Hey guys, I have a few questions pertaining to auto-xing and set up's. I went to an autocross event a few weeks back and I had a lot of fun. I want to be competitive but money is a big issue so A-stock is where I wanna be. The first thing I'm going to work on, of course, is seat time...I need to make it out to more events. I think I'll be heading to Sac chapter's first even this weekend in Stockton.

What I understand is in stock class you can change : tires, shocks if they are same size as stock, catback, front sway bar, and..is there anything else?

First question about alignment, I searched and read that having less negative camber is good for autoxing, like around - 1.2 to -1.5 in the front and -1 or 1.3 in the back. Question I have is what affects will it cause on a daily driver? Will it wear out tires more or change gas mileage. I'm trying to see if it's worth it since the car is a DD.

Another question for the STi guys, whats the biggest front sway bar that fits our cars? Is it 27 mm ? And does adjustable matter? I ask because it seems to be that everyone says the FSB will be great for the stock car.

Thanks everyone, this probably won't get off the ground until i can save some money, but FSB+ alignment is relatively cheap...so thats good.

 

for autoX i would think youd want more negative camber, since you a turning more than braking from highspeed, your loss in braking performance wont matter since you will be turning faster.

I have maxed -1.5 all around and my outside edges still wear out faster than my inside (50% mtn driving-50%Freeway) so i could go -3 and still be ok on the daily driver scale

i have a rear sway, but front is still stock so im looking for one too.

info from a 1 year autoX noob so credit it lightly

 

yeah thats what i meant, sorry, more negative , i got confused..lol. so how's the affect on daily driver? different gas mileage/ probably shouldn't have too much since it only change the turning characteristics?

 

now im confused. 0 is straight up and down |-----|
mine is -1.5 /-----\ all around and my car will still oversteer if i really pull some Gs and brake into a corner. I like it, and it doesnt camber wear on the insides
(my previous 050s started cording on the outsides) so i couldve had -3 camber and still be safe on the inside edges. (-3 meaning even more slanted)

but for autoX where you are always turning on one side or the other, you will want your weighted tire to be flat to the surface. Having a 0 camber will cause your tire to fold over.

also under hard braking your front camber is increased (-2 to -4?) so less brake efficiency

then theres another camber change due to any caster when your wheels are turned to the lock but im not one to ask about that

Extreme camber for low speed autoX outweighs the small loss of braking you will see.

my tire wear proved it for me. if your insides arent wearing at all, i say bump up the neg camber until they do, that just proves that your maximizing your tread usage for whatever driving style you have, or where you drive

 

i wouldnt worry about gas mileage at all. but if you plan to track day, i would go out and get aligned to crazy negitive camber settings either, because its different for high speeds

 

i can't believe i'm actually gonna give advice to this guy.. but hey mike, for the STI, i would think you'd want some toe out in the front and either zero or very slight toe in the rear. It'll help ur turn in and it'll make you more stable coming out of the corners.

Benny

 

hey gay boy, yeah no, i hear more toe will ruin my tires as DD, i'm trying to keep it neutral for DD vs autox, i'm not gonna be THAT competitive, i'm poor dude.

 

dude you don't drive ur car anyways...

 

I don't know how the stock STi pads are in comparison to aftermarket ones, but I know that the WRX ones are garbage and is probably one of the best upgrades to stay in stock class. Other than that, I'd recommend playing around with tire pressures before alignments. Like you said, more seat time is key, and that will allow you to fool around a lot with tire pressures.

 

Yeah I'll look into pads too, thanks! I'll definitely try to make it out to more events, they are not so bad on the wallet. It'll take me some time to gather up the money for the mods and crap anyways.

Man if I can find a single re070 thats around my tread wear...i wouldn't hae to burn up my all seasons

 

Check the SFRSCCA website. Most rules and regs are there.

 

I believe the 32mm hollow is the biggest. But its about the same stiffness as the whiteline 29mm, and thats adjustable down to 27mm, but it weighs less. IMHO the adjustable-ness is good in that you can tune it down for everyday driving, the 29mm is supposed to be really darty.

But the two best things to be more competative in stock classes are seat time and R-compounds. R compounds are good for a couple seconds over a minute course, your alignment, FSB, shocks and springs might be good for a couple seconds - performance per dollar is MUCH better on the tires .

In stock, your tires are unlimited, but have to be DOT - no slicks, and have to fit on a stock width wheel. The wheels don't have to be OEM, but OEM sized with offset +/- 12.25 mm (1/4")

Shocks have to have the stock spring perch and stock mounting points. Springs are unlimited, as long as they sit on the stock perches . Top hats have to stay stock