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Don't forget STX and SM.  But STS would definitely be my first choice.
Function before fashion.
'96 Contour SE
"Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998
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Quote:
What I would recommend doing first off(after improving tires) goes against what Fred Puhn recommends (a bigger sway bar) just because our stock suspension is so soft. I'd go with Konis/Bilsteins and H&R's/Eibachs and a camber kit. This isn't a cheap upgrade, but the difference is night and day. Then upgrade your sway bar next, then look into different intakes/exhaust scenarios, then maybe go for a rear strut tower brace, and last (and probably not necessary) a front strut tire brace.
All I would add to this is ergonomics. Oh, and maybe brakes, but here's a good car-mod priority list, IMO:
1. Tires/wheels
2. Suspension
3. Ergonomics
4. Brakes
5. Horsepower
Now for the long version.
1. Get the widest wheels allowed, in 16" or 17", as light as possible. Looks? Who cares. Lightness is beautiful. Tires? What Weargle said. I like 205 width on my 16x7.5, because the sidewalls are braced better than a 225 would be, and provide max stiffness. I'll probably go with the MX because I do expect them to be street tires, for real. (And thanks to Weargle's advice...)
2. What Weargle said. Swaybars help the cornering balance, but do nothing for brake dive. And you'll do some serious braking. I also think these cars have quite a bit of roll, and in the quick transitions of autox, you need a car that can swing less and faster.
3. You can't drive your best if you're using the steering wheel to push yourself into your seat. Get a racing harness, or at the very least, use one of those child restraint belt clips to lock your seatbelt. Replace your rubber pedals with some nice metal ones, get your own helmet that fits well and isn't soaked with sweat from the last heat.
4. Brakes. Maximize your stock system, and remove compliance where possible. Flush the fluid, replace the pads with nice high-perf street pads, and install braided lines. Some of this is ergonomic, as it relates to precise pedal feel.
5. HP. I don't think there's a lot to be gained within the rules of STS, but now that the rest of it is sorted out, why not?
Function before fashion.
'96 Contour SE
"Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998
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Originally posted by RogerB:
1. Get the widest wheels allowed, in 16" or 17", as light as possible. Looks? Who cares. Lightness is beautiful. Tires? What Weargle said. I like 205 width on my 16x7.5, because the sidewalls are braced better than a 225 would be, and provide max stiffness. I'll probably go with the MX because I do expect them to be street tires, for real. (And thanks to Weargle's advice...)
OK, I agree with Roger on most points except for the tires/wheels.
This is a good article on Plus sizing wheels/tires on an autocross course: http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com/plustest.html
Let's assume that you're prepping for STS. You can go no wider than a 7.5" wheel, which is fine considering what we have in the wheel well available to us. Now, what are you most interested in: a) fast cornering or b)quick acceleration? On the track, I'd say "a" in a heartbeat. But this ain't the track. The name of the game is 1) stopping/slowing the car efficiently and 2) accelerating from one "feature" (slalom, turnaround, chicago box, etc.) to the next as quickly as possible. This is the major reason why I went with a 15x7 wheel rather than a 16 or 17. Ideally, I would have gotten custom drilled Kosei K-1 in a 15x7.5, but I chose to get the 15x7 at half of that price -- I couldn't rationalize the extra four bills. There are some neat pics here: http://www.sccaforums.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/topic/22/773.html showing the differences between 6.5, 7.0 and 7.5 inch wheel widths. You should get the widest wheel that you can afford to make sure that the tread gets applied more completely to the surface, and in doing so you have less deformation of the sidewall. Sure, you can wrap the 205/50-15 Falkens around a 15x6 (like the stock Miata guys often do), but you sacrifice some tread.
But, that being said, wrap the fattest frickin tire that you can around whatever wheel you use. A 225 is better than a 205 would ever be -- that's almost an inch wider x 4 wheels!
Also, with the 16 and 17's, you have a higher rotational inertia that is harder to accelerate and stop quickly, even with fantastic brakes and the torquey engines that we have -- it's just physics. It may adversely affect our top speed in any given gear, but I'll take that extra split-second of banging the limiter because I'll make it up in spades for the other four or five times of leaving a feature. And I'll bet money on that.
Additionally, keep in mind that the Falken Azenis Sport (and make sure that you ask for the Sport) is only available in limited sizes, whereas the MX has a little more diversity, especially in the larger sizes.]
One more thing -- make sure that you keep your fluids fresh, change them often and make sure to not just look under your hood before an event, get to know it. Chances are that you may break something if you don't, and it's better to spot a small pinhole in a radiator hose beforehand rather than smell it cooking in the middle of nowhere around 3:00 pm on a Sunday!
Whirling dervish of FFOG.
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One more thing, if this thing really addicts you, keep an eye on ebay auctions for racing harnesses that bolt on to stock seat/seatbelt mounts. I have a Schroth Rallye-4 and love it, but you can get the (much) more affordable Sparco etc. ones for a fraction of the price. (I like that you can unlatch the back of the Schroth and "hide" it behind your seat)
Whirling dervish of FFOG.
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Damn fine points, gents!!
I'm going to use this thread to jot down a wish-list and keep entering events. I probably won't stray from local events for the rest of this year. Does anyone compete in any of the Divisional/National Tour/Nationals events?
Randy
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I went from 205/55-16 Azenis's to 225/50-16 MX's, and had a consistent 40 PAX DROP since. I've sent several emails to Falken, asking if they could include 225/50-16's in their Azenis line, but have never received a reply. I went 225/50 per a discussion a long time ago on here, but I probably won't do that again unless I get some wider rims 
edit: about not doing double duty (street and autocross) with Azenis's... I ran them full time, and they lasted me about 16,000 miles, which included 12 events (about 42 runs, ~ 50 seconds each)
Last edited by morbid; 03/10/04 07:15 PM.
morbid
2000 Contour SVT (black)
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Morbid-
For the above tire sizes, did you mount these on the stock sized wheels?
Randy
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yeah, on the factory svt 16x7's. The Azenis's have a wide tread width to begin with.
morbid
2000 Contour SVT (black)
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Very good points, Weargle, and my only comment is that the "width vs stiffness" debate rages constantly over on the SCCA forums. "Should I run 205 or 225?" "Will the 225's heat up enough during a run?" etc.
Also, when I said 16 or 17, I guess my point was "Don't slap 18's or 19's on your car." I agree that the best, most hardcore choice would be to run 15's with low-pro tires, but for those of us actually using our tires on the street, I'd rather recommend a size that lets us keep our final drive ratio intact. So, plus size but light weight wheels with low-pro tires, etc.
And of course, budget is a player. "...that you can afford" should be a standard caveat. But you can see from the pictures you linked to what a difference .5" makes.
Function before fashion.
'96 Contour SE
"Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998
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