched. What have you done to make sure you have the maximum build?

I note that the league has restrictions on the build, so to some extent you are limited on what you can do but I believe that the build is the area that most time will be gained and the tune will just help you get those lap times more consistently. Additionally, the car has been limited PI to 497 indicating to me that the league perceive that car to have an advantage over the other cars at 500. I'd imagine you should be competitive at 497.

What testing have you done on the build?

Random thoughts - Can you give the final build stats (I don't think I missed them) ie B497 ?hp ?tq 2,785lbs RWD etc. I found some of the info but it's always good to state them. I notice you detail the tyre width, is that the max width or just up a notch? Have you tried a heavier car - I notice that you mention trying to keep to the lower weight limit. I think weight loss is often penalised more in PI than power increases.

Phil

Hey man, Thanks for responding.

The basic info is posted under "build' in the second thread but I'll restate here:

PI: B497
HP: 314
TQ: 263
Wt: 2,785
Front WD: 51%

Spd: 5.7
Hand: 5.8
Acc: 5.8
Launch: 5.6
Braking: 6.0

I'm not sure what you mean by maximum build... If you mean down to a lb. if possible what I did is once I figured out what type of build I wanted (heavy, HP) I improved the car to as close as I could to 497 and then went in and got the lightest wheels possible, using the Gamefaqs wheel weight FAQ as a reference.  I then screw around a little bit to see if I can get any more weight off.

If you mean the most HP/Tq out of my PI...I didn't do much there.  I drove light versions, heavy versions, and middle ground versions and decided I needed the maximum amount of power I could get.  The weight restriction is 2500-3500 lb. and so I'm still relatively low within the range, looking at the cars the other people have this will be average to slightly below average weight.

So once I knew I wanted a heavy build... I went with the heavy engine parts to get max HP out of it. I didn't want weight decreases hogging up valuable PI.

After fitting the required parts i'm already at 367 and that 130 PI goes quick on a car that has racing tires.  One discussion that's probably been had on here is "more street/sport racing upgrades or fewer race upgrades?" and I generally try to go with more sport than fewer racing.  So i've spread my points out as much as possible on teh heaviest engine upgrades while still having them all fit toward the PI I needed.

An example of the testing I'm doing can be found in the previous post, comparing it to a superior car that will also be running in my series.  I also run daily test races with a few of the guys that will be in the series.  The goal is to get it driveable not only for me (good throttle control) but for my race partner as well who is still working on that.

Thanks again man.

[NQR Del]

Hi Helli. All I will say is I will follow this post with great interest    I am just playing mate good on ya.  I too am trying to get mine better as you well know lol.

[Blooze]

I am curious as to how you get the data for those telemetry tables...

$

[Hellisan]

Hi Helli. All I will say is I will follow this post with great interest    I am just playing mate good on ya.  I too am trying to get mine better as you well know lol.

lmao.... Let's just say you're gonna know more about my car than I know about yours (the retune) hahahah.

I am curious as to how you get the data for those telemetry tables...

$

I realized that I didn't label the data as I'm sure you've figured out it's the top speed in a straight and the slowest speed in a corner.  

I did it in hot lap, then watched the replay in telemetry basic..., being sure to only take down the speed from when the replay was going forward.  It just gives me a general idea of where one car is faster than another. 

[Silvo 1981]

Ok cool. Where I'd start with the build is by applying all the league restrictions and seeing what Pi you have left to play with. Say that takes you to PI 347 ish you still have 150 Pi to play with. With that 150 you have choices to make about how you use those points. I'm still not sure what you've done with the tyres but I think the league restricted the compound but only the width on FF cars.

With that 150 PI I'd try a few builds say one that is the lightest, has the most grip and has the most power you can cram in with the remaining 150. I try to imagine a triangle with power, grip and weight being the limits of the build and trying to find the best balanced build within those three limits. I'd try all three on a short repeatable track (I use (thanks to Blooze) tskuba/sebring short/road atlanta short - depending on the type of track I am working towards) and see which is the quickest build. You can't assume that the lightest is the quickest.

When playing with the power I'd also pay particular attention to the cams upgrades. They alter the rev limits and the hp/tq ratio (hp goes up more than tq). I am not the best at explaining how it works but I understand that fitting these parts does things to the engine that other parts don't - plenty already written if you want to get your head round it. I'd avoid them at first when picking power upgrades but then try knocking the cams up a notch or two for other power upgrades and see if your times improve on your chosen track. I find it sometimes helps on RWD cars if the TQ is quite high to add cams to help reduce wheel spin at low speed for top speed benefit.

The other way to go at it which is what I tend to do now, is to use your current build as a base time and try reducing grip for power, increasing power for adding weight, increasing grip for weight or changing engine parts for the cams upgrades etc against the clock. If your times improve keep the part if they don't revert back to what you had previously.

If the league allows it you probably want to have a couple of builds or more with the one for twisty tracks and for the speed tracks. That would give you a good edge rather using the one build for all tracks.

That's what I mean by maximising your build. If you don't know that you have the best build for your car, you probably have room to improve and can shave a good bit of time off your current setup. Then start to work on the tune!

[Hellisan]

Ok cool. Where I'd start with the build is by applying all the league restrictions and seeing what Pi you have left to play with. Say that takes you to PI 347 ish you still have 150 Pi to play with. With that 150 you have choices to make about how you use those points. I'm still not sure what you've done with the tyres but I think the league restricted the compound but only the width on FF cars.

With that 150 PI I'd try a few builds say one that is the lightest, has the most grip and has the most power you can cram in with the remaining 150. I try to imagine a triangle with power, grip and weight being the limits of the build and trying to find the best balanced build within those three limits. I'd try all three on a short repeatable track (I use (thanks to Blooze) tskuba/sebring short/road atlanta short - depending on the type of track I am working towards) and see which is the quickest build. You can't assume that the lightest is the quickest.

When playing with the power I'd also pay particular attention to the cams upgrades. They alter the rev limits and the hp/tq ratio (hp goes up more than tq). I am not the best at explaining how it works but I understand that fitting these parts does things to the engine that other parts don't - plenty already written if you want to get your head round it. I'd avoid them at first when picking power upgrades but then try knocking the cams up a notch or two for other power upgrades and see if your times improve on your chosen track. I find it sometimes helps on RWD cars if the TQ is quite high to add cams to help reduce wheel spin at low speed for top speed benefit.

The other way to go at it which is what I tend to do now, is to use your current build as a base time and try reducing grip for power, increasing power for adding weight, increasing grip for weight or changing engine parts for the cams upgrades etc against the clock. If your times improve keep the part if they don't revert back to what you had previously.

If the league allows it you probably want to have a couple of builds or more with the one for twisty tracks and for the speed tracks. That would give you a good edge rather using the one build for all tracks.

That's what I mean by maximising your build. If you don't know that you have the best build for your car, you probably have room to improve and can shave a good bit of time off your current setup. Then start to work on the tune!

Thanks man, I will go back and look at at the build.  Given that (as stated previously) there are 130 PI points to play with after required parts and must-have (tire width) parts... And given that I am 100% positive I want a power build (heavy end of the range) after in depth testing of light builds vs. heavy builds vs. tweener builds... I don't think it will get much better.  Nevertheless that is what I will work on with my gaming time tomorrow... Just verifying the build and then if I make an improvement I will re-do the initial tune.

[NQR Del]

I would really like to change the rims to be more in keeping Helli but it is honestly causing me a nightmare I may have to go with the Lowenhart unless I find something else to enable as good a build as I have.  I am giving away 5 tenths per lap mate and am a little stuck lol.  I am doing everything I can to get it right and hope I do but that first build just seems to be so strong at the moment.  I also am aware of a couple of guys trying the Inegra so if they go for it I will be changing car anyway buddy so as to put different cars on the grid we don't want a full Honda grid etc.  I will do this even if I end up worse off.  Just something I noticed mate as you are running a rwd you can choose your tyre width as you wish if that makes a different to you.

[Silvo 1981]

I went away and built this up to see if I can provide anything a bit more useful. I spent a bit of time on it and this is what I figured out…

If you are working on a speed build then perhaps you don't need the full width tyres on front and rear. The rules say that only FF cars must have full width and you might find a bit of extra power for less grip helps a bit. Del made a reference to this above as well but I didn't know what width they started until I built it.

Also worth bearing in mind is that although the platform and handling parts have to be applied they do not say they have to be race. While you will want the majority of these parts applied for the adjustable element I find sometimes it is better without the roll cage as it is quite heavy and the car very rigid.

The other thing I thought might be a good idea was having more than one build assuming it's within the rules. You already have a speed build but when you come to the twisty tracks you may be up against it somewhat. I found quite a nice setup with the following parts:
Forza Front Bumper, Forza Rear Bumper, Race Brakes, Race Springs & Dampeners, Race Front ARB, Race Rear ARB, Race Chassis Reinforcement & Roll Cage, Race Clutch, Race Transmission, Race Driveline, Race Differential and Race Tyres

That takes you to PI 352 but the power is only 215hp and doesn't meet the 250hp requirement so I added:
Sport Fuel System and Sport Displacement

Taking it to PI 402 and 250hp leaving 93 PI to play with. I then put on the following:
Max front tyre width, Max rear tyre width, Buddy Club P1 Racing QF (or any of the other lightest rims), Sport Weight Reduction, Sport Chassis R. & R.C., Race Exhaust and Race Displacement

That leaves the car at PI 497, 288hp, 241tq and 2500lbs. Max grip and min weight should be pretty handy on the twisty tracks compared with you current build. I'm not 100% certain that it's the best build it can be but it's probably not a million miles away.

The thing with your build is that the max tyre width kind of contradicts itself being a speed build. I did try your build out and it was fine but my point is that if you are allowed to run more than one build you should. 1 build cannot conquer all tracks.

Other bits that were on your build that I would not go for myself are the big 19in rims and the body kit. That might just be personal preference but I've read in a few places that the inertia of the heavy rims is bad. I tend to stay on the smallest lightest rims I can but I have not got round to testing if it has been modelled correctly yet. As for the body kit I'd test it against the clock and see if you are quicker with or without it - for the speed build you might be right for the twisty build I would suspect not.

As for the tune the first thing I noticed was that the gears felt a bit awkward. 5th was too close to 4th so I'd suggest either spreading the gears a bit so they feel a bit more even or even try using 4 gears. The standard gears only used 4 and it felt quite good. I'm sure you know that more changes equal slower laps so the generally the longer you can get away with the better.

The alignment for the toe is positive on the front and negative on the rear. That doesn't seem to make sense to me. The rear is setup to prevent the back end sliding while the front is setup to encourage corner entry. I think most RWD cars you would usually expect to see only negative rear toe. Generally turn-in isn't a problem so no need for positive front and this can be tuned with amongst others the diff and the caster setting fairly independently of anything else. By having too much toe the tyres will be rubbing on the straights and slowing you down.

I hope that the above is of some use to you and taken as I intended it. I think you could shave a few tenths off by using the right setup for the track type which will help a fair amount in a race. Overall your car seems sound but if you really want to get the most of it perhaps consider more than one build to take advantage of the different tracks.

Phil

[Hellisan]

I went away and built this up to see if I can provide anything a bit more useful. I spent a bit of time on it and this is what I figured out…

If you are working on a speed build then perhaps you don't need the full width tyres on front and rear. The rules say that only FF cars must have full width and you might find a bit of extra power for less grip helps a bit. Del made a reference to this above as well but I didn't know what width they started until I built it.

Also worth bearing in mind is that although the platform and handling parts have to be applied they do not say they have to be race. While you will want the majority of these parts applied for the adjustable element I find sometimes it is better without the roll cage as it is quite heavy and the car very rigid.

The other thing I thought might be a good idea was having more than one build assuming it's within the rules. You already have a speed build but when you come to the twisty tracks you may be up against it somewhat. I found quite a nice setup with the following parts:
Forza Front Bumper, Forza Rear Bumper, Race Brakes, Race Springs & Dampeners, Race Front ARB, Race Rear ARB, Race Chassis Reinforcement & Roll Cage, Race Clutch, Race Transmission, Race Driveline, Race Differential and Race Tyres

That takes you to PI 352 but the power is only 215hp and doesn't meet the 250hp requirement so I added:
Sport Fuel System and Sport Displacement

Taking it to PI 402 and 250hp leaving 93 PI to play with. I then put on the following:
Max front tyre width, Max rear tyre width, Buddy Club P1 Racing QF (or any of the other lightest rims), Sport Weight Reduction, Sport Chassis R. & R.C., Race Exhaust and Race Displacement

That leaves the car at PI 497, 288hp, 241tq and 2500lbs. Max grip and min weight should be pretty handy on the twisty tracks compared with you current build. I'm not 100% certain that it's the best build it can be but it's probably not a million miles away.

The thing with your build is that the max tyre width kind of contradicts itself being a speed build. I did try your build out and it was fine but my point is that if you are allowed to run more than one build you should. 1 build cannot conquer all tracks.

Other bits that were on your build that I would not go for myself are the big 19in rims and the body kit. That might just be personal preference but I've read in a few places that the inertia of the heavy rims is bad. I tend to stay on the smallest lightest rims I can but I have not got round to testing if it has been modelled correctly yet. As for the body kit I'd test it against the clock and see if you are quicker with or without it - for the speed build you might be right for the twisty build I would suspect not.

As for the tune the first thing I noticed was that the gears felt a bit awkward. 5th was too close to 4th so I'd suggest either spreading the gears a bit so they feel a bit more even or even try using 4 gears. The standard gears only used 4 and it felt quite good. I'm sure you know that more changes equal slower laps so the generally the longer you can get away with the better.

The alignment for the toe is positive on the front and negative on the rear. That doesn't seem to make sense to me. The rear is setup to prevent the back end sliding while the front is setup to encourage corner entry. I think most RWD cars you would usually expect to see only negative rear toe. Generally turn-in isn't a problem so no need for positive front and this can be tuned with amongst others the diff and the caster setting fairly independently of anything else. By having too much toe the tyres will be rubbing on the straights and slowing you down.

I hope that the above is of some use to you and taken as I intended it. I think you could shave a few tenths off by using the right setup for the track type which will help a fair amount in a race. Overall your car seems sound but if you really want to get the most of it perhaps consider more than one build to take advantage of the different tracks.

Phil

As I understand it I actually do have to have the roll cage in there.  It doesn't say "race" everything but from talking to the guys everything has to be race except weight reduction which is variable.  I feel bad because that wasted some of your time, I will edit my info although it was copied and pasted.

Nevertheless I appreciate all the input and have decided to go with a different gear setup which will allow me to go 4 gears on MOST tracks and then 5th will probably once again be somewhat close to 4th.  I like that feel as I like the spreads between 1st/2nd, 2nd/3rd, 3rd/4th.  Then 5th is usually a quick change mid to end of the straight if at all.  I use the clutch so although there is a loss of time... it is very minimal.

The 19-inch rims were partly my stubborn decision to go with BBS rims that looked like the real car. I wanted them 18" but with the build I had they had to be 19" or it would go to 498.

I am already looking at my build again, however.   Will post results.