Grassroots Motorsports

Dodge Challenger Apr 5, 2004

We ran the SRT-4 as a comparison vehicle for the $2004 Challenge. We ran a 13.96 1/4 mile on the stock BFG street tires and when we switched to our Hoosier A3S04 autocross tires, we turned a 55.0 second run on the autocross course. We also used our four runs to start the learning process for left-foot-braking on an autocross course.

We've got a set of four Dynamic Suspension struts from the earlier ACR Neon and we'll be modifying them to fit the SRT, as well as installing a 26mm front anti-roll bar from the PT Cruiser convertible. In addition, we've got a camber adjustment kit for both ends of the car. These things should drastically improve handling. We're hoping to get the parts installed this week, now that the Challenge is over. 

SRT-4 Suspension May 13, 2004

After a hectic few weeks, we got out to the garage last night and started work on the SRT-4's suspension. The anti-roll bar from a PT Cruiser convertible and the camber adjustment kits worked fine.

However, the Dynamic Suspension front and rear struts will not work for a stock class car, as the free length of the shock is too short by over an inch both front and rear. We'll be investigating other shock absorber fitments.

Now, we need to get the car aligned, we'll be starting out with the maximum amount of negative camber in the front, 1/8" toe out and for the rear, zero camber and zero toe.

"Maximum negative camber in the front" wound up being just .5 degrees. We're pretty underwhelmed by the adjustment available with the factory camber bolt kit. With the toe-out in the front and zero toe in the rear, the car does seem much more willing to turn in. 

Going to a new bar Jun 15, 2004

We installed Hotchkis' 29mm hollow front anti-rollbar. It's even stiffer than the solid 26mm bar and lighter than the factory 24mm piece.

There seems to be some interference with the bar and the suspension arms at rest, but not during cornering. We think this might be because the bar was designed for a car with a lowered suspension. A quick fix would be to use slightly longer end links.

Then we figured out somewhere along the way, the stock bar got inverted. This was ok for smaller bars, but created interference when we installed the Hotchkis bar. Flipping it around correctly solved the "problem."

Now that we've got the front anti-rollbar sorted out and it appears to be working very well, we're headed off to Toledo for the National Tour at the Toledo Express Airport. Our co-driver is none other than the "Alien", Mark Daddio. Mark is referred to as the "Alien" because he can shuffle a car through an autocross faster than just about any human being on earth. He's a nice guy too.

Mark should give us a pretty quick appraisal of how fast the car really is and we can start working on shock valving for the upcoming Konis.  

We Dream of Camber Jun 16, 2004

We had a thought last night (we know, scary) that possibly the inverted anti-roll bar had been hurting our quest for more negative camber. So, we loosened the bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle and pushed and shoved as hard as we could (including using a bottle jack to put more pressure on the joint).

The camber, in fact, did change a little bit more and we had the car's toe set back at zero at our local alignment shop. Now we're reading 1.1 degrees of negative camber. That's more like it!

Other than that, the car is loaded up and ready for its 1100 mile trip to Toledo.  

 Win Jun 22, 2004

Mark Daddio and the GRM SRT-4 won by .7 over Matt Grainger in an Acura Integra Type-R, after two days of competition at the Toledo OH SCCA Solo II National Tour. With 25 drivers in D Stock competition, the margin of victory shows that our co-driver was on FIRE!

Major improvements have been made to the handling, but shocks would be very helpful for this car! We've had to dial in positive rear camber and the maximum amount of rear toe out to allow this car to rotate properly.

Koni shocks absorbers are on their way and might make it onto the car before the Peru National Tour in less than two weeks.

 

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