Paulejr13

simple question. stock suspension. No sways.

whats the best setup for autox autocross?

current tires 245's all around on a 18x9 rim.

also keep cost in mind, if its not cost affective or worth the money, then it can wait.

whats is a list of madatory things i should start with.

Sleeper_08

What class are you running as the class rules sgnificantly affect what you are allowed to modify?

Norm Peterson

What do you mean by "no sways"? All S197's come with at least a front stabilizer bar, even the sixxers . . . . . which is another thing that I can't seem to determine . . . is yours a 6 or a GT?


Uh-oh. Those 9" wide wheels kick you up out of F Stock (GT) or G Stock (V6). As a newbie, your competitors may cut you a little slack on this. Until you start winning/trophying, anyway. Depending on what else you've done, you could be in E Street Prepared or possibly C Prepared. I would advise against Street Mod, and I don't know offhand if you'd still fit into any of the Street Touring classes. Ask for classing help at the event.


Cost effectiveness has to be your call, but I'm not going to suggest that you pour a whole lot of $ into it at the beginning anyway.


Just starting out in the sport - not a whole lot, really. In autocross you only compete directly against others whose cars are at generally similar levels of preparation (or could be).

You'll need the car to be in sound mechanical condition, at least good enough to pass the event safety tech. Plus a clean windshield and slightly higher tire inflation pressure. At the very most, new shocks/struts, and only then if what's there now is already "toast".

For you, whatever supplies you'll need that day (food, water, shade, rain gear, something to sit on, etc.). And the expectation that it's going to be fun no matter where your run times actually fall.


Bottom line - don't be concerned about the car's apparent level of preparation just yet. The biggest early gains are going to come from you learning how to drive the car the way it is (and right now, it's faster than you are).


Norm

jayel579

There is no real "best" suspension setup. It comes down to getting the car to the point of making the car predictable enough that you know how exactly how to drive it and what it is going to do. That said, Norm said everything perfectly. The car is already faster then you, best (and cheapest) way to make it run faster times is to improve your driving. Autocross is all about the driver, its not always about the car but having a capable car does make it more fun.

My suggestion would be to drive the car as is for a season. Learn how to drive, the classes and find out where you want to run the car. After that call Sam Strano.

Paulejr13

i guess i need to give some more info here.

Im a Sponsored Driver for dc/monster energy. i usually race 1/4 mile, or rally. with both my cars v6/v8

Im Looking into getting into some more racing. Im in ny and a scca does autocross within 10min from my house.

im plan on running the v6 for autocross. im running stock suspension with 18x9 rims 245 tires.

im going to be new to autocross, not new to racing.

1)what do u guys suggest for some suspension upgrades, also for street uses as the mustang dont drive like my gf's bmw

2)how bad am i going to eat my tire?

3) Autocross seems to be my option for now, switching outaa the drag scene, are there any other options for me? my sponsors are willing to suport me for whatever direction i choose. what do u guys think????

Argonaut

To be competitive and on a budget the only classes are the stock ones (F or G). Any step up from there and it takes big $ to be competitive (depending on the # of folks in your class of course). On the other hand, if you don't care about being competitive and don't care about the class you are put in...then the usual mods (after the driver mod) are:
- sticky tires
- good dampers
- lowering springs (which might need adjustable pan hard bar)
- aggressive alignment (which might need camber plates or other adjustment)
- matched sways and adjustable end links.
- it goes on and on, limited only by your wallet

Regarding tires - AX really can "eat" them. Depends on the number of runs and how hard your tires are (treadwear rating).

Regarding other options - I live in central PA and am very plugged into the race track scene (Pocono, Watkins Glen, Summit Point, NJMSP, Monticello, etc). Since you are sponsored, I'm assuming you want to be in competitive events? If so, the usual route is: learn to drive on the track via schools and/or HPDEs. Then move up to high speed time trials. Then get licensed and move up to wheel-to-wheel. Each step take more car prep. For example: W2W with NASA or SCCA requires full cage, flame retardent suit, extinguisher system, safety nets, etc.

Team STILLEN

This whole question really depends on your budget. A good starting point would be good coil overs, adjustable sway bars, adjustable camber plates, adjustable rear lower control arms, and an adjustable pan hard bar.

Since the 6 didnt come with a rear bar, upgrade to a good set of adjustable front and rear bars and order the end links for the rear as well and you will have the same set up any GT can run. Shoot me a PM or email and I can walk you through it. I have been road racing my Mustangs for years and we have a retarded sale on our front and rear adjustable sway bars right now anyway.

Ericc@stillen.com

Norm Peterson

Make haste slowly. Mod slowly, or something like that.

Eric - don't get me wrong, but that starting point is really starting to look like C Prepared, where if you have any serious competition it'll be on much wider real race rubber on wheels that are at least 10" wide and possibly 12". On all four corners.

While I think that most of the mods that you listed will fit within lower-prep classes such as ESP or STU (or whatever it's called now), I don't think that rear coilovers for the Mustang are class-legal below CP (there's a picky little something in the rules below P about springs having to use their original attachment points, with a little slack given to springs already mounted to shock/strut bodies but not to springs mounted separately from the dampers).

It's not that it's impossible to start out jumping in at the deep end of the sport and end up being successful at it, but it's pretty easy to predict that a newbie in an underprepared car in a class that permits extensive mods is going to get eaten alive in the early going on PAX (which is how people tend to compare Solo/autocross performances across classes and categories). And there is a very real possibility of learning a few bad habits if as a newbie entrant you mod anywhere near the limits of CP.

The SCCA 2010 rules are now available for download in at least draft form. I strongly encourage scrutinizing the lower prep classes to find your best 'fit', with preference to the lower of any pair where it looks like a close decision. No reason you can't move up later in the season.

In the earliest events, many regions offer a Novice class that is run on index (that PAX thing). It's to your advantage for your car's "real" class to have a low PAX multiplier here as well.

Driver seat time
Tires/wheels
Everything else

Pretty much in that order


Norm

Sam Strano

If you want to be competitive, you need to know the rules, period. You can't just slap on any old part combination and expect to win even if you are the best driver known to man. If you build a car that ends up in a class it has no real chance in, game over.... And CP you can run tube-frame GT1 cars in CP.

I am an autocrosser, and a pretty good one too. I also know the S197 very well, as I've been running one for the past 3 years straight (working my 4th this year coming).

I can help, if you are serious about wanting the help.

Team STILLEN

back to the original post..... are you trying to build a car for a specific class or you just want to go have fun running an open class at an auto cross to build up skill in a modified Mustang?