Hi, everybody. I have done just enough autocross to get to the point where my current all-season tires are inadequate. Have noticed that most of the other S2K's on the course have larger-than-OEM wheels/tires and often modified suspensions as well. So I just ordered the following wheels/tires for my AP1:

Front: 17*8 Enkei RFP1 wheels, 245/40 Bridgestone RE-11 A tires
Rear: 17*9 Enkei RFP1 wheels, 255/40 Bridgestone RE-11A tires

My questions are:

1) How and how much is this mod going to affect the performance of my (currently) stock suspension? Obviously the different wheel size should have some effect, but without having driven the car with the new setup, and being a newbie, I have little idea what the effects might be.

2) If you were going with this wheel/tire setup, how necessary/advisable would you deem also adding a good set of coilovers? I'm not necessarily looking to get the last tenth of a second out of the car at this point, but I will get coilovers if the new setup dictates that I should.

I realize these questions are pretty naive - am asking them this forum rather than (say) the brakes/suspension forum because I'd like to get answers/opinions in the context of performance on the track.

 

Drive it like it is should be fine RE-11's are great!

 

I wouldn't rush in to coil overs. As dan_uk said, drive it with the new set up and see how it goes. I suspect you'll discover you will need a stiffer front bar to go with the big front tires.

 

Thanks guys! I'll do as you suggest

 

Agreed, wouldn't rush into coilovers either, that's a whole other can of worms in terms of tuning.

With that setup you are going to need a fender roll and probably a slight pull and more camber couldn't hurt so will probably want some offset camber joints to increase your negative camber during your alignment


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

While most people like adding a super stiff bar up front, I would do the opposite and run a less stiff bar (like the miata mod) for your rear. It has the same net overall effect, but instead reducing your front grip it will increase your rear grip and made your rear suspension more independent in terms of left and right


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No need for coilovers. Most of the good ones will cost you $2k+ anyways. Good tires make a big difference in AutoX times.

 

Rob, Nice to see you are upgrading the car! Changing over to the RE-11A's will be a huge improvement over what you have been running the past few times at the autocross. Just drive the car for the next event or two and see how it performs. Ron or myself can ride with you and get you some feedback.

 

I just autocrossed my stock car this past weekend with a similar set up that you are looking at doing. I had a blast. Here is my thoughts on my set up from my "Hello" in the CR section.




-AP2V1 Rears x 4: 245/255 R-S3's for Auto-X/Track days

Alignment:
Front:
-Camber -1.6
-Toe - 0
-Caster - 6.0*

Rear:
Camber: -2.0
Toe: -20* each side- .40* total toe


I did my first autocross last weekend. I ran in the STR class. For my first weekend out I placed 6th in PAX on Saturday, and 4th in Pax on Sunday. On Sunday I was .5 seconds off of our fast local STR driver (.9 on Saturday), and .955 off our local STS superstar Eric Stoltz (top pax of the day). Eric placed 2nd last year at Lincoln, won Packwoods National Tour- STS class, he went to El Toro's Pro Solo shooutout and won that last year. I felt pretty good from my weekend. It was a good shakedown for my new car. Overall I really liked this alignment. My rear end very rarely came out, and when it did it was very managable