Autocross setup for FD
 

I am just starting off driving a 3rd Gen. in autocross events. (stock and in street tire class)

What are the optimum chassis settings? Adjustable shocks? Bigger front sway bar? Tire choice? Run w/spare in car or remove? Fill the tank?

Any help would be appreciated....

Chassis settings??? :scratch:

Do you mean alignment settings? If so, that's very driver dependent. For a newbie, I'd just run zero alignment and go play. You'll make adjustments as you get better.

I wouldn't add anything to the car until you're comfortable that your driving skills are adequate (or getting to close to that). Be a better driver ... and then build a better car!!!! :)

Couldn't agree more. You can only make proper adjustments to the car when you max it out at the stock settings - that is - you can run consistent laptimes for more then 3 laps ;)

I'm going to take a different view here..I'd at least change the front sway bar. The FD in it's bone stock form is really prone to oversteer, a front bar will help alot, won't hurt on the street either. (The Tri Point bar is really good, but pricey). After that I'd agree, drive for awhile and see how you like it. If you're serious then do an alignment and get some shocks.:)

Thanks for the advice, I should have prefaced the question by saying I have been autocrossing for the past 4 years, but in an 91 FC T-II. I was competitive in stock street tire in that car, taking 2nd each year in our American autocross series...

I've attended the Evolution autocrossing school, and have done some track events. (Thunderhill & Buttonwillow)

My lap times are consistent, but I don't know the best setup for this car in the stock category. I don't want to modify the car and run in any prepared classes as it is too nice (33Kmi.) to turn into a race car. I was just asking for allignment settings such as toe in, caster, camber etc. that will help times and not be too extreme for street driving.

Is the weight distribution better with full gas? I plan on adding a sway bar after seeing pictures of my car listing through turns. I had Tokico adjustable shocks on the 2nd gen, are they recommended for the FD? Also, what's the best street tire and size (stock wheels) to lower my times?

Thanks!

Hey, I was in Stockton on Saturday for the Sac Autocross Series.
Were you there?

You can be competitive is SS or ASP. Your nemesis would be Corvette Z06.
I have seen stock RX-7 performance wise compete and win in SS or ASP class.
usually you would need at least shock replaced with GAB, replace toe links and trailing arms.
You may want to replace the front swaybar mount. They tend to crack with autocross/track usage. If you are replacing the mounts, might as well replace the links as well.

Use 18x10 or 17x10 wheels with 285 width tires Hossiers.
For stock wheels: 245/45/16 will give you the most meat on the ground. Of course Hossiers gives you the max advantage.
Don't forget your reliability modification, add to that K&N filters.

Alignment that I have seen used are:
Front
Camber -2.5
Toes in 1/16 or out 1/16, this really depends how you drive. Toe out gives you faster turn in.

Rear:
Camber -2.0 to -2.2
Toes in 1/16 this will help with oversteering if you have any.

Check the Suspension forum. Members like DamonB, redrotor, sleepr1, alwan16 will be able to help, They are in ASP competing currently.

Come out to SFR Autox-es. There are 3 RX-7 currently; me, alwan16 and Jeff Gordon.

Reza

Stock trim on street tires... I'll try to help :)
On race tires with a Tri Point front bar and Koni D/A shocks we used to run 2.2 neg camber in the front and 2.0 neg camber in the rear. (Note that this car was not street driven very often).
On street tires if you max out your castor, neg 1.6 front camber and neg 1.4 rear camber should work without an early death of your tires.
As for tire sizes and brands, 245/40/16 is a good choice, Michelon Pilots, Goodyear F1, (which comes on the Z06 stock), if they make them in that size, Kuhmo MX, (not the Ecsta Supra, that sucks on the FD), or a Falken if they will fit.

Don't know anything about your Tokiko shocks, we tend to run Koni's, and on our SS Rx7 we took 3 National Championships in Solo II and ProSolo in 1999 and 2000.

One thing I forgot...toe. Zero in the front, 1/8 to 3/16 rear toe in. Depends on the tire size, should be changed for street driving.:)

[QUOTE]Originally posted by reza
[B]Hey, I was in Stockton on Saturday for the Sac Autocross Series.
Were you there?

That was the only Sac. cup event I have missed this year, I had to work that day....

I havn't done any SF meets, I hear they tend to be pretty crowded. Unfortunately, the AAS series moved down to Castle this year, Mather is only 20 min. from my house.

Thanks for the advice on the allignment settings, That is the info. I am interested in. I've also seen others warn about upgrading front swaybar mounts, sounds like good advice.

Thanks also Beth, you obviously have some proven knowledge in this area. I'll keep it in mind when I look for tires and have an allignment done. Presently, the tires that are on the car are 300 rated Eagle F1's(previous owner). These things are like training tires for how to apply throttle and anticipating turbo boost. I can get the car sideways pretty easily if I am not careful. It also is prone to oversteer with the current setup.

I think I'll get tires first, allignment and sway bar, and then will have a better idea of what the car can do....

Take your time and do a few events with it stock. This car can do well out of the box. Once you get a feel for the sport, decide if you want to stay in SS or move to ASP or SM2 like Beth. That's when you start making changes to the car.

Tomas