Went from STX prep to worse than stock. Hilarious result!

[DistantTea]

So I had my AWR go fast parts and some ground controls and one killer alignment going for me. In an effort to be able to drive the damn car again I gave all that up and went back to OEM... except without a rear sway bar, left my brakes in autocross mode (because thats always good) and I'm keeping the 16x7 Rota Slipstreams (I just like 'em).

Problem is my new crappy all seasons haven't shown up yet for highway duty. Also I haven't had a new alignment since I went back to OEM springs. So imagine this. You run -2.4 degrees of camber in the front and -1 with some terrifying toe out in the back. You wear four Falken Azenis Sports to hell and back with that setup with daily driving instead of autocrossing. You then remove all the geometry change you did the first place and now run, roughly, -.8 degrees in teh front and -1 in the rear. So the front tires now have about -1.8 degrees of built in negative camber. Driving the car is like a shopping cart. The tires REFUSE to stay on center because they are rolling on about 2" of unworn outside edge. When you turn the car turns faster than you want it to and is hard as hell to get back to center.

Its a trip and a half. So here's to all the peeps who still have their MSPs setup for racing like it should be. My ugly little thing is going to be a winter driver for a while... so soft that I might just vommit. But hey its better than hitting a tree.

(second)

 

[apexlater]

eek, if you had that much neg. camber and then went back to around stock your toe out in the front is probably heinous! (since the tie rod is to the back of the strut)

 

[dmitrik4]

i'm sorry you've given up on autoX for now. i had high hopes for your car. hopefully they get their s**t together in your region soon. i remember riding around w/ no rear sway bar this summer...the bumps were nice; the turns, not so much.

your poor car...

 

[mazdaowner123]

Hehe, glad my stock springs are living on . Hopefully I'll be able to autox with that harness this weekend.

~brian

 

[Mike R]

I went back to basically stock for the winter, Alot quieter and more comfortable. Never really realized how much body roll it had stock. Still handles awesome though, just that the backend doesn't come around...

 

[DistantTea]

eek, if you had that much neg. camber and then went back to around stock your toe out in the front is probably heinous! (since the tie rod is to the back of the strut)

Oh yeah! The front wheels just will not track straight. Thanks to the now trapazoidal wheels and the extra help'n of toe the thing is just crazy. Until the new tires (and subsequent alignment) happen though its for around town use only. Turn in is so fast you gotta keep both hands on the wheel.

Super Toe + Built in positive camber = most fun 25 mph car ever! At least for another two days.

 

[DistantTea]

i'm sorry you've given up on autoX for now. i had high hopes for your car. hopefully they get their s**t together in your region soon. i remember riding around w/ no rear sway bar this summer...the bumps were nice; the turns, not so much.

your poor car...

Don't feel bad about my car, feel good about my ass! No rear sway and OEM bushings and OEM springs... its like floating on a cloud...

Oh btw did you know you don't need spring compressors to put the OEM springs back onto the strut assembly? Especially in the rear. Just push on them... damn its been a while since I've had sub 220lb spring rates.

 

[dmitrik4]

Don't feel bad about my car, feel good about my ass!

i'm not going near that one.

Oh btw did you know you don't need spring compressors to put the OEM springs back onto the strut assembly? Especially in the rear. Just push on them... damn its been a while since I've had sub 220lb spring rates.

yes. it was a pleasant surprise. what rates did you end up running?

 

[DistantTea]

I had the standard Ground Control Eibachs on there (350/215 I think). Knowing the front springs were stronger than the rear gave me the bright idea of reversing them. With the AWR bar set to maximum ass damage it was one helluva machine. Unfortunately about the time I made something finally fast enough where I felt all prodriver like we stopped racing. So for several months I didn't even drive the car because it was just plain dangerous on the street. Its de-evolution back into daily driving mode is basicly my way of saying I'm done for a while. I'll start sponsorship searching early next year again and see if I can make another dent in STX. I know the car is better suited for a good run in DS but I feel much more comfortable in STX now that I got the mad mod science down pat. I just don't have that mad cash flow needed to make the mad mod science work right. I didn't even do any power mods this year since the Corksport sponsorship fell through. Made me feel like a chump.

Or I might go 100% stock and head back to DS to punish those WRXs for a while. You either pay out in tires for stock or mods for STX... no way around cash flow and autocross delimmas.

 

[dmitrik4]

nope...but it's still the cheapest way to race.

i had figured that higher rates in the back was the way to go.

i was looking at the AWR coilovers...they come w/ 275 front, 325 rear on custom Bilsteins. i wish someone- anyone- had info on the Delsing rear sway bar. from what i gather, it's a 3-piece, 1" hollow bar. sounds perfect.

the AWR 21.5 is a solid bar, correct?

after graduation, i think i'll swap the ES for a cheaper, lighter '02+ DX and, eventually, something to tow it with.

 

[rustychops41]

A guy we autocross with (who obviously has Way Too Much free time) figured out once by dividing the seconds/minutes of run time per year, by his total cost of Hoosier tires, and came up with this tidbit that he'll never ever tell his wife. It costs him "about $78.00 a minute" to autocross his WRX in ESP. Yikes!

 

[dmitrik4]

and that probably doesn't factor in his car payment.

 

[sm76]

A guy we autocross with (who obviously has Way Too Much free time) figured out once by dividing the seconds/minutes of run time per year, by his total cost of Hoosier tires, and came up with this tidbit that he'll never ever tell his wife. It costs him "about $78.00 a minute" to autocross his WRX in ESP. Yikes!

I know what you mean. I remember thinking to myself that I was spending $200/minute of track time just considering the costs and time on course to run my ESP Trans Am in the pro finale and nationals in 03. Still a lot cheaper than wheel to wheel in the long run. Cost/minute can get up there in wheel to wheel also if you have "incidents". That's why I'll be doing mostly Open Track and local autocrosses next year.

 

[Mallard]

Drive slower to bring your cost per min down.

 

[MSP Pro]

What's that old autox joke? I drove 400 miles (spent $200, wrenched a week and a half) so I could drive for four minutes, and I would have been much happier if it had been only three minutes.

And it's still the cheapest form of racing!