First Auto-X event! My experience and some advice I would like

[Renesis07]

You missed a great autocross this past weekend. The course was huge and used every square foot of real estate. Most cars were in the low 70 second range with a few aliens running in the high 60s. Plenty of wide open space to use the throttle. It was a metric shitton of fun.

Hope to see you out next year, keep an eye on the Chicago region website. towards the end of April they do the Learning Curve, which is a novice type event where they teach you basic autocross skills. Worth every penny.

I know man, I was bummed I couldn't make it. I had some prior plans that Saturday night I completely forgot about and couldn't miss. They ran a little late and there was no way I was going to be up in time that Sunday. I'm definitely looking forward to next season and meeting you guys in person next year. Thanks again for all the advice in this thread, can't wait to get back out there.

 

[Renesis07]

**Bumping my thread for more questions***

Thank you everyone who posted in this thread, a lot of questions were already answered when I searched and found my own thread and reread the comments.

I now own a 2012 5.0. Here's the current mods:

Boss IM
Steeda CAI
Lund Tune
Koni Sports
Steeda UL Springs
BMR Panhard Bar

The car came with 18x9 wheels (square setup). They're GT500 reps and are heavy as sin (28.4lbs each), however I figure this would be a good setup to learn on this season as I work on my driver mod.

My question, with these wheels and the mods above, what is the biggest (and/or best) tire I can run on these wheels? They currently have 255/45's on them and look mildly stretched and tall on the wheel. They're also these all seasons I've honestly never heard of, Riken Raptor tires?

Unfortunately my first few auto-x events this year will probably be on these tires, however I'm planning on upgrading the tires asap and want to make sure I run the best size possible, especially if I pony up for something like RS3's. I was researching and it seems like 275/35 is a decent size, however I definitely wanted some input from the veterans here before I do anything.

Since my wheels are 18x9's, and I really have no plans to change them anytime soon, should I just run STX class? Correct me if I'm wrong but the max size is 265 in STX right? Would it be worth my while to just run 265 tires and stay in STX (assuming my current mods are legal for the class) or do 275's and run STU?

Since the intake manifold is an OEM Ford IM, am I okay to run STX or STU?

Keep in mind, I only plan to attend a handful of events this year, so I'm not trying to get super serious just yet with auto-x, however I still want to at least be competitive and in the proper class.

Thanks guys.

 

[Justin_H]

ST* classes don't directly allow an intake change, but there might be a way to use the Boss intake by doing a full Boss conversion, minus whatever you're allowed to change in ST* anyway which is a lot. You probably will want to do some looking into the details. Or just run ESP, the car is definitely legal there.

For ST, you'd be in STU in 2014- there's no choosing STX vs STU. 285 Hankooks are nice but would be too big for 9s. They fit just right on 10s, and with how my car with 100 less HP works on them, I would not want to go with something smaller or with less grip. Power oversteer is easy enough to find on 285 RS3s.

If you're already going to be buying rims and tires and don't mind changing at events, I'd strongly consider ESP. You get more grip, more mods, more similar cars to run against, and about the same PAX factor.

 

[Renesis07]

ST* classes don't directly allow an intake change, but there might be a way to use the Boss intake by doing a full Boss conversion, minus whatever you're allowed to change in ST* anyway which is a lot. You probably will want to do some looking into the details. Or just run ESP, the car is definitely legal there.

For ST, you'd be in STU in 2014- there's no choosing STX vs STU. 285 Hankooks are nice but would be too big for 9s. They fit just right on 10s, and with how my car with 100 less HP works on them, I would not want to go with something smaller or with less grip. Power oversteer is easy enough to find on 285 RS3s.

If you're already going to be buying rims and tires and don't mind changing at events, I'd strongly consider ESP. You get more grip, more mods, more similar cars to run against, and about the same PAX factor.

See that's the thing, I DON'T plan to change my wheels anytime soon. Hell buying tires this season will even be a stretch for me. It seems like 275's are the sweet spot on 18x9's. Like I said, my car is mainly a street car/weekend cruiser, however I like to auto-x and plan to go to a few events. That being said, I really don't want my car built solely around auto-x.

I have no issue running ESP, the above mods are what the car is going to stay at for quite some time. So if that sets me up in ESP, may as well just stay there for the time being. No way in hell I'm doing a full on boss conversion for a damn intake manifold lol... If it was that big of an issue and I wanted to get really competitive I'd just swap it back to stock.

 

[Justin_H]

If you're only going to have one set of wheels and you plan to drive when it's below 50 degrees, stick with the tires you have and just go have fun. Most summer tires really suck in the cold. Cold for RS3s seems to be around 55 degrees.

 

[Renesis07]

If you're only going to have one set of wheels and you plan to drive when it's below 50 degrees, stick with the tires you have and just go have fun. Most summer tires really suck in the cold. Cold for RS3s seems to be around 55 degrees.

Well I plan to only have one set of wheels for the time being, but I do have 2 cars, so summer tires arent a problem for me.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 2

 

[csamsh]

Yeah the Boss manifold is a no-go for STU. You're in ESP for sure, so, at that point, throw wheel and tire stuff out the window. STX is no longer an option for Mustangs (and there was much rejoicing).

For an 18x9 wheel I'd consider the 265/40/18 RS3, 275/35/18 Rival, or 275/40/18 RE-11, or 275/35/18 Direzza Z2.

If you have 3.31's, get the taller tires and run in 2nd, 3.73's, get the shorter ones and run in third. Just my opinion, there are lots of ways to run your car.

Options:

-Ditch the intake. Get some better tires, run STU. This is what I'd do, you'll get a couple hundred bucks for your intake that you can put toward tires.

-Keep the intake, do the same as above that I mentioned with tires, run in ESP-street tire, if you have such a class.

-Keep the intake, buy some big wheels and tires. Get some 18x11's and 315 R-Comps. Run ESP. Probably don't do this if you're just starting out.

 

[Renesis07]

Yeah the Boss manifold is a no-go for STU. You're in ESP for sure, so, at that point, throw wheel and tire stuff out the window. STX is no longer an option for Mustangs (and there was much rejoicing).

For an 18x9 wheel I'd consider the 265/40/18 RS3, 275/35/18 Rival, or 275/40/18 RE-11, or 275/35/18 Direzza Z2.

If you have 3.31's, get the taller tires and run in 2nd, 3.73's, get the shorter ones and run in third. Just my opinion, there are lots of ways to run your car.

Options:

-Ditch the intake. Get some better tires, run STU. This is what I'd do, you'll get a couple hundred bucks for your intake that you can put toward tires.

-Keep the intake, do the same as above that I mentioned with tires, run in ESP-street tire, if you have such a class.

-Keep the intake, buy some big wheels and tires. Get some 18x11's and 315 R-Comps. Run ESP. Probably don't do this if you're just starting out.

This was the exact information I was looking for, thank you! I do have 3.31's btw.

 

[Sky Render]

The BOSS manifold doesn't really make a meaningful difference below like 5,000 or so RPM anyway.

If you want a good 18x9 wheel, look into the TSW Nurburgrings. American Muscle has a good price on them, and they only weigh like 19 lbs each.

 

[Renesis07]

The BOSS manifold doesn't really make a meaningful difference below like 5,000 or so RPM anyway.

If you want a good 18x9 wheel, look into the TSW Nurburgrings. American Muscle has a good price on them, and they only weigh like 19 lbs each.

Well, to be completely honest, at this point I really don't want to make the car a auto-x purpose built car, at least not just yet. I drove in a car with the boss intake and tune and really liked the way it drove and loved the upper end pull the car had.

At this point, before I really start dumping money into making my car an auto-x machine, I really want to go out there and learn a little more and more or less just have fun. Thing is, I may go to 3-5 auto cross events this year, but for the other 85% of the time I take the car out I want to enjoy it. So I'm doing the best I can to find a balance. Once I get a little more experience, ripping off the boss intake and reflashing the tune isn't a huge deal if I decide to go STU.

Another piece of information probably useful, is I'm buying a house in the spring. So a lot of my disposable cash will probably get soaked up by house mods, which is why I'm holding off on wheels/tires and other mods suggested. This upcoming season I'm going to focus on having fun, learning the coyote, and becoming a better driver and then make adjustments from there.

That being said, I'm banking on some early summer bonuses to come in so I can get a set of good tires for these heavy wheels

I appreciate the wheel suggestion though, when I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new wheel setup I will definitely check them out!

 

[Renesis07]

Just an update. I decided to sell my Boss IM. After heavily researching I decided the benefits weren't worth it to me and the money could be spent better elsewhere. At this point, I'm modding my car for STU and taking it from there.

Also, the person that bought my 2006 actually totaled the car last month. My old wheels were NOT on the car when he crashed, and I purchased them back. So now I have 2 sets of wheels. While neither of them is really a good track wheel, I at least have the luxury of 2 sets of wheels now.

I'm thinking of going with 275/35 RS3's on the GT500 18x9 wheels and use them for autox/track purposes only.

 

[RetroGT2006]

I need to start looking up the class's and rules for mods. This is something I want to get into once my car is done with its swap in the next few weeks..

 

[Renesis07]

I need to start looking up the class's and rules for mods. This is something I want to get into once my car is done with its swap in the next few weeks..

Yea it took me a while to understand the classes, I still don't completely know what each of them entails. This thread has some good information from veterans regarding some classes.

 

[Jucostud]

Another class option for you is CAM. That's what I'm building my car around. I want to be able to build my car for a road course or several autox events.

 

[dontlifttoshift]

CAM is awesome but I wouldn't build a car for that ruleset.

 

[Jucostud]

There is no other class you can build a fun autox/roadcourse/street car in.

 

[Jucostud]

Besides SM

 

[csamsh]

Jon...STU and ESP are great classes. CAM is a cop-out for those of us who won't read a rules set. Also...you've never even raced in STU or ESP! Don't knock them so fast!

 

[Jucostud]

I'm running NSTU this weekend

 

[Norm Peterson]

Jon...STU and ESP are great classes. CAM is a cop-out for those of us who won't read a rules set. Also...you've never even raced in STU or ESP! Don't knock them so fast!

CAM sounds like the best place for people who modified their cars with zero expectation of autocrossing at all. One of the common suspension mods - relo brackets - sends you directly to SM or CP even if those were the only things you did. Lowered for appearance? STU or ESP, minimum.

Time will tell where this class evolves to, once people start building specifically for it rather than just ending up there instead of places like CP, XP, or EM. Look what happened to Street Touring, once nominally a category for "affordable sports sedans equipped with common suspension, engine, and appearance modifications . . . compatible with use anywhere in the country".


Norm