auto x guys

[88lx5oh]

ok well im looking to set my car up some what for autox.. nothing super aggressive, but enough to make a difference on the course.

 

im not by any means very knowledgeable about suspension stuff. what are some things to consider buying for a DD that does autox on the side??

 

this is going on my Civic Si by the way.

i just picked up a set of Eibach sportlines for it.

looking at a Megan H brace, maybe strut tower bars front and rear... and eventually adjustable struts.

 

its slow, so i figure ill make it get through some twisties better

[Dr. Apex]

The sportline springs are pretty low for daily driving, it might be better for both autocross and dd to get a set of decent coilovers. Your car should have a lot of choices for around $500 for a set and you get to choose your ride height and they simply work better.

Aside from driver, tires will be the best mod for you but it's also your daily driver so it's a tough choice for that. The new street tire to have for autox is supposedly the Bridgestone RE01R but their pricey. You can't go wrong with the Falken Azenis and the Hankook RS2 is very good and cheap.

You'll be in the STS class but we'll have to watch what type of braces you put on as certain types that mount differently will boot you to a higher class quickly.

 

Since your going to mod it, do it before the season starts if possible then once the season starts leave the car alone. The suspension and tires will help a ton but the biggest variable is the driver. Work on yourself and not changing the car will make "you" go faster and learn to drive better. When you do come out next year we'll get a good highly experienced driver to drive your car if you'd allow it and you'll see the difference the driver can make and you learn a ton from it, I did.

[AutoFreak57]

^^what he said

also, the best bang for your buck is usually a set of ground control coilovers and koni yellows. It's a pretty good setup on pretty much any car. The sportlines you are looking at are usually too low. I know on my car, it lowers it far enough to get the roll centers out of wack

[88lx5oh]

why are the sportlines a bad choice??

they lower the car 1.5" in the rear and 1/4" in the front.

plus i picked them up at a steal of a price.

if all else fails ill just put them on ebay for sale, but i like the look and feel of them on my friends mustang..

also i will be picking up a 2nd set of wheels to get tires for AX days.

[AutoFreak57]

the main problem with them is that they go for looks over performance. They take out rake and tend to lower the car too far. It actually takes it to the point where your roll center starts to get far away from the center of gravity. They are definitely better than stock springs though.

[Flyin Miata]

Tires are generally the number one performance mod to start with when you autocross, because usually stock tires are shit. Check out Tire Rack, they will show you everything that fits your car, and their customer service is better than most. It might be a good idea to get an SCCA rulebook, or at least find someone online who knows the in's and out's of SCCA classing. You'll have to make sure that the mods you make won't kick you out of the class you are trying to be competitive in. Springs already put you in STS if I'm not mistaken, and it's a pretty good class for people who want to do some mods but also keep their car for daily driving.

 

I'm not sure what the Civic guys use, but I have KYB AGX 8-way adjustables on my Miata, and besides being a big improvement over OEM shocks, you also get the benefit of having a soft ride during the week, then cranking it up to a stiffer setting for autocross. Plus they are pretty affordable.

[Dr. Apex]

I would highly reccommend selling the eibachs, coilovers will give you a better ride with adjustable shocks, ability to change the ride height and perform a lot better than springs/shocks combo will.

 

In STS your limited to a wheel size no wider than 7.5" and a tire no wider than 225mm with a treadwear rating no lower than 140. Get as light of a wheel as you can afford and I would go with something close to stock size/offset.

 

I have a copy of the current rules so ask away when you have a question about a mod so we don't get you bumped out of STS as it's a big class of fun cars and the next step up is a steep one.