Towona

Hey all... I'm Tony from Runamuck Rally/Racing and I recently got myself a new 2012 tC. The main reasoning behind my purchase is that Scion Racing in Canada has an excellent contingency program for autocross events (as well as other forms of organized racing). I encourage anyone racing a Scion in Canada to sign up! There's a link to the program on the main page of Scion Canada's website.

I've done three events (with the Calgary and Red Deer clubs) in my car so far and I have been very impressed with the tC2 in near-stock form. I've been auto-xing for over 10 years in various types of vehicles with varying degrees of success, and I have high hopes for the tC2 once I have had enough seat time in it and I can learn about what modifications will help improve the car overall.

The only mods I have at the moment are lighter weight wheels and stickier tires. Everything else is stock, other than the fact that I also remove my engine air filter to race (no dust or debris to worry about). So far my results have been very good, with two top 3 finishes (a 1st and a 2nd) in PAX (I run HS or STF depending on the class size that day) and 3 class wins.

I'll be using this thread to post results, photos and general comments about the car's setup (what works and what doesn't). Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, critcisms etc...

Towona

July 31, 2012 update

Current mods:
-Street gear shimano wheels, 18x7.5 @ 20.0lbs each
-Dunlop Star Specs, 225/40/R18
-Engine air filter removed


I have now competed in 6 events in the tC with just these few mods, trying to dial in the best combination of tire pressures and temperatures, amount of fuel in the tank etc... My conclusions so far are as follows:

Tire pressures: 56psi front and 51psi rear
- I found that there seamed to be a good balance in the grip from front to rear with a 5psi difference between the two. The high tire pressure in the front comes from trying to find a point where the temperature across the tread (from inside to outside) remained consistent.

Tire temperature: 55 degrees celcius maximum
- The fronts are the main concern here as they gain heat the quickest. I found that running above 55 degrees or so the grip was dropping off. I resorted to spraying the front tires with water in order to keep the temps down.

Fuel level: Full
- I found that the rear stayed in check better with more weight in the back. Plus a full tank minimized weight shifts due to fuel sloshing around.

Balast:
- As mentioned above the rear behaves itself better if you have some weight in the back. The best result I've had was with a full tank of fuel the spare tire and tools in place; and a 100lb passenger in the back seat on the passenger side. The rules for Stock say you can't add any balast, but I'd like to add more weight, so I'm thinking of eventually adding a tow hitch and a heavier muffler.


Next modification: OEM camber bolts and an alignment or two or three.

Future modifications: Robust tow hitch; Cat-back exhaust system w/ heavy muffler




Aug 6, 2012 update:

Current mods:
-Street gear shimano wheels, 18x7.5 @ 20.0lbs each
-Dunlop Star Specs, 225/40/R18
-Engine air filter removed
-OEM camber adjustment bolts up front

OEM camber bolts installed and 1st alignment done. The bolts are the same ones from the tC1 and fit no problem. I installed 3-dot bolts on top and on bottom and brought the car in for an alignment. Alignment details to follow.


December, 2012 update:


Winter is here! Time for Auto-x in the snow and Ice-x on the frozen lake.



Current mods Auto-X:
-Street gear shimano wheels, 18x7.5 @ 20.0lbs each
-Roadstone Winguard Sport, 235/40/R18
-OEM camber adjustment bolts up front



Current mods Ice-X:
-Core racing wheels, 16x7 @ 18.0lbs each
-Federal Himalaya w/ 12mm studs, 205/60/R16 (new, never street driven)
-OEM camber adjustment bolts up front



All I can say is that tires and smooth driving is everything on these reduced traction surfaces!



June, 2013 update:

The 275/35/R18 Hoosier A6's do fit on the rim (barely)! What's more, they fit on the car with no spacers and there is lots more room to spare. Note: They do rub slightly at full lock.

Towona

Reserved for future updates #2

Towona

FYI: I picked up a set of dead Hoosier A6's in 245/35/18 for fitment testing purposes. I'm happy to say that they fit on the Shimanos no problem and that wheel/tire combo fits the car front and back with room to spare.

Next up, 275/35/18's

Update: 275 wide A6's have been ordered. My fingers are crossed that they will fit the 7.5" wide wheels.

Towona

2012 Summer Autocross year end update:

After 15 local auto-x events I have racked up 14 class wins (7 HS, 6 STF, 1 FSP) as well as a couple of PAX wins and multiple top 5 PAX finishes.

Thanks to the Scion racing contingency program offered by Scion Canada, I have collected over $5000 in payouts. I can't thank them enough for their assistance and support.


The snow is falling and winter auto-x, rallycross and TSD rally events are on the aggenda for the coming months. I'm confident that the tC will be able to hold its own in these disciplines as it has in Solo2.

mrexotica

Hey Tony!

Great job with the new car!

You might try a rear sway bar for rotation, then look at your tire pressures.
Granted, I have 17" wheels, but I run 35-38 in the front & around 40 in the rear.

-Tony Cambio

Towona

Thanks for the input Tony, but if anything I think I will be trying a bigger front bar. Fixing the front understear by reducing the amount of grip at the rear may fix one problem but creates another one... less overall grip. The optimum tire pressures no doubt differ depending on tire brand/size.

pinoyFMtC

In my tC1, I preferred the rear bar, the car didn't want to rotate in stock form... I think with a front bar and an open front differential, wheel spin might be the issue on corner exit IMHO. I had enough issue with wheel spin in the stock front sway. But you will be less camber challenged and have less overall body roll with a front sway. Its all about tradeoffs in a stock class. It's interesting the 18s require so much pressure, my 225/45/17 were good on 42F/36R.

But the car looks great and it's great to see another tC being used in motorsports! I tried the Ice-x and it was a blast! (Although with AWD)

Towona

I've heard many speak of their lack of rotation problems, but I have actually experienced the opposite, the car having lift-off oversteer! This has occured on both the highly pressurized Dunlops, but also the current Hoosiers which I am currently experimenting with at around 40psi.

I agree with you 100% on the tradeoff dilemma, and by going with a front bar I hope to lessen the inside wheelspin.