Stalker upgrades help/ideas

[Manshoon11]

I now own # 48 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18830

 

 

All suggestions are appreciated

 

1. Wheels are awful looking and are heavy. I'd like to find a nice set of wheels like these which I had on my Elise. http://www.sector111.com/parts/performance/wheels-and-tires/coming-soon-ethos-wheels.cfm

 

These are flow formed, so almost forged light and very cheap.

 

Also...... what is the best tire and wheel size to balance the car on track?

 

2. Muffler...... My head hurts after driving this car, even with ear plugs. What are my options.

 

3. interior sheet metal coatings? I don't like carpet. Really dislike the look of the raw sheet metal. Rhino liner roll on?

 

4. has anyone modified the rear end? panhard etc? What does the Boss 302 do to its rear end that gets Randy Pobst so impressed?

 

5. brakes. big brake kits anyone has used?

 

6. anything done to lighten this already light car?

 

It will be a street legal, yet track focused car once I am done with it. (track not autocross)

 

Any other suggestions are welcome.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Manshoon11

[subtlez28]

1- Wheel choices are next to endless. GM 5x4.75s were used on GM rwd cars and small trucks (S-10s). Your current wheels are S-10 wheels. You can search sites using a mid 80's Camaro as a vehicle for sites that require one (like tire rack etc). Going to 17 or 18 inch wheels would open up tire choices a lot, and open up bigger brake options.

 

2- Adding catalytic converters would be helpful. You could contact Brunton for a set of cat/mufflers or have a local shop add some high flow aftermarket cats to your existing pipes. Don't worry, high flow cats will not hurt power.

 

3- I'm not sure what I will use if anything, but share your desire to avoid carpet. I have not yet used this, but had my eye on Lizard skin. It is supposed to suppress heat and noise.

http://www.lizardskin.com/

 

4- I have Brunton's new style with independant suspension, so I don't know much about your existing set up. I would think a change to a Watts link if anything would be the way to go vs pan-hard rod. When I was looking at original Stalkers, I was thinking swapping in the IRS out of a C4 (84-96) Corvette would be cool.

 

Suspension set up is all about geometry, so going to a mustang style set up (not dramatically different than 82-02 Camaros) would not be as simple as it appears. Having raced Camaro's I would not agree this is the ultimate set up. I did see a video on what Car and Driver liked about the new mustang suspension, but it is kind of vague.

 

5- Brake set ups should be plentiful even in the used market. Again S-10 stuff, but similar to other GM RWD cars. Maybe search on an s-10 forum. If you are willing to go 17" wheels or larger, you can run C5/C6 Corvette brakes which are great in a 3,600 pound car, so should really shine in your car! Downside is that all comes with weight. I'm sure you could get aftermarket Wilwoods or Baers that clear 15" wheels also.

 

So that pivots on what size wheels you will use on track if different. The Brunton Guys have had success running 13" wheels. I am going to run 17s on the street but 15"s at the track to clear my Wilwoods, as that is the next smallest size with plentiful race tire selection. Next size up from there is really 18" as the 16 and 17s are getting more scarce (though available if you don't mind paying more).

 

6- To lighten the car.... Well for better power to weight, do an LS V-8 swap. They are all aluminum, and 500 HP is easy to come by! Part of me thinks I should have bought a used V-6 Stalker and swapped in the LS engine. Would have been quicker and cheaper than building a whole kit. Don't get me wrong though, I've learned a lot already and kind of like building it. I just would have liked to have been racing by now...

 

Anyway, all these are great questions with limitless answers! I look forward to your progress. Keep us updated!

Edited October 30, 2013 by subtlez28

[subtlez28]

For wheels, if I had a 5x4.75 bolt circle I would look into these:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/wld-71mb7090b48a/overview/

 

You could have them powder coated all black.

 

Hopefully Xcarguy will chime in. He has a well built Stalker and I think he even has these or similar wheels.

 

Here is his build thread:

http://usa7s.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7852

[xcarguy]

I now own # 48 http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18830

 

 

All suggestions are appreciated

 

1. Wheels are awful looking and are heavy. I'd like to find a nice set of wheels like these which I had on my Elise. http://www.sector111.com/parts/performance/wheels-and-tires/coming-soon-ethos-wheels.cfm

 

These are flow formed, so almost forged light and very cheap.

 

Also...... what is the best tire and wheel size to balance the car on track?

 

2. Muffler...... My head hurts after driving this car, even with ear plugs. What are my options.

 

3. interior sheet metal coatings? I don't like carpet. Really dislike the look of the raw sheet metal. Rhino liner roll on?

 

4. has anyone modified the rear end? panhard etc? What does the Boss 302 do to its rear end that gets Randy Pobst so impressed?

 

5. brakes. big brake kits anyone has used?

 

6. anything done to lighten this already light car?

 

It will be a street legal, yet track focused car once I am done with it. (track not autocross)

 

Any other suggestions are welcome.

 

1) Wheels and tires

 

Other than having a set of wheels built with a custom offset, opting for the type of wheels you want will probably require the use of wheel spacers/adapters. Earlier on, I ran 5zigen FN01R-C wheels which required the use of a spacers/adapters. I used these, first with drums on the rear, and then with Grand Am GT disk brakes on the rear which I am still running. Here’s what I did:

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=7111

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9335

 

For track use, many Stalker owners use to run (still run?) a 13” wheel/tire combo, however I believe the Goodyear tires that were being used with this combo are no longer available. I currently run a set of relatively cheap 15x10 aluminum wheels from Summit Racing (4.5 backspace) on both the front and the rear with Avon 10.7/21.5-15 (A11 compound) slicks all around. This combo was the result of several conversations with Roger Kraus Racing and their recommendation per my application and use. While my combination works very well, I’m researching other wheel/tire options such as Hoosiers or Avons and a set of 15” wheels from Kodiak or Keizer with custom backspacing. Here is the link for the Summit Racing wheels:

 

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-571-5161ps/overview/

 

2) Mufflers

 

Not sure with the V6. The Flowmaster Hushpower mufflers I use with my LS6 work very well and, while they sound good, are not overly loud and intrusive. Some of the V6 cars seem to have an issue with exceeding decibel level limits at some tracks; Road Atlanta, for example. I would suggest contacting a manufacturer, such as Flowmaster, and seek guidance for your application.

 

3) Interior

 

I personally like the bare aluminum look, but I’m a minimalist when it comes to these types of cars; I prefer form to follow function. IMHO, bed liner is a relatively heavy coating and once applied, it’s virtually impossible to remove. At the very MOST, I’d simply paint the panels and touch up as deemed necessary. For what it's worth, I have absolutely NO issues with heat in the cockpit with bare aluminum panels.

 

4) Rear end

 

Why would you want to modify the rear end? It works great as is. Dennis Brunton put a lot of time and racing experience into designing a street car you could drive to the track, be competitive with and then drive it home, and all without touching a thing suspension-wise. Dennis Brunton, before he stopped racing, saw many NASA wins with his Stalker (super charged V6) which used the same four-link/panhard ‘straight-axle’ setup you currently have in your car. Here is a link to his web site which lists some of his previous wins:

 

http://www.coilovershock.com/news.htm

 

5) Brakes

 

First of all, you do not need a BIG BRAKE kit on these cars to stop them. As you start tracking your car, you’ll find that you can go deeper into the braking zones than most (if not all) other cars in your run group. I have a Wilwood kit installed on the front of my Stalker (sheds about 35lb over the stock S-10 setup) with BP-20 pads and stock Grand AM GT disks with stock pads in the rear:

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9591

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=9335

 

In addition to the BP-20 pad, Wilwood offers a BP-10 pad (comes stock with the kit) and a BP-30 pad. BP-20 is a good street/track pad and it doesn’t eat rotors. I have 7,000 plus miles and three track days on my BP-20’s and they look almost brand new. You’ll be hard pressed (no pun intended) to wear out the brakes on these cars.

 

6) Lightening the car

 

Again, the Wilwood front brake kit is a start; 35lb decrease in weight. I also run a lightened flywheel and an aluminum driveshaft. Little things, such as running aluminum jam nuts with blue Locktite on the four-link and panhard heim joints. If your panhard bar is steel, consider changing over to aluminum; mine is an aluminum unit from Jegs and no issues on these light weight cars. And don’t coat the aluminum panels. The bars on top of the frame rails on your car (see photo in link below) are not standard. Unless needed for something I don’t see, consider removing them:

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18834

 

Also, consider smaller headlights (5" as opposed to 7" units).

 

Your headlights (7"?):

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18830

 

My headlights (5.5"):

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=23370

 

7) Other

 

According to the following photo, you still have the old steering rack-to-spindle eyebolt type setup.

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=18856

 

I would strongly recommend (for reasons of safety) upgrading your steering rack-to-spindle connection from eyebolts to the following setup (available from Brunton) before tracking the car, I did. Scott Minehart (see number below) can shed more light on this issue:

 

http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=20051

 

Here is contact info for Brunton:

 

Scott Minehart’s cell: 386-931-6437

Glen Minehart’s cell: 386-445-9962

 

Good luck with the car. :seeya:

Edited October 30, 2013 by xcarguy

[Manshoon11]

Wow. Great suggestions. Those forged wheels are sexy.

 

I've thought about engine swap, but am really on the fence. I think 200 hp is enough and over 300 I wouldn't know what to do with. I'd strongly consider an engine swap if I could significantly lighten the vehicle. I also want decent mileage. My elise got 10 - 12 mpg on track, and this stalker gets only 15-20 combined city/hwy. Are there some light v6 I can put in? Or am I only limited by my imagination?

 

I'll be using my GI bill to take some mechanic courses... I'd like to get this car sorted over the next 12 months and the plan is to never pay a shop again.

 

Oh, and im totally painting it lotus racing green like Mike's.

[carsport]

Wow!! Why do you want to change so much, when the car out-of-the-box is good!!

 

Drive it, learn it, then make changes.

 

We do not do track days or road circuits, but we usually get FTD at our autocrosses, beating Corvette Z06's on slicks. We are running a semi-slick Hankook tire C71 compound.

 

I changed to Magnaflow mufflers and it made the car perform better and is fairly quiet - on video of road driving at our get togethers the camera picks up us talking.

 

The panhard version rearend is proven. But, I am not the one to give advice. There are many racer type folks on the Stalkerv6 forum, that need to answer your questions. Shane has a wickedly tricked Stalker. (shout out Shane).

 

The 3.4 engine in mine has an Electromotive electronic ignition versus the distributor like yours.

 

I have videos of the muffer sound if you would like to PM me.

 

Dale, Scott, Judson

Stalker # 4

Home of straight roads Kansas

[Manshoon11]

it isn't letting me send pm's for some reason.......

 

if I am going to keep the 3.4, then I'd like to modify it for fuel injection and mufflers and anything else worth doing. Give me some part links so I can check into them.

 

I just got back from a 20 mile drive w/ ear plugs and........my head still hurts.

 

How do I get access to the stalker forum?

[xcarguy]

How do I get access to the stalker forum?

 

Contact Glen or Scott via the numbers I provided in the previous post. Either of these guys can get you access to the Stalker forum.

[xcarguy]

Wow!! Why do you want to change so much, when the car out-of-the-box is good!!

 

Drive it, learn it, then make changes.

 

 

The panhard version rearend is proven. But, I am not the one to give advice. There are many racer type folks on the Stalkerv6 forum, that need to answer your questions. Shane has a wickedly tricked Stalker. (shout out Shane).

 

Great advise, Dale. Ditto on learning the car first and then dialing it in to your liking with changes and such. Panhard setup works well in these cars. And thanks for the kind comment.

 

During my last track day in Sept, I let Lance Adams drive my car during the last session of the day. Lance was my instructor earlier this year during my first track day. After driving my car he told me he would not change a single thing about it. Lance is now seriously considering replacing his Z06 with a Stalker.

[Manshoon11]

I understand the " try it then decide" motto. When I first got the Elise, all I could think about was forced induction.... I saw lots of track video of Lotus' getting owned and thought the car needed something to be competitive. All I ended up doing was safety mods and completely forgot about HP. With a good alignment and RA1 tires, I was almost always the fast car on track. My most recent videos on my YT show how little the corvette's horsepower difference accounted for. When I came off the track, I had a couple that both owned elises come over and check my car out..... they thought I was supercharged etc... I even got praise from MSRC's resident racer (name evades me at the moment), he owns Blowtus which he races in NASA, an F40 and 12+ other cars. All thoughout my early days of tracking it, my friend with an Exige would always tell me "its the driver, not the car". This was in response to anytime I said I wanted more HP or different suspension etc... He basically said to just put good tires on it. He was right.

 

That said...... I totally get it. I actually didn't notice the panhard bar until just yesterday......so I can cross that off my list. I suppose I really don't have much $ to spend to get it to the point where I trust taking it on track.

 

New list

 

1. Brakes, per suggestions

2. Fuel injection

3. smaller headlights, per suggestion

4. Mufflers

5. wheels

 

taste mods will come later.

[raceral]

On my 3.4 V6 I am using Walker Quiet Flows on mine, they are supposed to be for a 1962 Chev truck part number 21028.

They are pretty quiet, not super quiet but quiet enough, it is difficult to totally quiet down the V6 without choking it.

If you go for the upgrade rotors and brakes keep in mind you will probably need softer pads.

Using anything else and the brakes won't get hot enough to grab on the street, even pushing with both feet:ack:.

Wheels are just a matter of taste, find a list with the same offset and size you want and pay what ever it is worth to you.

In my case I am using 16x7 Mustang wheels because they are cheap and look good, at least in my eyes.

The type of car the wheels are on changes the perspective anyway.

In my case on a mustang they are just cheap V6 rims, on mine I get people going wow, where you get the rims.:dupe:

Like life, it is all an illusion.

 

Al

[snookwheel]

I have done the steering rack to spindle mod to our Super Stalker, not expensive and a good idea. Brunton has some mufflers that really quieted down ours compared to the augers that were in it when we got it. I added power steering which made a real nice change, especially when running the 10" wide race slicks. Next mod for us is the miata power brakes, Scott can help you out with that too. Enjoy that rocket you just bought!!

[Manshoon11]

I have done the steering rack to spindle mod to our Super Stalker, not expensive and a good idea. Brunton has some mufflers that really quieted down ours compared to the augers that were in it when we got it. I added power steering which made a real nice change, especially when running the 10" wide race slicks. Next mod for us is the miata power brakes, Scott can help you out with that too. Enjoy that rocket you just bought!!

 

Thank you for the input. Enjoying it and still learning it slowly on the street.

 

I'll link up with the stalker boys and give the car some better manners.

[ecarte56]

All good suggestions!

 

Also,

 

- does # 48 have LSD?

 

- A number of Stalker owners have reported significantly improved handling when they switched to the current Brunton spec'd springs (stiffer, 600/300) and shocks compared to the set up that the earlier cars had. I will be starting with a similar set up, but with sightly softer rear springs. I'll see how I like it if I ever get registered.

 

Paul M

SS # 150

[xcarguy]

Paul,

 

Good point on springs. I'm currently running Gaz shocks with 300 lb rear and 600 lb front spring rates with excellent results. The original springs that came with the kit were (IMHO) too soft, and the Gaz shocks are of much better quality and offer superior performance over the Avo's, again MHO.

[Z3 Stalker]

I did the switch to the GAZ shocks and heavier springs this year and noticed a big difference in ride quality, much smother.

 

Stewart

[Manshoon11]

48 has no LSD and first owner put Gaz 300/600 and avo shocks in it.

[Manshoon11]

So far, I did the passenger side in bed liner spray. Only about 3 thin coats.

[raceral]

I also did my forward footwell tunnel panels with a bedliner, so far after 2 years it has worked out real well.

On the floor part under the dash I went with checker plate, easy to keep clean and a little extra protection from road debris.

 

Al

[Manshoon11]

Hey guys, can someone tell me the distance between mounting points on a Stalker for seats?

 

I am buying new seats now. I bought a Reverie Mulsanne C seat, it came with sliding rails for a Lotus Elise.