Got a few questions about car prep

[Vettedrmr]

My son and I are working on getting his '92 240SX set up for autocrossing, and I've got a few questions to ask. First, what we've done:

1. Installed LSD out of a '93 240SX2. Replaced the "wet noodle" shifter with a B&M shifter (much better!)3. Changed out all the fluids in the car and basically "teched" the car.

So, here's the questions:

1. The seats in this car are undoubtedly the worst part of the car. No padding, no lateral support, they almost remind me of the old bench seats from the 60s. What should we be looking for in replacement seats? S14s? Cheap Ebay "racing style" seats? My son and I are both 6' 0" and 165-175 lbs.

2. How do you mount a 5-6 pt. harness for the driver/passenger?

3. Do you need a cooler for the power steering system? My Vette has one as stock equipment and I never hear my system groaning after a set of runs.

TIA, and have a good one,Mike

[Vettedrmr]

Hello!! Anybody?

[Joe]

1) a s14 seat isnt much more support. id look at an entry level sparco or something similar. stay away from ebay crap. since you are actually doing high performance driving with the car you want a seat that can support that. not some generic thing for the JDM ricer down the street.

2) you need a rollbar to mount a harness properly. once you have one then we can talk. untill then im not saying because its more dangerous with a harness+ no rollbar than without a harness.

3)if you are having overflowing problems a PS cooler is a good idea, just get a generic small transmission cooler and make some hardlines with parts from autozone. i have very minimal overflow issues even while drifting on road courses.

[Vettedrmr]

2) you need a rollbar to mount a harness properly. once you have one then we can talk. untill then im not saying because its more dangerous with a harness+ no rollbar than without a harness.

3)if you are having overflowing problems a PS cooler is a good idea, just get a generic small transmission cooler and make some hardlines with parts from autozone. i have very minimal overflow issues even while drifting on road courses.

I have no problem putting in a roll bar (although for autocross it's more about keeping yourself in the seat than impact safety), but then you have to worry about padding the roll bar itself to keep it from being a danger during an accident on the street (ever tapped an unpadded roll bar with a helmet? Think what would happen to an unprotected noggin!). With that in mind, what do we start looking for in a roll bar?

We haven't started autocrossing yet, so I don't know if we'll have a problem with overheating; that's why I'm asking the question now.

Thanks for the answers, and have a good one,Mike

[Bubba1]

I have no problem putting in a roll bar (although for autocross it's more about keeping yourself in the seat than impact safety), but then you have to worry about padding the roll bar itself to keep it from being a danger during an accident on the street (ever tapped an unpadded roll bar with a helmet? Think what would happen to an unprotected noggin!). With that in mind, what do we start looking for in a roll bar?

We haven't started autocrossing yet, so I don't know if we'll have a problem with overheating; that's why I'm asking the question now.

Thanks for the answers, and have a good one,Mike

Mike, i have to agree that a 5 pt. belt without a roll bar is not recommended. 240sx roofs are not as crush resistant in a rollover as say, a volvo. Although the risk of rollover is fairly low in autocross, you don't wanna be caught wearing a 5 pt harness without a bar in a rollover. You can't duck so your noggin gets crushed even with a helmet on . that's the danger. A short term solution until you get a roll cage might be a $20 torso harness, which is a simple quick release belt that wraps around the seat back. I used them at HPDE's in my old S13 which had the same non-supportive seats. worked surprisingly well. they are also popular among autocrossers.

I don't think you'll have overheating problems autocrossing as you're talking two minute bursts, with plenty of time to cool. You have to watch the 240sx temps moreso at HPDE's on short tracks. Tracks with long straights that you get into 5th gear are ideal.

[Vettedrmr]

Bubba1,

Thanks for the reply. So, now back to roll bars. As I said, I have no problem installing one, but which one(s) should I look for and how did you go about padding them? Also, I assume that the rear seat is toast for anyone needing a ride.

Thanks again, and have a good one,Mike

[91rs13]

Bubba1,

Thanks for the reply. So, now back to roll bars. As I said, I have no problem installing one, but which one(s) should I look for and how did you go about padding them? Also, I assume that the rear seat is toast for anyone needing a ride.

http://www.autopowerindustries.com/Roll_Bars.htm is aboutr the only commercail one for a 240 I have seen. Or you can make one if you can weld, or know someone who can. If you plan on fabricating one, I would suggest following SCCA rules, as most other organizations accept their safety rules.

Roll bar paddinghttp://www.autopowerindustries...g.htm lots of people sell this.

The other option would be a harness bar---but that does not keep your head from being a roof support in the event of an incident. ( rollovers do happen--and a Mitsubishi Lancer rolled at a northeasat AX recently)

What have you done for the suspension? Wheels tires? ( part of the problem with the Lancer---sticky tires / soft suspension-not good

[Vettedrmr]

What have you done for the suspension? Wheels tires? ( part of the problem with the Lancer---sticky tires / soft suspension-not good

Nothing at all. My son has just been out on a course a couple of times with an instructor, so right now I'm concentrating on driver support and reliability. Looks like there's a lot of body roll, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as long as the rest of the suspension is working.

I plan on running on street tires at least through his first set. One reason is we don't have a set of wheels to mount some R compounds onto. Got any suggestions on wheel sizes and tires? I've run Kumho Victoracers and Toyo RA-1s on my Vette, but I've seen folks running Falkens as well.

Thanks for the suggestions, and have a good one,Mike

[eddiec]

re the seat i use the stock s13 seat minus the internal springs. dyi, on the back bottom of the seat is the zipper. open it up and remove the springs from the bottom and the spring across the back as well. to shape it more i squeezed the back part of the seat together so it hugs the sides better.

i use the lap belt portion of a 5-pt. its 3 in wide so it holds me down well.

[Codeman05]

quite honestly i think that you should check into your classes first. and then figure out how far you want to go w/ mods. since the suspension is stock im assuming its still in a stck class so R-compound tires are ok, however if you put on some shocks/springs, coilovers, or even an intake then youll be bumped up to STS (which is what most KA 240s run in) in which your tires must have a tread wear rating greater than 140 (no victos/V700/V710/Hoosiers). here are my opinions...

Tires: assuming one day you will run coilovers/springs/intake, get a set of falken azenis RT-615's. very sticky street tire allowed in STS, STX, and STU (the street touring classes). very streetable tire if you want to run them daily (wouldnt reccomend snow though). if you just race on them they will last a good 2-3 seasons if not more.

for size a 205 or 215 would be fine w/ a 50 sidewall.

Seats: im w/ Kamin on this one. a nice set of entry level sparco seats will be best. also consult scca rules as some classes (sts being one) do not allow fixed back seats.

Harness: i run a 4 point in my car only while auto-xing. i know its not the safest thing to do w/o a rollbar but whatever. i attched the lap belt to the normal seatbelt holes in the floor and the shoulder belt to the rear seat belt bolts (under the rear seat). ive seen some people use the CORRECT wrapping method to strap them to rear strut bars also, although im not sure on how safe/scca legal that is. OR a shop could fab up a harness bar for next to nothing and install it for you. not much back seat access w/ a harness bar but honestly no person over 4'10" would be comfortable back there anyways. although w/o a roll bar or some type of cage i wouldnt use the harness on the street.

and you wont need a power steering cooler. scca rules are set to allow sufficient cool down times after runs.

[Nismo_Freak]

For some reason someone deleted my post.

You need to know what class you are running in, it's regulations give you a good guideline as to what you should do.

[Vettedrmr]

Sorry about not talking about classes. We run with the local BMW and Porsche clubs on a piece of asphalt about a 1/4 mile square with nothing to hit other than cones The SCCA and Corvette clubs set up courses too slow, small, and tight. Most of the time on the BMW courses I'll get into 3rd gear in the Vette (2nd tops out somewhere above 70), and on one of the PCA courses I'll click the rev limiter in 3rd, which works out to close to 110.

Point is, SCCA classes don't apply to us. If my son wants to get into SCCA in the future I'll let him worry about mods.

Thanks for the replies, and have a good one,Mike