Hey Guys competed in the novice class of my first autocross this weekend and got 6th out of 26 cars in the novice class. Had a great time!



Anyways i am wanting to get more competitive next year and was surprised how good the LSJ performed as she is pretty much bone stock besides an exhaust system.

For the Class ill be running in i can pretty much mod all i want as long as im on "street tires"
i plan on waiting for the 2014 tire rules before purchasing new rubber but that is already my first purchase.

Outside of wheels/tires i was looking for some advice on prepping my car for next year?

Obviously my big problem was keeping traction in the front. With this i was thinking; Trans Mount, Rear Sway bar & i had actually heard of people disconnecting the front sway bar? as to give the tires the ability to keep flat through a corner?

Anyways appreciate any advice guys!

Thanks!

 

YYZ/hardcore bar/CABS = Much better. rotated mounts will help you if you get excited at the start. dont disconnect the front bar with that combo; the sheer grip of rising rate springs is amazing. Forward bite is very good.

then in 2015 you can upgrade to the xXx bar...

 

Thanks for the response! Your time attack car is truly an inspiration.

Was already checking out your hardcore rear bar, i recently replaced the control arm & sway bar bushings with MOOG's. Would you recommend another?

Also sorry not quite familiar with "YYZ"?

Also would i see much benefit from shocks/struts? (not really looking to invest in coilovers yet) I've also been told by racers from the look of my car on the track i would benefit from adjusting toe out but not really sure what it takes to adjust on a stock LSJ?

 

"YYZ" is the name of John Powell springs. You can order them from Crate Engine Depot. Don't bother with coilovers, you won't need them with the YYZ/hardcore bar setup as long as you get good tires.

 

Thanks man! checked the springs out just wondering what the difference between the V2 and V3 versions?

 

The size of the little curly at the top that holds the little bump stops. Makes no difference in performance only in the time it takes to install them. 5 minutes instead of 7. whooppedy do.

 

Thanks man!
Looking into tires for the "Street" Class next year and they have to be 140+ rated and non R compound. Any recommendations? Maybe best and a budget option?

 

The only difference is the coils at the end of the rear springs. When you remove the stock springs they are tight on the mounts/isolators. The V2 end coil is alot larger and the springs drop right in. This is the version I have and was kinda surprised how loose they were when installed, but with the vehicle weight on them it's no big deal. The V3 end coil, from what I've heard, is much tighter like the stock springs. Other than that there is literally no difference. Just the springs, rear sway bar, and good tires will make a noticeable difference.

 

I ran Conti DW's and did well with them. The car was a daily driver and saw a lot of miles. If I were putting very few miles on I think I might have done something different but they were perfect for what I needed them for.

 

Cool man ill check them out. I ran on regular Khumo's and need much more grip. Plan on keeping these as dedicated track tires tho so not worries about street ability besides them falling within te rules

 

There are quite a few threads on this, so take a look around this section. I'd recommend the Hankook RS3 for tires. Try and keep it stock and get used to the car. Then when you do modify the car, you will be able to better take advantage of the changes.

 

^ I've been on the Hankook Ventus RS3's for a couple years, 3rd set right now. Love them, but they do wear pretty quick.

 

Yep, if you're going to use them as event only tires that changes the game a lot.

 

toe out is a continuing crock that some folks believe in. I remember Henircy driving one of our corvettes at Mid Ohio, he got into an altercation with another car, and hit the front. I forget where we finished, but at the end of the race Heinrocket said the car was better after the knock to the front end. As he believes in toe out, he said it probably knocked it to out ( I always run zero) and was better.

I measured it post race.

it wasnt toed out. zero.

end of story.

btw the late Carroll Smith did a series of back to back tests in the -80's with Alan Berg in a Formula Atlantic car investigating toe in/out etc.
toe out didnt work for the car ( A swift)

Sometimes toe out works for a car with crappy suspension. Cobalt suspension is not crappy its actually pretty decent ( compare it to a strut Civic) but Cobalt suspension components cant handle stress. Re CABS, With stock CABS on a stock SCCA n/a Cobalt at Road America Heinricy would feel the car slow down on the straights as the cabs caused the toe to change at high speed creating drag.

On auto X or drag strip, excessive cab movement creates excessive torque steer reaction at the start, and then as you turn in on auto x the tire tucks under as the CAB yeilds, wearing the heck out of the outer rib of the tire. Worse that outer rib wear indicates that the tire is overheating and losing grip because of it.

 

Thanks man! It is great to hear from someone with such knowledge into this purpose.

Im keeping my eyes on the rules as they are modifying the "street" class and i have to stay on non R compound tires so eliminates alot of the tires people have grown fond of such as the RS-3's, 888's and such

So far planning to go with your recommendations on the Springs/Rear Bar!
Anything else easy the Cobalts benefit from in a tight AutoX setting?

As far as CAB's are concerned would you recommend a tougher set than the MOOG's?

 

I did hear about this event but didn't get a chance to go. Sounds fun.

I'm also not ready to drop big monies on parts just for auto x, or to wear the crap out of my current brakes/tires/etc.

I've never seen you on here before or even around town. You'll see me in the Lincoln creek area and at wwu. There is another victory red SC that parks in the C lots, has a backup camera and high rise.

 

thank you thank you.
glad you asked. lifetime warranty. fixes everything even the common cold.


CAB you need is in foreground of picture.

then there are sway bar clamps to stop the bar from moving out of place


YYZ springs v.1

 

Which event was this? I only made it to 1 event this year, but if more people from here go I'll go more. I have more fun hanging out with the group at events, the one event I went to was super boring out at Bremerton because I didn't know anybody.

 

OP I don't know much about autoX, not really my thing. But if I ever got into it I would be talking to Mr. Powell, the man knows suspension!

 

Hankook R-S3's are a street tire.

 

Aren't they R compound tho?

 

140 UTQG and above is considered a street tire. I believe the minimum will be changed to 200 at some point, but I haven't paid much attention to that since the main tires used for autocross have already changed to 200 (R-S3, Rival, ZII).

 

Yeah they are saying "Street" tires for 2014 habe to be 140 UTQG+ along with non-R compound. they have already stated for 2015 the UTQG will be raised to 200.

Which tires have you been running?

 

Yeah i heard about it at the last minute but next year Chuckanut Sports Car Club will be putting on more events and would love to see some more balts out there!

I was heavy on this site back in '07 with my first SS/NA but haven't been that active lately as with my SS/SC its been more a daily driver along with other hobbies taking most of my time. After competing though i am BACK!

I've seen a few other SS' around town but not sure if i have ever spotted you. I tend to only be on the southside for work these days but would be completely down for a meet!



Thank you Mr.Powell! I will be messaging you to get more information on each component but i could not explain to you how much i appreciate the help!

 

180 for stock next year, 200 for 2015.