Th3Franz Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 So I'm trying to figure out suspension-wise what I want to upgrade to have some fun in autocross and make the car perform better. The tires that are waiting to be mounted are 225/45/17 RE-070 summer tires I don't have an infinite budget, so I am thinking hard about what suspension mods I want to do in the immediate future. The bottom line is that I would like the car to have flatter turning, better turn-in, and just feel more planted to the road. I think brake pads would be a good bet for autox, but I would like some that are consistent with good bite, and hopefully with little dust/noise. Keefe said he really likes those Endless brake pads.. My money might be better spent in the other areas though. Brake lines and fluid - Is it worth spending around $200 for these? I think I'm definitely going to change the brake fluid to one with a higher dry and wet boiling point. Springs - It looks like we are having more and more offerings for springs on the GT. The roads here are rough, so I want a spring that will improve handling, without being too stiff and I DO NOT want to lower the car much at all. There are a lot of steep driveways around here (I'm close to scraping already..). Is there even an option for a spring that realistically lowers no more than say .5" ? Also, I heard that progressive springs can be unpredictable at the limit and I should stay away from them? Sway bars.. I read the discussions about these but some people say to do springs and the more active suspension components first. I realize this post is kind of asking a lot, so if you want to chime in on any one thing please do. I think the main thing for me is finding a good set of springs first that meets my criteria and then going from there. -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtguy Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 I would say learn your car before upgrading anything. There's a guy up here on NASIOC by the screen name of Hillman, who was whomping on modded folks with a stock-suspended '00 Legacy GT wagon. He did rubber, but that's it. You really don't need much in the way of brakes at auto-x, so the stock setup should be fine. You aren't going to fade them or anything, that's for sure, and they have plenty of bite and are easy to modulate. There isn't a spring option that does what you want. Lines and fluid certainly make a firmer pedal, which can help in feel/modulation. I would start with tires, then rear sway bar (the front is fine) and see where I go. But most of all, I would practice, practice, practice. A car is only as good as its driver, and we can all be better. Good luck, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 It's best off to start off by going into stock class modifications for autocrossing (besides you are on a limited budget anyways and autocrossing is all driver and less car competition). This will keep the modding low and put emphasis on driving anyways. The GT can handle well with the suspension as-is (as 3 other autox National Drivers drove my car when I first bought it and took it to the autox in stock form minus tires and wheels). Most of the BMW M3 guys in stock class hated me that day cuz I had 3 other people in the car with me and I placed 2nd in the STOCK class in their BMW-club autox event. Nothing feels better than beating a stock M3 with a GT with 4 people in the car Most you can do in stock class are axelback exhuast, smaller battery, struts without lowering ride height with stock springs, brake pads, brake fluid, drop-in air filter, front sway bar, any kind of tires mounted on stock rims, and front strut tower bar (and a http://www.cg-lock.com to keep you in the seat). You can run without the spare tire, and you can run any amount of gas in the tank. Anything I didnt mention are illegal mods, this also includes relocating the battery or gutting out the rear seats.. you can however swap the power seats to the 2.5GT non-power ones.. legal mod since it is a 2.5GT (there's no specification to distinguish the limited model or the non-limited). Start with those mods (if you must). The LEAST you can do is getting better tires and find another set of lighter than stock wheels (a set of 17x7 +48mm or +50mm rims are legal for stock class and there are some rims out there that are EXACTLY that size and are 2 to 5 lbs lighter than stock wheels).. or just find some used stock wheels with race tires mounted on them for autocrossing, and save your current stock tire set for daily driving and winter use. Need to know more, just ask me or Kevin. My bottom line: just get tires and wheels and you are set. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxx Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 exelcent post as usual ill add "tires tires tires tires tires tires tires tires tires" i am thinking that stu will be a tough class for the LGT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 Oh yea, as for brake pads, if you want, you can just buy the front set of pads and leave the rear stock, or vice versa. This will help on making the car turn-in better during trail-braking or left-foot braking (depending on your brake pad setup). Look for a pad with low operating temps with zero-warm up (like Endless SS-S or Carbotech Bobcats) and high coeff. of friction range. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 exelcent post as usual ill add "tires tires tires tires tires tires tires tires tires" i am thinking that stu will be a tough class for the LGT Very tough, it's the underdog car of the class, a REAL underdog. E36 M3 and the STi are its rivals.. hmmm "modded STi or modded GT?".. any good driver and competitor will take the extra 50 hp and 50 tq and about 300 lbs lighter car with more aggressive ECU to make sure they win. And "modded M3 vs. modded GT?".. the M3 is also 300 to 400 lbs lighter, not to mention that FWD and RWD cars are allowed to run 275 wide tires while AWD gets 245 wide.. umm, kinda UNFAIR there. A modded M3 with the Euro-MAF replacement mod gets as much as 20whp without a chip ("DOH!" for the GT).. I am just crazy like that and I would like to prove that my driving skills can overcome that difference.. "Not your normal driver" Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Th3Franz Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 I had a feeling you guys would comment the way you did, but it is true and is a valid point. I found that out during the recent event at Gingerman raceway that the driver is definitely the major weak link in the performance of the car. I just hope that once I get more experience, a performance spring will be released that does what I want... Thanks for the replies. Also, does my Cobb short throw shifter put me in STU?? -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 30, 2005 Share Posted March 30, 2005 I had a feeling you guys would comment the way you did, but it is true and is a valid point. I found that out during the recent event at Gingerman raceway that the driver is definitely the major weak link in the performance of the car. I just hope that once I get more experience, a performance spring will be released that does what I want... Thanks for the replies. Also, does my Cobb short throw shifter put me in STU?? Yes.. only the STi short shifter is allowed in stock (I think) but to be safe, short shifters bump you up to STU. I am sure I can point you in the right direction if you know what class you want to run in: DS (cheapest) STU (street tires) ESP (everything but major power mods) SM (anything goes so long as your engine and chassis are the same make) Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Th3Franz Posted March 30, 2005 Author Share Posted March 30, 2005 Ok. Well, it's not like I'm going to be very competitive anyway. But it looks like I'll be in STU for awhile. -Franz The end of a Legacy http://www.youtube.com/th3franz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 You might want to take advantage to getting a low to mid-range coilover kit (since there's nothing much out there for seperate shocks).. just let time and money get saved up and go for that plunge.. as your driving skills steps up, you'll take advantage of the technology that your car will have. Get the coilovers first.. then you can find out what other suspension parts you can add on later to fine tune the car's handling. On my WRX, I went with the same process.. it turned out that I didnt upgrade anything in the front and I added as much in the rear as possible... (rear sway, rear strut tower, harness bar, rear endlinks, etc). talk about a car that can turn like a charm. I am running a set of Azenis RT-215s.. but once they wear out, I will jump to Falken RT-615s (as I am not competitive enough for contingency money and the GT isnt competitive enough anyways with STis with really good drivers in them. Kumho MX tires have softer sidewalls, but they pay for contingency money. Get some lightweight wheels.. it's a real big difference if you go with something like a 14 lb rim on 17"x7.5". Brakes, lines, and fluid are pretty obvious (and we already talked about it over IM). I think that's all you need (cuz that's all I really have, I dont think I need anymore.. I might even go back to a stock front sway bar to get the car to rotate more). Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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