AutoX Guys- In here please!

[duh09]

So after driving my mom's truck on an autocross on the Power Tour, I've decided that I really want to start autocrossin and I suppose I might as well start with the Mustang. I found a local club that autocrosses pretty often so I might be starting up pretty soon. My car is pretty well ugh in the suspension and braking department so I doubt I'm really going to be able to do so well but I was wondering what sort of setups you guys are using and what I really should be doing. My 95 has 4.10s and exhaust but otherwise, it doesn't have a lot else going on. Its lowered but I have no idea with what and honestly, the suspension and braking feels more like a old truck than a sporty car so that will probably get some attention once I get some monies. What sort of shocks/springs and whatnot are you guys running and how does the car feel?

ccasion14:

 

[auto_x5.0]

start with what you have, dont mod until you have pushed that setup to the limit....or you break something. You will probably be in ESP or CP class depending on you engine mods. This means you will either be up against evo's and sti's(esp) or tube chassid racecars(cp)
Just go out there and have fun before you mod, if you mod it will cover up your weak spots so you will never really know what you need to work on(driving wise), also keep some all-season tires or summer tires.

 

[duh09]

I'm planning on running the tires it has until they're slick. I'm honestly not really planning on doing MUCH to it, more or less just setup stuff to it because I'm broke and honestly don't want to spend anything. It needs shocks anyways so I figured I might as well get something more autox friendly. Are you guys running any sort of auto-x specific alignments or anything? The Mustang has only recently been daily driven just because my SRT4 is down but as soon as I get it going again, the mustang will fade back to weekend duty so I'll be ok with a more agressive alignment if it'll help keep it planted around corners and not sliding.

 

[auto_x5.0]

Your gunna slide no matter what, so dont worry about any drastic change in camber or anything. If you get shocks just make sure they suit you. You dont want to be trying to pay attention to the track and be bouncing around because your suspension is too stiff. I have tokico shocks on the 'vert and they work great. If you dont have one already get a CG-lock, it keeps your seat belt from slipping, it helps alot.

 

[duh09]

So out of 53 cars, I came in 53rd. Haha, had a blast but dannnggg, I knew the Mustang wouldn't handle too well but it was really difficult to get it to transition from one turn to another. It sways so much that every corner, it seemed like all the cars weight was just immediately slung that direction, so it was incredibly difficult to get it to go from one corner to the next. I tried being aggresive with it and really conservative and ended up running the same shitty times haah. Oh well. Time to start tightening it up.

 

[auto_x5.0]

It takes some time, but awesome that you had fun. Just keep at it
Keep us posted

 

[duh09]

The next event is in a month. My car is already classified in the C Prepared class which is a bit high but thats what it gets bumped up to with gears and exhaust and whatnot apparently so I'm probably going to take advantage of it and have an excuse to rip my interior out and sell the piece to fund at least a decent shock/spring setup. My worn stocker shocks and no-name springs kinda suck ass haha

 

[auto_x5.0]

lol yeah, CP class where I am is me and a '96 Cobra with 310rwhp, coilover, rcomp tires, watts link rearend, and just about every other goody you can find.

 

[blackpony]

i have the h&r race springs with bilsteins and love it... also running the factory front arms with poly bushings, and oem ford ball joints with a qa1 tubular k member... in the rear i have granatelli lower arms, ford racing uppers, with mm panhard bar...

 

[M1Tanker]

I take it you guys run SCCA rules, correct? The Auto X club I was a part of in Dayton ran NASA rules (base class for the car, "XX" points of modification takes you to the next class), it left a lot more room to experiment.