Well, after deciding to get into autocross, I’ve realized that I’ve spent money on crap that is either A. not what i want, or B. a waste of money. Here’s a rundown of my current setup and what I’d do different. That way someone can read this and get some info before they spend 1000’s on suspension parts.
H&R Sport Springs. 1.8" drop F/R. Bad because the rates aren’t high enough for autocross. Good because they’re comfy on the street (progressive rate spring)
Tokico Illumina Shocks. Bad because I think I blew my front shocks already.
SPC Bolt-Type Extreme camber kit. Bad because it rubs against the frame, and I can’t get more than -.5* camber
Rear Bolt camber trick. Bad because I’ve got 0* camber in the rear and cant really adjust it very well.
195/60/14 Azenis. Bad when mounted on a 5.5" wide wheel. Good for a first year autocrosser. Bad compared to the 205/45/15 and 215/45/16 version of the Azenis mounted on a 7" wide wheel.
Oglesport Rear Lower Tie bar. Good. A bit stiffer in the rear
Oglesport Cpillar bar. Good. Way better than the RLTB IMO. Car seemed stiffer and would hold traction better.
Generic Front Upper Strut bat. Undecided, I really couldn’t tell a difference. But it was only $40.
If I was going to do it all over again, I’d be running
Ground Control Sleeves
Koni Yellow shocks
SPC Ball Joint camber kit
SPC Rear Control arm camber kit
215/45/16 Azenis on my 16" Rota Subzeros
Oglesport RLTB
Oglesport Cpillar
Oglesport RUSB
Better FUSB.
Suspension Techniques Rear Sway.
Please people post with your info. It would be nice to have all this in one thread.
From my experiance:
-195/60/14 Azenis will be bad on any rim compared to the 205/50/15 Azenis. If its cold and wet the 14"s may work well. Back in 2002 I ran 14" azenis almost all season and I think I excelled in wet events. Don’t get caught up in rim width either, unless you are really close to winning a national event. I ran 15" Azenis on GSR wheels last year for the Bremerton NT, they worked fine.
-Spring rates, I like my 450f, 560r setup but could probably use a little more rear spring rate.
-Shocks, aren’t Tokikos warrented for life? I think blowing shocks will occur with most setups, I haven’t tried my yellows yet but they will probably blow eventually.
-Don’t buy the Cpillar bar (sorry ben) if you’re planning on doing any autoX competition outside of mod (not SM) classes, I think they are not permitted. Same goes for EM racing and stuff.
-I do like my Ogle LTB it did seem to make things stiffer. I had a Ogle RUSTB but it was stolen:( I liked that too.
-I have a ST rear sway, I would probably go for something thicker nextime (Progress or ITR)
-Camber kits, I don’t think its neccessary to have one at all infront and two washers have worked great for me in the rear. Won’t the SPC ball joint decrease available travel?
Even if the struts are warrentied for life, It’s just a pain in the ass to have to take them off, put stock ones back on, wait 60 days, then re-install them. Right now they just make a shhhhhhhh sound for ~1/2 second when I go over speed bumps. I’d just rather have the piece of mind that the Yellows won’t blow as easily, and the Yellows can be revalved. Just better IMO for autocross.
I already installed the Cpillar bar, but if I don’t pass tech into STS class, I’ll just take it out at the track.
As far as a camber kit is concerned, I’d just like sometihng I can set to 0* during the winter. I’m really uneasy about going back to stock and wearing out tires, as this is my daily driver.
I completely changed my setup, but that will happen when the car’s purpose/application changes. Suddenly the car needs to go on a track, and not out itself in a wall when I hit the brakes. This wasn’t an issue 4 years ago.
The only thing I’d suggest: find the RR/AX forum at Honda-tech.com sooner. Information there has made all the difference.
i hate my tein ss coilovers…
i didnt buy them for autox but i discovered it right after i bought them…
would buy GC/koni now, probably a larger rear sway(i have 19mm ST),
my 14’’ azenis do fine on my steel wheels.
and most importantly, autox my car stock, learn to drive, then buy suspension upgrades.
[SIZE=6]Learn to Drive[/SIZE] i still cant drive well and still put up shitty times, but ive only been to 3 events
i got a question… since you guys are on the topic of GC/KONI setups… what kinda spring rates are you guys running and how low is the car when you drive it? was looking to get some koni yellows but wasnt sure if theyll ride good on skunkworks coilover sleeves… ive heard they are great… but i don’t know at what height everyone rides at… cuz my skunks with tokico blues ride fine right now… lifted as far as i can go
pleather, Im currently running 340fronts and 450rears with tokico adjustables and the st sway bar and Im happy the way it feels, its nice and tight. I wanted some stiffer springs but I think for living around washington dc the spring rates are fine. I havent been to the track yet to really test it out but for the road im happy the way it rides. not soft but not too stiff. Most people will say to go with something stiffer in the rear to induce some oversteer to get rid of the understeer from the front wheel drive so base your spring rates on that if less understeer is what youre looking for. right now I think my car is about 2-2.5 inches lower. no problems with scraping except for the front lower tie bar and the mud flaps.
One thing to understand is that it is not the responsibility of Tech to catch rules violations. They don’t know the rules for all the classes. Rules violations are to be dealt with by your competitors through protest. Protests are not fun, we had to submit one in STS last year. I’m not saying you can’t get away with it or people will care but you never know when they will care, if they do it may not be pleasent.
I don’t run any camber correction on my car and its been a daily driver for 4 years, I still do drive it fairly often due to gas prices. The Azenis will last over a year with the toe set to 0deg. New tires should be bought at least every year for competition anyway.
Yeah, we’ll see if I’m even going to be able to compete at the NT this year. I’ve got blown Illuminas up front and its hard to race it because the bound/rebound is all fucked. But we’ll see, I still need to apply for a SCCA membership and register for the event. Hopefully with my new job I’ll be able to buy a new GC/Koni setup before the NT. Right now I’m at -2* front and rear because I took out my broken SPC crap up front and ghetto bolts in back. Who knows, I need new tires for my street wheels too and we’ll see what gets priority. I probably should get the street tires 1st and suspension later, but the NT… :argh: lol decisions.
BTW, Do any of the NT sponsors pay out for winning your class or anything like that? Are there any benefits of racing in a NT? I’d really like to go, but 50 for the SCCA and 75 for the event, I’m just wondering if it’s worth it.
If you run on kumho tires there’s contingency money for 1st - 3rd place I think. You’d save money if you autoX a lot by being a SCCA member and you need it to be eligible for trophies at the end of the season. $50 is good I think my SCCA membership is $75:(
The NT also inlcudes dinner, possibility of door prizes and bear if you’re old enough.
and Azenis = excellent street tire, for driving on the street.
I meant for my street wheel/tire combo. I have a separate track wheel/tire with stock wheels and 14" azenis. I have parada 2’s on mine right now for street, but Im going to buy something like those new Fuzion ZR’s or Yokohama Avid H4s. I’m leaning towards the H4’s because of a 500 treadwear rating .
Its between GC/Koni suspension, which i don’t really “need”
or street tires so i save my Azenis :roll:
:werd: I want to move down to sts. I’ve been getting my ass kicked in SM lately. Every one has a turbo sentra or 200sx with hoosiers. Fuckers with money. Fuckers with talent.
Maybe I’ll start just driving the teg at the autox events.
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