Getting ready for Autocross and street fun.
 

I need some advise on what mods to do, to get my SE 88' N/A ready for autocross and general fun on the streets. Please keep in mind the following things.

1. I want to do the mods in an order that makes sense.

2. I live in WA and it needs to pass inspection as I will continue to drive it on the streets.

3. I'm looking at Autocross, not car shows, and I don't have a lot of money.

4. I want to do as much of the work myself as I can.

Any info that you can provide, especially pictures would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for the help.

how much money? What have you done to it since you bought it?

you got an na so dont look for mobs of hp...it is what it is...header, intake, exhaust..electric fan too....for what you save on engine mods put the money toward some suspension rims and tires..

i got an 86 se and thats what ive been adviced to do..

full exhaust, any engine maintanence, make sure it can take a good beating. Fully adjustable suspension and some sticky tires. Suspension bushings are a must, then sway bars. With the beating NA engines can take these cars really are a blast to drive with some suspension upgrades.

i suggest footwork first.meaning coilovers,swaybar and better tires on wider rims w/ a decent offset.you'll be surprised that the high hp cars on a autox track can be schooled by a stock motor civic w/ just suspension mods.well,maybe not a civic,a miata yes.on a tight track in which you stay on 2nd and 3rd gear,carrying the most speed through the corners matters most rather than WOT.

I haven't done a thing to it. Other than pulling the plug on the flaky alarm, and new tires and wheels. I've only had it a week. As far as I know it's completely stock.
As for money, I'm just a working smuck living pay check to pay check, so any purchase has to be budgeted for. That's why upgrades need to be planed out in advance.
I have just about every tool a good shop needs, and I know how to use them, so I can do most work myself, and plan too. I'm not a mechanic however and other than the reading that I've done, rotary engines are a complete mystery.
So any constructive information that I can get will be greatly appreciated.

You need to consider what class you want to drive in, and also whether your region is super-hardcore (does everyone use R-compounds if their class allows it?)...

If you want to drive stock class in a region where everyone is hardcore, your first mod should be R-compound tires.

If you want to run a street tire class in a less-hardcore region, you should get some good summer tires (ideally Azenis or something similar) and then get a steering wheel (and spacers), seat, and four or five-point seatbelt (or at least a CG Lock)... tires and the driver matter more than suspension mods.

Do a full tune up first (details via search)

I know as far as autocross goes, I want to start off slow. I really want to learn how to drive, I mean really drive. I bought it specifically to have fun with. It's the winter season so until the local autocross groups start up again, I'm going to focus on getting it in the best running shape that I can, and of course safety upgrades.

I won't lie, I've been surfing the net and eBay, looking at seats, steering wheels, harnesses and other cool do-dads.

The tires and wheels that I have on it will have to do for now as they are brand new. I may look at a second set for racing, however I haven't begun my education on what I'll need. I'll wait till I get advice from the guys at the track depending on what class I'll be in.

I know I don't want to try to make this car something it's not. I'm not going to dump thousands and thousands of dollars into it. I want to enjoy it and drive the shit out of it.

The Cheapest way is the drop all the weight that you want to drop.

You're going to end up doing both, anyway.

not for long if he doesn't maintain it. Seats and harnesses should be the last thing on his list right now.

First thing on my list is a full exchange of all fluids, filters, plugs, wires, and the like. Then I'd like to get it into a shop to have the injectors cleaned and everything tuned.

My last rig started out as a stock 4cyl Jeep, when I sold it, it was a Moab rock crawling machine. Nothing about motorsports stays cheep. LOL

Fluids and maintenance parts are common sense.

We're talking about mods here, are we not?

A seat and a harness is by far the most important thing when it comes to connecting the car and the driver, although just a seat and a ideally a CG lock (on manual seatbelts) can suffice for light-duty autocrossing.

Tires are by far the most important mod when it comes to autocrossing, followed by suspension.

You should budget for an intake (drop-in K&N) and exhaust, although what you get depends on what class you want to run (unless you don't care about class legality).

There are so many options when it comes to seats and even harnesses. I've been doing some research on 4 and 5 point harnesses and it seems that the shoulder straps connect to a roll cage of some type. What do the shoulder straps connect to when there is no roll bar?

Can you recommend specific suspension upgrades? I understand that a set of coilovers are the best however I also understand that they are quite expensive. What other mods or upgrades could or should be made to the factory setup, bushings, front upper strut bar?

When you speak of a K&N filter, are you talking about a filter that fits in the stock air box? Is this an oiled filter or a paper element?

I believe the previous owner stated the car had a new dual exhaust system put in, however i haven't gotten under the car to look for myself. I know it's dual, but I'm not sure what type or quality of system.

Once I've determined what class I will/can race in I suppose that will answer a number of questions. I've been to the SCCA web site and downloaded the full race manual, however with so many classes and options, I'm not sure which way to go. For now I'll just stick to things that all classes need and things that I personally want to change. When I find out what is popular in my area I'll get more specific.

Without converting to a 5-lug system, what breaking upgrades would you recommend? I'll worry about tires and wheels once I get to the track and get some hands on advise.

K&N filters are re-useable oiled foam+wire mesh filters.

Technically cone filters aren't stock legal, and they've been shown to decrease HP if you don't have a heat shield, so I'd just stick with the stock airbox (feel free to cut holes in it... although I don't know what that mod entails)...

Tires come long before coilovers... and in my opinion, so do driver controls/restrains.

Unless you plan on road racing or track days, you can mount harnesses any way you want, as long as you follow a few basic rules (involving strap angle and such). But you can drill holes in the floor panel and bolt the harness to it, as long as you use a metal plate on the bottom side.

You can't mount harnesses unless you have a seat with a "hole" in the headrest (either an adjustable rest, or harness holes).

Brake pads are also a good idea.

The class you want to run in basically depends on your region and your budget.

Region determines whether or not you need to budget for race tires, and budget determines how many mods you do, which determine your class (ie, strut tower bars knock you up into Street Touring).

If you want to stand any chance you'll be in ES, STS2 or CSP and in any of those classes you'll be up against Miatas, which are very fast at autocross.

Tires and shocks make the biggest difference to speed, but the car could do with all new bushings to help it out and it'll make a difference to how easy it is to drive and control.

DON'T run harnesses without a roll bar and a seat with harness slots, there's no good place to mount them, they'll either be too far back and stretch becomes a problem, or they'll be mounted too low down and the angle will compress your spine in an accident. If the seat isn't meant for harnesses they can slip off your shoulders in a crash, leaving you unrestrained.

If you're going to be sticking to stock class then it's all academic anyway, as you need a stock seat and harness and no roll bars allowed, besides, they add weight, which is bad.

Don't start to plan mods before you decide on a class or you could find yourself seriously outgunned before you know it.

You can put a roll bar into Stock class cars.

And personally I think you don't need roll protection for a harness in a hard top. For autocross speeds, the stock roll protection (which is a loop built into the B pillars) is more than sufficient. If you're going to do track days, that is a different story.

Also, in terms of actual crash protection, you can just use the stock seatbelt on top of a harness if you're worried about whether it's going to stretch. In autocross, it's purely to hold you in place.

As far as bushings go, do you know of a full kit that can be purchased? Or do the bushings need to be purchased individually?

I wouldn't consider a harness without a proper seat. Somewhere on the net I saw a strut bar that ran across the back from tower to tower that had the harness straps conected to it. But I have been unable to find any information on it.

I'd like to replace the drivers seat to start with as it has a few tears in the back rest as it is. A new steering wheel is also in the plan as the factory one lacks racing style, and well, I just want one. Since everything is being done on a very tight budget, I don't do anything hastily.

There are several brands that sell urethane replacements, which tend to be cheaper than reinforced rubber.

As far as steering wheels go, I suggest a Momo racing model rather than one of the street models, since suede is better for sweaty hands, and if you get a model with a "dish" (a large offset) means you might not need a spacer.

suspension is the first thing to work on.

Looks like a full set of bushings are about $110.
http://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/ENE1118101G.htm

5 lug + 4 pot brake swap. Hawk HPS + Ate Super blue to round off the brakes. Then get a light set of wheels, nothing fancy, and get good tires on them.

You don't need any of that fancy junk. Just race in the stock class as-is. I am pretty sure an aftermarket catback exhaust is allowed in the stock class. The stock brakes are perfectly fine, although you may want to upgrade to Hawk HPS or HP+ once your pads wear out. You can change your front tire pressure to get rid of the plowing effect - freebie. If you start upgrading parts too much, you will rapidly find yourself in more expensive classes - not good. The 2Gen RX-7 owners at the autocross can help you out.

Once you have results from 2 autocross events, apply for the Mazdaspeed Team Development program so you can get parts for cheap. Don't bother with the Contingency program right now.
http://www.mazdamotorsports.com/

Some notes on your plans:
- Safety equipment will slow you down, and is not needed unless you are in an autocross class that allows slicks.
- Aftermarket seats are not allowed in the stock class.
- A replacement steering wheel that is not within 1" of the stock diameter is not allowed in the stock class.
- Upgraded suspension bushings are not allowed is the stock class.
- There once was a 3Gen RX-7 rear strut tower brace made to mount seat belt straps. It was made in a very dangerous manner. I do not recommend this.
- Check the rules to make sure I didn't make any mistakes above. ;)

There are some 3rd gen bars that are used as strut bars, but they're specifically reinforced and even then I'm not a fan. Using a strut bar is asking for truoble, the bar and the brackets aren't meant for those forces.

Stock belts are fine for autocross. Press on the dead pedal or lock the belt in place to hold you in better.