So what is a good starter setup suspension wise for an auto-x car?

[SuicidnS13]

Ive decided to turn my street car into a grip monster. Here is my current mod list-

Chassis:1993 Fastback

Engine:Redtop - t3/t4 50 trim + fuel mods+nistuneBasic Bolt ons (power range 350-400whp)

Suspension/Brakes/Wheels/Tires:Tein Flex Coiloversz32 brakes and master cylinder w/stock 240sx rear brakesTien Tension rods, tie rodsPeak Performance RUCACarbonetic 1.5way diffHotwheels 17 x 9 - 255/40/17 all around AzenisFactory Sways F/R

When guys ask for the recipe for how to make 400whp cars, what is the recipe to make my car able to keep up with the more expensive cars on the open track days. The car is only driven on the streets to play around with, other than that it is my garage queen. What other suspension components do I need. I am allready planning on selling my tiens for KW's. I have about a 2500.00 budget to finish off the suspension on my car. I am not planning on building a grip only car here. Id like for it to beable to do as much as possible. Drag, Auto-x and possibly even a little drifting.

[evildky]

work on the driver first, I got my butt handed to me for a few years before I got good

that being siad, what class do you run? SM? is the car legal for STS? if you aren't in a street tire class, R compounds are a huge imprvement, even over the 615's

you stated brand names on your suspension but not ratings, you have tein coil overs, what spring rates? I'd suspect you'd want around 600 lbs/in fronts and around 400 lbs/in rears, of course this is something to be tuned to fit your personal preference, you can call ground control, or some other motorsports oriented coil over maker and they can give you more specific suggesting on spring rates, and I have no idea what kind of valving tein uses and if it's even suitable to autocross, Koni double adjustables are about $400 each but they'll valve them to fit your needs, ADS are a bit more money but rebuildable by dealers where as koni's are factory rebuild only, and oc course beyond that penske and carerra, but for your budget I suspect the koni's would be the top pick

oh and first thing I'd do is get a set of aftemarket sway bars, at least the frint, get the biggest fornt bar you can find, it's one of the best mods you can make

oh and add camber plates and get a pyromoeter to measure tire temps, most people settle around 3 degrees of camber all around, also a bit of tie in the rear and toe out up front really gets the car turning fast

[ldstang50]

Engine swap and aftermarket turbo will put him in SM.

Get an alignment first off

First mod.....improve the nut behind the wheel

2nd..... R compounds

3rd do sways and coilovers at the same time. Spring rates vary on tire size, and car weight. I ran a very mild 360lb rear and 280 front on my SM Evo.A larger front sway bar will stiffen the front making it understeer more. A larger rear bar will create oversteer.Telling you what you need is near impossible because everyone likes different tuning set ups based on the way they drive.My Evo was set up for trailbrake oversteer as I'm very good at trailbraking then neutral (moderate understeer out). This allowed me to come in hard, rotate the car under braking, then use the throttle to straighten the car out and get on the gas sooner. This is my style of driving.

[SuicidnS13]

Engine swap and aftermarket turbo will put him in SM.

Get an alignment first off

First mod.....improve the nut behind the wheel

2nd..... R compounds

3rd do sways and coilovers at the same time. Spring rates vary on tire size, and car weight. I ran a very mild 360lb rear and 280 front on my SM Evo.A larger front sway bar will stiffen the front making it understeer more. A larger rear bar will create oversteer.Telling you what you need is near impossible because everyone likes different tuning set ups based on the way they drive.My Evo was set up for trailbrake oversteer as I'm very good at trailbraking then neutral (moderate understeer out). This allowed me to come in hard, rotate the car under braking, then use the throttle to straighten the car out and get on the gas sooner. This is my style of driving.

Yea Im hoping to have my car ready by the 24th for my first official solo event here in Las Vegas. My tiens are an off the shelf setup.(7k/7k) and my alignment is setup to stock specs except for 2* camber up front and 1.5* rear. Id really like to learn to drive on my azenis before I put the dough in for R compounds. Plus I need a different set of wheels so I can run 275/40 rears under my 50mm over fenders. The staggered sizes will help me to keep my oversteer at bay correct? As much as I love it I think it may just slow me down in the long run.

Im going to be running on low boost to help keep my power down around 300whp for my first run out. When I was drifting the car was always around 450whp and I was a very aggressive driver along with very aggresive lines. But now Im learning a whole new sport to myself. So I'd like to take it as easy as possible. I wish I didnt have the swap to be honest due to the class I am forced to race in.

[evildky]

lots of rear camber hurts straight line traction, and so do too stiff of a rear spring, your rears should be softer than your fronts, I have no idea what 7k equals in lbs/in but I'm running 440 lb/in front and 350lb/in rear on my 2100 lb 240Z

[glitched]

actually our cars like lots of camber for grip. just look up J-Rho's 240 builds. His national championship STS build and then his SM build both had lots of camber.

keep it some what softer in the rear for traction purposes.

it sounds like all you need for now is alignment, tires, and seat time.

[evildky]

when you have a LOT fo power, a LOT of camber makes straight line acceleration difficult, R compounds do not generally offer great straight line grip and when you add a bumch of camber it's difficult, no doubt the camber helps int he turns but you gotta get up to speed

[glitched]

That's where he's got to make a compromise then, do you want more traction for the drag strip or more traction powering out of corners at autocross?

[SuicidnS13]

That's where he's got to make a compromise then, do you want more traction for the drag strip or more traction powering out of corners at autocross?

Well camber is an easy adjustment for me so for the event on the 24th I will run more camber and low boost to help me learn. But on the friday night drags I will running high boost and drag radials with low camber.

[evildky]

you misunderstand, the added camber helps steady state cornering speeds, it makes acceleration out of the corner more difficult, it's very frustrating having to baby the throttle out of a corner or racing to the next turn because too much throttle just spins the tires

[crackler]

actually our cars like lots of camber for grip. just look up J-Rho's 240 builds. His national championship STS build and then his SM build both had lots of camber.

keep it some what softer in the rear for traction purposes.

it sounds like all you need for now is alignment, tires, and seat time.

What he said. ^

Yes, more camber will make straight line acceleration (and braking) more difficult, but I wouldn't worry to much at anything under -3 degrees. Anything over -4 I have heard from different people, with different chassis's, and different power levels that you start to sacrifice straight line grip, I have no personal experience with those levels, that is just what I have heard from others, TIFWIW. I've never ran more than -3.

My open diff caused me more issues than the camber ever did for power delivery.

I would agree with Glitched; get it aligned, probably in -2.5 ball park with a slight toe out in the front and toe in for the rear (I run 1/16th in on the front, and out on the rear, with minimal tire ware issues. My camber causes most of the ware on my tires), with as much caster as you can get. Get some seat time (as much as possible). Then, if you want to get serious, get some tires.

Put, either harder springs up front or softer in the rear(this depending on what the shocks can handle and what kind of body roll you get).

Also might want to unhook the rear bar as well.

For the first few event's. Just go, have fun, meet some cool car people, and try not to get lost on course. If you decide you want more, then start prepping your car for what ever class you want.

[SuicidnS13]

What he said. ^

Yes, more camber will make straight line acceleration (and braking) more difficult, but I wouldn't worry to much at anything under -3 degrees. Anything over -4 I have heard from different people, with different chassis's, and different power levels that you start to sacrifice straight line grip, I have no personal experience with those levels, that is just what I have heard from others, TIFWIW. I've never ran more than -3.

My open diff caused me more issues than the camber ever did for power delivery.

I would agree with Glitched; get it aligned, probably in -2.5 ball park with a slight toe out in the front and toe in for the rear (I run 1/16th in on the front, and out on the rear, with minimal tire ware issues. My camber causes most of the ware on my tires), with as much caster as you can get. Get some seat time (as much as possible). Then, if you want to get serious, get some tires.

Put, either harder springs up front or softer in the rear(this depending on what the shocks can handle and what kind of body roll you get).

Also might want to unhook the rear bar as well.

For the first few event's. Just go, have fun, meet some cool car people, and try not to get lost on course. If you decide you want more, then start prepping your car for what ever class you want.

Sounds like a plan-