insomniac

Ok guys i just got back from autocross today, it was my first time and i ran better than a lot of people who are regulars with bmw, hondas, volkswagons and all that. I love the sport, its an extreme rush and i constantly kept improving throughout the day.

I have a 92 sc400 with the following upgrades that effect handling:
Tein CS Coilovers
19" volk racing gt7's
Toyo tires

Im looking to do a lot more but id like to know what you would do if you were me, to make the ultimate autocross sc400, please dont say sell my car and buy a better handling car because i love my sc because its rare and i wont do that!

TheMole

iTrader: (13)

Maybe try to reduce some of the overall/unsprung weight of the car. Get some good brake pads and maybe the daizen bushings to start. I always wanted to try autocross, but have not had the chance to. Good luck man!

insomniac

Yeah i am switching to an optima battery and i ordered some corbeau seats that are on their way to get those heavy lexus seats out. I also took out the spare wheel and tools. i dont know what more i can really do about the weight issue without making my car look like dog poo.

You really should try autocross its such an adreneline rush. My first run i was so nervous i was going to get lost or make a fool of myself but once you get over that its so awesome.

DHBomber

Good to see another SC out there! Hopefully i'll be ready by the 8th... I need to mount my new tires at the very least. Hope to see you/be there. As far as setup goes, it depends what class you're planning on running in and how serious you want to get. Getting the most tire is the first thing to do! The main choices in my mind being STU-8in wheel width max with a 245 street tire or ESP-Any DOT tire on any wheel.
This is a good read- http://farnorthracing.com/autocross_secrets.html
I ran the SC in Jan and was quite surprised at how well the car handled considering my basic setup. I have Supra AGX's and had stock TT springs installed (slightly pitchy but very well controlled). I switched to Tein springs since then and i'm pretty satisfied so far.
Daizen sway bar bushings f/r
BFI
Stock wheels/crappy Michelins... S-03s for next round
My thoughts... need way more tire, and some adjustable sways for tuning balance.
I have lots of upgrades in mind... but I think I better tune up the driver more than the car at this point.

Blizzy

iTrader: (-1)

Get some LS400 or Supra Turbo front brakes. The bang for buck would pay huge dividends as you could approach corners having more speed with way more supporting stopping power. This is well under $1000...$500 or less is certainly possible with the LS400 swap. Cheap. Easy. Effective. Plus, it would fill your wheels better and improve looks.

Stiffer sway bars would have to help leaps and bounds. Your SC body has to be rolling all over the place, even with the Tein's dialed all the way up. The sway bars would keep your center of gravity moving in the direction that the steering inputs are intending the car to go. Again, this would be reasonable in price. I think Daizen makes some quality, stiff sway bars from the SC.

Stiffer coilovers and tires with better cornering stability would probably help you out. But, that would be a pretty big change since you already have the Tein CS and Toyo Tires...both of which are probably in good shape.

My vote: brakes and sway bars.

ps. congrats on keeping up with the regulars. confidence in yourself and your car has to be at an all time high.

Sly Guy Yu

All u have is "luxury Coilovers" and wheels. U have a LONG way to go.

1. Weight Loss
2. Suspension
-Better coilovers
-Sway Bars
-Corner Balance
3. Brakes


The sc400's weight is ur biggest enemy.

If you really want to get into autocross competition the sc400 isnt for you. But ur gonna have a blast trying to control that weight... GL MAN!

Dougspeed

iTrader: (2)

With autoX, it's 90-95% driver.. practice improving your skills since you're still relatively new, then start the upgrades which should be with your brakes and tires, then tuning the suspension.
Personally, I'm afraid to push my SC that hard since it is 15 years old, so I save those duties for the S2000.
With that said, a friend of mine beat out every Porsche running at the autoX a couple weekends ago in a 1991 Honda Civic Si hatch.. It was quite a slap to the Porsche owners since it was hosted by the Porsche club of America!

So like I said before.. 90%-95% driver.. =)

Sly Guy Yu

Alot of AutoX is about agility. With a light civic it should beat out every porsche. The si should be able to beat ur s2k if set up properly.

emoshun

iTrader: (11)

Improve by losing the 19's on the track, and get some wide 17" track tires...

xirforever

+1, and with everything everybody else has mentioned. But the best thing you can do now is get your suspension working like it was designed to BEFORE you start modding the hell out of it, this means replacing all the bushings, including the steering rack bushings. This will put a big smile on your face and wont affect your class Also, get some SS brake lines, cheap and effective

Next up, try a track day! biggest adrenaline rush and gets you some time working your car at high speeds, not to mention MUCH more seat time. I love autox, but its just a for fun thing on the weekend, the big events to get excited about are those track days

good luck and be safe!

insomniac

Hey thanks for the advice and i hope to see you out there as well. Thanks for the link it was a good read like you said. As far as i know im in the ESP class, they did my inspection and told me i was ESP. I think i will be getting some new tires soon if im going to continue to autocross.

insomniac

Very well explained blizzy i appreciate it.

Thanks everyone else, it seems like everyone had almost the same things to say. i dont think i will be switching coilovers because i dont have that kind of money but i do think i will start with a sway bar, bushings and some nice supra tt brakes! then go on to getting some 17" wide tires.

insomniac

Ebay sells a front strut bar for like 35 bucks plus shipping.
Is this garbage? whats the diff between something like that and a JIC or cusco bar?

DHBomber

Imagine the stress some 275 Hoosiers would add to the equation

ant1k

carbon fiber , doors, trunk, and hood, then fiberglass fenders, get a cusco stb, trd sways, no tein products what soever, maybe hks? jic? so where the hell do you autocross in hawaii, id certainly like to know.