Mods for Auto-X?

[Leigh]

Just to add though, if you are unconcerned with competition outside of "friendly" (yeah, sure its friendly (lol2)) locals it may be more than its worth to concern yourself with what mods will put you where. Since you've said you don't plan to do this to often, it may matter more that you enjoy the car for daily driving.

So don't take any advice here as law.... though its still a good idea to get out to a few events before doing anything, you may find yourself more addicted than you expected, and suddenly building the car to go fast between cones gets to be a lot more important than how it drives on the street (drive)

 

[Vanimaniac]

So don't take any advice here as law.... though its still a good idea to get out to a few events before doing anything, you may find yourself more addicted than you expected, and suddenly building the car to go fast between cones gets to be a lot more important than how it drives on the street (drive)

How true. Everything I do to my car or my wife's P5 is done with autocrossing in mind. The good thing about it is that most of the mods that you do to make it a more fun daily driver are also mods that can help with autocrossing. So that should make it easier for you.

I've only done one event in the P5 in HS. I got first and my wife got first in HSLadies. And that was bone stock on stock tires. Now the car is almost setup for STS (or at least as much as I want it to be). Just gotta order a rear swaybar.

Speaking of which, searching the forums leads me to believe that the AWR 21mm bar with endlinks is the way to go? Is this my best bet or are there other ideas?

Van

 

[Katya4me]

I like my 19mm AWR bar, but I got a killer deal on it used. If you're going new, might as well go for the 21mm. My friend has it and loves it. We both autox and run them on the tightest setting. Definitely get the adjustable endlinks.

 

[Solo2Protege]

yup, true, if your going to be only doing 1 or 2 events during the year, mod the car however. You're just going out for fun and who cares what class you get stuck in.

But i can say this, i have never met anybody who only went 1 or 2 times a year...after the 2nd time, you'll be wanting more and more. It's very addictive. It will consume your time and money (not that moding your car now dosen't tho) It's at that point when you have to decide between autox mods or cruising the street mods... While some of these mods are one in the same, some autox mods can and will make the car twitchy and in some cases kinda dangerous to daily drive, so you really need to be carefull and know what your dealing with.

After 3 years solid now, It's fully STS preped. My car is really harsh to drive everyday...(500# springs will do that ) But, it's too much fun not too, and at this point i really need a comfy cushy daily driver. Although it's VERY hard to drive a stock car...i've driven mine for nearly 15 years now and it's only ever had a stock suspension the first week of it's life...I've test driven a few cars and man, they don't turn, there's no seat support, they aren't all that fast, WAAAAY too quiet and just don't respond right...i guess i've spoiled myself

 

[Mike R]

I agree with Katy4me, If you are not planning on doing a serious points run, just a couple a year for fun, mod it. I did all kinds of stuff to mine(see sig) and I love to drive it. But, I modded it to make it more fun to commute in. I've autocrossed a few times, and the club I'm in does auto-x's for fun, not for points, so the mods don't matter.

And yes, my 21.5mm is set pretty tight and it's great. (I believe Katy4me is referring to me)


Vanimaniac, the AWR 21.5 is the way to go, it comes with the adjustable endlinks for the rear. I'd also suggest the front adjustable endlinks.

 

[aceP5]

While some of these mods are one in the same, some autox mods can and will make the car twitchy and in some cases kinda dangerous to daily drive, so you really need to be carefull and know what your dealing with.

What do you mean by this? What mods will make my car unsafe to daily drive?

 

[Mike R]

A true autocross alignment/setup with lots of camber and toe will make the car very twitchy at speed. Also very high spring rates and super stiff struts will make the ride horrid.

 

[dmitrik4]

^^ yep. but for what it sounds like you want to do, don't worry about it. it's really only a consideration when you get to the ragged edge of alignment and suspension settings. i change my toe at the event and change it back before i drive home, but i run a lot of rear toe that makes the car loose at low speeds, and REALLY loose at high speeds (mostly a band-aid for my less-than-ideal suspension).

my advice? get a used rear swaybar (~$50) off an MP3 or MSP, and the bracket mounts from AWR ($50). that will be the best and cheapest change you can make to your suspension, and you can install it yourself.

when you run your car, pump your front tires up to about 40psi and the rears to about 50. have fun!

IMO, the main thing about mods and learning is to have a stable platform to learn on. feel free to do whatever mods you want, but get them done and then stop while you're learning. that way the car is a constant, and you can gauge your progress.

the problem arises not so much from the mods, but from their addition. when the car keeps changing as you're learning, and you don't ever get any idea of what mistakes yopu're making, or whether the car is reacting differently b/c of your inputs or the latest mod.

 

[Solo2Protege]

right, really stiff springs can bounce you right off line on a big sweeper on/off ramp and put you into a spin in the blink of an eye, which may put in the wall, the car next to you or the guard rail.

Fast lane changes on the freeway can snap spin you too. Big phat rear sway bars can do that.

Plus, with the amazing handling, the driver may get a little too confident and push it too hard on the street and get into trouble. With an agressive setup it's very wise to just be cool on the streets (sorry, i sound like a father...)

Autox is a very different kind of racing, it requires setups that rotate the car easily and quickly at lowish speeds, which inturn makes the car rotate even faster at higher speeds.

I don't run any toe, just camber and i leave it as is all the time. I hate doing toe adjustments all the time...As camber changes the toe settings natually. (not sure if thats the case on the 3rd gens tho) Untill i see really bad tire wear, which i haven't yet, then i may change my mind All i do is soften back up the struts when i drive on the street.

 

[dmitrik4]

unfortunately, as camber goes negative in the front (w/ bolts, anyway), the wheels toe in. bummer.

have you ever weighed your '90 in STS trim? i'm curious as to how much weight can be lost off these cars. IIRC, the '90 starts at about 2450, right?

i weighed my (near stock) car at an event at 2624 w/ 1/4 tank of gas. i think i could see ~2300+ with some work, so i figured ~2200 for a 1st gen.

i'm tempted to build up a 1st gen for STS instead of mine (or instead of an ST_ RSX-S). hmm.