Auto-x Newbie - hope you guys can help :o)

[urbanbiker]

hey guys,

I was at a local auto-x event today to watch my friend race and see if I wanted to get into it. He took me for a few runs in his supercharged focus on R compound tires and its got me hooked.

Now I would be getting into this just as a hobby, so i'm not worried about coming out on top of the field just having a good time and honing my driving skills.

My mods on my P5 put me into STS which is a class that I would be more than comfortable racing in.

What are some tips or tricks that you guys can recommend.

Dissabling the ABS - worth it or not and where is the fuse?
16" or 15" Rims? - I don't want to race on my 17's
Alignment settings, its a P5 with K-sports
Softer springs in the front, harder in the rear or vice versa?

Hope to get some good info

Thanks,
Matt

 

[mspeedP5]

Get some r-comp tires on steelies (or light wheels if you can afford it) and go out and have some fun. After you've got some seat time in, then think about mods.

 

[JRTritsch]

Anyone and everyone who is an avid autocrosser will say the following, "Don't spend a dime on the car (other than needed maintenence) and concentrate on gettin as much seat time as possible".

Ok, now that is out of the way. I would recommend making sure you get a more aggressive alignment, its not expensive and really helps. Plus you have the K-sports, so getting some camber will be easy. Next up, talk to everyone about what tires to get, falken azenis, 'kook z212s are relatively inexpensive and can yeild great results. 16s, 17s...usually just depends on tire size and availability, you may want to decide if you need more or less circumference to help with gearing. Other than that, wait until you have the car at its maximum potential there before deciding to start dialing in the suspension any further. As for the ABS, disable if it gives you trouble..otherwise I would leave it alone. I haven't had the "ice-mode" issue like many others with r-comps and sticky pads.

 

[chris1866]

^^^

+1


I haven't had a problem with ABS in the MSP. Stick with some street tires to learn on----you're gonna be pissed if you spend tons of money on R-comps and cord them after a few events cause you overdrove them.

Read the "read this before you buy race tires" sticky. Lots of good info in there.

Like everyone will tell you: Best thing you can improve is your driving, NOT the car (when you're just starting out).

 

[Jeff@Tri-Point]

hey guys,

I was at a local auto-x event today to watch my friend race and see if I wanted to get into it. He took me for a few runs in his supercharged focus on R compound tires and its got me hooked.

Now I would be getting into this just as a hobby, so i'm not worried about coming out on top of the field just having a good time and honing my driving skills.

My mods on my P5 put me into STS which is a class that I would be more than comfortable racing in.

What are some tips or tricks that you guys can recommend.

Dissabling the ABS - worth it or not and where is the fuse?
16" or 15" Rims? - I don't want to race on my 17's
Alignment settings, its a P5 with K-sports
Softer springs in the front, harder in the rear or vice versa?

Hope to get some good info

Thanks,
Matt

Pulling out the ABS fuse is what I would recommend, as long as you know how to modulate the brakes then you won't have to worry about flat spots, but if you do notice yourself locking up very easily... I think I would put it back on because tires get very expensive but I'm sure you know that

Racing with any rim will be fine as long as you can get a decent tire. I would recommend the Hankooks Z212 RS-2, they last a lot longer than the RT-615 Azenis... Just my opinnion though, the way I look at it, if your not driving teh car 10/10ths, or even 8/10ths, then a tires not going to really matter.

Alignment settings, I would max out as much camber in the front as you can and make sure you have 0 Toe all around, You can mess with toe out but I wouldn't do that until you have a handle on the car because it can mess up your street tires if your not careful.

It all depends on how low you have your car, how much compromise you want to give up for street comfortability. Also you have to find out what kind of springs can fit on the coilovers...

 

[urbanbiker]

thanks for the input guys!

I have a few kinks to work out before I acutally get a race in, I think i'm looking at next season.

As for the springs... would anyone agree with the logic of putting the stiffer springs in the rear and softer springs in the front? Or just leave them as they are?

Matt

 

[dmitrik4]

just leave them alone for now. there's no point in swapping springs around (and you haven't mentioned what your current rates are) until you are drivig the car as well as it can be driven in its current state. once improving the car will help you drop time, then go for it. the important thing is that you have a stable platform on which to learn; the car can be modded, but you should leave it alone once you start running. if the car is constantly changing, it will be almost impossible for you to judge your progress as a driver.

i'd suggest some Azenis or 'kooks on 15" wheels (preferably at least 7" wide), as much negative front camber and positive caster as you can get, and zero toe all around. then go drive. i preferred to leave the ABS on in my STS-class Pro ES; you can (and should) still learn to modulate the brakes. also, if you want to run in STS, you can't use r-comps anyway. but definitely get a set of autoX-only tires; you'll have more fun and in the end it won't cost you any more than you'd spend replacing your street tires more frequently.

 

[lowandslow]

lowandslow = urbanbiker

Yeah, I've pretty much settled on some 15x7 wheels and most likely the Falken RT-615's being as I've raced on them before.

My only thing with the springs, is why learn to drive a car that understeers when you can learn on a car that is more neutral or oversteers? I'm used to racing go karts with mad oversteer, my dads mustang with throtle assisted oversteer and the 1990 Jetta I raced in California. Which we ran 205/50R15 Falken 615's on the front an 185/60R14 Falken 512s on the rear. The car rotated very nicely.

The springs rates are Front / Rear - 392 / 280 as it sits now

I mean the AWR Racing coilovers are basically the opposite of that

matt

 

[ctt 1982]

the RB or AWR rear sway bar will help with understeer

 

[lowandslow]

but if I can help minimize it for free, i would rather go that route. PLus knowing that a Racing company has the car setup the opposite of mine makes me want to change it. I have to rip the front apart anyways to install a recall kit.

 

[xelderx]

Don't swap the springs. 280lbs is too low for the front of the car. If you don't have a larger rear swaybar get one before worrying too much about springs. I like my AWR 21.5mm because I can adjust it if I change anything else. You can set it up for as much oversteer as you can handle with just the AWR bar.

Like others above have said...just drive the car. Autocross is as much about knowing the tricks of driving certain course elements as it is about how well your car is set up. Find the good driver's in your area and ask for advise and even to drive your car on a fun run with you riding shotgun. You would be really suprised with what a good driver can do with an unassuming car.

 

[lowandslow]

alright, thanks again for all the input.

I'll pick up some 15" wheels and rubber and then take her out to the track the way it is and see what happens.

Thanks Guys

 

[dmitrik4]

yep, it's not about learing to drive a car that understeers or oversteers; it's about learning how to drive the car, period, regardless of what it does. once you can wring everythng out of the car, and the handling characteristics of the car are holding you back, then start improving the car...at that point, your changes will produce real gains.

good luck, have fun, and keep us posted!

edit: as justin said, a bigger rear bar will make a much larger difference than a minor change in spring rate.