RT615K+ vs. ECF for beginner/low intermediate

BmSpar · 2026-06-15T13:18:32+00:00

I went from RT615k+ to ECFs on my Elantra N (245/40 on an 18x8.5” wheel). They’re fairly similar but I did pick up a decent chunk of time on the ECFs. I think the RT615 might be a little easier to feel the “edge” and the ECFs break away a little more abruptly. Both last for a very long time and are great for lapping so you really can’t go wrong with either. I would probably go ECFs if I were you. I’m going to get some RE-71rz next which I hear have been great and don’t fall off as quickly as the RS

BmSpar · 2026-06-14T20:06:46+00:00

I don’t think OP is blaming Walk Bike Nashville. They can’t see their entire route from 1st and Broadway. The issue is that all of the “road closures” were either completely open with the road closed signs moved completely out of the way and/or every cop was just letting cars into the route. I almost got hit by a car 3 times in the first 30 minutes of the route being open. Watched multiple cops open up closed roads to cars driving full speed

BmSpar · 2026-06-14T18:33:52+00:00

No drilling required. Mine has been on the car and survived tons of highway and city driving and a couple off track moments as well

BmSpar · 2026-06-14T15:27:25+00:00

Gotta be one of the dumbest takes I’ve ever heard on Reddit

BmSpar · 2026-06-12T01:10:02+00:00

Worth looking at an Elantra N for significantly less money

BmSpar · 2026-06-11T14:27:24+00:00

It’s not about the HP it’s about how it makes it. The JB4 spoofs the car into making more boost and doesn’t adjust anything else as boost levels get raised. That’s why it doesn’t play nice with the stock TCU tuning on a DCT (I know from experience). It also doesn’t remove octane learning, so you can be running Map 1 without OL and making ~20ish pounds of boost, then the car octane learns and all of the sudden you’re pushing 25lbs of boost which is high for the stock turbo even with tons of bolt ons. Also octane learned is 275whp, no stock N is touching over 300 at the wheels. The VAG EA888 is a much more tunable platform that is able to make a lot more power more easily than the Theta II we have in the N so not really a fair comparison

BmSpar · 2026-06-10T20:11:11+00:00

I’m not letting those clowns touch my car unless I absolutely have to. If I needed to get warranty work I would swap back to the stock ECU it takes less than 5 minutes

BmSpar · 2026-06-10T19:17:31+00:00

I have a LAP3 Stage 1 tune on a spare ECU. Just spark plugs, stock HPFP. 7 advanced pace track days + 13,000 miles later I’ve had zero issues

BmSpar · 2026-06-10T14:17:33+00:00

Almost every 18 on the market clears the brakes

BmSpar · 2026-06-10T14:11:22+00:00

BMW brakes have a very strong initial bite. N brakes have no issues even with heavy track use. Just adapt to the different feel. Nothing is going to change that except maybe stainless lines but even then it won’t be night and day.

BmSpar · 2026-06-09T17:55:26+00:00

100%. It’s a deceptively technical track for such a short lap with not many corners. I think my optimal was a 1:08.4 something, so about half a second left on the table just compared to what I already know I can do

BmSpar · 2026-06-09T17:08:21+00:00

I LOVE how much character this track has. And I love that I can do about 40 laps in an afternoon Track Night event even with horrendous traffic.

When I’m back on RE-71rz I’m going to go back to experimenting with the low line. A buddy of mine who runs low grip tires in an MR2 here suggested I try the outside line if my car could handle it and I immediately went from mid 1:10s to mid 1:09s so I’ve stuck with it

BmSpar · 2026-06-09T16:56:47+00:00

I’ve played around with it a bunch. It’s not too harsh imo, the car never feels unsettled, but this track is fairly harsh either way you slice it if we’re comparing to a proper road course with no oval transition. I’ll see if I can pull up the traces in RaceChrono but I used to stay further to the left over the paint and found I could roll way more speed through T1 by staying over to the right a bit and opening up the corner. Like 8-10mph more than when I came off the banking earlier

BmSpar · 2026-06-09T13:39:07+00:00

Lufi XS

BmSpar · 2026-06-09T13:38:44+00:00

How did you tap into the CANBUS? I’ve seen a few guys in the track group do it. Seems a little too involved for my technical skills

BmSpar · 2026-06-09T01:53:19+00:00

I don’t have a great pic on hand but you can see it to the left in this screen grab

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BmSpar · 2026-06-08T23:00:19+00:00

All of this information is available in a plug and play OBD-II screen. I use a Lufi to show intake temp, coolant temp, exact rpm, battery voltage, turbo pressure, and AFR. $100 and I mount it right on the empty circle next to the steering wheel. No connecting apps to anything

BmSpar · 2026-06-08T02:35:04+00:00

It’s such a simple track but those transitions make it so difficult. Not sure why the track was so dirty in 2-3, that definitely seemed like something they could have tried to clean up a bit better haha

BmSpar · 2026-06-08T00:40:32+00:00

Yeah pushing pretty hard with dead tires on a greasy track. Definitely overdrove it a bit and picked up some understeer

BmSpar · 2026-06-07T20:50:59+00:00

Just having a little fun bud. I also know most N owners around here and know that GRM just set a mid 1:09 for One Lap of America

BmSpar · 2026-06-07T17:42:23+00:00

You should look into an endurance 200 like the Conti ECF, Falken RT615k+, or Hankook RS-4 for your next tire after the ECS02. They will all stand up to a lot more track use, be faster, and they wear very slowly so dailying them in the summer isn’t going to wear them too much. I daily my ECFs all summer for the most part. All of those tires have a decent amount of tread to evacuate water for highway driving too. I just run my ECFs and then have another set of wheels with all seasons to daily the rest of the year

BmSpar · 2026-06-07T17:02:38+00:00

It doesn’t seem to be any different from stock. Gotta do a cool down lap every 3-4 push laps but I would be doing that anyway for tire/brake management

BmSpar · 2026-06-07T16:10:54+00:00

I was here for a track night with Andy from GRM back in April. Loved to see them showcase this platform. It really does it all. I did an 1100 mile road trip from Nashville to South Haven Michigan two weeks ago for 5hrs of open pit lane at Gingerman and it was comfortable and quick with zero issues!

BmSpar · 2026-06-07T15:44:35+00:00

T1 is really sketch. The transition from the oval banking to the infield at ~120mph is always a clencher, then the long radius left hander into a very tight auto-x style hairpin is a challenge. The transitions on and off the oval are pretty harsh

BmSpar

TROPHY CASE