i have recently gotten into autocrossing... i've been to a few events now and watched and i've ridden in several fast autox cars. i rode in an 11 second 95 300zxTT today and it was awesome. a few weeks ago i rode in a bone stock 91 NA FC and it was even a blast. there was a venom500 dodge viper there today and ontop of that it had a supercharger... yeah, he won btw.

currently i have tokico illumina 5way shocks and eibach prokit springs. i am getting some new tires here in a few days and i've been checking out the yokohama AVS ES100's because I have FD wheels and yoko makes the es100 in a 225/45/16. should i be checking out any other tires? also should i buy swaybars?

i'm basically just wanting to know what i the s5 TII needs to be a strong competitor in autox.

 

hey jacob im really into auto cross also best thing to do is to get Tein Coilovers and the RB swayb ar with the polyurethane bushings and some nice sticky tires not shure of a brand cause it all depends but once you get that you should be good to go..
TwEaK

 

Isn't autoX a blast?

I would recommend some SLICKS, they work great on a hot day.
Those yokohamas are great tires, but I would recommend falken azenis( ones with directional tread) IF they are autoX tires only( don't work at all in the rain, scary on the freeway ).

I think, but don't quote me, that you should upgrade the front sway bar and the not the rear. I however have the rb units with adjustable ends links on them.
Get some SS brake line and upgrade Hawk brake pads. A new poly bushing kit helps too.

Good luck.

 

i have some EBC pads and my car brakes pretty good (i should still get some SS lines)

uhhh yeah i cant really afford tein coilovers..........

anyways, if i could afford some R compound tires i'd definitely be a competitor, but i'm lookin for a good street tire

are there any other street tires i should check out that do pretty good at autox?

 

http://www.vulcantire.com/azenis_t.htm

If you don't drive in the rain get those above.

If not, get those Es100s. They work great too.

 

i have FD wheels which are 16x8 and falken only makes the azenis sports in a 215/45/16 which is too narrow for the 8" wheel, well if you dont want the sidewalls bowed in..

 

The azeni's are fine in the rain when they still have tread. Once the tread starts wearing down is when things start to get interesting. The stick I got from the azeni's seemed incredible for a street tire.

 

why do i have to have a damn 8" wheel? i want azenis...

 

Jacob, stretch tires work great on the street or autoX. I have friend with 225s on a 9" wide rim and lets just say he murders everyone in his class.

 

but what about stretching azenis? the sidewall is so stiff...

 

In order of greatest Auto-X performance effect:
1) Driver skill (just needs practice, find a good driver & get tips)
2) Tires
3) suspension
4) power

The fast guys change tires at the site.
Shop around for some affordable wide rims.
Check around race shops for take-offs (tires still good for Auto-X.)

 

autox seems to be so hard on your car...

 

It's almost damn near impossible to compete in class with an N/A. In ES even the damn impreza's and AWD TSi's have a better damn pax than us. I've got every upgrade I can have and stay in stock class, and I really have a hard time keeping up with the stock DS cars, who are AWD and turbo, yet have a better handicap than me! Oh, btw, falkens suck *** in the rain at anything over 30mph, even with full tread.

 

The RX-7 was bred for Auto-X.
Most runs are so short (around 1 minute) that the stock brakes are fine.

It is rough on tires.

Here's yesterday's video from the helmet cam.
After the WRX on front of me starts, an Acura looses it at the finish & nearly wipes out the timing system.
My video compressor blows, so the file is big.
12.6MB video

 

also, make sure your car is in perfect running order before you autox. Any potential problems you have with your car will be brought to light after a day of driving it like that.

 

sureshot, that video link didnt work.

 

Goodyear Eagel F1 GS-D3's

I'm running 225/50ZR16 on all four corners. Nice sticky tire, grips amazingly, awesome in rain and dry, catches imediately if you take a turn too fast, all around great tire... but they're kinda expensive.

 

My firewall may be fussing.
link to 12.6MB video?
What message do you get?
Do the links in my sig work for you?

 

Says IE cannot download it because it's unavailable or cannot be found. And yes the sig links work fine.

 

Something has changed recently.
I'm off th area-51 to test.
Thanks for the "heads up".
Bill-

 

thx ddub you beat me to it

 

My bud is running the azenis stretched, and he is obviously stretching them beyond the recommended limit.

AutoX is really hard on the car. I wouldn't dare use the stock top mount either.

 

i have a frontmount. its a crappy frontmount (starion) but not nearly as bad of a "heatsoaker" as the stock topmount. my coldside pipes are nice and cool after hard driving on the interstate while the hot side pipes are too hot to touch, so it does a good job of cooling even though it flows like crap (it is a starion fmic afterall)

 

my car is pretty much built for autox, well that not so expensive, but effective autox'er prepped.

 

i cant seem to get my illuminas too stiff... could it be because i have eibach prokit springs?

it feels much more solid than stock, a lot more firm, but i rode in my friends 92 DSM that has H&R springs and KYB AGX shocks and it was a very very firm ride. you think its just the springs? i bought my illuminas used and i'm worried that maybe they cant stiffen up like they used to??

it seems that you're up on me with the swaybars and bushings. do those two things make a big difference? i have some body roll but i figured most of it was from the progressive coils on my eibach prokit springs...