First AutoX in a Very long time...

[KoolerSL2]

Me and the wife went to our Local AutoX today, wasn't expecting a lot since its been over 7+ years since i last Crossed and that was with a FWD Saturn.
before i go over how the day went i want to give a quick break down of my car.

2009 GT

Eibach Sportlines
GT500 Strut mounts
BMR Adj PH Bar
BMR PH Brace
CHE LCA's
CHE Reloc brackets
UMI Adj 3rd link
Roush 20x9.5 wheels with 285/30 Hankook v12 tires
FRPP 4.10's

Stock Shocks & Struts (I KNOW I KNOW!)

weather was fair but we had a semi damp track from melting snow.
car did ok, had trouble getting traction in the straights and exiting hard corners (ended up doing the course in 2nd 90% of the time). Car pushed bad in deep corners till i got to around 15ish MPH.

ON A BUDGET what would be a good start of mods?

Shocks & Struts?
Steeda X5 Ball joints?
Caster/camber plates?
Sway Bars?

when i get the videos processed and pics downloaded ill upload them so maybe a better trained set of eyes could see what my car is doing...

 

[Whiskey11]

Me and the wife went to our Local AutoX today, wasn't expecting a lot since its been over 6 years since i last Crossed and that was with a FWD Saturn.
before i go over how the day went i want to give a quick break down of my car.

2009 GT

Eibach Sportlines
GT500 Strut mounts
BMR Adj PH Bar
BMR PH Brace
CHE LCA's
CHE Reloc brackets
UMI Adj 3rd link
Roush 20x9.5 wheels with 285/30 Hankook v12 tires
FRPP 4.10's

Stock Shocks & Struts (I KNOW I KNOW!)

weather was fair but we had a semi damp track from melting snow.
car did ok, had trouble getting traction in the straights and exiting hard corners (ended up doing the course in 2nd 90% of the time). Car pushed bad in deep corners till i got to around 15ish MPH.

ON A BUDGET what would be a good start of mods?

Shocks & Struts?
Steeda X5 Ball joints?
Caster/camber plates?
Sway Bars?

when i get the videos processed and pics downloaded ill upload them so maybe a better trained set of eyes could see what my car is doing...

Shocks/struts first, and if you can Camber plates with them.

 

[SlowJim]

sell your heavy dubs and get some cheap light 18's and some sticky tires

 

[white86hatch]

And get rid of the 4.10's. Can't imagine that working well once you get faster.

 

[rcharles]

Me and the wife went to our Local AutoX today, wasn't expecting a lot since its been over 6 years since i last Crossed and that was with a FWD Saturn.
before i go over how the day went i want to give a quick break down of my car.

2009 GT

Eibach Sportlines
GT500 Strut mounts
BMR Adj PH Bar
BMR PH Brace
CHE LCA's
CHE Reloc brackets
UMI Adj 3rd link
Roush 20x9.5 wheels with 285/30 Hankook v12 tires
FRPP 4.10's

Stock Shocks & Struts (I KNOW I KNOW!)

weather was fair but we had a semi damp track from melting snow.
car did ok, had trouble getting traction in the straights and exiting hard corners (ended up doing the course in 2nd 90% of the time). Car pushed bad in deep corners till i got to around 15ish MPH.

ON A BUDGET what would be a good start of mods?

Shocks & Struts?
Steeda X5 Ball joints?
Caster/camber plates?
Sway Bars?

when i get the videos processed and pics downloaded ill upload them so maybe a better trained set of eyes could see what my car is doing...

First, I would make sure it wasn't your driving style before you assume its your car. Get a seasoned driver (preferrably with the same style car) to do a ride along with you on track. They may be able to point out if you are having a problem with breaking points and driving line. When I first started auto-x'ing I put a lot in to suspension, power, and tire mods and could fair pretty well in STU class ( I had a 2005 Subaru STi). There was another guy in our class with the exact same car with zero mods and stock tires and could beat me by a couple of seconds on any day. During some events I would do my run and get out and then jump in his passenger seat so he could show me a couple thing and he would also jump in my car when he wasn't out to point out my mistakes. I did eventually place first in my class one season.

Long story short, don't always assume putting more money in to it will make you faster. It is way cheaper to learn the right techniques and then go in with the mods to shave off 10ths of a second. Also, the biggest bang for the buck I bought was a snap in 3 point harness. I never realized how much I was moving around in my seat and how much of a difference it made when you didn't have to worry about keeping you butt planted.

 

[dennisafrompa]

The more you do it the more you learn.

I agree with the post above. The best way to get better is to go to as many events as you can. Work with tire pressures as some small adjustments can reduce push. There is an inexpensive seat belt lock that you can add to the 3point to stop you from moving. I actually got mine at Pep Boys.

For the record though I do have frpp springs and Tokico adjustable shocks, as well as 255/50x17 Kumho summer tires.

 

[BigBlue05]

I definitely agree with the post above. My last autocross event I was being beat by a stock v6 s197 in my modified Gt. by the end of the day I finally passed his times but it took me a while.

That being said getting any sort of different shock/struts would not only help the car, but help you feel more confident as well!!

 

[mavisky]

Driving lines and seat time will help, but right now the car is way oversprung for the shock absorbers you have on the car. All the driving in the world won't make up for that imbalance there.

 

[Sky Render]

I'm not one to go telling people to modify their cars first and ask questing later, but I agree with everyone else about the stock dampers. They're filled with toilet water and way under-damped for those springs.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 using Tapatalk

 

[Kobie]

1. Shocks/Dampers
2. Seat Time/Instructor
3. Tires
4. Seat Time/Instructor
5. Front and Rear Adjustable Sway Bars
6. More Seat Time

Which shocks, tires and sway bars is a whole other discussion/argument.

 

[mrgtx]

Can I suggest going back to the Saturn? They're wildly underrated on the autocross course...the group I ran with was always competitive in their nearly stock SL sedans and funny looking coupes with the 1.9L 2-stroke motor (well, it's a 4 stroke but they burn a ton of oil. ) and they always had a total ball with those cars.

Getting experience in a lower powered may give you the most rapid education on finding the right line and it will do so on cheaper tires.

That's the only suggestion I can add. The dampers, smaller wheels (with carefully selected tires) and seat time are your obvious first moves.

Go for it! Keep us posted.

I haven't autocrossed since I sold my last Miata a few years back...and I seriously miss it.

 

[claudermilk]

I'll agree with all but the "go back to a Saturn" comments. ;p

The number one mod to work on is the driver mod, then better wheels/tires, then shocks. Later, like white said, those 4.10s are going to kill you. I'm on 3.73's (on a Coyote powertrain, though), and they are too short now.

Here's the seatbelt piece mentioned: http://www.americanmuscle.com/mustang-lock-lapbelt.html. I have it and it helps. And for cheap wheels, these aren't bad: http://www.americanmuscle.com/silver-amr-18x10-0514.html; I'm running them now and they have the advantage of being a good size for the S197, being cheap, and not being too heavy.

The S197 should be able to overpower its tires in almost any case--see Terry's numerous event reports regarding that.

If you get a chance at a novice school, or better yet an Evolution School, jump at it. It's worth the time and money.

 

[SlowJim]

Yep, I got a set of those AMR's for stupid cheap, like $375 shipped over the winter. Just mounted them up yesterday and they fit great with 285/40's.

 

[claudermilk]

^^^ This. Did any of us needing wheels pass that deal up? The whole set of wheels was barely more than one of the tires I mounted on them. They aren't the style I was looking for (actually the style I wanted to avoid), but for the price I couldn't say no. Besides, they do look pretty mean on the car. So, medium-light 18x10 wheels for race, and big, heavy, bling wheels for the street.

 

[KoolerSL2]

thank you everyone for the pointers and such.
i rushed to type that up but ill try to be a bit more detailed.

i coming from a fwd saturn with full blown suspension and sticky wheels and tires it is a learning curve for me + with it being over 7+ years since i last crossed.

im not wanting to make a full blown AutoX car, i want pointers as to make my current setup better without making big changes (gears,wheels/tires,$$$ stuff).
i know i need better dampers and ball joints, what else could help?

ive posted a few pics i could find so Maybe it can be seen what the car was doing. i also have videos from track side (Sorry no go pro) from 3 of the 4 runs. also my first run was without trac control just to see how rusty i really was.

2 of the videos are of FB and trying to DL them now.
heres the second run with trac control and a passenger.



if my video isnt working could a mod please fix.

 

[mrgtx]

...
im not wanting to make a full blown AutoX car, i want pointers as to make my current setup better without making big changes (gears,wheels/tires,$$$ stuff).
i know i need better dampers and ball joints, what else could help?

...

Gears aren't too expensive if you're comfortable putting them in yourself. IIRC, you can get a different ring/pinion for ~$200ish. Do you still have your stock gears? How about stock wheels/tires?

If you're not going to do those other parts, I'm not sure how much setup you can play with. Some folks might suggest a performance alignment but without camber plates, you won't have much adjustability there.

I guess there's no harm in just running what you have now and doing the best you can with it. It sounds like you're just getting back into the game...and while your car probably isn't optimized for your class (FSP??) there's no reason you can't have a hell of a good time with it.

For whatever it's worth, the car looks mean!

 

[Norm Peterson]

The number one mod to work on is the driver mod, then better wheels/tires, then shocks.

If this car was starting out with no mods whatsoever, I'd agree. But with stiffer springs already installed, replacing those 6 year old shocks and struts needs to take priority over wheels and tires. If only so that a suspension whose condition can be described as "halfway to shot" doesn't tear the new tires up because its motions aren't adequately controlled.

It'll help the driver mod for the car to at least be composed at whatever it isn't doing well enough.


Norm

 

[claudermilk]

Good point. Listen to Norm more than to me.

 

[KoolerSL2]

Ok well what shock/strut combo would work best for DD and the occasional cross? Koni str-t? Yellows? Eibach? Ect...

 

[SlowJim]

I run Eibach Pro-kit and the Bilsteins on a 4-season DD and they are great. Some people here would recommend different springs, maybe the new BMR's or Steeda Ultralite