Hey everyone, I have a 02 wrx wagon and I want to get into auto-x events, but I'm not sure if its worth it (as in if it can take it). As for suspension mods I have whiteline front sway, cobb rear sway, whiteline front and rear endlinks, whitline rear strut tower, and sittin on kumho mx 225/45/17 tires. Whats your opinion on this, should I really go and try autocrossing this despite the insane amount of body roll?

 

I'd say it really depends on what you want to get out of it, on one hand-you have enough mods you'd need to run in a higher class than stock so it might not be a strong enough car for "winning", so if you are only about the trophies, don't bother.

On the other hand, if you want to spend some time exploring the cornering limits and learning to drive your car harder, I'd say for sure autocross it. Maybe run in one of the "street tire" classes. Better to do that stuff in a controlled environment rather than out on open public roads

 

you could also invest into a track day, for the $ per min it's much more cheaper (more high speed fun too) than auto-x and you dont have to sit out there the whole day for 3-5minutes of driving time. just a suggestion

 

Yeah, I'm also going to be doing some track events. First I'm going to go to the thunderhill driving class so I could hopefully learn a thing or two about track driving.

 

I'm not sure if you have any other mods since you said those are only your suspension mods. If that's all of them, just take off your rear sway bar and endlinks and then you can run stock class. There are plenty of stock cars that run all the time. I'd say definately go to auto-x first before you go to a track day. The worst thing that'll happen at an auto-x is you get a cone mark on your car, while at a track day you can fly into a wall.

IMHO, auto-x is a much better start since a lot of people are overconfident about their skills as a driver. This experience helps you understand the handling characteristics of your car better without the danger of truly damaging the car.

 

not trying to hijack but do you have your fenders rolled to fit those 225s? if not, what is the offset of your rims? thanks

 

We'll I have th rims sitting right next to me and the tires are in the mail, so I couldn't tell ya if they are going to rub or not but the offset is 48. I'm keepin my fingers crossed =)

 

just go for it man.

The stock suspension does suck, but tires make a HUGE difference. I have cobb front and rear sway bars, KYB AGX struts, USDM STi pink wagon springs, rear camber bolts, 17x7.5 wheels with Falken FK-451 all season tires. there is more room for grippier tires which is what I shall get next, and keep these for daily driving. I am looking at Hancook RS2s or Falken RT-615s and the cheapest set of rota wheels in 17x7.5 I can find before the Duel at Deanza starts.

There are people that go out and auto-x toyota Camrys and make decent times.

Just go and have fun.
If anything, you will realize that the stock WRX suspension is not really setup for auto-x and you'll end up doing what I did or just get coil overs.

 

I have rota torque wheels in 17x7.5 5x100 48 offset and have run falken st-115s and falken FK-451s in 225/45/17 and they only rubbed with the rubber/steel belt on the rear fenders.
I am thinking about rolling my fenders though so I can run 235/40/17s.

 

Yeah, hopefully I'll be swapping out my springs and struts in the near future. I've been looking at the tein basic coilovers and it seems like it would be great for what I want in a car and I love the price tag on them.

 

Just go out there and do it ! No matter what your mods are/aren't. I'm still riding on my mods from a few years ago (when I started racing the WRX) and don't really care now what I place in STX. I'm in there for fun and seat-time.
BTW, next event is in Marina for SCCA.

 

I do not have my fenders rolled, and I ran a 225/45/17 S-03 on SSR Comps with a +50 offset with no problem. I am lowered, though I never took the time to measure how much, but it is enough to just barely fit an index + middle finger into the wheel well.

 

Yeah, I was at the last SCCA event in marina and just took pictures. I'm going to drive in this one if my membership card gets delivered in time.

 

also check out http://www.norcalufo.org there was an auto-x today, and there is one tomorrow as well. Just bring $30, car, and drivers license and you get to drive.

 

+1 for auto-x. I would recommend doing a school rather than an SCCA competition event since with a school, you'll typically run all day, whereas an SCCA event will only get you 3 real runs plus 3 or so fun runs (if that). Since you're not going to be competitive in your class anyways (probably STX if I'm reading it right), you should probably take the instruction.

Pretty sure FK-451's are "Ultra-High Performance - Summer Tires" (they are not M+S rated).

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

Those tires are rumored to have a stickier 2nd half of the tread (meaning they get much grippier once they wear down significantly). Some autocrossers would use the "cheater" 245/35 sizes, shave em to 4/32nds, and run them competitively against Azenis and max. performance summer rubber in street tire classes. Tricky...

Another great site is www.baautox.com.