99 DX Hatch Drifting
- Thread starter webink_EK9
- Start date
- Replies 38
- Views 3K
We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms
because he has no idea at all what he's doing.
oversteer is highly preferred in autox & road racing (to a point). if you can't get around without drifting every corner then either a) stiffen the front b ) unstiffen the rear or c) both. otherwise, your suspension might actually be decently setup, so learn how to drive it; but that's a lot easier on a stock car than one with a semi-unsorted upgraded suspension.
owning a car for autox is NOT a mod race, despite what everyone on here seems to think. put the car back to stock, learn how to drive it, read some books on driving techinques & chassis prep so you actually know what you're doing, instead of just having some shop slap random parts that you know nothing about on your car!!!
take a step back, pull your head out of your ass, and starting approaching this sport logically. you spent $16000 to lose terribly, and i spent $6000 to win. sucks to be you. and if you can't take the sacrifice in ride comfort, i believe lexus is having a sale.
not only that, those Fightex coil overs are 3600. I am 123032408230948% sure that the place that just took them off didn't buy them back for that price.
Also, other then down grading on that, why did you spend way more then you had to on some parts, and like nothing on other parts. IMO, Skunk2 is not even close to a totally reputable company. They basicly sell the Idea's of other companys. There strut bars (although decent) are 100% replicas of the Spoons (which isn't the best design either since they are hinged) Most of the Nuespeed stuff that I have seen is much better then skunk2. Skunk2's sway bar is HORRIBLE. The design makes the bar sit too far away from the subframe, causing more trq on the mouting points which results in subframe tear out. That is an extremly expensive repair to do. Intake is good but again, just a knock off of the ITR one. Good for b18c1 people, but not much R&D involved when your just reusing a mold (yes, i know there is a SLIGHT diffrence but still) The front mount kits have been known to break at the ball joints.
Also, other then down grading on that, why did you spend way more then you had to on some parts, and like nothing on other parts. IMO, Skunk2 is not even close to a totally reputable company. They basicly sell the Idea's of other companys. There strut bars (although decent) are 100% replicas of the Spoons (which isn't the best design either since they are hinged) Most of the Nuespeed stuff that I have seen is much better then skunk2. Skunk2's sway bar is HORRIBLE. The design makes the bar sit too far away from the subframe, causing more trq on the mouting points which results in subframe tear out. That is an extremly expensive repair to do. Intake is good but again, just a knock off of the ITR one. Good for b18c1 people, but not much R&D involved when your just reusing a mold (yes, i know there is a SLIGHT diffrence but still) The front mount kits have been known to break at the ball joints.
a little oversteer is wanted, but it needs to be controled. With my current setup, if I need my back end to step out a little, I just let off the throttle or trail brake. If it is to the point where your loosing it on solumns (I was doing that last year) then you have too much.
webink_EK9
Senior Member
I still haven't made up my mind what to do. I didn't go with the fightex because the back end came out...like it still is. You're right, I don't know what I'm doing, thats why I'm here. I don't care how much I spend on this really. I'm having fun. But I may have broke my motor at the track tonight so now I'm in a bad mood. Sorry.
yeah it's different from driver to driver. i myself love the oversteer, but a lot of good drivers perfer a more neutral car. i've seen fast drivers use both setups - of course nobody i consider 'fast' is fighting the push.
and $3800 for coilovers holy crap you lack judgement.
suspension is not about buying expensive parts that are just proven to work well on their own, and serve their purpose: it's about fine tuning the entire chassis as a system; and buying parts that are going to work well together - but only when found to be necessary via driving the car. that's the best way i can put it.
the thread starter is probably the most misinformed person i've encountered, and lacks judgement like crazy. i can't believe the insane amount of money you've spent for no reason at all.
you're already in so deep, it won't kill you to drop $18 for this book; it would have saved you thousands: www.hondabook.com <- written by a local autox winner, smart guy, and offers good solid advice from experience. reading it should help you keep your spending in check.
man i can't get over how much money you've wasted.
and $3800 for coilovers holy crap you lack judgement.
suspension is not about buying expensive parts that are just proven to work well on their own, and serve their purpose: it's about fine tuning the entire chassis as a system; and buying parts that are going to work well together - but only when found to be necessary via driving the car. that's the best way i can put it.
the thread starter is probably the most misinformed person i've encountered, and lacks judgement like crazy. i can't believe the insane amount of money you've spent for no reason at all.
you're already in so deep, it won't kill you to drop $18 for this book; it would have saved you thousands: www.hondabook.com <- written by a local autox winner, smart guy, and offers good solid advice from experience. reading it should help you keep your spending in check.
man i can't get over how much money you've wasted.
webink_EK9
Senior Member
Like I said, I don't care about the money part of it. I know I'm not getting the best setup. I don't have enough time to figure that stuff out on my own. I get less than one full day off a week and most of the time I do get off I spend with my kids and wife. I'm spending the money to have a shop do it for me. I know they are making a lot of money off of me, but I'm ok with that. I have the money to spend because people spend money.
So...should I stick with the Fightex stuff? Still an option. The shop didn't buy them back from me, they just gave me the credit to spend in their shop. I've got lots of stuff I still want to do. Sorry I'm so misinformed.
So...should I stick with the Fightex stuff? Still an option. The shop didn't buy them back from me, they just gave me the credit to spend in their shop. I've got lots of stuff I still want to do. Sorry I'm so misinformed.
webink_EK9
Senior Member
No sway bars in yet at all. Don't have racing tires yet. Need to pick some out soon. I've still got a long way to go, so don't be too harsh, just give me ideas and I'll follow them.
With that aggressive of a coil over, you need sway bars, front and rear. hell, that is one of the tricks to making your car stay in stock class but get more rotation is if you have a front sway remove it.
I would consider maybe the Suspension techniques front sway (made for cars that dd not come with a front sway from the factory (I belive on non front sway equipt cars, there are no holes for the endlinks just like how the rear LCA's have no holes in non rear sway cars)
However, consider your choice in rear too before going ahead and buying the front.
I would consider maybe the Suspension techniques front sway (made for cars that dd not come with a front sway from the factory (I belive on non front sway equipt cars, there are no holes for the endlinks just like how the rear LCA's have no holes in non rear sway cars)
However, consider your choice in rear too before going ahead and buying the front.
sorry if i did. i'm not questioning your intelligence, but rather your judgement - and that's fair game. it's hard to teach someone who doesn't want to learn in the first place. you don't really have a question, but just a big mess you want us to figure out for you.
just get out there, race what you have, have fun, and figure it out as you go.
if you can't do that w/o drifting every turn, stiffen your front shocks, soften the rears, add 2lbs in the rear, take 2lbs out of the front: in that order as necessary. you'd be very surprised how big of a difference tire pressure makes in your car's balance.
if your understeering, 2lbs out of the rear first and do the opposite as above. you'll know when you have it good, and it's gonna feel great.
camber and alignment is a big thing also. i'd run 0 toe all around, maybe -1 camber up front, -2 in the back. adjust it as needed.
are you going to run slicks or street tires?
what class do you want to be in?
webink_EK9
Senior Member
Thanks for that info! Thats the kind of stuff I'm looking for. Technical info! I'll be running slicks. I think I'll be in the DM class.
webink_EK9
Senior Member
Does SM allow racing seats? I was told that I can remove anything from the interior behind the driver, but the front had to stay the same. I don't know if this includes seats or not. I've got the carpet out right now, but I'm looking into getting new carpet to put back in to get back into SM class. I can get those wheels I guess. I've got a set of 15's and 16's that only weigh 11 or 12 lbs. I was hoping to use those. What tire would be the best choice for autoX? Thanks again man!