My DSM's First auto X

[JrCRXHF]

Well this will be the first time out for my DSM in auto X, I could run my EVO but all my friends run their EVO's and well mine is stock so my girlfriend and i are going to take the DSM out and see what it can do let me know if their is anything i should do or check before i go.

I did check all fluids this past weekend along with all brakes and tire pressure.

Mods are.

SBR Front LSD insert
EVO 3 16g ported on stock spring 10-11psi with some boost creep
Front mount GM MAF
SBR cast V2 mani
3" o2 delete and 3 downpipe
D2 coil overs (8kg/mm in the back and 10kg/mm in the front)
2g front brakes (i have the SS lines but i need to do the delete abs before i put them on)
Falkin 615's 225/50/16 on the stock rims

I think that is most of the auto x mods that i have.

Just thought i would share i hope to get some pictures of her in action.

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[Dream On]

Try and remove any weight you can before you go.

 

[JrCRXHF]

Yeah i am going to take the stereo stuff out i have a full kappa perfect setup i am going to take the sub and amps out.

 

[RusherRacing]

I will disagree with Dream don't remove the interior it really bumps you to some tuff classes. Do remove the stereo(sub box), spare tire, floormats, and anything else that isn't bolted down. Read the rules if you need a copy PM me your email. Since this is your first one don't let the times get you down to much. I am going to guess you will be placed in SM1 because of the upgraded turbo not sure though. Bring a tire gauge, air tank if you have it, WATER (I typically by 2 gallons at the gas station before the event), comfortable supportive shoes typically do alot of walking. Water and sunscreen is what most of the newbies in my area forget.

Most Importantly
Have Fun

 

[Dream On]

Good point. I didn't mean to absolutely gut the car, but there are a bunch of little things like you said that could be removed. How's the alignment?

 

[JrCRXHF]

Good point. I didn't mean to absolutely gut the car, but there are a bunch of little things like you said that could be removed. How's the alignment?

not to bad the car can be dropped down a little more on the coil overs but my girl drives it most of the time and it also see's winter time so i really don't want to drop it and then pic it back up but it has a 1.5-2" drop i think more in the front then it the back so i could get a little more over steer with out haven to really mess with the air pressure. The front i have camber plates so i might adjust them i am going to put some shoe polish on the out side edge of the tires and see how high i am getting on the sidewall.

It does not have a head liner in it now because well it sagged and i am going to put a carbon one up soon anyway.

it is spouse to be cold that day only 55 and cloudy which is going to suck but it should help with any over heating.

 

[jtmcinder]

I will disagree with Dream don't remove the interior it really bumps you to some tuff classes.

Too late. Look at his avatar. The front bumper support appears to be gone; replaced by an IC. So, he's in F/Prepared (if he has an inlet restrictor) or E/Mod (if he doesn't). Either way, he can strip to his heart's content.

With that said, I do agree that the key is to have fun.

- Jtoby
.

 

[JrCRXHF]

i put the crush beam back in the front end i just had to do alot of cutting on it.

i ran in SM class but novice class where i led most of the day but got beat in the end by one of my friends in his evo on 255 615's and race gas.

all and all not to bad of a day.

I need more camber in the front the car pushed the whole day i even started to change the shocks around going full hard in the rear and 1/2 soft in the front. It helped but i did run 33.2 - 33.5 all day the fastest times for the day were 27's and SM their were lots of 30.0's

I really think some bushings and more boost are needed too i think if i was going to run the car all the time and wanted to be more competitive i would go back to a 14b so i could go in STX class not SM.

But it was fun to go out and push the car hard.

best of all i did not break anything.

 

[jtmcinder]

i put the crush beam back in the front end i just had to do alot of cutting on it.

If you didn't remove more than 1#, then you're golden.

- Jtoby
.

 

[JrCRXHF]

Is their somewhere you can get cheap steel rims that are 9" wide so i could mount up some slicks i think the car really needs more bit. I am going to change some other things and this winter i will do a full bushing kit.

But i think it is fun to be the different person out their in the DSM

 

[jtmcinder]

I assume that you mean R-compounds, not slicks. Either way, you don't want steelies because they flex way too much.

The "standard" set-up for autocrossing a DSM on Rs is 245/45/16s on a 16x8.5. (Dreadfully serious people run 285/30/18 on 18x10 or 18x10.5, but those are very expensive and require very high springrates.) You can get a set of Kosei K1s and Kumhos for your car (from Tire Rack) for about $1300. As long as you don't overdrive, the tires should last a full season.

The other set-up you'll see is 245/40/17s on 17x8 or 17x8.5. This isn't quite as good as 245/45/16, but is sometimes required, if you have big brakes

- Jtoby

 

[JrCRXHF]

Ok that sounds good

On the evo's alot of people are running 285 wide on 18x10 but i do think that is a little rich for me.

My 225's on the stock rims did pretty good but just not enough tire for the weight i could put alot of heat in the fronts from all the under steer but i know that is not all the tire's fault i need to get some more camber up front and drop down the car another 1 inch up front and maybe 2 out back.

I am going to run the 225's for the summer and then next year i will look at a set of track tires.

 

[RusherRacing]

Doug,

Now I haven't driven your car ever so I can't tell you if camber is needed or bushings etc. But alot of time if you understeering way to bad it can be caused by not taking the corner correctly or pushing your car too hard into the corner. This is very common among novice drivers....

Depending on the corner but on an average sized sweeper. I typically brake a little early and get the car "set" for the corner then hammer down on the gas (typically the turbo is lagging) and use the left braking to counter the understeer. That way I have I am exiting the corner fast. There are so many little tricks for different corners I could spend hours on different entering and exit arrangements. But thats a good way to take a nice sweeper without understeering horribly.

Ryan

 

[JrCRXHF]

Yeah that is a good point and i did try that on and off during the day. I did pick up some time when i start to change the car a little.

I did not pick up much time when i was trying different lines but i did get faster as the day went on.

What i really would like is a little more power neutral car. In the past with the FSAE race cars they were mostly power oversteer car which i like better then the understeer.

The other issue was that most of the time with the DSM when you lift and are turning hard the back should want to come around my car the best i could do is neutral and with any power all it wanted to do is push.

So i think i just need more time with the car and change a few things up.


I also have a EVO and Turbo CRX so each car is different to drive i am just talking about how the DSM is not setup well right now.

 

[jtmcinder]

The other issue was that most of the time with the DSM when you lift and are turning hard the back should want to come around my car the best i could do is neutral and with any power all it wanted to do is push.

It took me several years of math and testing to get my car set up to rotate predictably on lift without being terrifying in high-speed sweepers. But I had a blast doing the experiments, so I'm almost jealous.

One warning: you should really decide on tires and wheels before making any changes to the suspension ... unless you want to repeat the entire process from scratch after getting a set of R-compounds.

- Jtoby

 

[JrCRXHF]

It took me several years of math and testing to get my car set up to rotate predictably on lift without being terrifying in high-speed sweepers. But I had a blast doing the experiments, so I'm almost jealous.

One warning: you should really decide on tires and wheels before making any changes to the suspension ... unless you want to repeat the entire process from scratch after getting a set of R-compounds.

- Jtoby

yeah i know what you are talking about. I really don't have the money for r-compounds so i am going to have to max out the 225's on the stock rims they are 615 falkin's so not to bad of a auto X tire just not big enough.

But work good for the girlfriend on the road.