This is topic Good Start in forum Road Racing, Auto X & Drifting at Northern California Ford Owners  .


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Posted by PseudoCobra (Member # 1689) on :
 
Right now I have the mods in my sig. plus apparently I have some KYB gas a just shocks in the rear that I didn't know were aftermarket. I'm trading a guy my old 3.27's for some Eibach springs, I'm pretty sure the pro line. After this I was going to use some Steeda X2 ball joints to drop it a little more and improve my center of gravity then get the steeda bumpsteer eliminator and some MM CC plates. Is this a good first set up to learn how to drive for Autocross? Is there anything else I should look for, tire wear is a concern of mine? Oh and a transgo shift kit for all the shifting my tranny will be doing. [Confused]
 
Posted by 88gt (Member # 579) on :
 
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[ February 12, 2003, 01:13 AM: Message edited by: 88gt ]
 
Posted by 90FoX (Member # 1974) on :
 
i dont know much about autocross but i didnt see anything in your sig that will stiffen your chassis so i would say strurt tower brace...m/m k-member support and some subframe connectors... [patriot]

[ February 12, 2003, 02:27 PM: Message edited by: 90FoX ]
 
Posted by 90FoX (Member # 1974) on :
 


[ February 12, 2003, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: 90FoX ]
 
Posted by Black94 5.0 (Member # 655) on :
 
I would not get the X2 ball joints unless you need them.. They are really to correct a bump steer problem..You should try to stay away from lowering the front of your car...1) It will enduce more nose dive under braking..2) You already have enough weight on the front and by lowering the front of the car it changes the weight distrubution..

I would suggest getting the biggest transmission cooler you could buy...Auto-Crossing creates a lot of heat..Then I would upgrade your brakes, or at least brake pads...Your next bang-for-buck will probably be your rear control arms....Keep in mind anything that helps stiffen the chassis is welcome any time.(Example. Subfame conn., 6 point,.ETC) [patriot]
 
Posted by PseudoCobra (Member # 1689) on :
 
95 GT's came stock with a strut tower brace. So you think I should do the tranny cooler before the shift kit??? After this start I was goin to go with the Steeda G-Trac stage 2 and 3 kits then get a custom roll bar to stiffen up the chasis a little more from Maier racing. I was also going to get a Panhard bar from MM and then tubular K member. Then upgrade to some H&R springs in the future when I really get serious about his stuff. Is there anything I'd be missing? [Confused]
 
Posted by Bill/APEX Motorsports (Member # 636) on :
 
First of all, I agree that chassis stiffening should be your first upgrade. I'd recommend Griggs subframe connectors and a MM k-member brace.
Second, Eibach springs are the wrong way to go. The ProKit springs are too soft (and they sag), and the Sportline springs are way too low. (Really, their main purpose is to drop the car in the weeds, which doesn't make a Mustang handle any better.) Also, no car that's going to be raced should use progressive-rate springs. Since you're going to be autocrossing, you'll want to tune the suspension using adjustable struts and shocks (i.e. Koni Yellows (single- or double-adjustable) or Tokico Illuminas). If the spring rate is always changing throughout the suspension travel, it's impossible to dial in the proper strut and shock settings.
As a start, here's what I'd recommend for suspension:
Koni Yellows (single- or double-adjustable)
-or- Tokico Illuminas
Griggs front coil-over kit with 350lb. springs
MM caster/camber plates
Billet aluminum offset steering rack bushings (to reduce bumpsteer on Mustangs lowered over 3/4")
Griggs 300lb. rear springs
Shorter pinion snubber
Griggs subframe connectors
MM k-member brace
Brake pad change, at minimum (recommend Baer 13" front brakes and more Hawk HPPlus pads all around)

This will be a great starting point and is easily upgradable in the future. I have a lot of customers who autocross with this suspension and really like it.
If you find you want more oversteer to rotate the car around the tight corners, adding a stiffer rear anti-sway bar would be good. The stock front anti-sway bar is plenty stiff.
Also, I'd recommend going with a TorqueArm/Panhard bar setup before a tubular k-member. While a tubular k-member like the one from Griggs is great, their TorqueArm/Panhard bar combo makes a bigger difference (~75%) in overall handling. Of course, once you do the rear and your speeds increase considerably, the front becomes the limiting factor, and you do that as well.
If you have any more questions, just ask! Racing can be a daunting and confusing thing. Asking questions and bouncing ideas off people is a good thing!!
[burnout]

[ February 13, 2003, 09:35 AM: Message edited by: Bill/APEX Motorsports ]
 
Posted by shade-tree (Member # 298) on :
 
Bill sounds like he knows what he's talking about [worship]
 
Posted by Bill/APEX Motorsports (Member # 636) on :
 
Well, the bulk of my racing has been road racing for the last twelve years, but I've done a few autocrosses and drag racing as well. I've driven a LOT of cars on the track! (It's nice when customer's throw you the keys to their Viper to drive for a 40-minute session!) [burnout]
 
Posted by HungryHippo (Member # 537) on :
 
what do the offset steering rack bushings do? i have always heard mixed opinions about them
 
Posted by bobh (Member # 1495) on :
 
First all, don't go spending a helluva lot of bucks before you even learn to autox.
Figure out how serious you are going to be about it (street vs track car), if you are worried about what class a mod puts you in, and most importantly get seat time first!

After running a few you will have a better idea of what you want to get--and in what order.
In general, you make a better handling car by first stiffening the chassis then working on the suspension. You really won't heat up the tranny or brakes too much on most autox courses. You're only out there for a minute or two at a time and braking is done in short bursts.

Quite a bit different from open-track, but the chassis stiffening and suspension work still holds.

At least you didn't mention tires. The biggest mistake is getting race tires right off before getting the rest of the car right and before you know your streets are holding you back (i.e. learn on street tires first).

Have a blast!
 
Posted by Black94 5.0 (Member # 655) on :
 
quote:
Originally posted by HungryHippo:
what do the offset steering rack bushings do? i have always heard mixed opinions about them
Offset rack bushings help reduce "bumpsteer".
When your suspension travels up and down while you are turning, bad suspension geometry will change the input of the wheels while steering..That bad suspension geometry is called "bumpsteer"..Bumpsteer problem occurs when you lower your car and the steering rack changes location in relationship to the front spindle or wheels..The steering rack no longer has the geometry that the factory designed it to have....A quick fix is to put "Offset" rack bushings on, which move the steering rack closer to its factory position for better geometry....Polyeruthane offset rack bushings actually make the problem worse, they dont stay in the correct position under hard cornering..
Thats why its better to get the "aluminum" rack bushings..
With a stock K member its better just to stick to a NON offset aluminum rack bushing..
 
Posted by PseudoCobra (Member # 1689) on :
 
Thanks for the excellent advice Bill and to the rest of you too. I decided to save my money until I figure it out. I'm not going to get the springs in this case. I decided to stock up on the cash and take it to the professionals at Maire Racing when I have the money to do all the good stuff. They do customs work on every car and make the suspension characteristics unique to every driver. It looks like some Chasis stiffening should come first and most like I'll be doing lots of Maximum motorsports add ons since they are and MM dealer along with their custom work. I'm definately serious about doing the autocrossing thing and eventually will compete when I have a second car. Once I get my banik account back up I'll give this pup some more gripp but ass for now I'll run it with the stock suspension see what I can do. and just for the record I wasn't even considering getting race tires. It's street tires until I can trust myself to be able to drive on expensive race rubber. [burnout]
 




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